Severus used the ornate door knocker to loudly announce his arrival before stepping back and waiting, trying hard not to laugh at the rather un-majestic noises of the peacocks roaming the front lawn. The door was opened by a house elf, not the one Severus was looking for, but he followed the creature inside the massive foyer where he slipped out of his cloak, then allowed himself to bed led to an even larger lounge where he was asked to wait.

               Severus stood, despite the many seating options available to him, and he clasped his hands behind his back. He did not appreciate ostentatious displays of wealth—it seemed to him like a waste of money better spent elsewhere, such as tutoring that spoiled brat that lived in the house. Besides, it reminded him of what he didn’t, and never would, have in his own life.

               “Good evening, my old friend,” Lucius greeted, a tall, long-haired blonde dressed in white robes. A silver cane with an engraved snake head at the top was held loosely in his grasp as he sauntered into the room. “I take it you received my letter.”

               “Your owl delivered in a timely manner,” Severus said. “I came as quickly as I could.”

               Which was not true. He had received Lucius’s letter a couple weeks ago and had originally had no intentions of ever replying. But now that he had an excuse to get into the mansion and find that house elf that invaded his property, he took advantage of it.

               “Then you understand my outrage about my son placed lower than a muggleborn in his studies,” Lucius said furiously. “That is unacceptable.”

               “Indeed,” Severus said nonchalantly. “His marks reflect on Slytherin House, and I advise that he keeps his grades up. I have put together a summer assignment for him that I expect completed and owled to me no later than August thirty-first. It will not bring his grade up but it will get him ahead of his classmates for this upcoming year. I assure you, the assignment I have in mind will address what we will be learning the first semester of school. He should breeze right through the class after completing this for me.”

               “Perfect,” Lucius smiled. “You know I only want the best for him.”

               Severus knew exactly the unbelievable expectations Lucius held for Draco Malfoy. He also knew he wasn’t the only professor or tutor in the other subjects Lucius tried to get extra work out of now and then. He knew the other professors had ignored Lucius’s owl, but Severus was only doing this to get a chance to see the house elf, Dobby. The assignment he had for Draco would give him a good review of the next year, but it was far from a cheat sheet. Regardless, Severus nodded his head.

               “Let me bring Draco down,” Lucius said, turning and stepping out of the room for a minute. “Help yourself to anything you please, tea, biscuits . . .” Lucius threw over his shoulder as he stepped out the door.

               Severus heard Lucius yell for a house elf to collect Draco and bring him down the stairs. Severus quickly called out himself.

               “Dobby, bring me tea,” he said.

               After a few seconds, a house elf in a ratty, white shirt appeared at his side holding up the tea items. Severus took his time to make his tea just right, forcing the poor elf to stick around and hold the tray up for the man.

               “So,” Severus began, “you’re Dobby. The one who thought he could invade my house, breach my wards, and attack my son.”

               Dobby swallowed audibly, then bravely said, “Dobby did not attack Harry Potter sir. Dobby help Harry Potter sir.”

               “By trying to get him in trouble with me? I can assure you, you did more harm than good, especially to my supplies. I should make you work for me to pay off every little thing you broke or destroyed, but I really don’t want you around my lab or my ingredient supply. Luckily for you, what I really want to know is why you felt the need to come to my house to warn Harry to stay away from Hogwarts.”

               “Dobby must not say, sir.” Dobby said. “Master would be most displeased.”

               “I’m displeased,” Severus growled.

               Dobby winced, his trembling hands shaking the tray.

               “Dobby is sorry, sir. Dobby shall punish himself most severely.”

               “No. Tell me what you were doing at my house. Why is Hogwarts dangerous?”

               “Master has a plan I is not to be sharing. A plan for the new school year.” Dobby’s lips quivered and his ears dropped against the back of his head. “Dobby must burn his hands for disobeying Master’s orders.”

               “I need more information than that. Spill it, elf, before I decide elf organs would make a fine replacement ingredient for my stock.”

               The elf’s face twisted in an ugly shape, as if he really wanted to share his secret with someone but was too afraid of what his master might do to him if he should find out. For a long moment, Severus thought he had broken the elf, but finally, Dobby opened his mouth.

               “Dobby knows . . .”

               The door to the lounge opened, and Dobby fell silent as Lucius paraded Draco into the room. Severus picked up his cup of tea and waved the elf off, dismissing him. Dobby bowed deeply with a distraught look before he vanished with a snap. Severus took a sip, hiding his disgust when he realized he had added too much sugar distractedly while interrogating the elf.

               “Draco,” Lucius said. “Severus has work for you to help improve your skills in potions.”

               Draco stepped forward and stared up at Severus expectantly, like a trained soldier in front of his commanding sergeant.

               “Indeed,” Severus said, setting his tea down on a low, glass coffee table. He reached into his robe and pulled out a roll of parchment. “This is a list of ingredients that we will be working on in your second year. Study them, arrange them in four separate groups according to the potion the ingredients would make, and explain why each group’s ingredients would react badly to ingredients in a different group. Trust me, these are very specific ingredients that only work in very specific potions. You will find what you need in this year’s reading assignments in Magical Drafts and Potions, chapters nine through thirteen.”

               “Yes, sir,” Draco said, accepting the parchment. “Thank you, sir.”

               “As I informed your father, I will expect this owled to me no later than August thirty-first. Failure to do so will result in an extra homework assignment for you when you begin school.”

               “Yes, sir,” Draco said again, nodding is head. “I will complete this assignment as soon as I can.”

               “Begin immediately, Draco,” Lucius told him. “Back to your study, with you.”

               Draco bowed slightly than quickly stepped out of the room.

               “I appreciate you keeping Draco up to his pureblood standards. I cannot tolerate grades below a mudblood’s.”

               “Miss Granger is a sharp one, unfortunately,” Severus said. “A nuisance in my classroom with her know-it-all attitude.”

               “They think they’re all superior to generations of pure wizardry magic,” Lucius sneered.

               Severus forced another sip of his tea, refusing comment on the last statement. He often wondered if Lucius forgot that he was a halfblood.

               “Any plans for what you’ll do while Draco is at school this year?” Severus asked in a dull tone. “Surely not lounging around the Ministry scoffing at the interns again?”

               “I have found far better use of my time this year, not that those interns didn’t deserve my criticism,” Lucius said. “I do have hopes that this year will bring new beginnings, however. With a good push in the right direction, of course.”

               So, you are up to something, Severus thought to himself as he eyed Lucius over the rim of his cup. He would have to keep an eye on Lucius’s movements and keep the man a good distance from Harry in case those plans involved the Boy-Who-Lived. He wouldn’t dig for more information now, as that would raise too much suspicion, but at least he was in the know now.

               “Well, it has been splendid catching up with you,” Severus said, “but I should be on my way. I enjoy my summer free of students after all.”

               “Of course. Enjoy it while it lasts, Severus.”

               With that, Severus returned to his house. He found Harry in the same place he had left him. He ignored the child’s incessant attempts to find out where he had gone and instead focused on making dinner, much to Harry’s annoyance. Harry was just happy to be on his last day of his punishment, which he succeeded in completing without incident the last couple days, even with the chaotic start. Perhaps he had managed to teach the importance of time management through all of this. Severus knew he would test the boy on that at some point in the future. Far future. For now, his child was staying in his sight.

               A few weeks passed, and in that time, Severus had been working on building his own greenhouse so he could keep his garden safe and put in a timed watering system and a weed killer spell for when he left to go back to Hogwarts. Most of the wooden structure was built, and the garden was completely planted with an array of spices, herbs, and flowering plants that he protected with a shielding spell for now until he was complete with the greenhouse.  

The greenhouse only took up about one-third of his yard, leaving plenty of room for Harry to still play or hang out with friends if he wanted to invite any over. The greenhouse was a barn style, and he planned to use corrugated metal roofing for the side walls and acrylic sheets for the rest of the roofing and building. The acrylic had cost him a hefty amount, but it should withstand the test of time, and he knew he could install them just as well as a professional could without spending an extra pound more. First, he had to drill the side panels in before he started framing.

He picked up a metal panel and used a spell to hold it in place where he wanted it, then drilled in the inch long hex-head screw with his power drill. He paused to accio another screw to his hand, and moved down the panel to screw that one in.

The back door to the house opened and Harry ran out and over to him.  

“Hey, Dad,” he said in his usual tone that indicated he wanted something from Severus. “I’m back from the book club. Working on the greenhouse again?”

“Obviously,” Severus said, continuing to screw in the metal panel.

“I was wondering . . .” Harry said slowly, “do you know how to drive?”

“How to what?” Severus asked sharply. He had not been expecting that question.

“You know, drive,” Harry continued. “In a car. To go far places.”

“I know what driving is, thank you. Pick up a panel and hold it in place for me.”

Harry quickly did as he was told, kneeling in the grass so he was more at height with where he needed to hold the metal piece against the bottom half of the greenhouse frame. Severus knew how much Harry enjoyed helping with various tasks such as assisting in building the greenhouse, and he also handed Severus another screw when he finished drilling one in.

“Well, do you know how to?” Harry asked.

“Why on earth would I need to know how to drive when I can just as easily apparate or floo somewhere?”

“Sooooo . . . no?’

               “No,” Severus affirmed while motioning to the next metal panel lying in the grass. Harry picked it up and held the large piece in place, waiting until one side was screwed in, and he could free one hand from its job.

               “Would you learn how?”

               “Absolutely not. What is this about?”

               “Well, a friend at the book club said we could read the next chapter together sometime and she invited me over to her house and I thought . . .”

               “She?” Severus interrupted, smirking at Harry.

               “Her name is Giovanna,” Harry said. He frowned at his father. “Don’t look at me like that, she’s just a friend! She invited me over, but I didn’t know how I’d be able to get to her place since she lives outside of the town on a farm. I thought you might know how to drive, but I guess I could take a bus or something.”

               “What’s wrong with apparition?” Severus said.

               “How am I supposed to explain that I just popped up out of nowhere? Besides, doing that makes me nauseous.”

               “You know, you could always invite her here.”

               “Really?”

               “There would be rules for you two to follow, and your door stays open, or you work at the table, but I do not see the harm in her coming over.”

               “Sheesh, what do you think we would do, Dad? We’re just friends.”

               “If you say so. Your door stays open.”

               Harry frowned at Severus, but his father ignored him in favor of finishing the side panelling of the house. As they finished the last piece, the doorbell rang through the house, and Severus set the drill down on his outdoor workbench and cast a quick cleansing charm on his dirt-stained jeans and hands before frowning at Harry’s similar look.

               “Go wash up,” he told Harry.

               “Why can’t you do what you just did to me?” Harry complained.

               “Because I don’t want to,” Severus shot back. “Go wash your hands and put clean jeans on. We clearly have company.”

               While Harry went to do as Severus told him, Severus slowly worked his way up to the front of the house, holding back a snarl as the bell echoed through the house again. He paused for a moment at the front door, just to make whoever it was wait a few seconds longer for their impertinence, then opened the door.

               A woman smoking a cigarette through a theatre length jade and silver cigarette holder, turned and smiled at Severus.

               “Severus, darling,” she said. “How good to see you.”

               Severus froze. Every muscle in his body tightened and forgot how to loosen back up. Words caught in his throat, and if he ever thought about breaking his abstinence from alcohol, he would think this instance would be a suitable reason to do so. The woman—a pale, salt-and-pepper haired, slim, elegantly dressed in mahogany robes woman, was Eileen Snape. Severus was speechless.

               He had never really imagined what had become of Eileen when she had stormed out on him after the death of Tobias Snape all those years ago. And he certainly never imagined he would ever see her again, which was a dream he was quite content to keep. His mouth grew dry, and his heart began thundering blood loudly through his ears, but he narrowed his eyes at her, ignoring the ice that hit his stomach in that moment.

               “Well,” Eileen huffed in amusement, “I knew you were never courtly, but I’m sure you have the good grace to give a proper greeting back to your dear mother.”

               Eileen took a puff of her cigarette as she eyed Severus expectantly.

               “How the hell did you find me?” Severus snapped. “What on earth are you even doing here?”

               Eileen made a noise that sounded like disapproval, then shrugged and said, “It’ll do.”

               Barging past her son, Eileen made her way into the house with an air of superiority, sweeping around to give each aspect of the room a critical eye as she explained her presence.

               “Word gets around,” she said.

               “You can’t just walk into my house,” Severus said, standing by the open door as if she might walk back out at his words. “I did not invite you in.”

               Eileen ignored him however.

               “I heard from a good friend that a new face had moved into town. Imagine my surprise when I hear it is my own son, of all blessed things. I had to see it for myself—you, alive.” Eileen smiled at him for a moment, holding an arm out toward him as if longing to embrace, then pulled her arm back toward herself as she said, “and with the next Prince heir, I’ve been told. I’d like to meet my grandson. Where is he? Here, boy!” Eileen called out, looking around the small space. “Come meet your nanny.”

               “You live in Ostbridge?” Severus asked, shutting his door and following after the crazy woman. Maybe she had gone mad and he could call some aurors to take her away to an asylum. That would be a lovely place to keep her.  

               “Oh, drop the nonsensical questions, Severus, of course, I do. Not far outside the town. In Prince Manor.”

               Severus blinked. He had forgotten where Prince Manor was located, and it was more than just outside the town of Ostbridge. Like most pureblood establishments back in the olden days, they kept their distance from muggles. Prince Manor was at least twenty-five miles outside of the town’s boundary lines. After the rocky history Eileen had had with her family, he was surprised Eileen would ever go back to the manor at all.

               “I didn’t realize you went back there,” Severus said, unsure of what else to say. His mind stayed to Harry, and he hoped the child took extra time to clean himself up after working outside.

               “Father died,” Eileen said rather uneventfully, “Mother was gravely ill with a wizarding disease—you wouldn’t know much about it; it’s a pureblood thing. Its onset happens in the golden years of life, and it deteriorates the magical core and mind of a witch or wizard so quickly.” Eileen studied Severus’s fireplace intently as she spoke. “Needless to say, Mother didn’t have long. And there I was to swoop in and save the day. I took care of her till her dying breath, and that was no easy task when she could no longer walk. She was grateful enough to change her will and claim me the beneficiary.” Eileen snorted, dragging a finger along the mantel of the fireplace ad sneering at the dust. “It was the least she could do for all the trouble I went through for her.”

               Harry slowly stepped out of his bathroom with clean jean shorts on, rubbing his face dry with a towel as he curiously glanced out into the living room at the woman in their house.

               Severus quickly and wordlessly struck Harry with a face and hair altering spell that would also conceal his scar by a quick point of his finger. He stepped around his mother as she turned in Harry’s direction at Severus’s quick gesture. Severus stood behind Harry, placing his hands on the boy’s shoulder.

               “This is Evans,” Severus said quickly, tightening his hold on Harry’s shoulder when the boy looked up at him. He met Harry’s eyes and said, “Evans Alvaro Snape.”

               Harry winced slightly at Severus’s squeeze of his shoulders but got the hint. He didn’t realize it yet, but his hair had turned an auburn color, his eyes were brown, and his nose hooked just the slightest. The scar was gone, and he had no resemblance of Harry Potter anymore. There was no way Severus was letting Eileen Prince know he had taken in Harry Potter. He knew she had never supported the dark side, but one could never be too careful. After all, he had no clue who she might have made connections with as head of Prince Manor. He would explain it all later to Harry, but right now, he only hoped the boy could play along.

               “I’m Evans. It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” Harry held out a hand to Eileen.

               “Someone with manners at last,” Eileen said, accepting his hand and giving it a single shake then pulled her hand away. “And named after your great grandfather on my side, I see. How touching. My name is Eileen Moira Prince. I am your grandmother.”

               It was not lost on Severus that Eileen dropped “Snape” from her name.

               “Woah, really?” Harry exclaimed, looking back and forth between Severus is Eileen.

               “I know my elegance can be overwhelming,” Eileen said, taking another draw from her cigarette holder. “How old are you, boy?”

               “I’m almost twelve,” Harry said.

               “Almost twelve,” Eileen repeated. “Practically an adult. I’ve missed so much of your lives, both of you. But we shall make up for it immediately. Come, boys, our chariot awaits.”

               “What are you talking about?” Severus said. She really had gone bonkers in all her alone time. Had she forgotten their history? She could not seriously expect to strut back into his life and be welcomed in with open arms.

               “I’m inviting you and your son to Prince Manor,” Eileen explained. “We have so much to catch up on, and I’d rather not do it in this . . . quaint house.”

               Severus bit his tongue, a spark of anger flickering in his chest. How dare this estranged woman show up in his life—come back into his life, and then dare try to make amends as if the last thirteen years since she left him to rot at Spinner’s End had never lapsed, as if the nineteen years she neglected him, belittled him, and toyed with him had never occurred. She acted like they were a family, a completely normal, functional family. Well, that was not happening.

               “We’re not leaving,” Severus said, folding his arms. “Whatever you wish to talk about, you may do so here. Now. And then you will leave.”

               Harry looked up at Severus wide-eyed, then back at Eileen with a curious look.  

               “This isn’t just a little tea party, Severus,” Eileen said. “I was not the only beneficiary to the Prince inheritance, you know.”

               No, he did not know. Severus paused at that. If she was implying that there was financial gain to going with her to Prince Manor, he might consider the trip. Might was a strong word though.

               “I would prefer to show you,” Eileen said. “I was never good with the whole legal shenanigans, and I had no idea where you were all these years. I hardly thought you’d stay at that godforsaken rattrap. So I waited for a sign. And here it is. You came to me. This was destiny. We were meant to fix our tenuous relationship.”

               “I don’t know about that,” Severus said. “If I benefit in any way from a will or inheritance, it can be dealt with in a court of law at the Auror department just as easily as you say you could do so at Prince Manor.”

               With another puff of her cigarette that she then put out against the fireplace, she stepped over to Severus until they were face to face. Harry stepped back slightly and out from between the two adults. Eileen was notably shorter than Severus, but not by very much. They might as well be eye to eye. Eileen hmphed after a long staring contest.

               “You were always a stubborn one,” Eileen said. “I’ll make you a deal. Humor me, and you and Evans will come see Prince Manor. We’ll talk a bit, have lunch, go over what is rightfully yours, then you’re free to go as you please. Or we can settle it with the Auror department where lawyers can rip into it and charge you the whole damn fortune just for looking at it for you. The choice is yours.”

               Severus sighed at that. Eileen had a point as far as taking it up in court went. He took a deep breath, pushing down emotions he thought he lost years ago that threatened to resurface. He closed his eyes and rubbed at his temples. There was nothing Eileen could do to him now. He was an adult with a life of his own and a child to care for. She couldn’t possibly find a way to hurt him as she had done repeatedly in his past. They were done with that. He could handle one day with her as civilized people discussing a will. Any attempts at reconciliation would be shut down fast.

               “You have until this evening,” Severus said. “Evans and I leave by then. And then you will leave us alone.”

               “Then away we go,” Eileen said, leading the way out of the bungalow. “We must not waste a moment. This is highly valued time on our hands.”

               “Evans,” Severus said, catching Harry before he could eagerly follow Eileen out to whatever chariot awaited them. He gave the boy a stern look as he said through gritted teeth, “do not leave my side. Do not touch anything at the manor. And do not indulge her.”

               Harry swallowed and nodded. Severus could see the millions of questions swimming around in Harry’s brown eyes, and he hoped the boy had enough room reading abilities to know now was not the time to ask them. Harry slowly licked his lips and then headed out the door when Eileen called to them again.

               Severus sighed and rubbed his temples, applying hard pressure in hopes this was all a nightmare he could wake himself up from.