Harry couldn't believe it, he was only 1 hour away from leaving with Snape for the winter holidays. Draco was going to come later since his parents wanted to spend time with him. Harry said goodbye to both his Slytherin and Gryffindor friends, even Hermione. 

Harry had forgiven her but he hadn't forgotten what she said and they weren't as close as they were before. He wasn't even feeling guilty because it was her fault and not his. 

The Headmaster had finally announced that Harry belonged to both Slytherin and Gryffindor Houses. No one was really surprised, they had seen Harry sitting at the table with the snakes and saw that he sometimes went to their classes. The only ones that seemed to have a problem with it were the Gryffindors except for Ron and Neville they all thought Harry was a traitor. 

 That was another reason why Harry wasn't close to Hermione anymore. She tried to tell him he could only be a part of one house; she had yet to get it through her head that books weren't always correct, and just because it didn't say it in Hogwarts: A History didn't make it wrong. Surprisingly the Headmaster shut her up and set her straight. 

Just like in his 2nd year they stopped telling Harry the passwords to the tower, but the Headmaster once again came through(in an attempt to get Harry to trust him again) he gave him a special password that would work for only him no matter how many times they changed the passwords.

 They were angry but it worked out ok, and even Ron was starting to prefer the Slytherins although Harry was sure it had more to do with Pansy Parkinson than anything else. 

They were going to floo to Prince Manor, but after accidentally landing in Knockturn Alley when he was 12 he absolutely detested flooing. While Harry was dreading what was to come, the hour passed quickly and that's how Snape found him staring at the wall. When Snape handed him the floo powder, Harry started shaking, causing Snape to pause and look at him curiously.

"Are you alright Mr. Potter?" Severus asked an eyebrow quirking as he looked at the trembling teen beside him. It was obvious that something was wrong and was just humoring the= child for the moment.

"I'm fine sir," Harry replied softly, wondering if there was really no other way to do this. As much as he wanted to spend time with Draco and Severus he didn't want to go through the fireplace to get there.

"What's wrong Harry?" Severus asked bluntly when it became apparent that the child wasn't going to tell him by himself. 

He frowned as the child only turned his gaze to the ground but Severus knew better and kept his temper in check. "I can't help you unless you tell me." He added just in case the boy might just blurt it out and was waiting for a prompt.

Harry said nothing in response to that as he struggled to pull himself together. They had somewhere to be and here he was wasting time. He was lucky that Severus wasn't telling him that he was staying here. He put up his mask of indifference and walked confidently (at least that's what it looked like because inside he was terrified) to the fireplace and stated ‘Prince Manor' as clearly as he could.

Harry landed with a thump, stumbling to get up and nearly hitting his head on the corner table as he looked around frantically. Heart beating widely Harry pulled his legs to his chest and tried to take deep breaths, trying to prevent the oncoming panic attack.  He had made it to his destination so he had no idea just why he was panicking.

He was safe and sound that had to count for something right? He struggled hard to get a hold of himself but was having little success and was in the same position that Snape found him a minute later when he came through behind him. Severus sighed softly to himself he pulled a calming potion out of his robe pocket and gave it to Harry who gulped it down immediately. 

"What brought this one on?" He asked as he carefully took a seat on the floor next to the child. It wouldn't do his body any good to be down here but Harry needed the comfort and this was what he was here for.

"The floo," Harry replied hoarsely as he rested his chin on his arms.

"Was this your first time traveling by floo powder before?" Severus asked, a feeling of dread coming into his stomach. He wondered if he should have warned the child instead of just assuming.

"No, I have flooed once before this. I just ended up in Knockturn Alley that time," Harry confided in him.
Snape's eyes narrowed at the implications of that, wishing someone would have informed of him the issue and it could have all been sorted.  

"I'm sorry about the horrible experience but next time you have a problem I need you to tell me. If I had known you could have flooed with me if you were that frightened and could have prevented this attack. The next time you will. Now come on and let me show you a tour of the manor," Severus told him as he stood up and stretched before holding a hand out to the small teen where he then pulled him up.

Harry was surprised to say the least; he had never even figured that was an option if he was being honest. Now that he wasn't panicking, he could actually get a good look around the sitting room they had landed it. It looked pretty nice, and he couldn't wait until he could explore the place.

Severus was happy the teen wasn't panicking and moved towards the door. He wanted to do this as quickly as possible as he wasn't used to entertaining children, other than Draco in his manor. He led the way up the stairs and stood in the middle of a series of closed doors in the hallway. 

"This side of the house is called the West Wing, that's your room just here. A few doors down to the left is Draco's room and a few doors down to the right is my room. You have an ensuite in your room and there is another one across the hall as well.

 The doors that are locked mean they are off-limits, don't try to enter them or you won't like the surprise you'll get. My Potion's lab is also off-limits and the same goes for Draco's. Call a house-elf to show you the way to the kitchens. I think that is all, do you have any questions?" Severus asked, giving the teen a quick rundown of the manor. There would be time for Harry to explore the whole thing on his own later.

Harry wondered would Snape allow him to have a Potions lab too. He wanted to focus on finishing Moony's cure, and after finding Salazar's potions books in the Chamber Harry believed he'd found the cure.

"Professor, did you bring any of my books you saw when you visited the Dursleys?" Harry asked quietly.

"I knew I was forgetting to give you something. Follow me I brought them all," Severus replied as he led the way to his study. Once there he went over to the couch where a bag was sitting.

Harry was excited, he was glad he could get back to his studying. Snape handed him a satchel and told him to unshrink the books he just had to take them out and set them down.

"Professor, is there any way I can have an extra room for my own personal space?" Harry asked as he got to unshrinking his things.

"In other words, you wish to know if you can have your own lab, am I correct?" Severus asked quirking an eyebrow at the raven-haired teen. 

"Yes, I mean I have my own ingredients so I don't have to use anyone else's, and I have my portable lab but it's not big enough to finish what I'm working on," Harry explained honestly.

"You have a portable lab, where is it?" Severus asked in surprise.

"It's a room in my trunk," Harry told him, and it was basically the only thing that was his. 

"That's interesting and yes you may have a space of your own, if you can wait 1 more day, I should be finished with it, and I'll show you where it is," Severus told the child, as he wanted Harry to flourish.

"You were making me one already?" Harry said in a bewildered tone. 

"Yes, I was; it was only fair I have one and so does Draco; not to mention I'm curious about a few of the potions that you were working on in your book," Severus said honestly.

"Cool, thank you, Professor," Harry said still a little bit bemused over the whole situation. 

"You're welcome, Harry, now go in your room and unpack your stuff. You can also decorate it however you like," Severus said dismissing the teen.

"Thank you, sir......for everything," Harry said softly before he turned and walked out of the room. 

As he walked down the hallways and towards the stairs, he felt like his heart might explode from how happy he was. Deciding on forgoing house colors, Harry's ceiling was enchanted like the Great Hall, and the walls were connected to his mood. At the moment they were an extremely bright yellow that nearly blinded him.

 After Harry had put everything away a house-elf popped in front of him to tell him that a late lunch was ready. He followed the elf who told him its name was Blinky. He stood in the doorway to the kitchen, seeing food on the table but Snape wasn't there. He's only been standing there for about 7 minutes before he heard a soft sigh behind him.

"Sit down Harry," Severus said softly as he passed the teen on his way to the table.

"Yes sir," Harry said not sure why the man sounded so quiet all of sudden.

"How do you like your room Harry?" Snape asked to get an understanding of how the boy was feeling at that moment.

"It's brilliant sir; thank you," Harry said honestly.

"That's good to hear, how did you decorate it?" Severus asked curious to see if the boy used his house colors or chose some other design.

"I used magic.... not with a wand though because I know that's against the rules, and I enchanted the ceiling just like the Great Hall, and the color of my walls depends on my mood. Right now it's a really bright yellow." Harry stated proudly, not thinking anything of his words.

"You did all that wandless?" Severus said lightly, not wanting to alarm the child of his tone. 

"Yes, because I'm still an underage wizard and I'm technically not allowed to use magic outside of school," Harry admitted, hoping Snape wouldn't be to upset that he had broken the rules already.

"That's fascinating Harry," Severus said calmly, not even going to admit to the child how hard wandless magic should be. He wasn't going to tell the boy how others failed to even grab a book wandlessy, let alone enchant whole rooms.

"Thank you, sir," Harry said, his chest filling with pride at the man's words. 

"You can continue to practice your wandless magic or you can use your wand. The wards around the manor shield the magic coming from within. Not to mention the Ministry knows that an adult wizard lives here and they can't differentiate between us. After lunch, may I see your room?" Severus asked, keeping mum on his excitement. 

"Sure", Harry answered, wondering why the man wanted to see in the first place but not feeling brave enough to ask. The conversation was light as they finished up their late lunch.

 Once done, they walked to Harry's room, Severus went in first and saw the yellow, and it was as bright as the sun until Harry walked in. When the child entered the room, the walls changed drastically from a happy sunshine color to a dreary black that had red streaks in them that reminded Severus of blood. 
He took a look at Harry, the child's face was blank and it reminded him of his own face when Albus chose not to take a situation seriously when he warned him of it. 

Severus tried to think back before to see what set Harry off, since the walls no longer had streaks, they actually looked as if they were bleeding. What the hell?

"Harry, are you ok? Don't answer that, it's a  redundant question, I can see the walls. What set this off?" Severus asked in growing concern as he turned to fully face the child. 

Harry didn't answer, focusing on fixing his mood. The walls changed to a pale blue, similar to the sky outside, it was fine but he had he really liked that bright yellow.

"Harry, did you think I didn't believe you about your room?" Severus asked, sure this was about that.

"Well you did ask to see my room as proof," Harry replied chewing on his lip nervously.

"No you foolish child, I wanted to see your room for myself, the way you described it had me interested. This is very advanced magic and done without a wand no less. You should be proud of yourself Harry, I know I am. I am very, very impressed," Severus added because it was clearly the boy who needed to hear him say it.

"Thank you sir," Harry said as a grin overtook his face, no one had ever said that to him before and actually sounded like they meant it. The yellow returned full blast and almost blinded them in the process.

Severus smiled to himself, happy that Harry's good mood had returned.

"I'm going to go finish your lab, but I want you to go outside and get your 2 hours of fresh air. Make sure you stay away from the wards; if you hit them they'll give you a pretty nasty shock as a warning. And stay away from the plants that are fenced in," he said not wanting the child to get a painful surprise.

"Oh ok, I wasn't going to hurt them you know. I took over my Aunt's garden at the Dursleys, so I know how fragile plants they can be." Harry said with a hurt look on his face.

What was with this child, was he truly that easily hurt, that he wore his heart on his sleeve? Had the boy always been this sensitive, but had he just chosen to ignore it and see what he wanted to see? That thought didn't make him feel good.

"Harry, I didn't mean to imply that you would hurt them, I just meant that most of the plants that are fenced in are poisonous and very dangerous. I didn't want you to have to deal with a life-threatening surprise," Severus explained. 

"Oh, I suppose that's fair," Harry replied, his face going back to indifference.

Severus hoped he would be able to help Harry get away from his masks. He missed the days when the child's face was an open book. 

"I shall leave you alone, if you need me call Blinky," he said before he swept out of the room. 

Harry shook his head as he headed over to the wall where his broom was standing in the corner. He wondered if Snape had meant what he said about the plants, it was just really hard to take anyone at face value anymore. As he thought about the previous conversation, he couldn't stop thinking about whether Snape wanted him to be safe or was afraid of him damaging his plants.

He knew potion ingredients weren't cheap after all, and he sighed wondering how everything had changed in a split second. He walked through the manor with silent footsteps as he headed downstairs and out the back door and towards the Quidditch pitch. Once he got out there his curiosity got the better of him, and he laid his broom on the grass and took a walk around the property. 

If Snape came out here, he would tell the man he was just doing a tour of the backyard but in actuality, he was looking specifically for the dangerous garden. It was right where Snape said it was, and he eagerly made his way to the gate. 

There was a muggle lock on it, but Harry wasn't dumb to think that there weren't also magical locks on it either. He wasn't too keen on trying to open it and try his professor's patience just yet, not when they just got here. He put his hands on the chain-link fence and pressed his face close to looking inside. He was trying to see if he recognized any of the plants.

He could see there was a mix of magical and muggle plants, and from the plants closest to the fence he could see some labels on them. He could see a Venomous Tentacula and shuddered as he remembered Professor Sprout's warning in their second year about that plant. He turned and frowned when he saw the labels for Water Hemlock and Nightshade, and he was glad for the warning. 

Even just touching Nightshade is dangerous, he shook his head and moved to look at more plants through the fence when he felt a sudden pinch on his left hand. He shook h his hand out and watched a spider land on the grass below him where he took pleasure in stepping on it. 

He looked at his hand in concern but the bite mark looked small and he shrugged it off. He got bitten by spiders before so this didn't bother him. Once he had gotten his fill of reading all of the labels, that he could see from this one side he turned to head back to his broom, he was ready to fly now. 

Well, he thought he was ready to fly, but as soon as he put his leg over his broom a wave of dizziness suddenly overcame him. It was only chance that he hadn't pushed off immediately like usual as he was soon on the ground, having lost his balance. He laid on the ground, with his eyes shut tight, his heart beating frantically in his chest. 

He took a couple of deep breaths but didn't sit up right away because the dizziness wasn't going away. What was going on? He wasn't sure how long he laid there and was quite sure he might have dozed off at one point. What he did know was he woke up to the sound of his professor's voice.

"Harry, it's time to come inside now," Severus called out, he could see the child laying on the grass looking at the sky. Oh, to be that young again. 

"Coming," Harry called, as he carefully sat up. 

He stood up carefully and grabbed his broom, the dizziness was gone, but his body felt achy on the inside and hot on the outside He was confused because he didn't know what was going on. He glanced at the bite on his hand but it didn't look irritated or swollen nor did it feel itchy, it felt fine. His throat felt dry and his head felt sweaty. He slowly made his way to the backdoor dropping his broom on the porch as he went inside.

"You look like you've had a good play," Severus said taking stock of the child's red and sweaty face.

Harry nodded, unsure of what to say. He didn't really fly at all, nor play but he couldn't explain why he looked the way he did.

"Dinner will be ready in a bit, so why don't you go have a shower and get cleaned up.  It should be ready by then," Severus told the child.

"Okay," Harry said easily because a shower did sound nice. His achy body would appreciate the unlimited hot water. With that thought in mind, he hurried up the steps and to his room. 

He felt very posh as he got his night clothes together and undressed and got into the shower. The hot water felt like heaven on his skin, but at the same time it made his back itch, it was a weird sensation. As he started washing up, the dizziness returned and it was all he could do not to fall on the tile. 

He closed his eyes, and turned the water a bit cooler, wondering if he should have hydrated properly before he got in the shower. He made sure to drink a few mouthfuls of the cooler water as he rinsed off. 
He didn't want to fall in the shower and bring his professor running which is why once the soap was off of his body, he turned off the water and moved to step out of the shower.

As he did his vision suddenly tilted and his body swayed dangerously as he grabbed for the counter on the bathroom sink to steady himself. What the heck was going on? 

He shook himself out and carefully took a seat on the closed toilet seat as he grabbed his towel. He was thankful the bathroom was heated as he stayed in that one spot, for a good while before he summoned the strength to put his night clothes on. 

He wondered if his body was crashing, as it had been an unusually busy couple of weeks. Promising to go to bed early he steadied himself and headed downstairs to the kitchen. His legs felt like lead as he got to the final step and nearly fell into his seat in relief once he was there. Harry grabbed for his water cup on the table, and quickly gulped it down, before grabbing the pitcher to refill it.

"Thirsty?" Severus asked lightly."Parched, I should've brought some water outside, I will next time," Harry admitted.

Severus nodded that he understood before he turned to look at dinner. They were having a simple stew with potatoes and vegetables and some homemade bread. It was light but filling and perfect for the night. 

Harry was grateful for the stew as well, his jaw felt just as achy as his body had felt before he got in the shower, and his throat was feeling a little tingly. He wondered if he was getting sick, which is why he appreciated the stew so much. He spooned it carefully in his mouth, his hand feeling heavy just like his legs had.

He muscled through it because he could see his professor was watching him, and he wanted the man concerned over nothing. The dinner was delicious and Harry hated how he couldn't enjoy it properly because his body wasn't cooperating. 

He swallowed the last bite of his bread and carefully put his spoon down. He needed to be excused, his hand was starting to shake and he just wanted to lie down and sleep whatever this was off. 

"Professor, I'm finished, can I be excused?" Harry asked wearily, fighting off a shudder that tried to wrack through his body. What was wrong? He wasn't cold, the kitchen was toasty warm. 

"You may, is everything alright?" Severus asked in concern.

"I don't know, I feel weird," Harry admitted before he could censor himself.

"Weird how?" Severus questioned, a little concerned now because Harry wasn't usually this fore coming with information.

"I feel really tired, and body feels achy, my head feels hot and my hands and legs feel heavy," Harry replied honestly. 

"You might be coming down with something," Severus said as he got up and made his way over to the child. He held his hand up before he gently touched the child's forehead with the back of his hand.

"You don't feel warm but that doesn't mean a thing, would you like a potion?" He asked instead.

"No, I'm okay, I think I just need to sleep," Harry said softly.

"Alright if you're sure," Severus told the child, still a little bit concerned as he stepped back and retook his seat.

"Thank you sir, goodnight," Harry said quietly.

"Goodnight Harry," Severus said before he turned back to this stew, knowing the child didn't want to be watched. 

Once his professor's eyes were back on his food, Harry slowly got up from the table holding onto it briefly before he let it go. He didn't want to sway like he had in the bathroom, as he was very mindful that he was being watched even if the man didn't look to be. 

He walked up the stairs, his hands holding tightly to the banister as he somehow made it back to his room. Once he was there, he closed the door and collapsed on the bed, groaning softly into his pillow. He wondered why his body ached and how come his back was suddenly really itchy.

 He glanced back at the hand got had gotten bitten earlier but it still looked normal, what was going on, was he getting sick? He could hear Snape downstairs cleaning up, and he finally drifted off into a restless sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*

Harry woke up in the middle of the night, pushing off his covers in one movement feeling like he was about to suffocate and nauseated beyond belief. It took a moment before he could move without feeling like he was going to be sick any minute.

 He felt so very sickly and he didn't know why. He waved his hand to spell the lights and that's when he noticed just how swollen his left hand now was. He could see how vividly the bite mark stood out against his skin and he now knew he was having some type of reaction to the spider bite. He needed Snape.

It was dark outside and the manor was silent, which meant that his professor was probably asleep at this point in time. He wasn't sure how the man would take to having a house-elf pop into his room at this time of night and contemplated waiting until tomorrow. At least that was his initial plan before he stood up and made his way to the mirror to look at himself. 

He gasped softly, as he saw his face had this bright red rash on it, not to mention the hives on his neck, and after lifting up his shirt, on his stomach as well. Something was very wrong here, and he took a deep breath to stave off the panic. Feeling much too wobbly, Harry made his way to his bed, falling on it and willing his heart to slow down. 

"Blinky, please get the Professor, tell him something's wrong with me," Harry whispered out to the air, knowing the elf would hear him. 

Harry didn't hear the house-elf, but he knew his message had gotten relayed as he heard a door opening down the hall before the sound of running feet was heard. It was an interesting experience because Snape was usually super silent when he walked or did anything. 

Severus walked through the child's door without knocking and made his way over to the bed. The boy's green eyes stood out even more without his glasses on and amid all the red spots all over his body.

"What is this, Harry? What happened?" He asked worriedly, reaching forward to touch the child's head again, noting this time it was very warm.

Harry shrugged, feeling very stupid all of sudden. Why hadn't he told Snape about the bite last night? 
"What are you allergic to? Was it something we ate last night?" Severus asked, summoning some potions that he thought might help.

" I got bit by a spider yesterday," Harry said as he held up his affected hand to show the man.

"Merlin," Severus said quietly as he looked at the child's obviously swollen appendage.

"And my back itches too," Harry admitted, he might as well come fully clean. He could depend on his teacher to help him. 

"That's because you're covered in hives; I don't have the correct potion that you need here. Come on we need to head to the Infirmary," Severus told the child carefully. He didn't want him to panic because that would make everything worse. 

Harry stood up and made to move to walk when he felt his knees buckle, and prepared himself to fall. Thankfully his Professor was right there and had scooped him before he was even close to the ground.

Severus didn't say anything as he carried the child down the stairs and to the floo room. The boy was still much too light, it felt like he was carrying a small child with how little the boy weighed.

He grabbed the floo powder and after making sure he was holding tightly to Harry he flooed to the Hogwarts Infirmary. 

Harry was surprised that despite the late hour, the Infirmary has a light glow in it. He didn't see Madam Pomfrey but he knew she was nearby and so did his professor.

"Poppy, can you get your universal spider bite venom kit; Harry here is allergic to spiders it seems," Severus said calmly, watching as the office of the woman opened, and out, she came. 

Harry turned to look at the Medi-witch with a wry smile, shaking his head as he was gently deposited onto the bed. He didn't want to acknowledge how he felt after being held close to someone he was beginning to consider his father figure.

 "Of course, Severus set him down there. Alright, Mr. Potter, this won't hurt at all," Poppy said easily as she spelled the potion into the child's bloodstream. 

Harry wondered as he felt himself getting drowsy if something else was in that potion, or it just might have been the late hour. He could hear the Medi-witch explaining how the hives would go away after a week if he didn't scratch them and made sure to put the Anti-itch Salve on. 

Harry mused to himself that Snape was constantly saving him and wondered what it would be like to ever return the favor. 

"You can take him home Severus, he doesn't need to stay here," Poppy said fondly as she saw the child going to sleep. 

"Thank you, Poppy," Severus said quietly as he picked the child up, and ignoring Poppy's smile, flooed back to Prince Manor holding his precious cargo tightly in his arms.