As Harry thought about it and lay on his back staring at the bottom boards of the top bunk, he felt his stomach squirm. His father had been almost as bad to him as Voldemort had been. If he couldn't get over the one, could he forget about the other? If Voldemort had come to him one day and given him new clothes and books and Quidditch gear, and a place to live, would he have given in so easily? He hoped not, and on the other hand, he had done it with his father and brother. Voldemort was volatile, and Harry knew he would have turned on any of his followers if it suited him. Would his father do the same? It was a recurring fear Harry had been trying to deal with for months... ever since Christmas.

Finally deciding to drag himself out of bed if he wasn't going to sleep, Harry sat up and opened his curtains. Maybe he'd wake up Old Lady Prince for some company he thought wryly. Treading out of his room barefoot and down the carpeted hallway, Harry found himself staring at an empty portrait that should have contained Sophia Prince. With a frown, he wondered where she'd be at this time of night. Probably spying on somebody sleeping, he thought. Hadn't she said something about Oliver Prince being on the other side of the manor? Maybe Harry would go and wake him up. He might be angry, but he was just a portrait after all.

It took some searching in the dark hallways before Harry finally heard a noise that sounded familiar.

He snuck around a corner and was startled when someone suddenly sssshhhhh'd him directly into his ear.

Harry spun to find Sophia in a painting of a manor right next to his face on the wall.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, squinting to see that she was all the way up against the side of the frame as if she were hiding.

"What am I- what are you doing here just Harry?"

"Looking for Oliver," he said.

"At this hour? I hardly think so young man. You and your father, I swear. He was always sneaking about at all hours of the night too."

"My dad?"

"Always plotting something, setting traps for your cousins or grandfather, sneaking out of the house to see your mother, venturing into the woods late at night to collect potions ingredients. Now you tell me the truth young man, what are you doing out of bed?"

"I did tell you the truth. I couldn't sleep. I wanted to talk to somebody but you weren't in your portrait."

"And why didn't you wake your father if you had a nightmare?"

Harry took a step back. Why would he wake his father?

"You know I had a nightmare?"

"I can't think of any other reason you'd be out of bed aside from mischief. Well, what was it about then?"

Harry frowned. "You first. Why are you all the way over here?"

"This will be the second time today that I've told you to keep your wonderings to yourself."

"I'm going back to bed," Harry said. "After I talk to Oliver." He took a step down the hall but Sophia made a strange sound then and Harry turned to see her reaching out towards him as if she wanted to reach right out of the portrait to grab his arm.

"Don't."

"Why not?"

"He's sleeping."

"Then why are you here?"

She gave him a glare that reminded him of his father, only not as strong, and Harry wondered how long it had taken the man to perfect the look and improve upon it after growing up under this woman's watchful eye.

"I think you should return to bed," she said then.

Irritated, Harry turned and stalked past her. Fine. Nobody wanted to tell him anything, nobody wanted to let him know the family secrets, that was up to them, just like always. He'd gotten out of bed to seek comfort, but had only ended up feeling more of an outcast than before.

It was nearly dawn when Harry fell to sleep again, and when Severus poked his head into his son's door shortly thereafter, he spotted Harry on top of his covers, and papers strewn across the boy's desk covered in scribbles and sketches. He'd obviously been awake all night, and Severus wondered why before he left his son alone to sleep.

* * *

Feeling no desire to stay in the house after his rough night, Harry dressed in a red t-shirt and blue jeans and made his way down through the house. He knew it was well after breakfast, but he poked his head into the dining room anyway, hoping to find some food waiting for him on the table. There was nothing for him however, so he wandered around the first floor looking for the kitchen, which he finally found in the front corner of the house across the entryway from the too large dining room. Like the rest of the first floor, the dining room was bright with light from tall windows, and was mostly painted white. There were white marble counters and large white tiles on the floor. Harry went to one of the three fridges and opened it to find a wide variety of vegetables. Thinking he'd make himself a sandwich, he began pulling things out, though he was startled a few moments later as he went to the counter with a plate and his ingredients by a high pitched voice.

"No no no! Master musn't do that!"

Harry turned and saw a small male house elf behind him with his hands up over his ears. He noticed right away that he was wearing clothes, and knew then that he was a free elf, and wondered what he was doing there.

"Sorry?"

The elf hurried over, pulled out a stool from under the counter and climbed up onto it in front of Harry's plate and ingredients. "Master musn't fix himself food. Bane will lose his job."

"I didn't mean to take your job from you," Harry said.

"Doesn't master know that it's a house elf's job to fix the food?"

"I've never had a house elf before," Harry said. "I always fix my own food unless I'm at school."

The elf shook his head. "I am the master house elf here, and I will fix the food." He seemed very annoyed but also frantic as if someone might have seen this infraction.

"I didn't mean to cause you trouble. I'm new here," Harry said. "My name is Harry."

"Master house elf Bane knows who you are," the elf said, finishing the sandwich and still not looking up at Harry until he was sure the sandwich was perfect. He slid the plate over to Harry.

"Can I at least help you clean up?" Harry asked.

"Noes! Musn't help clean up the kitchen either! This is my kitchen! Out with you out out!"

Harry grabbed the sandwich off the plate quickly and hurried out of the kitchen with Bane hot on his heels. When the door had closed behind him, Harry listened interestedly for a few moments at the high voice of the elf and the sounds of cleaning within. He wondered if the elf was always that high strung.

Eating his sandwich and thinking that it was quite good, Harry made his way out the front door and onto the grounds. The sun felt good on his skin, and he took in his surroundings before deciding to head to the south towards Idlewen Forest to see if he could find any elves. He had the elven leaf on the silver chain around his neck and tucked into his shirt, and wondered if any of the elves would show themselves to him if he pulled it out. He'd taken to wearing it since it had somehow ended up in his pocket the day after the Christmas party, though he often kept it hidden. It was one of his treasures and he didn't feel like sharing it with anyone just yet, though Ginny and Umbridge knew he had it, and if his father had gotten that far into his journal yet, he would know as well.

As Harry crossed the vast lawns and came to the edge of the forest, he wondered that any elf would be so shy or cautious that they wouldn't let wizards see them. If they held so much sway with the Ministry as Kenai had said, and went to Christmas parties, then they couldn't be all that shy. He stood on the edge of the forest and peered into it. It was nothing at all like the Forbidden forest, which was dark and dank with mangled trees and roots sticking out everywhere. Idlewen was filled with tall straight trees with lots of room in between, and plenty of light coming down through the canopy. There was shrubbery and there were patches of grass and moss growing up every tree and on every rock, but for the most part the ground was dirt, and Harry knew that if he chose to wander in, he'd have no trouble picking an easy path.

He probably stared into the depths of the forest for five minutes, ears perked for any sound before he came out of his trance and decided to go in. Kenai said they could go where they wanted, hadn't he?

"Hello?" Harry asked, feeling stupid talking to no one but himself. If the elves were shy, he doubted they'd answer, but it was worth a shot. "Is there anyone here?" He walked a bit further before he tried again. "Any elves? Any friends of Slyfaen Gandu? He was the Head Consul to the Elven Tribunal, the one that had invited Harry to spend time with the elves at the Christmas party. There was no answer however, and Harry let his shoulders fall. He walked for what felt like a half hour or more, just wandering, before he decided to turn back. He hadn't even seen a squirrel or heard any birds. It felt strange for a forest to be so still and quiet, and while he hadn't been in any hurry to wander in, he felt the need to be fast wandering back out. He felt disappointed as he crossed the lawns back up to the house. Inside, he found his father sitting at the long dining room table by himself having lunch.

"Harry," he said. Harry paused on the threshold of the dining room, and then decided to go in. It hadn't been that long since he'd eaten, but he didn't want to spend the day alone. He sat down across from his father.

"Kenai received an invite to Pansy Parkinson's house this morning at breakfast," Severus said. "He will be away until dinner."

"Where does she live?" Harry asked. He'd only ever been to Ron's house, and had no idea where other wizarding families called home.

"In a suburb of London."

"Oh."

"How has your time been here so far?"

Harry wanted to shrug and say ‘lonely' because the house was so big and he really hadn't seen his father or Kenai much at all, but he felt like he'd be a disappointment if he did. "Good," he said. "When do we start tutoring?"

"Kenai's tutor for Elven politics will arrive tomorrow morning. Your tutor for the arts will arrive tomorrow as well."

"The arts?"

"Many of your choices were in the arts. I was able to find a tutor who teaches guitar, violin, piano, and painting. He will help you with what you would like to study."

"I don't have a guitar or violin though," Harry said.

"I realize. You are also in need of summer clothes, and other supplies. I thought we might take a trip to get them while Kenai is out. If we leave now we should be back by dinner."

Harry moved to get up, excited, but then stilled, a question begging to be let out. "Can I study elven magic?"

Severus looked at his son carefully. "May I ask where this desire comes from?"

He did shrug this time. "When I was at the Christmas party Slyfaen Gandu told me I had elven blood and I was welcome in their kingdom whenever I wanted. I just thought it would be interesting to learn more about that."

"Unfortunate as it is, there is not much written on the subject of elves, and I do not know of a tutor who would be willing to come and teach you."

"But an elf is coming to teach Kenai politics?"

"No," Severus said. "A man by the name of Green. He is a liaison between the elven high consul and the Ministry office of Elven affairs."

"Oh."

Severus stood up and motioned for Harry to do the same, and took him outside to apparate. Harry had never really been outside of Hogwarts with his father before except the train station and to defeat Voldemort, and he wasn't sure what to expect of a shopping trip to Diagonalley.

As it turned out, Severus hadn't taken them to Diagonalley at all. From what Harry could see when they came out of the alley, the small town looked distinctly Muggle.

"Where did we go?"

"Coleraine."

"What are we going to get here?"

"There's a shopping center with a young men's clothing store, and a music store and art supply store. After we leave here we'll go to Diagonalley for the rest of the supplies."

Harry's stomach squirmed. How much were they going to spend?

Severus and Harry crossed a busy street into the shopping center parking lot and entered the clothing store. Hurrying to do as he was told, Harry picked out several pairs of shorts, half a dozen new t-shirts (Which he really thought was too much considering he already had so many), some new polo shirts, a new school bag, socks and underwear, and a baseball cap. He was surprised when Severus also directed him towards the shoes where he picked out two pairs of sandals and another pair of sneakers. Harry felt like his head was spinning. His new wardrobe from Christmas was so large and he'd been so careful to preserve every new piece of clothing, and now here he was getting another new wardrobe. He wasn't even sure if his closet would hold it all, and he knew that his school trunk wouldn't.

Next door to the clothing shop they found the large music store, and Severus asked a clerk not much older than Harry for help in picking out a guitar and violin. Harry wasn't sure if he'd even like playing either instrument, and felt like he was sure to be a disappointment if he decided he didn't like it after his father had purchased these things for him. His initial thought was to hurry home and write this down in his journal, before he remembered once again, that he didn't have it. Despite his anxiety, Harry was a little excited about getting to pick out an acoustic guitar, and ended up with a handsome pale one with a dark back and sides. They also got a guitar stand, extra strings, a carrying case, and several other accessories the clerk said they'd need. They didn't spend nearly as much time picking out a violin, but Harry also admired the dark wood and beautiful grain in the one they bought. In his head Harry was keeping tally of the money, and he winced whenever they added something else to the list of things they'd bought.

They had to go to the other side of the shopping center to get to the art supply store, and Harry wasn't sure what they would buy here, but Severus lead him to the drawing section and began picking out drawing pads, pens, pencils, chalks, pastels, erasers, charcoals and other things Harry wasn't even sure the use of. He also insisted that Harry pick out at least three books on art or drawing that were of interest to him, because after the summer was over, he'd be able to take these books to Hogwarts with him to study and learn from. In the end Harry picked out a book on drawing landscapes, drawing cartoons in some style called Manga, and drawing architecture. He didn't have a lot of interest in these things, but the book already at home in his room covered proportions of people and animals in depth and he wasn't sure what else he would need.

When nobody was looking, Severus covertly used his wand each time they left a store to shrink whatever was in their bags and lighten the load, so that it looked like they were only carrying one small bag around instead of several. Harry thought they would head to Diagonalley next, but Severus lead him into one more store, a grocery store, and instructed him to get the other necessities such as tooth brushes and tooth paste, hair gels and the like. Harry reached up to flatten his hair, thinking that it really wasn't that bad, when Severus reached out a hand to still him. "This is where we come to buy Kenai's things. We've purchased a lot so that the supplies will last through Christmas break or longer."

"Ok," Harry nodded. He'd only been shopping with the Weasleys or by himself before in Diagonalley, never with a parent who was buying things for him, and he'd never had hair gels or new tooth brushes. He would never be able to bring himself to tell his father that he'd been using the same old tooth brush he'd had since first year, because Hogsmeade didn't seem to sell toothbrushes anywhere, and he often borrowed toothpaste from Ron during the year.

Finally, just before five o'clock, they apparated to Diagonalley, where Severus needed to pick up some potions ingredients, and lead Harry to the larger of the three bookstores to pick up some more summer reading material.

"This is for pleasure reading, not school work," Severus instructed him. "Kenai does not care for reading so I make it an assignment for him, to read three novels before school starts again, but once he gets into a novel, I believe he enjoys it."

"Oh," Harry said. "I can just read things from the library." He knew there were three rooms back at the house that were lined with books from floor to ceiling.

"Yes, you can, but even so, we purchase new books every year to add to the collection. Pick out three that interest you and take them to the counter. If you find any that are not novels that you would like, bring them up as well."

Harry bit his lip as his father walked away to look at mystery novels, and Harry looked around at the tall shelves. It was almost a daunting task. He wasn't really allowed time to read at the Dursleys, and at school he only read school books. He didn't even realize that wizards had novels. As he browsed the shelves he came to a ‘fantasy' section, and gave a little laugh, thinking that the whole wizarding world was fantasy, and was surprised to find a book called, ‘Harry Grotter and the sands of time.' "Oh no," he said, pulling the book off the shelf to read the back of the book. ‘Harry Grotter is back for another mysterious year at the Muggle boarding school Mogwarts, where all is not what it appears to be...' he stopped reading and stuffed the book back onto the shelf. He hoped none of his classmates had been reading this, and what was worse, it appeared to be a part of a long series. Harry hurriedly pulled three books from the shelf and went to the counter, where his father was now waiting for him. As far as meeting his goal for not being stuck in his room for the day, his day had been a success, but it had left Harry's nerves feeling frayed, and he was quiet through dinner, letting Kenai do all the talking.

As he lay in bed that night, all he could think, was that he missed his journal.