Walk the Shadows

deliberate, so the strand does not break.'

Harry nodded, then closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. The wand was pressed into the flesh just above his ear, but his hand was steadier now, Severus was glad to see. He also knew when the boy had accessed one of the 'troublesome' memories, as his face creased in pain and his eyes screwed shut.

Severus squeezed his shoulder, letting him know he was not alone. 'Begin to draw it away now, Harry,' he encouraged, and the boy's hand moved very slightly. The edge of a memory appeared, a slick silver strand that grew longer and longer as the wand eased away from his head. 'Slowly, that's it.' Harry's breaths came in harsh pants, his whole body trembling, but his wand hand was still steady. 'Easy, easy,' Severus told him, and then the strand came free, and Severus directed him toward the pensieve.

The memory arched and wriggled like a thing alive before falling into the stone bowl, and Harry sagged back on his chair. Sweat coated his face.

Severus handed him the water. 'Drink that, and then we'll try another one.' When Harry gave him a brief glare, he amended, 'All right. You'll try another memory, and I'll offer moral support.'

The boy's lips quirked in one of his rare, sardonic smiles, one that almost reached his eyes. 'You have morals?'

'Cheeky brat,' Severus growled, but he was pleased.

TBC . . .

XOXOXOXOXOXOXXOXOXOX

A/N: Thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed! Though it pains me to say so, I won't be able to respond individually to all reviews as I have up to now, mostly because I find I'm spending an hour or two almost every day doing so, and would rather (as I imagine most of my readers would concur) spend that time writing. Your kind words and affirmations have both humbled and awed me, and if you have any questions, or things that need clarifying in any of my stories, please know that I will still reply with alacrity. I still read all reviews, and take your words to heart, I just can't respond to them all anymore. My apologies, and my gratefulness for all the thanks you have bestowed upon me.

Next chapter should be out Thursday or Friday.

*Chapter 22*: Chapter 22

Walk the Shadows -- Chapter 22

By jharad17

Disclaimer: None of this is mine. Honest. She's rich, I'm not.

Aug. 13

I hate journals and I'm not going to write in them anymore. And he can look over at me all he wants and raise his eyebrow and not even teach me how to do it, and I don't care.

I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. . . .

'Harry.'

Harry didn't look up but kept writing the same three words over and over again, scribbling madly.

'Harry, look at me, please.'

It was the please that did it. Snape never said 'please' to him. His quill stopped moving and he looked up at the professor, who was standing back a pace or two, not looming like he sometimes did.

'What are you doing?'

Harry tried the one-eyebrow thing, but only managed to get both of them to vanish under his fringe. 'Writing in my journal,' he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which it should be.

'You've been doing so for almost three hours. And after you tore up yesterday's writing, I wanted to make sure . . .'

'That I'm okay? I'm fine.' Harry sneered. 'Go ahead, take points.'

'Shall I make tea?'

'No.' He turned back to his journal. Now, where was he? Oh, yeah . . . I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't—

'Harry, I would like you to put your quill down.'

Harry gripped it tighter. 'You wanted me to write, so I'm writing!'

'I suggested you write as a way to express yourself without shouting or wanting to hit things. But I don't know if it's doing you any good right at this moment.'

'It's doing me a lot of good,' Harry growled, quill still scratching madly in the book, 'and if you don't let me be, I'll tear out the rest of it and burn it, too!'

He felt the professor move before he heard him, and before he could do more than yelp, Snape snatched his journal and Accio'd the quill away. Harry reached for the ink pot, but it wouldn't come off the desk, no matter how much he pried at it. 'Oh, that's not fair!'

'My apologies for not wishing to see your primitive artwork adorning my walls.' Snape's voice had taken on that snippy, annoyed tone that Harry had grown to hate, especially over the last three days.

'You're not sorry!'