Chapter 4 – Upstaged

Severus should have known that Potter could charm his hapless, muggle family. Despite his words of warning, Nana Bea and Alfred were taken in by the boy, who’d clearly inherited his father’s ability to dazzle the weak-willed. Alfred was feeble-minded to begin with, but Severus expected Nana Bea to be made of sterner stuff.

When Severus had first moved in with Nana Bea after his fifth year at Hogwarts, he was stunned at how quickly she got the measure of him. Living with her for two years also showed how discerning she was to people trying to pull a fast one on her. It took Severus years and every ounce of Slytherin cunning to try and fool her, no easy feat given he couldn’t tell her about magic.

It galled Severus that Potter managed it so quickly. He hated Potters and their charm. First, James Potter, who bullied him mercilessly under everyone’s noses, got away with blaming Severus. James Potter took his best friend and turned her against him. She had been like a sister to Severus, and though he knew he had been the one to push her away, he had hoped they might reconcile one day. But then she agreed to date Potter, and Severus decided to join the Death Eater ranks.

Now, here was Harry Potter, taking Severus’ family, fooling them into thinking he was hardworking, harmless and innocent. This was intolerable. Potter couldn’t act like the perfect great-grandson to Nana Bea. He needed Potter to be his usual bratty self so that they would never ask after the boy again.

He needed to separate Potter from Alfred’s youngest girls, Laurel, Bethany and Alexandra, who stuck to the boy like shadows, and Maya, Jacqueline’s daughter. He couldn’t blame them, really. They were impressionable young children. He was only grateful Sarah was more intelligent and remained polite and distant from the brat. He always liked Sarah. She was studious and clever. Not the typical gossipy girls that he had to put up with at Hogwarts sometimes. Had she been magical, she would have been a good fit for Ravenclaw. And never showed off like the Granger chit. She was in her final year in college and was studying for her A levels, so spent most of her time in her room revising. Severus approved of his studious second cousin.

It had started off with Potter helping Jacqueline in the kitchen. Helping her slice vegetables for stews and such. Then pitching in to look after the children. Alexandra spent more time with Potter than her own siblings, much to the family’s bemusement. Severus didn’t know the toddler well, but she was apparently clingy, not going to anyone but Alfred and Nana Bea. Alfred told him Gloria often complained about how her youngest daughter abandoned her for her father. But since whatever magic Potter wrought, she refused to go to anyone but Potter, though Nana Bea was still a strong contender.

Severus assured himself that the novelty of having his long-awaited son had everyone exclaiming over him all the time. However, what surprised Severus was how little Prince Potter had complained. With Gloria busy at the hospital, Nana Bea in her wheelchair and Alfred and Bartholomew at the Veterinary practice, that only left Jacqueline at home to cook. Though Severus could help in the kitchen, handy as he was with a knife, cooking was not a skill he had mastered, though he had no doubt that he could do so if he put his mind to it. He simply never needed to. During the summer, he made do with sandwiches, ready meals from the local supermarket or takeaway. The rest of the year he spent at Hogwarts, where the school House-Elves took care of, well, everything, really.

Jacqueline was simply the most capable of them all to cook for them. That didn’t necessarily mean that she was a good cook. Her food was borderline inedible, to be quite frank. Sadly, she was better than anyone else in the family. It was a good thing that Severus never had high expectations for a Christmas Dinner, which he dutifully choked down without complaint, just like the rest of the family.

Potter was probably used to the best food with his family, who indulged his every whim and cooked whatever he wanted. Severus was glad Potter had enough preservation to understand that if he dared complain, then he would strip the boy a new hide.

“What are you making for lunch today, Mum?” One of Jacqueline’s twin boys, Andrew, said, coming into the Sitting room.

Both her boys were football mad and seemed to relish any chance of using the fields to play football, no matter the weather. If it rained too hard, they would use one of the empty stables. Today was dry, miraculously, but it had rained quite hard yesterday, so the ground was muddy. Though the boys had removed their shoes, their jeans carried the evidence of last night’s weather.

“No chippies,” Jacqueline said without looking up from her Take That magazine, answering the unasked question.

“Can we make pasta?” Maya asked, coming up behind them. Though not as football-mad as her brothers, she was still more sporty than Alfred’s girls and fiercely competitive with her brothers.

“We?”

“What we make can’t be any less palatable than your cooking,” Brian smirked.

“Palatable? Big words, little man,” Jacqueline laughed.

“All we need to do is boil some pasta and add a jar of Dolmio,” Andrew told her.

“We don’t have any Dolmio sauce, and I’m not buying any. We have fresh homegrown tomatoes; we can make our own sauce,” Jacqueline said, going back to her magazine.

“There’s no point in having fresh homegrown ingredients if you’re going to butcher them,” Andrew pointed out.

“Or burn them,” Brian added.

“Or boil them into mush,” the words slipped out from Severus’ mouth before he could even think about it.

All occupants looked at him with varying degrees of astonishment, and Severus had to fight back a flush that threatened to grace his cheeks. Jacqueline looked at him with a dropped jaw over her magazine.

“My apologies,” he mumbled, turning back to his Potions booked glamoured to look like a Chemistry book.

“Mutiny, revolt, dissent, defiance,” Jacqueline announced dramatically, throwing her magazine to the side.

“Food,” the children chorused together.

“All right, all right,” Jacqueline said. Then holding her hands to her sons, she said, “Help me up.”

Grabbing a hand each, the boys pulled her to her feet.

“Let’s go check what we have in the kitchen,” she threw over her shoulder as she ambled into the kitchen. “Where are the girls and Harry?”

“In the rabbit hutch,” Maya said promptly.

Nana Bea chuckled.

“Oh, those girls have your son wrapped around their fingers,” she said, turning to Severus.

He had to fight once more, this time from scowling.

“As long he’s staying out of trouble,” he harrumphed instead.

“Alfred’s been putting him to work around the farm. He’s helped muck out the stables and feed the animals. He collected the eggs from the henhouse and helped Alfred and Barry unload their equipment into the office. Alfred’s said Harry’s done more in the last two days than Jacky’s boys have in a month. All without complaining. Oh, and Jacky said she’s never had a more helpful assistant in the kitchen.”

Severus had to fight harder to keep his scowl in check.

“Glad to see the boy’s developing a solid work ethic,” Severus managed to choke out instead. The boy was a better actor than Severus anticipated. Surely, he would show his true colours soon enough.

ooOoo

Harry didn’t have to act as much as he thought he would. He found that he enjoyed being in the kitchen without Aunt Petunia breathing and berating him over his shoulder. Certainly, Jacky seemed to relish having a helper around mealtimes. Though her own kids helped around the kitchen and did chores when asked, it was not without complaints and grumbling before they reluctantly complied.

After Snape’s bitter diatribe, he thought he would have to work harder to win over Alfred and his brother-in-law, Barry, who was Jacky’s husband. Harry did the jobs they asked of him without complaint, and though Alfred (and Barry) looked over to see if he’d done them correctly, he didn’t think they checked on him because they didn’t trust him. Harry instead thought they checked because they thought he might need help.

And then there were the kids. Andrew and Brian were politely inquisitive but otherwise left Harry to it. Maya wasn’t too bad, though she followed her brothers around most of the time. Harry wasn’t a big fan of football and, when asked to play, preferred to be the goalkeeper. He hadn’t seen much of Sarah, Alfred’s oldest daughter, who reminded Harry of Hermione in her studiousness and drive. She wanted to become a doctor, and from what Harry had seen, she was single-minded enough to accomplish that. Thankfully, she wasn’t as uptight as Hermione could sometimes be.

However, Alfred’s other daughters had latched onto Harry, and he didn’t even know what they found interesting about him. Harry, likewise, found he didn’t mind that they hung around him. When not doing chores or helping in the kitchen, Harry spent the rest of the time with the girls in the rabbit hutch, constantly trying to persuade Beth not to sneak Marley, their oldest, black but greying rabbit, into the house, where they were forbidden to take him.

“Harry? I’m hungry,” Lexi said, pulling on Harry’s coat.

“So am I,” Laurel added.

“Let’s go inside then. See if Aunt Jacky needs help in the kitchen,” Harry said, straightening up.

“Piggyback,” Lexi demanded, holding out her arms.

Harry smiled but, obliging, knelt down with his back to her so she could jump on. He stood up, made sure her grip was tight, held onto her securely and jerked his head at the other two.

“Let’s go,” he said brightly.

To be honest, Jacky wasn’t the greatest of cooks, which Harry found odd since most of their ingredients came from the farm. The whole family preferred organic food to the pre-packaged stuff on supermarket shelves. Harry gathered that they had a trade with most neighbouring farms, so it was quite a close-knit community. Harry ate whatever was on his plate without objection, though. And Jacky filled his plate so much he never gave the leftovers a look of longing for seconds.

The Dursleys never cared if he ate enough, and Harry was grateful whenever he had food that complaining felt like sacrilege. After all, he could have been back in Privet Drive slaving away for his ungrateful relatives, a term they often assigned to Harry, who only punished him and never praised his efforts, never mind the results.

Upon entering the house, they all immediately took off their shoes and into house slippers specifically placed there for everyone. Harry even had his own, the sight of which brought a smile to his face every time.

“What’s for eating, Aunt Jacky?” Laurel asked, entering the kitchen.

Harry saw that everyone was already there, including Nana Bea and Snape. Jacky and her sons were rummaging through the kitchen cupboards.

“Well,” Jacky sighed, “we have plenty of bread and eggs. Some slices of cheese and tomatoes. Some leftover ham slices. We need to go shopping for more food, really, but that’ll take more patience than you lot have.”

“Omelette?” Maya suggested.

“I don’t want omelette,” Beth wrinkled her nose.

“You mean you don’t want Mum’s omelette,” Andrew smirked. He had to duck a tea towel his mother threw at him.

“Sandwiches then?” Nana Bea said resignedly.

Snape stayed silent as he watched everyone.

“Not enough cheese or ham slices,” Jacky shook her head. “Maybe we’ll get three or four sandwiches. Six if we’re stingy with the fillings.”

“We could boil some eggs and make egg mayonnaise sandwiches,” Harry suggested. “Or maybe fried eggs.”

“Mum can’t fry eggs,” Maya interrupted. “It’s like eating rubber. That’s why we all have cereal or toast in the morning.”

“I could fry the eggs if you want,” Harry offered.

They all turned to look at him.

“You can cook?” Laurel asked.

“Frying an egg can hardly constitute as cooking,” Snape scoffed.

“You try doing it then,” Nana Bea looked at Snape with a raised brow.

Snape couldn’t hold her gaze.

“Let Harry do the fried eggs,” Jacky suggested. “We’ll make ham and cheese sandwiches. We’ve got plenty of eggs, so we’ll also boil some eggs like Harry said. Now, who wants what?”

Harry wasn’t surprised to see Snape wanted sandwiches. Though, when Nana Bea said she’d try Harry’s eggs, he was touched.

“I’ll have fried eggs as well, Harry,” Jacky smiled brightly. “It’ll be nice to have someone else’s cooking for a change.”

“Us too,” Brian joked.

“Less talk, you,” Jacky shook her head. “My own children. No loyalty.”

“I want fry egg too, Harry,” Lexi piped up.

Harry smiled at the little girl. She was so cute. He moved towards the stove and pulled out the frying pan from the cupboard next to it. He had oil heating up in the pan and was cracking eggs expertly with one hand in no time. He was aware that Snape was boring his eyes into Harry’s back, but he ignored it. Frying eggs was easy.

“Go sit at the table, Lexi,” Harry said gently. “I don’t want you to get hurt with the hot oil here.”

“Okay,” Lexi nodded and sat in the chair next to Nana Bea. Harry didn’t notice the elderly woman watching him as he pulled out a second frying pan to have more eggs frying. Jacky had roped Andrew and Brian into assembling sandwiches with her. Sarah came down and was immediately told to help Andrew butter slices of bread for the sandwiches. Even Snape was tasked to slice tomatoes and onions for the sandwiches, which he did with the same precision as he did with potion ingredients.

Jacky and Maya were over at the conveyor toaster, adding in slices of bread only to have it slip on the other side of the belt and come out a nice golden brown colour. Soon enough, they had a massive mound of toast ready. Harry quickly looked in the fridge and saw button mushrooms and spring onions. He’d seen the spring onions growing in the gardens.  Seeing Snape was done with the chopping board and knife and helping butter the toast, Harry sneaked it over to himself and chopped and diced another onion, tomato, mushrooms and spring onions. Adding a knob of butter to one of the frying pans, he dumped a portion of onions, mushrooms and tomatoes into the pan, letting them cook whilst he cracked a few eggs into a separate bowl and whisked them together.

“Sarah, Brian, grab the plates and glasses. Andrew get the drinks out of the fridge,” Jacky ordered. “Oh damn, I forgot to put the eggs on to boil.”

“We have plenty of fried eggs,” Brian said. “Harry’s not stopped making them.”

Harry blinked as he realised he was making food on autopilot.

“Oh, sorry. Did I make too many?”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure Barry and Alfred will be along,” Jacky said dismissively. “All right, everyone, carry it all into the dining room, please.”

Although there was a small table and some chairs in the kitchen, with the number of people around all the time, the dining room was where they ate as a family.

Snape carried the platter of toast away, Nana Bea wheeling her chair behind him. A single plate of sandwiches that Harry suspected was more tomato and onion than ham and cheese was taken by Sarah.

Andrew, Brian and Maya carried the plates and glasses between them while Laurel and Beth followed with cutlery.

“Almost done, Harry?” Jacky asked, coming to stand beside him. “Oh, wonderful, you made omelettes as well.”

She blinked as Harry flipped the omelette without breaking it.

“Where did you learn to cook?”

Survival, Harry thought.

“My aunt, my mum’s elder sister, said it was a useful skill to learn,” Harry answered honestly. “She taught me some basics.”

“Maybe you could teach me a few things. It’ll stop that rabble from complaining all the time,” she said, jerking her head at the closed door.

The door opened on cue, and Andrew stuck his head through.

“Are you bringing those eggs through or not, Mother,” the sixteen-year-old mocked.

“Go sit your backside down,” Jacky sneered back just as mockingly. “Harry and I will be through in a minute. Ready, Harry?”

Harry nodded. He turned off the stove, added the last of the fried eggs to the plate already overflowing, and did the same with the omelette, which he folded in half and added to the second plate he’d placed next to the stove.

Jacky picked up the two plates of fried eggs in each hand while Harry followed behind with his plate of omelettes. They heard the front door open just as Jacky placed the fried eggs on the table.

“Food’s ready,” she yelled towards the front door. “Wash your hands and come through!”

They all winced at the suddenness of it.

They all waited patiently (just) for Alfred and Barry to come through. They returned a minute or two later with their sleeves rolled up and hands and faces scrubbed.

“Excellent,” Alfred said, rubbing his hands together. “What delicious crap have you made for us today?”

“Nana, look how they tease me,” Jacky shook her head. “You know, if you all find my cooking so abhorrent, you’re welcome to take over the kitchen anytime.”

“All right, all right, drama queen,” Alfred teased his sister. “We know you try. You’re the best of us, at least.”

“Can we start?” Brian said impatiently.

Barry and Alfred obligingly sat down in the only empty seats. Lexi had run over to Harry, who sat next to Jacky, so there was one seat next to Nana Bea and one on the other side of Snape.

“The eggs look all right,” Barry commented, reaching for the plate in front of them.

“See, Mum? This is what fried eggs are supposed to look like,” Andrew teased, holding the plate under her nose.

“Ah, I see. You mean they’re not supposed to have cremated edges?” Jacky shook her head in wonder.

“And look, the yolks are runny,” Laurel added, poking hers with a fork.

Brian snorted in laughter.

“This omelette is amazing,” Sarah raved. “It’s so fluffy. Dad, taste this.”

Alfred took half an omelette from the plate placed in front of him. Barry took the other half.

“Wow, this is good,” her husband complimented. “Jacky, love, you’ve definitely improved.”

Brian snorted. “Like Mum could cook like this.”

“Who made this?” Alfred asked curiously.

“Take a guess,” Jacky laughed.

“Well, Gloria’s usually quite good, but she’s not here,” Alfred reasoned. “And Nana, I love you, but you never made omelettes like this. Severus?”

Snape shook his head. He was the only one who took a sandwich.

“Sarah?” Alfred guessed.

She shook her head.

Alfred had a puzzled look on his face as he looked around the table. Harry stayed silent, pouring Lexi half a glass of Irn Bru she was allowed.

“It was Harry,” Beth burst out, egg yolk dripping down her chin.

“Clean your face, love,” Jacky advised, ripping off a bit of kitchen roll and holding it for her niece.

“Well done, Harry,” Alfred praised.

“You can make me an omelette like this any time,” Barry added around a mouthful.

Harry nodded his head, feeling pleased. He felt terrible for the teasing Jacky was enduring. Her cooking wasn’t great, but it wasn’t as bad as they were all making it out to be.

“I’m heading into Stockport after we’re done eating,” Jacky announced. “Who wants to come with me?”

Harry looked up from his plate and dared to answer, darting a glance towards Snape. “I’d like to go if Dad will let me.”

“Me too,” Lexi piped up.

“Of course,” Alfred rolled his eyes, though he didn’t seem annoyed.

“Why wouldn’t your dad let you go?” Jacky asked without expecting an answer.

Harry darted another glance towards Snape, who was glaring at him.

ooOoo

Of course Potter wanted to go out. A murderous psychotic Death Eater was scouring the country for him, but Prince Potter wanted to go shopping. The silly risks the boy wanted to take with his life were ridiculous.

Now, Potter put him in an awkward position where Severus would be the ogre if he disagreed. And they didn’t know that there was a murderer after Potter, so his refusal wouldn’t make sense.

“You could come with us,” Potter said, still looking at Snape hesitantly.

“Why not, Severus,” Jacqueline shrugged, beginning to collect the emptying plates and stacking them up.

“What did you need, Harry?” Severus asked, looking at the boy through narrowed eyes, the brat’s name still unnatural on his tongue.

Potter darted a glance around the table, everyone looking at them curiously.

“Er, Mum gave me some spending money, and I wanted to look at new shoes. And I still have to get a few Christmas presents,” the boy mumbled, not looking directly at anyone.

“I need to get some new pens and a notebook,” Sarah added.

“Oh, Mum, can you get some Pritt stick for me? And some more colourful cards?” Maya begged.

“Everyone just make a list of what you want,” Jacky ordered. “And whatever you want to eat for the next few days. Andrew, Brian, help me with the dishes, won’t you? I’ll check the pantry and see what we need to stock up on.”

Severus nodded. It would be better if he went along, loathe as he was to venture out. Christmas shopping in the wizarding world was horrendous. The muggle world, being infinitely more crowded, would be worse.

“Nana, did you need anything?” Jacqueline asked as she gathered all the glasses.

Alfred and Bartholomew quickly scribbled a few items down for Jacqueline.

Severus jerked his head towards Potter. He hastened to comply, scrambling out of his seat. He didn’t notice Alfred and Nana Bea looking after them as they left the room. He didn’t say anything until they entered the den, at which point Severus immediately put up a Silencing Charm and then rounded on Potter.

“What are you playing at, Potter?” he hissed.

“I’m here as your son,” Potter started defensively.

Distracted, Severus scowled. “So?”

“So,” Potter said slowly, looking at Severus as if he was being dumb, “it would look suspicious if I didn’t give you anything for Christmas.”

He was brought up short. He should have thought about that. Why hadn’t he?

“What can I get you that won’t make them suspicious?” Potter asked.

Severus looked at Potter dubiously as he thought hard. He would have to do the same for Potter, he realised. He’d already bought gifts for everyone else. For the children, he did the same as always; he gave them Christmas cards with £50 inside. The teens generally got to keep the money, whereas those under ten had their money kept safe by their parents. He also sent money every year for their birthdays for the same amount.

“A book of some sort,” Snape said dismissively. He doubted he would enjoy anything Potter got him. “What about you?”

Potter looked surprised. Severus doubted it was genuine.

“Just get a card and put some money in it. I’ll give it back to you,” Potter said just as dismissively. “Or I can give you some cash, and you can stick that in a card, so you’ll only be giving me my own money back.”

“We’ll do something like that,” Severus agreed slowly. “What else do you need?”

Potter gave him a look of confusion.

“There was another reason you wanted to go out,” he pointed out.

“I still needed to get something for my, er, relatives,” Potter admitted slowly. “I usually do an owl order and send Hedwig, my owl, but I told Hedwig to stay at Hogwarts during break. But I wanted to get them something for when we’re back at Hogwarts. I was going to send them a belated present.”

“And receive your own, no doubt,” Severus said dryly. At least Potter hadn’t wholly forsaken his muggle family to escape trouble. Then, changing the topic abruptly, he asked, “Where did you learn how to cook?”

Potter took longer to answer than warranted.

“My aunt taught me,” Potter said, oddly stiff. “She said it was a useful skill to know.”

Severus had been surprised to see Potter comfortable in the kitchen. Having observed the boy in the classroom, he had been reluctantly impressed by Potter’s knife skills. Less so, however, by his haphazard manner of throwing ingredients into the cauldron with no respect. One would think Potter could translate cooking to Potion making. Then again, Severus couldn’t fry an egg. He resolved to correct that. If Potter could do it, then so could he. It couldn’t be that hard.

“Get ready to go, Potter,” Severus said suddenly.

Potter nodded, turning around to grab whatever he needed from his trunk. Severus took a quick look around. The den looked tidy. He nodded to himself. At least Potter wasn’t acting like a slob and slovenly throwing his clothes and whatnot about as if he owned the place.

Still, Severus had the feeling, as he left the den and made his way up to his room in the attic, that he’d been managed somehow.

ooOoo

Shopping trips with Aunt Petunia were practically military in nature. Petunia made a list of what she needed, most of which were Dudley’s favourites. If Dudley and Harry were with them, Dudley would spend the whole trip picking out several sweets, magazines and games. Harry was left to get what was on the list, exactly what was on the list, and nothing else. Harry was well versed in what substitutes he was allowed to make with brands.

Shopping with the Weasleys could be chaos. He had spent many weeks in the summer before his second year there, including at least three shopping trips. Mrs Weasley also had hens and her own herb and vegetable garden, but they bought or bartered everything else. Mrs Weasley seemed to have a sixth sense for bargains but never gave up the quality. Though Mrs Weasley had a strict budget, given the state of their finances that was reasonable, she always walked away with everything she walked in for. Ron didn’t like to go shopping with his mother usually, only going because Harry had been curious about the difference between muggle and magical shopping because he would never get what he wanted.

Harry had sneakily slipped some extra sickles into Mrs Weasley’s coin purse a few times, as he felt he was more likely to get away with sickles than galleons. He hoped it helped her with the shopping. Harry never did it out of charity. It was because he felt guilty that they had to stretch their food to accommodate Harry as well. He knew they would never accept the money if he offered it outright. Hence the sneaking. Ron was his best friend, and Harry would feel lost without him, but Harry admitted to himself he hated it when the other complained about never having any money. He had parents who looked after him and ensured he had food on the table and a roof over his head. He had clothes for school and books for his education.

Harry could understand that the wants pile up when your needs are fulfilled. Ron felt his wants were unfulfilled, but he didn’t appreciate that his needs were met.

The Dursleys fulfilled Dudley’s needs and wants. Harry got none of the latter and a grudging tolerance of the former.

Pulling his thoughts away from the Dursleys and Weasleys, he thought about shopping with the Snapes. This shopping experience was a curious mix of Weasleys and Dursleys. Jacky knew precisely what she wanted, having made a list before they left the house, but also took advantage of bargains.

They had been in Stockport town centre for half an now. The whole time Snape walked around looking like he was sucking on a lemon, which at least had the effect of the general public throwing themselves out of his way. It was bizarre for Harry to see him stalk down the street without his billowing robes.

Snape stuck to Harry like glue, watchful eyes constantly flitting about. Harry didn’t think Snape would appreciate being called an overgrown bodyguard, but that’s what it felt like. Harry almost expected the soundtrack of I Will Always Love You to blare out and for Snape to take Harry in his arms and carry him back to the car, if only so they could go home. Aunt Petunia made Uncle Vernon watch the film on VHS in the summer. Uncle Vernon had slept through it. Harry had watched from his position on the stairs, knowing he wouldn’t be disturbed by Dudley, who had been out with a friend. A week later, Aunt Marge arrived.

Still, Harry had managed to get presents for Ron and Hermione. Curiously, Snape wandered off, leaving Harry alone with Lexi (who refused to leave his side) for an hour. Harry wasn’t stupid enough to disobey Snape’s instructions to take longer than that time, so he quickly took advantage of the time to himself and bought the extra gifts for the Snape family.

After the incident with Aunt Marge in the summer and being left with no muggle money, Harry learned his lesson and made sure to exchange enough galleons to muggle pounds, so he didn’t have to worry about being left stranded. He’d been lucky with the Knight Bus, but he should have been better prepared.

He picked up some generic Christmas jumpers for everyone, but the selection wasn’t the greatest, given how close it was to the end of the season.

He picked out football jerseys for Andrew and Brian- they both supported Manchester City. He got some boxing gloves and focus pads set for Maya, knowing she was trying to persuade her parents to let her go to the local Kickboxing club. Sarah was a little harder but decided to get her the same thing he got for Hermione, several wooden puzzles and a Rubix cube. For Laurel, Beth and Lexi, he bought them matching Charms bracelets with their initials; using Lexi’s naivety, he even got her to pick some charms.

Lexi was getting tired of all the walking they were doing, so he ended up carrying her and his school bag he’d brought along to hide his gifts in. It was a magical one, so it was already bewitched with featherlight and expansion charms, a boon given all the shopping he was loading into it. For Jacky, he got her a basic cookbook, hoping it would be well received, but like Gloria, who also didn’t see much over the last few days, he picked up some perfume. Lexi was quite helpful there because although she couldn’t read, she recognised some of the shapes of the fragrances her mother used. After testing the various scents, Harry and Lexi picked out two bottles of the same brands but different scents for Jacky and Gloria.

Alfred and Barry were also difficult to shop for, but he remembered they both liked reading autobiographies and picked out a book each. Nana Bea was quite reserved; however, Harry noticed she was quite watchful but not in the same scary way Snape was. Harry followed his gut instinct and bought her a camera and extra film to go with it. He even picked out a onesie for Jacky and Barry’s new baby. She was only five months pregnant, but Harry couldn’t resist when he saw the red onesie that said Party 2am. My crib. Bring the bottle.

That only left Snape to buy a gift for. With only fifteen minutes and a rapidly tiring toddler, Harry stepped into a second-hand bookstore he’d spotted near one of the charity shops. Oddly, he got the same buzzing feeling at Snape’s house – magic. Curiously, he looked around. The place was well-lit and even had a café at the back. Still, he pulled his beanie down lower, making sure his scar was covered and hitched Lexi higher on his hip.

“Are you okay?” he asked, feeling guilty for dragging her everywhere with him for the last hour. She’d surprised him with her patience when he was trying on cheap trainers at the Shoe Tree. Because they were so cheap and Harry had enough muggle currency on him, he bought himself two identical pairs. He’d heard they’d last longer if he alternated wearing them.

She nodded, but Harry could tell she was exhausted.

“Last stop, and then we’ll go to Asda and find Aunt Jacky, okay?”

She yawned, laid her head against his shoulder, and fell asleep in minutes. Harry looked around the bookshop curiously. He found a section that seemed to be about herbs of the medicinal variety. The title The Alchemy of Herbs caught Harry’s attention at first. Then when he went to pick it up, there was another tingle across his fingers. He looked at the author’s name, feeling he should recognise it. It seemed familiar enough. He flicked through the pages, which seemed pristine enough. It was clearly a second-hand book but didn’t seem to be annotated by the previous owner. Harry noticed it was number 14 in the series. He took another quick look through the shelves and saw another book, The Alchemy of Numbers. That was number 11.

Looking at his watch, he noticed he was running out of time. Still, he took another glance around the shelves and saw numbers 17 and 19 in the Alchemy series. Taking them to the till, he placed them on the counter, grateful there was no queue.

“We have some more books of the same collection if you’re wanting them,” the woman behind the till said.

“Oh, er – yes, please,” Harry said. “Only, will it take you long? I’m in a bit of a rush, and I don’t want to be late.”

“I’ll be back in a mo,” she said with a smile.

She was back by the time Harry had manoeuvred Lexi to his other side and pulled out his wallet to pay. He couldn’t shake the feeling that she was a witch because of how quickly she came back.

“It’s a twenty-four series book, but it’s been dotted about a few different shelves,” the woman was saying. “I’ve had them for years; no one else has looked at them. I’m glad to be rid of them now.”

Harry listened to her chatter with a polite smile, trying to figure out how to broach the subject.  He ended up spending more than he budgeted for on the books, having only planned to get one instead of twenty-four, but the woman gave him a hefty discount, especially after he said it was a gift for his dad.

“Are you sure?” Harry asked uncertainly.

“You’ll be doing me a favour,” the woman waved away his protests. “They might have been here for a few years more otherwise. For wizards and witches who don’t live in Stockport, this is a word-of-mouth type place.”

Harry didn’t know how to respond to that. He resisted the urge to adjust his beanie, which would call attention to his scar. He had spent the last two years covering his scar with his fringe, but in the end, that drew more attention, so Harry had to force himself not to react at all.

“Do you want help putting it in your bag?”

“Thank you,” he accepted, smiling more sincerely.

She came around the till and carefully took Lexi from him. Harry added his newly acquired books to his school bag, not asking how she knew it was enchanted.

Placing his schoolbag back across both shoulders, he carefully took Lexi back.

He dropped a five-pound note into the charity box in front of her. “Happy Christmas.”

“Happy Christmas to you, too,” she smiled back at him.

Harry struggled through the crowd to get to the entrance to the escalators outside Asda, where he was told to meet Snape and Jacky. He sighed in relief and saw he still had a minute to spare.

Standing to the side, he was adjusting his grip on Lexi when he felt someone reaching overhead. Tightening his grip on the girl, he instinctively reacted. Spinning on the spot, he kicked out with all his strength. He heard a yell of pain and stepped back, getting ready to run. He froze when he saw Snape on the ground and Jacky looking horrified next to him.