First I would like to thank Chantale-of-da-last-generation for beta-reading this chapter! I really appreciate it<3 and also Jasmin Kain – my Polish beta <3

Harry woke up laying on the couch, he slowly opened his eyes and looked around, but when he noticed the Potions Master sitting in his armchair, he quickly closed them again, and started thinking about the living nightmare that was the last few days. First, that bloody tattoo supposedly almost killed him, then Uncle Vernon nearly choked him to death, and the Ministry suspended him from Hogwarts. Then to round things off, Snape began to poke his enormous nose into his private life. Nothing on earth would make him tell anyone, especially the Potions Master, how the Dursleys had treated him. He seriously didn't need snarky comments, people laughing behind his back, or pointing fingers at him, or merlin forbid people's pity and sympathy! Not to mention what would happen if that nasty Skeeter woman heard the whole story and it made the Prophet. The Gryffindor had no intention of risking humiliation in front of all of Wizarding Britain.

"Potter, you can open your eyes; I already know you are awake." His thoughts were disturbed by the sound of the Potions Master's voice. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes."

Not trusting the child's words, Severus pulled out his wand and cast a spell on Potter. The boy was suddenly surrounded by a green mist, which disappeared after a second.

"The fever is down, but tell me as soon as you feel worse. And I'm serious about it."

Harry nodded then looked at the clock standing on the mantelpiece. As soon as he saw the time, he jumped off the couch.

"Damn it! I'm going to be late for the practice. I've gotta go."

"Potter, what practice are you talking about?"

"Football. Er... I can go, right? I promise to come back."

"Merlin, Potter sit down this instant. Just because your fever has dropped doesn't mean you're fit and healthy. You won't have the strength to run anyway."

"But..."

You're going to give football practice a miss today," the man said in a tone that Harry knew it was pointless to argue about it.

At that exact moment, Theodore entered the room.

Severus looked at him, his mouth curving into a crooked smile.

"Has our Romeo met his Juliet today?"

Harry snorted, remembering a drunken Nott kissing a Muggle girl. However, he tried to cover it with a cough, surprised that he almost laughed at something his most hated teacher had said. 'Well, happens to the best.'

The Slytherin boy blushed.

"If you must know, professor, she's gone abroad on holiday."

Severus nodded.

"I'm going to make dinner. Would you care for something specific?" He asked, and to Harry's surprise, the man looked in his direction.

Harry just shook his head, completely baffled by the man's behaviour. Yes, the teacher did apologize to him yesterday, but Snape's politeness made Harry completely unable to fathom him now. The man was acting like a human being, not like... well, Snape.

"Theo?" The Potions Master turned to the other teenager.

"Spaghetti?" The boy grinned.

"Why did I even ask," Snape muttered. "Very well, but please, try to be a little more creative next time," he added and left the room.

"Do you play chess?" Nott asked.

"Yeah, I do, but I'm rather bad at it. Actually, only Hermione is worse than me."

"No way. Granger's bad at something?"

"Yeah, and she is even worse at flying. Not to mention Quidditch." Harry grinned.

"So, fancy a game of chess?

When Harry agreed, Nott went to the chest of drawers and pulled out a well-worn set of wizarding chess. He set it down on the coffee table and sat down opposite Harry.

The Slytherin turned out to be a pretty good player, he was definitely winning. At one point, when Harry reached out to move one of his pawns, he heard a tut from the left side. The Gryffindor was so preoccupied with the game that he didn't notice when the Potions Master returned to the room, with three plates of hot pasta with sauce floating in front of him, and three sets of cutlery in his left hand, with his wand in his right.

"Potter, if you do that, you will expose the king." Surprised, Harry shot a glance at the man, then looked back at the chess. He reached out to the other chess piece. "Move it, and Theo's rook will beat your queen, and then in three moves, you lose. But look here, your knight can take his rook, which will open up the possibility of an attack on the queen.

"Ugh, I'm playing with Potter, not you. Where is the so-called Slytherin loyalty? I would like to win it," pouted Nott.

"Then you'll have to try a little harder. Put it down now, boys. Let's eat because dinner's getting cold."

Suddenly Snape winced. Harry had an impression that the Potions Master's left hand twitched several times, and his right hand moved towards it as if to grab it.

"Boys, eat dinner by yourselves, don't wait for me. I have to take care of something," the man said, putting down the cutlery and getting to his feet. "Don't leave the house. Don't open the door to anyone. It would be best if you stayed in this room. Nothing will happen, but in case anything happens, go straight to my private quarters at Hogwarts. Theo, show Potter how to do that." He looked at them solemnly. "You will enter the fireplace together at the same time. And I'm serious, Potter, no idiotic or seemingly heroic antics." With that, the Potions Master hurriedly left the room. They heard footsteps on the stairs, and after about two minutes, the crack of Apparition.

Nott rose from his seat.

"I'm going to put this in the fridge." He said, taking both his and Snape's plates. After a moment, he returned. There was silence in the room. Harry watched the other teen. Nott stared at one place, biting his fingernails as he did so, then started pacing back and forth around the room.

"It was Voldemort who summoned Snape, wasn't it?" Harry asked. Nott looked at him and nodded. "You're worried about him." This time it was not a question but a statement.

"Of course, Potter, I'm worried. He has just gone to meet the world's most powerful, sadistic madman who wants absolute power. And on top of that, he currently has in his home, one of said madman's greatest enemies. And if that wasn't enough, it turns out that this enemy is his secret brother!"

"Er... yeah, I know. I didn't want it to turn out that way. Not that I have any say in who I am related to." Harry looked at his untouched spaghetti, for which he had completely lost his appetite. "You don't support him?"

Nott hesitated.

"Potter... damn it. I... maybe I shouldn't tell you this, but ... Can you swear it'll stay between us?" Harry nodded. "I'm talking about you taking an oath. Maybe not the Unbreakable Vow, but you won't be able to share what I want to tell you with anyone anyway."

Harry pondered for a moment, having no idea what the Unbreakable Vow was. He could also guess what Nott wanted to tell him, but he had to make sure.

"So which oath do you mean? And how does it work?"

"It's Sine Nuntius. You just have to swear that you will not tell anyone what I am going to say to you now, and I will seal it with Sine Nuntius. That's it. The oath will make you physically unable to tell anyone, speak about it, write it down, and so on. It will even protect this secret from Veritaserum, and memories viewed in the Pensieve will be blurred and muffled. You will immediately see that there is something wrong with them, but an outsider will not be able to do anything about it."

Harry nodded. In the last two weeks, he had started to like the boy and even trust him a little. But not yet enough to take Slytherin's word for it.

"Okay, I'll take the oath. But only if you swear to tell the truth and only the truth for the next five minutes," Harry said, and Nott merely smiled and nodded.

The oath was very short indeed, and the boys performed it quickly. They didn't even need a wand for it.

"You probably figured it out by now, but I don't support the Dark Lord's agenda."

Harry nodded his head.

"And what does your father say about it?" he asked.

Nott grimaced. "That's why I asked you to take an oath. My father can't find out. About anything. What I think about the Dark Lord, about Severus living in a Muggle home, about you, about Chloe. He is a very dangerous man. He really is one of the worst fanatics."

"Do you think he would do something to you?

"I know he wouldn't hesitate to kill his own child." Nott looked down at his nails.

"And what about your mother?"

"She is dead. That is why Snape persuaded my father to let me spend my holiday here studying Potions.

"Oh ... Er ... That's pretty cool of Snape. And you don't have to worry, seriously, I won't tell anyone."

"I really don't want to kill. I don't want to torture. I don't want to join him. Shit, Potter, I'm sure you'll be one of the main figures in the upcoming war. I don't want to be your enemy if I'm to be on the same side as you."

"So, you're offering something like an alliance." Nott nodded. "You're a Slytherin. What will the others say about it?"

"I know who I am, Potter. But even though the entire school, and most of the wizarding population, believe so, being a Slytherin is not synonymous with being a Death Eater."

"Hey, it wasn't an accusation." Harry huffed, even though he meant precisely that.

"Sure," Nott said sarcastically. "Just admit that you have always considered us evil, compared to you and the rest of the saintly Gryffindors."

"No." When Nott raised one eyebrow up at him doubtfully, he added: "Okay... a little bit. But, well, when I returned to the wizarding world at 11, someone told me that not a single wizard or witch went bad who wasn't in Slytherin house and that Voldemort was in it. Then the first Slytherin I met was Malfoy, who only confirmed that theory."

"Well, imagine that. It's not as if a hat determines that a quarter of eleven-year-olds are downright evil."

Maybe it was a mistake that Harry never really thought about it, just took it as the obvious truth. However, he had the excuse that everyone around him, everyone he trusted—the Weasleys, Hagrid, even McGonagall—seemed to believe the same. The Head of Gryffindor didn't say it outright, but she sneered a little every time she was saying 'Slytherin'. On the very first day, in the corridor off the Great Hall, just before the sorting ceremony, when she was talking about the sorting, she pronounced the name of the snake's house with open disdain. This behaviour was definitely something he remembered. Snape, Voldemort and Malfoy seemed to confirm that only a particular type of people landed in Slytherin—the ones who were malicious by nature. No other Slytherin stood out enough to raise any doubts in Harry's mind.

"Of course not, but you have to admit that Malfoy is not making your reputation any better. Besides, you always go everywhere in a group and attack students from other houses."

"We don't attack them. It's them who attack us. And we walk in groups because it is not safe for Slytherins to walk around the castle alone. There will always be a self-proclaimed hero who will want to avenge his family members or just out of principle because Slytherins are the easiest target. There is always an excuse because everybody thinks that we are the bad guys and they are the good ones. Everyone always assumes that it's us who starts fights."

"Yes, of course, you are so innocent," Harry said sarcastically. "Somehow, it's always Malfoy that starts."

"Merlin, Potter. Stop talking about Malfoy! Draco is an arrogant, spoiled kid who has yet to grow up. Anyway, just as you can't stop talking about him, he can't stop talking about you. For four years, I've only heard Potter this and Potter that. Give it a rest!"

"Hey, don't compare me to him!

"Then notice that there are about a hundred students in Slytherin, not a hundred Malfoys. Have you ever spoken to any of us?"

"Of course I have."

"And I'm not talking about Malfoy."

"I'm sure I have. Anyway, it doesn't matter now," said Harry. One point in Nott's speech got his attention. The Slytherin was speaking about his house as the suppressed one. According to the teen, every eleven-year-old who ended up there was doomed to prejudice from the other houses. "Listen, I had no idea Slytherins were afraid to walk around the school alone. I've never seen any of you getting attacked, and neither I, Ron or Hermione have ever started any argument first. And yes, I know, I'm mentioning Malfoy again, but you must have noticed that he is the one who always starts arguing."

"What about the Weasley twins?" Nott folded his arms.

"The twins? Well, they like to have a laugh. They don't even spare their own family."

"Sure, they like to have a laugh, but maybe their victims aren't laughing with them. And it is the Slytherins that they focus most of their attention on. A funny joke is when both sides laugh." Harry grimaced, knowing the boy was right in this particular case. Even though the twins never harassed him, their jokes were sometimes overdone, and the victims had the right to feel humiliated.

"If you want, I can talk to the twins," Harry said. "But if you didn't notice, Snape isn't helping your case either by bullying students."

Nott shrugged.

"True, Snape is no saint, but he is not the only biased teacher or Head of House. It's the same with McGonagall, Sprout, and Flitwick. They each favour their own houses, but they only discriminate against Slytherins, even if its unknowingly. Not to mention Professor Sinistra, who openly oppresses us. It's frustrating."

"Somehow, I haven't notice that." 'Sinistra?' Harry tried to remember any such occurrence in the Astronomy lessons that would confirm Nott's words, but nothing came to mind.

"No offence Potter, but you don't pay any attention in class. Either you daydream, or you are working out your next adventure to the Chamber of Secrets or to fight dragons."

Harry ignored the Slytherin's comment as it was not far from the truth. Astronomy was the second most boring subject, behind Binns' class, taught at Hogwarts. How much can anyone stare at the sky and watch stars, that all look practically the same, when they should be in bed sound asleep.

"You're not going to tell me they treat you as badly as Snape treats Neville or me."

This time, it was Theodore who felt a little uncomfortable.

"No, Snape is crossing the line a little bit in your case."

"A little bit?"

"Okay, a lot. I agree that he shouldn't behave that way, taking his anger out on you. But it's just him against you, and we have a hard time with almost everybody else. Even with the Headmaster himself. Do you remember the end of our first year? At the leaving feast, when we were going to win the House Cup and the hall was decorated in Slytherin banners? At the very last minute Dumbledore took it from us, giving you and your friends exactly enough points to beat us. He had days to award those points in private, rather than wait for that painful, public announcement."

"I never thought of it that way." Indeed, he was only interested in Gryffindor's win back then because that meant the other Gryffindors stopped ostracising Neville, Hermione and him for losing points due to the Norbert incident. He had been really badly affected by the rejection of his housemates. He really believed McGonagall on the first day when she said that their house would be their family at Hogwarts. Still, for over a month, everyone in Gryffindor but Ron, Hermione, Neville treated him like persona non grata. He felt a bit like he was back at the Dursleys, except no one locked him in the cupboard under the stairs.

"Of course, you didn't. But it's not your job to think about it. Just... Do you know how angry everyone in Slytherin was? And how wronged they felt? All because of the Headmaster, who is supposed to be the most impartial person in the school. We had been working hard all year, and he took the House Cup from us, at the last minute only to give it to you. And from what I've heard it was for breaking a thousand rules and risking your life. Snape would kill us for anything like that, not reward us with nearly two hundred points."

Harry shrugged.

"Okay, I agree. It wasn't fair to you. I mean the way he did it. But on the other hand, McGonagall took a hundred and fifty points from us a month earlier for being in a hallway in the middle of the night. And don't tell me, the amount was fair."

"Yeah, I remember. I must admit that made us all quite happy."

Nott looked at his watch and started pacing the room again. Seeing the other teen's nervousness, Harry decided to keep him talking to distract him a little.

"Look, only the good die young so Snape will be back soon," he said. Maybe it wasn't quite tactful, but he tried.

Nott snorted.

"That's the problem. Snape is one of the good guys." When Harry looked at him sceptically, he added: "We have already established that he is a bit unfair and malicious. And he can hold a grudge like no one else."

"And again—a bit?"

"Okay, okay, very much. But he's still a good man."

Until a few weeks ago, Harry would argue fiercely with Nott. But now, he wasn't quite sure what to think about Snape, so he decided not to continue the discussion. It wasn't going to change anything anyway.

"Are you going to give Snape a chance?" Nott asked, pausing and looking at Harry.

"What do you mean?"

"I overheard your conversation last night," saying that, Nott blushed a little. "He apologised to you."

"Yeah."

"And?"

"And what was I supposed to do? I'd be an idiot if I told him to shove it. Maybe it will make him stop treating me like shit, at least for the moment."

"But ... you don't believe him?"

"Sooner or later, he'll change his mind." Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"Why do you think so?"

"I don't know; that's just the way it always is. He found out that we are family, so probably he thinks that he has to behave that way now. But you know, sooner or later, he'll get over it."

"Maybe not? Maybe it's worth giving him a chance?" Nott looked unconvinced.

"No... The fact that I'm his brother doesn't change anything. Soon, he will get used to the thought, or I will botch something up, and he will hate me again and act like he always did."

"I don't know... he helped me. And it seems as if he wants to help you as well."

Harry laughed bitterly.

"Listen, you're living in Snape's house; that's different. Me? Well, I'm still Harry Potter, a stupid, insolent, arrogant, worthless Gryffindor. I bet, soon, I'll do something stupid again, and he will get mad at me, and him playing nice with me will be over. Actually, I'm a little surprised he's kept me here. Anyway, I don't want... I don't need any help. Two more years, and I'll be of age. Until then, I'll be fine. I've managed up till now."

"I know we're not friends, and maybe it's not my place, but you look like someone who could use some support."

"Look, Nott, I have Ron, Hermione, the twins and... whatever. We have been friends for years. We care for each other, and that's enough for me. I already found out that blood ties mean nothing," he said, and the bitterness was