“Ah, rats. Dumbledore’s derailed again,” Harry grumbled, picking up the blue and silver engine and setting it down in a siding.
“Again? I think he’s become a bit unbalanced. We’ll have to do some work on it.”
“Okay,” Harry replied,” but not today.” He flicked his wand to change the signals to delay the progress of the Hogwarts Express. “Uh, Uncle Snape. Can I ask you a favour?”
“You can certainly ask….”
“Well, you know it’s Valentine’s Day next Tuesday?”
Severus raised a single dark eyebrow.
“Come on, of course you do! Look, I was wondering if you’d let me use this room to do something nice for Ginny.” Harry spoke quickly as his face reddened, and he studiously surveyed the trainset layout.
“You wish to play trains with Ms Weasley?” Severus teased.
“No! Although I ‘m sure we could have fun with that – not that I’ve told her about us yet. I was just going to decorate it up a bit, with a little table and some flowers, and ask Dobby to provide us some fancy snacks and butterbeer. A bit of music might be nice too…..” Harry’s voice trailed off.
Severus smirked. It was so tempting to really embarrass the boy, but he was glad that Harry was comfortable enough to ask the favour of him.
“Very well. You may have the room after dinner until fifteen minutes before curfew. You may also borrow my wireless, but be aware that there will be a surfeit of that Warbeck woman singing ‘Stir my cauldron’ or some such drivel.”
“Thanks! The music is just for background ambience anyway.”
“Ambience? No funny business Harry.”
“Course not!” Harry was indignant.
“I mean it, Harry. No inappropriate behaviour. I do not wish to experience Molly Weasley’s wrath, or one of her legendary Howlers if there were to be consequences and I was perceived to have encouraged you.”
Harry blushed again. “We don’t, we haven’t….not yet,” he spluttered. “Look, I just want a chance to chat with Ginny, spend a bit of time together without anyone else interrupting, see how it goes. Anyway, you know perfectly well that Madam Pomfrey makes sure we’re all okay with the charms.”
“Glad to hear it. No little Potters yet, please. How are your Charms and Transfiguration skills these days?”
“Not too bad.”
“Good. Come here half an hour before dinner on Tuesday and I will assist you. You don’t want your transfigured furniture to collapse under you. What does your Orchideous Charm produce?” Severus began guiding the rest of the engines into the sidings.
“Usually those pretty red tulips with yellow tips. Only last an hour or so though.”
“Hmm, you’ll have to practise, although I can only conjure Easter lilies with any permanence myself. You may need to owl order a bouquet suitable for the romantic occasion from Magiflora in Hogsmeade.” Severus could hardly believe the advice he was giving to Harry. Anyone would think he had experience of such things! Had she been able to see it, Lily would have been rolling on the floor laughing at him.
As they finished shutting down the train layout Harry spoke again. “Uncle Snape. Will you be going into Hogsmeade at the weekend?”
“I may be.”
“Could you post these cards for me, please? I can’t use Hedwig, she’s too obvious, and there will be a queue for the school owls.”
“Owling cards, Harry? Why can you not just hand them over?”
“That’s not the point is it?” Harry huffed. “The girls like to get them delivered at the breakfast table, they compare notes on how many they get – and who they’re from is supposed to be a secret.”
“Two for Ms Weasley? Shame you haven’t disguised the handwriting very well. And why on earth are you sending a card to her brother?”
Harry laughed. “It’s just so funny to watch Ron trying to guess who his cards are from. And I want to make it nice for Ginny this year. I really like her.”
“Very well, I’ll post them for you. I may expect some lab preparation time in recompense.”
“That’s okay. Thanks. Look, I bought a packet of cards so I have a spare. Why don’t you send it to the assistant at the apothecary in Hogsmeade? You know, the tall blonde one with the big….um, smile.” Harry subsided into silence at Snape’s look.
“Why would I do such a thing, Mr Potter?”
“Oh, come on! I’ve seen you two eyeing each other up every time you’ve taken me there.”
“I most certainly have not been eyeing Ms Heath up, as you so charmingly put it,” Snape snapped.
“If you say so,” Harry allowed. “But I know you like her, you know she’s free, and it looks like she likes you too. It’s a good card. It doesn’t sing, and it’s got one of those soppy pictures the girls like. All you need to do is write something like ‘from your best customer’ and a note saying ‘how about dinner on Friday’. Go on, do it! What have you got to lose?”
Severus took the spare card, glared at it and then at Harry. “I make no promises as to what I’ll do with this – possibly send it to Trelawney’s mail tray and confuse her predictions, but I’ll help you with your plans. Now, if you don’t want me to take points you’d better make haste and get back to Gryffindor tower before curfew.”
Severus watched the boy rush happily out into the corridor, yelping from the mild stinging hex he sent to help him on his way, then sighed. What had the potions accident that while ago let him in for? He only had to think of that black haired little boy, and he was putty in Harry’s hands.
The bond between the two had deepened when Severus had inadvertently noticed things about Harry’s life in Surrey with that shrew Petunia and her obnoxious Muggle husband while he was assisting the boy to construct strong Occlumency shields against the Dark Lord. With Dumbledore’s blessing Harry had been able to spend a month of the Summer holiday and part of the Christmas break with Severus. It had been fairly easy to disguise him as the son of a distant Prince cousin – a Squib interested in magic – simply by lengthening his nose and darkening his eyes to brown.
Severus carefully levitated the train track layout up to the ceiling and cast a Disillusionment spell upon his treasured items. Experimentally he tried conjuring some pink and red balloons to hover just below ceiling height. He sneered half-heartedly at the result, which was no doubt the effect Harry would be aiming for. He shook his head in mild disgust and Vanished his creations before leaving and securely locking his private tower room.
Harry was a cheeky young man, but there was no malice in him. Severus was not at all sure about sending a card to Flora Heath, although, as Harry had noticed, he certainly appreciated her big….smile, and the intelligent conversations on plants and potions he’d shared with the Beaubatons educated witch on occasion when the apothecary was not busy. She’d given him several new avenues and angles on his research.
Severus smiled to himself, thinking of the potion that was currently on its second simmer cycle in his lab. He was completely confident that it would destroy Voldemort for ever without anyone knowing his part in it. Free access to samples of Harry’s blood over the past year had enabled him to perfect an undetectable poison. And who cared if anyone suspected him of murder. He didn’t consider the Dark Lord to be human, rather something that deserved an ugly demise, not the peaceful end that the potion would grant. Dumbledore’s diligent detective work meant that all Severus had left to do was to get rid of Nagini, and a fat mouse doused in the potion would achieve that. Then a swift but discreet exit from the Death Eater den, while the weakened Voldemort dosed himself with the phial of adulterated Strengthening potion, would enable Severus to be on hand to take care of Harry, and the final shard of Voldemort’s soul which the boy housed. The potion to deal with that was already completed and safely stored in his lab. Ten days! Then surely they could all get on with their lives in peace.
Maybe Harry was right, and he should think about living a little more. Perhaps he would time his next visit to the apothecary so as to be able to ask Flora to join him for a lunchtime drink. He looked again at the spare Valentine card Harry had left with him. A patchwork teddy bear waved a beribboned bunch of daisies at him hopefully. Hmm….as Harry had suggested, what did he have to lose?