Chapter 6: Welcome Home

“Welcome to Spinner's End” Snape said.

Harry looked around the property and at the house which was now visible. The plot of land sizzled as the fidelius charm worked to conceal them and their surroundings. At the front of the house, the grass was overgrown and wild looking. There was a simple and short concrete path that led to the front door of the house. The house looked decrepit and dreary, the bricks of the house were coloured in a dark blue/black; and showed a few signs of cracking.

Harry looked up and down the two-story house, looking from window to window. Snape at this point had unlocked the door and could be heard trudging about the house. Harry meekly walked up the footpath and climbed 4 steps to the house. When he walked inside he was slightly taken aback. He had spent the last few days at Snape Manor, a grand and proud looking home. This house however whilst not small, was very …. muggle. Harry was currently standing in the hallway looking to his left (the kitchen) then to the right (the living room). Straight ahead was a narrow staircase leading to the second floor. 

Walking into the kitchen Harry saw that it, like the rest of the home was covered in dust. Snape quickly trudged into the kitchen pushing Harry aside. He swished his wand, and the dust vanished. Harry heard Snape walk up the stairs and mumble the same spell over, and over again, trying to dispel all of the dust and mould from the house. The kitchen was not as large as Grimmauld Place, yet not too small. To the far right of the room was a stove, oven, and many cupboards. Believe it or not, the kitchen also contained a refrigerator. Harry moved closer to the fridge and opened it, preparing to be assaulted by a foul stench. However, it never came, the fridge was completely empty. Looking at the kitchen countertops, there was a kettle and a toaster. Harry at this point was slightly confused. Why would Snape use a toaster, when he could use magic; how did Snape even know what a toaster was?

On the other side of the room, there was a bay window and a round table for four. It was very old and contained many knicks in the wood. Harry looked to his right and saw that there was another door; which led to the back garden. He thought about going outside but thought otherwise; lest Snape go spare and ground him. So he looked through the glass window that the door contained and saw that outside lied a narrow backyard. There were many pot plants and various weeds and wildflowers growing. As it started to rain, Harry decided to go into the living room and see what the room was like. Walking into this room, Harry could feel the professors personality radiating from the walls. The room contained a black leather couch, along with a matching black leather high back chair. Every wall of the room was covered in shelves that contained many books; each stored both vertically and horizontally. Harry sat on the couch and continued to silently inspect the room. It seemed a depressing room, not filled with any personal belongings. There was a fireplace, which looked as if it had not been used for over 10 years. In the corner of the shelf furthest away, sat an old television. Harry's eyes goggled at the fact that Snape would own a TV. Harry began to wonder, was this a safe place? Had Snape added muggle items to fool the death eaters into thinking that this house belonged to a normal family? No, then there would have been fake family photographs or anything to show that more than one person lived here. Walking to the bookshelf, Harry read out the names of a few of the books. The shelf was mainly all wizarding books, with a few muggle books mixed in. Was it true? Could Snape be a half-blood?

At that moment the potions master descended from the stairs and walked into the living room, looming over Harry. Snape stood glaring at Harry, then around the room. Trying to figure out if Harry had touched or moved anything from its original place.

“The house is now dust and vermin free” Harry shivered at the thought of there rats, mice or cockroaches crawling around the house.

Snape squeezed the bridge of his nose in annoyance and told Harry to sit down on the couch, so they could have a serious talk.

"As I am sure you are aware, this is my home. I have not been here since I left Hogwarts and inherited what was once known then as Prince Manor; my mothers family's home. This excuse for a house, however, will have to do for now. Since it has been over 15 years since I laid a foot in here, it definitely needs a bit of renovating. For now, however, we need to think. We have lost all of our belongings, and there is no food. Luckily, I have with me a bottle of polyjuice potion, unluckily, I have no other human hair. 

Trixy will not be able to come and visit us here, as I have not allowed her entrance into the house wards. For the duration of our stay here you will not call her, she will be staying at Hogwarts and that is final. We will have to cook and clean for ourselves; is that understood?" Harry merely nodded his head, feeling that this holiday was going to be very long indeed. Harry's mind started to drift to Hogwarts when Snape started to speak again.

"For today, I think I had better charm ourselves to look like different people. We should at some point venture out, and purchase some groceries and other basic necessities. However, first I will show you your room, and the facilities." Snape stood up and pointed for Harry to follow him up the stairs. As they ascended, the staircase started to creak with each step they took. Finally, at the top of the stairs, the first door to the right was the bathroom. It was simple and contained a toilet, sink, and a bathtub with a showerhead connected to the wall. The tiles were very bright and old-fashioned; Harry smirked inwardly, looking at Snape as he winced and sneered at the bathroom decor. The first door on the left, Snape did not open, however, he pointed out that it was the spare room which would soon become an office. The second and last door to the left Snape motioned for Harry to follow him into. The room was not that much larger than his bedroom at the Dursleys. It contained a king single bed, desk, cupboard, chest of draws and a lone chair in the corner of the room. It was very plain, with no real character to it. The one good thing about the room was that there was a nice large window which overlooked the backyard, and parts of the street.

"This, as I'm sure you have already guessed is your room. Get settled in, and relax for a little while. I need to go outside and turn on the electricity, water, and gas. Once the plumbing and everything else is working, we can look to going to get some groceries." Snape took one last look at the room, then glided back downstairs.

Harry sighed and sat on the bed, bouncing a little bit to see how comfortable the bed would be. Inspecting the bed, Harry saw that it was dust free, looking at the shabby blanket, Harry was too tired from the past events to care. He decided to lie down on the bed and test how comfortable it was. The bed was definitely worn, however it was not uncomfortable. Springing up from the bed, Harry realised that this could have been Snape's bed as a kid. Looking around the room, Harry searched to find anything that could show that this was Snape's childhood room. There were no signs that this room belonged to Snape, the only smaller objects in the room were the few books that laid on the shelf. Harry strode over and picked up the small 3 books. The three of them appeared to be very worn, which showed that they had been read multiple times.

Sitting back on the bed, Harry read the cover of the first book. 

Book 1: Standard book of spells (pre-Hogwarts edition). This book was by far the oldest looking book out of the three. Reading the publishers notes, it said that this book was the last edition to be made. Feeling slightly impressed, Harry laid the book down on the bed and picked up book number 2.

Book 2: Dracula. At this Harry snorted in amusement. Only Snape would be reading this as a young child… Hold on, this book was a muggle book. This definitely proved that Snape was most likely in fact a half-blood. His father probably was a muggle-born or a muggle. From the look of the house, however, he thought of the latter. Put the book down and smirking one last time, Harry picked up the final and last book.

Book 3: Treasure Island. Having never heard of this book before, Harry quickly read the anecdote. Nodding his head in approval, Harry found the book to be quite intriguing. As Snape was taking so long, Harry sat against the headboard of the bed and opened the book. Opening to the first page Harry read the cover "Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson… published 1882!" Wow, Harry thought, this is an old book. The next page normally consisted of 2 blank pages before the novel began. Harry almost flipped by when he saw that in neat yet childish writing there was a message written in black ink.

‘Dear Severus, Happy 11th Birthday! I know this book is a little advanced, however knowing how smart you are, you probably will finish reading it in 2 days. I know that this is a ‘muggle' book; see I'm starting to use the terminology! But my dad said that you would really enjoy it, and I think you will really enjoy it. Thanks for being such a good friend, I can’t wait to start our adventures at Hogwarts together!’ At this Harry’s face and ears perked up. Reading the last sentence, Harry’s face froze.

‘... as always, your best friend Lily Evens.’ Harry had gone from his face feeling frozen, to now his body turning numb. Lily? No, no, it couldn’t be mum. Snape called her a mudblood, and she was in Gryffindor and he was in Slytherin; no just no. Harry was too shocked to even move, he lost all sense of feeling, which is why he didn’t realise that Snape in that second had walked into the room. 

Severus had finished checking all the taps to see that the water was working, as well as checking if the gas and electricity was working. Deciding to tell Potter that he ought to go to the store by himself (just to be safe), Snape then walked up to Harry’s room. When Snape walked into the room he saw Potter on the bed with 2 books at his feet. The book that Harry was currently holding made Severus freeze. How could he not remember the present that his first true friend had given him; Severus thought.  

“I… I’m sorry, I was just bored and wanted to read..” Harry said looking slightly frazzled.

“You wanted to read? Mhmm, never thought I would hear you say that” the potions master said in a monotone voice, his eyes clouded and in a daze. Snape sighed and walked over to the other side of the room. Looking distantly out of the window. After a minute of silence, he picked up the empty chair in the corner and brought it over near the bed; where Harry was frozen. Snape sat down and was staring at the book in Harry’s tight grasp.  

Harry looked between Snape and the book he was holding, and spoke in a soft unsure voice “So.. you knew my mum?”

At hearing this Snape’s eyes snapped to Harry’s almond green ones. Eyes twitching Severus did not dare to speak, lest he say something which would only make the situation worst. At hearing what Harry had said, the professor did not reply until Harry asked him a second time.

“Did you hear me…….. It’s signed Lily Evans” Severus only heard snippets of the conversation. Snape quickly stood up and paced about the room. Stopping and pinching the bridge of his nose, Snape began to speak.

“What I say, will only stay in this room, is that understood?” Harry quickly nodded his head in approval, wanting the professor to shed light on this confusing situation.

“You’re mother Lily, did give me that book. She lived 10 minutes away from this very house. We met when we were young children, it was I who told her that she was a witch.” Snape paused, not wanting to say anymore and reveal his true feelings for Lily. Looking at Harry, the professor peered into his green eyes and said.

"The only reason why you are here is because I owe your mother. I honestly don't want you here, as I'm sure neither do you. So be a good boy and you leave me alone, and I will leave you alone" With that Snape fled from Harry's room, not wanting Harry to see the tears that were now sliding down his face.

Harry was shocked beyond words and did not know what to think. Firstly he was trying to comprehend what the professor had said. The creepy dungeon bat of Slytherin and his mother were friends? Maybe Snape hates me because mum never forgave him for calling her the ‘M*******' word. Harry started to think about how he and Ron had fought during his fourth year and the goblet of fire tournament. They obviously pieced everything back together and got over their troubles; they were best mates after all. 

His mother and Snape had obviously been friends, had Snape even apologised to his long time friend? Maybe Snape was so deep with the death eaters that he merely forgot about his mother…. Harry kept thinking of different scenarios, on how Snape and his mother had stopped being friends. The only person who would know would be Snape. Getting rather heated up, Harry got up from the bed, and wanted to storm downstairs and ask Snape how…. Why… He just had so many damn questions. 

Harry took a deep breath wanting to ask the professor his questions in a non-confrontational way. Then he thought of the 3 letters, maybe if the professor knew his mother, he could maybe understand why his mother had sent him 3 letters. *Slam* Harry heard the front door to the house open. Snape had obviously left, Harry did not want to be left alone at this moment, and wanted answers ASAP!.

Harry ran out of the door, hoping that he could catch up to the professor. Harry leaped down the stairs, however his too large sneakers got caught behind his other foot. Harry tried to grab the railing, however, it was too let. Harry fell and plummeted down the stairs, and fell head first into the hardwood floor. Knocked unconscious, Harry started to bleed from the impact of the fall. Snape, however, was halfway down the street and knew of nothing that happened at his home. 

Would the professor make it back in time, or would Harry's life slowly start to bleed out onto the floor?

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Next on What the Hell is Happening

Chapter 7: Memory Loss