Harry sighed heavily as he lay on his bed, staring up at the freshly painted white ceiling. It had been about two weeks since he had attempted to run away. While his punishment wasn't as bad as it could have been by any means, it still left him feeling punished. His punishment consisted of doing chores like washing the dishes, helping set the table, take out the garbage, etc. However, his punishment also included him working beside Snape by either preparing some of the ingredients to be used in the wizard's potions or working to fix up the old drafty house. Today, however, was Harry's fifteenth birthday. And thanks to Snape, Harry was able to have the day off.

A knock against his doorframe made him glance towards it. He sighed immediately, but sat up. If anything, the whole running away had made a difference in Snape and Harry's relationship rather than one in Harry's relationship with his mother. Then again, Lily was still working at the diner across for Manchester's square so Harry just saw Snape more than his mother.

"Mr. Potter, you have guests downstairs."

"Guests?" repeated the fifteen-year-old. "But Mum said that I wasn't allowed to have guests over today, sir." Harry's eyes narrowed on the man.

"Yes, well, your mother is not around for the next three hours, Mr. Potter. Thus, I'm in charge of you." Snape then inhaled deeply. "I expect you and your friends to remain inside of the house. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Harry replied quietly.

"Two hours is all you get. If you require my presence at all, I'll be in the basement." Snape then whirled around and walked out of Harry's room, heading back downstairs.

Rushing downstairs, Harry leapt through the bookshelf and smiled widely when Hermione let out a gasp of surprise. He pulled both of his friends into a big hug and smiled some more when they did the same. Who would have known that he'd miss them that much?

"Come on, guys. Let's head up to my room." He caught their looks of surprise. "Oh, yeah, just make sure you think about going upstairs." He then walked through the bookshelf and waited for them.

"Wicked," Ron said, turning around and laughing the second he passed through.

"That's a rather neat and likely hard charm to cast," Hermione simply replied in slight awe.

Yep, these were his two best friends. Walking away laughing, he headed up the new stairs that he and Snape had assembled together by hand. It was rather calming to know that he had a hand in building it. He heard Hermione and Ron following close behind.

"So, mate, how's living with the bat going?" Ron asked as soon as he took a seat on the edge of Harry's large bed.

"He's not actually that bad, Ron."

"You're joking?"

"No, I'm not." Harry then sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You see, I'm actually not supposed to have friends over."

"Why?"

"I, well, I sort of tried to run away a few weeks back." Harry then turned away when he caught Hermione's outrage. He knew that running away was stupid. He didn't need Mione to tell him that.

"Why would you do that, Harry? Professor Snape—"

"Is a good guy, I know," Harry said, cutting his friend off. He then sighed, tugging on his collar. "He fancies my mum, guys." He ignored Ron's unsurprised look of disgust.

"And your mother?" asked Hermione quietly. "Do you think she likes him?"

"I don't know. I mean, Mum says that she loves Dad, but I've caught them laughing together. She seems, well, happy around Snape. And it's odd, but he's really not that bad once you get past his snark and that."

"Wait, are you saying that you, well, you think it wouldn't be so bad if Snape and your mum were dating?" Ron asked with a slightly horrified look.

"I don't know what I'm saying, Ron. I mean, I want Mum to be happy. And I can't keep ignoring the signs that Snape makes her happy." Harry then glanced towards Ron. "But I mean, I think Mum still loves Dad, but—"

"You're confused about it," Hermione said knowingly. "On one hand, you wonder if your mum is being disloyal to your dad by moving on. And on the other, you want her to be happy. So you feel stuck in the middle, confused."

"Yeah," Harry replied, nodding slowly. "What should I do?"

"I'd imagine that your mother's feeling the same thing, Harry. She loves James, but she wonders if she also loves Professor Snape. So she's stuck and confused, too." Hermione then sighed. "I've heard my parents talk about something like this before. A friend of theirs lost his wife to cancer." When Ron's eyes narrowed in confusion, she explained. "It's when a Muggle's cells start to multiply uncontrollably and cause a growth to develop. It's sort of like Dragon Pox, Ron. If the Muggle doctors catch it in time, then the Muggle typically survives. Well, depending on which type of cancer the Muggle has that is." She then shook her head. "A few years later, this friend of theirs fell in love with one of his late wife's best friends. This friend came to my parents and asked for advice. On one hand, he felt like he deserved happiness, too. That his wife would want him to be happy and move on," she clarified. "On the other hand, he felt as if he was betraying his wedding vows, betraying her by moving on."

"What'd he decide?"

"He decided to move on. He and his new wife are expecting their first child next November."

"Does he still think about his first wife?" Harry asked.

"I think so. Then again, Mum says I'm a closet romantic," Hermione replied with a smile. "I'd want my future husband to move on and live his life if something happened to me."

"Well, I wouldn't," Ron mumbled. "I'd stay true to her."

"Really, Ron?"

"Well, if she's the right woman, yeah, I would. I mean, vows are sort of sacred. You can't back out of them in the Wizarding World. If you tie your soul to someone, then you better stay tied to that person for the rest of your life or else." Ron then sighed. "But I'll admit that my uncle was a miserable git, sort of like Snape, when he decided against moving on." Clapping a hand against Harry's back, he sighed again. "Though, you got to admit. Snape was a bit nicer last term after your mum returned."

Harry glanced at his best mate and laughed. He should have known Ron would have said that. He'd admit. He had noticed the nicety Snape exhibited last term. After all, the old Snape would have hauled him to Dumbledore and demanded that Harry be expelled for the level of disrespect he gave the man. Hell, Harry was surprised that the man wasn't still upset about it now.

Thinking back to all the encounters he had walked in on between his mum and Snape, he focused primarily on Snape's reaction. He knew his mum's reaction like the back of his hand. But Snape, well, he was a pretty closed book when it came to emotions. Sure, he had seen the man smile a hell of a lot more over the past four months. But the man typically was very reserved.

He could see Snape and his mother talking quietly in front of the kitchen sink. Snape was washing the dishes, and his mum was drying them. However, all of a sudden, his mum leaned forward, grabbing a handful of bubbles. She had a devious smile before she threw them at Snape. Loud bell-ringing laughter filled the kitchen as Snape gently grabbed her wrists and pulled her to him with a smile on his face. Snape then whispered something to her, likely telling her that she shouldn't have done that. His mum responded by leaning in and kissing him. Harry watched the older wizard tense immediately, dropping her wrists and just standing there as her lips were on his. Harry could tell that Snape was kissing her back by the way his mum had pulled back a moment later with a look of confusion. Snape then said something before sighing and walking away. The moment between them had ended.

"Hey, Harry, what are you thinking about?" Ron asked, bringing Harry out of la-la land.

"He said he'd leave her alone, and he has," Harry replied glumly. "Why am I such an idiot?"

"You could always tell Snape that you don't mind now," Hermione pointed out.

"Uh, Professor, you know how I told you to say away from my mum, well, go ahead and snog the hell out of her now. I'm cool with it now," Ron said in his best imitation of Harry.

Harry laughed loudly. Well, maybe not in those words, but maybe he should say something. After all, who was he to tell Snape or his mum for that matter that they couldn't be together? His mum clearly had feelings for Snape and his dad. But maybe it was time for her to move on. After all, Snape wasn't that bad. He could be a good dad, well, maybe. Harry still wasn't sure about that.