Severus drew a bath for Harry and left him to wash himself while Severus went to tell Lucy to prepare for guests. He had not been gone but a few minutes, but when he returned he found the entire bathroom floor covered in bubbles.

"Harry? Are you in there somewhere?"

All Severus heard in response was the small giggle coming from somewhere behind the wall of bubbles. He mentally cursed the Muggle thing called 'Mr. Bubble' that Harry had asked for, and wondered how such a small amount of it had made so many bubbles. His questions were answered, however, when his foot landed on the empty bottle on the floor and he found himself careening toward a giggling Harry.

"Daddy, what are you doing in the tub with clothes on?" Harry asked as he stared through the bubbles in the tub to see his father.

Severus had landed quite haphazardly in the tub and was now trying to get out of it, but his feet kept slipping on the wet floor. Each time sent him crashing back into the water.

"Harry!" he scowled as he once again fell back. "How is it you get into so much trouble in such a little time?"

Harry grew quiet. Something about the tone of his father's voice told him it was no longer funny, and he tried to scoot to the back of the tub.

"Accio wand!" Severus called and held up his hand to catch the wand sailing in from the bedroom. It only took a second for Severus to clear away the mountain of bubbles and then to grab a towel, pulling Harry from the tub.

"I hope you got clean before your adventure in the bubbles, for we have no time left. Our guests will be arriving soon, and we must be prepared."

Harry's chin began to quiver, and Severus could see the tears frozen in the corners of his eyes. Knowing he had spoken harshly, he knelt down in front of Harry.

"Tomorrow we can have a bit of fun, but this dinner tonight is important. You cannot possibly know the significance of it. You must be on your best behavior." At the nod from Harry, he grabbed him up in a hug. "Do not think you have angered me, understood?"

Severus took Harry by the hand, and led him into the room to get dressed. Harry could not possibly know the simple pleasure that his laughter brought to his father.

Soon Harry and Severus were presentable and Severus muttered the words 'esconda a cicatriz'. It was not a second too soon, as he heard the fireplace flare to life, announcing that their guests had arrived. Lucius Malfoy stepped from the fireplace and behind him came the small blond head of Draco.

Severus was busy muttering the charm to change Harry's eye color, or he would have noticed the strange look Draco was giving him. Once he was done, he slipped his wand into his sleeve and turned to face his guests. He went to speak, but it was Lucius who spoke first.

"You will have to excuse Narcissa. You know you and her do not exactly get along. She politely declined the offer to join us for dinner, but I think it is a nice reprieve as I have things to discuss with you of great importance."

Severus led Lucius over to the table and handed him a glass of brandy, while Draco continued to stare at Harry. This was making Harry uncomfortable.

"You look like someone, I just do not know who," Draco finally said.

"I look like my dad," Harry said, staring at where Severus was standing off in the kitchen.

Draco shrugged off any other thoughts and dragged Harry over to the couch to show him the Quidditch book he had brought. The two boys gazed at the pictures for thirty minutes, until Lucy told them that dinner was ready.

Once Lucius sat down, he turned to Severus with a sneer. "You treat your house elf with too much respect. It does not know its place."

"My house elf is none of your concern, Lucius. I thought we had matters you wished to discuss."

Lucius took another sip of his brandy and shifted forward in his chair to speak in hushed tones. "The Dark Lord is having a meeting next week and he wishes to meet the next generation of his followers. Since I was unaware that you had a son, I am sure the Dark Lord will be pleased to know that you will be training another in the pure blood ways."

Severus' heart clinched in his chest. "Harry is not old enough to attend a meeting. I will not allow it."

"You would defy the Dark Lord's wishes? Severus, even you have to see the folly in doing so. The consequences would be fatal."

Harry and Draco had stopped eating and were now focused on the conversation, both waiting to hear Severus' reply.

"I would not defy the Dark Lord. I simply think Harry is too small to attend. Do you not have the same fears for Draco?"

Lucius sneered, "I think Draco is old enough to know about keeping the bloodlines pure and untainted by Muggle and Half blood filth. You should be teaching your son these same values."

"Bloodlines?" Harry said, a look of confusion on his face.

"Yes, child, bloodlines. Those who are not purebloods should be eradicated from the gene pool. Those with Muggle lineage are not worthy to be wizards."

Harry did not ask anymore questions for he could see the vein in his father's forehead throbbing and that meant he was not happy. He quietly excused himself, and he and Draco went into his room. Once the door was shut, Draco clapped him on the back.

"Can you believe it? We get to meet the Dark Lord."

Harry tried to smile but there were too many questions floating around in his mind. Thinking Draco would tell him things his father wouldn't, Harry asked,"Who is this Dark Lord?"

Harry knew he had said something wrong when Draco's mouth fell open

"That is a joke right?"

Harry wanted to laugh it off, but couldn't bring himself too. "I just have not heard a lot about him."

Draco puffed his chest out as he spoke, "The Dark Lord rose to power, but some baby named Harry Potter hurt him. "

"So what happened then?" Harry asked, his throat going dry.

"The Dark Lord was weakened, but father says he is still all powerful."

Harry tried to hide his worry as Draco spoke about the purebloods and Muggles, but he was very relieved when Severus and Lucius opened the door.

"Draco, come, it is time we left."

Draco left the room, waving good bye to Harry as he went. Harry had waved good bye also, but his stomach was still churning with the stories Draco had told him.

"Severus, I will see you this weekend at the meeting. I am sure Harry will fit in nicely. He is, after all, your son."

Harry waited until both Draco and Lucius disappeared in the flames before he started firing questions off at his father. "Daddy, Draco said the Dark Lord killed people for not being pure, and he said I was a pureblood and had to follow the Dark Lord."

Severus wrapped Harry up in his arms, as he could see the boys knees shaking. "Harry, do not worry about the Dark Lord. He simply wishes to meet you. Do as he says and no harm will come to you."

This seemed to quiet Harry's fears somewhat, but hours later, as Severus laid down in his bed, he could see a tousle of hair sticking up from underneath the covers beside him. It seemed Harry had been frightened more than he thought by Draco's words. He had told Harry there was nothing to fear, and even went as far as to explain the Death Eater mask and had shown it to Harry telling him it was like a Muggle Halloween costume they all wore.

What worried Severus the most was exposing Harry to the Dark Lord. Would Harry know what to say? Would Voldemort read into his mind and see that Harry was indeed Harry Potter? If this came to pass, Severus knew they would both die at the hands of the Dark Lord, but Severus knew that if Albus Dumbledore ever found out where he had taken Harry, that his mentor and friend would waste no time making Severus pay for his grave lack in judgement.

Severus spent the next week with Harry. He had given in to every whim of the child, even going as far as to blow a bubble after placing the whole bag of Drobbles' Best Blowing Gum in his mouth. The bubble had been quite large, and Severus ended up spending an hour trying to get the gum out of his hair.

Severus had been outraged at the sticky mess, but the laughter from Harry almost made it bearable. He did not treasure the thought of the weekend and wanted to keep Harry's mind off the dreaded task. It seemed to do the trick as Harry slept in his own bed the second night, and his face was no longer pale at the mention of the Dark Lord. Harry thought of it now as a huge costume party with everyone dressed the same way. Severus had told him that this was just a gathering of people and that all Harry had to do was be a good boy and everything would turn out fine.

Severus sat every night and prayed for forgiveness, because he knew the sight of the Dark Lord would mortify Harry, but there was no other way, short of leaving everything and everyone behind, and spending their life on the run.

The dreaded day came at last and Severus could not sleep. He had tossed and turned for hours and finally gotten up. He sat now watching Harry sleep, his stuffed dragon clutched firmly to him. Could he do what was asked of him? Could he take Harry to stand before the abomination that was the Dark Lord? Severus did not have time to think on it any longer as Harry's eyes flittered open.

Why are you watching me sleep?"

Severus covered up the smile, "Who says I was watching you sleep? I was just coming to tell you to hurry up and get dressed for breakfast before I eat all the blueberry pancakes."

Harry bolted from the bed and grabbed his robe on the way out the door, yelling as he ran, " Last one to the table is a rotten egg!"

Severus and Harry spent the whole day together. They had a picnic outside under the elm tree, and Severus had taken a picture Harry drew him and placed it on the mantle. They had just returned from a swim in the lake when Severus noticed the time. There would be no time for baths.

"Harry, run and change clothes. Lucius and Draco will be here in a few minutes."

Harry did as his father asked, but he was dragging his feet as he went. He came back in the room just as the fireplace flared up and Lucius stepped out.

"Severus, are you ready? It would not be wise to keep our Lord waiting."

"I am ready," Severus said, placing his arm around Harry as he led him out the door.

The Death Eater mask did not go unnoticed by Harry as it dangled loosely in his father's hand. They all stopped in the middle of the field near the house, Lucius drew his wand, and with a pop, Lucius and Draco apparated away. Severus took a second to lean down in front of Harry.

"Remember, I will be right beside you, Harry. If you feel scared just squeeze my hand."

Harry did just that as he held his father's hand, and they apparated away.