Feeling uncomfortable at the idea of peeing on one of his fathers prized ingredient plants, and also feeling uncomfortable at the idea of waking him up in the middle of the night, he looked at his watch and wondered if he could hold it until morning. It was four am... nope. He definitely couldn't hold it until six or seven when Snape woke up.

Making up his mind Harry padded down the hall in his socks and knocked lightly on his father's door. It had been a light enough knock that he thought he might have to try again harder because surly that wouldn't wake Snape up, but a moment later and Snape was opening the door, surprising Harry.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He seemed alarmed, and Harry felt guilty for waking him.

"Bathroom?" He asked sheepishly.

Severus rubbed one eye. "Yes, of course. I forgot to tell you." He stepped out of his room and walked down the hall towards the living room a few feet, and said, "Bathroom." Suddenly a door appeared to the right and Harry thought it would lead straight into the living room. Upon opening it however he found a large bathroom with a bath, a shower, a toilet, and two sinks.

"Thanks," Harry said, and hurried in as Snape moved back down the hallway to go back to bed.

Feeling better now that his little problem was taken care of, Harry went back to his room, but found himself unable to fall back to sleep. Instead he went to the kitchen and used the magical grocery list to request some new food items, hoping that it would be ok with his father since he was paying for it. If he was angry, Harry told himself, he would just pay for the eggs and other ingredients out of his own vault.

He checked the fridge but found no new items. Wondering if he had done it wrong, he remembered that it might take some time for the items to appear. While he waited Harry wished he had one of his school books, but remembered the walls of books in the living room and decided to see what books his father had.

The wall of books by the fireplace was all Potion's texts, and the wall by the door was all Defense texts. There were a few dark arts books Harry came across, but they looked old and unused, and had cobwebs and a thick layer of dust on them. Harry wasn't sure why but this put his heart at some ease.

After a while he settled down with a defense book he had never seen before and read for an hour. When he had read the third chapter he rose to see if the food items had appeared yet. When he opened the fridge door he found all he had requested along with a note reading: ‘Wait til' a decent hour to order next time.'

"Whoops," Harry said. He hadn't realized that the grocer himself would have to get up to send the order.

It was almost six o'clock now and he wondered if it was too early to start cooking breakfast. Deciding that it wasn't because the Dursley's always liked to rise this early and eat by six thirty, Harry pulled out the eggs, sausage, and bacon, and started cooking. He found all the pots and pans he needed in various cabinets, and used a cleaning spell to get the dust off.

With the coffee he had ordered he boiled some water and made it the hard way because he had not found a coffee pot. He hated to drink coffee himself, but he loved the smell of it, and he was sure that he had seen Snape drinking coffee in his office during those late night detentions with him.

At six thirty exactly breakfast was ready and Snape appeared fully dressed at the kitchen door.

"What's this?" he asked, surprised to see Harry up and cooking.

"Breakfast's ready," Harry said, just finishing putting everything onto two plates. Severus walked over and Harry moved aside so that his father could see what he had made.

"I did not realize that you knew how to cook."

Harry shrugged. "Had to cook every morning for my family."

"Hm... I did not realize you considered them family."

He didn't really, but he didn't know what else to call them, and he told his father so.

Harry carried the plates to the dining room and set them on the small square table, and Snape carried the one cup of coffee that Harry had made in with him.

When they were halfway through breakfast, Harry said, "Why is the bathroom invisible?"

"When we purchased the house there was not a bathroom. Instead of adding onto the house we created a magical room that must be called into existence."

"Are there any more magical rooms here?"

"A broom cupboard near the front door and a storage closet in the lab."

"Oh, can you teach me to make rooms like that?" Harry thought it would be a useful skill to have in time of danger... he could see himself making invisible rooms to hide out in when Voldemort or Filch was after him.

"Yes, but it requires three wizards to do so. One wizard must be inside the room as it is being created, another must be on one side of the wall the room will be a part of, and one wizard on the other side. The timing must be exact and there is an enormous amount of energy required. We lost Remus Lupin for two days and could not find him when we failed at making another bedroom."

"What?" Harry choked on his eggs because he was laughing. "How did you find him?"

"He turned up in the broom closet glued to the wall. We had to cut his clothes off to get him out... the clothes he was wearing that day are still there stuck the wall."

Harry laughed. He knew his mother had been friends with Remus, but he didn't think he and Snape were on good terms. Seeing the thoughtful look on Harry's face, he said, "Lupin came at Lily's request."

Harry nodded. "Well, at least he turned up."

"Indeed."

After breakfast Harry asked if he could go explore the grounds. Severus told him that he could provided that he stay out of the herb garden at the back of the house and be alert for a tingling sensation, because this would mean he was about to pass out of the security perimeter.

"K," Harry said. "I'll be back to cook lunch." He turned to leave through the front door, but Severus stopped him.

"Harry, you do not need to cook for us." Judging by the memories he had seen in Harry's mind, the cooking he had done for the Dursley's was not voluntary. He did not want Harry to feel like a slave in his new home.

"I know," Harry said with a smile, and walked out the door.

Harry was astounded by the beauty of the property the house was on now that it was light outside. The house wasn't far at all from the lake, which was a clean blue and half frozen, and was surrounded by snowy trees. Harry walked along the edge of the lake for a while and came to a creek, which he decided to follow back towards the back of the house. The almost frozen creek split and he followed one branch for a short while before he felt a tingling sensation. He doubled back and took the other branch of the creek which wound through trees and a small pasture. He could no longer see the house, but he hadn't felt the tingling sensation again, so he knew he couldn't have left the property yet. The forest along the wide creek was beautiful, and Harry thought he understood why his parents had picked this place to live. He would choose this over suburbia any day. He couldn't wait until spring to see what it all looked like sans snow.

It was just barely noon when Harry felt the tingling sensation again and he figured he'd better turn back. Instead of walking all the way back around he thought he could cut left through the trees and end up at the house, so he started back. It was only a few minutes before he came out of the woods and into the open grassy area near the house. It wasn't quite a yard because it hadn't been mowed... maybe in forever, but Harry loved it all the same. Severus was waiting for him in the kitchen when he returned at 12:30.

"Something smells good," Harry said as he entered the dining room and then the kitchen. Severus was standing at the counter dishing up shepherd's pie.

"You cook too?" Harry asked.

Severus nodded. "When one lives alone, it is necessary to learn."

"But you live at Hogwarts all year," Harry thought out loud.

"We are not at Hogwarts now, are we?"

Harry shook his head. "Nope, and I'm glad you can make Shepherd's pie because it's my favorite and it's one of those recipes I could never get right."

"Hm..."

They sat down at the table to eat and Harry told him where he'd been.

"What are those two creeks called?"

"The one that branches off to the west is Hawthorn Brook, named after the man we bought the property from. The one that goes back around to the south is Lily Brook."

Harry looked up. "Really?"

"I named it that the day we moved in and went hiking to see what was around."

Harry tried to imagine Snape and his mother together again. He had been trying to see them together in his mind, but he'd spent so many years imagining her and James Potter together that it was hard.

After lunch Harry took the defense book he'd been reading earlier out into the front yard to try out some of the spells, and Snape accompanied him, correcting his wand movements or pronunciation every now and then. By dinner Harry had learned three new shields and four new attack spells, one of which contained a mild sticking charm within it's workings, and made the person being attacked stick to whatever they touched. Severus informed Harry that this would be useful in a battle because if several death eaters were cursed in this manner, they would end up sticking to each other, because it was a tactic to attack in groups, and generally there was a lot of bumping and jostling.

Before they headed in for dinner, Harry looked out at the enormous lake, and asked, "Are there any fish in there?"

Severus looked at the lake too. "Yes. Many. There is a river to the north east that feeds the lake."

"Do you fish?"

Severus raised a brow. "Are you asking because you saw my fishing pole?"

Harry nodded.

"Yes. On occasion."

"I didn't think wizards fished," Harry said as Severus turned and they headed inside. Harry liked being outside, but apart from the fact that his nose and hands were frozen, he was also getting hungry.

"I am not a full blooded wizard."

"Oh." Harry hadn't known that. If they were related to the Malfoy's and Weasley's he thought that Snape must have been pureblooded.

"Disappointed?" He opened the door and let Harry go in first seeing his think sweat jacket.

"No, just surprised is all."

"Hm... my father used to take me fishing in the summer. We would stock the freezer with fish and be able to eat fish year round."

"Must have been a big freezer."

"Very."

Over dinner, which happened to be leftover Shepherd's pie, Severus asked if Harry had ever been fishing, and he told him about the school trip he had taken once.

"Then the answer would be no."

"Uh yeah... no."

Severus raised a brow. "Perhaps when the snow melts we can go fishing."

"Really?"

"If you wish."

Harry nodded enthusiastically. Sometimes Uncle Vernon took Dudley fishing during the summer, but Harry was never allowed to go.

Sleeping in his jeans again that night, Harry thought that he'd better buy some pajamas in Diagonalley the next morning because he didn't want to sleep in his day clothes for two weeks. In the morning he rose early again to fix breakfast, but found that Snape had beat him to it.

When they were finished he held up two flasks of potion. "This will make us unrecognizable to anyone who sees us, but the potion must be taken every two hours, and you can only take it four times before you will get sick.

"So we have eight hours?"

"Roughly."

"Are we going to apparate?"

"Yes."

"Can you teach me?"

Severus eyed him closely. Apparation lessons had been canceled at Hogwarts because it was no longer safe to take classes off the grounds to practice, so parents were teaching their seventh years at home.

"Do you like using the floo?"

Harry shook his head. Definitely not.

"Then you may not like apparition." Harry's heart sank.

"Why not?"

"It is much the same as using the floo. When a wizard uses the floo, old magic put in place by the Ministry apparates a wizard. Learning apparation is training your mind to use the same old magic."

"But without all the fireplaces?"

"Yes. Apparation is quicker and more accurate. There is no need for an apparation node to use it such as with the floo network."

"Well, it's cleaner... I'd rather use it than the floo."

"Pay close attention then," Severus said, coming closer to him. He drank from his flask of potion and motioned for Harry to do the same. Once he had, Severus gripped his arm and they disappeared. Harry felt himself spinning and closed his eyes, not wanting to barf. But after only a few seconds, it was over, and they were standing in Diagonalley.

"I can still recognize you," Harry said to Severus, wondering why the potion was not working.

"We drank from the same batch, and therefore are able to recognize each other."

"Oh. Will they let me into my vault at the bank then if they don't know me?"

"The potion does not work on Goblins, unfortunately."

They headed to Gringotts and Harry withdrew a bag full of money... about the amount he spent on his school books and supplies each year. He thought that since he was there he might as well get more clothes than pajamas.

Their first stop was the bookstore where he got Hermione and Ginny a book, and picked up yet another new Quidditch game to give to Draco. Next they went to the Quidditch store where Harry got Ron a new Chuddley Cannon's poster and a pack of Quidditch trading cards, and then onto the clothing store.

Harry picked out five new shirts, four pairs of pants, and some new sneakers and pajamas. He was taking it all to the counter to pay when Severus walked up with a heavy brown jacket Harry's size and set it on the counter along with a handful of Galleons.

"I'm paying," Harry said, and Severus waved him off.

"It is my duty to buy your clothes. Do not worry about the price." Harry grumbled something about him not needing to do that but the witch at the counter had already taken Snape's money before Harry could tell her not to take it.

Severus shrunk Harry's bags of clothes as he had done the rest of the gifts and stuck them in a pocket so that they wouldn't have to carry so many heavy things around.

"I must go to the apothecary," He told Harry outside the clothing store. "I will meet you back here in one hour."

Harry nodded and headed off to visit Fred and George at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, forgetting about the potion he had taken until Fred and George didn't recognize him and kept passing him by. Finally Harry purchased a few things and gave up on trying to get their attention in the busy shop.

He still had half an hour and he was wondering what to get Snape. And what if Snape didn't get him anything in return? He didn't really care, but he didn't want to make him feel any more awkward. Deciding to get him a gift and give it to him regardless, Harry set off down the line of shops again, wondering what kind of thing he would like. He obviously liked books, but there was no way for Harry to know which ones he already had. Finally Harry had an idea and ended up buying a large picture frame and a wizard's camera, both of which he shrunk to fit in his pocket. He met Snape in front of the clothing shop, and they headed towards the entrance to Diagonalley.

"Did you get everything you need?"

Harry was about to say yes when he spied something shiny in a small forgotten jewelry shop that he'd never been inside.

"Just a minute," he said, and left his father there as he hurried off into the shop. He came out a minute later with a think necklace with a little golden snitch on it.

"You like to wear jewelry?" Severus asked, brows raised so high that they disappeared into his long bangs.

Harry frowned and looked up at him. "It's not for me!" he said indignantly. "It's for Ginny!"

"I thought you bought her a book."

"And this," Harry said, pocketing it and being careful to make sure it was safely stored away.

"Hm..." Severus had seen them together before but had not realized they were dating. Or perhaps Harry was only hoping to date her? Thinking that perhaps his son might get offended if he asked because he might be ‘overstepping his bounds' again, he decided not to, and instead apparated them back to the house.

* * *

The next week went by smoothly. Harry pulled out an old box of Christmas decorations stored in the hidden broom closet and strung up some shiny Muggle garlands around the living room and his bedroom, and Severus surprised him by conjuring a living Christmas tree in the living room. Harry was informed that it had not been cut down, but was only an image of a tree outside. Harry was amazed because it smelled and felt like a real tree, and even the snow on it looked real and felt cold to the touch, but never melted on the floor. Harry decorated it with a small box of ornaments he had found with the other decorations, and Severus used a charm that Flitwick used on the Hogwarts trees to light them up with conjured fairies.

Harry wrapped and sent away the presents he had bought for his friends, and secretly prepared the present he was making for his father. He had no idea if he would like it, but he really hoped that he would.

Finally it was Christmas morning and Harry woke up to find hot chocolate and cinnamon roles in the living room on the coffee table.

Harry grinned widely as he at down on one of the couches and picked up a cinnamon roll. "You like sweets for breakfast?"

"Hardly. Your mother said it was a family tradition to make these things for breakfast on Christmas morning."

"But aunt Petunia never made these."

"Petunia Dursley is a stiff, unbending woman. I doubt she'd allow sweets into any meal."

"Yeah, well until a few months ago I thought you were a stiff unbending professor."

"And now?"

Harry chewed slowly, not sure if he felt comfortable expressing himself in front of his father just yet.

"Now you're just... my dad." There, he had said it, and if he got in trouble so be it but he couldn't handle not knowing what to call him anymore... sir, professor, Snape, father... he just wanted to be clear on it once and for all.

Eyes alight with something, Harry wasn't sure what, Severus looked up in surprise.

"Then I am glad to hear it." God, he would have made cinnamon rolls every morning for the boy to hear that again. He had wanted to hear it, but had come to an agreement with himself not to hope to hear it, otherwise he knew he'd be disappointed. But instead he'd been given a wonderful and unexpected Christmas present.

"Want to open presents?" Harry asked, seeing the pile of gifts under the tree. Gifts had been arriving all week by owl. It had taken three separate trips by Pig and the Weasley's new owl Xeres to get all the gifts to Harry and Snape. Harry had seen one there addressed to Severus from Ginny, but had hidden it in the back, hoping it would be a surprise.

Severus nodded and Harry hurried from the couch to kneel by the tree. He started sorting through gifts and tossed a small one up to Severus, who caught it with ease. He opened it while Harry opened a gift from Molly Weasley, which turned out to be a blue sweater with a big H on the front.

"Apparently we were not the only ones thinking about new clothes for you," Severus commented dryly, seeing the sweater.

Harry shrugged. "She makes all of us one every year."

Severus finished pulling the paper off of his package to reveal a large bag of sugary lemon drops from the Headmaster.

"You like those?" Harry asked, surprised.

"No. I believe he is telling me not to be a lemon."

"Oh," Harry giggled, and Severus set the lemon drops down on the table and pushed them towards Harry.

Harry threw another small gift to Severus and opened up a book from Hermione, which was an Auror's training manual. "Cool," Harry commented before opening up his present from Ginny, which was a soft hand knitted scarf with the initials H and G with a little heart in the center. Harry rubbed it against his cheek and wished she was there with them. Severus did not fail to notice, but tried to pretend he wasn't watching.

"What did you get?" Harry asked, looking up at whatever Severus had opened. "A peacock quill from Minerva."

Harry then pulled out the enormous package that had been hiding behind the tree and carried it over to his father.

"Who is this from?" he asked quizzically. He was not used to being given large items.

"Me." He looked up at Harry with that surprised look again.

"Thank you. You did not have to get me anything."

"I know," he said.

Severus pulled the wrapping paper aside to reveal a large photo of Lily's Brook with a dear drinking from the small creek in the snow. Harry had waited for hours in the cold behind a bush hoping to catch some kind of wildlife in the picture. He had written Ginny after that and asked her for a spell to make the picture come to life and she had written back the next day with the spell he needed to get the picture from the camera and then add life to it.

"When did you do this?" Severus asked, admiring the picture.

"Two days after we went to Diagonalley. I had to wait in the snow forever to get the doe in there."

"It is beautiful, thank you."

Harry grinned and went back to the tree.

"Open the one with red and gold stripes," Severus told him.

Digging through the pile Harry found said present and pulled the paper off of it. Pulling the top of the box off revealed a photo album with him and his mother on the front cover.

He looked up at his father and then back down to the album. Inside he found picture after picture of Lily and Severus. Lily painting the kitchen blue, Lily and Severus walking along the lake, Lily and Severus at Hogwarts studying, Lily and Severus decorating the Christmas tree...

"Thank you," Harry said softly, running his fingers over the page of Lily decorating the tree while Severus brought in hot chocolate.

"I know you have an album of Lily and James, but I thought this was more... appropriate."

Harry nodded. "I love it, thank you."

Forcing himself to abandon the picture album, Harry went back to the present pile and handed his father the gift from Ginny, which turned out to be a picture of he and Harry that she had snuck when they were talking in the hall at Hogwarts and weren't looking.

"She knows?"

Harry nodded, moving to see the picture. "I didn't know she got a picture though. She's sneaky."

"Tell her thank you."

Harry nodded that he would. Severus used his wand to make a duplicate of the picture, and gave Harry a copy to put in his picture album. Just at that moment Harry had no doubt in his mind that this was the best Christmas ever.