Ron tumbled out of the floo at 12 Grimmauld Place, landing on his back with a thud as his head hit the floor. He hadn't been able to regain his balance after Snape had pushed him into the green flames and sent him spinning back to his temporary home.

"Ugh," he grumbled. The lights from the overhead chandelier spun in circles forcing him to close his eyes.

"Look Fred, Ickle Ronniekins is back. Hold him down!" George shouted.

Fred plopped down on his knees and pinned his arms to his side. "Hurry!"

"Get off me!" Ron struggled to push Fred off him, but his hands kept grabbing air, still seeing double or sometimes triple.

"No way, little brother. You lost the bet," George unwrapped a piece of taffy like candy over his head. "Open up."

Ron shook his head, but it was no use. He was outnumbered. George grabbed his head and pried open his mouth, holding it open until Fred replaced his hands on Ron's arms with his feet and popped the candy into his mouth. It rolled into the back of his mouth in a perfect place to spit it out, but the twins had that covered, too. One twin covered his mouth while the other one pinched his nose forcing him to chew and swallow the experimental candy.

"Boys!" their mother yelled from the doorway. "Let your brother go! Now!"

Sighing, Fred and George released him before standing up. "It was his fault!" the twins said in sync, each one pointing to the other.

"I don't care whose fault it is! You shouldn't attack your brother like that!" their mum pulled her wand out and aimed a stinging hex at each twin.

"Ow!" George rubbed his arm.

"You are both to go to your room now and stay there until morning!" she kneeled down next to him. "Are you alright, Ron?"

"But Mum, you can't ground us! We're of age!" Fred stayed frozen in place.

"I don't care if you're Dumbledore's age! You're both grounded to your room until morning! Don't make me add another day or set a locking charm to the door and take away your wands," Mrs. Weasley gave her sons a stern look.

"Come on, Fred," George grabbed his twin by the arm and whispered something into his ear as he guided him towards the door.

"Ron?" she turned her attention to him. "What did they make you eat this time?"

"I don't know," Ron sat up with the help of his mother, his hair changing to hot pink.

"Oh dear," his mum patted his shoulder. "At least it's not harmful."

"What?" his hair switched to a pastel purple.

"It seems that every time you talk, your hair turns color," she grabbed a throw pillow off the sofa and transfigured it into a mirror. "Take a look."

Ron took the mirror from his mother, his eyes growing wide at the sight of himself with purple hair. "Please tell me there's not an Order meeting tonight," his hair turned green, Slytherin green. He couldn't be seen by many of his professors and possible future coworkers with ever-changing hair! It was too embarrassing.

"No dear, there isn't. Let's get you up to bed and with any luck it'll wear off by the morning," she stood up and offered a hand down to him. Ron took his mum's hand, glad for the extra support since his world hadn't yet stopped spinning all the way. "Are you hurt?"

"I don't think so," Ron brought his free hand up to the back of his head, feeling a small bump. "Maybe, but not from Fred and George. Ugh, what color now?"

"Teal," she tilted his head back. "I can't see anything, but you're getting too tall, so I'll look once we get up to your room and you're sitting down. Come now." His mum put a hand on his shoulder and steered him towards the door as the floo spit a letter onto the hearth. "Hold on."

Letting go of Ron's shoulder, she hurried over to the floo and picked up the letter. He saw her eyes widen before breaking the seal and proceeding to read the missive. "Ronald Bilius Weasley! How could you? I know I raised you better!" she gave him the look and Ron darted without a second's thought. If he ran fast enough, he might be able to convince the twins to let him seek shelter in their room.

*~AIE~*

After a small dinner of grilled cheese and soup, which Harry managed to eat half a sandwich and more than a few bites of soup, Severus cleaned up the kitchen while Harry started on his summer Potions homework. He could hear wood creaking from Harry swinging his legs along with the crinkle of the pages turning and the scratching of a quill. It felt strange, but oddly normal. He couldn't help but wonder if this would become routine and that if it were, he could see himself getting used to it. There was something so right about cleaning up after not one but two people while his son started tackling a new assignment.

"Severus?" Harry called, his voice tentative as if the child wasn't sure he should be calling him by his given name.

"Yes, Harry?" the Potions Master responded, sanitizing the last counter.

"Can you bring me some more apple juice when you're finished?"

"And just what am I? A house-elf?" Severus rolled his eyes, holding back a laugh that threatened to escape his throat. One so called rescue and Harry's attitude towards him flipped 180 degrees. No doubt the change was temporary. After all, he'd just told the child that morning of their newfound familial relationship, but he'd enjoy it while he could.

"I just thought..." Harry trailed off, his voice laced with disappointment.

Perhaps he hadn't put enough inflection in his tone. "I was joking, child. I'll bring you more apple juice in a second," Severus peeked around the corner to the dining alcove.

"Thanks!" Harry's frown turned into a smile before returning to his text.

"You're welcome, though next time you might think to add please into your request," he washed his hands before grabbing the jug of apple juice from the cold cabinet.

"Oh, right. Sorry!"

Teenagers! Severus shook his head. Hadn't anyone taught the child manners? He paused as he realized his mistake. Who would've taught him? Those horrid Muggles? Well, Severus would just have to remedy that over the summer.

"Are you at a stopping point?" he poured more apple juice into his child's glass.

"The section ends after this page," Harry's finger pointed to a line of text that he was copying into his notes. The end of the quill shook, exaggerating the remaining trembling in his child's hands. Severus looked down at the parchment noting Harry's handwriting appeared messier than usual. He also didn't fail to notice how slow the child was writing. He added inquiring and researching exercises to improve his son's control over his hands to his growing mental list.

"Once you're finished with that section, stop. There's a few things we need to discuss, including why I called you Mr. Prince earlier."

"Okay," Harry snapped his head up while reaching for the inkwell. His quill hit the edge and tipped the inkwell over. Black ink splattered onto the table. A few droplets made its way towards Harry's textbook, but Severus grabbed the inkwell and placed it back onto the table before the splatters could turn into a river. With a swish of his wand, the spilled ink vanished without leaving a stain on the table or Harry's text.

"I'm sorry! I could've cleaned it up," his child looked towards the kitchen, probably to see if he could spot the place Severus kept the cleaning supplies.

Yes, those hand exercises were definitely needed. Until then, perhaps he should visit a Muggle stationary store tomorrow to pick up a few Muggle pens and notebooks. It took a lot less control and finesse to use a pen in comparison to a quill, not to mention the exclusion of an inkwell.

"It was a harmless accident. You're not the first person to tip over an inkwell nor will you be the last," Severus cursed the Muggles in his head. "Finish your section."

Harry nodded and with extra care dipped the quill into the inkwell.

How much damage had the Dursleys caused? Was Harry prone to having random reactions harking back to their treatment of him until Severus brought up the subject and his son healed from it? Severus took a seat at the table opposite his child. Why had his younger self thought a self-obliviation was a good idea again?

"I'm really sorry. I...my hands..." Harry stopped writing and set down his quill.

"I know, child," Severus reached across the table and took his child's hands into his own. "I wasn't blaming you, but thinking what your relatives must've done to you for you to react that way," he chose his words carefully not wanting to imply Harry was damaged in any way because of them.

"They didn't...I mean-" the child tried to pull his hands out of Severus', but he held them in place.

"Harry, you don't have talk about it now unless you wish to. You may always talk to me or anyone else you feel comfortable with about the time spent with your relatives when you're ready. You don't have to tackle everything at one time."

The child nodded, giving him a half smile. He squeezed his son's hands once in reassurance and loosened his grip. Harry surprised him with a weak squeeze of his own before the smaller pair of hands withdrew to his lap.

"Are you finished then?" Severus looked towards the text.

"Yeah," Harry blew on the wet ink of his notes until it dried, and then stowed them in his textbook.

"Very well. Would you rather talk here or on the sofa where no doubt a certain cat will come and beg for your attention?" he tried to look annoyed when Flurry jumped onto his lap to voice her opinion, but he admitted they had been ignoring her as of late.

"On the sofa. I miss Flurry sleeping with me," Harry pushed himself up to his feet.

"You mean on you," Severus corrected with a laugh as he nudged Flurry off his lap before standing and walking around the table to help his child to the sofa.

"She's warm," his child shrugged, smiling as Flurry jumped on his lap and began to purr.

"Are you not warm enough while you sleep? I can pull out another blanket to lay on your bed," he frowned and returned to the table to grab their drinks.

"No, it just felt nice."

"Good, but you know you can ask for something if you need it, correct?" Severus sat down on the edge of the coffee table setting their drinks next to him. He wanted to be face-to-face with his child when they discussed the latest hurdle they'd need to overcome.

"I did with the apple juice, didn't I?" Harry retorted with a smile.

"Brat," Severus rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to gently swat his child's arm, not wishing to accidentally hurt his son or leave a bruise on the delicate skin. He was glad Harry's spirit was up considering the incident with the youngest Mr. Weasley, and he hoped their following conversation wouldn't do anything to change that, but he knew better. "Speaking of your apple juice, if Professor McGonagall agrees to sit with you in the morning, I have a few errands to run and one of them is for groceries. Besides more apple juice is there anything you'd like?"

"Applesauce...ummm..."

"Are you turning into an apple maniac on me?" he shook his head, but happy to get anything Harry would eat. "Shall I also return with apple pie and apple donuts?"

"No, just applesauce. The other things sound good, but not yet," Harry paused. "Are there really apple donuts or are you trying to pull one on me?"

"There are, and they are very good though I'm not sure if you can buy them in the UK. I've found them in quite a few place in the States," Severus could taste the fresh, delicious donut, and decided that even if Harry wasn't up for one, he'd check a London donut shop for himself. "Do you want regular or cinnamon applesauce?"

"Cinnamon. It's not more, is it? I can always put cinnamon in myself if it is," his child backtracked, almost as if scolding himself for requesting what he wanted.

"Stop," Severus held up his hand. "What the groceries cost is no concern to you. You needn't worry about the cost of anything. If you need or want something and it's a reasonable request then I'll get it for you. Eventually, I will give you a weekly allowance for you to spend how you wish, but I am responsible for your wellbeing and that includes providing you with the necessities and things I think you need."

"But I have money. You don't have to," Harry pulled at his sleeves.

"I want to. Besides, I hope you save the money in your vault for after you finish Hogwarts," Severus took a sip of his coffee. "Are you going to be eating applesauce for every meal?"

"No, umm...I'm not sure what I want," Harry sighed. "Whatever will stay in my stomach would be good."

"Once this first round of chemo is done, I suspect your appetite will return. Do you like pasta, chicken, jelly, breakfast cereals?" Severus tried to remember the foods he enjoyed the most as a teen. "Pizza?"

"Pizza? Does Hogsmeade have a pizza place? I thought pizza was only a Muggle thing," the child furrowed his eyebrows.

"Have you forgotten that I'm a Potions Master, and so by extension a decent cook?" he grabbed a spare piece of parchment and started to make a list.

"Right. I'm not that picky normally," his son shrugged, "but I don't like turkey or anything with mayo. Anything else is okay really. Maybe some different kinds of juices, and some chocolate with caramel and lollipops, that is if that's okay."

"I'll add them to my list. Is there anything else you need while I'm out?"

"Not really," Harry shook his head.

"Not really means yes. What is it you want?" Severus looked up from his list to see a bit of anxiety in his son's green eyes. "If it's a reasonable request, I'll do my best to fulfill it."

"Well, I don't really know what I want, but besides reading I don't have much to do," Harry averted his gaze while he rubbed Flurry's paw.

Surely the child had a few things stashed in his chest to occupy his time. The child was a little old for children's toys, but he had to have some crayons, playing cards, something, even if he bought it himself on a Hogsmeade weekend or in Diagon Alley when he went to buy his school supplies. However, if Harry were as fickle about his money as he seemed, it wouldn't be strange for the child to not buy things that weren't absolutely necessary.

"I'll see what I can do," Severus jotted down toys and games onto his list with the hope that he came back with something the teen liked. He set the list and quill to the side as he took a deep breath. With the easy stuff over, it was time to move onto the harder, but necessary conversations. "As you know I spoke with Miss Adamson earlier about the resulting effects from the Dark Lord's attack."

Harry nodded, his hand stopping in the middle of petting Flurry. She butted her head up against his son's hand, but his child stayed frozen as if waiting for a death sentence.

"You have what's called peripheral neuropathy, which is a fancy way of saying nerve damage throughout the nerves extending from you spinal column," Severus took Harry's hand from its position in midair. "We're not sure if the neuropathy was chemotherapy induced or if the Dark Lord brought it on from his use of the Cruciatus, or more likely, a combination of both. The cause doesn't matter since it's treated the same way."

"It won't get worse, will it?" Harry bit his lip. "If it does, and the salve doesn't work, will I have to live with the pain?"

"No, child. If the salve doesn't work, there are other options like a nerve block or pain medication delivered intrathecally. You needn't worry that we can't do something to take away your pain," Severus massaged Harry's hand. "Is the pain returning?"

"I'm sore, but it's a dull ache like after playing quidditch too long."

"Good. I'll reapply the salve when you go to sleep, and at this rate we should be able to get by with three applications a day rather than the maximum of four until we taper off the usage as your nerves and pain levels stabilize. We can't guarantee the neuropathy won't worsen. It'll depend on the Dark Lord's plans, your success at Occlumency, and how your body reacts to the chemotherapy," he stopped massaging his son's right hand. "Hold your hand out."

Harry lifted his hand off Severus' palm and held it out. There was a small tremble to his hand that while noticeable wasn't obvious by a quick glance. "Is there some medication for it?"

"There is. You've been taking it as a pre-caution, but now the dosage will be upped. Unfortunately, it can't heal your nerves all the way-"

"What? I'm going to shake for the rest of my life?" Harry flung his arms up, and Flurry meowed before jumping off Harry's lap. 

"I didn't say that," he kept his voice calm and soothing as he held his hand out. "Do you see my hand or arm trembling?"

He watched Harry examine his arm from both sides and even set two fingers on his hand to feel for shaking. "No. Did Voldemort Crucio you, too?"

"Yes, and I've most likely been subjected to it more times than you have. There's a potion I developed that heals the nerves completely except for the optic nerve," he took Harry's left hand and began giving it the same treatment as his right.

"That's why you have reading glasses!" Harry relaxed his hand into Severus' hold.

"Correct. Unfortunately, you won't be able to take the potion until your treatment for leukemia is finished, but it's a better alternative to permanent nerve damage. In the meantime, I hope that if we strengthen your muscles using simple exercises that can be done sitting or lying down, particularly the ones in your limbs, the trembling won't be as noticeable and you'll maintain your grip, balance, and control," Severus explained.

"Is that all? I'll really have to live with it until then, even if it gets worse?" Harry gulped.

"Yes. Muggle and magical medicine isn't very advanced when it comes to nerve diseases and disorders, but remember you'll never have to live with the pain and if things become worse, we'll find alternative ways for you to do things like using a pen instead of a quill," he let go of Harry's hand. "In addition, we've changed your treatment schedule and added a few things that you should be aware of."

"No more chemo this week?" Harry asked, his green eyes filled with hope.

"A temporary stoppage. I'm surprised you haven't noticed the absence of a chemo bag on your infusion pump," Severus looked towards the infusion pump where a bag of saline and anti-emetics hung.

"Is that why I've been feeling better and not throwing up?" his child looked up at his infusion pump.

"Most likely. It seems the original anti-emetics work after the chemotherapy is stopped. We're going to give your body a chance to rest and recover through tomorrow and then Thursday we're going to start a different mix of chemotherapy drugs incase it was the drugs that caused the nerve damage," he explained. "The new chemotherapy infusions won't last all day, but a few hours in the morning. However, they're more intense. If we're lucky though, the new mixture will agree with your body more in terms of side effects."

"Does the new chemotherapy work as well?" Harry tugged at his sleeves. "It won't change my chances?"

"It works just as well," Severus shifted over to the sofa and ran a hand through his child's hair as Harry leaned into his side. "I wouldn't approve the change if it didn't. Miss Adamson will be stopping by soon to check on you and to bring a pint of blood and platelets to infuse. Also, we've decided it's time to address your lack of appetite so remember the TPN intravenous feeding she talked to you about?"

He felt Harry nod against his chest.

"She's going to bring the necessary things for that, and we'll hook it up to you so that the infusion will be done in the morning, and you can be free of your infusion pump or any IV fluids for the day. So until the TPN is stopped, we'll need to note everything you eat and drink each day as the TPN will be used to supplement your food intake, not give you an excuse to not eat at all," Severus gave his child a stern glance that went unnoticed since Harry didn't look up.

"Okay," Harry yawned.

"Additionally, you'll be receiving your next dose of intrathecal chemotherapy on Friday as scheduled," he warned his son.

"You still want to stick a needle in my back when that's where it hurts the most?" his child grabbed his shirt. "You can't!"

"Harry, we can't let the leukemia spread to your brain or spinal column. Miss Adamson will give you a shot that numbs the area first, and if it's still too painful, we can put you under conscious sedation like we did when your Hickman was inserted," Severus rubbed the back of his child's neck.

"And you'll stay?" Harry whispered.

"The entire time," he promised. Severus wasn't going to make that mistake again. He planned to stay right next to his child during the procedure, and anticipate his son's requests before the child had a chance to make them.

"Alright then. If it has to be done." Harry leaned further until him until Severus felt like his side was supporting his child's entire weight as a long yawn escaped the child's mouth.

"I believe that means bedtime," he nudged Harry to sit up.

"But what about calling me Mr. Prince?" the child sat up and yawned again.

"Tomorrow. I don't think you want to fall asleep before I finish the next chapter of Lord of the Rings as a reward for your Occlumency meditation session," Severus smiled seeing his son shake his head before he even finished the sentence. "I didn't think so. Go get ready. I'll be there in a few minutes." Severus watched Harry retreat to his room as he finished up his cup of coffee. They had survived Day Three of Induction Chemo, four more days to go before what seemed like the longest week in his life would be over.

He stood up and took Harry's glass of apple juice to the kitchen, exchanging it for a fresh glass of water and then gathered his son's nighttime medications. One short Occlumency lesson, a chapter, another application of salve, and a quick visit from Miss Adamson and Harry would be asleep before eleven, giving Severus a few hours to cross off a couple things on his to do list before he retired to sleep with the hope of a full night of uninterrupted sleep.