“Dad, you should see this!” Harry’s voice called from outside.

               Severus rubbed his temples for a few seconds longer, coming to terms with the fact that this was not a dream, and his mother had indeed paid his humble home a visit and demanded his presence at Prince Manor for a will that may or may not exist. He sighed and headed for the door, locking it behind him with the muggle key and his wand, as a precaution of course. He turned and blinked. Eileen had not been joking when she said chariot.

               At the end of his driveway was a large, stunning carriage donned in greens, blues, and yellows, with a peacock symbol engraved on the side. The seats were leather, and there was just enough room for three people, and there was a house elf seated on the elevated perch seat holding reins and a long whip. Harnessed to the carriage were two large white winged horses. The two horses held their heads high, flicking their braided manes and tails around patiently. One horse wore a neck piece with gold trim around his neck while the other wore a similar one with silver. If Severus didn’t know better, he’d say those horses were smiling.

               “Do you see this, Dad?” Harry asked excitedly, standing near the large horses. “I’ve never seen a pegasus before.”

               “They are Gorgobreds,” Eileen said, walking around the carriage to stand next to Harry. “The closest living relative to the Pegasus, even before the Abraxans. Prince Manor boasts the purest selection of Gorgobreds in the world; these are high quality horses.”

               “They’re beautiful,” Harry said, holding out a flat hand for one of them to sniff. The left horse with the gold trim around his neck gave his hand a gentle lick.

               “This one is Oppilamani,” Eileen said, giving the gold trim horse a neck rub. “Three-time champion of The High Skies Gold Cup. My personal favorite, but don’t tell the others that.”

               Eileen winked at Harry, who smiled up at her as he reached out to scratch Oppilamani’s neck. The horse snorted and held his head up proudly. The other horse in silver gently bit and tugged on Eileen’s hair, then gave a disgruntled whinny as he shook his head at her.

               “Oh, you are my favorite as well, Garveet,” Eileen said, cooing at the horse as she placed her hands on each cheek and kissed his head. The horse nickered at her, happily holding his head up as well.

               “I hope you have them disillusioned,” Severus said as he walked down the pathway to the carriage.

               “Of course,” Eileen said with a slight eye roll. “Can’t go gallivanting around with winged horses in a muggle town, now, can we?”

               “What do they look like to muggles?” Harry asked.

               “Oh you know,” Eileen waved off the question, “plain old looking horses. Let’s get going. We’ve much to do. In the chariot, both of you.”

               While Eileen walked to the other side of the carriage, Harry tapped Severus’s arm and whispered up to his father.

               “What about my scar? I’m sure she’ll recognize it if she saw it.”

               “That’s all take care of,” Severus whispered back. “You look nothing like yourself right now.”

               “Oh.” Harry felt his face and hair. “When did you do that? What do I look like?”

               “No time for that,” Severus said. “Get in the carriage.”

               Harry’s frown melted into a smile and he happily jumped up in the carriage. Severus sat next to Harry, taking the end seat so Harry would have to sit between himself and Eileen. He knew most magical carriages were spelled with anti-fall spells that kept everyone in the safety of the containment, but he wasn’t taking any chances, especially with how wildly excited Harry seemed to be.

               “Outis,” Eileen said as she settled herself on the other end next to Harry. “Prince Manor.”

               “Yes, Mistress,” the house elf, Outis, said obediently. He was a small creature, smaller than Dobby, with downcast eyes and large hands, and he wore a green, ratty pillowcase.

He tightened his hold on the reins and lashed out the whip above the horses, sending magical sparks raining down on the horses. The two began trotting away pridefully from Severus’s bungalow and down the muggle road. A few neighbors peeked out of their windows in awe or waved from their front porch at Severus and Harry. Severus ignored most of them, while Harry gladly waved back to everyone.

               “Once we get to the manor, I’ll have Portia make lunch. She is quite gifted in the kitchen for a house elf. Meanwhile, we have so much to catch up on.”

               “I think not,” Severus said bitterly, looking everywhere else but at Eileen.

               Eileen ignored him and turned her attention on Harry.

               “What about you, Evans? Are you in school? I assume you must go to Hogwarts.”

               “Yes, ma’am,” Harry answered.

               “Slytherin, I would think,” Eileen smirked.

               “No, actually, I’m in Gryffindor.”

               “Oh.” There was the slightest curl of distaste on Eileen’s lips.

               “But the hat wanted to put me in Slytherin. It said I would do well and Slytherin would help me on my way to greatness or something like that.”

               “Really?” Eileen asked, and even Severus glanced down at Harry at that remark. “Why did it put you in Gryffindor then?”

               Harry looked up at Severus, and his cheeks heated for a moment before he shrugged and said, “It also said I’d do great in Gryffindor, and maybe even better, so it put me there.”

               Severus could hear the lie before Harry had even opened his mouth, but he said nothing as he turned his attention back to the road, muggle houses slowly disappearing as they came across rolling hills of countryside. He could always ask Harry why the sorting hat really put him in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin at a later time. It would explain why Harry’s sorting had taken so long. He heard Eileen tsk lightly.

               “Well,” she said, “it wouldn’t be the first time one of Prince heritage strayed from Slytherin house. I think we’re far enough away from the muggles now. Oppilamani—up!”

               Oppilamani reared with an excited squeal, Garveet following his lead, and they began flapping their wings. Outis gave a surprised yelp at the sudden change in pace and loosened the reins slightly, pulling a lever that detached the two horses from each other, giving them room to flap their wings.

               The horses raced down the country road at high speeds, and the wind blew Severus’s hair into his face, and he agitatedly brushed it aside and held it in place. Harry cheered in delight.

               Finally, with three powerful flaps, the horses took to the sky, pulling the chariot with them. It was a bit rough and bumpy on the way up, but once the horses were high in the sky, flying with the clouds, the soaring smoothed out, and Severus released his hair, brushing a few loose strands aside. He glanced down at Harry, whose hair was wind-blown and sticking up in all directions. Eileen’s hair seemed perfectly fine, probably a spell she used. Severus huffed and decided to watch the horses flapping in the air. Harry, however, was trying to lean over him to look down at the ground below.

               “Sit down,” Severus scolded, pushing Harry’s shoulder until Harry gave in and sat back in his seat.

               “Can’t I look at how high up we are?” Harry asked. “I want to see how tiny everything looks. Hey, can’t everyone see us?”

               “Of course not,” Eileen said. “To them, we look like a large bird. It’s a complicated disillusionment charm, hardly anything worth conversing about. Why don’t you two switch seats?”

               “Please Dad?” Harry asked.

               “No,” Severus said firmly. “We are already in flight, and I want you seated for the remainder of it.”

               Harry groaned and pouted slightly in his seat. He did his best to try and see over everyone else, awing at the rolling hills and beautiful homes they flew above. The horses danced in the air, happy as ever. Finally, a large manor came in sight, and the horses began descending slowly.

               Prince Manor was a large country house estate made of brick and stone combined. It has been built in the late eighteenth century and homed several Prince generations. The house had a compact rectangular design, and was three stories high, the third story most likely consisting of attic space as it had several dormer windows.  The manor had a hipped roof with a flat section that was surrounded by a balustrade. A large cupola rose from the center of the flat section, and inside that was a small but antique bell. Across from the east façade was a large stable, twice as long as the house itself, but only a story high. And pastures and pastures of fenced in green grass surrounded the house, and Severus could see a few Gorgobreds in each pasture, some flapping around and some grazing away. Young weanlings with half grown wings frolicked in a pasture of their own, one with a large pond.

               It was a magnificent sight, and Severus hated it. He wanted nothing to do with Prince Manor. He would only see what was rightfully his, then leave, dragging Harry with him if he had to.

               Harry was overjoyed to explore the mansion. His excitement came off in nauseating waves that Severus could not find a way to avoid. Severus watched as he practically bounced in his seat, pointing at the foals and then at something cool he noted about the manor.

               The horses circled the house a couple times before landing on a stretch of road a few yards from the gates. Outis readjusted the lever, and the harness sprang together again, locking the two horses together once more as they pranced up to the gate, heads and wings held high.

               The gate opened for them as they came up to it. The horses followed a circular pathway that took them around a large central garden and fountain. They drew to a slow stop in front of the manor and pawed the ground in a victorious manner, as if happy to have arrived to the manner in a timely manner and in one piece.

               Outis jumped down from his perch and opened the door for Eileen, who stepped out first.

               “Come along,” Eileen encouraged, “I’ll have tea prepared while we wait on lunch.”

               Harry jumped down and Severus followed, not commenting on what Eileen had said.

               Outis bowed to them as he closed the door. He jumped back up on the perch and struck the air above the horses with the long whip, directing them magically. They walked around the circular path and followed another path toward the stables.

               “Make sure they are bathed and brushed before you turn them out,” Eileen called to the elf. She shook her head. “Useless creatures, they must always be reminded of how things must be done here. Come, darlings. Let me show you to the dining hall while we enjoy our tea and wait on lunch.”

               Eileen marched up the stairs. Harry turned to Severus, who nodded his head in Eileen’s direction, and they climbed up the stairs after her. Harry gasped as they entered a high ceiling hall, and he spun in circles to take everything in: the chandelier, the painted portraits, the decorative Gorgobreds covering the ceiling.

               Severus had to put a hand on Harry’s shoulder to stop him from running into a small table with a large vase on it, and he directed Harry toward where Eileen had veered off to the right into a large dining area suitable to host all the muggles of Ostbridge to a dinner. The table itself could fit an army.

               “Come sit,” Eileen commanded as she took a seat at the head of the table.

               “You live here all by yourself?” Harry asked.

               Severus sat two chairs away from Eileen, and Harry awkwardly sat in the chair on Severus’s right so he was only one chair away from Eileen.

               “I do. But the sky jockeys visit when they come to care for the horses, and I have the house elves to keep me company. Oh, it does get lonely, though.”

               “I’m sorry,” Harry said.

               “It’s nothing I haven’t gotten used to,” Eileen said. She tapped the table, and an even smaller house elf came running through a back door with tea items on a trolley. Severus blinked at the pathetic creature that stood hardly bigger than a three-year-old. She wore an oversized silver pillowcase that had gold trim on the bottom and she nearly tripped over her feet after accidentally stepping on the hem. This must be Portia. She stopped next to Eileen and poured her a cup of hot tea, added a splash of milk, then carefully placed the tea in front of Eileen.

               Then, the little elf ran over to Severus and Harry and poured two cups of tea while asking, “How would Masters like his teas?”

               “I’ll take it as it is, thank you,” Severus told the elf, and he accepted the tea from the elf.

               “And Master?” Portia asked Harry.

               “You don’t have to call me Master,” Harry said. “And I can make my own if you leave the trolley here.”

               Portia gasped and froze. After a second, she blinked and looked between Eileen and Harry. She wrung her hands as she said, “No, Master will not be making his tea. I’s can do it just as Master wishes if he tells Portia.” The last few words were spoken with hesitation.

               “Err, okay,” Harry said. “Milk and two sugars please.”

               “Yes, Master.” Portia made his tea and offered it to him.

               When everyone was satisfied, she bowed deeply before pushing the trolley back through the door she came from.

               “I’ll never understand house elves,” Harry said, shaking his head.

               “They are not meant to be understood,” Eileen said. “They are meant to serve and serve only. You’re not one of those house elf sympathizers, are you, boy?”

               “A what?” Harry frowned. “Well, I mean, I don’t think it’s right to force someone to serve you forever.”

               “You think they were forced?” Eileen asked with a smirk. She steepled her fingers and rested her chin on them as she gave Harry an amused look. “Prince Manor is as much their home as it is mine. They were born here, born into servitude, bred to be they way they are now, and very much in our debt forever. That is the way of the house elf.”

               “You don’t think that’s wrong?” Harry argued.

               Severus gently kicked Harry’s shin under the table, earning his attention. He gave Harry a mild glare.          

               “Mind your tone,” he said. “And house elves are an age-old tradition in many pureblood families, and it certainly isn’t any of your concern how they are treated under their mistress.”

               “Perhaps I should donate one to you,” Eileen suggested. “After all, a house elf could free you up of so much physical labor. No more cleaning your bedroom, making your bed, or even pulling weeds. Doesn’t that sound appealing?”

               “I can do that just fine on my own,” Harry said. “I wouldn’t . . .”

               “Evans does not need a house elf, nor do I,” Severus interrupted before Harry could continue the conversation on what was fair and what wasn’t. “Now, you had a will that needed to be reviewed?”

               Eileen took a long sip of her tea. As she set her cup down on the saucer plate, Portia came running back out with the trolley, this time, with lunch on the tray. She paused in front of Eileen first, setting down her plate and bowl in front of her. She refilled Eileen’s tea and then ran around the table and set dishes down in front of Harry and Severus. After refilling their teas, she bowed deeply and headed back to the kitchens.

               Severus studied the dish placed before him. It was a dover sole served on wilted spinach. The bowl had a thin but creamy looking green soup. It looked vaguely familiar, but the name was escaping his mind. He took a hesitant taste of it and was met with a strong citrusy, celery taste. It wasn’t bad, so he took another bite.

               “What is this?” Harry asked, twirling his spoon in the soup.

               “Lovage soup,” Eileen answered him as she took a bite of her own soup before cutting into the fish.

               Harry still looked unsure, but he took a small taste of the soup. His face scrunched up, but he took another small bite. Severus watched him take three more slow bites, the child’s face scrunching up in funny faces each time. Severus leaned down close to Harry.

               “You don’t have to eat it if you don’t like it,” he whispered to Harry.

               Harry made a grateful face and pushed the bowl away, looking over at Eileen, who smirked.

               “Don’t worry,” she said, “the Gorgobreds love this soup. They will appreciate a snack. Outis!”

               The house elf that had driven the carriage appeared with a pop at Eileen’s side. He bowed deeply.

               “Yes, Mistress?”

               “Take this boy’s soup to Oppilamani. Make sure you put it in his serving dish.”

               Outis took the soup from Harry and bowed once more before popping away.

               Harry happily ate his fish and spinach. Severus finished the soup and ate most of the fish and spinach before he felt full and waited until Harry and Eileen were finished. Harry cleaned his plate, but Eileen had barely made a dent in the soup or the fish lunch. She poked at it, lost in her thoughts. Severus refused to comment on what a waste of food it was and wondered why she even had any prepared for herself if she wasn’t going to eat it.

               Finally, Eileen set her fork down and stood up, Severus following her lead, and Harry standing a second later.

               “Evans, why don’t you go explore while your father and I discuss legal matters.”

               Harry glanced up at Severus, who nodded his head in agreement.

               “Stay inside, and stay on the first floor for now,” Severus said.

               “Oh, there’s much to see,” Eileen said, clapping her hands together. “The leisure room, the library, the nook, the hot tub in the guest suite. The house elves might have even found swimming trunks for you.” Eileen winked at Harry.

               “Really? That’s brilliant!”

               Stay on the first floor,” Severus warned once more.

               Harry ran out of the dining room in search of the hot tub, no doubt. Eileen smiled and walked in the opposite direction Harry had gone, and Severus followed her. They moved through the hall once more and came to a grand office space where arch windows allowed the sun to light up the space. Eileen sat behind the desk and motioned for Severus to sit in one of the two large plush chairs in front of the desk. Severus sneered at the seats for a moment before he sat down and pushed himself closer to the desk.

               “So where is this will?” Severus asked immediately. He wanted to get this taken care of as quickly as possible and then leave the manor and never see Eileen again.

               “Cutting right to the chase, aren’t we?” Eileen pulled out a few papers from her desk. “And here I thought we might have a heart to heart.”

               “We’ve never had heart to hearts, and we certainly won’t start now. Let’s see it.”

               Eileen held on to the parchment for a second longer before reaching over the desk and offering Severus the papers. When he took them, she pulled out her cigarette holder and lit another cigarette at the end of it, using her wand as a lighter. Severus tried not to act annoyed that she was smoking in an enclosed room.

Severus began reading over the words, a frown quickly growing on his face. He quickly realized that it wasn't a will, but a magically binding contract. He glared down at it. It almost read like a will, and if he hadn't read word for word, he would have missed the few key words that indicated a binding that if broke, would result in serious consequences with his magic. Otherwise, if completed, he would inherit Prince Manor, the Grand Prince Stables, and the Prince vaults upon death . . . wait . . .

"This is your will," Severus said slowly as he looked up from the contract.

Eileen lifted her brows as she took a swig from her cigarette.

"Yes," was her only answer.

"Your contract," Severus continued looking down, "naming myself and any of my children as beneficiary to this inheritance upon your death but only if—" Severus's throat dried and nearly choked him and he coughed slightly to clear it. The next words brought out an anger he hadn't felt in years.

"If you and Evans come to live with me and care for me in my final years, however long that may be." Eileen said aloud what he could not read, and hearing the words brought back childhood memories that he swore he had occluded somewhere deep in the darkest corners of his mind. They resurfaced all at once, overwhelming him, but he took deep breaths.

"This is all about you," Severus said. He snarled at her. "Once again, you've proven how shallow you truly are. That disease you mentioned earlier that your mother died from, it's hereditary, isn't it? You have it. And you're dying from it."

"Smart boy," Eileen muttered as she leaned back in her chair. "The healer told me I had only a few years left."

"Why bring me into this?" Severus asked. "Why ask me to care for you when you could just as easily hire a caretaker?"

"And humiliate myself? A Prince prides herself on appearance, and I cannot let a stranger see me in such a feeble state. It would ruin the Prince reputation if word gets out of a hereditary disease that affects only purebloods and their magical cores. Do you have any idea what panic that would cause among other purebloods with distant Prince relatives? I must uphold the Prince legacy to the grave, and you will assist me, a Prince yourself."

"That's what you really care about," Severus said. "Your reputation? Not me, not your only grandson, but your pathetic reputation."

"Imagine the fortune you'll have," Eileen said. "This will all be yours when I'm gone. Evans will be set for life, and you could retire early, leave the little shack you call a home."

"I quite like my home, thank you very much," Severus snapped as he stood up. "And you can take this contract and shove it where the sun doesn't shine because I'm not signing it."

"And condemn your poor mother to an awful death?" Eileen asked, standing as well and glaring at Severus. 

Severus paused, staring directly back into his mother's soulless dark orbs that were enhanced from the foggy smoke of her cigarette dancing around her. 

               “You were never a mother to me,” Severus growled, then he turned and stormed out of the study, leaving a speechless Eileen inside it.

               The bathroom was in convenient proximity to the study, making it an easy and quick find for Severus as he ran inside, nauseated and lightheaded. He leaned against the double sink vanity and encouraged himself to breathe through his nose, but his lunch churned uneasily in his stomach, and he found himself rushing for the toilet to expel the expensive meal. After splashing water on his face in hopes to recalibrate himself, he took several steps backwards until his back hit the wall, then he slid to the ground, resting his arms on his knees as he stared at the opposite side of the bathroom.

               Of all the scenarios he had envisioned about the off chance of running into Eileen again, he had never imagined this happening in any of them. He closed his eyes, hoping to occlude the memories that kept invading his thoughts, memories of Eileen’s constant dismissal of her son, her lack of pride whenever he tried doing anything nice for her, her “forgetfulness” when she was supposed to pick him up from muggle school, and her overall apathetic behavior toward Severus growing up. And then she had left, leaving him at nineteen to drink and rot alone in Spinner’s End shortly after the death of his father. With nothing tethering her to the muggle world, Eileen was quick to abandon it.

               Which also meant abandoning her son.

               Even after all those years, it still hurt. And Severus closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the cold stone wall.

               She was dying now. And he shouldn’t care.

               But like any decent human, he certainly didn’t want her to suffer needlessly. That didn’t mean he would be the one to care for her, but she would have to agree to a caretaker. But a Prince was not only prideful but stubborn. He knew that personally.

               The conflicting emotions hurt his head more, and he occluded to the best of his ability until there was only silence ringing in his ears.

               Cold suffocating silence.