Harry cried himself into a light sleep, and when Severus came an hour later searching for his son to wake him up, Harry’s eyes were red and puffy, his head hurt, and his sobs had turned into coughs.

“Harry, what’s wrong?” Severus asked astonished. He had spent a few hours adding birthday decorations to the Christmas decorations in the Great Hall, and Hermione and Luna had told him about their trip and that they had left a very happy Harry in their quarters. And now, Harry seemed to be outright distressed.

As Harry didn’t answer and seemed to be fully concentrated on catching his breath between his sobs and coughs, Severus quickly went over to his office and fetched a Calming Draught for his son. He helped Harry to sit up and drink the potion. “Now, are you ready to get up for the party?” Severus asked softly, but Harry shook his head and turned towards the wall.

Severus sighed and sat down on the edge of Harry’s bed. “Harry, why don’t you tell me what happened? You have to get up. We have invited your friends for your birthday party, and you cannot miss that…”

He was interrupted when Lily entered the room. “Harry, your friends have arrived.” Seeing Harry lying in bed she came over and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you ill, Harry?”

“He’s a bit upset but he’ll be all right,” Severus answered on behalf of his son. “Could you please tell his friends that Harry’s not feeling well and will be a few minutes late. I’m sure our colleagues will be well able to entertain the kids for a moment.”

“All right,” Lily replied and took the Floo back to the Great Hall.

“Now, Harry, I’m afraid you have to get up now,” Severus insisted. “Don’t let me make you get up, child.”

Harry sat up and requested in a very upset and impatient voice, “Then please explain to me why I’ve received two bad points as a birthday present!” Knowing very well that he wasn’t supposed to talk to his father in this tone, he averted his eyes to his bed cover, watching a small dragon roar.

Severus threw a surprised glance at the Hourglass and replied, “I’m sorry, Harry, but I didn’t do that and I didn’t even know about it.”

When Harry turned his head to look at him, Severus continued, “I can imagine why Lily gave you the points but I do not think you earned them. On the contrary, I would have given you phoenix points, but we will discuss this matter tonight together with your mother, all right?”

A bit consoled, Harry gave his father a small smile and whispered, “I’m sorry, Daddy, for shouting at you.”

Severus pulled Harry in an embrace and replied, “That was uncalled for, Harry. I can understand that you’re upset but there was no need to shout. All right, now forget about it please, go to the bathroom and make yourself a bit more presentable.”

-----

Fifteen minutes later, Harry and Severus arrived at the Great Hall. Severus had insisted on walking up from the dungeons as it would give Harry a few more minutes to get into a better mood.

When Harry and his father arrived in the Great Hall, the Hall had been turned into a playground. Only the normal dining table that was there over the holidays and a small children’s table as well as the Christmas tree had been spared – the rest of the Hall was covered with sand, and there were many attractions where the children could play. At the moment, however, Harry’s friends were sitting quietly at the table, obviously waiting for Harry.

A few steps into the Great Hall, Severus stopped walking and turned Harry around so that his black eyes could meet the green ones. “Everything all right now, Harry?” he asked softly.

“No, not before I talk to Mum about it. But I’ll be good for now,” Harry promised.

Severus quickly reached out to wipe an errant tear from Harry’s cheek. At that moment, Lily came over to them. “Are you all right, Harry?” she asked worried.

“Yes, Mum,” Harry replied, eagerly watching a spot on the huge Christmas tree.

“Then you have to introduce your friends to me, Harry. Can you do that?” Lily asked softly.

Harry gave her a nod before he turned to his father once more and mumbled, “Thank you, Daddy.” Then he approached the children’s table, Lily in tow.

“Hello, everyone. I’d like to introduce my mother to you all, Lily Evans-Snape.”

“Hello, Mrs. Snape,” the children chorused. They had heard the story about Harry’s mother but they hadn’t met her yet.

“All right, Mum, this is Evelyn Bulstrode, she’s already eight, Marc Zabini, he’s still seven, and his sister Angela, who is eight. And these are the funny twins, Enid and Frank Bones. They are eight, too.”

“All right,” Lily said, smiling at the kids. “Then I will leave you to your friends, Harry. Have fun, son!” Lily put a kiss on Harry’s forehead and went over to the adults’ table.

Harry sat down next to Evelyn, knowing that she was a bit shy compared to the other four, who always were together with their siblings when they met Harry. As soon as Harry sat down, Dobby started to put large pieces of cake on the children’s plates. Before Harry could start eating his cake, Enid told him, “No, you can’t start eating yet, we have to sing first.”

The five children started to sing Happy Birthday and the teachers and students from the other table joined in. Harry wanted to hide in a mouse hole but since he didn’t have one, he just stared at the Christmas tree, mumbling a small “thank you,” when the children finished singing.

The twins were the first to finish their cakes and shouted, “Oh, let’s go play!”

Marc and Angela agreed immediately, but Harry had not finished his cake and saw that Evelyn threw a longing glance at the remaining cake that stood in the middle of the table. Knowing that she’d be too shy to ask for another piece, Harry concentrated on one piece, sending a silent and wandless levitating spell over. All the children followed the piece of cake with their eyes when they noticed it floating over the table and landing exactly in the middle of on Evelyn’s plate.

“Wow,” Frank said, impressed. “Did you do that, Evelyn?”

The girl fiercely shook her head and mumbled anxiously, “No, sorry, I’ve no idea.”

The others looked around confused, except for Harry and Evelyn who concentrated on their cakes. “It’s all right,” Harry said suddenly. “You don’t have to wait for us, you can go over and play, we’ll be there soon.”

Enid, Frank, Mark, and Angela gave him a nod and stood up, running over to the huge slide that was placed in one of the corners of the Great Hall and had a very interesting structure, slowly winding its way down onto the floor. When Harry looked up from his cake, he noticed that Evelyn was watching him closely. “What’s wrong?” Harry asked surprised.

“Can you do such magic without a wand?” the girl asked incredulously.

“Um… only a little bit,” Harry answered softly and couldn’t help his face getting red all over. “But please don’t tell anyone,” he added, feeling very uncomfortable.

Evelyn reached over and pulled Harry into a hug. “Thank you Harry, that was very kind of you. Shall we go play with the others?”

“All right,” Harry answered, stood up and took the girl by the hand, pulling her over to the play area.

Harry enjoyed the afternoon with his friends very much. After dinner, however, when his five friends returned home, he became very solemn, remembering what had happened before.

“What’s wrong, Harry?” Luna asked softly, noticing Harry’s change of mood within a minute. She sat down on one of the swings, pulling the child onto her lap. “Are you sad because your friends have gone?”

“No.” Harry shook his head and silently started to cry.

“Can you tell me what’s wrong then, little one?” Luna asked again and Harry gave her a sad glance.

“I won’t ever help my Mum with the grading again!” Harry suddenly blurted out. “I corrected the tests of two classes for her and helpded sorting her lesson papers, and when I came home from Hogsmeade I didn’t get even one phoenix point but two spider points!” While Harry was sobbing into her robes, Luna tried to understand what the child was implying.

“Do I understand you correctly that you received two minus points although you did many good things?”

Harry nodded fiercely. In the meantime, Lily and Severus had approached Luna and Harry, and several others followed them. Severus quietly filled his wife in on the problem.

“Why he received the spider points you mean?” Lily asked, anger sounding in her words. “I can tell you that. He corrected the tests of two classes, that’s correct, yes, and that was very helpful and I appreciate it very much. But do you know what he did afterwards?”

Severus shook his head, while all teachers were watching Lily curiously. “He messed around with my lesson papers. You know, I have all my papers sorted so that they are in the order in which I need them. And Harry has mixed them all up so that it will take me several hours to put them all back in the correct order. They are a complete chaos now. Don’t you think that warrants two spider points?”

Luna slightly shook Harry’s shoulder. “Listen, Harry,” she said softly. “Did you mix up your Mummy’s papers?”

Harry fiercely shook his head. “Did not,” he answered firmly between two sobs.

“Yes, you did!” Lily replied angrily.

“Did not!” Harry sobbed. “Mummy’s papers were completely mixed up and I sorted them and put all the papers for each class together. I didn’t do anything bad, I only helpded.”

Luna carefully stroked his cheek and pushed herself and Harry off from the ground, swinging high into the air. “I know that you didn’t do anything bad, sweetie, it was just a misunderstanding, and I’m sure your Mummy will see that and turn the spider points into phoenix points,” she promised.

“Of course we will do that,” Harry could hear Severus’ voice from the ground.

Only when Harry’s sobs quieted twenty minutes later, Luna made the swing stop, so that Severus could take a very sleepy Harry from Luna’s lap. By the time Lily and Severus with Harry on his arms arrived at their quarters, Harry had fallen into an exhausted sleep, snuggling deep into his father’s robes.

When Harry woke up in the morning, his mother was sitting on the edge of his bed.

“I’m sorry, sweetie, I was very angry because I thought you wanted to play a prank on me,” Lily explained as soon as Harry had lazily opened his eyes.

“I didn’t play a prank. I don’t play pranks, I’m a good boy,” Harry mumbled.

“I know that Harry, but your Mummy still doesn’t know you as well as I do,” Severus who had just entered the room confirmed, giving Harry a comforting nod.

Lily waved her wand at the Hourglass, and the spider points vanished while the phoenix gained three points. “One point is meant as an apology,” Lily explained when Harry gave her an enquiring glance.

“All right, thank you, Mummy,” Harry returned, throwing his arms around his Mummy, who pulled him in a bear’s hug.

-----

During the next days, Harry concentrated on his flashing abilities and by the end of the winter holidays, he was able to flash all over the castle. However, he noticed that it was very tiring and had to promise Severus not to flash too often. While it was very convenient to quickly flash to the other end of the castle, it was more fun and less strenuous to fly. Whenever his parents allowed him to fly, Harry flew around the Hogwarts grounds and the castle. Fawkes, who knew Hogwarts in and out, often joined Harry and showed the tiny phoenix interesting spots on the outer wall of the castle where they could sit, being able to glance into a classroom or a teacher’s office.

After spending some time watching Remus working in his office, Harry sighed, trilling to Fawkes, “Maybe we could prank Mrs. Norris, the ugly cat. I’d love to anger her by flashing around her a few times.”

Fawkes let out a giggling trill and replied, “That’s a good idea. I’ll help you prank the stupid cat.” And in a flash of flames they were gone and did as Harry had suggested.

The two birds flashed around the cat a few times until she dashed off into Filch’s office, frightened. Afterwards, Harry pondered whether to visit Uncle Remus for a while but suddenly remembered the House he had discovered the other day. So far, he hadn’t had a chance to flash there because his parents had always been nearby during the holidays. Now he was supposed to be with Fawkes, but if the phoenix came to look for him, he would find him anywhere anyway. Therefore, Harry quickly told Fawkes where he would go, concentrated on the portrait hole with the animals, and flashed away, landing exactly in front of the picture.

#Hello, welcome, who are you?# The phoenix was the first to speak.

#Oh, sorry, I’m Harry. I forgot that you hadn’t met me in my phoenix form# Harry replied, and the phoenix greeted him enthusiastically.

#My, you’re a beautiful little nestling. Did you come to spend some time in the House?#

#Yes, if you don’t mind# Harry answered timidly.

#Of course not, you’re always welcome# the phoenix replied and the portrait hole opened.

Harry wanted to exchange a few words with the Basilisk, too, but the huge snake was fast asleep. #Please give my regards to the Basilisk and to the other animals# Harry instructed the phoenix and transformed back into his human form before he entered the House. He lit the large fireplace in the Common room and made himself comfortable on the sofa, pulling out a book from his robes and starting to read. He was so engrossed in his book that he didn’t notice how fast the time passed and got the fright of his life when Fawkes suddenly appeared in front of him.

#You have to flash home immediately, my nestling, otherwise your big chicks will get worried# Fawkes instructed Harry.

The boy quickly collected his book from the floor, where it had fallen when he had jumped, startled at Fawkes arrival. Then he grabbed Fawkes’ tail feathers and the phoenix flashed them home just in time to leave for dinner in the Great Hall.

-----

On the last day of the winter holidays, Luna and Hermione took Harry to the huge Muggle library in London. Minerva allowed them to use her fireplace in order to Floo over to the Leaky Cauldron from where they could walk over to the library. Harry was just getting tired from walking when they finally stopped in front of a huge building and Luna stated, “Here we are.”

Luna and Hermione helped Harry to register before Luna took him on a tour through the library, which she had learned to know well during the time between finishing Hogwarts and starting teaching at Hogwarts. Harry was delighted at the sight of so many books, especially when he was told that he could borrow whatever he was interested in. They spent nearly five hours in the library, and when they were ready to return to Hogwarts, Harry had borrowed ten books from different areas. He had even chosen a book about animals and one about computers. When the lady at the reception told him that he had to bring the books back within three weeks’ time, Luna and Hermione promised Harry to bring him to the library every third week and to discuss the timing with Harry’s parents.

Lily and Severus appreciated that Harry had found something interesting to entertain himself as they knew that Harry wouldn’t learn a lot in the classes at Hogwarts having his memories up to his OWLs. They had agreed with Luna and Hermione that the two young teachers could take Harry to the library every third Sunday morning, provided that they were back for a late lunch. During the next weeks, Harry spent every free minute reading books on various topics.

One day, Poppy addressed Lily, Severus, and Minerva. “I know that Harry loves reading and studying but he has to get more fresh air. He is much too pale and he gets colds too easily. Maybe you should allow him to practise Quidditch with the Quidditch teams so that he can fly a few times during the week?”

“That’s a good idea,” Severus agreed immediately, and Minerva and Lily nodded. “Maybe he could help the Quidditch teams – of all houses of course – out when a player is sick or injured. In this case he would have to train together with all teams.”

“Very good, Poppy, Severus,” Minerva approved. “Dobby!”

Dobby appeared in a blink. “Yes, Headmistress Professor McGonagall, what cans Dobby do for you and the professors?”

“Please fetch the four Quidditch captains for me, Dobby,” Minerva asked politely. When the four captains arrived, the Headmistress spoke to them, and the team captains of all four houses agreed immediately to let Harry play in their practise and to have him as a reserve when the need arose. Each of them had seen Harry fly and catch the Snitch, so that they felt letting Harry participate in their practises would do their team good.

Therefore, during the rest of the school year, Harry was very busy. Apart from his Wandless Magic training with Tom, his special Potions lessons with Severus, and helping Luna, Lily, and sometimes other teachers with grading, he now had Quidditch practise nearly every evening.

However, due to his reading, he had discovered something that really intrigued him. He borrowed several books from the area and did quite a lot of research. As he didn’t want anyone to know what he was reading, he charmed the books so that nobody apart from him could read what they were about. He also used every chance he got to read in the Common room that only Fawkes and Harry knew about.

------

One day, Harry was supposed to stay in Hermione’s class during the whole afternoon. In spite of the fact that he was allowed to read his own books during the lessons as Hermione knew that Muggle studies didn’t interest Harry at all, he just didn’t want to attend the class. Therefore, he approached Hermione just before the lesson began. “Hermione, I’m sorry, but I don’t feel so well today. Can I go back into my own room and rest for a while?”

Hermione gave him a piercing look and extended a hand to carefully feel his forehead before she answered, “Of course, Harry, but I’d prefer if you went to Poppy to let her check on you.”

Harry gave her a small smile and said, “No, I don’t think I need Aunt Poppy. I see you later, thank you, Hermione.”

When Harry didn’t show up for dinner, Lily asked Hermione, “Where is Harry? I haven’t seen him after classes at all.”

Hermione’s face turned white and she told Lily and the others that Harry had retired to his room before the afternoon lessons and that she had advised him to go to Poppy. As Poppy hadn’t seen the child either, Severus stood up in order to look for Harry. He quickly returned to his quarters, his robes billowing behind him. However, Harry wasn’t in his room.

“Fawkes,” Severus addressed the bird. “Do you know where Harry is?”

#I can imagine where my nestling is but I know that he doesn’t want the big chicks to know# Fawkes answered boldly, knowing that nobody except for Harry could understand him.

“I can’t understand you as you know but I’d appreciate if you could flash me over to my son,” Severus said firmly.

Fawkes motioned the man to hold his tail feathers and flashed away. When they arrived at Harry’s secret room, Severus looked around in awe. ‘Where is this?’ he thought, amazed by the room that looked like one of the Common rooms but was surrounded by white book-shelves. The fireplace was lit, and in spite of his size the room looked very cosy. Then Severus’ eyes fell onto Harry. The boy was huddled on the floor surrounded by hundreds of plates, cables, and many very strange looking objects. Everything was a total mess, and Harry was lying in the mess obviously fast asleep if not unconscious. It looked as if a bomb had exploded just in front of Severus’ eyes.