“Emmeline!?” he cried nervously.

“Oh, Severus!'' Emmeline cried from the top of the stairs. The man rushed up them with a scowl.

“You're supposed to be resting!” he growled.

“I know but- oh Severus I’ve made a terrible mistake,” Emmeline admitted as she walked down the hall towards Harry’s door. “I… I told him about Black.”

“What do you mean?” Severus demanded.

“I told him about Black being his godfather.” Emmeline cried. Severus' face relaxed. “He was so furious, Severus. Everything started shaking, I was worried the house would collapse! Then he came up here and shut himself up in his room. I tried to get him to come out-”

“Shush.” Severus proclaimed as he half pushed, half guided her into his bedroom. “Lie down. Get some rest.”

“Oh no Severus I'm fine on the couch-” Emmeline began worriedly.

“Shush.” Severus admonished again. “Lie. down.”

“Oh alright.” Emmeline huffed. “But what about Harry?”

“I will handle Harry,” Severus assured her. “Get some sleep.” Emmeline settled into the bed with a groan and fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Severus clenched his jaw. Part of him wanted to march in there and box Harry's ear for panicking her like that, after specifically telling the boy that she needed rest. But he knew that wouldn't solve anything. So he marched up to the boy's door and pulled it open, not giving a care to his privacy as Emmeline had. The teen was sitting in the dormer seat of his window, gazing out to the sea with a sullen air.

“Come along.” Severus proclaimed, startling the boy so much he nearly fell off the seat.

“What?” Harry demanded rather rudely, though with a note of confusion.

“Come along,” Severus repeated. Harry scowled and debated telling the man to piss off. But the stern gaze of his potions master, with his faint scowl and folded arms, told Harry he wouldnt enjoy that outcome much. So he sulenly clambered off the seat and followed the man. He led Harry downstairs and out to the front lawn. Then he grasped Harry’s shoulder the way he had when they were heading to Diagon alley earlier. Harry was suddenly worried.

“Um… sir? Are we going somewhere?” he asked.

“Yes,” Seveurs confirmed.

“W-where?” Harry asked, cursing his nerves. Was Snape sending him away? Was he taking him back to Dumbledore and demanding he be put somewhere else?!

“Are you ready?” Severus asked him casually. Harry nodded slowly. So they were sucked into the tight tube of apperation. When they landed Harry blinked in awe. They were at the very top of the cliffs of Dover. The wind was whipping all over and the burning sunset had set the sea ablaze. Suddenly his professor took a step right up to the end of the cliff. Then he took a deep breath and screamed at the top of his lungs. Harry leaned away from the man in sheer bewilderment. Had he gone mad?! As he finished the man let out a surprisingly relaxed-sounding sigh. Then he turned to his young charge with a raised eyebrow. “Well?”

“Er…”

“Try it, Harry,” the man said, “it is surprisingly effective.” Harry gave his potions professor a skeptical look before he gazed out over the edge of the cliff. Then he took a deep breath. His scream was much angrier than Severus had been. But as the last of his breath left him, so did most of the anger. His shoulder slumped as he stared out into the red water and slowly dimming sky. “Better?”

“Yeah,” Harry admitted in awe. That worked? How? 

“Come.” Severus proclaimed. “Let's get some dinner.” Then he led Harry down the path. Harry could see the lights in the distance and followed the man towards them. It wasn’t a short walk, about 40 minutes, but the summer heat was cooled by the wild winds atop the cliffs, making the walk a lot less strenuous and more relaxing. Snape led him to a small white building, called The White Horse. Harry glanced around at the rustic decor with wonder. 

“Half a pint of your craft, a small coke and two orders of fish and chips,” Snape ordered effortlessly.

“Catch of the day is sea bass!” the waitress supplied with a grin.

“Of course, it is,” Severus muttered under his breath. “That's fine,” he said louder. Harry leaned back in his chair, soaking up the cozy atmosphere. Then his professor suddenly let out a tired sigh and buried his face in his hands. “Today has been very long,” he muttered.

“Sir,” Harry began, “may I ask you something?”

“Harry, if this is more about myself and Emmeline, please don’t start, I am really not in the mood.” Severus proclaimed, with his eyes still covered by his hands.

“It's not,” Harry said though he did still have questions about them. Perhaps another time. “I wanted to ask… have you always lived in Dover, sir?”

“No,” Severus admitted as his hands finally fell away. “I was born and raised in a small town in Yorkshire called Cokeworth. I bought the cottage several years ago from an old Hogwarts professor.”

“Really? Who?” Harry asked in confusion.

“Her name was Riley Jenkins.” Severus supplied. “She taught defence for a year.”

“Ah,” Harry said with a chuckle. That explained why he'd never heard of her. “And she sold you the cottage?”

“For knuts of the galleon.” Severus admitted with a chuckle. “She was originally from America. The cottage had belonged to her grandmother. But her tenure at Hogwarts… did not end well.”

“Does it ever?” Harry questioned with a snort, “for defence professors anyway.”

“Indeed,” Severus remarked with a chuckle. “She found the entire experience altogether too much. She decided to sell all of her assets here and wash herself of England completely as soon as possible. So I bought it for a fraction of the market value. Last I heard, she was studying Magizoology in Australia.”

“Wow,” Harry remarked with a note of surprise. “When you said completely you meant completely.”

“Quite.” Severus agreed with a chuckle. The waitress returned with their order, which had Harry's mouth watering as soon as it landed. He was starving! He dug in with relish. “Slow down before you choke Harry!”

“Sorry,” Harry said after a rough swallow, “I haven't eaten since breakfast!” Severus rolled his eyes.

“Teenagers,” he muttered. Harry scowled before he swallowed again.

“But how come you know so much about the area and where everything is if you’ve only lived here for a few years?” Severus’s gaze grew far away.

“My father used to take me here on holidays when I was younger.”

“Was he from Dover?”

“No. He was also born and bred in Cokeworth.” Severus said plainly. “But he was stationed here during and after the second world war.”

“He fought in World War II?” Harry asked in awe. Severus nodded.

“He was an R.A.F. pilot.”

“Cool!” Harry cried in amazement. He’d always heard so many interesting stories about the R.A.F. pilots. “Did he fight in the battle of Britain?!”

“No, he turned eighteen and gained his pilot's licence in 1944,” Severus said with a chuckle. “He did fly relief supplies to France and helped repair planes during the Berlin airlift, however.” Harry grinned.

“What about your mum? What did she do?”

“My mother was a pureblood heiress,” Severus informed him with a chuckle. Harry blinked.

“What? Like Malfoy?” he demanded in shock. “But… your dad was a muggle, right? How did-”

“They met while my mother was on holiday,” Severus explained. “They always told it as ‘love at first sight’.” Severus proclaimed, though by his tone Harry knew the man didn’t really believe that one.

“So… what happened?” Harry asked. 

“When my grandfather found out about their little summer romance he forced her to make a choice.” Severus paused and gave a rather uncharacteristic shrug. “She chose love. My mother was disowned, My father married her, and they moved back to Cokeworth. The rest, as they say, is history.”

“That's kinda sad,” Harry remarked. “Your mother being disowned, I mean. Just cause she loved someone.”

“Yes. but my mother never saw it like that.” Severus muttered as his eye grew slightly more wistful.

“Do they still live in Cokeworth?” Harry asked. 

“My father does,” Severus said quietly. “He's in his late sixties.”

“What about your mum?” Harry asked with a frown.

“She died,” Severus mumbled quietly. “Just after I graduated Hogwarts. Lung cancer, likely due to exposure from the coke works. My father worked there for some time until it was closed down in the sixties.”

“Oh,” Harry said with a sad frown. “I'm sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for Harry,” Severus said before giving the teen a pointed look.

“I know I know: 'I’m not responsible for my family’s deaths',” he repeated for what seemed like the hundredth time. Severus huffed at his tone. “What’s your dad like?” The man grew very quiet, staring into his half-drunk beer with a nebulous expression.

“I… don't know.” Severus finally said.

“Huh?” Harry asked in confusion. “How can you not know?”

“When my mother died, my father took it quite hard. Specifically, he turned to drink to cope with her loss. He became a rather different person when he drank. I have not spoken to him in many years. And the last time was… not pleasant. So I am not sure what he is like anymore. I can tell you in my youth he was a stern but fair man who enjoyed fishing, though he was terrible at it, and chess.” Harry slumped down a bit more.

“That's even sadder,” he remarked. Severus hummed in thought and the pair finished their meal in relaxed silence. As they were finishing Severus waved over the waitress again. 

“Can we have a toffee pudding with cream and another order of fish and chips wrapped to go please.” Harry grinned. As the toffee pudding landed he reached out from it, but Severus pulled the desert away. “Excuse me,” he began casually, “but I seem to recall telling you to keep Emmeline on the couch.” he broke up the pudding with his spoon, “sending her into a panic outside your bedroom door for an hour is decidedly not that.” Harry blinked at him in utter shock before he slumped down into his seat. Then he sullenly slid down his chair, avoiding Snape’s gaze as the man ate his pudding. As soon as he finished and paid the bill he shoved the fish in chips into Harry’s hand. “You’re going to deliver that and apologize to her when we get home, Harry.”

“Yessir,” he muttered in irritation. The professor rolled his eyes indulgently as they walked out into the surprisingly cool summer night.

“The next time we come, I'll buy you a pudding,” Severus promised him with a chuckle. Harry couldn’t help the little smile. Then Severus's hand descended onto his shoulder again. He gave his professor an inquisitive look. The man looked back at him for a moment, similarly contemplative, before he cleared his throat. “Ready?” Harry nodded. And they disappeared with a crack.

Emmeline looked up from her half-eaten chips with a smile. Then she pouted.

“Really Severus I have no problem staying on the couch.”

“Not until you recover.'' Severus insisted as he lay his blanket and pillow out across the sofa. 

“Fine, you stubborn old arse.” Emmeline complied with a chuckle. Severus rolled his eyes. “Thank you for supper.”

“You're very welcome.”

“What did you say to Harry to get him to calm down?”

“Nothing,” Severus admitted. Emmeline blinked. “I just shared a little technique my father used to suggest when I was a sullen teenager in need of an attitude adjustment.”

“I see,” Emmeline said with a chuckle. They really were surprisingly alike. "Severus… I've been meaning to ask."

"I see the desire to play maddening games of twenty questions is contagious. Perhaps it's a new epidemic." Severus drawled in irritation.

"Harry was being nosy again?" Emmeline questioned with a chuckle. Severus sighed.

"He wanted to know where I was from, which led to questions about my family. Honestly, the boy's curiosity is insatiable."

"Well, this question is for you about Harry." Emmeline offered. The man waved his assent. "Why don't you call him Potter anymore?" Severus blinked then shifted his stance.

"Harry said I reminded him of his uncle when I called him Potter." Severus mumbled. "and since the boy is taking his family's deaths ridiculously hard, I figured calling him by his first name would be better." Severus explained. Emmeline pulled a face.

"His uncle called his Potter?" Severus nodded. "How utterly bizarre."

"Is it?" Severus asked casually 

"Do you have any uncles, Severus?"

"None that I know of."

"I have three, and I can tell you, not one of them has ever called me Vance. And especially considering that the man raised him." Emmeline shook her head. "Surely he couldn’t have called his own nephew Potter the whole time. Maybe it was just when he misbehaved."

"Perhaps," Severus murmured thoughtfully. "Has he spoken to you about his family?"

"Vaguely. He mentioned helping his aunt in the kitchen a lot." Emmeline recalled with a frown.

"Yes." Severus agreed. Then his face grew rather conniving. "I think it's time Harry's little game became reciprocal."

"What? Are you going to trade questions?" Emmeline demanded with a chuckle.

"Yes." Severus declared. "That is exactly what I'm going to do."