Tuesday morning arrived like every morning with Tobias waking Harry for breakfast. After breakfast Harry studied for a while in the kitchen with Severus. After he was done studying Tobias handed him a list of chores to be done for the day. Harry didn't complain, but didn't look thrilled either, and Tobias was rather impressed that he didn't have to threaten Harry with more punishment in order to get him to do his chores.

As twelve thirty rolled around Severus began putting away his papers before he went to meet Serenity.

"Done for today?" questioned Tobias as he entered the kitchen and began making lunch.

"Yes, and don't worry about setting a place for me, I'm having lunch in town," responded Severus.

"Really," purred Tobias, "with the bookstore woman I presume?"

"Not that it's really any of your business, but yes." Severus made his way out of the kitchen to put his things away before leaving.

Severus made it to the bookstore about five till one and rang the doorbell outside the shop. Knowing that he'd be working after lunch he wore a pair of old blue jeans and a blue short-sleeved collard shirt that already had some paint stains on it.

Severus could see Serenity as she came through the door leading to her apartment. She didn't appear to be too dressed up either. She was wearing a pair of old jeans also, with several holes, and a red T-shirt that was about two sizes to big and fell off her shoulders slightly.

"Severus," said Serenity opening the door and ushering him inside, "come on up, I have some sandwiches upstairs."

Severus followed her upstairs noticing the wood piled in a corner along with some paint buckets and ½ the floor was covered by plastic. Once upstairs they sat down at a small table already laden with food.

"So," began Serenity, "any place you have to be today?"

"No, madam," Severus mock bowed, "I am here to obey your every whim."

Serenity laughed, "Ah...a slave to use and abuse as I see fit. What more could a girl ask for?"

..........................................................

By eight thirty that night the two managed to build about half the shelves, but hadn't even begun to paint. Severus even found himself wondering where the day had gone. It seemed as though he had arrived only moments ago. At first he had been nervous about today, he really had no idea how to act, but soon found he didn't have to act. With Serenity he didn't have to worry about keeping up his persona just being himself. He even found himself smiling more then once.

"Well," sighed Serenity, "I, for one, am done for the day."

"We can probably have the rest done in a couple of days," replied Severus sitting down next to Serenity who had collapsed against a wall.

"Can I expect to see you tomorrow, then?"

"Same time, same place?"

Serenity beamed at him and nodded yes, leaning over to kiss his cheek lightly. Before Severus could do anything else she was up and rambling on about what they would do tomorrow.

Severus slowly stood up and looked at the clock realizing they had missed dinner. "If you'd like...we could...since we missed dinner...go out to eat?"

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to ask," teased Serenity her smile, if possible, growing even more.

Severus smiled in return something that most would consider unusual to say the least, but Serenity had begun to consider it the norm.

.........................................................

"What's the point of going to bed this early if I'm not going to be able to sleep?" asked Harry not at all tired as he crawled in bed.

"You're grounded, remember? It wouldn't be a very good punishment if you got to stay up later. Now, stop trying to stall," said Tobias as he tucked his son in with a smile.

Harry turned on his side facing away from his dad and quietly said, "yes, sir." Harry knew nothing he could say could get him out of going to bed early, but he had to try. His nightmares seemed to get worse every night.

Every, once in a while, Harry would say or do something that didn't seem quite right for a fifteen year old boy. Over the past week and a half Tobias had learned that it usually had something to do with the Dursleys. At times he would get the boy to talk about it, other times, however, nothing he did could get the boy to talk. Not wanting to bring too many bad memories up for his son before he went to sleep Tobias wished Harry goodnight, turned the light off, and left the room planning on talking to his son more about it the next day.

Once Harry was alone in his dark room, he curled up even further and in a hushed  whisper said, "Dad...please, don't go."

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Neither of them being properly dressed to go to a nice restaurant, Severus and Serenity settled for a small all night diner on the edge of town. Severus actually held some fond memories of the place, he and some of his friends used to go there on weekends. Granted, Severus had never been overly popular, but had managed to make the occasional friend while growing up. On some weekends, after he had gotten his allowance, Severus would meet up with a friend or two and get lunch at the diner before seeing whatever movie looked good that week.

"So," began Serenity after the waitress had taken their order, "what brings you to this little town? Do you work here?"

"Actually, I'm a teacher at a boarding school in Scotland. My house burned down recently, so I came back here to stay with my father until I can make other arrangements."

"Oh, that's horrible!"

Severus shrugged, "I stay at a boarding school nine months out of the year, so there wasn't a lot inside at the time. It's more of an inconvenience then a tragedy. Besides, my father has wanted me to come visit for I couldn't tell you how long. Hopefully, after putting up with me for a few months he'll remember why he wanted me gone in the first place."

Serenity laughed, "I doubt it."

"Ah, but a man can dream can't he?"

Serenity laughed harder and Severus found himself laughing along with her before long.

...........................................................................

Lazily, Harry opened his eyes, it was early, to early to get up and make breakfast, so he settled for sitting in the corner of his cupboard. Suddenly he heard footsteps pounding down the stairs. His uncle's footsteps. Harry cringed. He hadn't done anything wrong, but that never stopped his uncle from ‘disciplining' him before. The door was thrown open and he was forcefully pulled out of the cupboard by his hair.

"You pathetic, worthless, freak, we should have drowned you the moment we found you on the doorstep." Vernon screamed in Harry's face before he slammed him against the wall and started yelling at him.

Vernon's voice faded out, so Harry couldn't hear him just see him as he screamed. Then out of nowhere, Cedric appeared beside his uncle and started yelling at him to. Harry couldn't actually hear Cedric but he sunk to the floor anyway and covered his ears. Even though he couldn't understand what they were saying, he kept hearing voices echoing in his head telling him he was worthless and that it was his fault that Cedric died.

When he couldn't take it anymore with tears streaming down his face Harry did the only thing he could. He screamed.

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"Why a bookstore?" asked Severus before putting a bit of food in his mouth.

Serenity finished chewing her food before replying, "Well, in college I majored in business, but after I finished had no idea what I wanted to do, so after several jobs,  I decided to open my own business. I've always loved to read, so I figured, why not sell books. They never go out of style, you don't have to worry about expiration dates, and it's rather peaceful to sit in a room filled with books."

Severus nodded, defiantly seeing the appeal. "What's your favorite book?"

"Oh, that's a tough one. Let's see," Serenity leaned back in her seat staring off into space before she answered, "I'd have to say...I don't know...its so hard to choose just one, but probably, as far as fiction books go, Les Miserables."

"Really," Severus raised an eyebrow, "I wouldn't have thought of you as the type who enjoys reading about the most depressing, pathetic, victims of circumstance whose only aspiration is to die."

Serenity shrugged, "It is sad and all, but his characterizations are excellent. Not to mention every character in that book is connected. I don't know how Victor Hugo kept them all straight. I almost went mad the first time I read it. What about you? What's you favorite book?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," said Severus with a small smile.

"Try me," said Serenity confidently.

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

Serenity's eyes narrowed and she studied Severus carefully, "You majored in psychology didn't you?"

Severus laughed at that, the deep sort of laugh that caused everyone nearby to laugh with you. Once he stopped laughing a smile lingered on his lips, "How ever did you guess?"

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Tobias was reading in the living room when he heard an ear-splitting scream coming from down the hall. Jumping up, his book hitting the floor with a thud, he raced to Harry's room. Throwing the door open he went straight to his son, not bothering with the lights.

"Harry! What is it?" Tobias scanned the room for the source of his son's fear, but finding nothing he turned back to his son.

Harry was sitting upright in bed drenched in sweet and breathing heavily.

"Harry," Tobias's voice was calm and soothing as he laid a hand on top of Harry's head. Harry still not entirely aware of his surroundings saw only a hand coming towards his face and instinctively flinched, an act that did not unnoticed by Tobias. "Harry, what's wrong?"

His father's hand and voice seemed to bring Harry around a bit, but as his breathing slowed he still couldn't seem to calm down completely.

"Nothing," answered Harry, looking down at the blanket, "I just had a bad dream, but I'm good now."

Tobias knew that Harry was far from ‘good.' If the tremor in his son's voice hadn't been a dead give away then his shaking hands would have been.

"That must have been some nightmare," commented Tobias, "care to tell me about it?"

Harry shook his head, and remained silent.

Tobias sighed and pushed his son back down in bed once more tucking him in, grabbing the desk chair he pulled it over to his son's bedside and sitting down took his son's hand in his own, "Tell me."

.......................................................................

"It's a beautiful night," Serenity commented looking up at the night sky. They had left the restruant and Severus was walking Serenity back to her store.

Severus looked up at the sky as well, "It does look unusually clear, in fact..." Severus trailed off and a slight smirk crossed his face.

"In fact, what?" asked Serenity, charily looking at Severus.

"Care to go for a stroll?" asked Severus with a suspiciously innocent smile on his face.

Serenity studied him for a moment, biting her bottom lip slightly and narrowing her eyes, "Sure, why not."

.........................................................................................

By the time Harry finished telling his father about the nightmare he was lying down in bed facing away from his dad with the covers pulled up to cover everything except his head.

Sighing Tobias walked around the bed and knelt down so he was eye level with his son.

Harry, if it were possible, pulled the covers closer around him and avoided looking his father in the eyes.

Tobias ran a hand through his son's dark hair, knowing from experience that there was no point in forcing the boy to talk. "Harry, I'm glad you told me." Tobias continued to card his hand through his son's hair concerned about the far away look in the boy's dark fathomless eyes. "But you and I both know that's not the entire story."

Harry's eyes widened and he briefly looked up to meet his father's intense gaze before once more lowering his eyes.

"Harry," Tobias spoke gently, "please, tell me what else is wrong."

Eventually, after several minutes of silence, Tobias sighed, removing his hand from Harry's hair, and stood up. He began walking around the bed, not intending to leave his son, but planning to move the chair to the other side of the bed so he could sit down and still see his son's face.

"Dad," whispered Harry thinking his father was leaving him. He wanted his dad to stay with him, but was afraid to ask. He didn't want his ‘new' father to think of him as some stupid little kid that was afraid of a few bad dreams. Harry's fear and exhaustion outweighed his embarrassment though.

Moving the chair first Tobias sat back down and began rubbing the boy's arm. "Yes, Harry?"

Harry pulled the blanket up even further, practically covering his head before whispering, "Please, don't leave me."

A part of Tobias wanted to go find the sons of bitches responsible for his son's actions and slaughter them in the most painful ways possible; however, Tobias pushed his anger aside in favor of caring for his son. "I'm not going to leave you Harry. I'm right here. I promise I won't leave you."

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"Amazing isn't it?" asked Severus standing behind Serenity one hand on either of her shoulders.

Severus had led her through the town past the docks to a cliff that looked out over the ocean. The cliff was steep but only about twenty feet high. The dark sky seemed to stretch out forever and it was almost impossible to tell were sky ended and ocean began.

"Gorgeous," whispered Serenity as she felt Severus's hands trail down her arms then come to rest on her waist. She leaned back into him enjoying the scene, a smile coming to her lips.

........................................................................................

"Are you afraid to go back to sleep?" asked Tobias in a moment of inspiration. Tobias stopped rubbing his son's arm, but left his hand lying on the bed directly in his line of sight.

Harry uncurled slightly and reached out taking Tobias's hand in his own. He began studying it, like a small child would, comparing it to his own and rubbing his fingers across the calluses and scars.

After a few more minutes Harry spoke, "I haven't been able to sleep since the third task. Every night, I have nightmares usually about Cedric, sometimes Voldemort's there and then like tonight my uncle's there. I usually wake up before I scream, but I couldn't tonight and I can't go back to sleep after a nightmare, except..."

"Except what?" asked Tobias, extracting his hand from his son's grasp and pushing Harry's hair out of his face.

Harry blushed but continued, "Except that night it stormed. I woke up from a nightmare and heard the storm so I went into the living room where you were. After I went to sleep on the couch next to you I didn't have any nightmares."

Both were silent for a moment before Tobias got up out of the chair and pushing Harry over slightly, got into the bed leaning back against the headboard. He pulled Harry close so the boy's head rested on his chest. "It's all right, Harry, I'm hear, go to sleep. We'll talk more tomorrow."

Harry closed eyes, fisted his hand in his father's shirt, and buried his head in the man's chest. Eventually, he drifted off to sleep feeling safe and... loved.

........................................................................................

"How'd you find this place?" asked Serenity.

They were sitting on the edge of the cliff Severus had his arms wrapped around Serenity who was leaning into him.

Severus shrugged, "I used to come here as a kid to play. During the summer we would jump off and swim."

Serenity twisted around to face him, "Isn't that dangerous?"

Severus smiled, "My father thought so which is probably why he forbid from playing here."

"I see," said Serenity turning back around, "so what did your father do to you when he found out."

"What makes you think he found out?" replied Severus.

Serenity once more twisted to face him with an eyebrow cocked, "He didn't?" Severity's tone held disbelief.

"Yes, of course, he found out," Severus laughed slightly, "I couldn't get away with anything, with that man as my father. I was coming up the path (I was about twelve), so I could jump off again, when my arm was suddenly grabbed and my father's hand landed, hard, on my backside. I still have no idea how he found out I was playing there. After he ordered my friends out of the water and home, in a true Naval Officer fashion, mind you, he marched me home and put me in time-out until I thought my knees would buckle. I was also grounded for two weeks."

"Nice," Serenity nodded her head, "you deserved it."

.............................................................

Once Tobias was sure Harry was asleep he slowly got up tucking his son in securely. He pushed the boy's hair away from his face praying that his son wouldn't have any more nightmares. Leaving the room, he noticed how late it was and entered his own room to go to bed.

Not long after Tobias had turned in, the back door opened and Severus quietly made his way to his room. He had walked Serenity home before coming home himself and it was quite late. With a small smile, he went to bed looking forward to the following day.