~~~~HP~~~~

Wednesday 31 December 1997

Early the next morning, when Snape discovered Harry and Mae fast asleep on the couch with Harry's feet resting on Mae's lap and her leaning against the back of the couch, Harry followed Mae's lead on how to handle it; which apparently meant not reacting to it at all. Rather than try to explain how they ended up in that position, she simply kissed Snape on the cheek and made her way up the stairs, with Harry trailing behind her and going into his and Dudley's bedroom to grab clothes more appropriate for their morning walk before heading to shower.

"These are good," Snape said of Harry's scones, which had just been warmed up in the oven based on the slight heat in the air Harry felt when he entered the kitchen. The professor continued to read his paper and drink coffee, making no move to acknowledge Harry's presence or ask how their mysterious breakfast came to be, so Harry sat down in the chair next to Snape and picked apart a plain scone, dropping every third bit into his mouth.

"Thanks," Harry casually replied, and after another minute sitting in silence, he released a relieved sigh. "So what're your plans today?"

Apparently, he had spoken too soon.

"When did you make these delectable treats?" The professor bluntly asked, entirely disregarding Harry's question, and causing the young wizard to cough on the small chunk of dry scone he'd just plopped into his mouth. "I assume it was before four o'clock, since that's when I first heard the television on from upstairs."

Even knowing he was going to lose, Harry tried to hold his ground, staring at the other wizard, and hoping he would back down first. Except Snape didn't so much as blink once in Harry's five or six – a feat Harry would figure out later – leaving Harry to concede. "I got up around two. But if it helps, I used levitation spells to make most of the scones. That has to count for something, right? I mean… you wouldn't be angry if I was up late studying for an exam, would you?"

"I'm not angry about anything," Snape corrected, and having seen Snape angry, Harry was forced to agree. "I'm concerned that you are not getting sufficient sleep, and trying to figure out why you cannot sleep given how utterly exhausted I can see you are."

Harry shrugged. How could he possibly argue that? He hated sitting up half the night wanting to sleep – desperately needing the sleep – as much as Snape hated knowing Harry wasn't sleeping. It became a vicious cycle that he had little hope of breaking, especially considering he still felt uneasy about taking the muggle sleep aids. No, Harry would leave those as a last resort, which Snape understood, albeit reluctantly given their drastically different definition of "last resort".

"I would have thought the magical exhaustion from Monday would have broken the cycle," Snape went on. He rose and proceeded to the medicine cupboard, where Harry heard several muggle medicine bottles rattling. "If this continues, then we may need to rethink our plan for the coming week. If you continue to drain yourself, now magically on top of physically, it will be harder to calm the raw magic to a safe level for your return to the castle."

On Harry's right, a tiny cup filled with his tablets appeared, followed by a tall glass of water. He properly identified each one by giving the cup a quick shake, and then drank them down in pairs.

"What do you want me to do?" Harry argued, or he attempted to argue. In reality, his strained voice and breathless words missed the mark by meters.

But before Snape could respond, the sound of Mae and Dudley bantering floated through the kitchen door – about the quality between two racing games, neither of which Harry knew much about – increasing in volume as they passed through the sitting room and opened the kitchen door.

"Harry, we're going to have to show your cousin what real racing looks like-" she immediately came to a halt as she noticed the tense atmosphere surrounding the table, forcing Dudley to almost run directly into her back. "What's going on? Sev?"

"Sev," Harry spoke first, not missing Snape's flinch at being addressed by Mae's nickname for him, "was about to tell me how I can't go back to school next week because I'm not sleeping."

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to." Too tired to fight – proving Snape's point, not that Harry cared – Harry pushed his chair back, nearly toppling it when it caught an uneven spot on the floor. "I am going back to school and I will do whatever it takes to get there. C'mon Dudley, let's get going."

Snape jumped and grabbed Harry's shoulder, effectively stopping him in place. Dudley hadn't moved, inadvertently blocking the exit doorway, while Mae stood to the side watching the whole thing.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea, Harry," Snape cautioned. "I know you can feel all of this wearing you down inside and pushing yourself will not get you to school any faster. No matter what you say, I don't want to pull you from school – I truly don't – however I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe in the long run.

Unable to admit how true those words were, Harry brushed the hand off his shoulder.

"Well, why don't we all go for a walk together?" Mae's hopeful voice suggested. "It'll be good for us to get out, and I'd love to see Severus's old stomping ground."

"No, you don't," Snape mumbled under his breath, and if it were any other day Harry would have laughed at the comment. "Trust me," he added aloud, "there is absolutely nothing to see there."

Harry frowned when Mae wrapped her arms around Snape's chest from behind to almost whisper in his ear, "C'mon. It'll be fun. A little fresh air–" all three Spinners End residents sniggered, "–and you know the exercise is good for Harry regardless of how he's sleeping. Plus, we'll be there if he needs help. You can… magic… us home and I'll drive to pick him up."

To Harry, It sounded like a perfect compromise. He'd get to continue the plan to get him back to school, and he'd have a back-up in place if he couldn't make it home on his own.

But Snape didn't budge.

"I'll make you a deal," Harry said, the previously burning fire of anger within him dissipating with the new plan, "let me continue with Healer Smithe's regimen… magic, exercise, and all that… and I'll take the muggle sleeping tablets tonight. After the New Year stuff, of course."

Everyone stood in the cramped, stuffy kitchen waiting to see if Snape would go for it or if he'd back down or force Harry to come up with some other bargaining chip to get back to school.

"Fine," Snape sternly agreed. "Let's go."

While they wandered through the neighbourhood, Harry led the way, pointing out all the places of interest – the park, the old mill, the river neither wizard had ever seen clear, and his mother's childhood home. Snape remained characteristically quiet throughout it all, even when Harry added a little more fun to the descriptions of each location: he saw his first drug deal by those swings, he found a throwing knife in that tree over there, and how the guy in the blue house on Mill Creek was arrested three days ago. If Mae noticed how likely each of those made-up scenarios was, she didn't show it; taking each comment in stride with a chuckle and a toss of her head.

All joking aside, Cokeworth was more of a home to Harry than Little Whinging ever was.

For Harry, the company on their slow-paced stroll was as beneficial to his soul as it was to his body. They laughed, mostly at Cokeworth's expense, Dudley tried to rationalize how his mum could have grown up there – perhaps explaining why she chose a pristine home on Privet Drive – but for Harry, just seeing Mae and Snape walk hand-in-hand filled his heart with a warmth he'd never felt before. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon may have openly doted over each other in the same way they doted over Dudley, but Harry couldn't recall ever seeing them genuinely enjoy the company of one another, and definitely not in the manner Snape and Mae did during their walk, simply existing together. Out of nowhere, Harry had the sudden urge to hold Luna, missing her lopsided grin and the eccentricity she added to all of their conversations.

I hope she's having a good holiday with her dad.

On the journey back to Spinner's End, they were crossing the bridge when a familiar voice yelled out Harry's name.

"Harry Potter?"

Instinctively, Snape stretched out a protective arm to shield Harry, Mae, and Dudley from any perceived danger. Although Harry doubted Mae or Dudley noticed, he spotted Snape's wand hand hovering above the pocket of his coat where he kept his wand.

"Whoa," the voice responded, clearly sensing the outward aggression in Snape's move. "Harry and I know each other from Guildford."

At that, Harry broke through Snape's blockade.

"Drew?" The young wizard asked, more surprised than any of them. "What're you doing here? Uh–" he turned to Snape to explain, " –we met at Group. You saw him there once, in The Hub."

A single eyebrow raised on his mentor's face, quietly questioning, 'Are you sure?'.

No. Harry supposed he couldn't be sure. He'd only met the other boy a few times at the hospital and played chess with him once, and really should verify his identity. But how did one go about asking a muggle a question only they would know without raising any suspicion?

Understanding exactly what he had to do, and dreading the consequences from it, Harry sighed and asked the other boy, "Good thing there's no lightning storms today, huh?"

The seconds felt like hours as he waited to see whether Drew remembered the comment he made during their chess game about Harry's bad luck and never standing next to him in a lightning storm. The test was so obscure, Harry doubted the legitimacy of it. If he remembered the conversation, then obviously the person in front of them was Drew. However, if he didn't, how could Harry be sure it wasn't him? They were both undergoing chemotherapy, and Harry could appreciate how he might not remember things from one day to the next, let alone from more than a month ago.

Fortunately, Drew's face lit up a split second later. "Hey, keep your distance, just in case. With your luck, one will pop up outta nowhere and I don't wanna start my new year out electrocuted."

A snort from Dudley behind them made Harry wish they'd taken a different route home.

"This is my cousin Dudley. I know you've met Severus, and this is his girlfriend, Mae," Harry introduced them all, and gave a waved hello; a mutually understood way to avoid too much touch during treatment. "Are you visiting… your uncle… was it?"

"Afraid so. But it's not all bad. Better than spending it alone, I guess," the other boy replied. They were making casual talk – asking about their holiday and families – when Drew's tone abruptly changed from light to solemn. "You just got discharged, right?" Harry cautiously nodded. "Have you heard about Joseph?"

"The quiet kid in Group? Always sat in the back and never said anything?"

"Y-Yeah, him."

Drew's slight stutter, combined with the way he shuffled on his feet, made Harry's heart sink. And with a hesitant shake of his head, Drew confirmed his worst fear.

"When?" Harry asked. A firm hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed it tightly. He didn't have to turn around to recognise Snape's familiar grip, now thankful to have the man there beside him. "I didn't even know how bad… what was it that…"

"I'm not sure." Drew sounded as distraught to be giving the news as felt Harry receiving it. "Allie told me 'bout it last week. Guess he talked to her and Charlie some, so his parents called her. He was at home when it…"

A minute passed with no one speaking; an impromptu moment of silence for the teen who had died from the disease two of them were actively fighting, and for his family who were currently experiencing a sorrow that no one should have to endure.

Severus did.

The stray thought popped into Harry's mind unexpectedly. Snape understood Joseph's father's anguish, and he was fighting for Harry, right now, so that he and everyone else who loved Harry would not have to go through such despair. In this new light, the debates about living arrangements and sleeping tablets seemed petty and insignificant.

With his mind clouded by the news of Joseph's death and the gravity of his own mortality, Harry wished Drew a happy New Year and to give his condolences to Allie and Charlie if he spoke to them first. He almost told Drew to let his cousin know he lived on Spinner's End, and to stop by during the summer, but he knew Snape would object, as he should. Harry didn't know Drew well, and he'd never met the alleged cousin living in the neighbourhood, so he couldn't call them friends.

After their short conversation with Drew, the oily air of Cokeworth felt thicker, and aside from a few comments about their night plans – dinner at six followed by another round of games until they rang in the new year with a glass of champagne or juice for Harry – nothing else seemed to matter.

They had just rounded the curve onto Spinner's End when Harry collided into Snape's back; the professor having stopped abruptly and silently.

"What the–" Harry began, hushing himself once he saw what had made Snape tense, with his hand once again placed above his wand pocket. Midway up the street, two shadowy figures sat on the front step of their home. "Can you tell who they are from here?" Harry whispered, changing tactics and preparing to draw his wand too.

Snape's head shook almost imperceptibly.

Harry couldn't see any distinguishing features from where they stood, but he could see that their posture – one almost slumped over, as if his hands were resting on his knees, and the other standing with his arms tucked around his stomach – didn't suggest any sort of threat, which was a good thing because there was no way the four of them hadn't been spotted standing at the end of the road.

"This is what we're going to do," Snape instructed, not turning his back on their unwelcome visitors. "We're going to create a line with Dudley behind me, then Harry, and Mae at the back–"

"Don't you think I should be second?" Harry interjected. "Dudley and Mae are muggles, and I at least have my wand on me."

"You are not to cast a single spell, do you hear me?" Snape commanded. "You're more likely to knock yourself out… thus making their task easier… than knocking them out.

"Dudley," he continued, disregarding Harry's small grumble of protest, "the moment I cast any spell, I need you and Mae to get Harry as far back as possible. Once we approach, they'll start casting, and Harry needs to avoid any magic if we don't want everyone harmed."

"Sev are you sure they're–"

"No, Mae, I'm not sure of anything except that none of us are expecting company and my home has just opened itself up to be found by anyone," Snape swiftly stated. "For all I know those are…"

He trailed off, and Harry's mind replayed all the events that had happened throughout the term – the Slytherin common room flood, the Three Broomsticks collapse, the Draugr attack – and he murmured, "Death Eaters?"

Snape didn't respond this time; his expression told them all they needed to know.

They moved slowly but deliberately up the street, keeping the two visitors in sight the entire time. But the closer they got, and the two figures took shape, the less they appeared like Death Eaters and more like a couple lazily waiting for the homeowners – Snape, in this case – to return. Eventually, they got close enough for Harry to see one of them clearly, a man in a faded brown suit with a mop of sandy brown hair. The man had his back to them, talking to a woman standing on the walkway next to the stoop. She wore a smart business skirt and blouse underneath an unzipped black peacoat, and clutched some kind of thick book to her chest. She had short grey hair, green eyes, and freckles, and although she was facing towards them Harry didn't recognise her.

Harry was so focused on their destination, he didn't notice the stick on the walkway in front of him and stepped on it, alerting the man of their arrival with the sharp snap, causing him to stand and turn around.

"Is that…"

But before Harry finished his sentence, three things happened: a hand came out to hold Harry back, Snape removed his hovering hand from above his wand, and Remus said, "Hello Severus, I was just getting to know your social worker, Edith Baker. She's here for your surprise home inspection."

~~~~SS~~~

"It's nice to finally meet you in person, Ms Baker." Severus extended his hand to the social worker, hoping he had relaxed enough to appear somewhat presentable – and not at all threatening – for his two, very unexpected, visitors.

Lupin's presence was his own fault, since he'd forgotten about the pseudo-invite he'd made to the man on Christmas day. He had practically opened his front door for the werewolf with his lecture about needing to be an active part of Harry's life and then revealing they'd be here for New Year. Metaphorically opened, of course. He didn't expect to see the man show up out of the blue without so much as a firecall warning.

Maxie Baker, their muggle social worker he knew by mail and a single phone call, had been his oversight. Despite the adoption being further away than he'd like, it was almost around the corner in terms of the muggle government for as slow as they moved. And because he lived most of the year at Hogwarts, his live-in home inspection had to be done during a break, with this one being the closest.

Thank Merlin everything inside is already in muggle form.

"You have my sincerest apologies," Severus began, motioning to the front door; the sooner they got out of the Cokeworth's "natural elements", the better, "we weren't expecting you today."

"Yes well, that is the point of a surprise inspection, now isn't it?" The woman tutted. She passed her coat and scarf to Harry, who diligently hung them on the rack, his face as shocked as Severus. "And living at a boarding school hardly gives the agency an accurate picture of what life in the Snape home will be like for Harry should the adoption go through. So here I am."

With all the magic already removed, Severus had no logical reservations about the inspection, but it made him wonder where these checks and balances were back when Harry had lived on a thin mattress in the cupboard under the bloody stairs back at the Dursleys. Severus had seen the official reports filed by Harry's teachers in his old universe, and back then his inquiry into why no one followed up on them had been met with a pathetic "he must have fallen through the cracks". He presumed what they actually meant was that they prioritised other children over a call for the privileged class in Little Whinging. No one ever wanted to believe something so heinous could happen in a place like Privet Drive, and this social worker's presence, in the dirty city of Cokeworth, certainly supported his previous claim.

"Edith Baker," she formally introduced herself. "And as you know, I'll be handling the adoption of Harry James Potter–" her eyes flickered between the two teens standing in the entryway, eventually falling on Harry, who gave a little smile, "–into your care, Mr Snape."

"Severus. Please call me Severus." Using his given name like that went against his usual etiquette, but something about the woman screamed at him to appear less formal, and more accommodating, than normal "And please let us know what, if anything, you need from us for the inspection."

The clipboard in her hand made its first appearance, and she flipped the front cover letter, revealing a checklist of sorts she presumably had to follow. There were already lines of scribbled notes in the margins, most likely from her observations of the neighbourhood she made while waiting for them outside.

So nothing good, Severus reasoned to himself. Not off to a promising start.

"I require access to every room in the home… bedroom, bathroom, closets. I'll be looking for things like proper clothing, adequate food and cleanliness, and overall… safety," she instructed, putting something at the top of the checklist that Severus couldn't read from his view. With the paperwork started, she finally looked up and turned between Mae and Dudley. "I'm sorry, but who resides in the home full-time? Or full-time, besides the boarding school?

"I know you do not." She pointed her pencil at Lupin – and suddenly Severus would have killed almost anyone to know what they had talked about on the stoop – then swung it between Dudley and Mae. "But who are you two?"

Severus gestured to Dudley. "This is Harry's cousin Dudley. He also attends our boarding school and visits frequently during the summer or on holidays.

"And this is my girlfriend, Mae." He confidently wrapped his arm around her shoulders, assuring her he would not downplay their relationship to the social worker. She would remain a part of Harry's life for as long as she wanted Severus. "She's staying here for a few days to celebrate the New Year."

"My notes make no mention of a girlfriend." She quickly flipped through the file she had stored underneath to the clipboard. "But we have already approved you as a single man to adopt, so I don't anticipate any problems. I will need to interview her today if that's alright."

"Absolutely," Mae and Severus said, in unison, and the rest of the group laughed at the irony. Or everyone except for Ms Baker.

She did not allow Severus to join her during the inspection but requested Harry to accompany her into every room. So Severus, Mae, Dudley, and Lupin waited for them to return in the sitting room for them to return, with Dudley and Lupin on the sofa discussing the rumours of Hagrid's attempt to persuade Albus to allow students to raise their own bowtruckles next year, and Mae leaning against the bookcase watching Severus pace the length of the room.

"You're going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep going at this rate," Mae teased, in her best effort to distract him from what was going on upstairs. "Everything is going to be fine. Harry is already seventeen. They're going to be checking for outlet covers and bed rails. You've been wonderful to him. He has his own bedroom, clean clothes, plenty of healthy foods here and at school, and you make sure he gets to his treatments on schedule. This is probably more of a formality than anything."

All of her points were entirely true, and even without the formality of the papers, Severus considered Harry his son. But he wanted Harry to feel safe and secure, and Severus knew he needed the official papers to do so.

"How are you going to keep her out of the cellar?" Dudley asked, rather unhelpfully. "Gonna be honest, that'll be a difficult one to explain. At best it looks like you've got some weird hobby. And at worst… Well, it looks like you're cooking drugs."

Great. That's exactly what I need.

Lupin turned and uninvitingly joined the conversation. "You must have warded it with at least an anti-muggle charm."

"It's complicated." Severus rubbed the back of his neck with his hand after running it over his face, swiping his long hair to the side for some extra air. "To put it bluntly, there can be no… incantations… in or onto the home."

It took a second for the other wizard to understand his meaning, a testament to the man's pitiful intelligence, and he glanced at the ceiling for confirmation once he caught on.

Subtle.

Severus gave a nod. "I have it covered though. For as dubious as my solicitor seems… and he truly is… he has previously provided documentation to explain any unusual equipment in my home. If anyone should ask, I teach a summer course on–" he hesitated, averting his eyes to avoid seeing the reaction to the rest of Silas's crazy plan, "–medieval alchemy and those are part of my research for my syllabus."

"That's… unique…" Lupin was the first to respond to the news, which irritated Severus for reasons he couldn't explain.

"And the department approved this?" Mae added. Severus nodded once more. "See? I told you this inspection is a formality. They would never approve something so… crazy sounding… if it weren't for the fact that Harry will literally be able to decide where to live for himself in… what… only three months following the hearing.

"You're all right, Sev." She gently ran his hand up his spine, sending a shiver throughout his body. "She'll do the inspection, sign off on the paperwork, and then we will all wait all the way until April to get it legally signed. You love him, Severus. Everyone can see it. And in the end that's what matters."

From his right side, Mae's arms moved to wrap around his waist, filling in the gap of his heart where he felt most doubt – doubt in the system to finally do right by Harry, and doubt in himself – and he tried not to think about anything but the feeling of those warm arms promising to stand next to him throughout it all. To support him, in whatever way he needed it.

The inspection itself didn't take long, no longer than Mae's tour of their tiny home, but to Severus it felt like he spent an eternity waiting for them to reach the sitting room.

When Harry finally rejoined the other, he stood opposite Severus until Mae and Maxie went into the kitchen. He then approached Severus languidly and leaned in for an awkward side hug.

Despite himself, knowing how little privacy the kitchen door provided, Severus motioned for everyone to follow him to the back garden, or what vaguely classified as one, immediately wishing he could cast an impervious charm to block the misty rain that had begun sometime during the inspection. Without thinking twice, he removed the winter coat he'd forgotten to take off from their morning walk and put it around Harry, bringing it up to cover as much of his head as possible.

"Are you alright?" He asked the young wizard intently, pretending, for a moment, that Dudley and Lupin did not exist.

"She asked to see–"

"I don't need any specifics," Severus interrupted. He could fill in the blanks of what happened during the inspection upstairs by his future son's expression. Edith Baker had taken the opportunity alone to interview Harry, and Severus would be a fool to think the woman didn't know how to uncover, and interpret, any hidden meaning within a subject's remarks. "I just need to know if you're alright."

Harry's head bobbed, although not nearly as decisively as Severus had wanted.

"She's nice." Harry took a deep breath and exhaled deeply. "Really, she is. She asked how I got to be in your care this year, and how I felt about living here. She asked about–" his eyes went to Dudley and then quickly back to Severus, "–about living with my aunt and uncle. I didn't go into any details about it… figured it doesn't matter much now, does it? And no good could come from it, anyway. But I think she knew more than she let on. The way she worded some of her questions was a little… strange."

A loud bang from behind them caused both Harry and Severus to jump and spin around. The rubbish bin next to Dudley swayed, and it didn't take Severus's excellent spy skills to know the other boy had kicked it. And kicked it hard. No one acknowledged the action, nor the implication of Harry's statement about his relatives. Harry had put it the best: nothing good could come out of it now. Dudley had worked hard in the past year to atone for his misdeeds against Harry, and Severus suspected they had been forgiven; not only because of how close the boys had become, but because of Harry's forgiving nature, which Severus had also benefited from on more occasions than he deserved.

"Oh, yeah," Harry added, almost as an afterthought. "If she asks, I'm totally excited to take your Medieval Alchemy class this summer. Whatever the bloody hell that is, when she asked how I felt, it seemed like the right answer."

The rest of the group burst out laughing. A genuine, deep laugh that connected them all by an inside joke that Harry couldn't fully appreciate yet.

Severus clapped a hand on Harry's back. "You did well."

A minute later, the door to the house opened and Edith led them all back in, thanking Severus for his integrity by moving out of earshot of her conversation with Mae.

"I believe I have everything I need," she said as she rounded the corner to retrieve her coat and scarf. "You should hear from my office shortly after the New Year."

Severus and Harry exchanged a look, and Severus shook his head to warn Harry not to ask how they did. Naturally, being the true Gryffindor he was, he didn't listen. "So, how'd we do?"

"I'm sure you'll understand that it's not exactly a pass-fail type of situation. They reached these decisions after careful evaluation of various matters." She paused for a second, peering at the five pairs of eyes staring at her, then flipped the first page on the clipboard. "Having said that, nothing concerning arose during the home inspection or during either interview conducted today, and I suspect Mister Elms will have some news for you soon. Eighteen April, correct?"

"Yeah," Harry answered proudly, drawing his shoulders back to stand tall.

"I thought so," Edith replied. She tightened her scarf around her neck and clutched her clipboard to her chest. "I do believe that will be a fantastic day for everybody here."

When he heard those words, Severus felt like a boulder had been lifted from his chest, and his quick "Thank you, Ms Baker," hardly seemed adequate enough to convey his gratitude.

The door had no sooner closed when Snape turned to his other uninvited houseguest and demanded, in a far warmer manner than he would have a few months ago, "Now tell me, what the hell are you doing here, Lupin? And what did you and Miss Baker talk about outside!"

Severus allowed Lupin to crash their New Year's Eve dinner. He'd almost got out of the whole ordeal by having to ask Harry to step outside in order to multiply their food again, except Harry insisted it wasn't a bother and the long-story explanation of why Harry had to stay outside while Severus performed the spell made Lupin want on staying to ensure Harry's safety. Despite his desire to, Severus did not point out how Harry's accidental magic incident occurring over two days ago made Lupin late to the game; a small step in the right direction towards establishing peace between the two adult wizards still counted as forward progress.

Lupin stayed until around nine o'clock, longer than Severus wanted in a house already too cramped for two full-fledged adults and two adolescent boys on the verge of adulthood. Severus and Mae ended up hiding away in his bedroom – and not in a way he would have preferred – to allow Harry and Lupin the space and privacy they needed to catch up on the week since Christmas; because regardless of how long the last week may have felt, they were all in Hub only six days ago.

Around about an hour before midnight, Severus and Mae cuddled on the sofa, Mae's head on Severus's lap, to watch the New Year countdown on the television, per Mae's insistence. On the floor to the right of the fireplace, Harry and Dudley were engaged in a card game of War.

Harry gave a firm slap to Dudley's hand after his ten beat Dudley's six. "Gotcha again," he said, victoriously. "That's seven in a row. This is gonna be a quick game, Big D."

Severus peered over the top of the Potions Journal he was pretending to read through the noise of Harry's game and Mae's television show. "You are aware that there is no tangible skill required for that game, correct? And that, statistically speaking, a 'quick game' is unlikely."

Harry shrugged, in a fun 'I'll take whatever win I can get' kind of way.

"Is there a wizarding version of that game?" Mae asked. "I saw all the moving pictures at… uh… the shopping place we went to."

"Diagon Alley," Harry supplied, throwing down his eighth win in a row – a Queen over Dudley's two, hardly cause to celebrate in Severus's opinion. "And could you imagine fifty-two voices constantly trash-talking each other? It'd be pure chaos."

"There is a version." Dropping the journal to his lap, careful to avoid Mae's head, Severus explained the game he'd played as a child, "The wizarding one is a combination of the muggle card game and Wizards Chess. You have a set of stagnant cards – meaning they are not enchanted to speak – and a set of pieces to match each card. You play similarly as the muggle version, except whenever a card is placed down, the accompanying figures follow and battle between the players. Obviously, the lower ranked piece always loses, however, they don't know that and they put on a good show during battle."

Mae pushed herself up off Severus's lap. "That's so barbaric. Why does it have to be so violent?"

"The game is called War, what else would you expect?" Severus argued. "Honestly, the part I'm surprised about is the more muggle methods they use in combat. They tend to favour muggle weapons over a wand, and I'm not sure I've seen any feature an all-magical arena."

They fell into a comfortable silence, Severus returning to his reading and listening to Harry win another four out of the next seven rounds of cards. Mae, on the other hand, remained tense. She sat rigidly upright on the sofa with her hands fidgeting on her lap and staring off at the bookcase past the television, completely unaware of Severus watching her out of the corner of his vision.

He was just about to ask her if she was alright when she whispered, "Who did you think was waiting for us at the door? Instead of Remus and the social worker."

The room went almost deathly still; the sound of Harry and Dudley's cards shuffling stopped, and even the television volume seemed to drop, though Severus was certain it was his ears and not the television.

"Death Eaters," Harry repeated his assumption from earlier. "They're–"

"The people from my past," Severus finished, bringing his right leg beneath his left so he could properly face her, refusing to lie to her anymore. "Since I had to deactivate several powerful protection wards on my home, some people who couldn't discover its location before can do so now. I thought…"

He trailed off, unsure of how to continue his explanation. How could he say that he thought they had tracked him down to kill him? The notion wasn't entirely without its merit. Albus and the DMLE were adamant that increased Death Eater activities had caused the strange incidents happening lately; by those who were looking to take over where Voldemort failed. And being followed, possibly by someone from their former ranks, was what led Jugson and Gibbons into hiding, and subsequently, to track down Severus to ask for his help. Even so, how could he tell his girlfriend, his future son, and the other teenager who had become a member of their unique family, that his first reaction had been him being hunted to be killed?

"How do you know we're safe?"

Mae's question may have saved Severus from finishing his turbulent thought, but it triggered a whole different fear inside of him. How could he keep them safe, especially once they left Spinner's End and he could no longer stay close to them?

Harry and Dudley would be back at Hogwarts in a matter of days as long as Harry's magical regiment continued to work. Even if Hogwarts had its own security issues recently, they would be safest there and Severus would be close to keep a watch over them.

But Mae would leave tomorrow night to go back to her life in Guildford, where she would see hundreds of people every day – patients, patient families, and strangers – without Severus's awareness. After exposing her to their world in Diagon Alley, he'd be a fool to leave her exposed to any potential danger, and Jugson and Gibbons got close enough to harm her if they had wanted to. So how could he keep her safe without either ending their relationship or scaring her out of her normal life?

His gaze skimmed her face, noting the tension in her furrowed brows, her moistened brown eyes, and her tight lips. Travelling down, he landed on the pear-shaped Azunite necklace resting delicately between her collarbones.

"May I?" He asked gently, motioning to the piece of jewellery he had given her for Christmas.

As a sign of the trust she placed in him, she unclasped the chain and set it down in his open palm, without asking for an explanation beforehand.

"Harry?"

Harry didn't need any further explanation either. "I'll be right back," he murmured, and took off to the back garden with one of Severus's old silver blankets – one he'd taken to bringing around with him everywhere since being temporarily separated from his magical ones – wrapped around his shoulders.

Dudley and Mae both stared at him, neither removing their attention from Severus as he clasped the necklace in his left hand and pointed his wand at it with his right. "Portus," he muttered towards the necklace, and when it glowed, he took Mae's palm, wrapped it around the necklace, and said, "Danger Sev."

The necklace immediately heated, but he kept his grip on Mae's hand to keep the object wedged between their palms until it cooled a second later.

"Dudley," Severus instructed, his eyes fixed on Mae's, "please go tell Harry it's safe to return."

"We'll give you guys a minute," Dudley responded, and Severus was relieved that he had realized the hidden meaning behind his words.

Once alone, Severus let go of Mae's hand. "I cannot say for certain that we are safe, but I can get you to safety should you need it," he said, shifting his attention to the necklace again. "If you should ever feel threatened, all you have to do is wrap your hands around the necklace… it can be on your neck as you do so… and say 'Danger Sev'. It will transport you to wherever I am. Fair warning, travel by Portkey, which is what I've made your necklace into, feels similar to apparation."

"How am I supposed to explain disappearing out of nowhere?"

A low chuckle slipped his lips at this being her first question regarding the entire process. Not who would try to get her? Not how the magic will know where he is? But what will happen when she leaves?

"I suspect that if you feel the need to use this, you will be in the company of someone who knows about magic."

"True," Mae mumbled.

When she hesitated, Severus silently prayed to anyone who would listen that she would think he was worth it – worth the trouble, worth the danger – because he loved her too much to let her go.

"I love you, Mae–"

He didn't get to finish his proclamation before her lips met his and she poured herself into the kiss, removing any of his doubt over her feelings wavering.

"I take it everything went well," Harry's sarcastic voice broke up their moment as he reentered the room with five champagne flutes levitating in front of him. "Dudley told me what you did. Honestly, if I would have suggested a Portkey if I'd known you hadn't already given her one."

"Of course, you would have," Severus mused. His focus narrowed onto the glass Harry expertly levitated to the table without spilling a drop. "Why are there five?"

"Well," Harry pointed to four of them, "I filled four with champagne, just in case you changed your mind on me having one just this time-"

"I haven't."

Harry then pointed to the fifth glass. "And this one has apple juice in case you haven't."

Severus reached for the extra glass of champagne and drank it in one go, grimacing after he swallowed it.

"Did you pick a crappy champagne?" Mae asked with a laugh. She took hers off the table, smelled it, and frowned. "Smells good to me."

"I don't like champagne of any kind."

She set the glass down on the table with more force than was necessary, sending a drip down the side and onto the table. "Since when?"

"I've never liked it," he informed her, casually. "It has too many bubbles."

Mae looked skeptically at him. "But I saw you drink it at my dad's house on Christmas Eve. You had the whole glass and not a single face was made."

"Yes," he said with a smirk forming at the edges of his mouth, "because my girlfriend's father served it to me, and I was not about to turn it down."

"You…" she started to say, then opened and closed her mouth twice before finding her next words. "I can't decide if I want to tell you I love you or that you're a complete idiot."

"Probably the second," Harry chimed in.

Severus threw a pillow at Harry, who was sitting on the floor, narrowly missing his outstretched feet. "This from the person who has had the shortest relationship out of us all. What are you and Luna at? A month?"

Harry scowled. "More like two."

"We're down to the last minutes of 1997," the anchor on the television they'd forgotten about suddenly announced, "grab your champagne, and stay tuned because we're going to ring in the New Year with a bang!"

The countdown to 1998 was unlike anything Severus had ever experienced. Eager to start anew, they watched the footage on the telly and shouted out the numbers with the anchor:

Five… four… three… two… one…

Three glasses of champagne and a glass of juice clinked together in the air between them, and then Severus pulled Mae in for a New Year's kiss with the sound of fireworks from the television in the background.

"Happy New Year, Sev."

Suddenly, the sound of the celebration was drowned out by the deafening roar of the floo coming to life.

"What the hell?" Mae exclaimed, holding her hands up to shield herself from the threat she didn't realize was non-existent. "Is that a–a head in there?!"

Sure enough, Severus saw Albus's head floating inside the hearth, his lips moving, but he couldn't make out the words with Mae rapid-firing questions at him and his own mind racing with the memory of last year – of Voldemort's massacre.

"Albus!?" Severus raised his voice above all the other commotion. The conversations around him immediately ceased, and Dudley clicked off the television. Severus sent him a silent thank you before demanding from his employer, "What in bloody hell is going on?"

"Severus," the floating head said, "I apologise for interrupting what appears to be a lovely celebration, but I'm afraid there's been an incident you need to know about."

"Go on."

Clearly aware that the news he had would shatter their festivities, the flaming head heaved a sigh and announced, "Jugson and Gibbons were found dead tonight."