Severus and Harry walked out of Privet Drive and on towards Laurel Green while Severus debated which form of transport they should use. “Don’t jump in the puddles,” he admonished as Harry prepared to have fun. “Only little children wearing wellington boots do that.”

Dipping one toe in the puddle and making a little splash, Harry muttered to himself. “Huh, don’t know why I had to come with you anyway.” Although in truth he was already fascinated by the tall man, even if he did seem a bit strict, like old Mr Rogers from Number 9 who always got grumpy if a football landed in his garden. He had also stolen Harry’s swishy stick by saying something like ‘Ackyoh’ and Harry wanted it back. He was going to try that out if he got the chance.

Deciding on the Knight Bus, Severus stuck out his wand and hustled the boy aboard.

Harry immediately forgot his bad mood. “Where did that come from?” he asked. “I’ve never seen a purple bus in Little Whinging before. Ooh, it’s got three decks! Can we go upstairs?”

“Oh, very well,” Severus agreed. The ride would be rough wherever they travelled. “One and a half to Cokeworth,” he told the conductor, “and I hope it won’t be a long trip.”

“No, sir, it’s just Mrs Johnson and Miss Edwards to Shepton Mallet, then the Wilson family over to Skegness. You’ll be the next stop. Half an hour tops,” assured the conductor. “Don’t get much call for Cokeworth these days,” he continued conversationally.

Severus just grunted in response as he followed Harry to the top deck.

They grabbed hold of the front rail as the bus lurched off to its first destination.

“Wow!” Harry was enthralled. “This bus is really fast! Hey – was that Stonehenge?”

Severus allowed the chatter to wash over him – the child didn’t seem to be expecting any answers – while he considered his meeting with Petunia. It was a bit of a strange situation at the Dursley house, but they seemed reasonably ok. Perhaps he should ask Harry for more details as they got to know each other. He hoped the boy would be able to concentrate while he explained the basics of magic to him.

Very soon, before Harry had grown tired of the view of the countryside speeding rapidly past, and before Severus needed to think of anything to chat to him about, the dismal factory towers alerted him that they were reaching their destination.

“Cokeworth!” confirmed the conductor’s shout as the bus shuddered to a halt.

Severus cast a Gripping Charm on his boots when they alighted, and pulled his coat closer. The town always did feel cold to him, and greying snow was lying on the pavements. The boy, in his thin anorak, didn’t seem to notice and happily glided along the icy slides that the local children had already created, as they took the long route to Spinners End so as to pass the local chip shop.

“I suppose you are hungry,” Severus said. “Growing boys are always hungry. We’ll have to take fish and chips home tonight as I wasn’t expecting to be staying here. Come on, don’t dawdle. You can have sausages if you’d rather.”

“I don’t know,” mumbled Harry, fingering the lone fifty pence piece in his pocket.

“I’ll choose, then,” said Severus, pulling the boy into the warmth of the shop. “Cod and chips twice,” he requested at the counter. Strange child, he thought. All boisterous and exuberant one minute, then hesitant the next.

“Here, you can carry them,” he said, giving the parcel to Harry. “Put that away, I’m not asking you to pay,” he continued as Harry held out his money.

They soon reached Spinners End, and Severus ushered Harry quickly into the dark house. He lit the lamps and the fire with a rapid wave of his wand, and went on into the kitchen to plate up the food while Harry was still trying to work out how he’d done it.

“Severus, my boy, are you there?” a worried voice came from the fireplace. Harry squeaked and dived behind the sofa.

“Hello, Albus,” replied Severus. “It seemed best to bring the boy here, but we’ve only just arrived and I have yet to explain anything or ask any questions. Give us a little time, please. Harry, come out from behind there and meet my employer. It’s nothing to be scared of – just a sort of telephone. To think both your parents were Gryffindors,” he huffed.

“H..Hello,” said Harry hesitantly to the face in the fire.

“Hello, Harry,” it replied cheerfully. “Don’t you look like your father? You have your mother’s eyes though,” it said, peering at him closely. “Ah, well. I’ll leave you to it for now, Severus. Goodnight, both.”

Once they’d eaten and cleared the dishes, Severus told Harry to sit on the sofa in front of the fire for a moment. “I’ll just go and sort out a bedroom for you. Do not touch anything,” he warned.

Harry watched as Severus slid some book shelving aside, and disappeared upstairs. He took the opportunity to have a good look around the room. A bit shabby and definitely dustier than Aunt Petunia would have allowed, it was not a particularly welcoming place but the sofa was comfortable and the fire nice and warm. Mr Snape seemed ok too – at least he wasn’t going to starve Harry and he’d promised to explain what was going on.

Harry suddenly noticed his swishy stick sitting on the sideboard! He leapt up to grab it, and began to stuff it into his rucksack.

Unfortunately Severus came back into the room, and reclaimed the wand with “Accio.”

“That’s mine,” whined Harry, annoyed that it had whooshed out of his grasp when he nearly had it safe.

“No, it was your mother’s.” Severus corrected.

“Finders keepers,” retorted Harry angrily. “I want it back!”

“Come and sit down, Harry,” said Snape wearily. “You should have been told this a while ago. Listen to me carefully, please.” Once Harry had settled down he continued, “You are a wizard, Harry, which means you can work magic and makes you very special.”

“Magic doesn’t exist,” asserted Harry. “Uncle Vernon says so.”

“And hasn’t Uncle Vernon ever been wrong? How do you think the bus travelled so fast today? Haven’t you been using this stick to do unusual things?” Severus twirled the wand in his hand.

“You are a wizard, Harry. So am I. Look.” He made a figurine of a horse jump down from the shelf and gallop around the room, then transfigured a candle into a teapot and back again.

“Your Dad was a wizard, and your Mum was a witch – that’s a lady wizard,” he said quickly as Harry’s eyes narrowed. “But your Aunt Petunia and her family are Muggles – they can’t use magic.”

***

Severus flopped down on the sofa and took a sip from the glass of Ogden’s Finest that he really felt he deserved. It had been a hard day – more so than a schoolday packed with Slytherin/Gryffindor classes, but a rewarding day too. Lily’s boy was a bright child, and was clearly going to make a fine wizard judging by the way he’d already been able to get her wand to work for him. Severus had thought he’d never stop asking questions once he’d grasped the idea that magic was real. He’d only got him to bed with the promise of a whole day for questions tomorrow, well, that and the help of a subtle Sleepyhead Charm.

Severus suspected that tomorrow would be another equally tiring day, and how parents coped with more than one child he could not imagine, but he was looking forward to the challenge.