Two days later, Severus and Harry sat at the kitchen table contemplating their respective breakfasts in silence. For all his excitement at seeing Ron and spending the night at the Burrow, now that the event was upon him, Harry was feeling guilty. Here he was, not even a month into his first summer holidays with the professor and he was abandoning­ the man.

He knew Severus didn’t have many friends; most of the time it didn’t enter his thoughts. He liked having him to himself, to be honest, despite how childish that sounded. But now the reality of Snape’s social life, or apparent lack thereof, came crashing down on the boy’s shoulders.

“Are you gonna be okay here without me?” he finally asked, looking squarely at his eggs and not at his guardian.

Snape lowered his paper and waited for a moment before replying, “I shall endeavour to survive. Somehow.”

Harry had begun to be able to decipher the line (the fine, fine line) in tone between the man’s biting sarcasm and good-natured teasing, and recognized this response as the latter of the two. Here he was concerned for the older wizard and getting mocked for his trouble!

“I’m completely serious!”

“I recognize that.”

And I recognize that you didn’t really answer me, Harry thought. Snape seemed to contemplate him for a moment before speaking again, only to turn Harry’s question back on him in turn.

“And you? Will you fare all right at the Weasley’s?” Well. Two could play at that game couldn’t they?

“I shall endeavour to survive. Somehow.” He replied with a smirk. For a brief second he worried that he had stepped over the line, but then the potions master gave a genuine laugh and Harry felt inordinately pleased with himself.

“We’ll be flooing over to the Burrow shortly. Have you packed your things?”

“Yes.”

“Then go wash up and meet me in the sitting room with your bag once you’re done.”

As Harry ran from the room he thought he heard Snape chuckling again.

“Quite the pair, you and I.”

*****

“When I said pack, this isn’t quite what I meant.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“I spent a good deal of time mending, transfiguring and shrinking both your wardrobe and my own in an effort to ensure you have passable clothing until we can get to Diagon Alley. At the very least you can attempt to fold them and place them in the bag.”

“That’s what I did!”

“Hardly. Balled them up and shoved them in is a more accurate description.” He could see the boy scowling out of the corner of his eye. Probably annoyed at the indignity of having his bag checked before leaving. And it’s a good thing he had decided to check after all.

“You are missing your pyjama bottoms, your toothbrush and a clean pair of pants for tomorrow.”

“I packed all those things!”

“Really? Care to pick them out of this pile for me?”

He was still smirking 5 minutes later when Harry returned from his room with the items in question. He had folded and repacked the overnight bag in the meantime, and watched as his charge did the same with the remainder, and soon they were ready to depart.

“Do you know what flooing is? Has anyone explained it to you before?”

“Not really.”

“Simply put, it is travel via fireplace, with different fireplaces throughout the wizarding world being connected via a network. One simply steps into the fireplace, tosses this floo powder -- ” here he deposited a small amount in Harry’s hand “and speaks their destination. In this case the Burrow. Be sure to say it clearly, lest you fall out the wrong fireplace at the other end. Do you understand?”

“Yes, but I have a question. What I step in and call out the Burrow and they’re using their fireplace on the other end. Won’t I get burnt up?”

“There are flames of a sort, but they are purely magical in nature and assist in travel. You will not be harmed, not by fire at least. It does tend to take a bit of practice, so do not be alarmed if you stumble upon reaching the Burrow.”

“Wizards really need to find safer ways of travelling.”

“Mmmmm. Unlike, say, long metal tubes hurtling at top speed thousands of feet in the air?”

“Point taken, but I’ve never been in one of those before either. What’s wrong with walking? Or with a broom, for that matter?”

“I do believe you’d find the time of your visit had elapsed in your attempt to get there.”

Harry only grunted and peered down at the increasingly sweat-soaked powder in his hand. “Do I go first or do you?”

“You. I prefer to arrive and see you made it through as opposed to waiting.” And worrying was left unsaid but not unheard, as so many of their conversations seemed to go these days. He watched as his ward peered at the fireplace with apprehension but still managed to take a deep breath and steel himself for the task. He couldn’t help but feel a flash of pride at Harry’s pluck.

Trying to ignore the fact that he had just felt proud of such a quintessential Gryffindor trait, Severus walked over to the mantle and took down a pouch that had been laying there.

“There is one more thing before you go. Pack this in your things. It is extra Floo powder. You should not need it,” he emphasized, “as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would be happy to supply some of their own should you need to call or come home. But if for some reason, some strange emergency you need to reach me the Weasleys cannot assist you, this is for you to use.”

He hoped there would be no questions about what kind of situation might exist where the Weasleys would be of no assistance. There was no need to plant new anxieties in the boy after all. But he needn’t have worried about that, since Harry was too occupied with staring at the pouch with an expression that Severus found disconcerting.

Gritting his teeth he decided to add, “You do recall our discussion about the healing balm I gave you? The same principle applies here.”

The memory hung in the air between them, Harry’s belief that such a simple medical tool was a gift, and Snape’s frustrated final understanding of just what the child had been denied.

Harry nodded, but the way he looked up and said “Thank you, sir.” made it clear that he was still having difficulty with the idea of what he deserved, what he should expect.

One day. Severus vowed. One day he will know and truly understand that care and attention are not gifts.

Out loud he only repeated the directive that the powder was for emergencies only, and stood back to watch as Harry Potter experience Floo Travel for the first time.

******

He’s barely had time to shout “The Burrow!” before Harry found himself stumbling headfirst out of the fireplace. Throwing out his hands to brace himself for a rough landing, he was rather shocked to land on a very soft surface.

Peeling his eyes open he found himself face to face with several cushions. “What the--?”

“Harry!”

“Welcome!”

“Did you have -- ”

“A nice trip?”

The twins. Of course.

“Hi guys.”

“That’s all we get?”

“Not even a ‘Thank you’?”

“After all, we were only -- ”

“Thinking of you, Harry dear.”

“Sure, yeah, thanks. But you better move all this before Snape...”

Too late. That was the moment the professor stepped through the floo, stepped rather gracefully, Harry noted with a scowl.

A scowl that matched Snape’s own as he took in the scene before him.

“I see the visit has gotten off to its most predictable start.”

“Now Professor!”

“We thought you of anyone--”

“Would appreciate our landing pad.”

“We wouldn’t way young Harry here--”

“To get hurt coming out of the fireplace.”

“Hmmm. Foresight. I’m surprised. Though I suppose between the two of you there ought to be enough common sense for one person.”

And with that, he swept out of the room.

“Hey Fred! We got a compliment!”

“From Snape!”

Harry rolled his eyes, but refrained from saying anything. In the end, they were right. That was as close to a compliment as you got from Snape.

“Where’s Ron?”

“Right here mate!” came a voice from the kitchen doorway. Harry greeted his best friend with a wide grin, and couldn’t help but feel pleased when an equally wide grin greeted him in return.

­­­­

“You’re finally here! It’s gonna be great, we’re gonna have a blast! Wanna see my room?”

“Sure!”

Severus watched as the two boys ran for the narrow stairs that led up to the upper floors of the Weasley home.

“I fear we’ve just set loose a storm in a very contained area.” He remarked to the elder Weasley’s.

“Oh, one more set of running feet and hollering lungs will barely go noticed around here. Can you stay for a cup of tea?”

“I suppose one won’t do any harm, besides potentially over caffeinate me.”

“An over caffeinated Severus Snape. That’s a thing of nightmares,” Arthur joked.

Taking the cup profferred by Molly he could only respond, “As it should be.”

************

One cup of tea soon turned into two, and a discussion of how Severus and Harry were faring thus far. They were interrupted briefly by Harry and the four youngest Weasley’s trampling through the room, shouting that they were headed outside to play a pickup game of Quidditch. Molly and Arthur barely turned their heads at pronouncement, but Severus attention was demanded by the insistent tug on his sleeve. Harry didn’t say anything, but Severus could see the question nonetheless.

“Go, go on with your friends.”

Twenty minutes later Snape had to deny a third cup of tea as well as resist the urge to go to the window to check on the boy.

The window, after all, was currently being used by the matriarch of the family.

“HARRY! The professor is leaving come say goodbye!”

“Be right there! Just gotta finish this round!”

“There is no need to interrupt their game. I have a time sensitive potion that I must get back to. I will be back tomorrow before lunch to pick him up. Thank you again for having Harry.”

“He is always welcome.”

He had gathered the floo powder in his hand when he heard his voice.

“Wait, sir! Please wait!”

Turning, he was surprised to see the slightly frantic look on Harry’s face.

“Sir! Don’t leave!”

“Harry, I believe that was the idea behind all this...”

“No, I mean, you can’t go without saying goodbye.”

“Ah well, you did appear to be enjoying---” Right then Harry threw himself at the man, wrapping his arms around Severus’ waist and squeezing more tightly than his guardian would have expected him capable of. “--- your game.”

“I’ll miss you!”

He detached the arms that will still clutching his robe and gave Harry’s shoulders a quick squeeze. “It is a mere twenty-four hours.”

Yes, he told himself as he stepped into the floo, it was only twenty-four hours, after all.