It had been five days since Minerva’s favorite—though she would never say so out loud. Severus already knew that she thought that way—Gryffindor had been abandoned by his despicable relatives. The Head of Gryffindor House always knew that the Dursleys were the worst sort of muggle and she couldn’t figure out why Albus decided to place Harry there.

            She shook her head as she put her quill back on her desk after she finished with the last of the paperwork. She had been planning on leaving for home a few days ago but it had taken a bit longer to finish her grading and the end of the year paperwork she needed to do than she had thought it would. At least now she was done and could head home but first, she was planning on speaking with Albus to see if the Dursleys have been found yet—frankly, she was hoping not—and then checking on Severus and Harry to see if they were getting along—she hoped they were.

            Stacking the parchments after the ink dried, Minerva got to her feet before making her way out of the office and heading toward the headmaster’s office. Reaching the gargoyle that guarded the office, she murmured “sugar quills” and walked past the gargoyle onto the spiraling staircase as soon as the gargoyle jumped aside.

            “Still no news on the Dursleys whereabouts?” Minerva asked as soon as she entered the office.

            The wizened headmaster shook his head; he looked tired. “I’m running out of places to look and spells to try, Minerva,” he said. “I lost their trail somewhere near the airport.”

            “Could they have left the country?” the Deputy Headmistress asked.

            “I had thought of that,” Albus admitted, “but I don’t know how to determine if they have or not without alerting the Ministry. If the Ministry finds out the Dursleys left then, no doubt, they will attempt to gain custody of Harry and that’s the last thing we need.”

            “Speaking of that, if you can’t find the Dursleys then who will be given custody of Harry?” Minerva asked.

            “I don’t know,” Albus said. “I’m hoping to find the Dursleys and convince them to take Harry back.”

            Minerva was silent for a moment fuming at the headmaster’s one track mind. “After they abandoned him? I don’t think that’s a wise thing to do, Albus,” she said. “Surely there must be someone out there who could take care of Harry. Why not the Weasleys? Harry and the youngest son Ronald have become very good friends.”

            “Molly already has seven children to take care of,” Albus said. “Besides, I have time to think about that as we can’t decide what shall happen to Harry until after I, at least, try to talk with the Dursleys.”

            I doubt it will do much good, Minerva thought. “Very well. I have finished with the paperwork and the grading,” she said placing the stack of parchments on Albus’s desk. “I’m going to go check on Severus and Harry before I head home.” She was one of the few that Severus allowed into the ancestral Prince Manor; Albus was another, though he rarely went there, mostly because he didn’t want to intrude.

            “Very well. Give them my best wishes,” Albus said.

            Minerva nodded before she turned around and left the office.

. . .

             Harry walked into the cellar behind Snape carrying a glass of water in one hand and a syringe in the other. He made his way over to the ice phoenix already knowing what to do after having done it a few times the past two days since the ice phoenix came to the manor. The ice phoenix lifted her head before opening her beak so that Harry could fit the syringe in and give her some water.

            ‘Thank you,’ the ice phoenix trilled after she drank the entire glass. She winced when Snape’s slender fingers brushed over the still healing wound on her stomach.

            “It’s still not infected, which is good, but it’s healing a lot slower than it’s supposed to,” Snape murmured.

            “What does that mean?” Harry asked. He wasn’t as wary about asking Snape questions anymore since the Potions Professor had answered his questions about his mother. Not only that but Snape had told him that he would not let Harry got back to the Dursleys, even if he had to go against Dumbledore. While Harry wasn’t sure if he could trust the Potions Professor, it still felt nice to know someone was willing to do something.

            “It means that whatever caused this wound is somehow stopping it from healing as it normally would,” replied Snape. “Since she responds to you, can you ask her what happened with to cause this?”

            “She said it was done by a chimera,” Harry said, remembering that the ice phoenix had said that to him when they first met.

            “It might still be best to get her story to figure out what’s going on,” Snape said.

            “All right.” Harry glanced at the ice phoenix. Can you tell us what happened? He thought knowing the ice phoenix could hear him.

            The ice phoenix let out a trill. ‘I already told you. I was attacked by a chimera,’ she replied.

            Yeah but we need to know more if we want to figure out why you’re wound isn’t healing, Harry thought. Is it because of the chimera’s attack?

            The ice phoenix was silent for a long moment. ‘Not really,’ she trilled finally. ‘It was, in part, but I’ve been wounded by a chimera before and it usually heals rapidly. This time it didn’t because the chimera had poison on its claws.’

            “Poison?” Harry repeated out loud.

            Snape glanced toward him. “Poison?” he repeated. “From what I know, ice phoenix’s are immune to most poisons.”

            ‘That is so but not all,’ the ice phoenix trilled and Harry repeated her words out loud.

            “What type of poison aren’t you immune to then?” the small Gryffindor asked.

            ‘It’s known as solani igni and it’s fatal to ice phoenixes,’ the ice phoenix replied.

            “Fatal? But that means…” Harry trailed off unable to think about an innocent animal dying.

            The ice phoenix let out a reassuring trill. ‘Relax, child, I was not given a high enough dose of the poison for it to kill me. It is simply preventing me from healing my wounds quickly,’ she said.

            “Is there a cure?” Harry asked.

            ‘I was heading on my way to where a cure could be found when I flew into you,’ the ice phoenix trilled.

            “What did she say?” Snape asked.

            Harry repeated her words to the professor before adding, “Do you think maybe we can get the cure for her?”

            “If I knew what the cure was then it would be possible,” Snape replied. “Ask her if she knows what the cure is.”

            ‘Tell him that I can understand him and he does not need to ask you to repeat his questions to me,’ the ice phoenix trilled.

            Harry smiled. “She said that she can understand you just fine and you don’t have to ask me to repeat your questions to her,” he said.

            ‘As for the cure, it’s a rare type of ice flower that can only be found in this valley. Unfortunately, I only know its general location and that it’s guarded by a magical creature that makes the chimera look like an innocent pup,’ the ice phoenix added.

            Harry repeated her words out loud before frowning. “There’s gotta be a way to get this cure,” he said.

            “Unless we know what we’re facing, it will be dangerous,” Snape said.

            “But she needs it. She could die,” Harry protested.

            ‘I said I am not in danger of dying, child,’ the ice phoenix trilled irritably.

            “What did she say?” Snape asked.

            Harry flushed in embarrassment. “She just reminded me that she’s not in danger of dying, but what if it gets infected?”

            “I am keeping it from getting infected right now, Potter,” Snape said. “She will be fine. What I am wondering is why the chimera attacked her? Ice phoenixes, like their cousins, are among the most respected magical creatures in the Wizarding world.”

            ‘It is a long story,’ the ice phoenix trilled. ‘And it would take too long to explain while having Harry—may I call you Harry?’

            Harry nodded.

            ‘—repeat everything. So, though I still cannot see beyond the ice around his heart, I will let him hear what I am saying,’ the ice phoenix added glancing toward Snape. ‘Can you understand me?’

            Snape’s eyes flickered with shock. “I can,” he said keeping his tone emotionless but even Harry could hear the undercurrents of surprise.

            ‘Good, then this will not need to be explained twice. Ice phoenixes have a secondary gift that few know about; the gift of foresight. We can see possible futures but never clearly enough to figure out what our visions are telling us or stop it from happening. However, every once and a while, an ice phoenix will have an extremely vivid vision and, when this happens, it is because the ice phoenix is supposed to do something to either stop her vision from or cause it to come to pass depending on the vision and whether it goes against an ice phoenix’s nature or not.’

            ‘Unfortunately, like humans, even ice phoenixes are not perfect and there are a few—very few—who support the dark wizard Voldemort,’ the ice phoenix added.

            “Voldemort! Why would an ice phoenix support him?” Harry exclaimed while Snape flinched.

            “Please don’t say his name around me, Potter,” he added.

            Harry looked at him curiously but decided not to ask, though he was wondering why.

            ‘I do not know. Perhaps Voldemort compelled them to join him or perhaps they were corrupted. Contrary to popular beliefs, phoenixes are not incorruptible. Either way, I had one of these vivid visions. Long story short, one treacherous ice phoenix was part of the Council of Elders that I spoke to about my vision and sought to stop me from causing it to happen. So she compelled a chimera—which only an Elder can do as chimeras are normally resistant to compulsion from an ordinary phoenix—to prevent me from causing it to happen. Needless to say, she failed.’       

            “Failed? But you were poisoned by a chimera and you haven’t been able to get the cure,” Harry protested.

            The ice phoenix trilled in amusement. ‘She failed because, in her attempt to stop me from causing my vision to happen by having that chimera poison me, she caused me to meet up with the very people I was supposed to meet up with,’ she said. She let out another trill that could only be described as a laugh at the confused looks she was receiving from both Harry and Snape.

            ‘I cannot tell you everything about my vision, child, but I can say that you, Harry, and you Professor Snape play a very significant role in it. Now, I grow weary and I should sleep.’ Without waiting for Harry or Snape to reply, the ice phoenix rested her head on the table before drifting off to sleep leaving the two wizards in confusion.

            A pop sounded and Kari appeared in the lab. “Master Severus, Professor McGonagall wishes to come over. May Kari let her?” she asked.

            “Yes you may, Kari,” Snape said.

            “Wonder why Professor McGonagall’s here,” Harry said out loud as Kari disappeared.

            “Probably assuring herself that I did not turn you into potion ingredients,” Snape said dryly as he led the way out of the lab.

            Harry glanced back at the sleeping ice phoenix before following Snape though he couldn’t help but wonder about the ice phoenix’s vision and why it included him and Snape.

. . .

            Severus walked into the living room as Minerva stepped out of the floo dusting off her robes. “Minerva, what brings you here?” he asked neutrally.

            “Simply came by to check on you and Mr. Potter,” Minerva said.

            “The brat’s fine, Minerva.”

            Potter, who had walked into the living room at that moment, glared at him but said nothing about it. “Hey Professor,” he greeted the Transfigurations professor.

            “Hello Harry, how are you?” Minerva asked.

            “I’m fine.” Harry hesitated then asked, “Am I going back to the Dursleys?”

            Not if I can help it. Did he already forget that I promised to get him out of there? Severus thought. He decided it was because the boy didn’t trust him and, considering how Severus had treated him during the last year, the Potions Professor wasn’t that surprised.

            Learning about the abuse Potter suffered through had really been an eye-opener to just how badly Severus, himself, had treated Potter. Just because he didn’t physically abuse the boy didn’t mean that he wasn’t abusive. He didn’t know how he could have been so blind to the fact that he was just as bad as the Dursleys and he found himself ashamed of his actions.

            I should never have treated him like that, just because he looked like Potter. Learning about what the Dursleys did to him proves that the boy is not Potter. In fact, in the past five days, I’ve come to see that Potter is more like Lily than I had thought, Severus thought feeling a pang of guilt. He hadn’t felt any kind of guilt since he had delivered the half-heard prophecy to Voldemort.

            Glancing at Potter who was telling Minerva about the sick ice phoenix and the cure that she needed, Severus vowed that he would do what he could to make up for becoming the bully he swore he would never be. He did not want to be like his father or like the Marauders—he had sworn he would never become a bully—and yet that was exactly what he had become. He didn’t know if he could make up for it, especially since he couldn’t exactly change his entire attitude toward Potter. He needed to keep his cover with the children of the Death Eaters.

            However, he would try. He would do it for Lily; he was positive if she was alive right now then she would have hexed him for how he treated her son. And he would also do it because, at the moment, he was being a hypocrite as he always kept his promises and yet had broken his promise to never become a bully. Fixing everything was definitely going to take some time to accomplish but Severus had time, even if it wasn’t much.

            Potter’s stomach chose that moment to remind them that it was nearing lunchtime.

            “Looks like someone’s hungry,” Minerva commented while Potter blushed in embarrassment.

            “You’re welcome to join us, Minerva,” Severus said.

            “I would, Severus, but I already promised my family I would be coming by for lunch. As it is, I am going to be a few minutes late. I’ll see what I can find out about this ice flower and I’ll tell Albus. Maybe Fawkes will know something.”

            “Fawkes?” Potter echoed.

            “Professor Dumbledore’s phoenix,” Severus said.

            “Professor Dumbledore has a phoenix?” Potter echoed surprised.

            Minerva nodded. “I’d best get going. I’ll write if I find out anything, Mr. Potter.”

            “Thank you, Professor,” Potter said sounding grateful.

            Minerva inclined her head to Severus before floo-traveling away.

            Severus and Potter made their way into the kitchen, Severus’s thoughts were on his promise to Lily and his desire to make up for becoming the bully he never wanted to be while Potter…Severus wasn’t entirely sure what the boy was thinking.

            “Do you think I could write my friends, Professor?” Potter asked.

            “No one will be able to track your owl here so yes you may. Do not tell them where you are though,” Severus said.

            Potter nodded before making himself a sandwich and sitting at the table. He was halfway through his sandwich before he paused and glanced at Severus. “Do you think you can help me with Professor McGonagall’s homework?” he asked hesitantly.

            Severus had agreed to help him with his Potions assignment so he didn’t see any problem with helping the boy. The boy’s desire to actually do his homework right away, unlike most children who would put it off to the end of the summer holidays, reminded him of Lily too. “If you wish,” he said out loud.

            Potter looked relieved. After he finished his lunch, he left the kitchen only to return a few minutes later with his Transfigurations textbook, a quill and a piece of parchment.

. . .

Dear Harry,

            Hope you’re having a good summer, mate.

            I can’t believe your aunt and uncle didn’t come to pick you up and weren’t even home when you got home. That’s crazy. Why didn’t they? And where are they?

            By the way, Mom wants to meet you though. Do you think whoever you’re staying with will let you come to the Burrow (that’s what my home’s called by the way)? If they will let me know.

            Ice phoenix? I never even knew they existed but Mom said that they’re really rare and are great healers but are picky on who they choose to talk to. Wonder if she’ll talk to me? Hey, if you come over, do you think you can bring her?

            Gred and Forge say hi by the way.

Ron

            Harry put the letter down wondering if he should tell Ron the real reason why his aunt and uncle didn’t pick him up but decided not to. Ron didn’t know what his life was like living with the Dursleys and it wasn’t as if he was going to be staying with Snape for much longer.

            A full week had gone by since the end of term and still Professor Dumbledore has been unable to find the Dursleys. He is convinced that they left the country and had informed Harry and Snape that it would take much more time to find them now that they were out of the country.

            “We’ll have to be careful to keep this quiet. If the Ministry finds out that the Dursleys have fled the country and left Harry here then they will attempt to make him a Ministry ward and that is the last thing we need,” Dumbledore had told them when he had come to visit the day before.

            So, as it was, it was decided that, since the Ministry never interfered with the muggle world, they would just let the Ministry keep believing that Harry was still living with his relatives.

            “This means that I will have to put off locating the Dursleys outside of England for a while, a month at the most, in order to prevent the Ministry from finding out,” Dumbledore had said.

            Basically speaking, Harry was stuck with Snape for longer than they had originally thought. At the very least, an unspoken truce had formed between Harry and his Potions Professor and they were treating each other civilly. Harry was amazed to see how different Snape acted when they weren’t in the classroom; he actually helped Harry with his summer homework and, though he was still impatient, he wasn’t cruel like he was in class. It was mind-boggling to think that this Snape and the Snape Harry had in class were so different.

            Snape was also willing to talk to Harry about his mother, even though Harry was not blind and could tell that it hurt him to talk about her. He had learned that he was like her in a few ways, such as his willingness to get his homework done right away and the fact that he hadn’t needed any help with his Charms homework. He had taken to Charms immediately, just as he had taken to flying.

            Speaking of flying…

            “Are you sure you should be flying around?” Harry asked looking at the ice phoenix who was ghosting form one side of Harry’s bedroom to the other. Her wound had finally finished healing, though there was still some of the poison in her system that was slowly leaving thanks to the ice flower and she was well on her way to a complete recovery, from what Snape said, but Harry wasn’t entirely sure she should be flying. She could be risking reopening her wound.

            ‘I need to get my strength back and flying is the only way I can, since I can’t flash anywhere yet. Professor Snape said I shouldn’t try it until I’m stronger,’ the ice phoenix—who had told Harry the day before that her name was Crystal—trilled as she landed on the headboard close to where Hedwig was resting on her perch.

            “At least we were able to find the ice flower you needed,” Harry mused. He had learned that Snape had located the ice flower the day before after finding out its exact location from Fawkes who, apparently, had been there before. Apparently, Fawkes was able to flash Snape directly into the cave so as to bypass the creature that was guarding it.

            ‘I would have done that too if I hadn’t been as injured as I was,’ Crystal had told them when Harry had asked why she hadn’t done that.

            ‘Indeed,’ Crystal trilled.

            “So, are you going to be returning home soon?” Harry asked reaching over to pick up Hermione’s letter.

            Crystal shook her head. ‘Ice phoenixes take life-debts seriously. You and Professor Snape saved my life so I owe both of you a life-debt.’

            “It was more Professor Snape than me,” Harry admitted unfolding Hermione’s letter.

            ‘Yes but you did help. That is why I owe both of you life-debts. I just wish there was some way to thaw the ice around Professor Snape’s heart. I would like to know if he really is as good as he acts,’ Crystal trilled.

            Harry shrugged not answering since it sounded as though the ice phoenix had been talking to herself. He finished opening Hermione’s letter and began reading.

Dear Harry,

            Are you having a good summer so far wherever you are? I can’t believe your aunt and uncle didn’t pick you up and weren’t even there when you got home. I’m so sorry, Harry. I hope that nothing happened to them.

            I can understand why you can’t tell me where you are. It’s probably to keep you safe or something, like from the press or people who don’t like you. I hope that whoever you are with is treating you right though.

            An ice phoenix? That’s wonderful. I’ve read about them. They’re primarily healers, one of the best natural healers out there, and they are primarily found in cold places like Greenland or Antarctica. They are also very picky on who they choose to talk with; they only talk to those that they believe are worthy. I find it amazing that this ice phoenix thinks you’re worthy. I do so wonder if she will talk to me.

            By the way, have you finished your summer homework? I already have it all done and I am looking forward to our next year. Maybe you, me and Ron, with our parents and guardians, can go to Diagon Alley to get our supplies together.

            I hope that you have a great rest of the summer.

Hermione

            A pop sounded and Kari appeared in the room. “Dinner’s ready, Master Harry,” she said.

            “You don’t have to call me ‘master’, Kari,” Harry said putting Hermione’s letter down.

            Kari smiled. “Kari doesn’t mind, Master Harry.”

            Harry sighed but nodded. “All right, I’ll be right down,” he said.

            Kari nodded and popped away.

            “Are you coming with, Crystal?” Harry asked looking at the ice phoenix. “Or do you wanna stay up here?”

            ‘Leave the door open,’ Crystal trilled.

            Harry nodded before getting off his bed and leaving the bedroom. He decided to write Hermione and Ron back after dinner.