Snape woke suddenly, instantly aware that he needed to get down to his lab. Inspiration had hit him while he slept, something that hadn't happened to him for months. Fingers itching to test out his ideas in the dungeons Snape was actually half dressed before he remembered it was the middle of the night and that Harry was asleep in the next room.

"Bugger," he muttered, sinking down onto the end of his bed. Could he possibly slip out for just an hour? He dismissed the thought even as it formed. Harry could not be allowed to wake without his father nearby again.

But he really needed to sort this out! He'd had the most marvelous idea forming for days and now his sleeping brain had come up with a solution and if he didn't grasp hold of these ideas while they were fresh in his head they might wriggle away, like the silvery little fish Harry tried to catch in the shallows of the lake.

Making up his mind Snape pulled his shirt on and thrust his feet into flat slippers. Harry was a brewer's son and he would be a fine brewer himself one day. He would have to get used to these kinds of nights.

Harry slept with his curtains drawn as usual and Snape quietly parted the folds and sat down beside the boy.

"Harry?" he murmured, smoothing back a wing of tousled black hair. "Wake up, Harry?"

Harry squinted and frowned, burying his face into the folds of his doll's cloak.

"Nya," he mumbled, eyes staying firmly closed.

So much for that idea. Snape shook his head at his slumbering boy, then before he could change his mind he was gathering him up, sheet, doll and all, and resting him against his shoulder. Still Harry didn't wake.

Outside their rooms Hogwarts itself slumbered, portraits snoring in their frames, torches flickering low in their sconces. Snape strode the dim hallways with a confident stride, his mind still buzzing with his ideas. If he was right then he could mix the compound tonight, although he'd need some more exotic ingredients for the next stage. If he was right, if he was right...

The wards on his personal lab unlocked with a muttered spell and Snape transfigured an old wooden bench into a cot for Harry, laid the boy down and tugged the sheet up to his chin.

"Wsflgl," Harry mumbled, cuddling his doll closer and settling with a snuffle into his pillow. Content the boy was safe under his gaze Snape set to work.

Ten minutes later his ingredients were assembled and he was dicing wartweed, one eye on the cauldron coming to the boil over its nest of blue flame. Despite the hour and the haste that had compelled him Snape was truly relaxed and at ease here in his natural environment. This was who he was, this was what he had been made for, not teaching slack jawed nincompoops how to brew a simple potion without blowing their eyebrows off. Here he was happiest in the world. Here he ruled.

It was a complicated compound but he'd been experimenting with it for so long that the main ingredients came together easily under his hands and an hour later he was standing over the cauldron, one hand extended over the brew as the ladle stirred all by itself while he muttered instructions to it. Finally he judged the timing perfect and he swung the cauldron away from the flame and cooled it with a word, watching with satisfaction as it instantly congealed into a dull metallic purple.

Perfect! The first step was complete and if he was right the second step could be competed by the light of the next full moon.

But he couldn't do it alone.

888

"I had the funniest dream last night," Harry said the next morning over a buttered crumpet. "I was flying through the corridors like a ghost. But I wasn't frightened," he assured his father.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Snape ordered automatically. "Harry, how would you like to go shopping with me today?"

"To Hogsmeade?" Harry said excitedly.

"I can't get what I need in Hogsmeade. I was thinking of London, actually."

Harry's eyes widened behind his glasses and he smiled widely. "Can we ride the train? Can I keep the ticket?"

"We'll port key to Diagon Alley," Snape thought aloud. "Then we can catch a muggle train to the apothecary shop I want."

"A muggle train?" Harry said interestedly. "Aren't there wizard trains we could catch?"

"Of course there are wizard trains," Snape said firmly. "But today we'll catch a muggle one."

"I haven't seen a muggle in a long time, have I, daddy?" Harry looked a bit apprehensive. "Is it all right?"

"You have nothing to fear from muggles, Harry. You have nothing to fear from anyone so long as you stay close to me."

"Mrs Taylor was a muggle, wasn't she, daddy?" Harry recalled. "And she was nice."

"I'm sure there are plenty of nice muggles out there," Snape said, not entirely convinced of that fact but unwilling to increase Harry's nervousness. "They just don't have anything to do with us. Now, finish your breakfast and we'll set out. It's a long journey."

"We're going to London!" Harry sang as he buttered another crumpet. "London! London! London!"

"Unless we make too much noise," Snape said repressively. "In which case I will be going to London and you will be staying here with the house elves."

Harry grimaced and settled back in his seat. "We're going to London," he sang again in a much smaller voice. Then he finished his crumpet and juice.

888

They walked to Hogsmeade and stood in a queue for the 10 o'clock port key to Diagon Alley. As they waited Snape gave Harry his last minute instructions in a low voice.

"The port key will transport us to Diagon Alley," he murmured to his attentive son. "All you have to do is hold onto me with one hand and the key with the other."

"Do I keep my eyes closed like in the green fire?"

"No fire will be involved," Snape told him. "But you might want to shut your eyes in case you get dizzy. Now, Harry, remember our rules?"

"Don't talk to strangers," Harry piped up. "Keep my hat on. And stay with you."

"Good boy. Perhaps we might take a look around the toy store when we're finished at the apothecary's," he promised.

"If I behave?" Harry guessed.

"I expect you to behave regardless, Harry." Snape straightened the boy's hat. "If I buy you a toy it's just because I want to, understand?"

Harry beamed. "Yes, daddy."

The port key was a huge stuffed pillow and everyone grabbed a tassel and held on as the clock behind them struck ten. With a pop and curious sensation of tugging they disappeared and reappeared in the narrow alley behind the pub. Harry's hand was clutching his father's so tightly his little fingernails were digging in, and Snape had to pry Harry's other hand off the tasseled pillow so the passengers queuing to return on the 10.15 to Hogsmeade could grab a hold.

"I wish wizards drove cars," Harry grumbled as he clung onto Snape's hand and followed him into the Leaky Cauldron. "Disappearing makes me dizzy."

"You'll get used to it," Snape said absently. "The train station is just across the way. I just have to change some coins for muggle money."

The barman accepted the wizard money and handed Snape a handful of paper and some coins which Snape counted very closely. "Paper money," he muttered scathingly, slipping it into his pocket. "Come, Harry."

Out on the street Harry saw cars and buses up close for the first time in months, and he gazed around him wide eyed as they crossed the quiet street towards the tube station. A bus trundled by and Harry wrinkled his nose.

"I'd forgotten that smell," he said.

"Yes," Snape sneered. "Typical of muggles to poison even the air around them. We're well away from it at Hogwarts."

Harry loved the train. He kneeled up on the seat and looked out the window and stared at the passengers around them and examined the ticket he held clutched in his hand. "I'm glad I wore my jeans," he said fervently. "Nobody else is wearing a suit with a lacy collar or a robe."

"Sit down and do try to behave, Harry," Snape said sternly. "I want you on your best behaviour when we get where we're going. I'm hoping to work very closely with the owner of the apothecary for the next few months, and I don't want him to think I'm raising a hooligan."

"What's a hooligan?" Harry asked curiously.

"A boy with no manners."

"And what's a poth -a- kerry? I forget."

"A shop where I can buy potions ingredients, Harry. But not just any ingredients. This shop stocks some very special magical ingredients, and the owner is a brewer of great fame."

"Like you, daddy?"

"Just so, although our interests are usually quite far apart. Right now I am working on a potion that crosses into his field..." Snape trailed away, and turned to look at Harry's intelligent little face. Sometimes he forgot he was talking to a six year old child. On the other hand he wanted Harry to grow up surrounded by the world of the potion maker, which was why he was bringing him along today. It was time the boy learned that the wonders of the brewing arts began long before a bench and a cauldron.

"Will he come to Hogwarts, daddy?"

"No. Hogwarts has very few visitors. We will visit him when I need to consult him again. And here's our stop."

Tottenham Court Road was bustling and Snape held Harry's hand tightly as they were swept along by the seemingly endless tide of muggles towards Chinatown. Grand Dragon gates guarded its entrance and Harry stared entranced at the writhing figures picked out in flaking gold paint. Snape paced the long road until about halfway down where he turned into an alley which in turn had an alley forking off it. They twisted and turned down increasingly narrow side streets, stepping over rubbish and avoiding towering stacks of crates and boxes.

And then they were there.

No sign adorned the shop front, in its grimy window was a tall golden jar wrapped about its red wax stopper with straw. Snape pushed open the shop door and a bell tinkled somewhere in the depth of the store. He paused to adjust his eyes to the dimness after the bright August sunlight outside and breathed in deeply the scent as familiar to him as his own workshop.

"Pooh!" Harry exclaimed. "It stinks in here!"

Snape rolled his eyes.

888

If the outside was dusty and grimy then the inside was spotless and tidy, with shelves towering up to the ceiling stacked with row after row of jars. Harry peered at the contents of the jars with wide eyed wonder, seeing lizard green and blossom blue and rich blood red. Some of the things in the jars seemed to squirm and Harry pressed closer to his father's leg, half pressing his face into his dad's velvet coat and half peering around in amazement.

"Mr Li," his dad greeted solemnly and Harry looked up at a tall exotic wizard who was inclining his head in return.

"Mr Snape," the wizard greeted smoothly. "Am I to assume by your presence that you have reached the first stage?"

"I have."

Harry gazed in awe at the newcomer. He had never seen anyone quite like him before. Mr Li was tall, as tall as Harry's dad and his hair was just as black. But he wore it in a long plait that lay over his shoulder, entwined with silver charms and tiny bells that shivered a small song as they shifted. He was dressed in black too, but his robes were split down the side and under them Harry could see rich gold and green fabric and bright shining embroidery. Harry was reminded of Professor Dumbledore's grand heavy robes.

Mr Li and his dad were talking earnestly now, bent over the counter between them and peering into a jar his dad had slipped out of his pocket. Harry quickly grew bored, especially when they lapsed in and out of some language he didn't understand.

Harry frowned a little, recalling the couple who lived in a house on the way to his old school back in Surrey. Aunt Petunia had sniffed and said they were foreigners, like it was a disease you could catch if you got too close. Was Mr Li a foreigner then? His dad had said that everything Aunt and Uncle told him was a lie, so maybe even if he was a foreigner that wasn't a bad thing? Harry resolved to ask his father about it when he had the chance.

A movement caught Harry's eye and he stared in surprise at the face of a boy about his own age peering at him through a pair of thick curtains at the back of the store. The boy had a long plait too, and he winked at Harry and mugged a comical face. Then the head withdrew and a hand emerged, decorated with a green bracelet. It beckoned and Harry cautiously let go of his dad's leg and took a step closer.

His father broke off his conversation and looked down at him. "Don't wander too far, Harry," he said absently. "And don't touch anything."

Mr Li was perched on a stool behind the counter now and Snape sat down too, face absorbed, dark eyes alight. Harry assured his dad he would behave but he had the feeling the wizard was barely hearing him, so absorbed was he in his conversation. Shrugging, Harry followed his nose.

He trotted to the back of the store and peered through the curtains, finding a room rich with ornate carpets and hangings. Hogwarts had tapestries, huge ones with ancient scenes and colourful vistas, but even they paled next to the brilliant threads adorning the hangings on these walls. Luminous reds and golds and greens lit up the room and Harry stared entranced at the twisting serpents and dragons depicted in colours that made his eyes ache.

"Hi," a voice said and Harry started and turned to look at the boy who had made faces at him through the curtains.

"Hi," Harry said automatically. The boy was as richly dressed as Mr Li, in a long robe of rich blue, its collars, cuffs and hems heavy with gold embroidery. Atop his glossy black hair sat a sky blue cap with a gold tassel.

"I'm Li," the boy said, thrusting out his hand. "Li Shen Sun."

"Um, I'm Harry," Harry said, mindful of his instruction not to tell anyone his last name. He reached out with his own grubby paw and the two boys shook hands solemnly.

"Is that your dad?" Harry said, pointing back though the curtains the way he'd come.

"Uh huh." The boy looked him up and down and Harry suddenly wished he was wearing his velvet suit. The boy looked so smart in his robe, like a proper boy wizard and not at all girly despite the knee length robe. Perhaps it was the splits down the side revealing the long pants, or the soft little black shoes. Somehow fitting in with the muggles on the train didn't seem nearly as important now as looking like a wizard should.

"And I know that's your dad," Li said knowledgably. "Because my father said he was coming. He respects Mr Snape, and he doesn't respect many wizards."

Harry's chest swelled with pride. "I think my dad likes your dad too," he confided. "He was really polite to him, and my dad isn't polite to anybody. Um, is this where you live?"

"Our house is over the shop," Li shrugged. "Want to see some magic?"

Thrilled, Harry nodded. "Sure!"

Li pulled a strip of paper from his pocket and held it between two fingers. Harry tilted his head and peered at it curiously. It was just thin white paper with some funny scribbles on it. Li muttered something and suddenly the paper flared and bright ash rained down. For a moment it hung in the air then it assumed the shape of a long thin dragon and danced on the air currents. As Harry exclaimed in wonder Li opened up his hand and the ash dragon danced over his palm, weaved through his fingers and then crumbled away, disappearing into nothingness.

"Wow," Harry breathed. "That was so cool! How did you do that?"

Li shrugged modestly. "My father wrote the spell," he confessed. "For me to practice with."

"You are so lucky," Harry said enviously. "I can only do magic when I'm making a potion, and I don't even have a wand yet." He studied his new friend curiously. "Where's your wand?"

Li tumbled down onto a cushion on the floor and Harry squatted next to him easily.

"We don't have wands," Li confided. "We have different magic, I think."

"But what about when you come to Hogwarts?" Harry said in dismay. "Everyone has wands there."

"What's Hogwarts?" Li asked curiously.

Harry gaped. He couldn't imagine a wizard not knowing about Hogwarts. "It's a school. A wizard school. For wizards," he repeated, in case Li didn't understand. "All wizards go there."

"Not me," Li returned. "When I go away to study it will be to Hong Kong, to learn from my aunt. She's the head of the Li family because she's the strongest. One day I'll be head," Li said proudly.

"Oh." Harry absorbed this. He knew about the muggle world and the wizard world, it seemed there were other worlds out there he hadn't even dreamt of yet. "What sort of things will your aunt teach you?"

"I'm not sure," Li admitted. "But I expect it will be very cool and it will have dragons in it. Everything mostly has. What about you? What will you learn?"

"I'm not sure either," Harry admitted. "But I'm going to be on the Quidditch team though." He leaned forward anxiously. "You do know about Quidditch, don't you?"

Li's eyes lit up. "Of course I do! It's the best sport in the world!"

"I have my own broom," Harry bragged and was gratified to see the envy in Li's face. He didn't mention that it was a child's broom and didn't fly very high or very fast. Li didn't need to know everything.

"Uh oh," Li muttered, nudging Harry. "Here's trouble."

Harry turned and gaped again at the sight of the two little girls standing in the doorway. They were as alike as two peas, even down to their little pink and red robes. Their hair curved in a shining black bell around their faces and their hands were linked.

"Who are they?" Harry whispered.

"Just my sisters," Li dismissed.

The girls pushed through the curtains and stared at them, their free hands coming up and inserting thumbs in their mouths. Harry thought they were about the same age as Ronnie's little sister, maybe a bit younger. "Do they talk?"

"My mother said they talk to each other." Li made a face at them and as one the twins screwed up their little round cheeks and poked their tongues back at him, around their sucking thumb. "Just ignore them," Li counseled. "Want to see my toys?"

"Yeah!"

888

"Your new job will keep you very busy it seems," Mr Li said as he looked over their meeting schedule for the next few months.

Snape inclined his head, sitting back more comfortably on the stool, relaxed now as the details had been hammered out. Li agreed with his findings and admired his progress. Snape couldn't say he actually liked the other brewer, because he really didn't like anybody. But he respected him for his skills and tolerated his company, mainly because the man wasn't prone to chatter and inappropriate attempts at friendship.

"And your new boy?"

"One led to the other," Snape confessed.

Li inclined his head formally. "I am happy for you. Family is the most important thing in the world. Ah, here is my wife with tea."

Plump cheeked and smiling Mrs Li nodded shyly at Snape and laid the tray down on the bench. "The children have gone upstairs," she said in a soft accented voice.

"I hope Harry's not being a nuisance." Snape accepted a small cup and breathed appreciatively of the smoky brew.

"Shen Sun is enjoying his company."

"My son," Li supplied at Snape's enquiring look. "He's nearly eight."

"Harry will be happy he's found a new friend."

"Friends are fine," Li agreed politely. "But Shen Sun will be a master of his craft one day. If your son follows in your footsteps he will be too. Perhaps they are forging bonds for the future, along with childish friendship?"

Respect growing, Snape inclined his own head. It seemed he wasn't the only one who thought so far ahead for his boy.

"Now," Mrs Li said, lifting her own tea cup to her lips. "We just have to find a wife for you." She smiled complacently as Snape sputtered into his cup. "You must meet my niece, Ming. Yes?"

888

"What's this?" Harry said suspiciously as a bamboo steamer floated off the trolley and landed in front of him.

"Dumplings," Snape said, lifting one with his chopsticks and depositing it in Harry's bowl.

Harry picked up his own chopsticks and poked the white dumpling with one. "It looks weird."

Around them the small smoky restaurant bustled. Patrons sipped tea and laughed merrily as carts trundled between tables, switching used plates for full ones with dazzling speed. Opposite Harry a boy dressed as brightly as Li had been was shoveling rice into his mouth from a bowl, chopsticks flying. The tea pot on his table lifted all by itself and filled a small round cup, and the boy's mother cast a small cooling charm on the steaming tea and lifted it to take a sip.

"If you spend your life judging by appearances, Harry, you will miss out on a great deal."

Harry fiddled with his chopsticks and Snape leaned forward and demonstrated. "Hold it like a quill, see? Then use these fingers to move the other one. Like that." And he snapped his chopsticks at Harry's nose, causing the boy to wriggle and giggle.

Harry practised clumsily on his dumpling before shrugging impatiently and spearing the small round object with the tapered end. Snape rolled his eyes again.

"I suppose that works too."

Harry munched on the dumpling, eyes lighting up. "Yummy!" he pronounced. He lifted his bowl. "More?"

They worked their way through various delicacies, although Harry flatly refused to try the chicken's feet and would only watch revolted as Snape ate a serving with great enjoyment.

"Daddy?" Harry said, toying with his drink. He twirled the straw thoughtfully.

"Hm?"

"There's lots of kinds of magic in the world, isn't there?"

"As many as there are different kinds of people, Harry."

"Which is better?"

Snape tilted his head. "I suppose everyone would say their own is the best, Harry. But the truth is that magic is the destination for all of us. We just reach it by different means, that's all."

Harry frowned.

"I mean that none are better or worse," Snape clarified. "Just different."

"I like Li, daddy," Harry confided. "He's my new friend."

Snape nodded. Mr Li was right. Family was everything, including the future. And in the future it wouldn't hurt if one of Harry's friends was a Master of the great Li family.

Harry's list of allies grew.