I awoke to the sound of voices, they sounded fuzzy to my tired ears. I sat up straight, cracking my back and wincing as I did so. I was getting too old for sleeping like that. I observed my surroundings. Hermione and Harry were gone. Draco was not in sight either. I got up quickly, beginning to panic.

"Harry, Hermione, Draco!" I said, pulling my wand out as I frantically searched the room.

"It’s ok Severus, they’re all over here," Poppy called to me from the table by her office. The three teens were sitting around it.

"Good to see you’re awake," Draco said. "Harry and Hermione woke up about twenty minutes ago. You’ve missed some great stories."

"Stories?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow as I strode over to the table, rubbing my back on the way.

"Yeah, Madam Pomfrey’s been telling us a few," Harry said. Merlin it was weird him being older …

"About what?" I asked, sitting down.

"You," Poppy said calmly, looking at me with a twinkle in her eyes.

"What! What sorts of things?" I gasped, mind jumping to the worst things she could possibly say. "Not my first trip to the hospital wing?"

"Oh, that’s a wonderful idea! I haven’t told them that one yet!" Poppy said enthusiastically.

"Arggg …" I groaned, dropping my head on the table with a clunk. Draco laughed.

Now I've done it.

"I remember clear as day: It was barely the third week of school, Severus' first year of course," Poppy began, "Goodness you were cute back then Severus… Anyway, he came to me at one in the morning he did. Horace Slughorn, the head of Slytherin in those days, brought Severus down to me; the poor dear, crying and all wrapped up in that quilt of his …’

"Couldn’t you just Avada Kedavra me?" I moaned, face still on the table. Hermione patted my hand sympathetically.

"You brought it up Severus," said Poppy, while the three teenagers listened intently, all three teenagers grinning in my direction. Well, except Hermione, who looked torn between amusement and sympathy.

"Severus had the worst fever I’d seen in years, he was shivering and shaking so bad Horace practically had to carry him up the stairs …"

"I am going to make sure you pay for this one …" I muttered, wishing nothing more than to curl up under a rock and die.

"Sure you will, now, back to the story. Severus was terribly distraught about the whole ordeal, and he was quite homesick too. I ended up having to floo his mother, Eileen. Such a nice girl …" that irritating woman rambled on, much to my dismay.

Poppy embarrassed me for a little longer before giving Harry and Hermione a final check-up. According to her, everything had gone well and they were free to go. So, I brought everyone back to my quarters so that Harry and Hermione could gather their possessions.

Their faces were quite amusing when I hung up the picture they gave me for Christmas. Both of them looked mortified, and Hermione asked if I absolutely had to hang it up. I told her that it would make a rather amusing conversation piece and that I was considering giving Rita Skeeter a call for her to come see it. Harry had burst out laughing at the joke, Hermione however wasn’t so sure that I wouldn’t. Draco assured her hastily that I would never do such a thing as she contented herself with packing her things up. Harry took the opportunity to ask me a question he’d clearly been dying to know the answer to.

"Have you seen Rexy?" he whispered to me when the other two teens were busy.

I smiled and covertly pulled the ragged toy out of my cloak pocket. I had rescued him from Harry’s hospital bed. I had also brought Hermione’s blanket, which lay folded on her bed. I had shrunk it briefly to put it in my pocket.

"Thanks," he mouthed, glancing in the direction of Draco.

"Harry, can I have a word with you?" I asked him.

"Um ok," Harry said.

I led him into my office and motioned for him to sit down. I sat across from him, behind my desk.

"I want to know, would you still like to, well, stay with Draco and I?" I inquired nervously, getting straight to the point.

"So, I wouldn’t go back to the Dursleys, right?" the boy asked, eyes brightening slightly.

"Yes, just like I said when you where de-aged," I told him, trying to predict what he was going to say.

"Would you, er, adopt me or something?" inquired the teenager, still a little on edge.

"Yes, I would get your aunt and uncle to transfer guardianship to me," I replied, wondering if Harry would even want this now. "You will be leaving the Dursley’s regardless of your decision; if you do not want to stay with me, you may suggest someone else."

"No, I want to stay with you," the boy began, "but-’

" -there’s Draco," I completed.

"Yeah," Harry sighed, lowering his voice to a whisper and looking at me insecurely from under his untidy mop of hair. "I just, I- I’m sort of worried he hasn’t really changed."

"He’s afraid that your views of him have not shifted as well," I told him quietly.

"Really, are you sure?"

I nodded.

"Please stay, Harry!" I heard a voice from the door.

There you go, another good example of Draco Malfoy shocking the black socks off me. The last thing I expected for him to do was outright ask Harry Potter to come live with him! Though I must admit, his timing was impeccable.

"Draco, must you eavesdrop?" I called out to him in exasperation, massaging the bridge of my nose. Harry looked stuck between amusement and surprise.

"Um, yes?" said Draco, poking his head through the door with what he clearly thought was a winning smile.

I got up and lightly shoved his face out the door before telling him to go bother Hermione some more. He grinned, replying that it would be his pleasure and went off to do just that.

"Sorry about that, he’s a little nosy, as I’m sure you have noticed," I said, waving my wand over the door to secure it and make it more difficult for us to be overheard.

"I’ll stay," Harry blurted before I had turned around.

"You will?" I asked, rather excited. "Are you sure, there are a fair few others that Albus has tracked down that would make great guardians and you would have them all to yourself …’

I started to suggest a few people, all the while fearing he was making a decision he would regret.

"-you always got along with her, and she’s in the Order too so you’d be informed-’

"I don’t want to live with any of those people," Harry interrupted me.

"- are you sure? I do have my flaws, you know that. I still have to spy too … so it might be better for you to choose someone else-"

"Yeah, but someone else can’t be you," I heard Harry say, it seemed to come to me slowly, almost like the beacon from a lighthouse traveling a great length, fighting through fog.

"Oh," I said, gaping like a fish. It was starting to sink in. Harry wanted to stay. He really did.

Harry grinned. I returned it. Overall I felt a little stunned at the prospect of him staying. But happy, really happy. I was shaken back to the present by a messy haired teenager rocketing himself at me and into my arms. Some things would never change, I guessed.

"Oof!" I said, smiling and pulling Harry closer. We stood there for a few moments, before we were interrupted.

"He’s staying he’s staying!" Draco shouted excitedly, running through the doorway and nearly tackling the two of us as he made to hug us both.

Harry stared at the blonde.

"Um. I mean, good decision, Potter," he said cooly, pulling away and looking around in embarrassment.

Harry burst into laughter, and I found myself joining him. It seemed like ages before we could keep a straight face. When I had regained control I could see Hermione standing in the doorway, with a rather Slytherin smirk on her face.

"Thanks for letting me in, Hermione." Draco said, giving the thumbs up.

"You’re welcome, Draco," she said, twirling her wand and drifting back to the living room where she sat sorting through her things.

"Ten points to Gryffindor for excellent spellwork," I sighed grudgingly as I followed the two boys into the living room. How she managed to break through my spells … No doubt about it, that girl had brains. She knew it too.

"Two points from Gryffindor for looking smug!" I barked lightly at Hermione. She just laughed.

"Old habits die hard don’t they?" Hermione said.

"Maybe …" I mumbled.

"Um, speaking of old habits … what are Hermione and I supposed to call you now? Outside of class at least," Harry inquired, looking a little puzzled.

"Hmm, you can call me Severus if you want, or if you choose you may call me Uncle Sev," I said lightly before continuing on to threaten the two of them with certain death if the referred to me as Uncle Sev during class. "But please, don’t call me 'Seberus'."

Draco blushed and mumbled something along the lines of bad pronunciation and being little at the time so it wasn't his fault.

"I think I’ll stick with Severus," Harry told me.

"I believe I shall do that as well," Hermione agreed.

"Good, because it would be far less mortifying if you accidentally called me Severus in class. I’m going to have a hard enough time salvaging my reputation among the staff, let alone among students! Well, except for those few Hufflefpuffs and Ravenclaws but no one will believe what they say anyway …" I rambled on, still having trouble believing Harry actually wanted to stay.

***

"Bye Hermione," sighed Draco, giving her a brief hug as she prepared to floo to her home.

"Goodbye everyone!" Hermione told us, giving Harry and I hugs as well. "I’ll miss you guys so much, even if I’ll only be gone for a few days …"

"We’ll miss you too," Harry assured her. "Good news is, you don’t need to worry about me now; I’m in good hands here."

"That’s a relief, summers have been murder, waiting for you to show up at the Burrow," she said.

I glanced at Harry, he looked rather far off, as if his mind had been swept away from by Hermione’s statement.

"But guess what, Harry!" Hermione piped up.

Harry returned to our dimension for the moment.

"Professor Dumbledore arranged for my house to be connected to the floo network during holidays, that way I can visit you ! If that’s alright with Severus of course," she said, adding the last part with a hopeful glance in my direction.

"That would be just fine Hermione," I said. She smiled once more, and with one more chorus of goodbyes she disappeared within the emerald flames.

***

That afternoon I went on a mission, and returned victorious. I had told Harry and Draco that I needed to go to the apothecary to restock my supplies. In reality I decided to pay dear Petunia and her useless husband a visit. It had been quite interesting for the three of us: there was much yelling and many freak comments made by Petunia, but I did eventually get the guardianship papers signed, even if it was in a rather roundabout way.

I returned to find Draco and Harry gone. I did not worry however, for Draco had left a note saying that he was teaching Harry about “Kidditch” like he’d promised, and was most likely getting a few pointers of his own. I shook my head in amusement before throwing my cloak back on and making my way down to the Quidditch pitch.

I arrived just in time to see Harry pull a spectacular trick on his broom, which ultimately made my heart skip a beat. He had seen me coming and was now speeding to the ground, laughing.

"You nearly gave me heart failure, Harry!" I scolded him once he had landed, windswept upon the frosty ground.

"Aw, come on, it’s fun. You should try it sometime," Harry said, glancing up at Draco who was pursuing a snitch with determination.

"I don’t think so; I doubt Poppy wants another “Suicide Ridge” on her hands," I told him. Harry shrugged.

"So, what are you down here for?" Harry asked curiously.

"I have a letter for you from your aunt and uncle," I said, pulling an envelope from my cloak pocket.

"Oh," Harry said unenthusiastically, taking the envelope and inspecting the writing on the front. I had made Petunia address it to him. He looked up at me, suddenly curious. "I thought you were doing something more than just restocking supplies …’

I shrugged.

"And why does the return address say 'Cupboard under the stairs' in it?" he inquired.

"Oh no reason," I said, grinning slyly at him. Harry’s eyes widened slightly before he tore open the envelope.

Within the envelope were the guardianship papers, signed and filled out. All that was left was for Harry to sign too.

"You got them!" Harry said, excited.

"I did. Though Petunia didn’t seem too happy about it, considering they will no longer be receiving compensation for looking after you," I said.

"What? So they were given money to look after me?" Harry said, flabbergasted.

"A small amount periodically, it had seemed only fair seeing as Albus just dumped you on their doorstep with no notice," I said, growling slightly on the topic of Dumbledore.

"And they complained about how expensive I was to keep!" Harry hissed.

"Imbeciles … however, they got what was coming to them."

"What did you do to them?" Harry inquired curiously, looking as though he wasn't sure he wanted to know as he followed me and sat down at the side of the pitch.

"let’s just say your aunt and lump of an uncle had a date with the cupboard under the stairs," I said vaguely.

"You stuffed them both in the cupboard? At the same time?"

I nodded, sniggering.

"How did you make them fit?" asked Harry, looking at me in awe.

"Oh, a few well placed hexes and they backed up real nice, practically shoved themselves in. Don’t worry, the hexes will wear off eventually," I said.

"Oh, I’m not worrying," Harry assured me. "Which ones did you use?"

"Well, on Petunia, a marvellously obscure hex that makes antlers grow from one’s head. Vernon however, was the recipient of a hex of my own invention which makes a person glow fluorescently and call out strange barnyard noises every time they open their mouth. I’m rather fond of it, it gets quite irritating to people around, as well as the recipient of it. I must say they’ll have hard time sleeping tonight due to the nice lime green glow that Vernon is currently emitting."

"They will get out of the cupboard eventually though, right?" Harry asked, slightly concerned.

"Oh yes, about eight-o-clock tomorrow morning the door is charmed to unlock itself," I told him.

"Well, that’s good, that cupboard isn’t entirely comfortable you know," Harry whispered. "Thanks Severus, for well, looking out for me."

"My pleasure," I replied, pulling out a quill for him to sign the papers. And he did so rather enthusiastically.

We talked a little while longer, and I told Harry of Albus' plan to go through muggle adoption agency. Harry wanted to go as soon as possible, and we would. The appointment was scheduled three days away. I patted Harry on the back before making my departure, suggesting that he fly some more and make sure that Draco didn’t kill himself.

He did just that, a grin plastered across his face as he flew up into the air to tell Draco the news.

I heard excited shouts as I strode away from the pitch.

***

"Lights out you party animals," I said Harry and Draco, who were still talking away, and had been into the late hours of the night.

They were sharing the room Harry and Hermione had, but it now looked rather different. The walls were a pleasant blue (amazingly both Harry and Draco had agreed on the color) and the small beds had been transfigured to roomy four-posters, not unlike the ones in their dorms. Both of the teenagers lay sprawled across their beds in their pyjamas, deep in a discussion about Quidditch fouls (Draco was quite knowedgable in this subject, having committed almost all of them) when I interrupted.

"But we have to catch up on the years of friendship we missed, Severus!" Draco said to me, hoping he could stay up later.

Draco was definitely a creature of the night, he loved to sleep in late. And to think people called me the bat of the dungeons!

Well, I suppose it doesn’t help that I sort of flap about the room on occasion to scare the first years … but it’s ever so much fun.

"All right, I suppose you actually want to get some sleep tonight," Harry said, making his way to the lights and turning them off.

"Goodnight boys," I said, closing their door and going off to my own bed.

I was very happy about the prospect of sleeping, but I just couldn’t. I was too on edge, expecting something to go wrong or for a four year old Harry to creep into my room and tug on my sleeve because he had a nightmare. After a while I got up to sit by the fire for a while. As I made my way across the living room, my feet silent across the soft rug upon the flow, I heard voices. Draco and Harry were still talking, and I wondered what about. It sounded quite serious actually. I edged closer to the door and casted a charm so that I could hear what they were saying better.

"-can’t believe I get to stay." I heard Harry say. "What do you think made Severus change his mind about me?"

"I dunno, I think he saw a bit of himself in you." Draco answered sleepily.

"Really? What on earth did he see?"

"I dunno, I think it was 'cause he’s been through similar things."

"Like what?"

"A lot of things, but maybe you should ask him," said Draco.

"Maybe I will," Harry answered through a yawn.

"You should. There’s a lot more to Severus than people think."

"There’s a lot more to you than I thought too. I really thought I knew you …" Harry told Draco.

"Same. But that’s the thing isn’t it? Unless you have a little more in common than with the rest of the people around you, you don’t really bother to get to know a person. And now we have a bit more in common."

"Well, lots; we’re sort of in the same boat now, aren’t we?"

"Yeah, but you know what? I don’t think I mind it all that much after all."