“No time like the present” Lily had said; it was a good hour and a half before lunch, more than enough time for a starter Occulmency session.

So there they were; Harry lying on the sofa, uncomfortable as an odontophobic in a dentists chair and just as unwilling to open his mouth. Worse still, Severus, straight and rigid as a perificatus totalis victim, seemed equally unwilling to break the heavy silence. 

As the tension mounted, Harry felt his heart thumping its way to his throat and, when he glanced sideways, Snape’s long, pale hands were clutching his bony knees, the blue veins standing out like electric cables. The teenager was on the point of bolting when suddenly the thought occurred to him that they must look ridiculous, sitting there, all inward-looking eyes and hunched bodies, at the prospect of being alone in a room together. The tousle-haired teen’s snort of humour seemed to wake Severus from his reverie. 

“All magic requires concentration” Severus began abruptly. “The ability to focus one’s intent into a tangible event. Certain forms of magic appear to require less focus but, usually, this is merely because the event is ether easily to visualise, for example, lumos, or where the focus is tightened by some strong emotion. The cructatius curse is a fine example; the desire to cause pain to the person who has harmed one’s kith and kin is a powerful enabler, as is the almost sexual pleasure which a true sadist experiences when indulging their disturbed inclination.” 

The Potions master paused, raising a pale hand to his chin and pressing a finger against the corner of his mouth; obsidian eyes distant, as if reading from an invisible text. “Other forms of magic, however, require considerably greater effort.  Apperation is an often cited example, as it involves total focus. However, Occulmency requires rather more than the momentary attention of apperation. Discipline is of vital importance; once one’s shields have been erected, one must maintain them constantly.”  

Harry swallowed adams apple bobbing in his narrow throat; this sounded tough. 

“However, although learning occulmency requires a long course of study, the initial stages are not arduous” Severus said, his voice cautiously kind. “We will start with self-hypnosis, which will enable you to clear your mind.

“Okay” This is totally not going to work… 

“Firstly, I would like you to lie in a comfortable position. Do you need any cushions for your head and back?”

“No, no, I’m fine. Er thanks” Harry replied, crossing his arms over his chest tightly: this was more cringeworthy than McGonagall's Sex-Ed talk last year.

“It is imperative that you do not cross your arms or legs, P… Harry. You will cut off the flow of blood and the resulting discomfort will destroy your concentration.”

“Okay, sure” Harry replied, dropping his hands at his sides and swallowing. He felt very uncomfortable with this whole hypnosis thing, not to mention laying himself out like a sacrificial victim. A horrible thought occurred.

“WillIbecompletelyunderyourcontrol?”

“And in English?” Severus took a deep breath, obviously thinking better of his sarcasm “I presume you’re worried about the level of my control over you? Your muggle relatives taught you to consider hypnosis as a form of imperius, hm?”

“Um, no, sir” damn it, why did I call him ‘sir’  “Vernon and Petunia didn’t so much as let Dud watch films about ghosts.”

“Typical.”

“They said that sort of freaky ‘made up; stuff didn’t have a place in their home” Harry added with a wry grin. 

“Yes, well, the supposed level of control from hypnosis definitely fits the definition of ‘made up’” Severus sneered “You will be slightly more open to suggestion but you won’t, for example, believe that you are a chicken or any other form of livestock for that matter. You are learning to close your mind.”

“Okay” Harry breathed. Relief was too mild a term.

“Now, are you comfortable? You don’t have to resemble a corpse, Harry, you can rest your hands on your stomach. Now, you are aiming to clear your mind; if a thought occurs, you should consider it briefly impartially then dismiss it." Severus paused significantly. "Now, close your eyes and relax. Imagine that you are in a warm bath, the gentle eddies of the water unbinding your muscles. Breathe in, one, two, three, breathe out one, two, three, breathe in, one, two, three, breathe out, one, two, three”

Harry smiled. When not raised in anger, Snape’s smooth, silken baritone was pretty damn soothing.

“You are calm, you are relaxed, all you need to do is breathe, one, two, three, out, one, two, three.”

When Harry’s smile had relaxed slightly and his breathing had evened out Severus lowered his voice, allowing his counting to fade into a whisper, and, after a brief pause, he started to speak in a gentle, calm tone. “You are at the top of a flight of ten stairs, Harry. These stairs are even, the slightly porous stone warm and textured under your feet. The stairs lead down into a pool of clean water, Harry, it is lapping against the fifth stair. I would like you to step down onto the first step, Harry. Now, step down onto the second step. Now the third step, Harry, feel the stone under your feet. The forth step is next, now the fifth step, the water is warm against your toes. Now the sixth step, feel the water creeping up your legs as you descend, now the seventh step. The eighth step is next. Now the nineth step. Now step into the pool, Harry. The water is warm, you are safe. You are just floating on the water” Harry’s breath whispered out in a sigh. A smile tugged at the corners of Severus mouth. “Now, in the middle of this pool are three boxes. I would like you to swim towards them Harry, and pick one up.”

The Potions Master paused. “As you open the box, a shining, golden light pours out, enveloping you. Breathe in the golden light, Harry, feel it being absorbed into your body. Your mind is calm, you are safe.  Put down the box now, Harry. Watch it float away. Now, reach down and pick up the next box…”

oOoOo

As Lily tugged a tray of mini-pizzas from the oven, Harry bounded in, his face glowing and green eyes bright.

“Went well, huh?” She smiled, her son’s joy reflected in her own round, emerald eyes.

“Yeah, S…everus taught me self-hypnosis. I just have to repeat to myself what he said.” Harry replied, grinning triumphantly “I didn’t think I’d be able to do it but I managed to relax. It’s dead cool."

Lily nodded, tucking a strand of auburn hair behind her ear as she smiled up at Severus, who was lingering by the sitting-room door, his dark eyes uncertain as to whether he should intrude.

“Come on, boys. Lunch is up!”

“Smells great” Harry said, grabbing a handful of cutlery.

“Yeah, old Evans family recipe; French bread, sliced up, spread with tomato chutney, topped with olives and sprinkled with cheese. Easy pizza!”

Severus smiled, flipping the cap off a brown glass bottle with his fingernails “Accompanied by perry.”

He handed a glass of the fizzing, golden liquid to Harry. “It is very pleasant with bread and cheese.”

“Um, thanks” Harry replied, taking a long sip to disguise his embarrassment. His blushes were not long lived however, for, just then, the door flew open with a clatter as Godric barrelled through, his golden paws besmirched by mud.

“The wards are up and all the chickens have come home to roost” Tom announced, poking his head around the door. “And, guess what, we’ve got some puffball mushrooms growing by the barn!”

“Wonderful” Lily replied wryly, “Now wash your hands and come for lunch!”

“Yes Madam” Tom’s crimson eyes sparkled. “At least you, Sev, know the value of a good mushroom!”

“Looks like an elf, eats like a hobbit.” Severus drawled, handing his father a glass “I suppose it’s a mercy that we have the youkai metabolism.”

“Hey!”

“Where’s Nagini, Tom?” Harry asked, nibbling at his piece of French bread.

“Oh, she’s out hunting” Tom replied, waving an elegant hand airily. “People say cats are independent but, believe me, snakes spend most of their time doing their own thing. Except when they particularly want something of course.” He grinned “From what I’ve heard, you’d have done rather well in Slytherin.”

“Yeah” Harry replied, biting his lip. “It’s so strange, thinking back on it all. I mean, you’re totally different to the Voldemort I remembered…”

“As you get more adept at mind magic, your true memories will return” Severus said quietly. “We will see what we can do tomorrow, if it is your wish.”

“But why did he make Tom so different?” Harry exclaimed “Surely he’d have known that I’d find out the truth someday?”

“I believe that Dumbledore wished to plant the seed of hatred” Tom replied. “It is a very human flaw, but we’re all inclined to believe that, if someone is ugly on the inside, they will be ugly on the outside also.” He sighed. “A hideous form to match my hideous deeds, a name which every child would take to mean ‘world-death’.” Tom shook his head “I made up that stupid title when I was twelve; a dash of French mismatched with a strong Germanic accent and a muggle title. I’d dropped it within the year- Ella made no bones about telling me it sounded retarded- but Dumbledore remembered.” Tom shook his head, heavy dark locks whispering against the raw silk of his robe “Honestly, at that age I thought a Dark Lord was a guy with a spiky black castle, guarded by slavering Cerberuses, and the threstral called ‘Lightning’! None of us kids really knew what Grindelwald was getting up to in Europe. Most of my year hadn’t even heard about him before our OWL year...”

“You’re rambling again, father.”

“Another typically ‘Dark Lord’ trait” Tom replied, raising his arched sable eyebrows wryly “Anyway, the fact is that Dumbledore knows how people’s minds work; it’s easier by far to hate someone who is ugly and charmless as an anal tumour and Dumbledore wished you to hate me very deeply. So deeply that, when you met me, you would suspect my every word.”

Harry shook his head; “I know what it’s like to have people telling lies about you; Dud used to tell all the kids, well, the ones kind enough to risk a duffing up for speaking to me, that I was a nut-case. He said I stole from my aunt and uncle all the time and broke stuff.”

The tousle-haired teen raised his eyes just in time to see his mother and father exchange a look, Severus’ cold fury expression mirrored on Lily’s usually kindly face. Suddenly, Harry felt rather glad he wasn’t Dudley Dursley’s shoes.

“Anyway” Tom replied “I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you all that I need to go away on business for a bit.”

“Places to see, people to do?” Lily suggested, a cheeky gleam in her emerald eyes.

“Just that.” Tom smiled “Truth is, I’ve been ‘invited’ back to Japan to plead my cause. There are people who need amnesty, international-portkeys to set up, not to mention that there’s powerful magical artefact I’ve got to return to its rightful owner. I shouldn’t be more than a week, two at the outside.”

“When are you leaving?” Harry asked, trying to keep his expression neutral.

“The day after your birthday” Tom replied with a smile.

oOoOo

Propped up on plump crimson pillows, Harry watched the minute hand slowly judder towards midnight. With a stomach full of moussaka and crusty bread, warm bedclothes and relaxed muscles (his only chore today had been feeding the hens, a distinct improvement from being a gardener, cook and cleaner rolled into one), the almost-fifteen-year-old was feeling rather optimistic. Of course, it was rather difficult to feel otherwise, what with Godric’s cuddly, soft-furred body tucked against his hip and the pup’s woolly head on his knee.

Only Hedwig could have made Harry’s happiness complete but she had slipped off somewhere; possibly to collect presents but, deep down, the teenager had the feeling that she was probably feasting on frogs. Tom had complained that, between her and Nagini, the amphibious population of the forest would probably shrink to zero.

As Harry’s green eyes lingered on the dial, he felt a tension, no, more of an excitement. It was a bit like New Years Eve; he was leaving one life behind. It was like on his eve of his eleventh birthday, when he went from ‘just Harry’, an unimportant, exceptionally ordinary muggle boy who had no friends, fortune or family (in the proper sense of the word), to Harry Potter, a wealthy, popular young wizard who had, allegedly, defeated the most evil wizard for over a century.

And, now, it was the turn of ‘Harry Potter’ to fade, being replaced by… well, it felt a bit too soon for Harry Snape (or was it Riddle?) Perhaps simply ‘Harry’: a boy who lived in a big house in the countryside with his two parents, grandfather, pet owl, Hedwig, dog, Godric, snake, Nagini, and Mable, Lucy and Ermintrude the chickens. The teenager smiled; it made a rather nice change from being an unloved orphan under a death sentence.

The hallway clock chimed midnight. “Happy Birthday!!!”

Harry turned to see Tom and Lily beaming; she held a tray of four Champaign flutes while he grasped a large, gold-foil topped bottle, which Nagini was nosing curiously. Behind them, Severus smiled uncertainly, holding a box wrapped in shimmering silver paper.

“Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Harry, Happy Birthday to you” Tom sang, the words sprinting out as if he was trying to win the award for quickest rendition. The cork popped, riccoching off a wall, into the bowl of lilies. Nagini slithered down Tom’s shoulders whilst Godric, leapt off the bed and jumped up at the marble mantelpiece, yapping wildly.

Lily darted forward, holding out a glass which, when filled, was pressed into Harry’s hand. It was mostly froth, which was probably a good thing, Harry realised, when he took his first, heady sip.

“Happy birthday, Harry!” Lily sat down on the bed and enveloped the teenager in a tight hug. Harry squeezed her back, breathing in the sweet, floral scent of her perfume. Godric, clambered back up onto the bed and shoved his domed head between them, determined to get his share of any affection.

“We’re saving the proper presents for tomorrow.” Tom explained, perching on the other side of the bed and pulling a squiggling Godric into his lap. “But we thought we’d give you one now, to start making up for all the birthdays we’ve missed.”

Harry shyly accepted the box from Severus with an uncertain, unfocused smile, which was rewarded with a tentative upturning of the Potions Master’s lips.

Setting the parcel on his lap, Harry tugged at the blue ribbon, then lifted the lid. “A portable television..?” he gasped. Dudley had wanted one of these for ages.

“It’s colour, too” Lily beamed “Just came out.”

“It’s… wow!”

Tom grinned “Having Japanese friends does have it’s benefits. It’s all tuned up and ready to go. I’ve also put a recharging spell on the battery”

“Thanks!” Harry beamed. “It’s really great.”

“Just wait till you see what we’ve got planned for tomorrow” Lily smiled. “Tom’s baking you the biggest cake and…”

“Don’t give all our secrets out woman!”

“Oh shush it, Tom” Lily said pertly. “Speaking of spoilsports, Sev’s not letting you off your occulmency lesson. Though, we do need time to prepare… everything so that might be for the best anyway. ”

“I don’t mind” Harry yawned. “The hypnosis bit is dead relaxing.”

Glancing over at Snape, Harry was surprised to observe the usually stoic man’s expression; the slightly widened dark eyes and parted lips betrayed a sharp, yet tender shock. Was the man’s opinion of his teaching skills so low?

Swallowing, Harry caught his father’s eye and smiled. It felt a bit forced but when Severus, slightly wider-eyed, cautiously smiled back, Harry felt his heart lift a fraction.

Maybe “Harry Snape” wasn’t as far off at it sounded, after all.