Harry had always known that Professor Dumbledore was an incredibly busy man, but he was increasing feeling like a spare part as he sat at the side of his Headmaster’s office. He had just finished his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and his Headmaster had informed him that he was going to be placed into the protection service which the school ran, for children whom they thought it was not safe for to return to there own homes. The professor said that it was a mixture of both pureblood and muggle-born students who were involved in the programme, and they were either placed with a wizarding family, or with one of the Hogwarts’ Professors. And that was all the information which Harry had been given.

The Headmaster finally looked up from whatever paper work he was doing at his desk. “Well then, Harry, let’s get going, shall we?” It sounded like a question, but Harry knew he wasn’t really getting a choice in this matter, and besides, anywhere had to be better than spending the summer at the Dursley’s, right? “We’re going to use the Floo system to get there, I’ll take your trunk through for you, and the place you want to be is Fernleaf Cottage. You go on through first Harry, my boy,” Dumbledore told him.

After his first experience with Flooing the summer before, Harry had decided that he definitely didn’t like this way of travelling. But he didn’t have a choice in this matter. He took a handful of Floo power, squeezed his eyes tightly shut and said “Fernleaf Cottage!” hoping against hope that he would arrive in the right place this time. He stumbled out of the fireplace into a small, plain looking room, with light wooden floor boards and whitewashed walls. There was nothing else in the room apart from the fireplace. Maybe the room was meant for the Floo system and the Floo system alone. The fire roared again behind him and much to Harry’s intense relief, Professor Dumbledore stepped out. So he had managed to get to the right place after all. The Headmaster smiled at him, before putting a hand on his shoulder and guiding him towards the door.

It was a good thing that Professor Dumbledore had a hand on his shoulder and was propelling him forward, because Harry would of stopped dead otherwise when he saw who was waiting for them in the next room. "Severus,“ the Headmaster greeted lightly.

“Headmaster,” Professor Snape returned the greeting, before coolly looking Harry over, who was staring at him with undisguised horror. "Mr Potter.”

“Professor,” Harry managed to choke out to return the greeting, hating how small and weak he sounded. And surely the Headmaster could not be serious. He could not intend to leave him with Snape the entire summer!

Snape moved to take his trunk from Professor Dumbledore, and Harry looked at his Headmaster beseechingly. The Headmaster just smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder. “I’m sure you’re very busy Headmaster, so we won’t keep you. I’ll just shown Mr Potter up to his room.”

“Very well, Severus,” the Headmaster replied. “I’ll be off then, now. I’ll see you both at school after the summer for the start of the new term.” And before Harry could do anything or even react, he had left the room and Harry heard the Floo go, meaning that he was well and truly gone. He resisted the urge to gulp and turned to nervously look at his Potions Professor.

“Come along now, Mr Potter, I’ll show you to your room, since, as I’m sure you have gathered, you will be staying here for the duration of the summer holidays,” his Potions Professor told him, before leading him over to a flight of stairs. The went up two flights of stairs, to what was the attic of the small cottage. It was a large bright open plan space, with beams and rafters over head, two large windows, and two beds placed rather near each other. And sitting cross legged on one of those beds, reading a book, was none other than Draco Malfoy. It was probably a good thing for everyone that Harry was still feeling so shocked with the situation that he couldn’t speak. Snape propped Harry’s trunk up by the door, before stepping further into the room. Draco looked up when he heard movements, and quickly scurried to put down his book and to stand up by the side of his bed. Even Harry knew that this was uncharacteristic behaviour from Draco Malfoy, and for now he was going to keep his mouth shut. He hesitantly followed Snape further into the room, and glanced between the Slytherin Head of House, and the Slytherin student.

Snape, for the moment, however, didn’t address either of them. “Lysandra! Jacen!” he instead called, and two houselves immediately popped into the room with two quiet cracks. “Lysandra, Jacen, Mr Malfoy,” he addressed each in turn. “Mr Potter will be staying here for the summer, and that is all that you need to know. It will change nothing.” Malfoy, and the two houselves, nodded. With that said, Snape left the room, and the two houselves also disappeared and Harry was left feeling more confused than ever.

Harry and Malfoy were alone in the room together now, both just looking at each other. Then Malfoy slowly sat back down on the other bed and crossed his legs beneath himself again. Harry shyly perched on the edge of the other bed, which he assumed was going to be his for the duration of his stay, never once taking his eyes off Malfoy. The other boy was being much too quiet for his liking. Shouldn’t they be insulting each other by now? That was the way it usually worked. But the other boy hadn’t said a word, and was now playing with the pages of the book which he had obviously been reading before Harry had arrived. Harry looked around the room, and then glanced across at his trunk, wondering if he should move it and unpack it.

“Leave it.” Malfoy suddenly broke the silence.

“Huh?” Harry turned to look at his fellow year-mate, his confusion easy to read.

“Your trunk, leave it,” Malfoy clarified, obviously being able to guess Harry’s thoughts. “Professor Snape will unpack it for you,” he went on to explain. “He’ll check that there’s nothing unsuitable for us in their, and will put everything in it’s proper place.” Harry just gaped at him. “Everything has it’s proper place,” the blonde haired boy emphasised, looking down at his bed. “Always make sure you return something to where you got it from, even here in our room.”

“Okay,” Harry said quietly, not really sure what was going on at all. And he certainly didn’t want Professor Snape going through his stuff, but Malfoy had sounded serious. He hadn’t sounded like he was winding him up, or being sarcastic or sneaky, he had just sounded like he was stating facts, and was resigned to that was how it was to be. “What are you doing here anyway, Malfoy?” Harry asked.

“Professor Dumbledore decided, and most of the other staff agreed, that my Father is not a suitable person to raise me. Therefore I have to stay here this summer just like you do,” Malfoy told him.

There was a crack, and one of the houselves appeared in the room, Harry didn’t know which one. “Master Draco,” it said in it‘s high-pitched voice. “It is time for you to spend your two hours out-of-doors!” It then turned to Harry. “And Master Snape says that you are to go with him as well Master Harry.” It turned back to Draco. “He also said that you are to show him the way, Master Draco.”

“Yes, Jacen,” Draco told the houself, before slipping his shoes on and grabbing his jacket. Harry still had both of his on, having not taken them off upon arrival. The houself disappeared with a crack and Draco headed for the door. “Come on, Potter!” he told the Gryffindor, and Harry narrowed his eyes at the other boy, not liking being ordered around by the Slytherin. Draco sighed at the reaction. “Just come on, before you get us in trouble. We can argue once we’re outside!”

“You’re scared of getting in trouble? With Snape?” Harry asked, disbelieving. One because Draco Malfoy was scared of getting into trouble, and two, because Draco Malfoy was scared of getting in trouble with Snape. Didn’t Snape favour Malfoy all the time?

Malfoy walked across the room towards Harry and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him to the door and down the stairs. “Let go of me!” Harry hissed, and Draco did, but not until he had dragged Harry down a corridor and out of a side down into the back yard. Draco left loose of Harry’s arm, crossed the small shaded yard and opened the gate at the other side. Harry decided that he didn’t want to stay in the small dreary yard by himself and hurried out of the gate after Draco, to see miles upon end of countryside. It really was quite beautiful. It was all open fields, trees and small lanes.

Draco was walking down one of the paths, towards a field, but he stopped and turned back to look at the Gryffindor. Harry sighed and started to head toward the other boy. “Just what exactly is going on here?” he asked to no one in particular. The situation was just altogether strange.

He certainly didn’t expect Draco to answer his question, but the blonde haired Slytherin did. “If we’re speaking in general terms, then the answer to your question is that we both have to stay with Professor Snape for the summer, thanks to Dumbledore’s Child Protection Service. In more specific terms, Professor Snape makes me spend at least two hours outside every afternoon when I stay with him, as the fresh air is good for you, apparently, and now that you’re staying here as well, it looks like you’ll be following the same rules and schedule as well.”

Harry looked across at the other boy in shock. He had really been speaking more to himself when he had asked the question, trying to work out how he had arrived in this strange situation whereby he was walking down a country lane with Draco Malfoy. Harry stopped, reaching out to take hold of Malfoy’s arm so the other boy had to stop as well, and turning him so that they were facing each other. “Okay, why are you being so nice to me?!” Harry demanded.

“So we can both make it through the summer alive,” Draco shot back. “In case you hadn’t noticed, Potter, Professor Snape doesn’t exactly like kids, therefore he’s just thrilled at having us around for the entire summer!” he retorted, sarcastically. “So basically he expects us to do what he says when he says it, and to stay out of the way as much as possible!” Draco stopped the rant, sighed, turned away from Harry, turned back to look at him, and eventually walked over the grass verge at the side of the lane and sat down. “He’s in complete control while we’re here, Potter,” Draco told him softly. “I’m certain he’d never do anything to hurt us, but it doesn’t mean he has to like having us around. So he’s scheduled every hour of every day for me, and I’m assuming that you’ll be following the same schedule. He has the house in complete order, and he knows if something has so much has moved a centimetre. Even in my room, but he’s a little bit more lenient there, as long as there’s no mess.”

“In our room, you mean,” Harry said resignedly, as he sank down to sit next to the other boy, starting to understand the situation he was in a bit better, but not liking it at all one bit. He looked across at Malfoy. “So basically Snape’s just a complete control freak?”

Malfoy nodded. “And make sure you always call him Professor Snape, or Sir. You’ll just end up in trouble, otherwise. Though, to be honest, I’ll doubt we’ll see all that much of him.”

“I don’t get it, “ Harry told him. “Snape always favours you at school, why should it be any different here?”

“At school Professor Snape acts how he is expected to act. Here in his own home he can act as he wants,” Malfoy explained, simply. And Snape acting exactly as he wanted filled Harry with complete and utter dread!