Severus paced. Never more than three steps before he had to turn around. His patronus ought to be back by now. Even accounting for the boy not following her immediately ... there weren’t such long distances in Diagon Alley.

He had instructed the doe to return and alert him if the boy was in grave danger. She would also hide from other people, but there couldn’t be all that many people walking around this early, could there?

“I’ll find him”, he vowed.

Lily’s sacrifice couldn’t, wouldn’t be for naught.

He would find Harry and make sure he – Harry? Had it come to that?

Severus pushed back his annoyance at this new development, the memories of Potter. Yes, Harry. Why not. He was, after all, Lily’s son. Whom she’d named Harry. Severus ought to think of him like that.

And find him.

**

Gryffindor or not, Harry began to feel afraid. Knockturn Alley was gloomy even in broad daylight, and there wasn’t that much light to be had today, with grey clouds covering the sky.

He had just passed a shop that sold “Lust Potions – For when you can’t be bothered with romantic blathering” when he saw a light.

The doe!

There she stood, strangely out of place among the glass shards, dirty paper scraps and bones of questionable origin that littered the alley.

This time he didn’t hesitate at all before following her. And sure enough, she led him out of Knockturn Alley and to a small space between two houses where there was a barrel, apparently repurposed as wastebin. Someone had sawed a hole in its side, but the flat side on top had been used to stick a candle on it, and next to the candle, there was something miraculous – an almost full bag of chips from a muggle fastfood chain, and next to it, a cardboard cup with plastic top and plastic drinking straw.

“Thank you”, he said hastily, and as he had feared, the doe faded until he couldn’t see her anymore. Perhaps if he asked, she’d keep him company? He must think to ask next time.

For now, he would appreciate her gift.

He lifted the cup – it must be almost full!

Harry took his loot back to his hiding place and ate slowly, savouring every bite. The fizzy drink turned out to be lemonade, though it wasn’t nearly as sweet at the one Mrs. Weasley made.

When he had finished the drink, he sneaked into the toilets at Fortescue’s to refill the cup with tap water. Perfect!

His giddiness didn’t last long, though. The sneezing didn’t start again, instead he had to cough, which was worse.

When evening came, every tiny movement exhausted him, and he didn’t even want to go look for food, just sleep.

After sleeping for a couple of days, he would feel better. He always had, at the Dursleys. Though Aunt Petunia had at least brought him water to the cupboard, back then.

It had felt very unfair, because Dudley got hot chamomile tea and all, but now Harry almost missed it. Almost.

Sleeping on the streets wasn’t forever, he reminded himself. He would soon be back to Hogwarts, where he got a soft bed in the hospital wing if he got sick, and healing potions and everything.

That was, if he managed to survive. The lack of food wasn’t a problem, but if he got too weak to get water ...

But he couldn’t come crawling back to the Weasleys now. They hadn’t even looked for him. Or had they? He had done his best to stay out of sight when he didn’t have to find food.

Not that it mattered. His dream of finally having a family was shattered. All he would get if he returned was a place to stay, like Privet Drive.

Tears stung his eyes. Why couldn’t he get over the childish wish for a family? He was twelve now. Old enough to know miracles didn’t happen in real life.


Without him noticing, it had gotten dark. He was almost asleep when he noticed a light.

The doe!

Warmth filled his chest. She, at least, cared.

“I don’t feel so well”, he said apologetically, still reaching out for her ears that looked so soft and fuzzy, and again, his hand passed right through.

She stepped away a bit, beckoning him to follow, and Harry couldn’t find it in him to disappoint her.

He really needed something to eat, to get his strength back. Well, that was what Petunia told Dudley when he was sick, anyways. Harry didn’t feel like eating something, but he could always store it for later.

With slow steps, taking breaks to lean against the nearest wall, he followed the doe to the Leaky Cauldron.

As usual at this time, it was closed. Or so the sign said. The door was still a bit open, someone had even put a piece of wood between the door and the frame.

Perhaps they needed to keep it open after hours in case someone wanted to return to Muggle London?

He was reluctant to enter, but it seemed perfectly empty, and the doe clearly wanted him to go inside.

She had never led him astray, and he didn’t want her to give up on him and leave.

Inside the pub, she turned yet again, walking up the stairs.

Harry hesitated. Should he really? It was dark, and he was invisible, but if he got caught in the area that was only for paying guests, he would really be in trouble.

On the other hand, everyone would be asleep, wouldn’t they?

The doe was patiently waiting for him on the first landing, and at last, he decided to follow.

Up and up she led him, to a room that must be under the roof, as there were no stairs up from it, only a hatch with a ladder next to it.

When the doe stood exactly in front of the door, Harry could read the note attached.

“I’m busy tonight. If you can rent the room to someone else for the night, do so, I could use the six galleons. If not, I’ll pay. See you tomorrow noon.”

Harry squinted, reading in what little light the doe emanated. There was something added in a different hand.

“You kidding? No one books a room at ten p.m, this isn’t Knockturn Alley. I won’t clean while you’re away and you pay five galleons.”

It must be long past ten p.m., then.

Harry’s body was shaken by a new bout of coughing, but he kept his mouth shut and tried to be quiet about it, even though that made his chest hurt terribly. Not that it didn’t hurt when he wasn’t coughing.

The doe nudged him with her nose, which made him feel a pleasant warmth, and reminded him how cold he was.

She pointed her head at the door once more, and Harry saw that the key was in the lock. The person who had rented the room must have left it there so Tom could let someone else in.

Harry tried the handle. The door wasn’t locked.

He didn’t dare use his wand for light, but the doe walked through the room, showing him that there really was no one in the bed, or anywhere else. She showed him a door that led to a small bathroom, which was, likewise, empty.

“Thanks”, he mumbled, sitting down on the floor and leaning against a wall. “I wish I could do something for you.”

The doe made a movement that looked oddly like her shaking her head. Then, she jumped onto the bed and neatly folded her long legs, looking at him expectantly.

“You want me to sleep in the bed?” It made sense, he figured. But he was cold and wet and the bed would be dirty.

Or he could get out of the wet clothes and wrap the warm blanket around him ...

Deciding that he had nothing to lose and had to do all he could to get better, Harry let the invisibility cloak slide off his shoulders.

The person who originally rented the room probably wouldn’t mind, he hoped. Just in case, he counted six galleons and put them on the nightstand.

Removing the t-shirt and jeans wasn’t as easy as it would have been with Dudley’s old things. What he wore now had all belonged to some Weasley boy or the other, and while they weren’t as skinny as him, the wet clothes still stuck to his skin.

No wonder he felt sick.

When he was finally out of his clothes, he was so tired he almost forgot to take off his glasses.

“Please ... stay?”, he begged the doe.

Sleep claimed him quickly.