-II-

"No, no, no, please clean me, Mr. Snape!" Victor said in panic and stepped away from Severus, hiding behind his frame in the vain hope that Poppy would not see him.

"Stop that, Victor. And watch what you're saying," Severus said warningly.

Poppy was all over Victor as soon as she reached them and Alastor was not far behind. Harry had been so concentrated on watching Poppy that he missed Ivy coming over as well. Only when she was starting to prod him did he notice her, and his breath got caught in his lungs. She would kill him for ruining his suit.

"What were you doing, Harry?" she asked when she was sure he was unharmed.

"We were just playing."

Harry looked over to Victor for help, but his friend was busy holding his shirt up for Poppy and the doctor. Harry gasped when he saw the purple bruise on Victor's ribcage.

"I fell on a stone, I think," Victor explained.

"This has to be X-rayed. You'll need to drive into the clinic in Welsh as I can't do it here."

"We will do so immediately," Poppy explained and helped Victor to lower his shirt.

"We will leave as well," Severus said and grabbed Harry's shoulder.

-II-

"Oh, we didn't expect you back so early. We aren't finished-" Elli broke off when she saw Harry and Victor.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" Eathan and Lysander screamed and ran over to their grandparents.

Both elders greeted their overeager grandchildren as they watched, interested and a bit worried, as Victor and Harry were led over to the couch. Poppy immediately started to wave her wand in a healing manner, and Victor winced.

Severus, meanwhile, had stepped over to his parents to greet them properly. "We had a little incident at the service feast. The boys thought they would try to see how far they could roll down a hill without stopping. Unfortunately, Victor overestimated his skills and most likely broke a few ribs."

Elli looked shocked and went over to the teenagers. "What about you, Harry?" She took his face in her hands and kissed his forehead. After he convinced her that he was okay, Elli looked emphatically at Victor.

"It's healed, but you need to be careful. No sudden movements!" Poppy said when she was done with healing.

"Yes, ma'am," Victor mumbled miserably.

Poppy rolled her eyes and kissed him on his forehead. "Don't be silly."

Sly had put his head onto Victor's lap and was now looking up at him with puppy eyes. Victor smiled and petted the big dog's head. "Called for help again, eh? What would I do without you?"

"Yeah, I guess I have to thank you as well," Harry said and petted Sly's head.

The big dog lifted his head and barked.

Finally, it was time to greet the new guests. Victor and Harry were asked to watch over Eathan and Lysander in their room as the adults had things to do that they should not see.

"What do you think they're doing?" Victor asked when they went to the twin's room.

Harry shrugged his shoulders but Eathan answered for him. "They are giving the sweets and the eggs to the Easter bunny to hide them."

"What for?" Victor asked. Easter had never played a big part in his life.

Harry faintly remembered that he was sent to his room while Dudley excitedly jumped around asking when he was allowed to go into the garden to search for his presents and sweets.

"So we can look for them after lunch," Lysander explained. Both five-year-olds were much more patient during explanations like this now and refrained from rolling their eyes or telling Harry how stupid he was for not knowing. Still, you could see how much they liked to tell their big brother about something he did not know.

X-X

After a really lovely lunch, Harry and the rest of the family and guests stood outside in the yard. All the children had a basket in hand and Ivy explained that they should look for all the sweets and presents the Easter bunny had left. In the end, they would share the sweets equally.

Harry felt greatly embarrassed at first, running around with a basket like a girl. A short look over to Victor showed that he was equally ashamed.

"I found one!" Eathan shouted and held a chocolate bunny up.

Harry sighed. Best get this over with as fast as possible. He saw a red egg under a small bush and knelt down to take it. Shortly before his fingers reached it, it jumped and was under the next bush. Puzzled, Harry looked over to the adults. Severus had put his arm around Ivy's waist and looked mockingly at him. Harry did not need Legilimency to know what that look meant. You didn't think it would be so easy, did you?

Possessed with ambition, Harry rounded the bush. He held one hand out to block the possible escape route and grabbed for the egg with the other. As planned, the egg hopped directly into his waiting hand. Triumphantly, he looked over to Severus, who smiled, amused.

It was very funny to see Victor's surprised look when the first egg jumped away from his hand. After a good laugh, Harry and Victor teamed up against the eggs and they had no chance. When they finally went back to the adults with full baskets, nobody was embarrassed any more. It really had been fun.

The sweets and eggs were shared. Harry and Victor had left the two Quidditch player figures bound to a bush as well as the trading card sets and the finger colors for Eathan and Lysander to find. All of those presents were already in the younger boy's baskets. Sly had been decorated with a ribbon as a reminder that he was an Easter present as well, but the dog did not like the red offending thing around his neck and quickly got rid of it.

"Eathan and Lysander, we already spoke to you two about the present Harry will get. It's so big because it's a combined present for all the other Easters he didn't get to celebrate with us," Severus explained. The boys' eyes shone with excitement at seeing Harry's reaction to his gift.

Harry, meanwhile, looked puzzled. What gift?

"Prove that you learned something in Charms and use a Revealing Charm on the rain barrel," Severus instructed Harry. He led Harry over to the garage and gave him his wand.

Harry felt an overwhelming happiness at finally being able to hold his wand again. Every single eye was on him and Harry looked nervously from the empty space in front of the rain barrel to Severus.

Severus nodded encouragingly at Harry until the boy finally looked at the empty spot and raised his wand.

Harry did not believe his eyes when he saw what was hidden under the charm. It was a red quad bike. A big quad, not one of the kid quads he had seen in the garage. One for adults.

"Yeah, let's drive, Harry!" Eathan shouted and ran, closely followed by Lysander, into the garage. Only seconds later, Harry heard the little motors of the children's quad bikes being started and his brothers came driving out of the garage. Their laughter and squeals were as heart-warming as always for Harry. He had to smile.

"Come on, try it. It's easy to handle and there are some magical adjustments to it," Severus explained. "Your mother insisted upon it."

Harry grinned when Severus rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to worry about falling off the bike or driving it over the cliffs. Still, there is no charm for making it crash proof, so you will have to drive carefully."

"I will. Please show me how to drive it, Dad."

It was great. The quad was the best gift he had ever gotten. It was pure fun. There was room on it for two people, so Victor soon jumped on with him. It took a great deal of convincing and finally even threatening to get the boys off it again after half an hour.

It was time for the afternoon snack. Elli had brought cake and cookies with her, and they were delicious as always. In the end, Eathan and Lysander looked really ill from all the sweets. Harry didn't feel much better.

Soon, Alastor and Poppy said that it was time to go and Victor and Harry had to say good-bye. "I'll see you at the clinic next week."

"Sure," Victor said sadly.

"Maybe I will even have to share a room with you again. James wasn't happy with my results last time and even said I should enjoy this day without worrying. I have a meeting with the Healers tomorrow, and I can imagine what the result will be." Harry screwed his face in frustration.

"I don't think they'll keep you in the clinic. If it was that bad, they wouldn't have waited."

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "We'll see."

X-X

"Harry, we should have given you this before you got your bike, but there was no time for it. We hope you will still like it even though it can't hold up to your big Easter present," Elli said and handed Harry a gift which was wrapped in green paper and a red ribbon.

"You didn't need to give me anything," Harry said, blushing.

"We give all our grandchildren something for Easter."

"But you already pay for two of my Potions journal subscriptions."

"That's for education," Thadeus said dryly.

Harry ripped the present open. He had learned that he was not expected to carefully unwrap gifts in this family. Having no clue what the odd thing in his hand was, he looked at Thadeus.

"It's a wand holster for your arm. It's a special one. It will become invisible when you carry it. That's very helpful living so close to Muggles. Let me help you," Thadeus said and fastened the holster around Harry's arm. "As soon as you flick your wrist like this it will move into your hand. To avoid accidental extraction, you should use a password in combination to the movement." Thadeus helped Harry to activate a password and let him try it a few times.

"It's incredible! Thanks!" Harry said, excited, and hugged his grandparents. Both smiled happily at him.

With a bit of persuasion, Harry was allowed to drive with his Quad for another hour until it was too dark.

The day had been great. So great that even when Harry lay in his bed, he could not worry about tomorrow and what James and Healer Wright would say. Nothing could push the happy feeling out of his chest.

X-X

"Harry, you must stop seeing us as your enemies. You shouldn't be constantly afraid that we will keep you at the clinic again," James scolded Harry.

The room was full of Harry's healers and his parents. "But what will you do if you don't keep me here?"

"First, we would like to tell you about the results of the pulse measuring," James said.

Harry held his breath.

"It was bad, but you already knew that. Your pulse is too high. Things excite you too easily and you still worry too much. We'd like to try some medication, and we need you to try some more relaxation exercises. You should try to regularly meditate. How often do you do it now?"

Harry bit his bottom lip. He had not followed Healer Jacob's advice. The meditation and the other relaxing methods took time, and he needed a calm place for it. At home, he often feared the twins or someone else would come in.

"Harry, we need to know the truth," Healer Jacob said sternly.

"Not as often as you told me. I tried several times, but I can't really relax at home. There are too many people who could come in and I always have at least three things in my head I would rather do. More fun things." Harry looked uncertainly at Healer Jacob, fearing he would be angry with him.

"You reacted very well to the relaxing sessions with your mother and grandmother, Harry. How about we try to work a regular schedule of those sessions into your normal schedule?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. Those sessions had been great, but he did not want to be a burden on Ivy and Minerva. "They are really busy."

Ivy gasped, shocked. "Harry!" Severus laid a calming hand on her leg. "We always have time for this! I liked those sessions as well. It was good to spend time with you in that way."

"So we can arrange a regular schedule?" Healer Jacob asked.

"Of course. We have enough time for it. My mother will be happy to help."

Healer Jacob nodded and scribbled something on his clipboard.

"That's settled, then," James stated. "We'll also need a regular pulse measuring. We could put a charm on him, or you can do it manually four times a day." James looked at Ivy and Severus questioningly.

"We would prefer to use as little magic as possible on Harry. We'll do it manually. What about the medication you talked about?"

"It's a very weak one, so nothing to worry about. It will only slightly push his heart rate down. He just needs to take a small pill in the morning."

"Does it have any side effects?" Ivy asked, worried. It was obvious that she has a lot of experience due to Severus' problems.

"No, like I said, it's very weak." When James was sure he had calmed Ivy, he went on, this time looking at Harry. "How is your work with Henry going, Harry? How is your school work?"

"It's okay. I think I will manage to pass this year."

"Do you want to keep the meetings with Henry like they are at the moment?"

It was still awkward for Harry to be involved in decisions like this, so he bit his bottom lip nervously as he looked at Henry. "I like it as it is right now." He blushed and admitted, "I still need his help. He has many good ideas to learn in a different and easier way. I don't think I can manage without him yet."

Henry smiled at him encouragingly.

"Then we'll keep the meetings like they are right now. Do you have anything else you want to talk with us about?" James asked.

Was the meeting over already? Was that all? Harry could hardly believe it. Only when they stepped out of the fireplace and back into Dumbledore's mansion could he believe it.

X-X

"You won't believe what I got," Harry said, excited, while he knelt in front of the fireplace.

"What? A new broom?" Ron asked.

"No, a quad bike."

"One of those motorcycles with four wheels? That's cool. I need to tell Dad. He'll be so jealous. We saw one at the shop where we bought the motorcycle."

"Yeah, it's cool! You need to come over so you can try it out."

"Now?"

Harry shrugged, but then remembered Ron could not see it via the Floo network. "I'll ask my Mum. Wait!" A few seconds later, Harry pushed his head back into the green flames. "You can come over for two hours if you want."

"Cool! Step aside," Ron said and a second later, he stood in the living room of Dumbledore's mansion. "Hello, Mrs. Snape."

"Hello, Ron. Please be careful and only drive on the yard."

"Yes, we will," Harry said as he pulled Ron by his sleeve outside. He could not wait to show his friend his awesome Easter present.

Not only his time with Ron but also his Easter holiday were over all too soon, and they were all back at Hogwarts. Now that school was starting again, Harry had to try hard to get all that he missed into his head to pass the year.