Harry and his guests sat in the kitchen, enthusiastically eating the cereal that had magically appeared before them when they sat down. Harry suspected the Headmaster’s hand in this magically materialising brunch. After all, Snape hadn’t returned and probably wouldn’t for some time.

The Headmaster was still dealing with the wards. Every now and then there would be a fizz or shock of energy that would set Harry’s skin tingling. Now that he knew the new wards were mostly for his own benefit, he felt slightly embarrassed with each new surge of magic added to the Manor’s defences. He also felt a little smug. Dumbledore’s magic, though powerful, paled in comparison to Harry’s own. Harry was stunned when he thought of what he would be like once he’d trained his ability a little. He could feel that his body had almost recovered from the last use, and couldn’t wait to try a new spell. Maybe I really will vanish Snape’s cauldrons – if only to see his face – and then, when he’s searched all over for them, magic them back again!

Harry hid his smirk behind a mug of tea and looked over to his two companions. Shadow, who was once again reflected in Harry’s glasses, was watching them too. I wonder what it’s like to truly meet people you have memories of for the first time. If only he could talk to them!

Harry took another sip of tea and frowned a little. He didn’t want to risk casting two spells on Shadow even if it might be for his counterpart’s benefit – something might go horribly wrong. Something might have gone wrong the first time, and then where would Harry be? I refuse to endanger him because of my own ineptitude. If I do cast any more spells on him, I’ll be doing them a long way in the future! I’ll just have to build my skills up using less important things… like Death Eaters.

“Huh, ‘some disturbances’, indeed!”

Sirius and Lupin looked up in surprise. “What is it, Harry?” the latter asked.

“I just noticed how Dumbledore classed a Death Eater attack and the deaths of fifty people as ‘some disturbances’. I dread to think what he would call a national disaster.”

“You-Know-Who in fishnets?”

“Padfoot! If you can’t be serious then be quiet! That is not an image that I want to consider at the breakfast table, and I’m sure Harry doesn’t either. Now, Harry, as you have already noticed, our Headmaster has the gift of the understatement. I think it’s his way of dealing with things.”

Harry nodded seriously, or as seriously as a person can when there is someone in hysterics hidden in his own glasses. Harry shuddered and wondered how Shadow could find such a hideous image so amusing. He rolled his eyes and pulled his spectacles off to clean them on the hem of his shirt while trying to remember what Lupin had just said.

“Yeah, I s’pose so. Like, I don’t like to talk to anyone if I’m upset, or like Snape just gets even nastier. And… well, I don’t know about you two.” Harry looked from one to the other, expectantly, and risked putting his glasses back on. Shadow was nowhere in sight.

“He gets ridiculously polite. It’s like listening to someone’s old-fashioned butler!”

“While Padfoot just becomes even more maddeningly flippant,” Lupin said as he directed a glare at his friend. “It’s exhausting just listening to you normally, so would you please tone it down? It’s far too early in the morning to deal with you, especially after we’ve spent the better part of the night beating off psychopaths.”

“Come now, Moony, it wasn’t that bad!” Sirius leaned forward to talk to Harry, who was currently looking around the large kitchen and wondering where on earth his counterpart had got to. Harry gave up the search temporarily to listen to what Sirius had to say.

“Once the old Order got there – that’s the resistance – what happened next was essentially a siege between us and them. Dumbledore really helped turn the tide of battle later on, but truthfully, most of the time we were just sitting around because we couldn’t get to them and they couldn’t get to us. In fact…” Sirius eyes turned sly. “While we were sitting around doing nothing, Dumbledore casually brought up the fact that he suspected the attack was being used as a distraction, and because of that, he’d put you in a safe place.

“Naturally I asked where this was, and imagine my surprise when Dumbledore said that he’d put you in Tharabraye Manor! I’d come to this part of the country when I was a boy, see? And I remember this terrible, ramshackle building about three miles from the village. I was worried about you, so the next chance I got, I Apparated to the Manor.”

“So that’s where you disappeared off to. I did wonder.” Professor Lupin shook his head in disbelief.

Sirius grinned at him and continued his story. “Imagine my shock, when instead of seeing the rundown wreck I was expecting, there was nothing there at all!”

“Nothing there? But, how?” Harry was watching Sirius wide-eyed and barely noticed that Shadow had sidled back into his frames. Sirius came to see me? Why didn’t I get to see him?

“That’s what I thought, until I realised that it wouldn’t be considered a safe place unless it had substantial wards. And, sure enough, there was the slight hum of magic when I searched for it. The wards were well-built, but lacking in strength. Whoever had cast them had been worn out by casting such powerful ones over such a large area.” Here, Sirius sneered at the thought of the caster. Harry didn’t have to ask why.

“I thought I’d take down a couple of the wards, hop over, quickly say hello and hop back before anyone noticed. I was about halfway through, and had managed to make the Manor visible to my eyes, when the front door of the Manor burst open and who should come tearing out like an angel of hell, but Snape! I was so shocked I didn’t even think to Apparate!

“Of course, the second he gets to the wall, he starts waving his wand around and yelling threats. Nearly set fire to me as well, the sodding bastard! I managed to get away before I was roasted, but it was a close thing! I went straight to Albus, demanding to know why he’d let you anywhere near Snape and why on Earth he had placed you both in the Manor. Turns out Snape bought the place and did it up.” Sirius glanced around the kitchen, determined to be unimpressed by what he saw. “And then the old man has the gall to tell me off for intruding! Honestly!”

Harry was silent after Sirius’ recitation of his story and he barely heard Lupin admonishing his godfather for feeling no guilt about trespassing. That night. It must have been the night I woke up and saw Snape sitting by my bed… I thought it was weird at the time, but he must have been watching over me after repelling an unknown intruder!

No one’s ever cared about my safety that much, or at least, they haven’t shown it. Harry bit his lip, feeling bizarrely vulnerable. Does Snape really care about me? How can he? It’s all so confusing!

“Well… um… thanks for coming, anyway, Sirius.”

“No problem, kid!

“Harry, don’t encourage him! It’s bad enough that I have to retrain him now that he’s out of Azkaban.”

Harry snorted and glanced out the window, surprised to discover that all of the morning and some of the afternoon had gone already. Snape would be back soon and then both Sirius and Lupin would have to go. Harry found himself strangely ambivalent about that. True, he was having a wonderful time getting along with both of them, but in a way, he was still recovering and he wanted nothing more than to curl up on the lawn with a good book. Lupin wouldn’t mind, but Sirius would never be able to sit still long enough.

Come to think of it, he really wasn’t feeling all that well now. Maybe he ought to let Lupin know…

Suddenly, it felt like steel bands were contracting around his arms. His blood fizzed and ached as if he had just cast a wandless spell of phenomenal power and his hands went numb. Harry whimpered low in his throat, barely hearing Shadow’s cry of concern before the world went black.

HPSSHPSSHPSS

Severus scowled at the moving model of a galaxy in the shop window. Honestly! What a useless thing. Snorting in disgust, he turned away and strode up the street, grateful that he’d finished collecting the items on the Potter’s school list. He had even managed to purchase a few things for his own use. Now all he had left to buy were a few odds and ends for his owls; probably for Potter’s too, if she ever showed up.

I hope those despicable people didn’t do anything terrible to her. Potter was really attached to that owl. What was her name again?

People parted before him on the busy street like water before the bow of a ship, which cheered his flagging spirits up a little. Severus pushed open the door to the Magical Menagerie and strode inside. Most people would normally have gone to Eelops Owl Emporium, but for some reason, the proprietors did not like Severus. Maybe it was something to do with the fact that the shop emptied very quickly whenever he entered it…

The woman behind the counter of the animal shop glanced up briefly as he walked in and quickly waved him through to the back. Severus nodded to her as he passed and stepped through the door marked ‘staff only’. It was a well known fact – for the adults, at least – that the front of the shop was only there for any children who happened to wander in.

The back of the shop was off limits to anyone under seventeen and contained some of the more ‘interesting’ things one could purchase, as well as the best stock. After all, it wouldn’t do for a child to be maimed or to waste an expensive product after buying it.

A cacophony of sound met Severus’ ears as he entered. Animals of all shapes, sizes, colours, breeds and magical strength filled the large room, making it difficult for the eye to decide where to settle. Red wolves that breathed fire, creatures made entirely from electricity called Sizzles, ultraviolet sparrows which glowed with bright, unnatural light, and a display case of large, orange Puffskeins settled before one of the large, mullioned windows. There was even a single, black phoenix settled on a perch on the far end of the shop, next to the vast shelves filled with the items used for keeping these many, varied familiars.

Severus briefly glimpsed a new exhibit of creatures that had not been there the last time he had come into the shop, but he was more interested in getting what he wanted and going straight back home.

God only knows what those two heathens are up to in my house. Severus was still puzzled as to why he had let Black and Lupin stay. Of course, it wasn’t because of the joy Potter had shown at their arrival…

Loaded with owl necessities, Severus made his way towards the small counter in the corner, placed his things on it and rang the bell. His eyes flicked over to the new display, and finally, curiosity overcame his need to hurry.

He strolled over to the tank as the proprietress priced his choices. It appeared to be filled with several, brightly coloured snakes, all of which raised their heads as he approached. An electric blue one flickered its red tongue at him before curling up once again for another nap. The rest followed suit, save for a small, mint green one near the back, which continued to stare at him avidly.

“Will that be all, sir?”

“Madam, what are these creatures? Is their main distinction their unusual colours, or do they have another skill?”

“Ah, the Ophidians.” The woman bustled over to him and gestured at the tank. “They’re one of the few species of snake that has been around wizards so long that they’ve developed some magic of their own. The most common ability they have is being able to understand humans without the witch or wizard hissing in that hideous language!” She shuddered and the green snake hissed angrily. Severus blinked and stared at the creature which now appeared to be sulking. She was speaking the truth after all… Wouldn’t a snake like this be appropriate for Potter? An unusual animal for an unusual boy.

The shop owner tsk-ed irritably and Severus looked up in surprise. “Madam?”

“That one! Always causing trouble! I’ll never be able to find a home for it. It’s driving me insane and I don’t even have to look at it for most of the time!”

“How much would it be?” What? What are you doing!

“If you want it, take it. I can’t wait to get rid of the beast. Here, I’ll get you a heated box.” The woman bustled off, leaving Severus staring at the startled snake, feeling just as shocked as it looked. What has got into me?

“Well? Are you coming?” he snapped irritably, holding out his hand for the serpent to climb on. The snake seemed to consider for a minute before it slid forward and coiled around his hand. Severus jumped. The woman had said that the creature contained magic, but he hadn’t expected to actually feel it sliding underneath its scales.

“Well,” he cleared his throat, “Well…” Luckily, at that point, the shop owner returned with what looked like a small, soapstone igloo. Severus raised an eyebrow. “And what, Madam, is that?”

The woman appeared inordinately pleased with herself. “This, here, is a heat box; a place for the little thing to hide and bask. Of course, being magical, Ophidians are much hardier than ordinary snakes. They can survive in most temperatures as long as they’re neither boiling nor freezing, but they still have their reptilian instincts, so…”

Severus wondered briefly if there was any way to shut the woman up now that she’d started prattling. He settled for pointedly closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. He would need all of his invective intact for use against Black.

“…And so, they can survive on any living Potions ingredients. Easy to keep and easy to look after. That’ll be eight Galleons, three Sickles all together, sir.” Severus quickly handed over the money and left the shop with both with the snake inside its temporarily sealed container and his shrunken purchases hidden in one of the many pockets of his robes. Despite the fact that there’d been no mishaps, he couldn’t wait to get home… and evict the interlopers, no matter how happy they made Potter.

The second that Severus set foot inside his Manor, he was rushed upon by Black and Lupin. Folding his arms across his chest and tried his best to look forbidding.

He was desperate to have them gone, and the fact that they looked so anxious was enough to make him nervous. Not that he showed it. Maybe they broke something. Oh, how I’d enjoy making them pay for it!

It was Lupin that spoke first. “Severus,” Stop using my first name, dammit! “Harry’s collapsed. We put him back in his bedroom, but we couldn’t rouse him, not even with magic! He was fine a second before, but then he just moaned and fell off his chair!” Lupin was wringing his hands and Black was fidgeting, but Severus hardly noticed.

Potter? Hurt? Harry’s hurt! Oh Merlin; and I left him alone! How could I? Severus eyes narrowed as he realised that he could shift the blame to someone else. “You overtaxed him, didn’t you?” he hissed in his softest voice.

Both men immediately snapped their gaze to his face and stilled, the canine in them sensing danger.

“Well, he seemed fine before…” mumbled Lupin in a pacifying tone. Severus cut him off.

“He seemed fine? He seemed fine! The boy told you he was recovering from a broken ankle, and you even commented on how abominably thin he was! But no, the great Marauders always get what they want! I daresay you didn’t even give him a chance to catch his breath.” The venom in his tone would have been strong enough to dissolve metal.

“Look,” Black snarled, enraged by the accusations, “he was fine; he said he was fine and he looked fine! This happened out of the blue with no warning signs, so how dare you accuse me of not taking good care of my godson!”

Severus stepped closer until he was invading Black’s personal space. He was a bare inch taller than Black, and he planned to use that to great effect, despite the fact that he was so angry that his hands were shaking. Some small, detached part of his mind wondered why.

“Didn’t you ever consider that the boy appeared to be fine because he did not wish to look weak to the pair of you?” Severus’ sneer increased as Black blinked in surprise. Lupin stood off to one side, forgotten for the moment. “The. Boy. Was. Abused! He is not about to go around flaunting his weaknesses! Especially not to two of the people – Merlin only knows why – he respects and likes! There was a time in which I did not think you could get any denser, Black, but you have just proven me wrong!”

Black’s face turned an interesting shade of vermillion. “Now, see here, Snivellus–”

Severus’ patience snapped. “Out! Get out of my house! You are obviously unfit to be let anywhere near the boy!”

“I’m his godfather!”

“You’re also a moron!”

“Now what is going on in here?”

The three men turned to see the Headmaster standing in the doorway, looking rather haggard. Severus managed to speak first.

“These Gentlemen have been neglecting my ward!”

“We most certainly have not!” Black even had the nerve to look indignant.

Severus whirled on him. “Enough! Get out of my house; all of you!”

“But–”

“I think that is quite enough, Sirius. We have rather overstayed our welcome. If you two would wait for me outside… Thank you.” Albus turned to his Potions Master with a concerned look on his face. “Severus? What’s happened?”

Severus ran a hand through his hair. “The second I stepped through my own front door, I was set upon by those two incompetent mutts, saying that Potter had collapsed.” He glanced up the stairs. “I’d better go and check on him.”

Albus chuckled. “It’s all right to be worried, my boy.”

“Worried? Who said I was worried?” Severus snarled.

“Oh, nobody would accuse you of that, Severus.” Albus eyes twinkled. “If only because they did not want to get on the wrong side of your razor tongue.”

Severus slumped a little, the fight going out of him. “Irritating old man.”

“So I’ve been told. Now, your wards are all finished. You should have no more problems with unwanted guests.”

“Even guests you bring?”

The Headmaster’s lips quirked into a smile. “Not even those. I take it you had no mishaps on your shopping trip?”

Severus thought briefly about the snake, but decided against saying anything and shook his head instead.

“Excellent. I shall now be on my way. Goodbye, Severus.” Severus gave a curt nod and watched as the door clicked behind the old man. He then turned and hurried up the staircase.

It was only when he closed the bedroom door behind him that he noticed that Potter’s eyes were open and watching him. Unsure of quite what to do with himself, he strode forward and settled in the chair beside the boy’s bed and simply stared at him. His legs were grateful for the rest; they had gone shaky with relief.

It was Potter who spoke first. “Did you mean what you said?”

Severus’ eyes narrowed. “Which part in particular?”

“Well, everything, really.” The boy shrugged and turned on his back, gazing up at the ceiling and deliberately not looking at the Potions Master. “It’s just… when you said all that stuff… It actually seemed like you…” Potter swallowed, refusing to move his gaze from the ceiling, “cared.”

Severus stared, horrified, at the child. I only said those things to get at Black! And now he thinks that… that I… “No! Potter, it’s not like–”

Potter cut him off. “Oh. That’s all right then.” The eyes closed. “I just – y’know – wondered.”

Severus found himself speechless for the second time that day. “Hmm, indeed. Go to sleep, Potter. I shall come and check on you later on to see if you haven’t done any damage to your foolish self.” Severus stood and walked towards the door, only to stop as he heard an almost inaudible sigh from behind him. His hands fisted in his robes briefly; this child is going to kill me! “Here!”

He marched back to the bed and dumped the small, stone igloo on the side table. Potter’s eyes snapped open and he stared at the thing in surprise. “Your birthday present.” Severus throat almost closed around the words, but he managed to say them. And then he fled.

He didn’t look back, but if he had, he would have seen a small smile slowly grow into a full-blown grin on Potter’s face.