As much as I would like to say someone found Harry sleeping under his head in a nest of blankets, I can't because no one did. Harry woke up early that morning and made his bed with no one the wiser.

After a bland breakfast of eggs, toast and funny tasting milk (they didn't have any salt or butter, although Hoppity and Harry did try some jelly on their toast), they left the house to find the nearest clothes shopping area since Snape refused to touch anything from "his box" and all Harry's clothes were too big.

"I think I'll buy some clothes too." Smirkett said in the driver's seat of the car, as she buckled her safety belt. "I've always wanted to shop in an American store!"

Wonderful, Snape thought as he positioned his own safety belt carefully. She obviously was forgetting that she had already shopped in a Yankee store, spent much more time than was acceptable and did a foul job of it as well.

Smirkett started humming as she started the car engine. Humming! Snape had to restrain the urge to whack her, this whole ordeal was severely testing his resolve and patience, a well placed smack at that obnoxious mass of hair would make him feel so much better.

Potter was in a seat behind them, legs hanging off the front of the seat since he was too short to reach the floor now. He was buckled in and blessedly quiet despite the large amount of sugary jelly he had on his toast this morning. He made a mental note to prevent the brat from having sugar when he could, as this good behaviour was undoubtedly just good luck on his part. He knew too well how little children usually acted when such crazy substances were introduced; they were terrifying little balls of energy unable to sit still, wanting everything and making a pest of themselves at every opportunity. No, no more sugar for Potter.

Hoppity pulled the automobile out of the drive and even by Snape's limited knowledge he could tell that maybe letting the twit drive wasn't a smart idea. First, she had some minor difficulties turning the automobile to face the right direction, driving the car scant meters back and forth. Traveling through the residential streets, they nearly missed colliding with another automobile and they were all very alarmed to realize that she had been driving on the wrong side of the road!

"Ops!" Smirkett said sheepishly. "I thought that I had gotten over that from last time."

"Last time?" Snape yelled, holding onto the door handle of his seat for dear life. He should have realized then that he should have demanded to drive.

35 unnerving minutes later and they had finally arrived at the shopping centre.

Snape got out of the automobile slightly unsteady. He had demanded to drive during the trip several times, but Smirkett had ignored him and continued on, saying that everything was fine. And everything had been fine until she missed that last stop sign… Well at least they were safe now.

He was only slightly placated to see that Potter seemed shaken as well. It felt odd looking down so low and seeing a childish face on his own personal antagonizer, but from what he could discern, the boy was slightly pale and unsmiling. If it were possible, his already strangely large eyes that had seemed even bigger without his trademark spectacles looked even bigger.

He had been unsure as to his ability of operating this Muggle device safely which is why he had let Smirkett drive them thus far, but after seeing her abysmal navigation skills, he decided that they would be safer with him winging it.

"You." Snape spat out as soon as the twit had walked around the automobile and was within hearing distance, "Are not driving again."

Smirkett looked chagrined but managed to laugh. The nerve of her! "I just need to get used to it again." A passing automobile drove by, displacing air and blowing Smirkett's unflattering dress around and his hair, which was down today, in his face.

"No. You are not driving again." Maybe the thought would make it to her brain this time instead of leaking through her ears.

"So who will be driving then? You?" She asked. Her eyes behind her spectacles were crinkled the way Albus liked to when something amused him. It was infuriating.

Snape glared at her, wiping the smile off of her face. "Yes, me." He was positive that even Goyle could drive better than her.

"But you don't even have a driver's license!"

"Indeed I do." Snape smirked. Agent D had so thoughtfully provided him with one yesterday.

"Right." Smirkett said, obviously unconvinced but willing to drop it for now. It did not matter. He would get his way when they came back to the automobile later.

Smirkett clasped Potter's hand and pulling the boy along, led the way through the dangerous Muggle vehicle lot to the nearest entrance of an extremely large building which Smirkett had claimed was a Maul.

They walked through the glass doors and into a large indoor shopping center. Small shops without doors ran along the walls and one large shop was directly to their right. The hall looked as if it went on for quite some distance; people milled around, some with bags and some without. A small resting area with a tall indoor clock tower was placed in front of the department store entrance. The large store itself just happened to be tailored to the older populace. Naturally, being Wizards, Snape and Hoppity didn't know of the difference between department stores, which was just as well as Snape probably wouldn't have appreciated the styles and cheap materials of the more 'hip' stores. Of course, Harry could not be expected to know of the differences either; he had never really gone shopping with his aunt and was basically six years old now.

"Well," Smirkett said breathlessly. "I think that we should split up and meet back here in say… two hours?"

"One." Snape said, eying Potter with distaste. Hair as unruly as ever, dressed in a too large maroon shirt and the same trousers as yesterday, the boy was looking at his shoes apparently uninterested in their conversation. He was loath to spend anytime with the brat but he would have to take him if he wanted to leave this shopping place in a timely manner. Women always took twice as long to do anything, and he refused to wait around for that twit.

"Ah, how about an hour and half? We can meet back at this clock tower when we're done."

"Acceptable." He would be able to get the needed garments for both himself and Potter within the time slot. "Potter!" Snape barked to get the boy's attention. Once the brat was looking at him he continued authoritatively, "Come with me."

Potter looked surprised, and then glanced at Smirkett for confirmation, no doubt giving her an imploring look that she saved him from the big mean potions professor. Alas, it was not to be, Snape thought, triumphant that Potter wouldn't get his way for once. Smirkett just smiled at the boy, no doubt relieved that she didn't have to ask him to take the boy.

Potter had a slight look of rejection as he walked over to where Snape stood. The man roughly pushed any sympathetic thoughts away, he refused to let the brat manipulate him. He strode off toward the entrance of the store, forcing Potter to follow in his wake unless he wished to be left behind. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the twit waving quickly good bye which the boy returned before turning and tripping to catch up.

Snape led the way through the department store, Potter following him like a lost puppy. They wandered around purposefully for some minutes before he located a sign leading to the children's sizes. It appeared to be down one level so he led the way to the down escalator, making sure that Potter got on before him least the nuisance run away or try to prank him by not getting on at all and forcing him to walk up the moving stairs, comically staying stationary.

With such thoughts burning in his head, Snape glowered at the little boy two steps below him. He'd like to be able to push the boy and watch him tumble down the moving stairs to land in a painful heap at the bottom. Fortunately for Potter, he was able to quell the urge. But just barely.

After getting off the escalator and making several wrong turns, they found themselves immersed in thousands of frilly girl dresses. It was a short walk thereafter to find clothes that looked like they were made for little boys.

I can't believe I'm doing this, Snape thought as he browsed through the nearest rack of little boys' clothes. The little snot faced brat shifted restlessly near him. He wanted to get this shopping trip over and done with. Deciding that the clothes he was looking through were too small to fit Potter, he moved to another rack.

"Potter, what size are you?" He asked, glancing down at the boy.

"How should I know?" Potter replied petulantly.

Suffering silently, he deigned not to answer. The clothes in this rack were also too small so he continued through the next. Quickly browsing through this one, he was about to move on when he heard a disgusted sound from Potter. He looked down at the brat and then actually bothered to look at what he had in his hands; it was a little boy sailor suit.

Snape felt a sardonic smirk gracing his features. Potter was trying to pretend as if he hadn't made any indication that he disliked the garment in his hands, gazing away at a different rack indifferently.

The smirk grew wider. "I think that this would be appropriate." Potter's shocked green eyes snapped back to look up at him. He felt a sort of evil glee boiling up at the little boy's horrified expression. "Yes, this will do nicely."

"No!" Potter wailed adamantly. "I'm not wearing that! It's not even my size! It's for babies!"

He looked down at the outfit in his hands. While a little too small for Potter, it was clearly for a little boy, not an infant. He bent down to suggest maliciously, "There are always resizing spells." He felt a wave of euphoria at Potter's distressed face. He was now quite glad that he had had to take the brat along with him.

"You're not supposed to use magic!" Potter lectured indignantly.

"Says who?" he asked dangerously. The nerve of that pint sized child lecturing him.

"Dumbledore!"

"And just how is he supposed to know? I don't suppose you plan to write him an owl, do you?" Snape challenged. The brat had no response. "I thought not."

Potter just stood there, miserable. Ah, heaven. Now to find the most embarrassing outfits for the boy, this should be fun.

He ignored Potter's hateful glare, it was hardly effective in his child state, and continued to look through the racks. He spent a few more minutes browsing the racks, only finding one more outfit that was diabolical enough before he decided that he had ought to move on to their real errand; finding the brat clothes that fit him that he would actually wear in public. The embarrassing outfits would do well as a threat to keep Potter in line. Who knew, the twit might actually like them.

Moving on, he finally found the section that seemed to have the sizes of clothes he sought, Potter following along sulkily.

After browsing through clothes, and pulling out random items that seemed like they might be suitable, he was very relieved when an older sales assistant approached them. Clothes shopping was not his forte, he really had no idea what to pick and Potter wasn't being much help either.

"Can I help you?" The elder woman seemed kind and more than willing to assist. He contemplated it. Yes, he needed help but he didn't have any wish to stand around and watch someone pick out clothes for the brat. He also still needed to find some Muggle outfits for himself still. A solution formed in his mind. He could leave the boy with the assistant and get both done leisurely.

"Yes, the boy needs a complete wardrobe… at least 10 various outfits. I will come for him within an hour," He instructed the surprised, yet accommodating clerk. Bending down, he glared menacingly at the brat and hissed so only he could hear, "Behave or your dragon toy will bare the consequences." The boy's brow furrowed as his lower lip protruded in anger. Indeed, he could rip its head off to have as a nice wall decoration and use the rest to scrub out cauldrons all while the brat watched, squalling in grief.

Assured that Potter wouldn't go anywhere or misbehave, Snape handed the two small outfits he had tortured the boy with to the old Muggle woman. "I'll be purchasing these as well." He instructed her, knowing that no matter how much the brat protested, the woman wouldn't 'misplace' them since she ultimately wanted a sale.

One last sneer at Potter and he strode off in search of the men's section, in a convivial attitude after tormenting the brat and then shirking with ease the ill-fated responsibility of choosing clothes for the boy.

He soon found it on the lower level and efficiently sorted through the various garments for anything acceptable. Maybe the boy would get lost or kidnapped and he wouldn't have to ever see him again. One can only hope. A Potter-free summer… he indulged in the pipe dream. Maybe he could 'forget' to pick the boy up.

No, he couldn't do that. Dumbledore would have his hide, no the whole order would have his hide as well as Potter's little fan club, namely the whole Wizarding world. Not to mention that little problem of the boy's importance in the war against the Dark Lord, whatever that was, Albus refused to tell. And of course, the twit he was stuck with, Smirkett, would probably drag him back to get Potter and then proceed to give him a sound earful, creating a scene in the process. He had NO desire to be berated by any relation of Dumbledore's, and certainly not in a spectacle by this nitwitted witch.

He needed to get him like he said he would, anything else would be inexcusable and undesirable to the extreme. As much as he wished otherwise, he couldn't let Potter get lost or kidnapped, not that those scenarios were likely to happen at all. Potter would be waiting for him and he would pick him up, and that was that. No one would take the boy, the fact that he had thought of that in the first place was ridiculous.

A few minutes later, he caught himself staring at an emerald green shirt and wondering whether Potter was alright still. No, he demanded. The boy is fine by himself.

The annoying ping of uncertainty about leaving the boy alone came back and he roughly shook it off. He's perfectly alright. The old woman had obviously been a store clerk and he hadn't felt any ill intent from her, only a desire to help them pick out clothes. His dark mark was inactive, there were no Death Eaters anywhere remotely close. There was nothing to fear.

It was even unlikely that the boy would be kidnapped. The store was rather deserted, they had been the only customers in the children's area and the boy now held the store clerk's complete attention. He shouldn't let this bother him, it was irrational. No one would want the boy anyway.

Just the same, the faster he completed his business, the faster he could check up on the boy.

---------

Harry tried on yet another pair of trousers and shirt the old lady, Edna she had said to call her, gave him. She had been surprised at first when Snape had left Harry here with her and told her to pick out clothes for him but she was a nice lady and took him along through the store, even asked him what he wanted. It was a new experience for him, he had never been able to have a say in what he wanted to wear before, even Hogwarts robes were standard required and dress robes didn't count. He didn't really remember what little kids wore so he hadn't been much help but he did point out some shirts he liked. Most of the shirts Edna had picked out had collars or buttons on them and the trousers looked nice. He liked best how everything was new. New things, he smiled.

Edna had first had him try on clothes to figure out what size he was, but after picking out several outfits it seemed that she was coming up with random reasons why he should try more on, smiling happily as he emerged from the changing room in each outfit and telling him how nice he looked. He felt as if she were dressing him up like a little doll, and it was even worse when her coworker, another old lady, came by to join in the fun. The reasons they came up for him to try on the outfits sounded silly to Harry, who never had anyone before want to make sure his shirts actually fit, let alone whether the buttons on the shirt didn't conflict with the trousers. Edna had called the trousers 'pants', he figured that she was crazy and didn't know any better, or maybe because she was older she forgot. It seemed an awfully strange thing for a person who worked selling clothes to forget that pants were underwear, not trousers. Anyway, when she said pants, he knew now that she meant trousers, it had been strange before when she suggested they pick out some pants right away and he had thought that she was going to pick out his under clothes first thing.

He exited the changing booth to show the elderly women how different the collar on this shirt looked than the shirt he had had on previously.

"Oh, you look so handsome!" The first woman cooed. "Yes, this shirt looks much nicer with the stiffer collar, what do you think Lucida?"

"Oh, it's adorable! How about this shirt next?"

Harry inwardly groaned. Not another one. "Don't we have ten yet?" he asked fitfully, looking at the big pile of clothes and hoping that they would give up. He didn't want to be ungrateful but he was getting tired of changing clothes so many times.

Edna eyed the pile. "That's more than ten," she said smiling and not at all abashed at the fact that she had gone over the minimum. "We want to make sure that we have enough outfits for your daddy to pick out." Harry sputtered and choked at the woman calling Snape his 'daddy'.

Edna gave him a concerned look but he soon recovered.

"I don't think that he will do that Ma'am." He said as politely as he could. There was no way Snape would go through his clothes when he didn't have to. Maybe Snape would make sure that those embarrassing baby outfits were there just to be spiteful, but Harry hoped that he had forgotten about them. He had yet to manage to get them away from Edna. She wouldn't listen to him when he said that he didn't want them, she said that they were probably for a present for someone else or for a new baby brother. Yeah right. And Harry couldn't tell her that they were meant to be for him- she would never believe that they were going to be enlarged with magic.

"You're right, we have enough." she said, taking pity on the adorable little boy. He was visibly relieved until she mentioned what was next. "We have to pick out some underwear and socks anyway. Why don't you go change back into your clothes?"

Harry wasn't too keen on the idea of picking out his underclothes with the lady, but he really didn't have a choice. Glad that the dress-up game had ended, he agreeably went back into the changing booth, leaving Edna to sort through the collection of clothes.

Once the door was shut he quickly, but carefully changed his shirt, trying not to rub or touch anything against the bruises marring his upper arms. He had first noticed them last night, surprised at how bad they looked. He knew that the one on his right arm was from when Vernon literally dragged him into the house and up the stairs a couple of days ago, among other things, but the one on his left puzzled him. He didn't know where it came from, but he supposed that he just didn't remember getting it and it was just showing up now. The first one though looked a lot worse than it had yesterday morning. It was probably just the kind of bruise that got worse before it got better or maybe a side affect of the potion.

He hurriedly took off the store trousers and changed into the street ones he had come in with before stuffing his feet into the slightly worn white trainers that he had left laced up. They were alright for shoes, much more comfortable than the usual deflated hand-me-downs he had always gotten from his cousin but he still would have preferred something nicer and not second hand.

When he exited the changing booth, Edna was sorting the last of the pile making sure that they had everything he needed; lots of colourful and plain shirts and trousers (both long and short), a small brown belt, a blue sweat shirt with pockets, a pair of pajamas, and a yellow slicker, which she had called a 'raincoat'. Edna had insisted on the last even though Harry didn't think he would need one.

Harry was especially proud of the red shirt he picked out, it had a large picture of a lion on the front, and was sure to annoy Snape. He reminded himself once again to hide Roofy, his dragon stuffed animal, as soon as he got back to the house. It would just be like Snape to take his dragon away even if he was good. And he was good, he always was. The Dursleys were just mean and Snape was just a git.

Edna took the clothes that he had just changed out of and placed them on the pile. Edna's friend excused herself to go help another customer, taking the clothes with her to drop off at the register while Edna took Harry over to the under clothes area. There she proceeded to pick out several pairs of white cotton vests to wear under his shirts and packets of plain white y fronts.

"Do you like these ones Dearie?" Edna asked holding out a package of briefs with cartoon characters on the bums. Harry felt his cheeks turn pink, and nodded to stop her from picking out more packages until she was certain she found one he did like. He chanted in his head, Better than Snape, better than Snape. He'd never see this woman again in his life. Edna also picked out several pairs of white, beige and brown socks for him.

"We don't have shoes here so if you need them you'll have to tell your daddy to get them from another store." He still was shocked at hearing this lady refer to Snape as 'his daddy' and he sneeze choked again.

"Oh my, maybe you should visit a doctor, that cough doesn't sound too good." Edna said worriedly.

Harry just nodded, covering his mouth with his hand to get control of himself.

When they were finished, the kind lady took him back to the long cash register desk and placed a chair next to it, motioning that he should climb up it and sit on the counter. He did so and moved so that his legs were hanging off of the edge. He noticed that there was a tray of biscuits on the counter too and eyed them. He knew better than to ask for any or to look at them longingly. No one ever gave him cookies, and especially nice ones like these. Edna placed the underclothes near the register on top of the pile of clothes they had picked out earlier, covering up the two distressing baby outfits. He had to figure out a way to get rid of them before Snape came back.

"Would you like a cookie?" Edna asked, moving the tray of biscuits nearer to him. He was very surprised but decided that they must be stale or maybe no one usually ate them so they went to waste.

"Yes, please." Harry said shyly, his earlier mission forgotten as he happily picked out and munched on a biscuit with chocolate icing. It was quite good and fresh so she must have offered them to him because no one ate them and they usually ended up in the bin.

He sat there for quite awhile, munching on a total of three biscuits and kicking his legs idly all the while before he began to wonder whether Snape would come back for him or not.

Snape wouldn't just leave him here, would he? He wasn't so sure… Whenever he went anywhere with the Dursleys, which was never very often, he had to make sure he stayed near them, they would have left him at every opportunity, they even orchestrated some. He still remembered that one time they had left him at a park… a bobby had got him back home and Petunia had acted all relieved that he was back in front of the bobby, hugged him spitefully, crushingly hard and said that Vernon was out looking for him now (he was really taking Dudley out for ice cream), and as soon as the officer had left she had slapped him hard and shoved him into his cupboard for two days. Even now, he still didn't know whether or not she had hurt him because he had found his way back to 4 Privet Drive, or if it was because he had bothered a bobby and brought attention to himself.

The minutes ticked by, Harry forlornly swung his legs against the counter, making almost unnoticeable thumps. Was Snape supposed to be here by now? He didn't have a watch, but he had always been a good guesser of time. It felt now like it had been longer than an hour. Perhaps Snape had never had any plans to come back for him. The spiteful man didn't like him at all… but he had said he would come back. But so had the Dursleys…

He must have left him. Even Edna was checking her watch now. He felt a sad, angry ache creep up. No one had ever wanted him around, no one had ever cared if he got lost or never came back. He should disappear and make everything easier.

He was suddenly reminded of his best friends. Ron and Hermione would care whether he came back or not! And Hoppity! He had forgotten about her. Hoppity wouldn't leave him here, would she? She would come back for him when Snape showed up at the clock tower without him, right? She had seemed like a nice lady, had even got him a dragon at the airport. He wouldn't be left behind this time.

But the doubt crept up. Hoppity hadn't looked too put off when Snape said that he would take him. She had looked… relieved. Relieved that she wouldn't have to look after him and wouldn't have him following her around. His relatives were right, he was a bother.

And his best friends had been hurt because of him. Harry Potter, the bother.

He refused to think of what to do if he really was left here. He tragically clung to the hope that someone would come, no matter how slim it seemed now.

When Snape's forbidding scowl turned around the corner with the frilly baby dresses, Harry was so relieved he could have cried. But he didn't, only babies cried. He came back, he thought with disbelief. He came back for me. The scowl didn't look quite so mean now, the face didn't look quite as horrible. He came back for me, even though he's supposed to hate me, even when the Dursleys wouldn't have come back. Even though I'm a bother.

The man wasn't carrying any bags or clothes so Harry assumed that he either shrunk them or didn't buy anything. When Snape approached the register he glowered at him, but Harry didn't glower back. His look of relief and wonder must have shown on his face because Snape made a puzzled uncomfortable face before turning away.

Harry didn't even object this time when Snape purchased the clothes, including the baby outfits.

"All set then? Good." Snape said curtly and after placing the smallest bag in Harry's arms, he gathered up the rest of the bags. Harry waved goodbye to Edna, very relieved that someone had come for him and that he didn't have to spend the next few hours with her until someone called a bobby to come take him away.

Snape led him up an escalator and out of the store. Once back outside the department store, Snape walked to a deserted corner and looked around to make sure that no one was looking. He looked down and scowled at Harry before flicking his wand out of a sleeve and quickly shrinking the bags and placing them in a pocket. Harry thought that his movements seemed slick like a double agent's would be.

Snape noticed that he was still watching and glowered down before swiftly and dismissively moving past him to a bench under the clock tower. Harry followed, and sat down too. Snape glowered again more darkly, then stared resolutely forward, the tap of fingers on his folded arms the only indication of how impatient and annoyed he was.

They sat there in silence for a full minute. Bored, Harry swung his legs idly.

"Stop that." Snape said harshly.

Harry looked up but stopped. He shifted in his seat. There was an itch on his arm and he dutifully scratched it. The seconds ticked by. He watched a group of teenagers walk by, wearing brightly coloured clothes. One was carrying a skateboard.

He shifted around again and looked up at the clock. The numbers were in Roman Numerals and all the hands seemed to be the same length. He decided he didn't really need to know what time it was and went back to swinging his legs before remembering that he wasn't supposed to do that. The itch was back. He scratched it, and one on his ankle that just appeared before shifting around in his seat again.

"Potter! Stop moving around, you're being a pest!" Snape hissed, his face turned to glare down at him.

Harry pouted angrily but the affect was lost as Snape had gone back to staring irritated at the clock. He sighed and his legs swung out unconsciously before he could stop them.

"That's it!" Snape spat out. "Stop unless you want a nice wallop!" Snape threatened, tensed up with one fist raised menacingly.

Harry glared right back. How could he have ever thought that the man was remotely less mean than he had ever been? Git. His chin jutted out and he hugged an arm close, careful not to touch the bruises on his upper arms that were covered by his short sleeves.

It was a long, still three minutes before Hoppity finally arrived with armfuls of shopping bags.

She was oblivious to the tense atmosphere. "Oh am I late? I tried to be as fast as I could. Oh Harry, you're such a good boy to wait so patiently!" She said, smiling at him. Snape scowled openly and stood up, waiting for her to collect herself.

Ignoring Snape, and still smiling at Harry she asked "Did you get everything you need? Shoes too?"

"No, the lady said that they didn't sell children's shoes there." Harry dutifully informed her. He was glad that Hoppity had mentioned shoes since he might be able to get some new ones now too. All in all, this was turning out to be a pretty okay shopping trip.

Hoppity thrust a couple of her bags at Snape, who growled and thrust them back.

"Oh come on Severus. It wouldn't look right if I carried all the bags. You could always hold Harry's hand if you'd rather."

Snape snatched up the bags at that statement and sent a glare in her direction. "Why didn't you just shrink the bags like a normal witch?"

"Don't be silly! Someone would notice if I walked out with several bags and they disappeared minutes later. Honestly, you can't just shrink things. Muggles will wonder where they went. Now let's look for a shoe store. These malls are quite marvelous. We'll have to come back soon just to look around more."

"We will do no such thing. You however may travel at your leisure. I certainly could care less where you went."

She gave Snape a dark squinty look from behind her black rimmed spectacles, before grasping one of Harry's hands with her free one and briskly pulling him along. A few stores down, she stopped in front of a huge toy store.

"No. Absolutely not. The last thing the brat needs is to be spoiled with more toys."

"Oh, but Severus, boys his age need lots of toys. It would seem strange if he didn't have more in his room, and we don't need to look more unusual than we already do." She said dryly and walked a couple meters over to a bench in the middle of the hall, dropping her bags and the bag Harry was still holding at Snape's feet. She pulled Harry along to the entrance of the store. "Now Harry-bean what would you like? Anything you want." She said optimistically.

Harry looked back at Snape, who was still standing in the middle of the walkway, scowling darkly in his direction.

Turning back to Hoppity, Harry decided that he didn't care what Snape thought. Hoppity was beaming at him and Harry basked in the moment of being able to pick out his own toys. He really shouldn't be interested in playing things anymore but a strange shiver of anticipation and excitement had made its way through his tummy when he looked at the tall bright displays that reached to the ceiling.

He changed his mind, this wasn't turning out to be just an okay shopping trip, it was turning out to be a great one!

At the entrance, a life-size mechanical mannequin astronaut waved at them with stiff awkward movements and loudly welcomed them to 'the Galaxy Toy Store'. All around him things were in motion, a huge toy carnival wheel, made entirely of colored rods spun around, a singing plant was dancing on a low table to his right, next to a toy puppy that somersaulted. Two radio controlled racecars zipped by them followed by two little boys, while on the left a little girl hopped on a piano mat and made an awful musical racket. There was a bin full of action figures another one full of large balls. From where he was standing, Harry could see aisles full of dolls, toy cars, books and games. Large tacky signs hung from most of the shelves declaring a "Sale!".

A loud "Toot toot!" drew his attention to the ceiling to see suspended upside-down plastic pools and gigantic stuffed animals that to be perfectly honest, were rather scary. It was then that he saw it; Miles and miles of train tracks winding around the store while a rather large red train sporting the store's logo sped around. He was reminded of the Hogwarts express. He had always wanted a train to play with, he wouldn't stomp on the track like Dudley had during the winter hols back in primary school when the engine had kept stalling.

Harry turned back to Hoppity, who still held his hand excitedly. She was hopping around like a school girl and gave him a grin when he looked at her. She was definitely related to Dumbledore.

"I think I'd like a train set."

One train set, paddle balls, a rainbow beanbag chair, Lego sets, dragons, knights and wizard dolls, a 96 box of crayons, drawing pad and colored bubble bath later found them looking at a bright display of console games. A teenaged sales assistant had approached them earlier about the time they had been looking at bean bag chairs with a vertical cart to pile things in and he now trailed them, pushing the cart and toys along, explaining anything they showed interest in.

"These are our console games," he told them and then pointed out a certain box. "This one is one of the more popular items. It's an older, but more stable system and a lot of great games are coming out for it now. Timmy Rocket 2 is coming out next month, another hot game for the summer. We've already had 40 preorders and it's going to be hot, especially for a little kid's game."

Hoppity nodded her head understandably. "And what does it do exactly?"

Harry perked up, curious to see what the guy would say. It would be hard to explain to someone who didn't know what game systems were, which he doubted Hoppity did, without mentioning other game systems. He knew what a console game was, of course, because his cousin had had several and had flaunted it constantly in front of him. He was never really allowed to watch but when he was little he used to sneak in the room sometimes when no one was paying any attention to him.

"Do? Um well you plug it into your TV and turn on the game and umm play by using the controllers," He tried, obviously hoping to have answered the right question.

"A huh." Hoppity said undecided. "And these are really fun?"

"Yeah, very fun! Every kid either has or wants them."

"Oh, okay then. We should get one."

Harry just nodded his assent and the store assistant pulled out a box from behind the glass case, explaining that the system came with one controller and two free games and that the instructions of how to set it up came in the box. He smiled broadly, it would be nice to be able to try this Muggle necessity finally. He imagined taunting smugly in Dudley's face that he could play now too. Just as quickly as the emotions had come, they sadly blew away when he wondered why he should be allowed to have fun. He had too much to do and too much to be accounted for to just slothfully sit around playing video games.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Hoppity blew past him to get to the next aisle. "Come on Harry!" She exclaimed happily. He followed slowly to stand next to her and look at the different outer space toys on the shelves while the poor Sales assistant followed, pulling the laden cart behind them. Hoppity was looking perturbed at the large plastic and plushy aliens on the shelves, all with overly large bug eyes to make them cute. Harry thought that they looked rather disturbing and apparently Hoppity agreed because she made a face before moving on to the glow in the dark area.

There, under a black light they found packets of glow in the dark stars brightly illuminated under the light that could stick to the walls and ceilings.

"Wouldn't these be great to put on the ceiling of your room Harry-bean?" Hoppity grinned, the black light making her teeth and eyes glow slightly.

He smiled back in spite of himself at the sight and nodded to agree with her, something he was becoming very adept at. He rubbed at his forehead, having a slight headache and glanced around the aisle to see what else was there while Hoppity looked through the different star packets.

He found a few bins filled with different toy reptiles and amphibians. He played around with the rubber snakes before spotting a box of three gooey, jiggly lizards on a lower shelf. He picked up the box and felt a lizard through a manufactured hole in the front plastic cover. It was gel feeling, only not wet or sticky at all. He poked it a few more times, relishing the way it moved and felt. A strange want welled up in him. He wanted these. He could get them too.

"Do you want those Harry?" Hoppity asked kindly, as if she could tell.

"Yes," Harry challenged, surprising himself. He picked up the box and placed it fondly in the cart on top of the glow in the dark stars. It was time to have fun this summer, Dumbledore had said so, so he was going to.

They continued down the aisle, picking out some wakie talkies that Hoppity thought looked quite fun before turning into the next aisle, which just happened to be the girls' section. Hoppity fawned over the baby dolls. "Ouu... how about one of these Harry-bean?"

His six year old boyness insulted, Harry scowled and folded his arms. "Well you can buy them for yourself but I'm not playing with them."

Disappointed, Hoppity put down a baby doll in a frilly dress and followed a quickly retreating Harry to the next aisle where the sales assistant recommended the newest scooter (everyone has them now), which Hoppity said they had to get, even if it was just to fit in.

When they finally reached the cash register, Hoppity spotted a stack of squat furry mechanical pets with sleepy eyes and beak-like mouths. Harry thought that they looked somewhat like funny baby Hippogriffs. Hoppity asked the girl behind the desk what they were.

"Oh those are Fluzies. They were really big last year. Mechanical pets, you turn them on and they play with you. When they hear music they dance, and you can teach them new tricks. If you place more than one together they talk, and sing, and play with each other. It's really cute."

They bought two, a dark grey one for Harry, a white and butterscotch one for Hoppity.

Hoppity giggled. "Should we get one for Snape too?"

Harry imagined a black Fluzy singing happily next to Snape while he made potions. He then pictured a broken Fluzy in the recycling receptacle, springs hanging out from its ears... poor Fluzy, it wouldn't have lasted a minute.

"Oh well, I didn't think so either. It was worth a thought."

The total come out around $300 but Harry wasn't sure if that was a lot or not. Hoppity didn't seem to know either, but she swiped her credit card and signed a sheet of paper the girl gave her as another helper packed their items in big white bags and placed them back into the cart.

Hoppity handed him one of the smaller, special bags that had things he had picked out himself, namely his new gooey lizards, crayons, and glowy stars and then gaily pulled him along by a hand to the entrance of the mall while the sales assistant followed with the cart.

As soon as Snape was visible, Harry could tell that their jaunty excursion into the toy store would cost something.

To say that Snape was not pleased would be an understatement. He had moved to a bench in the middle of the walkway under a tree and was presently surrounded by bags and was in his 'scowling position', legs and arms crossed, eyes narrowed and his jaw tightly clenched with what Harry was sure was angry irritation.

Harry childishly tightened the hold he had on his bag of new gooey lizards as Hoppity pulled him along closer to the fuming man.

The sales assistant followed behind them with the cart, now full of white plastic bagged packages.

"Here you go, Ma'm. You can just leave it at the mall entrance and someone will come for it later. Thanks for shopping at the Galaxy Toy Store!" With that, the teen did a funny salute and disappeared back into the store.

They turned to face the Wrath of Snape.

"Well, if you are now finished spoiling him rotten, I have been waiting here for nearly an hour as you gluttonously bought out the entire store. The only reason why I did not leave you here was because I did not have the car keys!"

"Well you always could have joined us-"

"I. Think. Not. We are never coming here again."

Just as well that they hadn't bought that extra Fluzy. It would not have even made it to the car before Snape flung it away in a fit of rage.

Snape stood up as Hoppity started to load the clothes bags from earlier onto the cart, hanging several on the handles.

"Hurry up. If I hear that blasted astronaut one more time I will blast it."

Hoppity threw the last of the bags into the cart and pushed it along after the quickly retreating Snape, Harry running next to her.

A few minutes later and the pace had slowed considerably. Snape was still stalking through the hall, people scattering before his forbidding presence, but the absence of the talking astronaut and the fact that they were moving to accomplish something now seemed to have calmed him down slightly, even if his temper did seem to still be on a short string.

Some delightful smells wafted through the air and Harry felt his stomach twisting in hunger. Hoppity made an effort to catch up to Snape with the cart and made it, walking next to him, draped over the handles of the cart.

"You just need some sugar Severus." Hoppity suggested playfully.

"No, I don't." Snape said shortly.

"Well some food at least. We have so much to do still and we'll become irritable unless we eat something soon."

Harry thought that Snape was already irritable, but didn't say anything since Snape had stopped walking and looked as if he was actually considering it. He crossed his fingers.

Snape's dark eyes glanced over him casually, then the man nodded curtly to concede to her point.

They ended up getting some strange fried vegetable plates that Harry didn't like very much, but the grownups seemed to. He ate it anyway, glad to have something to put into his stomach.

After the early lunch, they found themselves walking down the hall again, looking for a place that looked like it sold children's shoes. Harry trotted gaily beside Hoppity and the loaded cart, happy with his new toys and even happier that it seemed that he would actually be getting new shoes. Snape seemed to be in a better mood now after the meal. Well maybe to say that Snape was in a better mood wasn't quite right since the man was still in a bad one; he just seemed less wound up and ready to strike at anything and everything.

They soon came upon a small shop that had training shoes placed all along the side walls. Snape made a beeline to it and they followed him in. As soon as they entered, a man dressed in a collared maroon shirt and a silver whistle approached them.

"Can I help you?"

"Shoes for the boy and be quick about it." Snape instructed curtly.

The sales assistant looked a little startled at Snape's brisk manner but recovered quickly. "All right. The children's section is just over here." He beckoned and they followed him over to an area of wall covered with many different pairs of child size trainers, Hoppity left the cart in the middle of the store, within view. The man turned to Harry. "What kind of shoes do you want?"

Harry looked blankly back at him. He had never really been able to pick out his own shoes and now did not know the difference between all the different kinds.

The man had an amused smile on his face. "Well the new blinking cross training Turbo Air 7's came in earlier this week. Everyone has been asking for them and I'm sure we have them in your size." He prompted.

"Those sound okay." Harry said tentatively. He had no idea what Turbo Air trainers were. They sounded like they had rockets attached to the sides. He imagined himself wearing rockets trainers and blasting around the Quidditch pitch. He decided that they had to be great.

"Well just sit down here and I'll measure your foot to find out your size." Harry sat down on the chair the man pointed to and was surprised when the man knelt and took off his shoes. Hoppity settled down in the chair next to Harry and looked on. Snape pretended to browse the shoe selection, but Harry noticed him glancing back at them a couple of times. The salesman then pulled over a strange metal oval device with knobs and lines with funny numbers next to them. "Now just stand up and put your foot in this."

Harry did so, feeling a little silly. The man looked at the device and fiddled with some knobs before standing up. "Alright I'll be right back with some for you to try on. Don't go anywhere." He said smiling and then turned to walk away. Harry watched him until he disappeared into the back of the store.

Harry then looked around the store at all the different pairs of shoes on the walls. Next to him, Hoppity was doing the same. Snape pursued a stand of shoes in the middle of the store idly, facing away from them.

The man soon came back, carrying three shoeboxes with him. "Here you are kiddo." He said as he sat them down on the chair next to Harry. He opened the first box and took out a shoe. It was white and dark blue with shining silver trim. The name Turbo Air 7 was placed on the side in a super cool logo of dark blue and silver. The back was translucent plastic. No rockets, but they still looked wizard!

The man deftly laced up the trainer and handed it to Harry before pulling out the other one. "Can you put them on yourself?"

Of course he could! "Yes Sir." Harry said as he quickly stuffed his foot in the shoe and fumbled with the laces. These new stubby fingers aren't working right, he thought agitatedly as he tried to make a loop with one of the laces unsuccessfully. Any five year old can tie up their own shoelaces! Why can't I?

"Here, let me help you Harry." Hoppity said, reaching over to take the laces away from him. Harry scowled but was distracted as the salesman thrust the second shoe at him. He quickly put it on and Hoppity reached over and tied this one as well before he had even had the chance to try.

"Now stand up and walk around in them to see how they feel." The salesman ordered.

Harry did so. They felt springy, light and cushiony. Wow. He really liked them. He looked down at his feet and was surprised when he noticed a small red blink coming from the back. He looked over his shoulder, down at the backs of the trainers and took a couple of experimental steps. They blinked! Harry was even more enamored of them after that little discovery.

"How do they feel Harry? Do they fit right?" Hoppity asked.

"Yeah, they feel great!"

"Glad to hear that." The salesman said as he knelt down to feel Harry's toes through the shoes to make sure that they did indeed fit. "Do you want to try any others out too?"

"No." Snape said brusquely.

The salesman was in no way deterred. "Are you sure? We also have the new alternative to shoe laces for sale. You don't have to tie them, just twist them and they come in 4 fun colors."

"I can tie my own shoes." Harry said darkly. He wasn't some baby who needed velcro or whatever else.

"Well alright. I'll just ring these up. Do you want to wear those out of the store?"

"I'm allowed to?"

"Sure. All I need is the code on the box."

"No, Potter. Take them off. It's uncivilized to wear one's purchases while exiting from where they were purchased."

"But the man just said I could wear them!" Snape was silent as he merely gave off a cold, expectant look. Harry turned to Hoppity for backup but he was surprised when she seemed to agree with Snape.

Harry pouted to himself, as he sat down to put on his yucky old shoes on again.

When they stood at the cash register, Hoppity spotted bags of socks in a nearby bin. "We should get some of these as well." She said as she dug through it, pulling out several large packages of white cotton socks. Some of them had strange symbols on them, Harry noticed, as she handed some to him and turned back to the bin. "Severus would you like some too?" Snape just glared at the offending cotton monstrosities and looked away.

"Guess not." Hoppity murmured.