The two days without his Nimbus made the time drag for Harry, since he loved flying. But he knew it was deserved, so he didn't bother whining about it. He had plenty of time to work with his puppy, attempting to housebreak her and to teach her a few basic obedience commands, like sit, stay, and come. Rosie was sweet and lovable and she enjoyed being with Harry, and she loved it when he fed her treats after she'd performed a command. The beagle and the boy were always together now, where one went, the other usually followed.

With Harry watching her, Rosie was a lot less inclined to get into trouble, and Harry made sure to play with her and take her for a long walk just before he had lessons with Aurelia, so she would sleep in her crate while he had school.

Aurelia was a very good teacher, she was concise and careful in her explanations, and she made even the dry reading of political science fun to learn by having a mock debate with Harry. "How come you were never a full time teacher, Aunt Relia?"

"Well, there was never a position open in my area, and I only substituted because my husband often got assigned to different bases around the country, or out of it. We usually moved about once or twice every three years. Melody hated it, she used to say she felt like a gypsy, the way she was in a different school every two years. She found it difficult to make friends and sometimes her schoolwork suffered, so I started tutoring her at night. Then, when she went away to college, I started thinking about a career in business too, and I started my own consulting firm. But my first love was teaching."

"Guess it must run in the family then," Harry mused. "Although I wouldn't say Dad loves teaching. He's always strict and critical in class."

"Perhaps that's because he must be, child. Potions is a dangerous subject, you know. It can result in terrible accidents, like Muggle Chemistry. If your father weren't strict, more accidents might happen and students get injured. So I would say that it's a good thing he was strict and hard with you. Did you learn what he was teaching, Harry?"

"Oh yeah. Did we ever."

Aurelia looked pleased. "Then you have no cause for complaint, young man. If you learned the subject and retain it, then you had a good teacher." Her mouth twitched in a wry smile. "I always find it funny when kids these days complain of their teachers being too hard on them. Why, in my day, a teacher was still allowed to strike a student with a ruler if he or she acted up in class or didn't turn in homework or was insolent."

"Your teachers were allowed to beat you?" Harry was horrified.

"Yes. I went to a private girls' school and the teachers were permitted to smack a student's hand with a ruler, and the Headmistress kept a willow switch in her office to discipline the chronic troublemakers. Not that there were many of them, believe me. Old Hardcastle knew how to switch your backside six ways to Sunday."

Harry winced just thinking about it. "Were you ever, uh, punished like that?"

"I got slapped with a ruler once for talking instead of paying attention once, but no, I was never summoned to the Head's office for a switching. Now, Harry, do you still think your father is a strict teacher?"

"No, not compared to the ones you had. Merlin, am I glad the teachers at Hogwarts weren't allowed to do that to us. They gave out detentions and they were bad enough." Harry shivered just imagining if the professors were allowed to whack students in addition to giving out detentions. Ron and I wouldn't have been able to sit down for half the year, the way we acted in Dad's class. We'd have spent more time over his knee than we would've in class. Thank God I didn't grow up when Aunt Relia did.

Then a mischievous thought popped into his head, and he asked, "Aunt Relia, you knew my dad when he was little. Did he, uh, ever get in trouble when he was over here?"

"Sometimes. He had quick temper and sometimes it ran away with him, as did his smart mouth. I spanked him once for it, if I recall correctly."

Harry's eyebrows went up. "You did?"

Aurelia smirked. "Yes, and it was deserved. I remember it because it was one of the few times I ever raised a hand to a child. I was like my father in that respect, you only got spanked if you were truly awful, like Bella. My mother, on the other hand, slapped and pinched us girls for everything."

"Like Aunt Petunia," Harry said with a wince. "She used to like to grab me by the ear or the arm, and sometimes she left marks afterwards. Once I burned breakfast and she took a swing at me with a skillet, but I ducked."

Aurelia's eyes flashed with indignation and temper. "Sounds like that woman could have used a few anger management or parenting classes. Either that or a good smack upside the head."

"Got that right, Aunt Relia," Harry smirked, imagining Aurelia smacking Petunia a good one.

"Now then, enough reminiscing over the past," Aurelia cleared her throat and tapped her nephew's math book. "We can talk more after you do pages 75-77. Do all the even numbered problems and then I'll correct your work and we'll go over percentages."

"Yes, ma'am," Harry opened his book and began to copy out the problems.

Since Aurelia was a Squib, she didn't require him to use a quill and parchment, he did his classwork in a regular spiral notebook with a pencil or a pen. A fact for which he was immensely grateful for, since he tended to make a lot of errors in math and he hated to waste parchment.

While Harry worked, Aurelia read through his latest essay and graded it. The teenager was very intelligent, as would only be expected given who his parents were, and Aurelia was careful to give him assignments that challenged that intelligence, so he did not become bored. She found Harry a good student, if a bit inclined to complain about homework, but then so did every other teenager in America.

He completed all of his assignments, however, for he knew better than to give Aurelia a hard time. While not as strict as Severus, she held him to a high standard and she tolerated no insolence. Severus had informed him at the beginning of the month that if he crossed Aurelia and earned himself detention, he would also earn himself punishment from Severus as well. Not wanting to get in trouble twice, Harry behaved himself, save for the occasional grousing over the amount of homework.

Still, it was not the boy's attitude towards his schoolwork that made Aurelia eye Harry with concern. In the month and a half Harry had been here, he had no interaction with children his own age. She knew he had friends from Hogwarts, but Severus had told her that when he'd lived with his former guardians, they had not permitted Harry to see any of his friends over the summer. They kept the boy under lock and key, sometimes literally, doing all their chores and treating him like a virtual slave.

And while that wasn't the case here, Aurelia was worried that Harry was becoming too withdrawn. Sure he had her and Sev to talk with and Rosie to play with, but they were not a substitute for friends his own age, who could relate to a thirteen-year-old.

She resolved to have a little talk with the Potions Master when Harry was out of the house flying or walking Rosie.

* * * * * *

"Severus, the child needs to get out and have company his own age," she told her nephew that same afternoon, as he was stirring a batch of Pepper Up Potion. "It's not normal for a boy his age to remain cooped up with just adults and a beagle for company. I'm aware that he needed time to settle in and come to terms with what happened to him, but he seems to have adjusted well, from what I can see. He's not depressed or anything, is he?"

"No, not from what I've been able to read," answered Severus. "And most of his nightmares have stopped. He only has them occasionally now, and when he does he either writes it down in his journal or tells me and we discuss it. His overall health is much improved too, thanks to regular meals and vitamins and my potions. He's recovered totally from the effects of the Cruciatus Curses and the other damage he sustained from the Death Eaters."

"I'm very glad to hear that, Sev. But you know he needs more than just that dog to keep him company. He needs someone his own age he can talk to and play video games or whatever teenagers do these days. Melody used to have her friends in and out of here every day. I used to end up cooking for half the neighborhood," she said with a faint smile.

Severus looked thoughtful. "You're right, Aunt Relia. I was so concerned over his physical and mental health I didn't think about what it must have been like to lose his friends when he moved here. He still writes them, of course, but that's not the same. What do you suggest? Are there any teenagers around here for Harry to talk to?"

"As a matter of fact, there is. Only they live in Melody's development, which is only ten minutes down the road. The MacIntyres are her neighbors, and they have two boys, one who's seventeen, Mike, and the younger, Neil, who is thirteen. They're both wizards, Muggleborn, but good kids from what Melody tells me. Mia even likes them, and she's a good judge of character."

They shared an amused look thinking of Aurelia's granddaughter, who would someday be a woman and a witch to be reckoned with. Melody had been pleased that her daughter had inherited the Prince magic, Severus had informed her of that fact as soon as she had arrived to pick Mia up last Saturday.

Melody still had the same curly brown hair and hazel eyes he remembered, but she was taller and had matured into a very attractive woman. However, she agreed with Mia about telling Devon his daughter was a witch. "He'd never understand, Sev. He doesn't believe in anything he can't see or touch. He's very much a realist."

"Magic is real."

"Not as far as Devon's concerned," snorted Melody. Her hazel eyes darkened. Her mother had told her of Mia's remarks and she had sighed and said he daughter knew far too much for her age.

"Has he threatened you, Mel? Or threatened to take Mia from you?" Severus asked abruptly. "Is that why you won't leave him?"

"No, he wouldn't take Mia from me. He doesn't have the faintest concept of how to care for a child. All he knows is stocks and women. Every woman besides his wife, it seems. I married him because he said he loved me, but after two years I realized that was just a line and what he really loved was the way I supported him and looked good in his image of the perfect Wall Street broker."

"Then why stay?"

"Because I don't want Mia to grow up without a father. Stupid, right? I know he's no good, but I loved him once and I think a little part of me does still. Mom says I should just kick his ass out and get a divorce, she's probably right. Then I wouldn't have to worry about him finding out about Mia's magic."

"I agree with her," Severus said quietly. "You deserve better, Mel. You want me to go and have a talk with him?"

Melody eyed him askance. "A talk? I know you, Severus. Last time you said that, I was eight and came home crying because Pete Mitchell called me stork-leg and railroad-mouth and knocked me down. And you told me not to worry you'd have a talk with him. You came back ten minutes later with a split lip, a black eye, and bruised knuckles and when Aunt Eileen asked what you'd been doing you said I had a talk with a kid that was bothering Melody. He got the message."

"It was true. I told him if he ever bothered my cousin again, I'd make him wish he'd never been born. He laughed at me and I let my fist talk to his face," Severus informed her with soft chuckle. "I can have the same talk with your husband if you want, Mel."

"Thanks, Sev, but I don't want you to be facing a lawsuit for assault. He's not worth the trouble."

"What trouble? I'd teach him a good lesson in manners and then I'd Obliviate myself from his memory."

"You'd use magic to make him forget about you? I didn't know that was possible."

"Yes, but it's not something we do on a regular basis. But in his case, I'd make an exception."

"It's tempting, I'll say that much. If I get aggravated enough, I may just take you up on it, Sev. I missed you coming to visit, you know. I'm glad you're back, you and Harry both. Don't be a stranger, come over sometime. My door's always open." Then she had hugged him and bid him goodbye.

Recalling that conversation made him smile slightly. He gave his potion three more counterclockwise stirs and turned off the fire beneath the cauldron. "It needs to set for five minutes," he explained when his aunt looked at him quizzically. "I think we should go over and visit Melody and Mia tomorrow, with Harry and Rosie. The MacIntyre children ought to be home since tomorrow's Sunday, and perhaps Harry can meet them."

"Yes, that's a good idea, we wouldn't want him to think we staged this meeting between them," Aurelia agreed. "In fact, I think we can let Mia do the introductions, she knows both kids and loves doing that kind of thing."

Aunt and nephew exchanged identically satisfied smirks, then Severus turned back to his potion, which was ready to decant, and Aurelia went back upstairs to figure out what they ought to have for dinner that night.

• * * * * * * *

Sunday morning, Harry awoke to Rosie licking his face. Grinning, he gently shoved her muzzle away and got up. While he was pulling on his socks, Rosie pounced on his feet and grabbed one, growling little puppy growls and trying to tug it off. Harry engaged in a brief tug-0-war with the beagle before realizing the sock was in danger of being torn and swiftly removed Rosie's sharp teeth from the material.

The beagle pup gave him an injured look.

"Hey," he waved a finger in front of her nose. "You know better than that. If Dad catches you putting one more hole in my clothes, he says he's gonna hex all your teeth out. And then where would you be, huh?" he knelt to ruffle her satiny ears and she groaned in pleasure and leaned into his hand.

Rosie was definitely a people person, she liked nothing better than to lie there and have her belly rubbed, her ears scratched and be petted. She would snuggle beside anyone willing to pet her, wearing a blissful beagle smile. Harry had noticed that the little beagle was quite vocal when she was being petted, she sighed and moaned rather like a person in the throes of ecstasy. She also loved blankets and if you attempted to move her from one, she would make an annoyed half-growl, as if to say-hey, what's the big idea? Can't you see I'm sleeping?

Despite the countless mischief she always seemed to find, Harry adored the puppy, and sometimes found it difficult to resist those soulful eyes and punish the dog when she misbehaved. Severus just shook his head. "You're not doing her any favors, Harry, by not punishing her when she misbehaves. I know it may seem cute now when she runs around the house with your sneaker, but it won't be a few months down the road when you need to get dressed for school and she just ran off and buried your shoe in the dirt."

Harry sighed. "I know, Dad, but every time I yell at her she gives me this look and I feel so guilty I just can't punish her." Which was why he was glad Severus felt no such compunction, because then he could teach the puppy manners instead.

Severus's mouth twitched. "That's a common problem of every new parent, Harry. Discipline is tough the first time you have to do it, but if it's necessary, you need to just grit your teeth and follow through. In the end you'll be glad you did, because nobody likes a misbehaving dog. It's the same with a child. Spoiled brats are terribly annoying and embarrassing."

"Yeah, but this isn't a kid, it's a dog. An adorable dog."

"Harry, that adorable puppy is going to grow up to be a first class pain in the arse if you don't discipline her now."

"But Dad, can't you, uh . . .just do it? I mean, you're a lot more experienced than I am and you enjoy it besides." Harry pointed out, flashing his father a very long pleading look from his bright green eyes.

"No. She's your puppy, therefore it's your job to discipline her, son." Severus said firmly. "Discipline isn't something you need to enjoy in order to do. I certainly don't enjoy disciplining you sometimes, Harry, but if I don't you'll never learn proper behavior."

Harry gaped at him. "You don't?"

"No. I have much better things to do than scold you and punish you, son, but sometimes we all have to do things we don't like. That time I caught you playing with James's wand and spanked you, I was not happy about it at all. I was sure you were going to hate me afterwards, and I was afraid I'd made the biggest mistake of my life punishing you that way."

"You did," his son teased. "I'm scarred for life, Dad."

Snape eyed him and snorted. "Sure you are, brat. I swatted you five times and you cried for about ten minutes in my arms before you said you'd never do it again and fell asleep. Oh, the trauma! But you learned your lesson and that was what mattered. I saved you from much worse by disciplining you, and if you care about Rosie at all, you'll do the same."

Harry bit his lower lip thoughtfully. What Severus said made sense . . .too much sense. He couldn't recall the incident Severus had described eleven years ago, but he trusted his father's version of events. Severus had no reason to lie to him, and Harry had seen for himself that the man might be strict, but he was also fair. And unlike the Dursleys, he had no real love for spanking, and had reserved that punishment for the worst offenses. Such as blowing huge craters in the middle of the kitchen floor.

Severus sensed his son's dilemma and added helpfully, "Furthermore, Harry, if you allow me to correct her and not you, she will come to respect me as her alpha and ignore you. That's not what you want, right?"

"No. But I want to be her friend as well as her alpha."

"And you can, but puppies, like children, need boundaries. Now go find my slipper, I think she dragged it outside."

She had, and Harry had scolded her for it and given her a sharp tap and put her in her crate. "Bad girl! Go home, Rosie."

The beagle had slunk inside the crate, tail tucked between her legs, whimpering when the door was latched. Harry felt bad, but after five minutes he released her and discovered the beagle didn't hold grudges.

His father had given him a nod of approval and Harry actually felt proud of himself.

Recalling that other day, Harry quickly picked up the dog and took her out for a walk, gave her a treat upon returning inside, then spent the next five minutes playing with her until Severus and Aurelia came into the kitchen.

Harry helped Severus cook, knowing they were going to see his cousins Melody and Mia today. He had grown extremely fond of Mia when the child had stayed at her grandmother's that week and was looking forward to seeing Melody as well. Then he gulped and wondered uneasily if Mel's husband Devon was going to be there also.

"Uh, Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Is Devon going to be there too?"

Severus shook his head, scrambling an egg. "Why?"

Harry released a long sigh of relief. "Good, ‘cause if he was you might be tempted to kick his arse, Dad."

"Might be? Say rather would. So it's a good thing he's gone for the weekend." Severus really disliked Melody's husband and regarded him as a social climbing whore, one who sold his talents and body to the highest bidder. And didn't care that he was hurting his child or his wife in the process.

Having gotten a satisfactory answer to his first question, Harry decided to ask the second one. "Uh, can Rosie come with us?"

To his astonishment, Snape agreed. "Yes, you can't leave her home unsupervised, so we'll take her."

Harry cheered and danced around the table until his father told him to knock it off and act his age, if he even remembered what age he was.

Harry smirked. This was turning out to be a great Sunday. Little did he know it was about to get even better.

* * * * * *

They all hopped in the car and drove the seven minutes to Melody's development, she lived in a place called Suncrest Court, in a medium-sized house with gray trim and a manicured lawn and azalea bushes flanking her porch. A typical suburban neighborhood down at the Jersey shore. Harry thought it sort of reminded him of Surrey and Privet drive, except here he was not maligned by his relatives to anyone and nobody thought he was a juvenile delinquent bound to come to a bad end.

They found Mel in the kitchen, just finishing scrubbing up the griddle, and putting a tray of cookies into the oven. Mia was at the table, eating pancakes and a side of maple-glazed ham, which was her favorite breakfast, but the only time she had it was on Sunday when her mother was home to cook it. When Mel worked during the week or was away for the weekend, her father made her eat frozen bagels, toast, or cereal, since he didn't know how to boil water.

She looked up from her plate and a huge smile burst out on her face. "Grandma! You really did come!" She got up and hugged her grandmother. Then she ran and hugged Severus. "Hi, Sev!"

"Good morning, Mia!" he said, and picked her up. She promptly gave him a rather sticky kiss on the cheek.

"Where's Harry?"

"He's outside walking Rosie."

"You brought Rosie?" she cried. "Can I go play with her?"

"Yes, child." Severus set her down and she raced out the door.

"Mia!" Melody called. "What about eating the rest of your breakfast?"

"I'm done, Ma!" her daughter shouted over her shoulder. The screen door banged as she went through it.

Melody shook her head and invited her mother and Severus to sit down and have a cup of tea. "I'm sure the kids can entertain themselves for an hour or two," she said with a wink to let Aurelia and Severus know she was in on the scheme to have Harry meet another wizard child his own age.

Aurelia smirked like a little girl with a juicy secret. "I see you're baking, Mel."

"Yeah, chocolate chip cookies. I only get to do that when Devon isn't around. He thinks baking is for those who have no lives."

"I think he needs to get a life," said Severus angrily.

"Please, Sev, don't get me started," Melody groaned, then set about making tea for them.

* * * * * *

Meanwhile, Mia had found Harry walking the little beagle and greeted both of them with her customary hug, her little face shining with joy at seeing her almost big brother and his new puppy again. Rosie jumped up and licked her whole face.

"Aww! I love you, Rosie!" Mia laughed and stroked the beagle's red head. "Can I walk her, Harry? I'll hold on real tight."

"Okay," he agreed, and handed the little girl the leash. Rosie frisked about her feet, her tongue lolling happily.

"C'mon, Harry! Let's go this way," Mia beckoned to her cousin with her free hand and led him to the left side of the lawn, which was the side the MacIntyre's house was on. She had seen Neil earlier that morning when she went out to bring in the newspaper and had told him that her cousin was coming over, so she knew he would be hanging about his backyard, waiting to meet her cousin from Britain, who was just his age.

Neil was busy kicking a soccer ball around in his backyard. Even though soccer was a Muggle sport, he'd grown up with it, since both his parents had no magic. He had sandy blond hair, freckles, and twinkling hazel eyes. He was a little taller than Harry and was quite ordinary looking, the classic all American teenager. Save for one thing, the odd crescent-shaped scar on his left cheekbone.

Rosie immediately spotted the teenager and her tail began to wag happily. She pulled on her leash, trying to go over to greet the new person playing with the delicious looking ball. "Arroo-aroo!" she bayed.

Neil looked up, saw the two kids and the very excited beagle pup, and jogged over, still dribbling the soccer ball. "Hey, Mia!" He knelt to pet the beagle. "You finally convince your dad to let you get a puppy?"

"No, this's my cousin Harry's dog," she explained, giggling when Rosie slurped the boy's hand.

Neil rose, after fending off the puppy's enthusiastic tongue, and held out a hand. "Hi. I'm Neil MacIntyre."

"Harry." Harry shook his hand. "Er . . .Harry Snape." Thus was the first time he actually introduced himself by his new last name, but it soon stopped being awkward once he'd said it.

"You come from Britain, right?" Neil queried. "Mia said you did, anyhow."

"Yeah."

"Whereabouts?"

Harry almost said Surrey, but caught himself in time, recalling that if he were living with Severus, he'd live in London, which was where Snape had grown up. "London. Least we used to, but now we live here, with my Aunt Relia, she's my dad's aunt really, and my great-aunt."

Neil nodded. "She tutored my brother in algebra and history last year when he fell and broke his leg." Then he slanted a glance at Harry's shirt, which had a small snitch embroidered on the left pocket, but it resembled a Muggle shirt enough that Severus said he could wear it. "You, uh, play Quidditch, Harry?" He asked as a kind of test, to see if Harry was a wizard, because he could barely sense the other's magical aura.

Harry nodded. "Back in my, uh, old school, I played on a House team."

"What position?"

"Seeker."

Neil smiled. "I used to be a Chaser, but I like playing Seeker better. You any good?"

Harry blushed. "Pretty good, I guess."

"He was great!" Mia chimed in. Both boys stared at her. "He won his House cup two times in a row."

"How do you know that, Mia?" asked Harry.

"Your dad told me."

Harry felt a sudden glow of pride, that Severus would actually tell someone about his son's Quidditch prowess. Especially when Harry always thought Snape could care less about the sport, much less recall any of Harry's achievements in it. Looked like his father had been paying attention after all.

Neil whistled. "Looks like you could give my brother some competition. Or me. Want to play one on one?"

Harry opened his mouth to accept, but then recalled that they were among Muggles. "Uh, Neil? How can we play Quidditch without Muggles seeing?"

"Easy. I'll just activate the Don't See Me wards around our backyard. Mike, that's my brother, set them up so he could practice with his friends and not be seen." Neil explained.

Harry's eyes gleamed. "Let me get my broom."

"Can I play too, Harry?" Mia queried.

Harry looked down at his little cousin. "Uh, you're too little to fly my broom right now by yourself, kid. But I'll take you flying later, okay?"

Mia pouted. "Why not now?"

"‘Cause who's going to watch Rosie?" Harry indicated the puppy, who was sitting by their feet.

"Oh. Okay. But after you will?"

"Yeah."

"Promise?"

"Promise," Harry reassured her, knowing that this was a promise he could not break, since Aurelia had told him of the way her father always broke his promises, and Severus had told him quite firmly that any promise he made the child had to be kept.

Then he went to get his broom.

* * * * * *

Ten minutes later, Harry and Neil were flying in the air, chasing down the Snitch. Below them, Mia and Rosie were running, and when the two boys glanced down, they noticed the little beagle was pointing her head up into the wind and baying at them.

Harry wondered if the dog could see them, and deliberately swooped lower to find out.

Rosie went insane, barking and howling, trying to jump up at him.

Neil snorted, a very amused look on his face. "Looks like your dog wants to play too, Harry."

"Calm down, Rosie," ordered Harry, laughing. Then he soared up and away.

Rosie bayed hysterically, then dragged Mia across the yard after Harry, who was flying after the Snitch.

Neil and Harry tried to concentrate on catching the streaking golden ball, but the beagle's frantic pursuit of her flying master distracted them so much that they nearly fell off their brooms, they were laughing so hard.

When they finally landed, after Harry had managed to snag the winged globe, Rosie was panting and whining anxiously, Mia was gasping for breath, her hair sticking up. She glared at her cousin. "Harry! Don't do that anymore."

"Do what, Mia? Fly?" he asked, just as Rosie jumped all over him.

"Play that game. Rosie was very upset. She kept trying to get you down."

"Yeah we saw," Neil chuckled. "My dog Skip used to do that, till I made him a sling and put him in it so he could fly with me. Skip was an Alaskan Klee-Klai, like a mini husky." He held out his hands to show how small the dog was.

Harry gaped at him. "You took your dog flying?"

"Lots of times. He loved it."

Harry looked thoughtfully at his beagle. "Wonder if Rosie would?"

"Why not try it and see?" Neil suggested. Then he summoned the sling to him with a sharp snap of his fingers and a softly spoken "Accio Skip's sling!"

Harry's eyes widened. "You know how to cast spells without a wand?"

"Uh-huh. Why? Don't you?"

"Well, no, not really. That's real advanced magic where I come from."

"That's the only kind we do here," Neil informed him. "Only time we use a wand is if we've hurt our hand or need to focus precisely. Otherwise we use gestures, or sometimes if you're a master, all you need to do is think of a spell."

Harry raised an eyebrow. He'd never thought that wizards in the States had different methods of casting and wondered why no one had ever told him before. We learn about goblin wars and giants and centaur customs, but why didn't anybody bother telling us about the way wizards in different countries cast spells? That would've been a hell of a lot more interesting, not to mention more important.

Neil held out the sturdy blue sling, which looked rather like a baby sling, except it was designed to hold a small dog. "Here it is."

Harry took it and quickly scooped up Rosie and put her inside. She immediately began licking the boy's face. "Hey! Stop it!" He sputtered, fastening the sling about his neck. Then he mounted his broom and took off, flying only ten feet above the grass.

The beagle whined at first, then she settled down as Harry flew gently in a circle. Soon he went higher and faster. The beagle loved it, putting her nose in the wind, her ears flopping every which way.

Grinning, Neil mounted his broom and flew up beside him.

The two flew side by side, Rosie in her sling, barking in delight.

"Look, it's the flying beagle!" he cried and invited Harry to chase him.

They flew all over the backyard, and Rosie loved every minute of it. When Harry landed at last, the beagle looked disappointed. "Who would have thought of it? A beagle that loves flying?"

"Well, Harry, she is your beagle," giggled Mia. "Now it's my turn."

Harry handed Rosie to Neil and took Mia up in front of him, as he had promised.

When Severus came outside a few minutes later to see what the kids were doing, he found all of them flying around the MacIntyre's backyard, Mia on Harry's broom and Rosie with Neil. It was quite an amazing sight, the little girl and the beagle, soaring through the sky, laughing and barking in utter delight.

Severus smiled, pleased with how well things had worked out. It looked like his son had made a new friend, and while he knew this one wouldn't replace his other good friends, Ron and Hermione, at least Harry was no longer alone with only adults for company.