The following day, Harry decided to go exploring. He had spent most of his first day at Prince Manor working on his summer homework except for the times when he got hungry. He rarely saw Snape during the last day though Snape did make sure he didn’t lose track of time and actually ate. Snape was content to leave Harry alone so long as he adhered to the rules and Harry found that living with the snarky Potions Professor was better than living with the Dursleys.

            Harry snorted. Living with anyone is better than living with the Dursleys, he thought.

            He pushed aside the Transfigurations essay he had been working on before getting to his feet. Stretching, he made his way out of the guest room he had been giving and looked around wondering where to start exploring. He was still surprised Snape was actually letting him explore the manor and Harry half-expected Snape to tell him that he changed his mind.

            He decided to start with the second floor and then go on to the first floor and finish with the two towers. Making his way down the hallway, Harry pushed open the first unlocked door he found, which was right next to his room, and found that it was another guest room. The next room turned out to be a study while the next couple of rooms were locked.

            Shrugging, Harry went to the other side of the hall and continued exploring pushing open all doors that were unlocked and revealing a music room—Never saw Snape for a music person, Harry thought—that had many dust-covered instruments and a lounge that was pretty bare except for worn couches and paintings adorning the walls with the exception of the eastern wall that was dominated by an unlit fireplace.

            Closing the door to the lounge, Harry continued his journey opening up another door that led to a large, walk-in closet that was devoid of items. When Harry opened the door, though, the light bulb that hung from the closet’s ceiling turned on. Harry frowned when he spotted something across from the door; a brass handle of some sort.

            Curious, he made his way into the closet making a point of keeping the door partially ajar so that it didn’t close behind him. He hated enclosed spaces from having spent ten years of his life living in the cupboard beneath the stairs. He came to the handle and grasped it before turning it and, to his surprise, there was a click. When he pulled on the handle, the door swung open with a creak shedding dust on Harry to reveal a narrow hallway shrouded in shadows with narrow windows lining the wall to allow in thin shafts of sunlight.

            This looks like it hasn’t been used in a while, Harry thought and, his curiosity getting the better of him, he pulled the door open wider causing it to creak again before he made his way into the hallway and right into a cobweb.

            Wiping the web off and thankful there weren’t any spiders on it, Harry walked across the narrow hallway to one of the windows. He jumped a little when the door to the secret hallway closed behind him and hoped that he could open it again. He found he could see into the front yard of the manor as well as the portion of the valley that Harry and Snape had walked through the day before. He walked along the hallway noticing that it wasn’t that long and there didn’t seem to be any other doors except for one at the other end of the hall.

            Walking over to that door, Harry opened it gently before peering into it to find a narrow spiral stairway going upwards as well as downward. Wonder where this leads, Harry thought before he stepped onto the stairway, jumping again when the door shut behind him, before deciding to go up.

            Walking upwards, he reached another door with a brass handle. The door was unlocked and Harry turned the handle before pushing it open to reveal a large circular room surrounded on three sides by large windows and a domed ceiling enchanted to resemble the sky above like in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. There were also telescopes in the room and star charts and constellations on the wall on which was the door. Across the floor was a plush midnight blue carpet and there were a few armchairs in the room.

            Harry had to admit the room was nice. It reminded him of a smaller version of the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts but looked more comfortable. He walked over to the windows noticing that he was in the north tower and that he had a pretty good view of the northern end of the valley including the mountains in the distance.

            Leaving the room and closing the door behind him, Harry made his way back down the stairway and to another door at the bottom of the stairway. Pushing it open, he noticed it led to the dining room. The dining room was currently empty; it was a large room complete with a mahogany table surrounded by four chairs in the center, a china chest on the wall opposite the door and landscape paintings adorning the walls.

            Closing the door to the tower behind him, Harry decided to check out the south tower now. Making his way across the living room, he opened the door to reveal a stairway that seemed a little shorter than the one in the north tower and led to a doorway about halfway up. Pushing open the door, Harry noticed there were a few steps that led to an archway and, when he walked up those steps, he found himself in a library. There were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves along the walls with windows covered with sky-blue curtains in between a few of them. The room also had a domed ceiling but the floor was lower than the one in the north tower. There were four bookshelves a foot taller than Harry lying parallel to each other in the center of the library with an aisle between each—and between the bookshelves and the wall—wide enough for a single person to walk. However, at the end of the circular room across from the door was a semicircular room filled with small tables and armchairs. The entire floor was covered with gray carpet.

            Harry wandered around the bookshelves noticing they were arranged by category; Potions, Charms, Transfigurations, magical creatures and even an entire section with muggle fiction and nonfiction books. Harry noticed there were quite a few books that he has always wanted to read on those bookshelves and wondered if Snape would let him read them while he was staying at the manor.

            He sighed sadly because he doubted that would happen. He wasn’t going to be staying at Prince Manor for more than a few days—a few weeks at the most, Dumbledore had said—and then he would be returning to his relatives. He didn’t want to but he knew he had to, Dumbledore made that clear after the end of the year feast.

            But if I had a choice, would I choose to stay with Snape rather than the Dursleys? Harry thought.

            He found he didn’t have an answer to that.

            Snape did treat him better than the Dursleys did even if he mostly ignored Harry’s presence. He did say that Harry could eat whenever he got hungry and that he could explore the manor so long as he stayed out of any of the locked rooms within it. He even said that Harry could fly, even if he had to ask permission, and Harry found himself stunned by how much freedom he was given compared to the Dursleys.

            Shaking his head, Harry decided to ask Snape if he could read one of the books in the library and hope the professor would let him. Walking back to the door, Harry left the library and returned to the living room. It was nearing lunchtime anyway, from what the clock in the library said, and Harry was starting to get hungry.

            Harry entered the living room just in time to see Snape leaving the cellar and decided to ask him. “Professor?” he said uncertainly.

            “What, Potter?” Snape asked; his voice was as emotionless as his eyes but that wasn’t anything new. At least he wasn’t being his usual ‘evil bat of the dungeon’ self, which still struck Harry as odd.

            He hesitated again before he decided to just come out and ask. “Do you think I can borrow one of the books from your library?” He asked.

            Snape’s eyebrow rose. “Which one?”

            “Erm, the Chronicles of Narnia books, sir. I’ve always wanted to read them,” Harry said.

            Snape was silent for a long moment. “Just don’t ruin them. Have you had lunch yet?” he said.

            “No sir. I was just about to and thank you, sir,” Harry said surprised that Snape had actually agreed.

            Snape grunted before walking into the kitchen and Harry followed him.

. . .

            Severus watched Potter as the boy sat down at the dining room table with his lunch. It wasn’t as large as any of the other meals Severus has seen the boy eat but at least it was something. Severus figured if his suspicions were right then Potter would likely have to increase the size of his meals very gradually in order to not make himself sick. At the very least, he knew enough to not eat too fast.

            Severus was unsure of what to do now. He and Potter were getting along—rather he was ignoring the boy’s existence most of the time—but Severus knew that he wouldn’t get the answers to any of the many questions in his mind if he continued to ignore the boy. He had to find a way to get Potter to open up to him and that wasn’t likely to happen because of their mutual dislike of each other.

            But then, Severus wasn’t sure if he did dislike the boy anymore. He had disliked Potter because the boy resembled his father and he assumed that the boy was raised like his father. Now that he had those notions shattered, he couldn’t say that he disliked the boy anymore because he wasn’t sure if he did or not.

            “Professor?”

            Severus pulled himself from his thoughts to find Potter looking at him. “What?” he asked neutrally.

            Potter seemed to hesitate. “It’s nothing, never mind,” he mumbled.

            Severus raised an eyebrow. “If it was nothing, you would never have asked,” he said gruffly.

            “I…It’s just…do you think you can help me?” Potter said finally.

            “Help you with what?”

            “That Potions essay you assigned. I finally figured out how to answer the question you assigned but I’m having a bit of trouble organizing it,” Potter said lowering his head almost as if he was embarrassed to have asked for help on a homework assignment.

            Severus, on the other hand, was surprised the boy had asked him for help. Well, if I want to stand a chance at figuring out the enigma that is Harry Potter, not acting like I do at Hogwarts might be a good start, he thought. Besides, the boy asked politely—and was actually willingly seeking help—he would help. “Many first years have trouble organizing their essays to where it makes sense,” he said.

            Contrary to popular belief, Severus was willing to help students but with his reputation as the bat of the dungeon that he kept more to keep his cover with the children of Death Eaters and with the fact that he had to be strict in order to prevent dangerous and potentially fatal explosions, it was rare for any student who wasn’t in Slytherin to seek his help.

            “What do you have so far?” he added.

            “Uh…can I go get it?” Harry asked.

            Severus nodded and the boy got to his feet before dashing out of the dining room. “Walk, Potter,” he ordered and heard a soft “sorry” before the boy slowed down to a walk and disappeared into the foyer.

            The boy returned a few minutes later with the parchment in his hands and handed it to Severus before returning to his seat. Severus narrowed his eyes as he scanned the essay; despite how unorganized it was—and the fact that Severus could barely read the boy’s handwriting, it did contain all the information that Severus wanted it to.

            “First of all, it’s hard to read this chicken scratch you call writing,” he said.

            Harry glared at him. “Not my fault I never learned how to write with a quill,” he muttered.

            Severus raised an eyebrow putting the essay on the table. “I would’ve thought your friends would teach you or your Head of House.”

            “Heads of Houses do that?”

            Minerva, I’m going to have to talk to you about this, Severus thought. “I do anyway,” he said.

            “Oh, uh, Hermione said that some of the older students help the younger ones, the muggleborns, learn how to write and she had practiced before she came to Hogwarts,” Harry admitted.

            “Why didn’t you ask for help then?”

            Harry shrugged.

            “Shrugging is not an answer, Potter.”

            Harry glared at him before looking down and didn’t answer.

            “Potter…”

            “I guess I didn’t want them to know I didn’t know how to do this. I mean I’m supposed to know this stuff ‘cause my parents were wizards themselves,” Harry muttered.

            Severus raised an eyebrow. “Potter, you were raised by your relatives and they’re muggles. Do you honestly think you’re supposed to know this stuff when you were raised by muggles?” he said.

            Harry shrugged again.

            Severus pinched the bridge of his nose before sighing softly. “Other than being barely able to read it, your essay does have everything I asked for it. All you need is to organize it.”

            “How do I do that?”

            “There are two parts to the question, Potter. Simply separate your paragraphs according to which part of the question it’s about. Right now, everything is in a single paragraph and it makes it hard to understand what you’re trying to say,” Severus said handing the parchment back to Potter.

            Potter took the parchment. “Thank you, sir,” he said softly.

            A little while later found Severus reading in the living room while Potter was attempting to rewrite his essay on the coffee table. Occasionally, Severus would glance at the boy to see him doing that irritating habit of chewing on the end of his quill before he would start writing. Severus had instructed the boy on how to properly hold the quill and what to do to prevent random splotches on the parchment and he was surprised but pleased that the boy had listened to him.

            I wonder why he never listens in class, Severus thought. He thought about it and wondered if it was because of how he treated the boy in class. He wondered if the boy would have done better had Severus not picked on him just because he thought the boy was a carbon copy of his father.

            “Professor?” Potter must have noticed Severus was observing him for he looked at him questioningly.

            “Yes Potter?” Severus said.

            “Is this okay?” Potter held out the parchment.

            Severus, surprised by how fast the boy worked, took the parchment and studied it before nodding. It was more legible than the previous draft though there were still splotches in random places and it was organized in the way that Severus suggested the boy organize it.

            “Yes, it’s fine Potter,” he said handing the parchment back.

            Potter smiled a little. “Thank you sir,” he said softly. “Uh, do you think I could use information from your library to add to it? ‘cause I’m still half a foot short.”

            Severus was secretly pleased the boy was putting so much effort into his homework assignment. It made Severus wondered why the boy didn’t do that during the school year. “Yes you may, Potter,” he said.

            “Thank you sir.” Potter got to his feet and walked over to the door that would take him to the library.

. . .

            Over the course of the next three days, Harry was surprised by how different Snape was outside the classroom. The professor was actually willing to help Harry with his homework and explained concepts that Harry didn’t understand. It was as if he turned into a completely different person once they were away from the students

            He still managed to finish the majority of his homework thanks to Snape’s help though so he decided to take a break and go flying. He walked into the kitchen with his Nimbus Two Thousand in his hands to find Snape there reading the Daily Prophet and sipping at a mug of coffee. It was only ten in the morning but Harry has been up since six as that was the time he was used to waking up.

            “Professor?” he said.

            Snape lifted his head from the paper. “What?”

            “Can I go flying?”

            Snape grunted. “Don’t go near the forest and be back by noon,” he said shortly.

            “Yes sir.” That gave him a good two hours of flying and Harry was looking forward to it. Besides, flying would allow him to see more of the valley than he had been able to since he arrived. The last three days he had been too hesitant about asking Snape if he could go flying and had been working on his summer assignments; today, he thought since he was practically done with his homework, he may as well take a day for himself.

            Mounting his broom once he was outside, Harry soared into the air. He flew around the manor smiling as the wind rushed past his hair before he went a bit higher so that he had a better view of the valley. There was little else to be seen that Harry hadn’t already seen though.

            Suddenly, something solid but cold collided with Harry sending both of them spinning until they both crashed into a tree and fell to the ground. Landing with a thud in the roots of the tree, Harry disentangled himself from the creature that flew into him to find it was a beautiful bird with blood on its otherwise pure white chest. Its wings were glossy pale blue and white and its eyes were an icy blue. The bird melodic trill was filled with pain as it struggled to get up.

            “Hey, hey, don’t get up yet. You’re hurt,” Harry said concerned.

            The bird gazed at him. ‘I know I am hurt, boy,’ it trilled and Harry was startled to hear the bird’s melodic feminine voice in his mind.

            “You…You talk,” Harry breathed eyes wide with surprise.

            ‘Of course I speak, boy,’ the bird trilled. She titled her head before gazing at Harry with her icy blue eyes and then trilled, ‘You have such a pure heart. I have never met someone as pure as you. The master of the manor within this place has such ice around his heart that it is difficult for me to see if it is pure or not. There is such pain in him but there is also pain in you.’

            Harry felt a bit uncomfortable but also curious. “How do you know that?”

            The bird trilled out a melodic laugh. ‘I have the gift of seeing into hearts and mind though I only speak to those I know are worthy,’ she said.

            “You think I’m worthy?” Harry said.

            ‘No, I know you are worthy. Now, will you please help me? I happened to have a run in with a dangerous chimera and I am badly injured. I have managed to stop the bleeding but I do not know for how long,’ the bird trilled. Now her voice sounded a lot weaker than before.

            “Okay, uh, I don’t know what to do though. Uh…” Harry thought quickly and decided that the only way he could help the bird is if he got back to the manor. He could only hope Snape wasn’t cruel enough to not help a badly injured animal.

            “I’m gonna take you back to the manor,” Harry said. “Maybe Snape’ll help you.” He reached out and hesitantly picked the bird up before grabbing his broom with his other hand before making his way back to the manor.

            When he reached the manor, he made his way into the living room before looking around wondering where Snape was. He decided to just ask Kari. “Kari?” he called and, with a pop, Kari appeared before him.

            “Yes, Mr. Harry?” she said.

            “Do you know where Professor Snape is?” Harry asked.

            “Master Severus is in his lab. May Kari get him for yous?”

            “Can you please? This bird’s injured and I don’t know what to do,” Harry said looking at the bird in his arm worried.

            Kari looked at the bird and gasped, her large eyes going wide. “Oh my…Kari’ll get Master Severus right away,” she said and disappeared with a pop.

            “Is that what I think it is?” The female voice that sounded caused Harry to jump before turning to find the portrait of a pretty woman with the same black hair and obsidian eyes as Snape peering at the bird.

            “Uh, I dunno,” Harry said wondering who this woman was.

            The woman looked at him before smiling. “I do not believe we’ve been introduced. My name is Eileen, I am Severus’s mother.”

            Harry wasn’t too surprised. The woman looked too much like Snape to not be his mother. “Uh, I’m Harry Potter,” he said uncertainly.

            “So you’re Lily’s son. You have her eyes,” the woman said.

            Harry’s eyes went wide. “You knew my mother?” he said.

            “Of course. So did Sev. He was her best friend, you know.” Eileen frowned at the dumbfounded look Harry was giving her and added, “Obviously, you didn’t know. I’m going to have a talk with my son.”

            Kari reappeared in the room and was followed by Snape. “See, Master Severus, it is one,” she said.

            “I can see that, Kari. Potter, what happened?” Snape said narrowing his eyes.

            “I dunno, Professor,” Harry said pulling himself from his thoughts that Snape knew his mother and was her best friend. “I was flying and then she flew into me. She’s injured though, professor.”

            “Come, we’ll treat her in my lab,” Snape said.

            “When you’re done Sev, I want to talk to you,” Eileen said firmly.

            Snape glanced at his mother. “About what?” he asked.

            Eileen’s tone was frosty as she said, “We’ll discuss it when you’re done.”

            Snape nodded before he led the way to the cellar and Harry trailed after him with the bird in his arms while Kari took his broom to his room. Harry made a mental note to thank her for that later.

            “Put her here, Potter,” Snape said gesturing to the table and Harry, as gently as possible, put the bird on the table. Snape pulled out his wand before murmuring a spell under his breath and narrowing his eyes.

            “What is she, Professor? Kari and your mum seemed surprised when they saw her,” Harry said looking at the bird as Snape began to work.

            “It’s an ice phoenix, Potter,” Snape said without looking at the boy.

            “Ice phoenix?”

            “Yes. They are very rare but there are a few who live in this valley. I have only ever seen one up close once,” Snape said absently as he worked.

            “I’ve never heard of ice phoenixes,” Harry said looking at the bird. Now that he thought about it, the bird’s glossy feathers looked a little like icicles.

            “If you’re going to remain, Potter, then the least you can do is help. Go get me a syringe and a glass of water. There should be a syringe in the medicine cabinet in one of the bathrooms,” Snape ordered.

            Harry nodded before turning and leaving the Potions lab. After finding a syringe and filling a glass of water, he returned and handed both to Snape. Snape took it before gently giving the semi-conscious ice phoenix water. The ice phoenix seemed to feel better after Snape finished giving her the rest of the water.

            ‘Oh that’s much better, the ice phoenix said in Harry’s mind.

            “It looks like the wound’s not infected, which is good,” Snape murmured. He had already spelled the blood off the ice phoenix’s chest and was now working with closing the gash on her chest.

            Harry hovered anxiously nearby as he watched the Potions professor work. “She’ll be all right, right?” he asked when Snape stepped back.

            “Yes, Potter, she will be fine. We will need to keep her hydrated though. Ice phoenixes cannot go long without water,” Snape said.

            Harry nodded relieved that the ice phoenix would be all right.

            ‘Thank you, child,’ the ice phoenix said in Harry’s mind.

            He smiled at her. “You’re welcome. I couldn’t just let you die,” he said much to Snape’s surprise.

            ‘This is simply one example of your pure heart, child. I pray you never lose your compassion,’ the ice phoenix said before she drifted off into sleep.

            “You could understand her?” Snape said awed.

            Harry glanced at the professor. “Yeah, why?”

            “Phoenixes are notoriously picky on who they are willing to speak with,” Snape said before he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. “Come, let’s leave her to sleep. Kari’ll keep an eye on her.”

            Harry nodded before following Snape as he led the way out of the lab.

            “We need to talk, mister, now,” Eileen said sternly once they entered the foyer.

            Snape glared at the portrait but Eileen simply met his glare with one of her own. Harry watched the battle of wills going on between mother and son that the mother eventually won. Snape broke eye contact before nodding and walking up the stairs while Eileen left the frame probably to travel to another portrait.

            While Snape was speaking with his mother, Harry decided to do some research on ice phoenixes. Walking across the living room, he made his way into the library within the south tower.