When Severus emerged from the tight, airless and exceedingly uncomfortable sensation of Apparition, he found himself standing in the lane leading to the Burrow, about ten yards away from the three barred wooden gate. As he hoisted Harry into a more secure position against his chest, he strode, somewhat hampered, the several yards that brought him to the gate.

He was pleased to see a member of the Weasley family—the vivid hair made identification easy—hurrying along the gravel driveway, and it was almost immediately that Severus recognised the handsome features of the oldest boy, Bill. As he neared the gate, the young man reached behind and pulled his wand from a rear pocket of the faded jeans that he wore.

Severus raised his eyebrows when Bill stopped several yards short of the barrier that prevented Severus entering the property. “Who are you, and what business do you have here?” asked Bill in a hard voice.

Severus rolled his eyes and hoisted Harry again; the boy might not have been large for his age, but still, the constant weight was enough to set Severus’s back and shoulders aching. Severus knew Dumbledore had contacted the Burrow about their imminent arrival, so who the hell did Weasley think they were? Though Severus had to admit that it was perhaps unlikely that the old man had mentioned that the new arrivals would look like total strangers.

“It is I, Severus Snape, bringing Harry Potter,” he said in as patient a voice as he could conjure.

Bill scrutinised the visitors, his blue eyes lingering on Harry for several seconds before he looked back at Severus. “We weren’t informed that you would be transfigured.”

“Potter and I have been transfigured with Polyjuice Potion since yesterday morning…an added precaution while we were travelling by car from Northern Scotland.”

Bill still scrutinised the pair suspiciously. “Show me your Patronus,” he ordered.

An already irate Severus felt his simmering anger begin to bubble more furiously . “In case it has escaped your notice, Weasley, I have my hands full at the moment.”

Bill jerked his wand downwards so that it pointed at the ground at Severus’s feet. “Put him down and show me your Patronus.”

Severus set his jaw, but he knew that there was little point in arguing. Weasley was only doing what he should be doing. Even if he and Harry looked like their real selves, Severus would have been disdainful of the lack of security if Weasley had not challenged him and sought unequivocal proof that he was who he purported to be.

With no little difficulty, Severus went down on one knee and deposited Harry on the ground. He supported his shoulders, leaning his flopping head against his own shoulder while fishing his wand out of his pocket; he pointed the wand at a largish stone and transfigured it into a cushion, placing it carefully under Harry’s head.

Bill watched this performance with more than a little suspicion. If everything that he had heard about Harry’s relationship with Hogwarts infamous Potions Master was true, and if this man was Severus Snape, then he was acting highly out of character. Hell, Snape being concerned for anyone’s comfort was highly out of character. If this was Snape and if that was Harry. Well, he would find out in a few seconds wouldn’t he? Although Bill was ninety-nine, point nine percent sure that he was Snape. The combination of Dumbledore’s message, and not fifteen minutes later, the arrival of this man and boy was just too much of a coincidence.

Severus stood again. He filled his mind with a vision of Erin and incanted Expecto Patronum! A beautiful, luminescent, silver-white doe erupted from the end of Severus’s wand and there was now absolutely no doubt in Bill’s mind that this was Severus Snape.

Every member of the Order of the Phoenix knew what each of the other’s Patronus was. They could all produce a Patronus except for Mundungus Fletcher. Even the twins could produce a Patronus, much to everyone’s surprise, and they had not been too proud to admit that a boy two years their junior had taught them. Bill remembered everyone being suitably impressed, and Lupin being ridiculously proud, as it had been he who had taught Harry how to produce a Patronus. Even Snape had been hard pressed to conjure his usual disdain; the fact of a thirteen year old boy being able to produce a Patronus powerful enough to ward off a hoard of Dementors was undeniably impressive.

But this man’s Patronus was also a magnificent thing, there was no doubt of that. Their Patronuses were not just a means of communication for the members of the Order, they were also the perfect means of identification. No one’s Patronus could be produced by another...they were wholly individual.

“Satisfied?” asked Severus acerbically, but Bill was already deconstructing enough of the powerful wards that he himself was largely responsible for, to let Severus and Harry through the gate. Severus used his wand to levitate Harry and, in deference to his thirty-six year old spine, he maintained the spell as he stalked through the gate and towards the large, ramshackle house.

“Perhaps you could stay and wait for Dumbledore, Weasley. Your guard dog act is exemplary, by the way.” This was all tossed over his shoulder so Severus did not see the scowl that he was sure would have appeared on the good-looking face.

As he neared the door, two smaller red-heads tumbled onto the porch and stared at the stranger and his floating companion. Severus mentally groaned. God! The youngest of the brood. Isn’t September through to the end of June enough time to be afflicted with the likes of Ronald Weasley?

Severus could tolerate Ginevra Weasley much more than he could her brothers. Even Percy, with his higher than average intelligence had been a pain in the arse because he had been so sanctimonious in his superiority. And if the truth was known, the youngest Weasley actually had more natural talent for Potions than Percy had ever had.

Just as Severus arrived at the porch, Molly Weasley threw the door open and took charge, chivvying her gormless son and worried-looking daughter out of the way so that Severus could enter. She was appalled to see the young boy being floated along like a marionette. She didn’t waste time demanding to know who Severus was, assuming correctly, that Bill would not have allowed a total stranger through the wards.

“Lord above, Severus,” said Molly, leading the way quickly to the stairs. “What has happened to him?” But she didn’t stop to listen to his explanation; she led Severus into a small, crowded, but neat bedroom, furnished with double beds, a single chest of draws between them and a wardrobe at their base. Molly whipped the scarlet (of course) chenille quilt and the bedclothes down and Severus finally lowered the child he had dubbed Aidan onto the white sheet.

Severus lit the tip of his wand and checked Harry’s pupils…they were still equal and reacting. His other vital signs appeared fine as well. Then Severus tried to wake Harry…he was a little worried that the boy had managed to stay oblivious throughout their Apparition and many changes of position. Calling his name elicited no immediate response. It took quite a vigorous shake to get a moan out of him, but Severus had to actually pinch the fleshy part of Harry’s ear to get him to respond enough to open his eyes. Harry tried to lift his arm to push the source of the pain away, but he never completed the movement; his limbs were too heavy.

Harry’s eyes were blank for several seconds, not focusing on either Severus, or Molly, who was on the other side of the bed. Molly looked at Severus, her eyes projecting the worry that Severus was feeling. Harry seemed more groggy than he had been when he had first woken up in the car. He had regained consciousness then by himself, when Severus had carried him out the back door of the restaurant to put him into the car that Erin had driven around so that they would not be seen.

But this time, painful stimulus had been needed. Severus shone his wand light into Harry’s eyes again. His pupils were certainly reacting, but they were slightly more dilated than they should have been, and their reaction was just a little sluggish. Though Harry certainly didn’t like the light being shone in his eyes. He groaned and turned his head away.

“What’s the matter with him?” asked Molly, no longer able to remain silent. If she had not known that Severus Snape was a healer and that Albus had put him in charge of Harry, she would have interrupted these ministrations long before now. She had, after all, heard the stories of how much Snape hated Harry.

“He fell and hit his head,” said Severus distractedly, but when Harry’s eyes drifted shut again, he called his name sharply, forgoing a more elaborate explanation. Molly watched fearfully as Harry tried to lift his eyelids again, but failed. Severus called him loudly again, and then pinched the earlobe.

“Oww!” protested Harry, his exclamation emerging in a slow, slurry voice. He tried to push Severus’s hand away, but once again, was unable to lift his arm. “Stop,” he moaned. “Hurts…” but his eyes were, once again, drifting shut.

“Harry! Look at me!” said Severus forcefully, and when Harry didn’t comply, he yelled, “Potter!”

Severus slapped Harry’s cheek several times, the movements short and sharp, the noise of his hand on Harry’s flesh ringing out in the room. Harry’s eyes opened again, and this time, he did manage to raise his arm to push the offending hand away.

“Geroff!” he said, angrily, his voice a little more forceful this time, but still slurred.

“Look at me, Potter,” demanded Severus, his voice still forceful. And he repeated the words more loudly, right next to Harry’s ear.

“All right! Geeze!” said Harry, and he tried very hard to focus on the face close to his own.

“Who am I?” asked Severus. Harry stared hard, but didn't answer.

“Potter, who am I?” repeated Severus, more loudly.

Harry licked his lips with the tip of his tongue. “Thirsty…” he said, as if the question had not been asked.

“Tell me who I am, and you can have some water,” said Severus, and he threw Molly a pointed look.

Molly had no intention of leaving and she in turn glared at her two youngest children who were hovering in the doorway, both looking frightened for the kid that they knew was Harry, even though he didn’t look like Harry. Neither wanted to leave, but it was obvious that Ron was not going to give up his post. Ginny threw one last look at the stranger on the bed and departed to get the requested water, though reluctantly.

Harry was trying to focus on the man who was tormenting him, but really, all he wanted to do was sleep. The man was a stranger, and yet…Something hovered on the edge of Harry’s consciousness. What was it?

“Potter! Who am I?”

Harry focused so hard, a crease developed between his eyes. Then he screwed up his face in apparent pain. “It hurts,” he moaned.

“What hurts?” asked Severus sharply.

“Head,” said Harry weakly and his eyes tried to drift shut once more, but Severus slapped his cheek again.

“Leave…alone…” moaned Harry in an irritable voice. “Wanna sleep.”

Severus was really worried now. Harry had not been this confused or sluggish earlier. The concussion was obviously worse than he had first thought and Harry would need constant monitoring for many a long hour to come.

Severus looked towards the door when he heard hurried footsteps. Ginny pushed past her brother with a carafe of water and a glass clasped in her hands. And Severus was relieved to see Dumbledore and Erin following her. Bill stopped at the doorway with Ron and both young men had their eyes focused on the new female in their midst; Ron’s mouth had of course dropped open at the appearance of the attractive woman.

Ginny had hurried to Severus’s side and he took the water and the glass from her. She then stepped back to allow Professor Dumbledore to take her place.

“What has happened, Severus?” asked Dumbledore.

“He is difficult to rouse and his speech is slurred,” said Severus, tightly. He handed the full glass of water to Dumbledore and then took a sleeping Harry by the arm and pulled him upright, pointing his wand at the pillow and multiplying it by three. Harry moaned at the change of position and Severus began his attempts to rouse the boy all over again.

Harry was becoming more and more irritable and though he drank his water greedily, he could still not recognise Severus.

“Perhaps, my boy,” said Dumbledore, gently, “you might consider changing back to your normal persona. You have not been in this guise for very long, and if Harry has lost time, a circumstance that is, according to you, entirely possible, even probable, then he may not remember Paul Vale.

Severus had been so taken up with worry for Harry--and that circumstance still struck him at odd moments with its sheer improbability—it had not occurred to him that his Polyjuiced persona could well be a stumbling block. With a set mouth, he stepped back and allowed Dumbledore to take his place near Harry’s head. Erin, after gazing at Harry for a few more seconds, went and stood by Severus’s side, putting her hand on his arm in an effort to calm his obvious irritation. Severus did not acknowledge her, but nor did he shake her hand off. Two pairs of blue Weasley eyes and two pairs of brown, stared, mesmerised, at the sight of Severus Snape standing in such close proximity to a young woman, allowing her to touch him without actually sneering at her. Severus could feel there amazement, but he ignored them.

While he fished in his pocket for the miniaturised luggage, Albus tried to gently coax Harry into wakefulness, and failed miserably.

“He is only responding to mild painful stimulus at the moment, Albus,” said Severus shortly. He pointed his wand at his shrunken hold all and spelled it back to its normal, prodigious size. Then, instead of taking the time to rummage around, he summoned the antidote for the Polyjuice Potion. Two small phials slapped into his hand and he gave one to Erin to hold and opening the second, he drank it down in one swallow.

The Weasley’s and Dumbledore—who had abandoned his attempt to wake Harry—watched as, over the next forty seconds, Severus Snape appeared in the place of the blonde, grey eyed man they had been viewing for the last fifteen minutes. Ron, who had only just managed to contain his shock at the appearance of the pretty woman in their midst, widened his eyes even more as the new shock of seeing his normally black-robed Potion’s master dressed in casual Muggle clothes, registered.

“Here,” said Severus softly to Erin, ignoring, once again the interested eyes around him. He took Erin’s chin in hand and pointed his wand at her, incanting wordlessly to reverse the spell that had given Erin dark hair. Her locks returned to their normal golden-red, and lengthened about three inches. Bill and Ron’s eyes widened in appreciation, but it was short lived as they refocused on Snape who had taken Dumbledore’s place near the sleeping Harry’s head.

Molly and Dumbledore, who had been having a rather intense conversation over Harry’s prone form, fell silent and Erin went and stood next to Ginny at the foot of the bed. As Ginny had made it into the room, she was loath to return to the doorway to hover. The woman and the young girl threw tight smiles at each other and then focused on Healer Snape as he attempted, once again, to lighten Harry’s conscious state.

This time, after more ear pinching and face slaps, Harry awoke in a very irritable frame of mind, a state not unusual for people who had suffered a head injury. This time, though, Harry finally recognised his tormentor and was rewarded with the glass of water that he quaffed down like a dying man in the desert.

When his thirst was appeased, Severus forced him to stay awake and focus on the other occupants of the room. Harry’s responses were certainly not instantaneous, but he eventually recognised Professor Dumbledore, Ron, Ginny and Erin. Both of the young women’s eyes filled with tears as Harry stared at them intently before whispering their names. Severus didn’t force Harry to identify Bill or Molly because his speech was becoming even more slurred, his need for sleep paramount.

As his eyes drifted closed again, seven pairs of eyes remained focused on the face of the twelve year old Muggle boy; but there was no doubt they were all seeing Harry’s fine-boned face, his green eyes with their black sweep of long lashes, and the untidy, black hair.

“Will he be OK?” whispered Ginny, unable to hide her distress any longer. Her brown eyes were huge when she transferred her gaze to Severus.

“It is a waiting game with injuries such as this, Miss Weasley, but though Harry is confused and his speech and movements sluggish, the lack of certain other symptoms, lead me to believe that he will recover.” Ginny swallowed and nodded, transferring her gaze back to Harry’s face.

“Well,” said Dumbledore, “I think we could all do with a dose of the universal panacea, Molly.”

Molly visibly gathered herself together, breathing in deeply and blinking her eyes several times to rid them of excess moisture.

“Of course,” she said, her voice all business. “Right away.” She walked purposely towards the door, taking Ginny’s elbow in a gentle grip as she passed. “Come along Ginny, dear. You can help me.”

Ginny twisted her arm away from her mother’s hold. “I want to stay,” she said, not taking her eyes from Aidan’s face. Molly looked at Severus, expecting him to tell Ginny to leave, but he surprised them all.

“Someone has to stay with him until he is more alert and fully rousable. “You may take the first shift, Miss Weasley.” Ron stepped forward, his face set and white.

“I’m staying too,” he said determinedly, and when Severus’s black eyes bore into him, he couldn’t help the blood rushing to his face.

“Very well,” said Severus. “If either of you are worried about anything, or if Harry wakes, summon me immediately.”

Dumbledore smiled at Ron and Ginny who had both lowered themselves onto the edge of the second bed, before ushering Severus and Erin ahead of him to follow Molly and Bill down the narrow stairs.

Ginny and Ron sat and stared at Aidan for several seconds, and then Ginny felt Ron’s head turn towards her. She dragged her eyes from the patient, her eyebrows raised in question. Ron shook his head disbelievingly. “Harry?” he croaked, and then with another doubtful shake of his head, he repeated, “He called him, Harry?”

Ginny sighed, her eyes focused on Aidan’s face again. “I wish he had reversed the Polyjuice on Harry before he left,” she whispered, and Ron stared at her, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

8888

“Are you all right?” Severus asked Erin at the base of the stairs. He had taken her arm to hold her back.

Erin nodded and then, surprising herself as much as she surprised Severus, she threw herself into his arms and burst into tears. “What a bloody horrible day,” she sniffed. “Travelling by car was supposed to be the safest option for us.”

Severus cradled the back of her head, pressing her face against his shoulder. “It’s my fault. I should have gone with him.”

“How could anyone think that anything would happen in the bathroom?” asked Erin, reasonably. “It was a family restaurant, for God’s sake.” She sniffled and resting her forehead on Severus’s shoulder, she angled her hips back and began delving in her jeans pocket for a tissue.

Severus kissed the top of her head. “Paedophiles abound, even in our world, Erin. My mistake was not thinking of Muggles presenting any danger.”

Erin stepped back a little so that she could dry her eyes and cheeks. Severus caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and when he glanced up sharply, it was to see Bill Weasley watching them from the doorway into the living room.

Severus drew himself up, narrowing his eyes as he glared back at the red-head. Bill made a gesture with his hand to indicate the drinking of a beverage before disappearing back the way he had come. Erin noticed Severus’s flint eyed stare and she turned to see what had him so put out; but Bill had already disappeared.

“Come,” said Severus, taking Erin’s elbow and leading her towards the kitchen. “I believe sustenance is being prepared.”

Before they reached the kitchen, Erin put her hand on Severus’s chest to stop him. “You do think Harry will be all right, don’t you Sev? You weren’t just saying that for the others’ benefit?”

Severus raised his face heavenwards and ran his hand through his long, black hair. “He definitely has a concussion, but he is not bleeding into his brain, and his skull isn’t fractured. I am not sure how long it will take—perhaps a day or two—but he will slowly return to his normal, annoying self.”

Erin smacked him on the shoulder. “I saw how worried you were for him, Severus, even before today’s happenings, so there is no point pretending that you are totally indifferent.” Severus just grunted and marched into the kitchen where Molly, Bill and Dumbledore sat around the large, scrubbed-pine table, drinking large mugs of tea and, in Albus’s case, finishing up a large slab of dark fruit cake.

“Ah, Severus, Erin,” said Albus, brushing the crumbs from his fingers. “He stood and held out the chair next to him and Erin, suddenly self-conscious, slipped into it, aware as she did so, of the slightly suspicious gaze of the woman she knew to be Molly Weasley and the calculating blue gaze of the very good-looking man she had heard addressed as Bill.

“Introductions are overdue, I believe,” continued Albus, as Severus slipped into the chair next to Erin and reached for the large brown pottery teapot. “This, Erin, is the home of our very good friends and colleagues, the Weasleys.” And he introduced Molly, who smiled tightly, and Bill, who nodded his head, his eyes still assessing. Severus was not unaware of the charms that the young man had in abundance, and his gut clenched as he passed her a mug full of light brown liquid, when he saw Erin smile at Bill. The urge to hex a stunning crop of pus filled pimples onto the handsome visage was nearly overwhelming and Severus took a too hasty sip of his own deeper burgundy tea, only to burn his tongue quite badly.

“Molly, Bill, this is Erin Hanson,” continued Albus. “I need not go into distressing details; you know enough of the circumstances surrounding Erin’s entry into the Wizarding World.” Dumbledore reached for the teapot and poured himself another cup of tea.

Molly took up the conversational challenge. “You lived next door to Harry’s relatives, is that right, Miss Hanson?”

Erin nodded. “Please, call me Erin. And yes, that’s right. My parents have lived next door to the Dursleys for eight years. They’re in Australia at the moment, visiting my brother. I was house-sitting for them.” Erin felt the curious leaden feeling steal through her veins whenever she contemplated the total devastation that had befallen her parent’s home…her parent’s street. “But neither the Dursley’s house, nor my parents’ house are standing any longer. In fact, I have been informed that most of Privet Drive no longer exists.”

Most of the suspicion melted from Molly’s gimlet gaze, and she reached over and placed her hand over the back of Erin’s where it rested on the table. “You poor dear,” she said, her kind heart taking over from her suspicious nature. “What a terrible thing to have to live with. Do your parents know?”

Erin swallowed and nodded. Molly squeezed her hand. “They must be so worried for you. What have you told them?”

Before Erin could answer, Dumbledore interrupted. “Molly, Erin, in all probability, does not want to visit this subject. Suffice to say that her parents know and that their minds have been set at rest as to Erin’s present wellbeing.

Molly pursed her lips and subsided, albeit with ill-grace. She did not take kindly to being told what to do, especially in her own home, but she was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and Dumbledore was their undisputed leader and it had become habit to follow his orders; she also realised that her questioning of the young woman sitting at her table had bordered on rudeness.

When Dumbledore had told Molly that the young Muggle woman who had befriended Harry, and who had been rescued along with him on the night of the Death Eater attack, would be arriving at the Burrow with Harry and Severus, she had not had much time to think about the mystery of why a Muggle had stayed on at Hogwarts rather than being ‘Obliviated’ and sent back to where she belonged.

Not, thought Molly, feeling more than a little guilty for her unsympathetic views, that the poor girl belonged anywhere, anymore, unless it was in Australia with the rest of her family. Offering the plate of fruit cake to Erin, she took the opportunity to study her pretty face. She came to the conclusion that the woman could not be much older than Bill, and Molly knew that if she could not be around to assist any of her children during a crisis, then she would hope that another mother would take her child under her wing.

Molly brought the subject around to Harry and his present travails. Erin, who was aware of Severus’s simmering irritation with Bill because the young man kept on shooting covert glances at her, could feel his temper take a sharp upward turn at Molly’s probing. She dropped her hand surreptitiously under the table and found Severus’s thigh, which she squeezed firmly, signalling him to stay calm.

Severus heeded her warning and he took a deep breath, answering Molly as calmly as he could, sticking to the story he and Erin had devised, whilst remaining uncomfortably aware of the small, warm hand resting very near a vulnerable part of his anatomy. He wished very much that the two of them were anywhere but here. He wished, pointlessly, that they had completed their journey with no mishaps because he knew there was no way that he could leave Harry any time soon; not in the condition he was in. The extended time when he would not be able to be alone with Erin was going to be torture; it was getting more and more difficult on a daily basis, and he didn’t know how much longer he could hold out without ravaging her.

Molly clucked her tongue and shook her head at Harry’s latest instalment of bad luck. She had been quite angry at Harry for his precipitous journey to the Ministry in June, dragging two of her children with him. But Ron and Ginny had howled her down when she and Arthur had visited them in the hospital wing at Hogwarts, leaving her in no doubt that short of Harry actually immobilising them, there wasn’t any way that they would have stayed at the school when their friend was determined to put himself in danger.

And then Dumbledore had relayed more facts to them: how He Who Must Not Be Named had entered Harry’s mind and tricked him into going to the Ministry in a bid to save Sirius, and how the evil wizard had almost killed Harry by possessing him.

Molly’s anger at Harry had quickly dissipated; how could she remain angry at him for acting on the impulse to go after Sirius, when the same sort of mind connection had saved Arthur’s life at Christmas? And how could she remain angry at him when he had lost another person who was close to him?

“Oh, that poor dear boy,” said Molly sadly, at the end of the tale. “How much more can he take?

“It was rather unfortunate, Molly,” said Severus, “but though Potter’s injury is worse than it first appeared to me—and concussions by definition are unpredictable—this latest episode in Potter’s very chequered history of significant episodes, was just an accident.” He dropped his hand and placed it over Erin’s where it rested on his thigh, and squeezed. He had no doubt that Molly would believe his…their lie, but he was fully aware that Harry’s run of terrible luck had continued unabated. If Severus had believed in Divination, he could easily believe that the boy had been born under the baleful influence of an unaspected heavenly body; Sybil Trelawney believed it, anyway.

All at the table had fallen silent during Severus’s explanation of Harry’s latest injury. Dumbledore, who of course knew the truth, was tapping his fingertips together under his long crooked nose and gazing up at the ceiling. Bill had pushed his chair back so that it was resting on its rear legs and his blue eyes were moving between Erin and Severus. Molly might believe their story, but Bill was a little more astute than his mother. Severus could see the questions teeming in the man’s brain.

As everyone had finished their tea and cake, Molly began puttering around, putting her kitchen to rights. She pointed her wand at the old fashioned tap and immediately, soapy water began to cascade into the sink. Erin jumped up, shocking Severus a little with her abrupt movement. She hurried to the sink and offered to help Molly washing the few dishes.

“Thank you, dear. But there’s no need to trouble yourself.” And indeed, Erin did see that her assistance was superfluous. The dishes were washing and drying themselves. Molly began to measure out some flour into a huge mixing bowl and Erin stood beside her, feeling totally useless. She could hear the three men talking behind them at the table, but she thought it would be rude to rejoin them and leave Molly alone.

As Molly began to rub butter through the flour with her fingertips, she turned and smiled at Erin. “So, Erin—such a pretty name, by the way—I believe you could have only met Harry at the beginning of these summer holidays, as Ron had never heard Harry mention you before.”

Erin nodded, sure that this was the beginning of another interrogation. It was not difficult to see that Molly Weasley was a woman to be reckoned with. It was also obvious that she cared greatly for Harry. “I think he could have been home for several days before I actually met him,” she said, and Molly raised her eyebrows.

“But the kids have barely been home a fortnight. So you have really only known Harry for a little more than a week.”

Erin was a little taken aback when she realised that what Molly said was perfectly true. She had only known Harry for little more than a week. But that week felt like a year to her and she silently wondered at how quickly her feelings for the young boy had become so intense. Harry Potter had brought out her hitherto non-existent maternal feelings in just ten days. She had told Harry that she felt like his older sister, but that was not entirely true. Surely she felt much more protective of him than a mere sister would feel?

She had a niece and a nephew in Australia, and love them as she did, she had still never felt the intensity of emotion for Jacob and Grace that she did for the young man upstairs. Probably because Jacob and Grace already had two parents who loved them beyond life itself and Harry had not appeared to have anyone who cared for him at all.

She had since found out of course, that there were people who cared for him, cared greatly, in fact, but they all seemed to be at a distance. She had felt an overwhelming need to be there for Harry, and Dumbledore had given her that opportunity. He may have wanted her with Harry to act as a buffer between Harry and Severus, but Erin was sure that he had also felt that Harry needed her with him for the emotional support she could offer.

Erin felt a twinge of guilt as these thoughts assailed her. She had been there for Harry, but not as much as she should have been when they had been at the Haven. Her preoccupation with Severus had distracted her to a certain degree from the job she was supposed to do.

No, not job, she thought. Being there for Harry isn’t a job.

But perhaps her preoccupation with Severus had had one positive effect. When prickly, disagreeable Severus Snape had finally been able to relax in his knowledge of their mutual attraction to each other, he had slowly started to relax his long held, and very negative beliefs, that Harry Potter was not a young man who deserved his time, nor his positive attention. Their mutual animosity had slowly relaxed to the point where they had been able to converse without snarling at each other…well, for a portion of the time they spent together anyway.

It had been a bit of a shock to her when she had realised that Harry had a crush on her; she had been totally oblivious. But she was sure that his relatively easy capitulation was an indication that it had only ever been a teenager’s crush on an older woman; he even seemed to have come to an acceptance of her and Severus being a couple. Erin still felt more than a little guilty when she remembered that night when it had all come to a head, and how she had lashed out at Harry for his language, and his views of the relationship that she and Severus had finally found themselves enjoying; she had not reacted well to his clear determination to press her buttons.

At least they had been able to settle things between them, even if Harry had found it difficult to suspend his disbelief that she could find Severus attractive in any way, shape or form. In the end, Harry’s own infatuation had been thrown aside in favour of his feelings of protectiveness for her. She had left him that evening feeling concern for her because of what he knew of his Professor’s extra-curricular activities.

Obviously, Harry’s fears had been at least partially assuaged, because he had not tried to bring up the subject of her and Severus being together again. In fact, it seemed that Harry had decided to make the supreme effort, whether for her sake or because of the circumstance of he and Severus being thrown into such close proximity day after day, but the two wizard’s relationship had become less volatile over the last couple of days and it continued to improve…Severus was now, undeniably protective towards his young charge.

Harry might not be comfortable around them when they were being a couple, but that was more the fact that any teenage boy was uncomfortable with the physical demonstrativeness of a grown couple…any couple really. She could remember being highly embarrassed if her own mother and father had ever had the audacity to hold hands in public, and they had done just that…often. Perhaps this was why she felt it so difficult to keep her hands off her Potions Master…demonstrativeness seemed to be genetic!

Molly was now adding a small amount of water to her flour and butter mixture, and she began kneading it with her hands. Erin was fascinated; Molly was obviously an accomplished cook. Her own mother was a good cook, but she had never made pastry making look quite as easy as this woman was managing to do. She seemed to turn it into an art form. Erin could not recall her own mum ever making pastry from scratch…she usually resorted to frozen sheets, but occasionally, if she was feeling creative, she would use the packets and add her own water.

“You make that look easy,” said Erin, meaning it, but also wanting to stop Molly being so determined to be suspicious of her.

Molly threw her a smile and, kneading finished, she began to flour a marble block in preparation for tipping the huge ball of pastry onto it. She had performed the whole procedure up to now without magic, but after she had flattened the mass with the heels of her hands, she enchanted a marble rolling-pin and left it to roll the pastry out, while she went to the old fashioned ice chest and removed a large bowl filled with chunks of meat.

“Cooking is easy,” she said without a hint of complacency. “Many people say they can’t do it because they don’t want to take the time and make the effort. Do you cook, dear?”

Erin grimaced. “I’m afraid I’m one of those people who doesn’t really bother. I’ve been by myself for quite a while; I do a lot of stir-fries and I grill the odd steak. But I would no more make a pie for myself than I would fly to the moon. That requires way too much effort.”

Molly nodded understandingly. “I must admit that when the kids are at school, and now that my older boys have mostly left home, if Arthur is working late, I am thrilled just to be able to do myself scrambled eggs or baked beans on toast.”

“Understandable,” said Erin, “if this is the sort of meal you produce when they’re at home.”

“I do enjoy this though,” said Molly. “I find cooking relaxing.”

The two women fell silent for a few minutes and Erin watched, fascinated as Molly picked some fresh herbs from an array of pots on her window sill and set a knife to work, chopping them finely. The older woman began to prepare some vegetables in the meantime.

“So,” said Molly, obviously gearing up for some conversation that didn’t centre on food and the preparation thereof. And sure enough…“So, Erin, you did not know the Dursleys well?”

Erin vaguely noted that she had seen Bill had leave the room a short while ago, and that Severus and Albus had been talking quietly together since that time. But their conversation petered out when Molly’s question reached their ears and Erin knew they were listening.

“No. I had nodded to Petunia over the fence when I first moved into number six. But she pretended that she didn’t see. She had no desire to speak to me because she and my parents didn’t see eye to eye.”

Molly turned side-on to the bench and stared directly into Erin’s moss-green eyes. “So you had no idea that those people were ill-treating Harry?”

“Molly…” Dumbledore’s voice held a warning and Severus had pushed to his feet and stridden to Erin’s side, his face livid that Molly had been determined to revisit this subject after already being admonished by Dumbledore.

“No, it’s all right,” said Erin. She smiled tightly at Molly and her tone was no longer affable. She faced the older woman with an upward tilt to her chin. “I’ll answer your question Mrs Weasley, but please do not presume that just because I am one of the most lowly of human beings in the eyes of many wizards, that I am devoid of all decent human emotions. I would stop short of nothing to rescue a child if I thought that child was being mistreated.”

Molly blushed spectacularly, clearly put out at being taken to task by this slip of a girl. Severus and Albus both stared at Erin with approval, silently applauding her spunk at standing up to the formidable Weasley matriarch. Not many were game.

“I suspected within minutes of meeting Harry that there was a problem,” continued Erin. “But it is difficult to act on suspicions alone, and Harry was far from forthcoming about his situation; he intimated that all was well. I worried about him, but I only saw him one other time, and that was on the day that the Death Eaters attacked.

“I had thought that there was something amiss at number four that evening, and as a result of my disquiet, I ended up being in the midst of the action…hence, my unscheduled trip to Hogwarts, and my entrée into the magical world.” Erin had no intention of telling Molly about how she had seen Severus entering the house and how she had armed herself with every intention of crowning Harry’s would-be assailant. And she most certainly was not going to go into the horror she had felt when she had caught that first glimpse of a bloody and beaten Harry lying on the floor with a black-garbed figure kneeling over him.

Erin had no idea how much any of these other Order members knew about how she had come to be at Hogwarts, but she had no intention of telling anyone, other than those already in the know, that she had ended up stunned at the hands of Remus Lupin.

But just at that moment, and focusing the tension in an entirely different direction, they all spun towards the back door as it slammed shut—Severus and Albus both bringing their wands forth with barely detected movements—and watched as two men entered the room. Their nerves jangled anew when Bill erupted back into the room from the direction of the living room, his own wand drawn, having also heard the slamming of the door.

Arthur Weasley and Remus Lupin raised their hands, and the tension left the other occupants of the room with varying degrees of rapidity. Albus, Severus and Bill lowered their wands, and their would-be targets lowered their hands, looking more than a little chagrined at being responsible for this show of defensive aggression.

Molly said, “Arthur! You frightened us to death,” and Erin closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her hand over her heart in an unconscious effort to help keep it moored in the centre of her chest.

“Sorry, Molly dear,” said Arthur, gathering his courage and crossing to his wife’s side and pecking her on the cheek. Then he turned to shake Albus and Severus by the hand, explaining that he had met Remus at the gate.

“But why are you home so early?” asked Molly, clearly still annoyed.

“Bill let me know that Harry and Severus were here.”

“I thought you would be at least another hour though, Dad,” said Bill, explaining why he had reacted with the same aggressive instincts as Albus and Severus.

“I thought I deserved an early finish, having worked overtime for the last two nights,” said Arthur, and then, unable to contain his excitement any longer, he turned towards Erin, smiling delightedly, and holding out his hand. “And of course, I was anxious to meet this charming young lady. How do you do, my dear. I am sure you have already ascertained the fact, but I am Arthur Weasley.”

Erin couldn’t help smiling back at the thin, balding, bespectacled man as she introduced herself and shook his hand. Molly’s husband seemed a much more amicable and accepting person than his wife. A quick glance at Molly’s tight, disapproving mouth told Erin that Molly, at least occasionally, thought her husband foolish in the extreme. The fiery woman had turned away and was slamming containers and implements around the bench-top. To try and defuse the situation a little, Erin gently extricated her hand which was still being held by Arthur, and turned a bright smile upon Remus.

“It’s good to see you again, Remus,” she said with absolute sincerity. But she could not help thinking that Remus looked as if he had recently been ill; he looked absolutely exhausted and was very pale. She also noticed a slight tremor in his hand as he clasped hers. But being her usual, demonstrative self, and pushing the suspicions she had about the sandy-haired wizard to the back of her mind, Erin reached up and kissed Remus’s scratchy cheek.

He looked surprised, but not displeased, unlike Severus, who looked positively formidable, when Erin happened to glance sideways at him. She tensed, waiting for the storm to break, feeling more than a little peeved that a friendly kiss should reduce him to this state of ire.

And sure enough, Severus’s voice emerged with an accompanying sneer when he said, “And why are you here, Lupin?”

Molly's fit of pique ceased abruptly upon hearing Severus’s words. She turned from the bench, her hands finding her ample hips as she glared at Severus.

“It is not for you to question the presence of Remus in my home, Severus Snape,” she bit out. The embarrassment she had felt at being rebuked by Erin Hanson, compounded by the sudden appearance of her husband, who was now making a fool of himself over a Muggle—an attractive, young, female Muggle—in his usual fashion. It was making her more than a little irate. “He is welcome here whenever he wishes to come.”

“Thank you, Molly. I appreciate the sentiment,” said Remus with a slightly nervous, slightly self-conscious smile. And it seemed that Remus felt safer facing the panther, rather than the lioness, because he turned to Severus and said with commendable ease, “And in answer to your question, Severus, I heard that Harry was here, and I dropped by to see how he was. After all, the last time I saw him, he was still in the hospital wing.”

“And Ha…Potter is your business because?”

“Severus…” intoned Dumbledore warningly, but Severus ignored his boss. He also chose not to acknowledge the puzzled look that Erin shot at him.

“Potter is unwell at the moment, and as his healer…”

Severus’s automatic rejection of Remus’s desire to see Harry was cut off mid sentence when simultaneously, a cry of distress was heard from above, and Severus hissed in pain as he grabbed at his left forearm with convulsive fingers.

As a frightened cry of, ‘Harry!’ resonated from above, Severus hissed again and tightened his grip around an obviously agonising pain. Erin, her face pale, stepped towards him, but he turned away, unwilling to let her see his distress. Rapid footsteps could now be heard clattering down the stairs, and just as Ginny appeared at the bottom, her face white, her eyes fearful, Severus, still grasping his forearm as if the extra support lessened the pain somehow, rushed past her, nearly knocking the petite fifteen year old flying.

Ginny didn’t even glance at anyone else; she turned without hesitation and raced after her professor. Paralysed limbs suddenly came to life, and all the adults made a move to follow in Ginny’s wake. Harry’s cries of pain were intensifying, lending wings to four sets of heels.

However their desire to check on Harry was denied them when they came up against an invisible barrier at the base of the stairs. Disentangling themselves after running headlong into a powerful Cushioning Charm, they looked stunned for a moment before they saw that Dumbledore had his wand drawn.

“Albus Dumbledore…” sputtered Molly, outraged. “What is the mean…”

“I am sorry Molly, but we all know the limited proportions of the bedroom where Harry is ensconced, and this crowd is not going to make Severus’s job any easier.”

Molly would have argued, but Arthur, ever sensible in a crisis, took his wife’s arm and let her back into the kitchen. “Albus is right, Molly. We will find out what is happening in good time.”

But though Molly calmed slightly, her outrage flared anew when she heard Albus tell Erin to go up. Molly roughly pulled her arm out of Arthur’s grip and took the few steps back towards the stairs in time to see Erin ascending rapidly.

“And just why is that young woman exempt from your strictures, Albus?”

“Molly…” Arthur sounded very put-upon. Remus moved away from the warring factions and crossed to a window, rubbing the back of his neck as he gazed out at the overgrown garden. So much for his seeing Harry. Albus had not told him much at all about Harry’s absence from Hogwarts over the last several days. But it seemed that some things never changed. Harry was still suffering.

And Severus was still at the beck and call of Voldemort. Remus couldn’t prevent the stab of pity for his old schoolyard enemy; it didn’t quite overpower the guilt he felt whenever he was reminded of the poor choices his Slytherin contemporary had made. He always wondered whether he and his friends might not have been partly responsible for Severus making those poor choices because of the bullying he had endured at their hands throughout his stay at Hogwarts.

Remus was aware of Albus’s patient voice in the background trying to calm Molly. “If Harry is conscious, he will be comforted by Erin’s presence. He has come to rely on her being there for him.”

But Albus did not add that Severus would take more comfort from Erin’s presence than Harry would at this moment in time, and as he would be leaving in very short order for a meeting with Voldemort, Severus needed whatever comfort he could garner.