Harry reread the letter, trying to figure out which Wednesday Hermione had meant, when he realized that this was Tuesday. The Wednesday to which Hermione had been referring was actually the next day. At least, he hoped it was; it was hard to tell with mail between countries. She might have meant next Wednesday. Harry didn't think so, though.

So dd that mean that Hermione had already got her letter from Hogwarts? Why hadn't Harry, then? Had it perhaps been part of the mail that the house elf had snatched? And if it was, what could he do? Send Hedwig to Dumbledore and ask for another letter?

That wasn't necessarily true, though. Maybe Hermione had just been assuming that the letter would be waiting at home for her. Maybe she had even got hers early, because Dumbledore knew she was out of the country and wanted to give her time. Or maybe she had meant the next Wednesday, after all.

"Oi, Hermione," Harry said, exasperated. "You really need to be more specific. Especially when you're in France."

"And what does being in France have to do with being specific?"

Harry turned around so quickly that he might have gotten whiplash. Severus was standing only a couple of feet away, his right eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Well," Harry began slowly, "it means that I don't have time to send a letter back to see which Wednesday she meant when she asked me to meet her and the Weasleys in Diagon Alley."

"What exactly did she write?"

Harry picked up the letter and read aloud, "'Oh, and I'll be in Diagon Alley on Wednesday to buy my school things. Ron's already said he can come, so do you think you can meet us there?' Only she didn't say which Wednesday. It could be this Wednesday or next."

Severus looked thoughtful for a long moment. Then a rather confident look came over his face and he said, "Well, there's a simple way to be sure; contact Mr. Weasley."

"Hedwig couldn't make it there and back before tomorrow," Harry objected.

"There's a faster way," Severus said quietly, his anger at the Dursleys returning again as he was reminded of how naive Harry was about common forms of magical transportation.

"There is?" Harry asked curiously. He had never heard of any such thing, but then again, there was a lot he didn't know about the magical world yet.

"Yes..." And then he pointed his wand at another bookcase; it moved forward and slid to the left to reveal a rather dusty-looking fireplace. Harry stared at it, looking confused, as Severus approached and peered into a canister on the hearth.

"Er -- sir, what are you doing?" Harry asked as Severus started a fire.

"Preparing to use floo powder."

"Floo.. powder?"

Severus straightened up, holding the canister he had taken from the hearth, and looked at Harry. "Yes, floo powder. It is generally used for the purpose of traveling from one wizarding fire to another; but it can also be used to communicate without actually leaving the place where you are. It will be a simple matter to contact the Weasleys in this manner."

"Oh," Harry said after a moment, still unsure of exactly what that meant. "Right."

A dark eyebrow twitched upward, but aside from that, Severus gave no response. He just took a handful of glittering powder from inside the canister and threw it into the fire, which turned green. Then Harry stared as Snape put his head in the fireplace and said commandingly, "The Burrow."

There was a whirl of smoke and flame and then Severus was looking into the living room of the Weasleys' home. Molly was bustling about, folding and sorting laundry, but she turned around upon hearing the floor. Her eyebrows raised, but her voice was quite level as she observed, "Severus."

"Molly," Severus returned, trying to keep a smirk off his face. "Harry recently received an owl --"

"What?"

Severus blinked. "I said that Harry recently received an owl --"

"You called him Harry."

"So I did," Severus answered coolly. "Might I ask my question now, Molly?"

Molly still looked surprised, but now slightly abashed. "Of course," she said rather stiffly.

"Thank you. As I was saying, Harry recently received an owl from Miss Granger saying that she and your son wished to meet him in Diagon Alley on Wednesday."

"Yes."

"Harry was unsure whether she was referring to this Wednesday or Wednesday next."

"We'll be going to Diagon Alley tomorrow."

"Thank you, Molly. You may tell Mr. Weasley that Harry will meet him there."

"I'll do that."

"Good day."

"Goodbye."

With this, Severus pulled his head back out of the fireplace and dusted off his robes. Then he turned around to see Harry standing and staring as if he had never seen anything quite so strange.

"We will be going to Diagon Alley tomorrow," Severus said promptly, as if he had done nothing spectacular at all.

Harry gaped for a moment before his found his voice. "What -- how did you --" Then he finally he seemed to give up on this line of thought and said, "So -- so it is tomorrow, then?"

"Yes," Severus said, seeming to ignore Harry's stammerings. However, after a short pause, he answered those, as well: "As I said, it is floo powder. Normally, it is used to move an entire person or object from one wizarding fire to another. However, it is also possible to use it in other ways, such as communicating with just one's head in the flames. That way you never truly leave your original location."

Harry just nodded and pretended to understand that, because he wasn't entirely sure that he did. The majority of the magical world was still very much uncharted territory in Harry's eyes. However, the fact that they were going to Diagon Alley the next day reminded Harry of something.

"Er -- sir? I forgot to tell you earlier, but.. I don't have my Hogwarts letter."

Severus frowned. "It has almost certainly been sent out by now," he said slowly. "The Headmaster rarely waits until this late to send out the letter, unless he can't find a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. However, I happen to know that he has already found one. You should have received your letter by now."

Harry bit his lip and at last voiced his concerns aloud. "Sir, you don't think.. that house elf might have taken it? He had a lot of letters, I couldn't see who all of them were from..."

Severus seemed to mull this over for a minute. At last, he said slowly, "It is possible; but I daresay you can borrow the supply list of one of your friends."

A strange look came over Harry's face at that. "You believe me?" he asked incredulously. "When I told you, you didn't believe me. Why do you believe me now?"

Again, that one dark eyebrow raised before Severus spoke. "When you first told me your tale, you had given me no reason to believe you."

"And I have now? How?"

The eyebrow went higher, but otherwise, Severus's expression did not change. "You have not lied, Harry. Even about things which you obviously did not want to admit."

Harry turned red; Snape was talking about the Dursleys, he had to be. A shadow of an emotion that he had not felt for some time crossed Severus's pallid face; but like all the others, it disappeared quickly as he again brought his features under control.

"Don't concern yourself with it," he said quietly. "It wasn't your fault. Don't let it become your problem."

Harry's eyes darkened as he murmured, "That's easy for you to say."

Severus gazed at Harry for a moment. Then he said softly, "No, it isn't."

And then he turned and swept off toward the kitchen, leaving Harry standing beside the fireplace and looking curious.

*~*~*

Lunch was ready early that day, probably because Severus had retreated to the kitchen before he normally would have. However, he had needed to reorganize this thoughts, and that had seemed the perfect excuse.

Not wanting the food to get cold before they ate it, he went to fetch Harry, but was surprised to find him sitting in the living room. He had never remained downstairs alone before, but yet there he was -- sitting quietly on the old sofa and reading the Daily Prophet.

In his surprise, Severus accidentally let the door swing shut behind him, instead of catching it and easing it shut as he normally did. It gave a soft thud and a click, and Harry looked up. Almost instantly, he was on his feet, dropping the paper on the sofa as if it had scalded him.

"Is it time for lunch already, sir?"

"No, not really time for lunch," Severus said. "It's a few minutes early, yet. However, lunch is ready." He paused, and the merest trace of a smile crossed his face. "So, no, Harry -- you are not late."

Harry smiled, half grateful and half amused, and followed Severus back the way he had come. However, when they sat down, a complete silence fell, broken only by the clink of Severus's silverware. It didn't take him long to realize that the lack of such sounds from Harry's side of the table meant that he wasn't eating.

"Is something wrong, Harry?"

Harry looked up from his still untouched plate and toward Severus. Had that been concern in his voice?

"Just thinking, sir," Harry answered quietly.

Severus's right eyebrow twitched upward again. "About?" he prompted in a voice as quiet as Harry's own.

Harry was silent for a long moment, but then he finally answered, "About the Hansons. I didn't realize that people like them really existed."

"Annoying people?"

"No," Harry began, but then he gazed at Severus strangely. "Did you just make a joke?"

"Of course not," Severus answered, but there was a strange look in his black eyes just the same. "What sort of people were you talking about, then?"

Another long pause, and then: "Happy people. People who are always that cheery, no matter what. It's.. a little odd."

"I believe you mean annoying, Harry, not odd."

Harry couldn't help it; he had to laugh. Then at last he shook his head and said, "You know, it's still strange to hear you call me Harry."

Severus's eyebrow twitched again. "And speaking of me calling you Harry -- I don't believe I ever gave you permission to call me Severus."

A cold fear washed over Harry, sweeping away all the amusement he had felt before. Snape was about to get angry at him, he knew it. "Well, I almost called you Professor Snape," he said apologetically, talking to his plate, "but they were Muggles, so I -- I didn't know what to say."

He chanced a glance at Severus, and was surprised to see that there was no anger in Snape's eyes. Actually, if Harry had to guess, he would have said that it was something closer to curiosity.

It wasn't just curosity that Severus felt, though. Again, his newfound hatred for the Dursleys cropped up at Harry's discomfort; then there was that strange wave of protectiveness that Severus was still denying; and maybe even a twinge of regret for having been a contributor to that same discomfort himself. Granted, he had done (and would do, he told himself firmly) nothing that the Dursleys had; but he had never exactly given Harry a reason to feel comfortable, either.

"It was a sensible decision," Severus said at last, and he had to restrain his amusement at the look of great surprise in Harry's eyes at that statement. "It would have been appreciated if you had asked my opinion beforehand.. but I admit that it would not have been sensible in that particular situation. For the record, however, you may call me Severus this summer, if you choose; but bear in mind that you must still call me sir, and at Hogwarts I am still Professor Snape."

Harry's face suddenly broke into a grin. He didn't really know why; maybe it was just relief that he hadn't been yelled at. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but doubt that Snape would have done anything short of blow up if Harry had called him Severus at any time before. Maybe Snape really was all right.

"Thank you.. Severus." Harry paused there, and shook his head. "Wow, that sounds funny. It'll definitely take some getting used to."

"It sounds almost as unusual as you calling me Harry."

Severus's right eyebrow twitched again. "Would you prefer I went back to calling you Potter?"

"No, sir," Harry said instantly, without even thinking about it.

That tiny trace of a smile graced Severus's pallid face again. "I thought not. Now perhaps you should eat your potatoes while they are only moderately cold."

And Harry did as he was told, though mostly to hide the grin on his face.

*~*~*

"So, how are we getting to Diagon Alley, Severus?"

Harry and Severus had just sat down to breakfast, and the latter was already beginning to wonder if the former would ever run out of questions.

"We'll be using the Floo Network," Severus answered coolly.

Harry's eyes widened. "You mean that thing with the green fire like you did yesterday? Sir?"

"Were you this talkative when you first received your Hogwarts letter?"

There was a short silence and then Harry said slowly, "Actually, no. I wondered why the house was being filled with letters the Dursleys didn't want me to open, but it took me a while to get used to the giant who knocked down the front door of the shack we were hiding in."

A crease appeared in the middle of Severus's forehead, but he said nothing.

Harry finished his breakfast quickly again that morning, and sat looking rather anxious while he waited for the Potions Master to do the same. Then when Snape stood up to clear the table, Harry could barely stand still as he waited. Apparently it was painfully obvious, because Severus seemed to be disguising his amusement as he turned and said, "I take your eagerness to mean that you're ready to go?"

A look of excitement in his eyes, Harry nodded. Severus was suddenly reminded of the day before and wondered why on earth the boy was so enthusiastic about a trip to Diagon Alley.

"So, how exactly do you do use this Floo Powder?" Harry asked as Severus again revealed the hidden fireplace.

"It's quite simple," Severus explained as he lit a fire. "You throw the powder into the fire, step inside, and speak -- clearly -- the name of the place you wish to go."

"Sounds easy enough," Harry said, but he still seemed uncertain.

"It is," Severus said, and his words seemed almost kind. He offered the canister to Harry and instructed him to throw a handful into the fire. Harry was heartened somewhat when the fire turned green; he had half expected that even that wouldn't work.

"Now step inside and say 'Diagon Alley.' It is likely that the Weasleys and Grangers will not be there yet, but I daresay you remember what the place looks like; I will follow momentarily. Should you go astray, wait where you are; I shall find you."

Harry wasn't sure if this was a comforting thought or not, but he did as he was told nonetheless. Unfortunately, when he opened his mouth to speak, he got a mouthful of ash and had to cough out his words.

As he disappeared, Severus had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Harry hadn't spoken very clearly at all; in fact, Severus himself had barely been able to distinguish the words. So had the Floo Powder swept the boy off somewhere else?

The first thought into Severus's mind was that he should try to say exactly the same thing that Harry had. If it worked, he would end up in the same place. If it didn't, however, there was no telling where he might turn up. There must be many possibilities, for the Floo Network connected wizarding fires all over the world. Yet, what other choice did he have? It was, after all, the only option that made much sense.

Finally he decided that he might as well try it. He had to find the boy before he managed to get into trouble -- and Harry Potter had already proven himself quite adept at getting into trouble.

However, upon emerging from the fire, Severus found himself in Diagon Alley with no Harry anywhere nearby. That could mean one of two things: either Harry hadn't listened, and had wandered off by himself, or it hadn't worked and Severus had wound up in a different location. The Potions Master found himself much more inclined to believe the latter than the former.

Yet, where to begin looking? It might be possible to try the Floo Network again, but it was highly unlikely to work the second time when it hadn't the first. So should he just begin looking here? Harry might have gone on to the next grate, and Severus's jaw tightened as he thought of that, for the next grate was Knockturn Alley. It was the best shot he had, though, so Severus set off toward Gringotts, turning down the dark side street next to it.

The place hadn't changed much from what he remembered: still dark, dreary, and almost entirely dedicated to the Dark Arts. Where was the grate in here, Severus wondered? He couldn't remember, even if he had ever known. The most likely possibility was Borgin and Burke's, he decided; it was the oldest shop around, as well as the largest. And sure enough, when he reached the store, there was Harry Potter, standing near the fireplace and looking warily at Borgin's wares.

Harry caught sight of Severus in the window and practically ran to the door. "Severus! What is this place!? How did you find me?"

"It is Knockturn Alley, and I found you by using my head -- but I can explain later, we should get out of here quickly."

Harry didn't object, and he was never happier than when he saw Gringotts towering up to one side of the road. He wasn't sure that he breathed until he was back on the friendly, winding path that was Diagon Alley.

Once their feet were safely back on the cobblestone path, Severus finally stopped to actually look at Harry. He was covered in soot from head to toe, and his glasses had snapped in two right at the bridge of his nose. He seemed to be holding his glasses to his face with one hand so that he could see.

"Your glasses are broken," Severus observed. Then he held out his hand and said, "If you'll let me see them, I can fix them for you."

Harry did as he was told, and Severus repaired the glasses with a tap of his wand and a murmuring of, "Reparo." When he handed them back, Harry could hardly believe it. They were actually whole! He couldn't remember the last time he had worn glasses that weren't taped together; Dudley had made sure of that.

"We should go to Twilfoot and Tatting's first," Severus said after a moment. "That will take the longest, and your friends will likely not be here for another hour or so."

There was no plump, smiling witch like Madam Malkin in Twilfoot and Tatting's. The witch who took Harry's measurements was rather sober and not exactly the friendliest woman Harry had ever met. She hummed a beautiful tune as she worked, though, and when Harry received his clothes, the seams were flawless. He wasn't sure Madam Malkin could have done it. Severus was right, however, that it would take a while; in fact, the estimated hour before Ron and Hermione turned up had almost passed by the time the witch was finished.

"Now what, sir?" Harry asked as he carried a towering armful of wrapped packages back to the waiting room.

"Now I will pay for these and shrink them."

Harry turned red again. "Sir -- I have money that my parents left me --"

Severus's right eyebrow twitched again. "I know that; I took the liberty of getting some out of your vault for you. You really shouldn't leave your key lying around, you know." That tiny trace of a smile crossed his face again, but after a short pause he said seriously, "I will be paying for this, though, Harry. You should not have to buy all this yourself. Even if your aunt and uncle refuse to be proper human beings and provide something as simple as proper clothing for their nephew."

*~*~*

"HARRY!"

A grinning, tanned girl with a load of bushy brown hair ran and hugged Harry, nearly knocking the wind out of him. Harry laughed and said, "Y'know, Hermione, I'm glad to see you, too, but if you don't let go of me you're going to kill me."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Hermione said apologetically, stepping back. "I didn't know if you would make it, I only just realized last night that I didn't say which Wednesday we wanted you to come --"

"It's all right, he's here," Ron said impatiently, rolling his eyes.

"But he might have gotten confused and come next week instead!"

"But I didn't, Hermione," Harry interrupted. "It's okay."

Severus was just standing beside the archway of Diagon Alley and watching the three second years talking, Arthur Weasley interrogating the Grangers about electricity, and Molly berating the twins about some prank they had pulled earlier in the day. It was actually rather amusing, but of course he wasn't going to reveal that.

Ron and Hermione wanted Harry to go shopping with them, and Severus agreed to get their potions supplies since he needed to go to the apothecary, anyway. It would be good for the boy to spend time with the friends he had been isolated from over the summer. Anyway, Severus was less likely to run into the Weasley twins this way, and those two ranked at the top of his list of intolerable students.

So after agreeing to meet Severus in Flourish and Blotts in an hour, Harry left with Ron and Hermione. Predictibly, as soon as they were out of earshot, Ron picked up the same line of thought he had been following in his letter.

"How could Dumbledore send you with Snape!?"

"I'm sure Dumbledore thought it was the best option, Ron," Hermione said gently.

"Actually, he seemed to think it was the only option," said Harry. Ron and Hermione looked at him questioningly, and he quickly filled them in on what he had overheard outside Dumbledore's office as they walked. Ron's jaw dropped five seconds into the explanation and didn't close until Harry had finished speaking.

"Snape stood up for you!?" Ron demanded, wide-eyed.

"Why shouldn't he?" Hermione argued. "He saved Harry's life last year, I told you that he couldn't be that bad --"

"Come on, Hermione, he hates Harry!"

"No, he doesn't."

Hermione and Ron stopped arguing immediately and looked at Harry. Ron looked incredulous and Hermione grateful. However, they both looked rather surprised when Harry said, "Severus doesn't hate me."

"What did you just call him?" Ron asked, staring.

"Severus. Hadn't you noticed that he calls me Harry now?"

"Well, yeah, but.. you call him Severus?"

"If they've been living in the same house for a week, why would Harry keep calling him Professor Snape?" asked Hermione. "I mean, it's different at Hogwarts, of course, but it wouldn't make sense to keep calling him professor."

"Well, that, and it would have tipped off the Muggles."

It took nearly the entire hour to fill Ron and Hermione in on everything that had happened. It didn't help that he had to keep repeating himself, since he had to whisper as they brought their things and as a result they often missed whole parts at a time.

"Well, you've had a busy few days," Hermione said when he had finished his story in front of Florean Fortescue's as they enjoying ice cream cones to pass the last ten minutes.

"Can't say it hasn't been interesting," Harry agreed with a grin.

Ron had fallen suddenly and mysteriously silent, and Harry suspected that his friend's dislike of Snape was having a battle with the facts he had just heard. They were already on their way back to Flourish and Blotts before Ron grudgingly said, "Maybe he's not a complete git..." Harry had to grin; for a comment from Ron about Severus, that was practically a compliment.

There was a surprisingly large crowd in Flourish and Blotts when they reached the place. Hermione gasped and pointed out a sign that explained it: someone named Gilderoy Lockhart would be signing copies of his autobiography. "He's written almost all of the booklist!" she said, pulling out the very piece of paper she had referred to and showing it to Harry.

"The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a witch," Ron commented blandly, shaking his head.

The Grangers, the Weasleys, and Severus -- the latter looking exceedingly reluctant -- were all standing midway along the line when Harry, Ron, and Hermione joined them, clutching stacks of books. Hermione and her mother began whispering under their breath and Harry suspected that it was something to do with Lockhart. Mrs. Weasley was keeping a firm hold on Ginny's hand and seemed to be rearranging her hair.

It took a while to get anywhere in that line, but eventually a grinning wizard with wavy blond hair came into view. Lockhart was sitting behind a desk that was piled high with his own books. Upon catching sight of him, Mrs. Weasley looked flustered; Severus, on the other hand, looked disdainful.

"Have you met him before, Severus?" Harry asked curiously.

"Twice," Severus said darkly. "Once, several years ago, when he tried to convince me that he knew much more about Potions than I; and once, earlier this summer."

"I take it you didn't like him much," Harry said with a grin. Severus looked at him strangely and seemed to be on the verge of answering, but just then a voice gasped, "Harry Potter!?"

Suddenly Harry found himself being dragged up in front of the group of people as he tried not to go red in the face. By the burning sensation he felt, he could tell that he was failing miserably.

Gilderoy Lockhart had him pinned to his side, grinning at a Daily Prophet photographer who was jumping around to get different angles. Harry tried to get away, but it was like trying to escape from a vice. Lockhart had such a firm hold that he might have been part lobster.

Then another, familiar hand gripped his shoulder, and Harry was suddenly reminded of that morning at Hogwarts after he had first left the Dursleys. He looked around to see that Severus was again standing there, gazing at the person on Harry's other side with distrust and, it seemed, dislike.

"I don't believe that Harry asked to be brought up here, Gilderoy," Severus said coldly.

"Oh, you can't begrudge the boy a bit of fun, Severus," Lockhart answered, attempting to wave it off.

"I suppose not," Severus went on in the same icy voice. Then he looked at Harry and his tone changed as he asked, "Harry, do you find this experience fun?"

"No, sir," Harry answered immediately.

"There you have it," Severus said, his voice becoming icy again as he addressed Lockhart. "I believe Harry would prefer to go back to his place in line."

"Yes, sir," Harry added for emphasis.

Lockhart blinked, and then he released Harry. "Yes, of course..."

And Harry retreated to the line as Lockhart addressed them all. He groaned when Lockhart announced that he was going to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts.

"That's where you met Lockhart this summer, isn't it, Severus?" Harry asked as he and the Potions Master were walking back to the fireplace in Diagon Alley.

"Yes," Severus answered darkly.

Harry shook his head and was silent for a moment. Then he looked up at Severus and said suddenly, "You know something, Severus? I don't know what it is, but every time I go somewhere with you, you end up playing tug-of-war over me with somebody."

Maybe he was imagining it, but as he looked at Severus, Harry was almost certain that he saw the Potions Master smile.