The Weasleys were, of course, thrilled at the idea of going to Diagon Alley together. So the Saturday following the press conference Harry and Severus left for London immediately after breakfast.

They had planned to meet at the Leaky Cauldron, but the Weasleys had not yet arrived when Harry and Severus stepped out of the fireplace into the rather dark and shabby pub. It reminded Harry of the momentous morning just over three weeks ago when they had come here for his birthday. But this time they weren't disguised by polyjuice. Harry was a little nervous, wondering how people would react to him. He hoped that everyone would just treat him normally and leave him pretty much alone, but he had a feeling that he'd receive at least a little attention.

Sure enough, once customers inside the bar recognised him, they had to come over to shake hands and speak with him. Fortunately, at this early hour, there weren't many people there, but there was an elderly woman and a young couple with several small children, as well as old Tom, the bartender.

"And to think, ye came right through here that morning an' I never knew," he remarked, almost as if he were scolding them.

Harry smiled. "I wanted to say hello, but at that time it wasn't very safe for Severus or me to be out, so we had to use the polyjuice."

"Oh, a'course, a'course." Tom went back to his work, shaking his head slightly and still muttering, "an' I never knew..."

To Harry's embarrassment, the elderly woman insisted on thanking him profusely for ridding the world of Voldemort, while the young mother kept telling the children, "This is Harry Potter." in an awed tone and the father asked if Harry would pose for a photograph with them.

"Um..., I guess so." Harry was embarrassed, but he thought it would be awfully rude to refuse. A photograph was a little thing and it seemed to mean a lot to them. So he waited patiently while the mother urged the youngsters to stand beside him...the littlest girl was hardly more than a baby and she didn't seem at all inclined to leave her mother's side to stand with a strange boy...and the father pulled a tiny camera from his pocket, enlarged it, and began clicking away.

Just when Harry was beginning to wonder how many pictures he planned to take, Severus stepped forward and spoke smoothly.

"It's been a pleasure, but Mr. Potter and I must be..."

"Oh, you're Professor Snape from Hogwarts." The father exclaimed. "I went to school in Australia, but you taught my younger brother...Tad O'Neill, Hufflepuff...do you remember him? He said you were quite the martinet, actually." He chuckled, seemingly oblivious to Severus' cool stare. "Well, since you're with Mr. Potter, how about a picture of the two of you together?"

"I think not," Severus began, but the man was already snapping another photograph before he could finish.

Severus gave him a decidedly fierce look. "If you'll excuse us, we do have plans."

His tone of voice left no room for argument and the little crowd faded away, leaving Harry and the professor alone.

"Well, it appears that people might not allow you peace and quiet," Severus said quietly. "Are you all right, Harry? Do you want to stay?"

Harry looked into his concerned face and it struck him again how much things had changed between them. At one time, not so very long ago, Severus would have believed that Harry basked in his fame, that he was a spoiled, attention-seeking prat.

But now he understood.

Harry smiled at him as he considered. He really didn't like the attention, but the people had been nice about it and he did want to see the Weasleys and Hermione again.

So he nodded and said, "Yeah, I want to stay. It's all right."

The Weasley family chose that moment to begin arriving, tumbling from the fireplace one after another, first Mrs. Weasley, then Ginny, then Mr. Weasley, and finally Ron with Hermione in tow.

Mrs. Weasley rushed right over and hugged Harry close, then stepped back to gaze at him searchingly. "Harry, dear, are you all right?"

Harry wasn't sure how to answer her. He still felt almost overwhelmed with sadness sometimes...because of the slavery spell, because he missed his parents and Sirius, because it was his fault that Sirius had died. Then there were times when he felt a bit better, mainly when he was with Severus and felt loved and wanted, though that sounded so corny he knew he could never say it aloud. He wasn't sure that he was all right, exactly, but he supposed he was better than he had been earlier in the summer.

Then, even though it was ridiculous, he felt almost disturbed at that thought, almost as if he didn't want to be better. But how could he ever accept being a slave? And if he felt better, wasn't that like accepting it?

And more, how could he even think of being happy when Sirius was dead? Because he still missed his godfather, terribly, so much that he could scarcely bear to even think about him.

It was all so confusing, but he couldn't tell Mrs. Weasley any of it. She was already starting to look anxious, so Harry hurried to reassure her. "Yes, thank you, Mrs. Weasley. I'm fine now."

She continued to study him closely, as if she weren't convinced by his answer. But then Ron, Hermione, and Ginny rushed over and surrounded him and she let it go.

The girls hugged him, and he and Ron sort of clapped each other on the back. Then Mr. Weasley came over to rest a hand on his shoulder. He didn't ask how Harry was doing, but just commented that they were all so happy that he had survived the confrontation with Voldemort and was out of the hospital.

"Thank you, sir," Harry said quietly.

"If there is anything that we can do to help, anything at all, you know you can count on us," Mr. Weasley told him, but before Harry could do more than swallow hard and nod, he had turned away. "Severus, it's good to see you again, too."

The adults shook hands and exchanged pleasantries, the Weasley parents exuberant as always, and Severus polite, but obviously reserved and distant.

Harry watched them for a few seconds, then turned back to his friends.

"Are your parents going to come, Hermione?" he asked. Sometimes the Grangers accompanied their daughter and sometimes they didn't.

Hermione shook her head. "No, they wanted to, but one of Dad's patients called this morning with an abcessed tooth and was in a lot of pain, so he had to go in to work, and Mum's come down with a terrible head cold and didn't feel up to it. So I just came with Ron and Ginny."

They chatted for a couple more minutes and then Mrs. Weasley remarked that as they had a lot to do, they'd best be on their way. So they trooped out of the Leaky Cauldron, squinting as they left the dimly-lit interior and moved into bright sunshine.

Diagon Alley was more crowded today than it had been on July 31st. People milled about along the cobblestone street, bustled in and out of shops, and lingered around the café tables, sipping coffee and nibbling on croissants. Some of them noticed Harry and he received more than a few curious stares, but being part of a group seemed to help discourage people from making any overt moves towards him.

Harry was surprised at how much reconstruction and repair work had been accomplished in the three weeks since Voldemort's attack. Some of the shops were closed and were still visibly damaged, but most of the buildings looked the same as always and were open for business. He supposed that type of work could be done much more quickly with magic.

As they discovered, though, just because the stores were open, it didn't mean that everything was the same. Many shops had lost part or all of their goods in the battle and there were lots of shortages. Flourish and Blotts, for example, had been set on fire and had lost quite a few textbooks, including most of the ones Ginny needed.

"What am I going to do?" She demanded, looking from her parents to the manager.

"The new textbooks should arrive by October," the manager tried to reassure them.

"But it's my OWL year. I can't wait until October for books. I'll be hopelessly behind." Ginny was looking more and more unhappy.

"It's all right, Gin," Hermione said. "I've still got all my old books. You can use mine."

Ginny looked relieved as her mother smiled at Hermione and remarked, "That's so kind of you, dear." Then Mrs. Weasley turned to Ron, and added rather crossly, "It's lucky that some people take care of their books, isn't it, Ron?"

Ron just gave her a surprised, innocent look in return.

Ironically the sixth-year texts were completely intact.

"Good thing," Ron muttered to Harry. "Hermione would've had a heart attack."

They weren't so fortunate in some of the other stores. Scribbulus Everchanging Inks was all out of parchment and quills, and the apothecary lacked many of the ingredients needed for the students' potions kits. Hermione was indeed beginning to look upset when Severus, who had been rather quiet so far, spoke up.

"There's no cause for panic, Miss Granger. Many of the shops in Hogsmeade carry these same materials and I know the headmaster is aware of the shortages in Diagon Alley. He's already placed orders with the Hogsmeade stores so we can have most of the necessary materials at the school for students who haven't been able to purchase everything."

Hermione actually smiled at him. "Oh, that's wonderful."

From the apothecary they headed to Madame Malkin's. Ron and Ginny had both grown since the previous year and needed new robes. It was the first time since Harry had met the Weasleys that they were able to buy new robes instead having to make do with hand-me-downs, and even though he hadn't really noticed it before, it suddenly struck him that both of the younger Weasleys were dressed a bit nicer than they typically were.

Ginny was dressed similarly to Hermione in patterned calf-length trousers, a bright shirt with ruffly sleeves and with beads and sequins around the neckline, and matching sandals. Like Harry, Ron wore jeans, but he too had on a nice polo shirt with the small golden ‘Gladrags' crest on the left shoulder.

And now that Harry was paying attention, the Weasley parents looked nice, too. They both wore wizarding robes, but new and smart-looking ones rather than the threadbare clothes Harry was used to seeing them in, and Mrs. Weasley had a new hat perched on her head.

He didn't want to just come out and ask...that seemed rather rude, even as close as they were...but Harry did wonder about the change. He'd always felt vaguely guilty about having so much money of his own while his best friends had so little. Personally, Harry didn't give a fig how much gold they had. He knew what the important things in life were, and the Weasleys were rich in all the ways that really mattered. Before this summer, before he and Severus had grown close, there had been many times when Harry had thought that he would have gladly given up his vault of Galleons in exchange for a loving family of his own.

But he knew that in the past Ron at least had been self-conscious about having less money then either of his best friends, and though Mr. and Mrs. Weasley didn't often mention finances, Harry had noticed before that they sometimes looked worried when the family was making the annual pilgrimage for school supplies.

It reminded him of how he'd planned to leave his gold to them when he'd still been planning to kill himself. Actually there had been times even before that when he'd wondered if he ought to offer to share his wealth with them. He would have been glad to, but he had been afraid of offending them and besides, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would have refused, he'd always known that.

As it turned out, Ron himself brought up the topic of money a little while later. They finished purchasing all the necessary items just before lunch, or all the items that could be found on Diagon Alley, at least, and Ginny suggested that maybe the teens could eat and walk around on their own for a little while before they left. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley agreed at once, telling them to meet in a couple of hours at Fred and George's joke shop.

Harry looked over at Severus uncertainly. It would be fun to have time alone with his friends, but he knew the professor wasn't very comfortable around the Weasleys, or with anyone that he didn't know well, really, and Harry didn't want to abandon him.

But Severus nodded at him and asked. "Do you have enough money with you for lunch, Harry?"

Harry smiled his gratitude. "Yes, thanks. See you in a couple hours then, Severus."

They parted ways and Harry and his friends headed for the nearest café. They got in line to order sandwiches, chips, and sodas, and ate outside at one of the tables on the crowded patio. When it was time to pay, Ron leaned over and said, "I'll treat today, guys."

"I've got enough..." Harry began.

Ron shook his head. "You've bought our sweets on the Hogwarts Express every year, Harry. I'll get it this time." He lowered his voice and added. "It's all right. Things are better money-wise now. It's easier now that it's just Ginny and me still at home, and besides that, Fred and George are doing really well with their shop. They've insisted on sharing some of the money with Mum and Dad, too. I mean, Mum and Dad didn't want to take it at first, but Fred and George insisted, said we're all family and it was only right, and I think Mum and Dad finally gave in."

"Well, that's good then," Harry said, feeling happy for Ron's sake and glad that he didn't have to feel guilty about being alive and not leaving his gold for the Weasleys.

But Ron just shrugged, "Yeah, but it's not the most important thing. I finally figured that out, I guess. Not that I mind having more money or anything," he grinned.

So Ron paid their waiter and then they wandered up and down Diagon Alley. They saw Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan walking with the Patil twins and stopped to speak for a few minutes, asking one another about their holidays. Dean, Seamus, and the Patils wanted to know more about how he had defeated Voldemort so Harry repeated the tale for them.

"And you've had to spend the whole summer with Snape?" Seamus exclaimed, looking horrified, after they'd all expressed their relief at Voldemort's demise.

Harry frowned. "It's been all right. He's really different now."

They didn't look convinced.

"But I don't understand why you still have to stay there now. Voldemort's dead," Parvati said.

"Well, you read how Bellatrix Lestrange cast that curse on me right afterwards? I'm still not completely over it. It can cause internal bleeding and I have to take these potions every night to prevent that. Severus said sometimes the potions can cause a reaction, too, for a while after you take them so he has to put these monitoring spells on me and I have to stay close by. I'll probably have to live with him even after school starts," Harry told them. He hated to lie, but in this case there just wasn't any choice. He'd hate for them to know the truth even more.

But he felt even guiltier when he saw how concerned they were.

"Merlin, Harry, are you all right?" Dean asked. "The papers said you were out of St. Mungo's so we all thought you were fine now, but that sounds really serious."

"Oh, yeah, I'm all right as long as I take the potions," Harry muttered.

"How long do you have to take them? For the rest of your life?" Padma Patil wanted to know.

"Can't they find some cure? The Healers at St. Mungo's are supposed to be some of the best in Europe," Seamus said.

Parvati added. "Harry, you saved us from Voldemort! They ought to send you to the best specialists in the world."

Harry was growing more and more uncomfortable and the last thing he needed was for rumours over his supposed illness to start spreading. The Ministry probably would insist on sending all kinds of Healers to examine him.

He spoke up quickly, "Really, I'm all right. Dumbledore and Severus are working on finding a way to counter-act the curse, and in the meantime I'm fine. I just have to drink a couple potions at night and stay close to Severus. But he said if they do cause a reaction, there's a simple anti-dote. So I'm fine, really."

"That's a shame that you're not going to be staying with us in the Tower, though," Seamus said. "Hope Dumbledore can find a cure quickly."

Me, too, Harry thought, but even as he thought it, he realised that while he desperately wanted to be free from the slavery curse, he wasn't upset about living with Severus. Not anymore. Oh, he knew there would be times when he missed being in Gryffindor Tower, but having a real family of his own was more than worth that sacrifice. Besides, it wasn't as if he'd never get to see his friends. They hadn't talked about it, but Harry was certain that Severus would let him visit often.

"Have you been able to find all your supplies? We've had some trouble." Hermione changed the subject and Harry flashed her a grateful look.

After a few more moments of small talk, Dean, Seamus, and the Patil girls moved on and Harry and his friends continued on their way.

"Harry? Would it bother you if we went to see the spot where, you know, it all happened?" Ron asked. "I'd kind of like to see where Voldemort died."

He shook his head. "No, that's fine. Come on, it's this way."

But they couldn't get that close to the actual spot after all. It was cordoned off and a nearby sign proclaimed that the Ministry was planning to build a monument to honour Harry at the site.

"Wow, Harry, you'll have your own statue," Ron joked, elbowing his friend in the side.

Harry couldn't decide whether to laugh or be annoyed. "I don't want my own statue. I can't believe this. They might have at least mentioned it to me. And if they want to honour anyone, it ought to be my mum."

"Well, there is that statue of your mum, of your whole family, in Godric's Hollow," Hermione remarked casually, and then looked surprised when Harry turned to her with a fierce eagerness.

"There is? I never knew that! Why didn't you ever tell me, Hermione?"

She looked flustered. "I guess it just didn't occur to me that you didn't know. But I suppose I should have realised. I'm sorry, Harry."

"That's all right. But I just can't believe I never knew that." Harry was surprised to find a lump in his throat. He wasn't even sure why he was so affected. The other three were quiet, as if sensing his sudden sorrow.

But Harry didn't have time to dwell on it because just then a short little old man with a pointed beard came over to ask for his autograph and he was followed by several children too young for Hogwarts who could barely stammer out their requests between blushing and giggling. Apparently people were braver about coming up to him at the actual site where he'd won their victory.

Harry signed their papers and tried to be polite, though he still found it disconcerting that people actually wanted his signature, but he was relieved when after a few minutes, Ginny made a show of looking at her watch and exclaiming that it was time to leave.

"Thank," he told her fervently as they took off down the street towards Fred and George's shop.

"Well, it is actually time to meet Mum and Dad...and Professor Snape, but you looked like you really wanted out of there, too," she replied.

"I did. I hate all that attention. It's embarrassing," Harry said.

"People mean well. They're just grateful to you," Hermione told him.

Harry sighed. "I know, and I don't mean to be rude about it, but it really does embarrass me, and it makes me stand out when I just want to be normal."

"Well, it'll die down," Ron reassured him. He shook his head. "You know, I still can't believe that you did it, Harry, and that Voldemort's really dead. I can't believe we weren't with you."

"Yeah, sometimes I can't believe it's over, either," Harry said. He glanced sideways at his friends. "And I know you would have been with me, if you'd known. You're the best friends anyone could ever have."

They all smiled at one another and finished the walk in silence.

A great flashing sign proclaimed WEASLEYS' WIZARD WHEEZES above the doorway of Fred and George's shop. ("No one could miss that, for sure," Ron muttered as it came into view). The store windows were filled with a variety of spinning, beeping, and exploding items, and inside customers were crammed so tightly that it was hard to walk about.

Nonetheless, George spotted them as soon as they came in and he wended his way over to them with surprising speed.

"Harry, how are you doing?"

Harry nodded. "I'm fine. How about you?" He couldn't forget the way George had looked the last time he'd seen him, lying pale, unconscious, and bleeding from the loss of his ear.

George grinned. "Right as rain now, thanks to you." He paused and grew serious for one of the few times in his life. "Really, Harry, I think you saved my life when you came to help Fred that day. He was outnumbered and once I was down, it would have been just a matter of time. Actually, you probably saved both our lives cause Fred wouldn't have left me. We owe you, Harry."

But Harry shook his head fiercely. "You don't owe me anything, George. You and Fred would have done the same for me, wouldn't you?"

George considered, then grinned and grabbed Harry's hand in a firm grasp. "Yeah, you're one of us, so you're family and family doesn't owe each other."

"Hmm, that's not what you tell me," Ron pretended to grumble. Without bothering to look at him, George mildly sideswiped his younger brother's head. "That's because Harry's our favourite." He gestured around at the shop. "I've got to get back to work, but take a look around."

"We're supposed to be meeting the adults here," Ginny commented.

"Oh, yeah. Well, they're over there." George waved his hand to their right and then hurried off to speak with some girls who were exclaiming over the pygmy puffs.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were looking about the shop, beaming with pride, while Severus was reading the instructions from a bottle of a daydreaming potion. Ron, Ginny, and Hermione went to join the Weasley parents while Harry moved closer to Severus.

He looked up at Harry's approach and remarked, "This is a rather brilliant little concoction, I must admit. It's a shame those two never applied themselves in potions class."

Harry glanced around at the crowded shop. "They seem to be doing pretty well, anyway."

Severus arched an eyebrow. "Oh, yes, their Skiving Snackboxes are a great gift to the world."

Harry had to grin. "They sure are. We drove Umbridge crazy with them last year."

"Perhaps they do have some redeeming value," the professor responded in a dry tone. "Odd, no one ever used them in my class."

"Well, we weren't suicidal," Harry automatically replied. Then he realised what he'd just said and froze.

A strange expression flickered across Severus' face and then he stepped close, placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, and spoke in a very quiet, gentle tone, "I certainly hope that no one is right now, either."

Harry bit his lip and stared at the floor. "No one is," he mumbled.

Severus continued softly, "And if someone ever should happen to feel that way again..."

"He knows to come and talk with you." Harry whispered, forcing himself to look up and meet Severus' concerned gaze.

Severus just nodded, but he squeezed Harry's shoulder gently.

The twins had a fireplace connected to the Floo network in a back room so they all headed there to say their good-byes and to return to their respective homes. It was tea time when Harry and Severus arrived back at Prince Hall and the elves had a tray with meat pies and scones waiting when they stepped from the fireplace in the professor's sitting room. They settled side by side on the sofa and Harry placed some food on their plates while Severus poured tea.

"Did you have fun with your friends?" The professor asked after a moment.

"Yes." Harry set his cup of tea down and leaned against him. "Thank you for going with the Weasleys. I know you didn't really want to."

"It made you happy," Severus answered simply.

Harry was quiet. He hoped that over time Severus could learn to like the Weasleys, but even right now, when the professor wasn't really enamored of them, he'd been willing to spend the day with Harry's friends just to make him happy. Severus really did love him. Harry knew that he did. He'd said so several times since the day Harry had come so close to dying, and he was so gentle and kind now, to Harry at least.

And Harry loved him, too. He'd said it that one time, but he realised that he hadn't since. Well, he could change that, though.

He looked up and said softly, "I love you, Severus."

The professor's black eyes glimmered. Then he set his own plate and cup aside and wrapped his arms around Harry, enfolding him in a long, warm embrace. Harry wasn't entirely sure, but he thought Severus had to swallow a couple of times before he could reply.

"And I love you, child."

Harry leaned against him, and for a little while, he let himself forget his sorrow and grief, and just enjoy the fact that he finally had a home and someone who loved him.

Just for a little while.