“Have some of this,” Harry said, offering Hermione some whiskey.

 “No thanks. I need to have my wits about me,” she replied.

 Harry nodded and went to put on his clothes. It was the last time he’d put on clothes so he tried to enjoy it. He also poured himself some of the ever-hot tea in his house and sipped slowly, his eyes closed.

 “Would you like to eat something before we leave?” asked Snape  as he pointed to the plate with the food Harry had cooked earlier.

 “Actually, yes,” Harry said before he devoured the runny eggs, the spicy sausage and the wonderful bacon. He left one slice until the end; bacon had always been the favourite part of that dish.

  Hermione turned away from him and blew her nose noisily while Harry crunched the last slice noisily, smacked a little and licked his lips.

 “Okay, I am ready. You need your mask, Sir, you look like shit,” Harry said.

  Snape raised an eyebrow but  went to get his mask anyway.

 The three of them walked into the cold winter night, Harry breathed in the lovely fresh air, looked at the stars and suddenly regretting not knowing most of them.

 “What is this one called?” Harry asked as he pointed at a particularly bright one.

 “Are you kidding, Harry? That’s Sirius, you should know that,” Hermione replied.

 Harry nodded. “I know now. I’ll see him soon. And my parents, too.”

 They walked in silence; Harry took in everything around him as if it was a miracle.

 “We will Apparate now. Potter, pass me that wand. You won’t need it anymore,” Snape said.

  Harry nodded and did as he was told. For a split second he doubted what he was doing but pushed to the back of his mind. He’d never liked to Apparate but the whiskey in his blood made this one even worse.

 When they arrived, Harry went to the ground and held his stomach. He looked up and a few hundred metres away, the large mansion, Malfoy Manor glowed in the dark.

 “You are such a lightweight, Potter,” Snape growled as Hermione helped Harry up.

 “Will those be your last words to me, Sir?” Harry asked and felt instantly silly. What did he want to hear anyway?

 He hugged Hermione tightly and then shook Snape’s hand. “Be careful,” Harry whispered to them both.

 “Take care, Harry,” she sniffed and then put on the cloak.

They walked slowly towards Malfoy Manor and were greeted by Lucius Malfoy: a very much bashed looking Malfoy with haunted eyes, hollow cheeks and greying hair.

 Snape whispered something to the man who then nodded. Then he grabbed Harry and held his black wand to the boy’s throat.

 “Move, Potter,” Snape barked as they entered the large house.