Harry looked around the room with disinterested eyes and idly opened the trunk, which held all his belongings in the world. It was the third day of the summer holidays after Harry’s fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and he had only spent one full day at the Dursley’s.

He had been hoping beyond hope that he wouldn’t have to spend the summer in the Dursley’s company – especially after the events at the end of his last school year – but he had not had staying with Professor Snape in his mind. More like a happy summer at the Burrow with Ron and his family. However, on the orders of Professor Dumbledore, he was staying at Snape’s house for the rest of the summer – he wouldn’t even be allowed to go to the Burrow for the last week of the holidays, like he usually did and in his opinion, it just wasn’t fair!

He had however been secretly impressed when Snape had picked him up from the Dursley’s – in muggle clothes no less! – driving a muggle car – a very nice muggle car in fact – but the drive to Snape’s house in Oxford had been particularly tense and was conducted in silence. Once they had arrived at the house – well, it was more of a mansion really, and extremely nice, Harry would admit – he had been delivered to his room with orders to unpack. That was after the whole “You will not tell anyone, not even Professor Dumbledore, what goes on in this house, Mr Potter, do I make myself perfectly clear!” from Snape and he’d looked so menacing that Harry had simply squeaked “yes, Sir,” and had been extremely glad to escape to what was now his room.

The room was large in size and was painted in shades of brown and cream. There was a single bed situated in one corner, which had a dark blue bedspread on it. The floor was simple oak floorboards, with a few blue rugs of different shades scattered around here and there. There was a desk facing the wall opposite the window – conveniently placed so that he couldn’t daydream and stare out the window when he was doing his summer homework – which was also made out of oak, as was the wardrobe, the chest of drawers, the bookshelf, the nightstand next to his bed and the ottoman that was placed at the end of his bed. There was a hamper next to the wardrobe – presumably for dirty clothes – and a washbasin in one corner.

Harry sat on the floor next to his trunk and idly started to take everything out of it – something which he hadn’t done since he’d packed it to go to Hogwarts for his first year. Out came all of the textbooks from all his years at Hogwarts – including all of the Lockhart books – which he arranged by year and subject on the bookshelf. Then he looked at the pile of clothes, which was on his bed, and he set about folding up his Weasley jumpers and placing them in the chest of drawers and hanging up his school uniform in the wardrobe, where his Invisibility Cloak and Quidditch kit were also hung up. His shoes went on the shoe rack in the bottom of the wardrobe and that just left Dudley’s hand-me-downs, all of which were several sizes too big for Harry. The massive jeans went into the chest of drawers, as did the t-shirts. At the moment he was wearing the only pair of jeans he owned which just about fit – a pair of hand-me-downs from Ron, so they were extremely worn, and one of his short-sleeved white school shirts, which Snape had told him to button up properly the moment they were alone in the car. He then hung up what few jackets he had. His cauldron, scales, telescope and his Firebolt went into the ottoman and his potions ingredients went onto the bottom shelf of the bookcase. The flute Hagrid had given him for Christmas in his first year went on the shelf above his desk and the photo album that Hagrid had given him at the end of his first year went onto the top shelf of the bookcase, as did the Marauder’s Map.

Looking at the jumble of mess still in his trunk Harry put the Flying with the Cannons book that Ron had gotten him for Christmas during second year on the shelf below his school books on the bookshelf and the luxury eagle feather quill that Hermione had gotten him that same Christmas went on the desk with his other quills and inkpots.

Harry was interrupted in his unpacking – he still wasn’t sure why he was emptying all of his trunk, since he just lived out of it when staying at the Dursley’s, it was probably because of the look on Snape’s face when he told him to unpack, the look which demanded complete obedience – by noise coming from downstairs. Snape was in the entranceway, with a woman and nine kids – Harry counted them to make sure – some a lot older than him, some a lot younger. Snape now had hold of the youngest child – a girl – and all the others seemed to be talking at once as they sorted out trunks, several of which had Beauxbatons stamps on, like his own had the Hogwarts one on. They were all talking to Snape, seeming really pleased to see him and Snape was actually smiling! – which was strange enough in itself – and they were calling him… Papa!

Harry quickly retreated back to his room. He must have misheard – Snape could not be the father of the nine children in the entranceway, it was just too weird, and yet it was perfectly normal. Why couldn’t Snape have a family? Just because Harry couldn’t imagine Snape with a wife and children, didn’t mean he couldn’t have them. But Snape had used to be a Deatheater, and the oldest child looked a good few years older than Harry, so he had to have been a Deatheater at the same time? Harry simply didn’t know enough about Snape’s history to piece the story together, but from the sound of it, Snape’s family had just arrived home and Harry was going to be spending the summer with them. No wonder Snape wasn’t thrilled about having Harry stay with him in the summer, he probably had little time with his family as it was.

Making sure that the door was firmly shut – Harry could hear feet starting up the stairs – he returned to his unpacking. The Broomstick Servicing Kit that Hermione had gotten him for his thirteenth birthday was placed on the bookshelf, as was his Chocolate Frog card collection and his Pocket Sneakoscope was placed on the shelf above his desk, next to his flute. The newspaper clipping of the Weasley family in Egypt, which he had framed, was propped up on his desk and the frame with a picture of his parents in was put on his nightstand. The clipping, which he had framed, of the four Triwizard champions – which was still a painful reminder of Cedric – went on the top shelf of his bookcase and a framed picture of him, Ron and Hermione was placed on the nightstand next to the one of his parents. His Omnioculars from the Quidditch World Cup went on to the shelf above his desk and Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland,his Christmas present from Hermione in his 4th year, went onto the bookshelf next to Flying with the Cannons. He also placed the copy of Hogwarts: A History that Hermione had convinced him to buy on that shelf, as well as his copy of Quidditch Through The Ages. The penknife that Sirius had given him for Christmas went onto the shelf above his desk, his chess set and his programme from the Quidditch World Cup onto the bookshelf and all that Harry was left with in his trunk was a few posters and banners. Removing them from his trunk, Harry then shut the lid and pushed the trunk under the window, where it made a bench and fitted in nicely with the rest of the room.

He picked up the Gryffindor flag – the one Lee Jordan had draped around him when he had returned to the Common Room after being made a champion in the Triwizard Tournament – and he idly tacked it up on one of the walls. He had a poster of the Irish team from the Quidditch World Cup, which he tacked up above his desk (below the shelf), his poster of the Chudley Cannons went up and the final banner was the one which read ‘Potter for President’, and had a Gryffindor Lion on it, which his year mates had made before his first Quidditch match and he tacked that up as well.

Finished, he glanced around the room, which really did feel like his now. He hadn’t known that he owned so much stuff and he suddenly felt extremely grateful for what he did have. He walked over to where he had pushed his trunk below the window and sat down on it, resting his chin on the windowsill and staring out at the grounds. They were in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but green fields, trees and a stream surrounding them and Harry had to admit that he liked it. Who knew that Snape lived such a life of luxury away from Hogwarts? What on earth was he doing teaching for a living? And why did everything seem so muggle?

Presently there was a knock at the door and Harry stood up as it opened and the woman who had been downstairs – Snape’s wife? – entered the room. She wasn’t particularly tall, but was thin and had light brown hair, which was tied back into a long plait which was then twisted into a knot on the back of her head, and had sparkly light green eyes. She was quite pretty looking and had a friendly, warm feeling about her. She smiled warmly at him. “All unpacked?” she asked, glancing around the room and smiling more broadly at the ‘Potter for President’ banner. Harry just nodded helplessly.

“Mama!” came a voice and the woman turned and looked at the door expectantly.

A head poked around the doorway, it was a girl, Harry couldn’t even begin to guess the age, although she was younger than him, who had smiling brown eyes and dark brown hair, which was pulled back into two plaits. “You can’t be unpacked already Carlotta,” the woman said. The girl – Carlotta – nodded. “Properly?” the woman asked. Carlotta nodded again. “Very well, I’ll come and check your room, once I’ve finished checking Harry’s.”

Check his room? Harry hadn’t a clue what was going on and he simply stood near the window as the woman checked his wardrobe, drawers and ottoman. She turned and smiled at him. “Almost done, I see,” she said. Almost done? What was she talking about? He was done! “Just unpack your rucksack and then you’ll be finished,” she said, pointing to where his rucksack lay, where he had dumped it on the floor when Snape had showed him to his room. He managed a weak smile at the woman and nodded. “Okay then, I’ll be back in ten minutes once I’ve checked Carlotta’s room.”

She left and Harry picked up his rucksack in a daze. What had just happened? He emptied the rucksack onto his bed – there wasn’t much in it – and glanced out of the window again. He folded the tracksuit bottoms and t-shirt he wore for bed and placed them on his pillow and picked up what looked to be an ordinary muggle notebook, which was completely empty. He placed it in the drawer in his nightstand – that was his journal. He then took his pencil case, he had a few muggle pens, coloured pencils and rulers and such and placed it on his desk. Finally he put his rucksack on a shelf in his wardrobe. He had a feeling that the room would be required to be kept this tidy.

The door opened again, and this time it was Carlotta who entered. “Hi,” she said, bounding forward.

“Hello,” Harry responded, a good deal quieter and more hesitant. He hadn’t a clue what he had landed himself in for this summer.

“You probably heard, but I’m Carlotta,” she introduced herself. “Carlotta Snape.”

So they were Snape’s children! “I’m Harry,” he told her, “but you probably already know that.”

“Yep,” she responded cheerfully, sitting on his bed. “How old are you again?”

Harry grinned. “I’m fourteen.”

“Okay then. I’ve just turned eleven, so I’ll be starting school in September,” she told him.

“Are you looking forward to it?” Harry asked her, simply for something to say.

“In a way,” she said and then saw his politely confused look. “I’m not sure which school I’m going to, Mama and Papa are talking about transferring us to Hogwarts.”

“Hogwarts is brilliant!” he told her with a smile as he took a seat next to her on the bed.

“Really?”

“Yep,” he told her. “It’s great.”

“I don’t know much about it. Papa doesn’t talk much about work,” Carlotta told him. When she said Papa, Harry figured she was referring to Snape. “But he did say something about Houses?”

“Yeah – students are sorted into one of four houses and they are your family for your time at Hogwarts. Each house is named after one of the four founders of Hogwarts – Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin,” Harry explained.

“Which house are you in?” Carlotta asked eagerly.

“Gryffindor,” Harry told her with a smile and motioned to the Gryffindor banner that he had pinned up on his wall, the gold and red colours were still bright, with the lion standing out in the middle.

“Cool,” was Carlotta’s opinion and Harry chuckled. “What?” she asked him.

“Not everyone would think so,” he replied neutrally, hoping she wouldn’t catch onto the fact that he had her Father in mind.

The door opening again cut off Carlotta’s question of asking what he meant. This time it was a boy who entered. “Hey Robin,” Carlotta greeted him.

“Hey Carlotta, should of known I’d find you in here,” Robin teased. “Hey, Harry, pleased to meet you, I’m Robin Snape,” he said, holding out a hand for Harry to shake, which he did.

“I take it you know who I am,” Harry said, as he left loose of Robin’s hand.

“Of course,” Robin answered, as he placed down a pile of clothes that he was carrying on Harry’s bed. “Mama sent me through with this lot,” he said, gesturing to the pile. “she said you don’t have many clothes and these are things that I’ve grown out of.”

“Oh, right,” Harry said, feeling his cheeks start to go red. To make sure that Carlotta and Robin couldn’t see his face, he turned slightly and looked through the pile of clothes. Standing up he walked across to the chest of drawers and opened the draw where he’d put Dudley’s hand-me-down t-shirts and pulled a few out.

“Those need to be burned!” Carlotta spoke up behind him. “Why do you wear them, they’re massive!”

“I don’t get a choice in what I wear Carlotta, all I get are my cousins old clothes and he’s a lot bigger than I am,” Harry explained quietly.

Carlotta joined him near the drawers and finished pulling the t-shirts out. “Burn,” she said, throwing one over her shoulder. “Burn, burn, definitely burn!” Then they moved on to the jeans. “These have to be too big for you, and they look ancient! They can be burned as well! Robin, let’s look at those clothes you brought!”

“Carlotta! What are you doing! You’re making a mess in Harry’s room,” the woman was back and Carlotta stood up and turned around guiltily.

“I know Mama, but…” Carlotta started.

“No buts Carlotta,” she was told and Harry was about to interrupt when a look from Robin told him that that would not be a good idea. “Since you’ve finished your unpacking Carlotta, you can go and help Alexander finish his.”

“Yes Mama,” Carlotta said and left the room with a final small smile for Harry.

The woman bent down and picked up Dudley’s hand-me-downs and Harry and Robin didn’t move. “Well, these can be thrown straight out,” the woman said in a no-nonsense sort of voice. “They’ll never fit anybody in this house. Robin dear, help Harry put those clothes away and then you can go downstairs and find your father.”

“Yes Mama,” Robin said and with that the woman left the room – taking Dudley’s old clothes with her and Harry knew that he wouldn’t be seeing them again. Silently, he and Robin folded t-shirts and jeans and placed them in Harry’s chest of draws. Then they hung up the shirts and the jackets and Harry done a quick glance around the room to check that everything was in its place.

“All ready, Harry?” Robin asked as he headed towards the door.

“Yeah,” Harry answered as he followed behind and the two left the room and went down the stairs. Robin led Harry through to a small room, just to the right of the stairs where there were two leather couches and a cream rag rug in front of a large fireplace. Snape was sat on one of the couches and two other boys sat on the other. Robin entered the room and sat cross-legged on the rug, and with his eyes he instructed for Harry to do the same.

There was silence for a few minutes, before Snape broke the silence. “Robin.”

“Yes, Papa?” Robin answered. Snape simply gestured him to the seat next to him on the couch and Robin moved to sit there. Harry stayed where he was, on the floor in front of the fire. It seemed strange to Harry that Robin, who appeared to be older than him, still called Snape Papa, it seemed, well, childish.

The silence stretched on, until Snape spoke again. “Harry.”

Harry looked up, shocked. Snape had never called him anything but ‘Potter’ before! “Yes, Sir?” he answered.

“I see you have met my son, Robin,” Snape said. “And these are my oldest two sons, Jason and Simeon,” Snape said, pointing out each one in turn and he got two ‘Hi, Harry’s’.

Harry attempted a weak smile and answered “Hello,” shyly. He wasn’t sure how he was going to keep names straight.

“Have you met anyone else yet, Harry?” Snape then asked.

“Only Carlotta, Sir,” Harry answered, eliciting grins from Jason, Simeon and Robin.

“And my wife, Juliana, of course,” Snape added.

“Yes Sir.”

“Very well,” Snape said and silence descended again. What was going on? Why the silence? Harry wasn’t about to break it though, he was a guest in his Professor’s house and he knew he’d have to do as he was told. Especially considering the fact that Snape hated him. The door opening broke the silence. “Harry, this is my daughter, Laura. Laura, this is Harry.”

“Hello,” Harry said quietly and received a quiet ‘hi’ in return. Laura joined him on the rug in front of the fire. Like Carlotta, Laura’s long hair was pulled back into two plaits that fell down her back and were tied with blue ribbons whereas Carlotta had pink ribbons and whereas Carlotta’s hair was dark brown, Laura’s was lighter and more of a chestnut colour, with a reddish hint to it.

Two more boys entered with Carlotta, who Snape introduced as Dominic and Alexander and the three joined Harry and Laura on the floor. Harry stared determinedly at the rug – the silence was starting to make him extremely uncomfortable and he felt really out of place. If he weren’t there, would they all be talking? Would Snape be more open with his children?

Finally, after what seemed like an age to Harry the door opened once more and Snape’s wife – was it Juliana? – entered, with the youngest girl and another boy. The boy joined Harry, Laura, Carlotta, Dominic and Alexander on the floor, while Juliana sat next to Snape and the youngest girl was on Snape’s lap, something that seemed just too weird to Harry.

Snape and Juliana were talking quietly together, but the children stayed quiet. Harry attempted to put them in age order. Jason, Simeon and Robin were obviously older than him and Jason and Simeon were older than Robin – Snape had said so – but he didn’t know who was the oldest. Laura appeared to be close in age to him, and Carlotta, Dominic and Alexander were obviously younger than them, although Carlotta and Dominic appeared to be very close in age. Harry glanced at Snape again – who suddenly looked very different from the Potions teacher he knew from Hogwarts – and contemplated the situation he found himself in. From the looks of things, Snape was strict with his children – extremely strict – why else would they be sat in silence, not fidgeting, not complaining, whilst their parents talked? But really, Harry shouldn’t of expected anything else, given the way Snape taught whilst they were at school, but surely, wasn’t this going too far?

Soon enough though, Snape dismissed – it was only appropriate word Harry could find – them all and Harry was even more confused. Jason, Simeon, Robin, Laura, Carlotta, Dominic and Alexander left, disappearing into the house quickly, leaving Harry alone in the room with Snape and his wife and the youngest two children. The girl slid down off Snape’s lap and walked over to Harry, sitting down close to him on the rug. “I’m Hazel,” she told him in a voice which indicated that she was still learning to speak. Hazel’s short hair was also pulled back into two small plaits, like her older sisters, but her hair was a lot fairer than either of her sisters, it could possibly be even classed as blonde and her plaits were tied with pale yellow ribbons.

“I’m Harry,” he told her quietly – he really didn’t have a clue of how to act with young children!

“Why are you here?” Hazel wanted to know.

Somebody get him out of this! “I have to spend the summer here.” Harry told her.

“Why?” Hazel questioned.

“Because I’ve been told I have to,” Harry said.

“But why?” Hazel wanted to know.

Harry glanced helplessly towards the couch and was surprised to see Snape smiling down at him. “Because Harry has nowhere else to stay, Hazel,” Snape said. “So he’ll be staying with us.”

“Yes, Papa,” Hazel said and Harry had the feeling that she knew by now not to question Snape but Harry couldn’t see how she knew this, because surely they didn’t spend much time with each other – Snape spent the better part of the year living at Hogwarts and he was always about during the Christmas and Easter holidays.

Snape surprised Harry by speaking again. “Why so quiet, Oliver?” he asked and Harry figured that Oliver had to be the name of the youngest boy. Oliver just shrugged, still not saying anything. Snape gestured him to his side and Oliver went reluctantly, dragging his feet slightly. Snape however simply hugged the boy to his side with one arm and with his other hand tilted Oliver’s chin up so that he could look him in the eyes. Oliver then said something so quietly that Harry couldn’t hear it, but Snape registered the words with a look of surprise and then he swept Oliver up into a tight hug, stroking the back of his sons hair. “Oh, Ol,” Snape murmured. “Of course this isn’t going to change anything!”

Oliver pulled back a bit. “Promise?” Oliver had inherited his Father’s black hair, the fringe of which now fell into his eyes and Snape brushed fondly aside.

“I promise,” Snape told him. “Why would having Harry here change anything?”

Juliana just laughed. “As much as you wont admit it Severus, your children know you well,” she told him. “They know that you like to keep your private life private and don’t show feelings around others.”

Harry had to grin at that, Snape certainly didn’t seem to show feelings around others, but in the short time that he had been in Snape’s house, he had discovered that Snape had a wife and children – nine(!) children none the less – and had seen him carry the youngest and hug the youngest two and when they’d arrived home he’d seemed really friendly with all of them. Hazel stood up again and went to join her brother and father and Harry suddenly felt really awkward and really out of place, as if he were witnessing something he was never meant to witness – Snape’s private life, away from Hogwarts.

Harry stared determinedly at the fireplace, trying to ignore both the happy family scene going on on the couch behind him and the pang of jealousy that was rising up deep inside of his chest. He couldn’t believe that Snape – his greasy, snarky, sarcastic, mean, horrible, the list of adjectives just went on, none of them good – Potions teacher had nine children and a wife! He wished he were confident enough to go and find his room again and hide away writing in his journal. Where was that Gryffindor courage when he needed it? He wasn't even brave enough to walk out of a room because Snape hadn’t said he could.

Presently enough however, Snape addressed him again. “Harry.”

Harry forced himself to look at his most hated Professor. “Yes Sir?”

Snape offered him a small smile – he’d been looking a lot younger at his home than he had at school anyway and the smile took even more years off – and Harry wasn’t sure whether he preferred Snape smiling at him or sneering at him. At least when he was sneering, Harry knew where he had him, knew what to expect. “May I call you Harry? It seems very formal to go around calling you Mr Potter all summer, we are not at Hogwarts at the moment.”

“Yes Sir,” Harry stuttered out. This day was just getting weirder and weirder. Any moment now he was going to wake up, surely.

“Does that mean that Harry should call you Papa as well?” Hazel questioned and Harry’s mind reeled at the mere suggestion. Call Snape - of all people, Snape (!) – Papa? He didn’t think he could survive the summer if he had to!

“Considering the fact that I am Harry’s teacher, I hardly think that would be appropriate, Hazel,” Snape answered calmly and it was all Harry could do not to breath an audible sigh of relief.

“But…” Hazel started to say.

“You don’t question me, Hazel,” Snape said sternly, sounding a lot more like the Professor Harry knew from Hogwarts, but also seeming a lot more kinder than that Professor.

“Yes Papa,” Hazel said.

“Harry,” Snape started again. “As you have more than likely figured out, there is more to my private life than what everyone simply assumes.”

Snape stopped and looked directly into Harry’s eyes and he seemed to want some kind of response. “Yes Sir,” Harry said quietly, a bit unnerved by the intense look Snape was giving him.

“And I like to keep my private life just that, private. So you are not to go telling all your friends about my life away from Hogwarts, do I make myself perfectly clear, young man?” Snape asked, the stern tone that demanded complete obedience was back.

“Yes Sir,” Harry managed to answer. It wasn’t like any of his friends would believe him if he told them anyway. Harry could still barely believe it himself.

It was Hazel who broke what could have become an uncomfortable silence. “Papa?” she asked.

“Yes Hazel?” Snape responded.

“Are you going to read to us again every night like you did last summer?” Hazel asked.

“You can remember that?” Snape asked, sounding very surprised.

“No Papa, but Carlotta, Dominic, Alexander and Oliver told me about it,” Hazel informed him solemnly and Snape smiled down at his youngest daughter.

“If you want me to read to you after supper, then I shall read to you after supper,” he told her kindly, hugging both Oliver and Hazel to him tighter.

“And Harry can listen to?” Hazel asked.

“If Harry so wishes to then of course he can,” Snape reassured his daughter, who had seemed to of taken a liking to Harry.

Hazel nodded sleepily and lay her head down on her father’s shoulder and let her eyes close. “It looks like someone needs a nap,” Juliana commented, checking the clock and seeing that it was two o’clock in the afternoon. “And I’m guessing that you haven’t fed yourself and Harry, either, Severus.”

“You know me too well,” Snape said and placed a kiss on Juliana’s cheek, something that Harry couldn’t believe he was seeing. But since Juliana had mentioned food, Harry realised that he was hungry, very hungry as he hadn’t even been given breakfast at the Dursley’s that morning.

“You go and put Hazel down for her nap then and I’ll go and make us a late lunch and we’ll just have dinner later than usual tonight,” Juliana said and Snape left the room to carry Hazel upstairs.

“Oliver, honey,” Juliana said as she left the room. “Go and tell everyone else that lunch will be ready in half an hour please.”

“Yes Mama,” Oliver said, as he was left alone in the room with Harry. Harry attempted a weak smile at the boy – he seemed very young – and Oliver managed a small smile back.

“Would you like me to come with you?” Harry asked, only because he needed something to do, he did not want to be left alone in the room, especially in case Snape came back!

Oliver nodded and took Harry by the hand and led him out of the room in silence. Harry didn’t have a clue how to behave around children, especially not children who held his hand and he too remained silent as the walked up the stairs together, Harry going more slowly than he usually would have because of Oliver, who didn’t walk very fast.

Oliver opened the door to the first room on the landing and Harry looked in to see Dominic and Alexander sat on one of the rugs on the floor. The room was decorated in shades of dark green and cream, with the bed in the same place as Harry’s with a cream bedspread and the furniture and floorboards were made out of the same oak as in Harry’s room.

“Mama said to tell you that lunch will be ready in half an hour,” Oliver told his brothers, who both nodded.

Harry and Oliver told everyone else when lunch would be ready and Harry felt a pang in his stomach as they came to what was either Jason, Simeon or Robin’s room and all three of them were sat inside talking about Quidditch moves and the like. He would have dearly loved to join them, but obviously could not without an invitation and besides, Oliver’s hand was still held tightly within his own. After giving Laura and Carlotta the same message, Oliver led Harry back downstairs to the kitchen, where Juliana was making lunch. Oliver took a seat at the kitchen table and Harry just kind of hovered behind him, not sure what to do next. And then, as if his worst nightmare was coming true, Snape entered the kitchen and sat down next to Oliver and picked up a muggle newspaper - The Times - and turned to the crossword section, with Oliver eagerly looking over at the page as well. Snape then looked up and saw Harry hovering nervously, looking at his shoes and said simply, “take a seat, Harry” and gestured to the chair next to himself and Harry had no choice but to sit down next to his Potions Professor. So now, instead of studying his shoes, Harry found himself studying the cherry wood of the solid kitchen table. The kitchen was nice, the table was large because obviously a lot of people had to sit around it and the room was painted in pale yellow, cream and light blue.

When he did dare to glance up Harry caught a glimpse of how much Oliver looked like his father, he had his father’s dark hair and his eyes were only slightly lighter than Snape’s, instead of being black they seemed to be a very dark blue and although he had inherited Snape’s nose it wasn’t as hooked and it seemed to fit his face, but their was no doubt that Oliver was Snape’s son, he hadn’t inherited many physical characteristics from his mother at all.

Harry was interrupted in his musings by Laura and Carlotta coming into the kitchen. Carlotta immediately took the free seat next to Harry and Laura went and sat on the other side of Oliver and Harry realised that the ends of the table wouldn’t be used and six people would simply sit down either side and Harry didn’t know if he was looking forward to the meal or absolutely dreading it! On one hand he wanted the chance to study Snape’s children more closely and to check that he could put the right name to the right face but he also hadn’t a clue of how he was supposed to act during lunch - Snape was strict and Harry really didn’t know how he was supposed to behave at the table, well apart from the obvious no elbows on the table, he was guessing. He didn’t even know whether talking would be allowed, or whether or not Snape would uphold the old value that children shouldn’t speak at the table unless they were spoken to. Mind you, Harry didn’t plan on saying much anyway, all of this was new to him and he was very clearly the outsider and he was not going to draw attention to himself! Discreetly studying Laura down the table - Harry couldn’t study Carlotta so much because she was the only one sat on his left hand side and it would be rude to turn his head towards her and blank everyone else - he noticed that although Laura had chestnut coloured hair that didn’t come directly from either Snape or Juliana and that she was the only member of the family to have that colour hair, she did share the same eye colour as Oliver, that same dark blue colour which was a few shades lighter than Snape’s black colour.

Lunch was not completely a silent affair but from Harry’s observations it seemed like the whole children-should-not-speak-unless-they-are-spoken-to rule was in place, at least for the youngest children, the rule did not seem to apply to Jason and Simeon, and Robin was also encouraged to talk by Snape. Harry himself just stayed quiet and ate quietly what was put in front of him - tuna salad. He had seen both Simeon and Dominic wince a bit and exchange a sympathetic yet encouraging look and he figured out that another rule must be that you got what you where given and you ate all of it without complaint. Harry did not mind, he was not fussy when it came to food, he would eat just about anything - he supposed he had the Dursley’s to thank for that, he was grateful if he got food at all, so he wasn‘t fussy about what type of food it was. Once everyone had finished eating, Laura and Carlotta carried the dishes to the sink and began to wash and clear them away - obviously this was there expected task - Juliana went to put a sleepy Oliver down for a nap, Jason disappeared with Snape, and Robin took Dominic and Alexander off somewhere to do something. Harry once again found himself studying the kitchen table, only this time Simeon was sat opposite him and Laura and Carlotta stood at the sink, yet the silence could not be called a comfortable silence. Glancing up, Harry met Simeon’s gaze briefly and was offered a smile which he returned hesitantly, all the time wondering why on earth he had wanted to join Jason, Simeon and Robin earlier, he felt nothing more than a need to get away right now, but he couldn’t figure out how to do it without appearing to be rude. He did not need Snape’s children to hate him, not if he was going to survive the summer!

“So, you’ll be staying with us all summer are you Harry?” Simeon finally broke the silence, and Harry couldn’t tell whether or not their was malice behind the words, simple curiosity or simply desperation for something to say to break the silence.

“As far as I know,” Harry said quietly. Laura and Carlotta had finished the pots by now and Carlotta came over to the table and sat next to Harry again, whilst Laura left the room quietly.

“It wont be so bad, you’ll see,” Carlotta told him with a smile and Harry got the feeling that she was either really good at reading people, or his despair was very clear to read on his face. He hoped for the former, rather than the latter.

“Yeah, Papa’s bark is worse than his bite,” Simeon said with a small laugh, and Harry got the distinct impression that he was being teased as if he were a younger brother and wondered why Ron complained about it all the time, clearly it was all in good jest.

“I think I’m beginning to see that,” Harry admitted, “but if you ever serve a few detentions with him you may think otherwise!” he joked, and made it clear that he was joking, he did not want to bad-mouth Professor Snape in front of his Professor’s children, he did not think that would end well, and he had a feeling that both Simeon and Carlotta would be protective of their father.

“Well remind me never to give Papa a reason to give me detention then,” Simeon told him and Harry couldn’t help but to grin at him, and he got a wide smile in return.

Carlotta, however, looked worried. “Do people get detention a lot at Hogwarts?” she asked anxiously.

“It depends on whether or not you get in trouble a lot,” Harry told her with what could be called a brotherly smile.

“Oh,” Carlotta said quietly and Simeon chuckled.

“I don’t think you have to worry about detentions Carlotta,” he said kindly. “And besides, you don’t even know if you’re going to Hogwarts yet, you might end up going to Beauxbatons yet. Anyway, let’s change the subject from school, it’s the summer holidays, you know the time filled with fun when we have Papa with us and days in the sun and going for walks and swimming in the lake and river and possibly a trip to the Lakes, I’m sure you remember it!” Harry decided then and there that he liked Simeon and he still couldn’t understand why Ron disliked older-brotherly teasing. It seemed quite fun to Harry, but then again, he wasn’t used to having a family - that was if he could class Snape’s family as his own. Where on earth had that thought come from?! Harry managed to stop himself from panicking just about, and was relieved when Simeon and Carlotta did not appear to notice that something was wrong with him. Consider Snape family?! He must have gone mad - this was his mean, nasty, snaky Potions professor he was talking about here!

It was half an hour later, when Harry was still listening to Simeon and Carlotta banter across the table - he had managed to get away with barely saying word, his shyness having come back full force when he found himself thinking of himself as part of the family, which he most definitely was not and he wanted nothing more to escape again but he still didn‘t know how - when Juliana came in and asked Simeon to go and get Hazel and Oliver up from their naps. Simeon left the room without question, just as Harry had expected him to and Harry found himself with orders to wash his hands and to make sure that his fingernails were clean. Stunned from the unexpected command, Harry obeyed without question and soon he found himself chopping carrots at the kitchen table, next to Carlotta who was peeling potatoes. Clearly he was helping to make dinner, whenever that would be. Simeon came back into the room with both Oliver and Hazel, who were soon occupied at the other end of the table with colouring books of the muggle variety, only after Hazel had given Harry a hug though, eliciting smiles from both Juliana and Simeon, and Simeon was now with him and Carlotta, only he was shelling peas. Clearly the Snapes’ were a big believer in vegetables and Harry, from the little he had seen from Snape’s life outside of Hogwarts, didn’t find that hard to believe at all.

It was at exactly four o’clock when Laura re-entered the kitchen and soon it was clear to Harry that she had also come to help prepare dinner, whenever it would be. “There you are, Laura, honey,” Juliana greeted her. “Come and help me make this pastry.” Silence descended onto the kitchen and Harry focused on his task, keeping his head down and his eyes firmly on the table. He was used to chores from the Dursley’s, but this was different in a way, it was well, for lack of a better description, more loving. It wasn’t all rough commands and denied meals if he didn’t finish in time and that made all the difference in the world. Yet he was staying with Snape - denied meals was something he would of expected before today because he definitely rated Snape on the same meanness level as the Dursley’s, but then again he hadn’t expected Snape to be married and have kids! Ron and Hermione would never believe him even if he swore on his life that it was true, but that didn’t matter anyway because Snape had told him that he wasn’t allowed to tell anyone what went on in his house and Harry was pretty certain that that included that fact that Snape was married and had nine children. Because if that fact got out it would completely destroy the reputation of a cold evil bat that he had around school.

Juliana had left Laura making the pastry at the countertop near the sink and had joined Harry, Simeon and Carlotta at their end of the table after briefly checking on Oliver and Hazel, who were still deeply absorbed in their muggle colouring books, and she began to dice up several pieces of steak. Clearly the meal was going to be a very fulfilling one and Harry couldn’t wait for it, he wasn’t used to having proper meals during the summer months!

The conversation was starting up again around him, but Harry still kept his head down and didn’t speak, but he did listen in to the conversation just in case he was asked to contribute to it because if he was asked he didn’t want to appear completely ignorant and rude and have to admit that he had no idea what they were talking about. Mind you, from the vantage point he had now, he was able to study some more of Snape’s children - he had already started to build up character studies of both Laura and Oliver and one thing not many people knew about Harry was his flair for writing and his talent for describing people with words, but in order to do that he had to study them carefully first and there was a very good reason why his journal was magically password protected, because no one was reading that without his permission! He now had the chance to study Carlotta a bit more and whilst her hair was dark, it was not quite black, it was a very dark brown which was a few shades lighter than black and he also noted the first characteristic he had spotted in any one of Snape’s children which had been inherited from Juliana, Carlotta had Juliana’s light green eyes. Mind you, now he came to think about it, Jason, Simeon and Dominic all had their mothers hair, well, it was a few shades darker and was probably best described as just brown, neither light nor dark, whereas Juliana could be described as having light brown hair. Robin had inherited his father’s black hair, Harry recalled and Alexander could be described as having blonde hair, like his younger sister Hazel.

Soon the preparation for the meal was done and Juliana shooed everyone but Laura and Carlotta out of the kitchen, so Harry found himself stood in the main hallway with Simeon, Oliver and Hazel. Before he could escape upstairs as he still desperately wanted to, Hazel took hold of his hand, and I her other hand she still held her colouring book and her coloured pencils. “Colour with me for a while, please, Harry?” she requested and Harry knew he couldn’t say no, not without hurting her immensely.

“Of course,” he answered and gave her a smile, whilst glancing over at Simeon, who was holding Oliver’s hand.

“You want to continue colouring too?” Simeon asked Oliver and received a nod, clearly Oliver was very shy. “Well, come on then, lets go colour.” Simeon led them to a room not far from the one where the whole family had gathered together earlier on but this room was larger and had an old oak table in it with rustic benches and a set on doors at the end of the room which led outside onto some decking and beyond that all Harry could see was green. There was another leather couch in this room and there were several rugs scattered around of the floor which was once again made of oak floorboards and the entire place had a light airy feel to it, but it didn’t seem very lived in - everything was in it’s place and nothing was disturbed, it didn’t feel like their were nine kids living in the place, you’d expect some things to be mussed up but everything was perfect. Harry was almost afraid to touch anything in case he got anything dirty or broke something. Simeon, Oliver and Hazel, however, were all heading over to the table and Harry simply followed them, but it wasn’t like he had much choice in the matter, Hazel still held his hand within her own. Simeon sat down on the end of the table on one side and helped Oliver up onto the bench next to him and with his eyes he motioned for Harry to sit opposite him, which he did and he helped Hazel up onto the bench next to him and he kept an arm across her back, resting his hand on the table lightly on the other side of her, not wanting her to fall. Colouring books were opened and Harry found himself helping Hazel to colour a picture of a stereotypical barn yarn, with the big barn in the background, which was obviously supposed to be coloured red and all the animals in front of the barn, including hens, pigs, cows, sheep, horses and a sheepdog. There wasn’t much talking going on, apart from Hazel telling him what colour to use were and Harry concentrated on what he was doing, so much so that he didn’t hear another person enter the room.

“So this is where you four have hidden yourselves off to, is it?” a voice asked from the doorway and it took all of Harry’s effort not to jump out of his skin in surprise.

“Papa!” Hazel responded as Snape walked further into the room and she held up her arms in a request to be picked up, and Snape complied, sitting her on his hip easily. “Harry’s been helping me to colour,” she told him, proudly.

“So I see,” Snape responded and Harry could feel his cheeks start to go pink. Then it hit him with full force - he had been sat colouring with Snape’s youngest daughter! Snape’s daughter! Colouring! Harry wondered just how much weirder the rest of the summer was going to get, and this was only his first day at Snape’s house. How he was going to survive the summer he did not know.

After admiring both Oliver and Hazel’s colouring for a while, Snape sent Simeon, Harry and Oliver to freshen up before dinner and he took Hazel with him when he left the room. Harry followed Simeon and Oliver up the stairs and went into his room when he reached it, leaving his door slightly ajar, so he would know when someone was going back downstairs and he crossed to the washbasin in the corner of his room. He washed his hands, neck, face and ears and ran a comb through his hair in a desperate attempt to try and tame it and then he sat quietly on the edge of his bed, waiting to see whether or not someone would tell him what to do next.

Jason, Simeon and Oliver came to get him when they went back down stairs and Harry once again found himself in the kitchen, where Juliana and Snape were stood talking, although Laura and Carlotta were nowhere to be seen. Juliana smiled at them as they entered and began doling out tasks; “Simeon, you can set the table, Jason you can get drinks and Oliver, you can keep your father out of trouble,” she said with a smile.

“Yes Mama,” Oliver said with a wide grin and a slight giggle as he walked over to Snape who scooped him up into his arms and ruffled his hair. Harry once again, for what seemed to be the millionth time that day, found himself studying his shoes, wishing desperately that he were some place else and hoping that he wasn’t getting in the way. After a while, deeming that he was in the way, Harry moved to stand a bit closer to Snape and Oliver, who were out of the way at the side of the kitchen. Snape had sat Oliver on the countertop near him and father and son appeared to be deep in conversation and Harry didn’t want to interrupt. Besides, talking to Snape was not what he had in mind as an ideal way to pass the time!

Practically before Harry knew what was happening they were all sitting down to eat the meal, and this time he found himself sat in between Robin and Laura. And this time he also found himself encouraged to talk by both Snape and Juliana, both of whom asked him several direct questions. Harry, although extremely uncomfortable, answered the questions the best he could and went back to hoping that the meal would be over soon.

Once the meal was over, Snape gave them all permission to leave and they had free time until they would meet in the den at seven. That would give them an hour and a half to themselves and Harry didn’t know whether he wanted to be invited along with someone or whether he wanted to escape to his room and be by himself to process things for a while. They were all just about to leave, when Snape spoke again. “Harry, if you stay behind and then you and I can have a little talk,” he requested, and Harry noted with some surprise that his tone was kind and gentle, a tone he had never expected to hear from Snape, and especially not directed at him! Harry nodded and stayed in his seat as Snape’s children left the room and Juliana started to stack the dishes in the sink. Harry once again found himself studying the tabletop and desperately wishing that he were someplace else.

Harry continued to stare at the kitchen table for several long minutes which seemed to stretch on for an eternity for him, as Snape silently studied him. Snape finally stood up and made to move toward the door, saying simply, “come, Harry,” and who was Harry to disobey. “We’ll be in my study if you need me,” Snape told Juliana and he gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Harry quickly averted his gaze downwards again. These were things he simply did not want to witness! He followed Snape out into the main hallway and instead of turning left as they left the kitchen, as had been the case to get into the room he was in earlier with Simeon, Oliver and Hazel and the room which Robin had led him to before lunch, they turned right and to a door which Harry had not noticed before to the right of the main staircase.

It was a fairly large room, with two of the walls covered in bookshelves and at a quick glance Harry to see that many of them were potions texts and some on defence against the dark arts. There was a large desk towards one corner, with a comfortable looking arm chair behind it. Pressed against the wall near the desk was a low set of chest of draws, which judging from the cushions on top also doubled over as a seat. Snape sat in the arm chair and he gestured Harry towards the chest of draws and Harry perched awkwardly on the end of a cushion and resisted the urge to bend over slightly and stare at his shoes again. He was alone in a room with Snape, in Snape’s house, surely no good could come out of this! He could think of a hundred other places he would rather be, he would even take a History of Magic lesson with Professor Binns over this! So instead of focussing his attention on his shoes again, Harry looked around the room more closely and found it was quite similar to the rest of the rooms in the house which he had seen, the same oak floorboards, the desk was the same as the one he had in his room only larger, and the bookshelves were made of the same wood as the ones in his room. One the desk a photo frame caught his eye, it was a muggle photograph since it did not move and had obviously been taken a few years ago since neither Oliver nor Hazel were in the picture.

Harry barely managed not to visibly start when Snape handed him a glass of something to drink, and a cautious sip told Harry that it was iced fresh orange juice - despite the way Harry had seen Snape act with his children and wife, he still expected him to poison him at any chance he got and he was almost expecting their to be a horrid aftertaste in his mouth after every sip of orange juice, a sign that there had been a potion mixed in with the drink. The theory was more than likely completely rubbish, Snape was drinking exactly the same thing, but Harry had been so preoccupied with looking around Snape’s study that he had not seen Snape get the drinks, so you never knew…

“So, Harry,” Snape started, and Harry still was not quite comfortable with Snape calling him by his given name, and he supposed that it was for the benefit of Snape’s children, it would not do for them to hear their father addressing him as ‘ Potter’, especially Oliver and Hazel, it would only confuse them. “Are you settling in ok?” Snape asked and Harry simply nodded. “Have there been any problems?” Harry simply shook his head. “Is there anything you wish to ask me?”

Harry could think of at least half a dozen things he wished he could ask, who knows you’re married, how did you manage to get her to marry you, why are you suddenly being so nice to me, does Dumbledore know you have kids… but he could ask none of those things without appearing rude, and as much as this, he loathed to say it, nice, Snape unnerved him, he did not want the old snarky Snape he knew to make a reappearance. He needed something moderately intelligent which would also give him some information to help him survive the summer. Hmmm… Robin seemed to be the boy closest in age with him, so lets start with that. “Ummm… How old is Robin, Sir?” Harry asked quietly, thinking that it wasn’t a very intelligent question, but he knew next to nothing about Snape’s kids and it would be nice to know.

“He’s sixteen, he’ll be going into his sixth year at school,” Snape told him with a small smile and a chuckle. “Anything else?”

“No one else knows, do they?” Harry asked, although it was more of a statement than a question. “That you have a wife and children, I mean,” Harry blurted out, trying to sound respectful.

“No they don’t, not at the moment,” Snape told him and Harry was surprised at how honest he was and also very shocked that Snape had managed to keep this from both Dumbledore and Voldemort, it was quite a feat to pull off. Snape chuckled again, correctly guessing what Harry was thinking from the look of stunned disbelief on his face.

Yes, Harry was stunned that Snape had managed to keep something this big from both Dumbledore and Voldemort for such a long time - how old was Jason? That was probably how long Snape had been hiding this fact, but he and Juliana may have been married a bit before that, oh Harry didn’t know how long Snape had been hiding the fact! - but he was also stunned at hearing his Potions Professor chuckle, and twice! “Umm… are there… any rules… I need to… umm… know about?” Harry stuttered out once he had managed to get his emotions back under control.

Snape seemed to turned serious all of a sudden and Harry suddenly dreaded the long list he was likely to receive and which he knew he would never manage to remember. “Only one,” Snape said, surprising Harry, “do as you’re told when you’re told and mind me and Juliana at all times. Do that and we wont have any problems. The others will inform you of anything else they deem necessary for you to know,” Snape told him.

“Yes Sir,” Harry said, simply because he felt that he had to say something and he had the feeling that an uncomfortable silence was about to descend on the room. He was saved from having to try and start an awkward conversation by a knock on the door. It was Jason.

“Mama said to let you know that I’m taking Dom, Alex and Ol for a walk up to the weir,” Jason informed Snape and Harry wondered how far away it was and wondered whether or not he wanted an invitation. Jason was Snape’s oldest child and Harry did not have a clue of how to act around him.

“Very well,” Snape said. “Why don’t you run along and find an old pair of walking boots that will fit Harry and get one of your old jumpers for him to wear and you can take him along with you and show him some of the area. We’re almost done here.” Jason left the room and Harry knew that neither he nor Jason, Dominic, Alexander and Oliver were getting a choice in the matter. Well, Harry decided, he could do with some fresh air, and if he was going to be spending the summer here then he might as well get to know the area.

“Harry,” Snape drew Harry’s attention back to him, “I don’t expect there to be any problems, but if there are or something is simply bothering you, then you can come to either Juliana or myself,” Snape told him, sounding serious, and well, parental like.

“Yes Sir,” Harry responded, yet he couldn’t see himself going to either Snape or Juliana if there was a problem, he just wasn’t comfortable around them, what he wouldn’t do to be living with Sirius right now, and thinking of Sirius, he was going to have a fit when he heard about him living with Snape. Hang on… was he allowed to send owls? And Hedwig was at Hogwarts… There was no time to ask because Jason was back.

Harry obediently took off his trainers and pulled on the walking boots and with a quick spell, the first magic Harry had seen used in the house, Snape sent his trainers up to his room. He also took the blue jumper that Jason handed to him and pulled it over his head and the white school shirt he was wearing, taking care to pull his collar out and flatten it properly. “Since Harry’s coming with us, so are Carlotta and Robin,” Jason told Snape with a smile, “but Simeon and Laura are going to stay here with Hazel since she’s too small to make the walk on her own.”

Snape smiled back at his oldest child. “Make sure you watch Oliver and don’t go to quick for him, you need to remember that he’s only four.”

“I will, Papa. Ready Harry?” Jason asked and Harry nodded and followed Jason out of the room.

So, five minutes later Harry found himself walking along a country lane, with Carlotta on one side of him, and Robin on the other. “The weir’s about ten more minutes in this direction,” Robin told him “and then about five more minutes and a few steps there’s a bridge over the reservoir which the weir provides the dam for.” Harry nodded in understanding, although he had never seen a reservoir or a weir before, but he understood the directions that Robin was explaining to him.

Harry liked the weir, but he loved the reservoir, the elevated expanse of water - bigger and cleaner than the lake at Hogwarts - and he loved the feeling of the wind in his hair when they all stood on the bridge, Jason holding Oliver and Robin holding Alexander so that they could see over the side of the bridge. This left Harry stood with Dominic and Carlotta, Harry predictably standing in the middle. They pointed out the boats to him on the far side of the reservoir. “Have you ever been sailing, Harry?” Carlotta asked. Harry shook his head - not unless you counted arriving at Hogwarts in first year, but he was pretty certain that Carlotta was talking about muggle sailing. “We’ll have to teach you then. Papa often comes with us,” Carlotta said. Harry wanted to learn to sail, but spending extra time with Snape was definitely not at the top of his to-do list!

“We’ll have to teach Harry what, Carlotta?” Jason asked.

“To sail!” Carlotta answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “He’s never been before.”

“We definitely will then,” Robin said. “We don’t want Harry missing out on all the fun this summer.” Harry grinned at Robin, he knew that sailing was definitely going to be part of the summer agenda now, and he couldn’t wait. It promised to be fun, and he’s never had a whole summer that could be described as fun, thanks to the Dursley’s. Sure, there had been fun times at the Weasley’s and Diagon Alley, but that was only for part of the summer, but now the summer was only just beginning, and it was promising to be good, even if he was spending it with Snape!

“Come on, we’d better head back,” Jason said, putting Oliver down and taking his hand. “Papa will be mad if we’re late.”

No kidding, Harry thought dryly with a roll of his eyes, which Robin caught, causing him to smirk at him as he placed Alexander on the ground. Carlotta once again stuck next to Harry, but Harry found himself not minding, being older than Carlotta he somehow felt more comfortable with her and he was willing to lend an ear and listen to her stories about sailing in previous summers, with Dominic inserting odd comments here and there as well. They were about five minutes walk from the house to Harry’s best estimate, when Jason suddenly picked up Oliver and said, “run!” as he took off in the direction of the house. Robin, Harry, Carlotta, Dominic and Alexander followed him, realising that the darkness which had started to fall was not the approaching dusk, it was too early if you stopped and thought about it, but rain clouds and that it was threatening to pour down, which it quickly did. Robin had Alexander tightly by the hand as they ran and he reached out for Carlotta’s hand as well. Harry did not know how old Dominic was, but he felt a hand slide into his and he grasped it tightly, helping Dominic run after Robin, Alexander and Carlotta, and Harry was glad to realise that he could see the forms of Jason and Oliver not too far in front of Robin, Alexander and Carlotta.

They all crashed through the door into the kitchen dripping wet and in a muddled heap, despite the fact that they had only been caught in the rain for a few minutes and Juliana handed out towels and Dominic finally left loose of Harry’s hand. Simeon, Laura and Hazel were all sat at the kitchen table, and it was clear that Simeon was trying very hard not to dissolve into laughter. Harry unlaced the walking boots he had been given and managed to toe them off, briskly rubbing the towel he had been handed through his hair. “Right, give me your wet shoes and then get upstairs and into some dry clothes,” Juliana told them and they all done as they were told. Snape had told him to mind himself and Juliana, but he had not mentioned the consequences of not doing so, and if he was truthful, Harry did not want to know.

Once in his room, Harry quickly stripped out of his wet clothes and dumped them in the hamper in the corner of the room near his wash basin. He then grabbed the towel from the rail next to the wash basin and quickly dried himself down and then went to see what clothes he could put on now - all the clothes he now had were hand-me-downs from Robin, which was a vast improvement from hand-me-downs from Dudley, since the clothes from Robin were much more likely to fit. He selected a pair of blue cords and a cream long sleeved, V-neck jumper, which was supposed to be worn like a t-shirt - with nothing underneath it. There was a knock at the door and Harry walked over and answered it, surprised to find Dominic instead of Robin or Carlotta. Harry smiled at him and seeing how Dominic only had his socks on, he guessed he need not bother with his trainers, and indeed, when a door further down the corridor opened to reveal Robin, he too only had socks on, so Harry’s mind was at rest. Both Harry and Dominic waited for Robin to come down the hall to them, clearly there was not running inside the house and Harry casting a quick glance around his room to check that everything was in it’s place and that it was tidy before pulling the door shut. “Hey, Mama’s gave away my favourite jumper,” Robin teased when he reached them and Harry barely resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at him.

“You know full well that that jumper doesn’t fit you anymore, Robin,” Dominic stated. “Mama’s been trying to get it away from you for ages!”

“Yeah, but you’re so small it wouldn’t fit you,” Robin needled, and Dominic did stick his tongue out at his older brother and Robin responded likewise and Harry didn’t even try to stop his laughter.

“Yeah, but unluckily for you, it does fit Harry. And it’s not my fault your seven years older than me, I’m supposed to be smaller that you,” Dominic responded. Right then, Robin was seven years older than Dominic, so if Robin was sixteen that would make Dominic, sixteen minus seven is… nine! Dominic was nine, two years younger than Carlotta.

The three made their way downstairs and to the den where they had sat at the beginning of the day. They still had fifteen minutes of free time left so they were the only three in the room, but it wasn’t long before Carlotta entered the room. Harry noticed that, although Robin had been invited to sit on the couch next to Snape that morning, he didn’t assume that he could now and he was sat on the rug along with Harry, Dominic and Carlotta. There was something different about Carlotta, Harry thought, and it took him a moment to realise that her hair was down, and not tied into the two plaits that it had been earlier, but she did have a hairbrush and her hair ribbons with her, so no doubt it would be tied back again soon enough. Indeed it was, Laura entered the room not two minutes later and she brushed and braided Carlotta’s hair back into two different kind of plaits from earlier and Harry managed to recognise then as scalp plaits. It might just of been him, but it looked painful, but Carlotta did not complain once. When down, Harry noticed that Carlotta’s hair was long, it fell to her mid-back, but he noticed that Laura’s plaits were longer than Carlotta’s, so it followed that her hair had to be longer and Harry couldn’t help but wonder how long it was.

It was not long until Jason and Simeon entered the room, accompanied by both Alexander and Oliver and they did sit down on the couch and Alexander joined the others on the rug, but Oliver was pulled to sit up on Jason’s knee and Harry realised that Oliver was dressed in his pyjamas. Snape and Juliana entered with Hazel five minutes later, Hazel also wearing a nightdress and was sat on Juliana’s knee and Snape was holding a book. Clearly this was the whole Snape-reading-to-them-before-bedtime scenario which Hazel had spoken of earlier. Harry was not surprised to discover that the book was to be a muggle one - it was Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson - and Harry found it extremely interesting. Snape read until eight o’clock and Harry found himself lost in the story and he hadn’t realised how pleasant Snape’s voice could sound in certain situations. At eight o’clock Snape and Juliana took Oliver and Hazel up to bed and Robin, Laura, Carlotta, Dominic and Alexander also stood to leave, heading towards the stairs, and Harry took his cue from Robin and left with them. Robin quietly explained on the way upstairs, “after eight o’clock we all have to stay in our rooms, reading, writing, whatever, just generally unwinding an getting ready for bed. Lights out for me is ten o’clock, I’m not sure about you, you’re younger, you’d better ask Papa,” and then Robin slipped into his room and Harry needed to find Snape.

He went into his own room and left his door open so that he could hopefully catch Snape on his way back downstairs. Hearing Juliana and Snape talking quietly further along the hallway, Harry went and stood nervously in his doorway. “Sir?” he tried quietly and Snape came into his room as Juliana carried on down the stairs. “Robin said I should ask you what time my lights out is,” he said quietly.

“Hmm…” Snape appeared to be thinking for a minute. “Quarter to ten,” he finally answered, “I don’t expect to see any light or you up and out of bed after that time, understood?”

“Yes Sir,” Harry answered quietly.

“Very well then. Good night Harry,” Snape bade him.

“Good night, Sir,” Harry replied. He had just bade Snape goodnight! Oh well, it had been the polite thing to do. Harry walked across the room and shut his dark blue curtains before dropping onto his bed with a sigh. It had been a very long day. Deciding to change into his pyjamas then, Harry done just that and turned the main light in the room off, just leaving the lamp on the nightstand on and collapsing onto his bed - above the duvet - on his stomach, he took the plain muggle notebook out of the draw of the nightstand, flipped to the first page which was as blank as the rest of the book, picked up a biro pen and began to write.

He wrote for what seemed like a long time, and when Harry next checked his watch he saw that it was quarter past nine, he had half an hour before lights out. Feeling nice and relaxed he replaced the notebook into the draw and then padded across the room to the bookshelf and picked up the copy of Hogwarts, A History and decided that he would read until lights out. Once his half an hour was up, he dutifully returned it’s book to it’s place on the shelf and then crawled into the bed, which was nice and soft. He idly wondered whether or not any one - meaning Snape or Juliana - would check to see if he was in bed and that his light was turned out. At the beginning of the day, Harry would of argued that the bedtime was much to early, but now that it was his bedtime he found his eyes beginning to drift close and he was powerless to resist and he succumbed to sleep.

Harry woke the next day when he heard someone go down the stairs. Squinting at the clock on his bedside table he saw that it was only 6.15 and he rolled back over, pulling his bed covers more tightly around himself. Despite the fact that it was summer, he was cold. He didn't go fully back to sleep, but merely dosed on and off, in a half awake, half asleep state, until Jason came into his room at 6.45 and told him that it was time to get up and that breakfast was at 7.30, so he had time to shower before hand.

After Jason had shown him where the shower was, Harry gathered the clothes he wanted to wear together, making sure to include a hooded sweatshirt. He was really enjoying wearing hand-me-downs from Robin, as opposed to hand-me-downs from Dudley, and they were the first clothes apart from his school uniform and his Weasley jumpers that actually fit him. The nice warm shower did make him feel a bit better and warmer, and he had had the water so hot that his glasses were steamed up, but he still pulled the blue sweatshirt on, still feeling a slight chill.

Making his way down to the kitchen a few minutes later, Harry saw that Oliver looked as bad he was feeling, and was clearly acting fussy. Snape had placed him in a chair and told him to be quiet and to stop distracting his mother, and Harry figured that the small boy must not be fully awake yet. In many ways Harry saw the Potions Professor he knew from Hogwarts in Snape’s actions and words to Oliver, but in other ways he was very different, with a mellower, gentler feel to his actions. Taking a seat on the opposite side of the table, it was now no surprise when Carlotta came and sat next to him. Everyone seemed very quiet this morning, and Oliver at least did not look very happy and Harry started to get a really bad feeling about the day. Breakfast was a quiet affair and Harry found that he couldn't eat much, he simply wasn't hungry. Not many people ate much, but Harry didn't notice, not feeling fully awake himself, although on reflection later he wondered why Snape and Juliana had not made people eat everything that was on their plates. After his introduction to the way the Snape family worked yesterday, he would have assumed that that was one of the unspoken rules. After breakfast everyone went their different ways and Harry found himself in a small sitting room with Robin, Carlotta and Hazel, of whom Robin had the job of looking after. None of them felt like doing much, Hazel was amusing herself with a teddy bear and Robin had had gotten out a collection of football magazines and told Harry to feel free to look at them, and Carlotta was curled up reading a book. It was a quiet, restful morning, something that Harry felt he needed and at times he found himself almost falling asleep.

Before he knew it, it was lunch time and everyone once again gathered in the kitchen, to the news that Oliver was in bed, with the flu, caught from the rainstorm which had soaked them the evening before. Harry noticed at this announcement that Jason looked slightly guilty, but felt pretty certain that Snape would not blame his oldest son for his youngest son getting sick because he got caught in a rainstorm whilst he was in charge. No one could have predicted that rainstorm, and Jason had done his best to get them all inside before the worst of the storm hit, and he had mostly succeeded. But this was Snape, so you never knew, Harry completely did not know what to expect from his Professor, he had no idea of how to react to his teacher acting so different from what he was used to. He had not really stopped to think about how his teacher felt about having one of his least favourite students suddenly invading his private life.

Lunch was another almost silent affair, although this time everyone was made to eat everything that was on their plates and Harry barely managed to choke his down. He was not hungry and his throat was beginning to hurt, but he somehow managed because he did not want to know the consequences of disobeying this new head-of -the-family father-figure Snape and because the food was good, possibly even better than Hogwarts food, and certainly better than what he was used to at the Dursley’s house. Once everyone had finished eating, Laura and Carlotta cleared the table and started to wash the dishes, with Simeon being told to help them, as Juliana took Hazel upstairs to put her down for a nap and Snape went to check on Oliver. Harry escaped from kitchen and upstairs to his room, not really feeling in the mood for company, although he did wish he had one of the football magazines that Robin had lent him earlier, he just wanted some quiet time to be by himself and reading a magazine would be the perfect excuse. He stretched out on his bed, enjoying the coolness of the pillow and decided to just shut his eyes for a moment.

The next thing that Harry could remember clearly, was someone’s cool hand touching his forehead. He didn’t remember where he was, or what had happened. He struggled to open his eyes and sit up, but was gently and firmly pushed back down. “Easy, now,” someone told him, in a voice that was vaguely familiar. “You’ve not been very well.” And with that, Harry let his eyes close again as he drifted back off to seep. The next time he woke his head was a lot clearer and he didn’t feel so fuzzy anymore. It wasn’t so dark anymore, either. This time he was alone in the room and he pushed himself into a sitting position and stretched to reach the nightstand so that he could get his glasses. Putting his glasses on the room came clearly into view for what seemed to be the first time in a long time, and as he saw his ‘Potter for President’ banner on the wall he remembered that he was staying at Professor Snape’s house for the summer. He looked at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was just gone nine o’clock in the morning. He certainly hadn’t been allowed to sleep in yesterday morning, he remembered that much about living with the Snape’s, so why had he been allowed to now? He didn’t really feel steady enough to get up out of bed to investigate this mystery, so he lay back down against his pillows and gazed towards the window, even though the curtains were shut.

He must had dozed back off because the next thing he knew he was waking up again, and Professor Snape was sat on the edge of his bed. ”Sir?” Harry tried to say, but it came out as more of a croak, as his throat was very dry and quite sore.

“You’re awake,” Professor Snape stated the obvious, but who was Harry to call him out on it? “Here, drink this,” and he passed Harry a cup with some clear looking liquid in it. The liquid was just water, but four years worth of experience at school had taught Harry to be wary of Snape, and now he was wondering whether or not he had simply dreamt the last two days at Snape’s house, where Snape had a family and was actually nice, because Snape had simply drugged him when he had found out that he was going to have to play babysitter for the summer holidays! “How are you feeling now?” Snape asked gently. Or maybe not… Snape still seemed to be acting nice enough.

“A bit strange,” Harry managed to answer truthfully, after taking another sip of water. He struggled to sit up properly in bed, and Snape lent over to help him.

“That’s to be expected,” his Potions Professor told him. “You’ve had the same touch of flu that Oliver had, after getting caught in the rain the other night.” Oliver? He was Snape’s youngest son, so it looked like he hadn’t dreamed all of Snape’s family up after all. “You’ve slept most of it off now though, and I’ve given you a fever reducing potion.” Harry just nodded. “You should try and stay awake for a while though, if you’re feeling up to it, otherwise you’ll never sleep tonight.”

“Yes Sir,” Harry acquiesced quietly. He still wasn’t used to Snape sounding so parental. He wasn’t used to Snape sounding parental with his own children, never mind when it was directed towards himself!

Snape patted him on the shoulder and then stood up to leave. Once he got to the door he turned round and looked at Harry once more. “I’ll send Robin up, if you feel like company.”

“Yes please, Sir.” Harry didn’t particularly feel like sitting in his room by himself.

“Very well then, but you need to stay in bed and don’t get too excited or worked up,” his Professor told him sternly, sounding every bit like a school teacher and a father or nine, and Harry had a sudden, fleeting wish that he would act like this at Hogwarts. With that, Snape was gone, and Harry awaited the arrival of Robin, who he sensed was going to become his closest friend out of all of Snape’s children.

Robin arrived not long after, carrying two glasses of pumpkin juice. Harry took his gratefully and idly watched as Robin tugged his desk chair over towards the bed. “Mind if I open the curtains, Harry?” he asked.

“Not at all,” Harry told him, although he had to squint slightly as sunlight flooded the room.

“So, how are you feeling?” Robin asked him, settling down in the desk chair.

“Better than I was,” Harry told him. He then looked down at the bed covers, before admitting, somewhat shyly; “I was starting to think I had been delirious and had imagined Professor Snape having children!”

To his immense relief Robin just laughed. “Yeah, from what we’ve heard from Mama and Papa, Papa acts pretty differently at Hogwarts.”

It was still strange to hear Snape being referred to as Papa… “That’s the understatement of the century!” Harry told Robin. “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would never have thought it possible for Professor Snape to act how he does!”

Robin laughed again, and Harry joined in, although his laughing soon turned into coughing. Robin looked on, slightly worried. “We’d better calm down,” he told Harry, “Papa warned me not to over-excite you as you’re still recovering.”

“Yeah, I got the same warning as well,” Harry told him, dabbing at his eyes with the edge of his sleeve, as they had starting to water when he was coughing.

“Yeah, but it’ll be me who gets in trouble with Papa,” Robin told him, “especially as you’re ill.”

“It wouldn’t stop the Professor Snape I know from having a go at me!” Harry told him with a small smile, but he saw the shocked look on Robin’s face and began to realise that although Snape’s children knew that he behaved differently around other people, the clearly didn’t know how differently. Harry began to wonder how much they knew about their Father’s background at all… especially the death eater part of it. Because he really didn’t want to tell Robin anything which his parent’s didn’t want him knowing, which was a really strange thought, considering that Robin was older than him, and it was his parents, not Harry’s, that they were on about here. “But we’re not at Hogwarts now, so you never know,” Harry added to brush over the awkward situation.

“Yeah,” Robin agreed, also sensing how awkward it was and he looked around Harry’s room to try and find inspiration for a different topic of conversation. “So, what are you running for President for?” he asked, spotting the banner.

“Oh,” Harry said with a laugh. “It’s a banner my friends made for my first Quidditch match.”

“You play Quidditch?” Robin asked eagerly.

“Yeah, I’m Seeker for Gryffindor’s team. Do you play?”

“Usually I play Chaser. What type of broom do you have?” Clearly, like him, Robin could talk on and on about Quidditch, so Harry settled in for an enjoyable morning of talking about his favourite sport. Being ill didn’t seem quite so bad at the moment!

"We play quite a bit," Robin told him, "but we play more at school than we do at home, as Alex, Olllie and Hazel are really still too little to play."

The conversation didn’t go any further, as the door opened again, and Snape entered. "Run along downstairs now Robin, and help your sister look after Hazel please," Snape requested of his third born.

"Yes, Papa," Robin replied, but Harry knew that there was no way that Robin, or any of Snape’s other children for that matter, would ever disobey him. One thing that Harry could definitely say about Snape now was that his children were incredibly well behaved.

Once Robin had left, tucking Harry’s desk chair back under his desk for him as he went, Snape came and perched on the edge of Harry’s bed, lightly resting a hand on his forehead again. "How are you feeling now, Harry?" he asked gently.

Harry still wasn’t used to Snape referring to him as 'Harry'. "Better, Sir," he managed to answer, although his voice was still croaky and he knew that his throat still wasn’t quite right.

"Yes, your temperatures gone down, that’s a good thing. I’ll give you another potion to help sooth your throat, and then I want you to rest for a bit," Snape told him. Harry took the potion without any argument, and then gratefully took off his glasses and sank back into his pillow, closing his eyes. He was almost asleep before Snape left the room, but he still heard his Potions Professor say "I’ll have someone come check up on you in an hour or so, I don’t want you to sleep for too long, but just rest for now, Harry." Yep, Harry could definitely get used to having this new, nicer Snape around.

It was Jason who entered his room in an hour’s time, when Harry was only half awake. He sat up in bed and put his glasses on, but he didn’t say anything. Jason had barely spoke to him before and Harry half hoped that he wouldn’t stay for long. He’d stay awake, but he wasn’t sure he wanted Jason’s company. It was just too awkward. "I’ll make sure that someone comes and eats dinner with you," Jason told Harry as he did leave the room. Harry felt bad for feeling as relieved as he did when Jason left the room. But Jason was Snape's oldest son. And that made him someone who Harry didn't know how to act around. Jason wasn't really a child anymore, and Professor Snape and his wife treated him differently to the younger children, as they did Simeon, and to a lesser extent, Robin, but Jason was still Professor Snape's child.

It was Juliana who came and sat with him when he had his dinner, and Harry didn't know if he would actually prefer Jason's company! Juliana didn't eat anything, the family must have already ate. Harry ate as much of his stew as he could, feeling uncomfortable the entire time. He hoped it didn't show on his face. Once finished, he let Juilana brush aside his fringe and take his temprature. "How are you feeling now?" she asked gently. It was very maternal, and Harry was not used to such attention, not even from Mrs Weasley.

"Okay," Harry told her, not wanting to complain about anything. And he really didn't feel all that ill anymore, he just felt strange living with Snape's family, and knowing all these secrets about his Potions Professor. He knew things that not even Professor Dumbledore knew, and he assumed that Voldemort didn't know either.

"You sure?" she questioned with a small smile, and he nodded. "Do you want anything before I have to go back downstairs and check if Severus has managed to destroy the kitchen instead of tidying it up?"

Harry couldn't help but to give a small laugh at that, despite how awkward he felt. He couldn't imagine his teacher ever managing to destroy anything. "I'm okay, Mrs Snape," he answered. "I may read a book for bit," he told her.

She gave him another smile, and walked across to his book shelf. "Which one would you like?" she asked him.

"Erm... Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland, please," he replied after thinking for a moment.

"Another Quidditch fan in the house I take it?" she asked him as she handed him the book.

"Yes," he responded with a small smile, whilst propping his pillow up behind him and opening his book.

"Just either give myself or Severus a call if you need anything," she told him as she left the room and Harry nodded, although he knew that he wouldn't do anything of the sort. He'd be able to survive with nothing else until morning. He might get bored of reading, but he'd survive. He's survivied summer holidays at the Dursley's house, and as much as he had never thought that it would be the case that spending the holidays with Snape was better, it certainly was.

Professor Snape himself brought his a cup of tea and another potion at about eight thirty in the evening, when Harry had got bored of his book and was staring idly out of the window. Harry gratefully sipped at his tea to get rid of the after taste of the potion as Professor Snape closed the curtains and turned on the lamp. Now he was going to have to read some more if he wanted something to do. He placed his book back onto his lap whilst still warming his hands on his teacup, and lazily turned another page. He didn't actually do anymore reading though, as Professor Snape pulled out his desk chair, and sat down on it near to the bed. "How are you Harry?" he asked, and Harry noted that he wasn't asked how he was feeling, but how he was in general. And knowing his Potions Professor, that would have been done deliberately.

"I'm fine Sir," he answered. "I feel a lot better."

"Yes, your temprature is down to normal," Professor Snape commented. "And you sound and look a lot better." Harry offered him a small smile for a second, really not knowing how to respond. This was going to be as bad, if not worse, than the talk on rules they had had in the study on his first night here. He just knew it was. "Juliana metnioned that you didn't seem entirely happy earlier," his Professor told him. "And considering that you don't seem that ill anymore, it must be something else," Snape continued. Harry tried not to gape at him, he really didn't like the sound of this. "Is there anything you wish to talk about?" his Professor finished by asking.

"No Sir," Harry told him quietly. There was lots he wanted to talk about, but he didn't want to talk to his most hated Professor about them. He wanted to talk to Ron and Hermione really, they'd understand and be able to help him. Not even Robin would be able to do that since he hadn't been at Hogwarts for the last four years. Harry expected his teacher to be annoyed or frustrated at his seeming unwillingness to talk, but he had forgot that the man sat at the side of his bed was not really the teacher he had seen for the last four years, but was instead the father of nine.

"Very well," Professor Snape acquisced, patting him on the knee. And that was one of the strangest things which had ever happened to him. "But you know where both Juliana and I are if you need us."

Harry nodded. "Yes Sir."

"I stand by what I said they other evening, you can come to Juliana or myself about anything," Professor Snape told him. "And we'll do whatever we can to help."

"Thank you," Harry managed to reply. But he couldn't see the day when he went to Snape for advice or help coming anytime soon.

Professor Snape placed Harry's chair back under his desk and made to leave. He paused in the doorway and looked back at the Gryffindor student. "Your bedtime remains the same, but I would suggest getting an early night, you're still recovering," he advised.

"Yes Sir," Harry responded obediently.

"Goodnight Harry," Professor Snape bade him.

"Goodnight Professor," Harry replied quietly. He didn't read much longer, but whether it was due to boredom or tiredness thath he decided to go to sleep he didn't know. But he was going to need his strength tomorrow to get through another day of living with Snape's family. But he didn't really mean it like that, they were all really nice, and he was looking forward to getting to know Robin better. But he was going to need his strength to get his head around the fact he was living with Snape's family. But if the situation wasn't going to hurt him, or put him in danger, he didn't see much point in worrying about it. At least not until it him him full force again that he was living with Snape and his family. But for now he was too sleepy to be bothered by the fact that Professor Snape had a family.

Harry felt almost fully recovered when he awoke in his room at the Snape's house the next day. But a quick glance at the clock told him that he'd been allowed to lie in, so he must have slept a lot. And someone must have checked on him. He didn't really know what to do now. He was really comfy, and he couldn't decide if he actually wanted to get out of bed or not. He stayed in bed in the end, as if he got out of bed, he had no idea what to do then. So he snuggled back down under the covers to rest for a little longer. About half an hour later there was a light knock on the door, and Juliana entered. "Are you awake, Harry?" she asked quietly.

Harry pushed himself into a sitting position in bed, and put his glasses on. "Just about," he replied, with a small smile.

Juliana reached over to lay a hand on his forehead and check his temperature. "Back to normal," she told him with a smile. "I'll bring you up something to eat, then you can take a shower and join us downstairs in a little bit," she instructed him. Clearly this wasn't up for debate. And she was Snape's wife, so Harry wasn't about to even question or disobey. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was staying with his Potions Professor for the summer, and if he was going to survive the holidays then he was going to have to do as he was told.

Juliana brought him a tray with some warm buttered toast and a small bowl of strawberries along with a glass of orange juice on it. She sat with him while he ate, and Harry found that he was able to eat everything on the tray easily, so he didn't need to worry about that rule. Not that he had ever been told out loud that that was a rule, but he was assuming it was. It certainly seemed to be. Juliana gave him another kind smile when he had finished. "Take a shower and then join us downstairs Harry," she told him as she picked up his tray. "It's a nice day outside."

Harry done as instructed, grabbing the most light weight pair of jeans he had and a grey t-shirt. He lingered a little in the shower, attempting to delay having to go downstairs. But he turned the water off soon enough and got dressed. He did run a brush through his hair, but when he looked in the mirror he knew it didn't look like he had. He really needed a haircut, but that could be dealt with once he got back to school, Hermione was always good with details like that. He knew that both himself and Ron wouldn't survive the school year without her. He really missed his friends, and even though he was pretty certain that he could now consider Robin as a friend, it wasn't the same as with Ron and Hermione. They were his best friends, and he could tell them anything and they would understand. So in a way he was dreading the start of the new school year when he would see them again. He had so much that he would have to conceal. And he would have to be really careful about it, because Hermione was incredibly intuitive, and if she sensed something was even slightly off about him then he knew she wouldn't let it go.

Finally he could delay it no longer, and he slowly made his way out of his room and down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. The house was fairly quiet, and Juliana hadn't told him where to go when he did come downstairs. There was no one in the kitchen, so he made his way to the room where he had coloured with Simeon, Oliver and Hazel on his first day here. The patio doors where open allowing sunlight to stream into the room, and out on the decking outside where Laura and Hazel. Not knowing what else to do, Harry went to join them, attempting to gather some Gryffindor courage as he went. Laura had barely said a word to him since he had arrived and Harry didn't really know what to make of her. Hazel was just a cutie though, and her face lit up into a huge smile as she saw him approaching. "Hello Harry," it was Laura who greeted him though.

"Hi," he responded quietly, and Laura gestured for him to take a seat next to her at the garden table. Harry noticed that Laura had a book with her, and that Hazel was occupied with a colouring book again.

"How are you feeling?" Laura asked him, and Harry didn't know if she actually cared, or if she was just being polite.

"A lot better," he told her, just about truthfully. Physically he did feel loads better, but emotionally he was pretty much all over the place. "How's Oliver?" he asked as a bit of an afterthought.

"He's fine," Laura informed him. "He's off playing with Alex and Dom."

"They say I'm too little to join in," Hazel interrupted them, pouting slightly.

Harry didn't know how to respond, and he bit his lip not wanting to laugh and upset Hazel. Laura did giggle slightly. "You won't always be Hazel," she told her sister lightly. Hazel was still pouting slightly. "And you know they'll probably play with you later," Snape's oldest daughter continued. "We've got the whole summer to play together." Hazel looked slightly happier now, and picked up a different coloured pencil, frowning down at her picture in concentration. Laura glanced over at Harry and gave him a shy smile, fiddling with her book. She obviously didn't want to continue reading and appear rude, but it was pretty obvious that she was feeling as awkward as he was. Where was Robin? Harry could really do with him appearing round about now. As much as Robin wasn't the same as being with Ron and Hermione, or even with Neville, Ginny, Dean or Seamus, he was starting to get quite comfortable around the older boy.

Hazel finished colouring in her picture, and showed it to Laura for approval, who immediately gave praise to her younger sister. Hazel then showed it to Harry. "It's very pretty, Hazel," Harry told her, for lack of anything better to say. And he was hardly about to criticise any of Snape's children, let alone his youngest child who had seemed to have taken a bit of a liking to him.

Hazel had just turned to a new picture when Laura spoke up again. "Why don't we take a break from colouring and show Harry the garden, Hazel?" she suggested. Hazel eagerly climbed down from her chair and appeared next to her sisters chair as quickly as a small child could. Laura turned to Harry. "Would you like to see the garden?" she asked.

"Sounds great," Harry told her, even though there was no way he would be able to say no, since it would upset Hazel. He and Laura stood up from their chairs, and Hazel took Laura's hand as they headed out onto the grass. Off to the right Harry to see the gate which lead to the lane they had walked down on his first night to get to the reservoir, but most of the rest of the garden stretched off to the left. The walked along in silence for a bit, going slowly at Hazel's pace. The lawn was huge, and Harry could see some fields behind, most of them covered in gorgeous green grass and separated by beautiful stone walls. In one field he could make out the figures of Dominic, Alexander and Oliver running around playing some sort of game and the sound of laughter reached their ears. They were walking along a stone wall which was in line with the right hand end of the Snape's property, and the field that the youngest boys were playing in was on the right hand side of that wall, with the lane forming the top border of it, up near to the property. The started to veer to the left and Harry was surprised to see how far away from the house they had come, most of the landscape was pretty flat. "This place is huge," Harry said to no one in particular, but Laura chuckled.

"I guess we're just used to it," she told him. "We do own the land further back as well," she went on to inform him, "but I don't want to go too far from the house." Harry just nodded, trying to take it all in. Just how wealthy was Snape? This was simply unbelieveable. Laura was talking to him again. "If we keep walking this way in a loop then we'll come to Mama's flower garden and Papa's greenhouses." Harry just nodded. "And the swimming pool," she added on as an afterthought.

Harry's mind was reeling. They had a swimming pool? This was England, it didn't get that hot in summer, surely it didn't get used much? True this summer did seem exceptionally warm, but no one had mentioned a swimming pool to him. Not that he was that bothered, he wasn't the best swimmer in the world. He still didn't really know how he had survived the second task last year. Thinking of the Triwizard Tournament was always a mistake, as it brought up unwanted memories. He stared determinedly at the ground as they walked for a little and tried to calm himself down. He hoped that Laura didn't notice that something was wrong. He started paying attention to his surroundings again when the greenhouses came into view. The weren't so unlike the ones in which they had Herbology lessons at Hogwarts, although on a slightly smaller scale. The could see a figure coming out of one of the greenhouses, and Harry didn't know if he was glad to see Professor Snape or not. Hazel left loose of her older sisters hand and ran towards her father, who scooped her up and swung her around before sitting her on his hip. "Me and Laura have been showing Harry the garden," Harry heard her tell Snape as he and Laura approached his Potions Professor.

"Very good," Snape praised her. As soon as Harry was close enough, his teached reached out a hand to touch his forehead. Had he not spoken to his wife, who had said Harry's temparature was back to normal this morning? Harry didn't say anything. Snape set Hazel back down on her feet, but kept hold of her hand. "Let's head back to the house," he told them. "It'll be lunchtime soon."

"Okay Papa," Hazel replied, skipping along next to her father as she held his hand. Harry and Laura followed them in an uncomfortable silence. Laura had actually spoken to him more this morning than she had during the entirety of his stay so far, but Harry didn't know if that was because she wanted to, or if she was just being polite. And he definately wasn't about to ask.

Carlotta and Simeon where in the kitchen when they arrived back there. "Go on upstairs and clean up for lunch please," Snape said and Harry had no idea who he was addressing but he was assuming that he was included. "Simeon please take Hazel with you," his teacher continued, and Harry figured that he was probably speaking to all of them.

The cool water did feel good on his face as he got cleaned up in his room. Juliana had been right when she had told him that it was a lovely day this morning. If anything, it was too hot for Harry's tastes, especially as he didn't own a pair of shorts. If only he could do magic outside of school. Id he could he would have considered using the severing charm Ron had used on his dress robes for the Yule Ball last year to turn one of his pairs of jeans into shorts. But he couldn't, so he'd just have to get on with it. He saw no reason to delay in his room, so he made his way back down to the kitchen. He had thought he had heard more footsteps coming up the stairs and down the hallway while he was washing his face, and it was probably the other children coming upstairs to clean up as well.

He was the first one back down to the kitchen, and only Professor Snape was in there. He turned towards Harry when he heard him enter the kitchen. "How are you feeling Harry?" his Professor asked.

"Good, sir," Harry told him. "I feel a lot better."

"Be sure to let myself or Juliana know if you do need anything though, or if you happen to feel worse," Snape reminded him.

"I will, Sir," Harry lied, knowing that he would never do such a thing. Professor Dumbledore might have not given either himself or Professor Snape a choice in this summers living arrangements, but Harry was determined not to be indebted to his Potions teacher anymore than he had to. Even if his teacher was offering all of these things freely. At least Harry thought they were been offered freely, he hadn't considered the fact that he may be made to pay when he got back to Hogwarts. He didn't have time to ponder on that thought anymore, or to continue being questioned by his teacher, as Jason and Robin clattered into the kitchen.

"Hiya Harry," Robin greeted him. "It's good to see you out of bed."

"Hey Robin," Harry replied, glad to see the other boy. Hopefully Robin would allow him to tag along with him after lunch so that he might have a bit of time to be able to relax, instead of feeling on edge all of the time. The took seats next to each other at the table, and Harry was a little surprised when Dominic came and sat on the other side of him. But after the way he had seen Robin and Dominic interact the other night, he guessed they were pretty close. Despite what must be a very large age gap between Jason and Hazel, the entire family seemed pretty close.

"Will you be well enough to play outside this afternoon?" Dominic was asking him, and Harry forced himself to pay attention.

"I should be," Harry told the younger boy, hoping that he didn't sound as unsure as he felt. How in the world was he supposed to play with Snape's younger children? When he had been informed that he would be spending the summer with Professor Snape he hadn't dreamed that it would turn out to be as complicated as it was!

"What did you have in mind Dom?" Robin was asking from the other side of him.

"I was thinking about getting the garden boules set out," Dominic said.

"Good idea," Robin told him. "And everyone can have a go at that." Harry had to admit that it didn't sound like a bad way to spend the afternoon.

"Will you and Mama come and play as well Papa?" Dominic questioned Snape.

"I'm sure we could be persuaded to have a few games," Snape told his son with a smile. It suddenly wasn't sounding like such a good way to spend a summers afternoon to Harry. How was he supposed to play a game with Snape?! This was his evil bat of a Potions teacher. The one who didn't have kids, and most certainly did not play games with them! Harry was debating pretending to feel ill just to get out of the afternoon. Surely it would be better to hide away from the world in his bedroom lazing about in bed? He didn't really want to go outside and play boules with Robin and Dominic and any other of Snape's children, right? And he didn't care that he's be letting Dominic down if he did chicken out, right? And Dominic wouldn't be disappointed if he did say that he didn't feel up to it, right? After all, he must only have asked out of politeness because of how Snape and his wife had brought him up. No one in the Snape family could actually want his around this summer, correct? He was just getting in the way during the little time they had together. Harry had never been so confused in his life. And it was all over if he wanted to play a game this afternoon. That was just crazy. He was used to his life being pretty crazy, he was the Boy-Who-Lived afterall, but this just took the biscuit. But he'd worry about that after lunch. He just needed to take things one step at a time.

Harry couldn't bring himself to come up with an excuse not to go outside once lunch was over, not when Dominic turned to him with such an expectant smile. So he found himself outside with all of the Snape children apart from Hazel after the noon meal. Hazel had been taken to have a nap before she could join her older brothers and sisters and Harry outside. Dominic had ran off with Alexander to get the boules, and Harry found himself collapsed on the ground beneath a huge old oak tree with the other children. Robin stretched out on his back in the sun, and Carlotta, in a pretty pink sun dress, lay down next to him. Harry lay back as well, but he stayed in the shade under the tree. He let his eyes drift closed and he felt really relaxed, for what was probably the first time since he had come to live with the Snape family.

He heard Dominic and Alexander clatter back, but he didn't open his eyes. He was feeling too content to even move. He heard Jason tell the three youngest boys to have a couple of games by themselves, and that the rest of them would join them in a little bit after they had finished relaxing after lunch. Harry was suddenly very glad of Jason, and he kept his eyes shut, letting his mind wander. He could still feel the heat of the day, even if he was in the shade, and he would admit that this was nice. He had never had a summer like it. He had never had time to just relax in the sun, and he had never had other children around, to well, play with. At the age of fourteen, and very nearly fifteen, he was probably too old to spend all summer playing, but it didn't seem to matter here. And right now he was perfectly content to be lazy, although it helped that Robin and Carlotta were so close by. He was still taking a lot of his cues from them, particularly from Robin.

Harry thought that he may have napped for a while, he definitely wasn’t fully wake and aware of his surroundings for a period, but when he was fully alert again he was glad that Robin was still laid next to him. Laura was still with them under the tree as well, but Carlotta wasn’t. Harry propped himself up on his elbows and watched Carlotta play with her younger brothers, she was really patient while helping Oliver play.

Dominic and Alexander where pestering Jason and Simeon to come and play with them and the oldest two Snape boys relented to the request without much of a protest. Harry watched the game intently and quickly picked up the simply rules. Because of the number of people playing now, they had to play in teams. Dominic and Alexander had insisted on playing together, Jason paired up with Oliver and Simeon with Carlotta. Neither Robin nor Laura paid much attention to the game their siblings were playing, but Harry watched keenly. It just seemed like such a normal family afternoon, he could almost forget that this was Professor Snape’s family. He wondered if he would ever get used to the idea of Professor Snape as being a normal family man.

It seemed like no time at all had passed before Professor Snape and Juliana were bringing Hazel outside after her nap and a table with glasses of iced orange juice also appeared. The Snape children fell upon the orange juice and Harry joined him, figuring he would draw more attention to himself if he didn’t join them. Soon new pairs were being drawn up between the children for the next boules game, there were only 4 pairs of coloured boules balls, so only four pairs could play at once, and it was agreed that the losing pair would swap with the pair waiting to play. Professor Snape and Juliana seemed content to watch them for now, as the relaxed on garden chairs. Harry found himself paired up with Dominic, Laura and Carlotta had paired up together, Hazel was with Simeon, Jason and Alexander and Robin and Oliver. Harry found himself enjoying himself immensely and time passed quickly. Eventually the Snape children convinced their parents to join in, Harry stayed well out of that conversation, and the pairs had to be reconfigured. Harry now found himself paired with Carlotta, who sent him a wide grin. Now the winning two pairs stayed on and the losing two switched with the pairs watching. It seemed very strange for Harry to play against Professor Snape, who was paired with Laura, but there was good natured cheering from everyone for everyone else, and Harry just attempted to go with it.

After a couple of more games, Juliana tempted them all on to the back patio were Harry had sat with Laura and Hazel that morning, with the promise of ice cream. The younger children went on head quickly with Juliana and Jason but Harry found himself walking at a much more sedate pace with Simeon, Robin, Laura and Carlotta and his Potions Professor. The afternoon had passed really quickly and Harry couldn’t quite believe how much time had passed. There were several flavours of ice cream on offer and Harry opted for the strawberry. He found himself eating it sat on the edge of the patio next to Carlotta. Alexander came and sat on his other side and seemed happy that Harry had strawberry the same as him. Ice creams finished, the younger children headed back to the lawn to have another game, but Harry stayed on the patio with Simeon, Robin and Carlotta. Jason and Laura had disappeared inside with their parents.

Before long Juliana was asking Robin to set the table ready of dinner. Harry decided to tag along to the kitchen with him to help. Besides, Robin was in the process of telling him about one of the local football teams and Harry wanted to hear more. They loitered in the large kitchen, talking easily and enjoying the smells of dinner. “If you’re not busy Robin dear, could you cut some bread up for me please?” his mother asked him, and although it was posed as a question, Harry knew it wasn’t. Juliana was busy putting small dishes of butter and butter knives on the table and Robin went to the kitchen counter and began cutting some crusty loaves of bread into thick slices. Once he had finished, Robin took one of the end slices, nicked one of the butter dishes from the table, buttered it, halved it and give half to Harry, giving him a grin as he took a bite from his half. Harry grinned back and ate his slice. Juliana watched them with a smile and a small shake of her head. “Boys,” she commented. “Always hungry!” Robin cleaned the butter knife and put it back on the table as Juliana began to arrange the slices on bread on serving platters. “Dinner will be ready soon if you’re hungry,” she told them, “go on upstairs and clean up.”

“Yes Mama,” Robin replied and he and Harry made for the stairs. Harry flopped backwards onto his bed for a couple of minutes before he roused himself and washed his hands and face. He heard footsteps outside his door, so either Juliana or Professor Snape had sent the others up to clean up as well. He didn’t want to be the first one back in the kitchen, so he waiting until he heard footsteps on the stairs again before going down himself.

Harry found himself sat opposite Professor Snape at dinner and he done his best not to really look directly at the man and stayed quite. Dinner was an amazing ham and egg pie with cold potato salad and everyone could help themselves to bread and butter. Harry halved a slice with Alexander who was sat next to him and his teacher gave him a smile from across the table. Once dinner had finished, Harry helped Dominic and Simeon clear the table, while Robin, Laura and Carlotta washed up and put the pots away.

After everything was tidied away it was announced that the whole family was going to walk to the reservoir that evening. Hazel could come along because Professor Snape and Juliana were going and she rode on her father’s shoulders most of the way. Once at the reservoir, Robin and Carlotta led Harry along a path which led to the other side, although they didn’t walk that far. Dominic and Alexander had ran after them and on the walk back to the house Harry found himself holding hands with Alexander.

Harry was exhausted by the time he was in his room that evening and his bedtime did not seem too early tonight at all. He climbed into bed and had cuddled up underneath his covers what seemed like long before Juliana put her head around the door to say goodnight.

Harry was almost late down to breakfast the next morning, he must have showered in five minutes flat. He wasn't sure how strictly enforced the 7.30 rule was. No one had checked to see if he was up this morning as Jason had on his first day here and he didn't know if that was because he had been ill or if it was because it was now his responsibility to make sure he was awake and in the kitchen on time.  He quickly slipped into a free seat next to Dominic, glad that the family wasn't waiting on him, people were still getting things prepared for breakfast. Carlotta came and sat on the other side of him and Harry gave the girl a small smile. Breakfast wasn't a completely silent meal but any silences were comfortable as everyone helped themselves to cereal and spread butter and jam on slices of toast.

Once the meal was finished Professor Snape asked Simeon, Robin, Harry, Laura and Carlotta to stay in the kitchen while Jason assisted his mother with the face washing and the teeth brushing of the younger children. The group that had remained in the kitchen made short work of the cleaning up and then gathered around one end of the table with Professor Snape, who looked at them all seriously. "I know it's only a week into the holidays," he told them, "but I want you to spend some time working on your summer homework this morning."

"Yes Papa," Simeon and Robin said, Laura nodded and Harry nodded along with her. Carlotta didn't make any response.

"Now Simeon, Robin, Laura, I know you don't know which school you're going to be attending come September but I want you to complete the homework your teachers at Beauxbatons set. I will say that it is increasingly likely that it will be Hogwarts you will be attending though but I know the Professors will accept your Beauxbatons summer work. You know what I expect when you're working, stay in your own rooms, no raised voices and call for myself or your Mama if you need us," Professor Snape addressed the three of them.

All three listening intently, and acquiesced with quiet "Yes Papa"'s although there were reactions when changing schools was mentioned. None of them actually spoke though and Harry tried to catch Robin's eye but the other boy was avoiding his gaze. He left the room with his brother and sister. Harry and Carlotta shared a look as they were left sitting at the table.

Professor Snape turned to Harry first. "In many ways you have the easier time this summer, you know what school you'll be going to, you know what your assignments are and you know what your teachers expect of you." Harry nodded to show his understanding. "I don't expect you to study all summer but I expect summer assignments to be completed to a high standard," his Potions Professor went on to explain. "So when you are studying I will expect you to stay in your room, no loud conversations, but feel free to ask either Juliana or myself for help if required or one of the other children." Harry nodded once again and his Potions teacher now turned to Carlotta. "I know you don't have any homework, Sweetie, but it won't harm you to do some reading before you do start school in September," her father told her. "And unlike your brothers and sister, you will know which school you're attending in autumn." Carlotta's eyes were wide and Harry found he had the inexplicable urge to give the younger girl a hug. Professor Snape continued talking. "You will be going to Hogwarts in September, it'll be easier for you to integrate because you'll just be another first year student." Carlotta's eyes were still wide and she was biting don on her lip. "It won't be ideal if your brothers and sister aren't going with you, but it is highly likely they will, it's just not certain yet," her father told her reassuringly.

Carlotta eventually managed a "Yes Papa."

And Professor Snape gave her a comforting smile. "Good girl," he told her. "Try not to think on it too much, but if you come with me to my study while Harry heads upstairs, I'm sure I have the Standard Book of Spells Grade One, which first year students at Hogwarts use."

Harry stood up from the table with Professor Snape and Carlotta and he felt the need to offer; "I have my copy of the Standard Book of Spells Grade One in my room, if it's easier Sir?"

"It'd be much appreciated if Carlotta could borrow it," his teacher told him.

"Sure, it's no problem," Harry replied, "it's just on my bookshelf in my room."

"I'll let you two get on with your work then," Professor Snape told them and Harry and Carlotta took it as the dismissal it was. Carlotta was silent as they made their way up the stairs and Harry desperately wanted to comfort her somehow but he didn't know how.

They entered Harry's room and he handed the book to Carlotta silently. "Thanks," she said quietly and made to leave.

"You're welcome," Harry replied, also quietly, and watched her leave. He stood in the middle of his room for a couple of moments, looking at the now closed door, before eventually turning back to the bookshelf and attempting to decide which of his summer homework assignments to complete first. He finally decided on Charms and grabbed his textbook from the shelf and placed it on his desk before digging through the desk drawer for parchment, a quill and an ink pot.

It was probably a very good thing that his desk faced the wall and he couldn't see the window at all from where he was sat because he was having trouble concentrating as it was. He could barely get Carlotta's slightly panicked and scared look out of his mind. If he had been asked to picture what he thought living with Professor Snape for the summer would be like, this would be something close to it. In a room by himself, studying. But this was also very different, he knew if he had reason to that he could leave the room and go and seek help from his Professor, his Professor's wife or one of the older boys. And he also had a feeling that someone would check to see if he was okay at some point this morning. He knew he really needed to concentrate on his Charms work, he'd learnt in the Tri-Wizard Tournament last year how useful a Charm could be. And now more than ever he needed to be prepared. But he was also distracted by the reasons behind the Snape's sending Carlotta to Hogwarts even if her older siblings didn't attend there. He had come to the conclusion that it had to be for safety reasons and Carlotta would blend in with the other new students, although the surname ‘Snape' might make her stand out. The other children would definitely stand out as transfer students, Harry had never known anyone transfer to Hogwarts. And all the safety precautions had to be because of Voldemort. Voldemort who had for some reason singled Harry out and Harry knew he would be a fool if he thought he wasn't going to have to face the Dark Wizard again. So he should really concentrate on his studies.

He did manage to focus his attention on his work eventually and had made some good headway on his Charms essay when there was a knock on his door midmorning. It was Professor Snape and he came bearing a snack. There was a glass of orange juice and a homemade jam tart. His instruction was to take a break for a couple of minutes and Harry was only too happy to oblige the man. He took his drink and his tart and went to perch on his trunk and look out the window where it was another glorious day outside. Less than a minute later and there was another knock on the door. This time it was Robin. "What company for a couple of minutes?" the other boy asked.

Harry readily agreed and Robin came and sat next to him on the trunk, he had the same snack in his hands as well. Harry had got used to the idea that he was going to be treated exactly the same as the rest of the Snape children for the summer.

Robin didn't stay too long before they both returned to their studies. Professor Snape checked up on them again not long before lunch time and this time he did make some enquiries about what Harry was working on and if he needed any help. Harry declined any help, he wasn't used to Professor Snape being helpful with school work! He was told to continue working until lunchtime, when someone would come and get him and then he could have the afternoon free to do whatever he liked (within reason).

It was Dominic who came to collect him for lunch and they also went and got Robin as well. It was the first time Harry had seen Robin's room. Once lunch was over Harry found himself outside with all the other children apart from Jason and Simeon. Robin had produced a Quaffle from somewhere and asked Harry if he wanted to practice catching. Harry was only too happy to agree despite the fact that as a Seeker he didn't need to worry about the Quaffle. The afternoon passed quickly with Harry and Robin throwing the Quaffle back and forth, Dominic, Alexander and Oliver were nearby playing with an outdoor skittles set and Laura and Carlotta were sat on the lawn watching while helping Hazel make a daisy chain.

Harry didn't know where the afternoon went and before no time had passed it seemed he found himself back in his room washing up for dinner. He wished he knew which room was Carlotta's so he could collect her on the way down, she had been very quiet that afternoon and he was still worried about her. No one had mentioned the fact she would definitely be attending Hogwarts in September and he didn't know if anyone else knew. It definitely wasn't his place to mention anything.

Once in the kitchen for dinner, he managed to grab a seat opposite Carlotta and sent her a small smile, which he was relieved to see returned. He didn't have chance to say much to her because Robin sat next to him and started asking him questions about Quidditch and Carlotta was busy talking to Laura before the meal was served. It was spinach ravioli in a tomato sauce tonight, with green salad on the side. There were bowls of cheese on the table to melt over the top and also baguettes of bread to share.

After everyone had finished, Juliana announced that no one had kitchen duty that night and that they would have dessert outside as it was a lovely evening out and they were all to meet at the patio in half an hour. Harry managed to catch Carlotta's eye and signal her to one side. "What to have a wander outside for a bit?" he asked her, slightly nervously. "I haven't seen the swimming pool yet," he told her, it half sounded like a good excuse.

"Sure," Carlotta agreed and the two of them slipped outside together.

Harry didn't really know how to start the conversation, or why he felt so responsible for Carlotta. But he did. The Snape children had accepted him with no fuss whatsoever this summer and he felt the need to repay the favour. "Hogwarts really is great," he ended up telling her. "And you'll have me there who you know at least," he told her, hoping that that was a reassuring thing to say.

"Yeah," she agreed, stopping and turning to face him. "Papa just surprised me earlier," she made excuse.

"Your parents will have good reason for their decision," Harry reasoned. He didn't know how much the Snape children knew about Voldemort and his resurrection not two months ago but he didn't want to scare Carlotta or tell he information her parents didn't want her to know.

Carlotta agreed again. "Tell me about Hogwarts," she requested.

"What would you like to know?" Harry asked, not knowing where to start.

By the time they walked back to the patio to meet up with the rest of the family for dessert, they were the last to arrive, Harry had been describing the castle, the Gryffindor corridor with its roaring fires, the enchanted ceiling in the Great Hall, Hagrid's Hut and the Forbidden Forest. He didn't actually feel like he was doing the castle justice but Carlotta was enraptured. Professor Snape studied them as they joined the rest of the family on the patio and when Carlotta slipped an arm around his waist, he automatically put his arm across her shoulders in return as Juliana started handed out bowls of Summer Pudding with whipped cream. It was Professor Snape who brought both Harry and Carlotta a bowl over and he gave Harry's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Dusk was just starting to settle when the family eventually made their way indoors and Harry knew it must be approaching lights out for many of them and he wasn't surprised when they were all immediately sent upstairs. Carlotta had stuck by his side all evening once he had sought her out but he didn't mind. He could almost relate to how she must be feeling right now.

He was sitting crossed legged in bed with only his beside lamp on and Quidditch Through The Ages open on his knees when Professor Snape entered the room. "Thank you for this evening Harry," his teacher told him and Harry didn't have to ask what his Professor was talking about. His Professor moved his desk chair over from his desk and took a seat next to Harry's bed.

He wanted to say that no thanks were necessary, that Carlotta had helped him loads with family life at the Snape's this summer and he was just repaying the favour, and that he liked the younger girl and considered her a friend. But he couldn't put it into words, so he simply said; "it's okay." Ad then he felt obliged to explain a little bit more. "Carlotta just seemed to be nervous about going to school without Simeon, Robin and Laura so I told her a little bit about Hogwarts."

"It is still appreciated," the man told him and Harry gave him a small smile as he placed his book to one side. This was shaping up to be an awkward conversation, there was so much he wanted to say but he didn't know how to.

"I just told her you'd have your reasons for wanting her to go to Hogwarts and then talked about the castle," Harry said. "I didn't go into what those reasons might be," he hastened to add.

Professor Snape gave him a level look for a while and then seemed to choose his next words very carefully. "Jason, Simeon, Robin and Laura all know some of the particulars," he said quietly. "And they know not to mention anything in front of the younger children." Harry just nodded and allowed his Professor to keep talking. "Carlotta will have to be told some of the details before she starts school," his teacher did admit. "But I've worked hard for many years to keep my family safe and I intend to keep it that way," his teacher vowed.

"Yes Sir," Harry said quietly. He knew that keeping his family safe somehow meant that Professor Snape had kept them hidden from Voldemort, but also from Professor Dumbledore it seemed, which was fairly strange to Harry. He decided not to question for now. He was getting tired and it was definitely passed his lights out time. Indeed, Juliana put her head around the door to say goodnight.

"Goodnight Mrs Snape," Harry responded as his Potions teacher replaced his desk chair to where it should be and moved towards his wife. "Goodnight Professor," Harry tagged on as he lay down and moved to turn off his lamp.

"Goodnight Harry," his teacher replied as he gently shut the door behind him.