“Okay, so we go and find Professor Snape, apologize…”

“And die.”

Niamh glared at Harry and snapped, “Will you get off the dying thing?  He’s not gonna kill us.”

Harry laughed at her and said, “Ni, you’ve been staying with us since term ended.  Do you really think my da won’t string the both of us up by our toes from an oak tree and let the raven’s pick our eyes out?”

“Well…I don’t think he’ll go quite that far, Harry.”

“I still doan understan’ why ‘e’d kill the two o’ ye.”

“Because Harry’s a bloody superstar,” muttered Niamh.

“Wha’?!” exclaimed Tyls, looking at Harry in surprise.  The dark-haired boy glared at Niamh then turned to his friend.

“Well…to make a really long story short – we’re wizards.”

“Wizards?”

“Well, wizard and witch to be exact.  We go to a school where they teach magic.  My father is one of the professors there and head of me and Ni’s House.”

“Wizards,” breathed Tyls, eyes wide on Harry and Niamh.  He gave a little shake then asked, “Can I come wi’ ye?  Please?  ‘Arry, ye know wha’ i’s like ‘ere.  I jus’ can’ take i‘ anymore.”

Tyls shook his head then suddenly began to cough and Harry rushed to his side, grasping the other boy’s thin shoulders.  He frowned when he noticed that they were far too thin, even for him.  They were almost skeletal thin.

And then Tyls began to cough up blood.  Niamh gasped and Harry looked on in horror.  He then looked at Niamh and growled, “Stay here.”

“Where are you going?” yelled Niamh after him as he broke into a sprint.

“To find my da!”

Niamh watched Harry until he zipped around a corner then looked at Tyls, who had stopped coughing but had collapsed onto the street, shivering uncontrollably.  She sat down beside him and hugged him close, silently praying to any deity who would listen to not let her friend die.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

“Da!”

Severus had just turned a corner when Harry burst out of an alleyway in front of him, dirt on his jeans and shirt and a leaf in his hair.  His eyes were wide and wild looking and Severus immediately knew something was wrong.

“Where’s Niamh?  What happened?”

Harry shook his head, taking a deep breath before he spoke.

“No Ni.  Tyls.”

“Who?”

“Nevermind who.  He needs help.  Now.”

“Harry…”

“Da!  He’s my friend”

Severus looked into his son’s eyes then nodded.

“Let’s go.”

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

When they arrived back at the place where Harry had left Niamh and Tyls, there was only a crumpled figure with dark hair lying there.  And no sign of Tyls but the blood he had coughed up onto the ground.  Harry rushed to Niamh’s side and lifted up her head, tapping her cheek lightly.

“Ni.  Ni.  Ni, wake up.”

Blue eyes opened and looked around blearily before focusing on him.  Niamh licked her lips and mumbled, “Harry?”

“Yeah.  Where’s Tyls,  What happened?”

Niamh looked confused for a moment then whispered, “Something hit me from behind, shoved me away from Tyls.  I – I think he called out a name…”

“What, Ni?” asked Harry.

“A – Abram, I think.  I didn’t…didn’t see…”

“Shh, Ni.  We’ll find Tyls.  Don’t ye worry.”

Niamh nodded and closed her eyes, slumping against Harry as he pulled her up into a sitting position.  Severus knelt down beside him and asked, “Who’s Abram?”

Harry glared coldly off into space as he growled, “Abram Baxter.  Thirteen-year-old Argil took in when Tyls and me were ten.  The bastard tried to get snug up close to Argil.  Son of a bitch.  I’ll kill him if I see him again.”

Severus placed a hand on his son’s shoulder and said, “We’ll find him.  Do you remember where you using to…ah – live?”

Harry gave his father a stern look that clearly read ‘Are you an idiot?’ and Severus chuckled softly.

“Of course you do.  Stupid question.”

“What about Ni?”

“I’ll go back to the Cauldron and Floo Molly.  We can leave Niamh with Tom until she arrives and go look for this Tyls.”

“Sounds good.  Can I kill Abram when we get there?”

Severus frowned at his son and said, “We’ll see.  Are you going to be here when I get back?”

Harry nodded and Severus looked skeptically down at the boy who had inherited his jump-not-slide into situations point of view.  The dark-haired teen crossed his hand over his heart and smiled innocently up at his father.

“Yes, I truly believe that,” said Severus in a skeptical but warm tone.

Harry rolled his eyes as Severus picked up Niamh and set off down the alley with her.  Harry watched his father until he was gone, settling back on his heels with a sigh.  He checked for his wand in the holster at his hip then slipped up his sleeve to make sure Hedwig was still there.  The black snake looped up in surprise, blinking her eyes blearily.

“Harry?  Is something wrong?”

Harry sighed and replied, “Trouble’s a foot, Hed.  I don’t know if you’ll be sake on my wrist.  Or anywhere on me to be exact.”

“Trouble?”

“With a capital ‘T’.  I found an old friend of mine but he’s been nabbed.  As soon as Da gets back, we’re going to find him.

“And I am not safe on you?”

“No.”

“So where am I to go?”

Harry frowned and looked about the alley.

“I haven’t the foggiest.  If Jar were here I’d let him take you.”

“I refuse to be carried by that creature!” exclaimed Hedwig.  “He eats my kind for lunch!”

Harry rolled his eyes and said in a stressed tone, “I said if he was here, Hed.  And besides, Jar knows your mine.  He wouldn’t eat you for a snack, much less lunch.”

Hedwig looked sullenly at him and hissed, “Well, I wouldn’t put it past him.”

Harry shook his head and looked around the alley again.  He let out a hiss of breath and muttered, “Da’s taking too long.  I’ll have to go on my own.  You stay here, Hed.”

“You can’t just leave me here!!”

“You’ll be fine,” admonished Harry as he wrestled the snake from his wrist.  Hedwig wrapped her trail tightly in its place and scratched him with her fangs as she tried to latch onto his wrist (which made Harry grateful that she wasn’t poisonous) but the teen moved with the same striking fast speed as she did, closing his nimble fingers around the back of her head.  He pulled her from his wrist and set her on the ground, saying, “And besides, Da’ll be back soon and someone has to tell him where I went.”

“He can’t speak Parseltongue!”

“But he can understand it!  Just tell him where I went.”

“Where ARE you going?”

“After the friend I was talking about.  Wish me luck.”

Hedwig muttered something that sounded oddly like, “I’ll wish you luck if you succeed,” as Harry rose from his crouch.  He looked about the alley for a moment the scrambled up a dumpster with cat-like agility, leaping over a wooden fence into the next alley and landing hard before sprinting off.