Niamh sat dejectedly in her room, idly twirling her eagle-feather quill.  She was locked up in her room with no way to contact her friends besides Hermione, who had left for the Burrow earlier.

So, here was Niamh, sitting in her room bored out of her skull and wishing she could transfigure her parents into snails.

Suddenly there was a knock from downstairs.

Niamh leapt to the window and peered out but couldn’t see the front door because of the roof built over it and the porch.

Damn!

She threw her quill across the room where it lodged itself into the doorframe just as the door opened.

“Gods, Ni.  Are ye tryin’ ter kill me?”

Niamh whirled, eyes widening.

“HARRY!”

She flung herself onto her friend, sending him tumbling to the floor in the hall.  Harry grinned and said, “Yeh.  Me.  Come ter rescue ye from this…what would ye call it?”

“Hell,” replied Niamh, grinning down at her friend, who had changed over the summer.  He had grown much taller, towering over her even more than he already had, and his words had become more normal, even if his voice had kept its street sound, his accent had lingered off.  Beyond that, he was the same longhaired boy she knew.

“So, come to rescue the damsel in distress?”

“Damsel?” snorted Harry.  “Ye could never be a damsel in distress, Ni.  Its jus’ not ye.”

“Damn right, its not.  How’d you get here anyway?”

“How else would he get here, Miss O’Feir?  I brought him.”

Niamh looked up to see Snape standing at the head of the stairs, her mother cowering behind him.

“Professor!”

Snape smiled.

“Yes, Miss O’Feir.  Now, if you wouldn’t mind getting off Mr. Potter and grabbing your trunk so we may be going…”

“Going?” asked Niamh in confusion.

“I believe you were invited to stay at the Weasley’s?”

“…yes, sir.”

“Then that is where we are going.  Get your things, girl!”

Snape then turned and, sending her mother into hysterics with a glare, stormed downstairs.

Niamh looked down at Harry (she was still sitting on him) and asked, “Is he always like this?”

“Na always,” replied Harry.  “He’s jus’ got ter keep up appearances.  Wi’ me he’s…I doan know.  Normal.”

“Snape being normal.  Now there’s an image…”

“Oh, sod off an’ get yer stuff.  Ron’s expecting us.”

Niamh nodded and leapt up, dashing into her room.  She threw everything she had gotten out into her trunk and slammed the lid down before she grabbed one end and Harry grabbed the other to drag it out.  By the time they had gotten it to the top of the stairs, Snape had looked up and pointed his wand at it, shrinking it.  Niamh picked up the tiny trunk and tucked it into her pocket, blinking at the sight of her father standing frozen in outrage in the kitchen doorway.

“She won’t be going!”

Snape turned to him and said silkily, “I’d like to see you stop one of the two best Hexers at Hogwarts from doing as she wills.”

“She can’t do magic!”

“She can if I say she can,” said Snape as he ushered Niamh and Harry out.

“Could I really, sir?” asked Niamh as they walked away from her front door.

“Certainly.  Right after I perform a tiny charm that hides it from the Ministry.”

“Could you do that?”

Snape looked down at Niamh, caught the glint in her eyes, and said, “No.  I am afraid not.”

“Aww, drat.”

Harry laughed and slung his arm about his friends shoulder.  Her head barely came up to his shoulder.

“Doan worry, Ni.  Two more weeks an’ we’ll be back at Hogwarts.”

“Merlin help me when that happens,” said Severus good-naturedly.

“Oi, we’re na that bad, Da!”

“Your close.  Veery close.”

Harry snorted and shook his head while Niamh looked between the two of them, marveling at how close they had obviously come since the end of second year.

“Something wrong, Niamh?”

“No, professor.”

Severus arched an eyebrow but said, “Alright.  This way, you two.  Can’t have the Muggle’s see us vanish into thin air, now can we?”

Harry chuckled and steered Niamh into an alleyway.  Severus followed, holding out a battered copy of Oliver Twist.  The two teens grasped the book and a moment later they were gone.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

“Ooophf!”

Harry tightened his grip about Niamh’s shoulders and kept her from falling as the Portkey landed them right on the lawn in front of the Burrow.  Severus in his black robes stood out starkingly while Harry and Niamh in their jeans and t-shirt’s fit right in.

“Harry!  Niamh!”

Ron came bursting out of the house, followed swiftly by Hermione and Mrs. Weasley.  The older woman nodded at Snape and said, “Hello, Severus.”

“Hello, Molly.”

“It’s good to see you again.  You look – well.”

“Thank you.”  Snape gestured at Harry and Niamh and said, “I believe these are yours.”

Mrs. Weasley nodded and smiled.

“Yes, I believe they are.  Thank you for bringing them.”

“My pleasure,” said Severus with a flourish, winking at Harry and Niamh before he straightened and Apparated away.

“Come inside, dears,” said Mrs. Weasley.  “Harry, how you’ve grown!”

Harry flushed slightly.  By now he was challenging Ron for height.  And the way it looked, he was probably going to end up taller than his friend.

Niamh poked him in the ribs and he glared down at her, earning a bright grin in response.

As soon as they were inside, a red whirlwind from the kitchen threw itself onto him.

“HARRY!”

“There you are!  I was beginning to wonder if the two of you were ever going to get here.”

Harry grinned over Ginny’s red hair at Mika.  The white-haired boy was leaning against the doorframe, smiling.  But his dark eyes were darting from Harry down to Ginny and back.

Harry immediately understood.

Mika had a crush on Ginny.

He smirked inwardly and disengaged Ginny from his chest, grinning down at her.  She grinned back, brown eyes glittering.

“‘Lo, Gin.”

She blushed and murmured, “Hello, Harry.”

Harry smiled and said, “I’m wearing yer gift.”

Ginny’s eyes widened and Ron looked at his questioningly.  Mika looked furious.

“R-r-really?”

Harry nodded and pulled the basilisk necklace out from under his shirt to where it lay out in the open, the emerald eyes glittering.  Ginny flushed even more and ducked her head.

Niamh nudged Harry in the ribs and he heard her thoughts clearly in his head as Jardin had fluttered in from the Weasley’s living room.  Harry had sent the raven earlier that day to wait for him.

Look, she’s blushing.

Hush, Ni.

Oh, but she’s so cute when she blushes…

Harry rolled his eyes.

You do know what that sounds like don’t you?

Yes.  Do I look like a give a damn?

Not in the slightest.

Good.

Niamh grinned and Harry smiled.  Hermione glanced between Mika and Harry and decided to quickly change the subject.

“When are you going to tell us the Big Secret, Harry?”

Harry frowned and considered it for a moment.

“Now’s good, I ‘spose.  Le’s go up ter Ron’s room.”

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

< Harry, this is crazy. >

Shut up, Jar.

Jar, its not crazy.  Harry has to tell them!

< No, he doesn’t! >

Yes, he does!

Jar, if I don’t tell them and they find out I might as well have let the basilisk kill me.

< Fine.  But just remember that I had no part in this! >

Of course you didn’t, Jar.

Harry turned from his conversation with the raven, which was perched on the headboard of Ron’s bed watching Scabbers snooze on the windowsill.  The rat had been looking worse and worse ever since Ron and his family had returned from their trip to Egypt.

“So, Harry, going to tell us or are we going to sit here all day?”

Harry looked at Mika, who was perched on Ron’s bed with Ginny.  Ron himself was sitting on the other side of the bed while Hermione and Niamh had settled on his and Mika’s trunks.  Harry himself was sitting on the floor.

“Yeh.  I am.”

“So, what is it?” asked Ron, blue eyes bright.

Harry looked at Jardin, who looked balefully back at him, then turned towards Niamh, who nodded reassuringly.  Turning back to his friends, Harry took a deep breath and muttered something in Elven before looking up again.

“Professor Snape is me father.”