It had been a week. A week since Harry and Hermione had come back home. A week since everything had fallen. Tension was high between the trio of teenagers residing there and Harry was especially angry because every single time he attempted to talk to his father, Severus would leave to either work on a potion that he had left brewing or to put another ward around the manor.

It was beginning to really irritate Harry.

Since he had also been avoiding Hermione and Draco, he was focusing even more on the fact that his father was not talking to him.

“Harry, love, please stop pacing.” Rosemerta said from her desk in the study she shared with Severus. She was going over everything dealing with the Three Broomsticks, since she could no longer keep it open. She was going to send the papers that she was filling out to Gringotts, and from there, they would go to the place and ward it, placing everything inside in her vault. No one would even realize that there was a building there once the goblins were through.

“I want to talk to Dad! But he is being an arse!” Harry hissed.

Rosemerta’s eyebrows rose up so high that they were nearly at her hairline.

“Watch your mouth, young man.”

She watched Harry for a moment. At least the boy had the decency to look ashamed of himself. She didn’t quite know what had gotten into him lately.

Oh she knew that he was on edge. Now that Dumbledore knew about them, Harry kept expecting the world to fall apart at any moment. His temper was obviously about to blow, and he had been especially aggressive towards Draco. Although Hermione had told her in private that it had actually been both Harry and Draco having their usual fight about how they treated one another during the school term.

“Harry, you father is very busy right now.”

“He won’t even talk to me. Except to get onto me! I want him to sit and talk with me, Mum!”

Rosemerta stood up from her desk and walked around it towards Harry. She lightly ran her hand over the side of his face. Harry leaned in gently towards her touch. It amazed Rosemerta just how much the child still yearned for physical, loving contact from his family.

“I will make sure that he sits and talks with you tonight.” She told him. Harry smiled weakly at her, and nodded.

“Harry, you do have to under…” She was cut short by a small, silver fox running into the room.

Harry watched his mother in interest. He couldn’t understand what the fox was saying as it was meant only for her. It was obviously from his Aunt Cissy, so there was no telling what the message might be.

For all he knew it could be something about some stupid tea party.

Then, the fox vanished.

Harry looked at her expectantly.

She looked at him with a smirk on her face, “Yes?”

“What’d she want? Normally she just walks over and talks to you.” Harry said, though he wasn’t really sure if he should have asked or not.

“Tom is coming tonight.” Rosmerta told him after she looked at him for a few moments.

Harry swallowed. The man most of the wizarding world was afraid of because of Dumbledore was coming to their house. While the man did not make Harry nervous in the least, it had just from having to pretend the man was evil. It was always awkward talking to the man after he spent months badmouthing him at school.

Harry forced himself to simply shrug.

“So? Voldmort is always coming by for dinner. He likes Pickle’s cooking better than his own house elf’s cooking.” Harry said flippantly.

Rosemerta sighed.

“Don’t call him that, Harry. You know he prefers Tom.”

“Yea, yea. I am going to talk to Hermione. Don’t forget you said you’d make Dad talk to me tonight.” Harry said as he walked out of the study.

Rosemerta sighed. She wanted to beat both her husband and son’s heads together.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry didn’t even make it out of their wing of the house when Severus came into view.

Harry, suddenly filled with a sense of purpose, walked towards his father and glared at him.

“Mum is going to make you talk to me tonight.” Harry hissed at him.

Severus stopped. He felt himself sigh inwardly. It was not that he did not want to talk to his son. It was that his son was going to want to know things that he could not tell him. Not yet. Because contrary to what the boy thought, he was not yet ready to know everything. Neither were Draco nor Hermione, who Harry would surely share any information given to him.

“I would have gladly have spoken with you this week, had you wanted to ask me about something other than Dumbledore, of which I know nothing.”

“I think that you are lying.” Harry said bravely.

He didn’t, however, feel very brave at all.

“Son, you would do well to remember that you are not privy to all bits of information in which you seek. What I may or may not know is beside the point, as I have told you I know nothing. You can either accept that, or you can spend the next week in your room.” Severus deadpanned.

Harry sighed.

“Voldie is coming to dinner.”

He then turned and walked away.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry really didn’t understand why he was snapping at everyone.

He felt so…so…so on edge. It was almost as if his magic was constantly tingling under his skin. There was too much going on. He missed Ron and Neville and Ginny and Luna. They were his friends. But, at the same time, during the school year he missed his family. And they were the most important thing in his life. They were the ones who had always been there for him.

Harry stopped and sat at the closet place, a window seat that held several cushions for comfort. It had been one of his favorite places to sit when he had been younger.

Why was life so complicated?

He laid his head back against the window frame and thought about it.

It hadn’t always been that way.

Harry and Hermione had barely been seven years old that first summer. The summer everything had changed…

Harry held onto Severus’ hand. No…his Daddy’s hand. The man was his father. Hermione, his best and only friend, was being held on his father’s hip, her face hidden in his hair.

Harry watched silently as Severus knocked on the door in front of him.

Harry had never seen a house so large. In fact, he would not have thought it a house had Severus not told him that it was.

Within a few moments, the door opened and a man stood there. His hair was white and shiny and long. He was tall, but not as tall as Harry’s Daddy, who was really, really tall. Harry looked up at him for a moment, but then backed behind Severus, his hands holding tight to the black cloth of the older man’s robes.

“Where is Cissy? Bring her. I will be in the front parlor.”

The man nodded, but looked confused, Harry thought. But he did as Severus bid.

My Daddy must be important, if people just listen and do what he says, Harry thought to himself.

Severus gently pulled Harry along with him into a room that was larger than any Harry had ever seen. There was a nice, plush, light gray carpet on the floor. Harry really wished he could take

his shoes off and run his toes through that carpet.

The walls were off white, paintings of people were placed delicately around the room. Furniture was placed in front of a fire place. It was somewhere that Harry very much would like to spend his nights, in front of a fire, reading anything he was allowed.

Severus sat down and wrapped one arm protectively around the shaking girl in his lap, and the other he used to pull Harry to his side.

“Severus? What brings you here? Lucius tells me you wish to talk with us both.” Harry turned around and looked at the woman whose voice sounded like a soft musical tone. She had hair that was quite blonde, nearly the same color as the man’s beside her.

She froze.

“Severus? Who is this?” She had not yet seen Hermione, who was hidden from view by Severus.

“Come sit, Cissy, Lucius.”

Again, Harry was amazed, as both of the other adults immediately came to sit down, only then did Narcissa notice that Severus had not one, but two children with him.

“Severus?” Cissy’s face was confused.

“I found him. I finally found my son.” Severus whispered. His voice was tight with emotion. Emotion that he had not let show since the night he learned that his first wife had been murdered.

“Severus! That is wonderful!” Cissy and Lucius both replied.

“And… the other child?” Lucius asked.

Severus bent down and spoke lightly into the child’s ear. No one could hear what he said, but finally the child nodded, and turned around, looking shyly at the other two adults, sneaking her hand down to hold Harry’s.

Narcissa gasped.

The child…could it really be?

“Severus….is it really?” Her words were full of hope, but one could tell by looking at her that she didn’t dare hope too much.

“Yes, Cissy. This is Hermione, the Missing Little Black Girl.”Severus answered quietly. He had never been sure why Hermione had always been called the “Missing Little Black Girl” as her last name should have been Lestrange. Unless it had been a personal choice of Bellatrix.

That was when Narcissa Malfoy did something that Severus Snape, had ever seen before.

The regal woman got on her knees in front of Hermione and merely held her hands out. That was all she wanted. To take Hermione’s hand in her own. She could not hope for more.

“Are you my Aunt Cissy?” The child whispered, “My real Mummy’s sister? Sir said that he was bringing me to my Aunt and Uncle.”

Narcissa, with tears in her eyes, nodded.

And, before anyone could think or move, the little girl jumped off of Severus’ lap and wrapped her arms around her aunt…something about this woman, and the two adult men in the room, told Hermione that she would always be taken care of…never again would she have to worry about herself or her Harry.

Harry took this moment to covertly slide his way onto his father’s lap, wrapping both of the man’s arms over his chest.

Harry could not ever remember feeling this safe. Ever.

“Son.”

Harry jumped as his father’s deep baritone voice brought him back to reality.

“Hey, Dad. I am sorry that I snapped at you earlier.” Harry said looking at Severus for a moment then quickly looking back out the window.

Severus stared at his son for a moment. The boy was only fifteen. Yet, he had already been through so much.

“Your mother…Lily…she would be so proud of you.” Severus whispered. Harry barely heard him.

But, he did, and it brought tears to his eyes. Harry rarely ever cried. His occulmency shields were always so tight that he was able to bury the emotions deep down.

Severus recognized the boys restraint and walked over to his son, placing his hand softly on Harry’s chin, lifting it gently so that Severus could look into his eyes.

He could tell that Harry had his shields up. He always did.

“I never take them down, Dad. Can’t. If I did I don’t know what would happen. Maybe I would be okay. But, maybe I would fall and break. Can’t ever take that chance, can I?”

Harry had been thirteen years old when he had first told his father that.

“Let them down, Harry.” Severus said quietly.

Harry only shook his head. He was already starting to lose control, and he was angry with himself because of it.

“I will always be here to catch you and put the pieces back together.”

With that, Harry looked deep into his father’s eyes and let his shields fall.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione and Draco walked to dinner together. They had been told by Narcissa to dress nicely for the meal. Both knew better than to disobey those orders, despite not particularly enjoying the formal clothing they were being made to wear while in their own home. Hermione, in particular, was displeased with the blue and silver ankle length dress. It wrapped around her neck leaving her shoulders bare, and draped evenly down her waist.

It simply wasn’t her style. She didn’t even particularly like the color blue and wasn’t a fan of dresses that wrapped around her neck. It was a personal preference, one that she had told her aunt before…usually Narcissa listened to her choices.

“Oh my. You look so beautiful, Mione, Love. I knew the moment I saw that dress that it would look lovely on you. And that blue…it is stunning.”

Hermione turned slightly.

Bellatrix looked at her daughter in awe. It was the first article of clothing that she had ever had the opportunity to buy her child and Hermione did look dazzling. She wasn’t quite sure how the girl would feel about the sapphire blue hue, but it was Bellatrix’s favorite color, so she was sure that her daughter would also at least sort of like the shade.

“Mum? You bought this dress for me? Aunt Cissy just told me that she had laid out my outfit for tonight.” Hermione said quietly, slightly in awe.

“Yes. I went into Diagon Alley today under glamours. I had to get a few things… the dress spoke to me.”

Hermione looked at her mother for a moment. For possibly the first time in the week or so that she had been home she simply she looked at the woman, trying to figure her out. No longer was she the timid girl from a week ago. She wanted to know the person her mother was.

In many ways, Narcissa, the woman who had raised her, punished her, held her when she cried, tucked her in at night, and took care of her when she was sick, was a completely opposite being than the one standing in front of her. It was almost as if Bellatrix was something else…some completely different entity. Someone that Hermione wanted to get to know everything about.

Narcissa watched from afar, a pang in her chest. She loved her sister.

But she felt like her sister was ripping part of her life away.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry walked into the formal dining room with his parents. He felt lighter than he had in days. He was glad that he and his Dad had sorted things out. It was not particularly easy, knowing that there were things that his father knew but wouldn’t tell him; however, it was something that Harry knew that he had to accept. Otherwise, he knew that his father would not hesitate to ground him. Or his mother for that matter, for even when he could pull something over on his father, who caught onto nearly everything, he had never been able to hide anything from her.

Rosemerta had set out his formal robes and had told him to put them on under threat of death. Well, perhaps not death, but the glare she had sent Harry had him nearly stripping his clothes off

before she even left his room. He immediately put the robes on.

But, he still didn’t know why. Normally he, Draco, and Hermione were not made to wear anything formal at the manor.

“Dad, tonight can you and me play a game of chess?” Harry asked right before they walked into the dining area.

Severus felt one of his eyebrows raise up automatically.

“What?” Harry asked immediately. He knew that look. It was the ‘you have done something that irritates me, son’ look.

“I will consider playing a game of chess with you if you are able to correct your grammar, Child.”

Harry blushed, Rosemerta smiled slightly, and Severus smirked.

“Dad, would you mind playing a game of chess tonight?”

Severus nodded in approval and then patted his son’s shoulder.

“We shall make a scholar out of you yet, Harry.”

Harry was about to retort when they walked into the dining room and Harry stopped.

He had expected Tom Riddle there.

He had not, however, expected to see both Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey.