Severus woke up but kept his eyes closed. He liked to feel the warmth of the blankets around him… He found his wand where he had placed it, under the pillow and did a time-charm… 5.23 He still had a little bit more that an hour to sleep… then he remembered. It was Saturday… he could stay in bed until 8 today… He had to do something with the child that was sleeping on his bed…
The child needed so little and so much. Was he able to give it to him? Potter had… wait if he wanted to really be the parent of the child he needed to refer to him differently… Harry. Harry had responded to his care in a thirsty manner, the child… Harry was polite and anxious to please… he was no different from the child that met Lilly on the swings.
If Severus had had a better childhood… if he had learned how to interact with other children… if he had not been so scared of his own father… so anxious to leave behind his life… He may have had a life with the child’s mother.
His mother had told him that his father had not always been like that. Not that he was able to remember. First, they were like bedtime stories, things that happened a very long time ago in a place that was far far away, later… when she died, Eileen had left her son a Pensieve and her memories.
He promised himself to leave that life away, so he just hid them. He watched them after Lilly died. After all the persons involved were already dead. He watched them when he needed to feel close to his mother, and come to understand the story of their lives.
When the young witch met him, Tobias Snape was a handsome youngster. Tender and polite to the girl that fell in love with him.
Eileen had been a shy girl; she had grown up in the shadow of a dead brother that she never met. Her parents were Purebloods, impoverished by a long line of bad administrators. They still had a couple of properties and their name. The Prince couple spent their time mourning a son that died in infancy. He had been so handsome and so smart and his magic so true. If that child had lived he would have inherited the family place in the Wizengamot and would work in the Ministry and would multiply the family assets… Poor Eileen could never compete with a dead sibling. Not when the dead brother had taken their parents’ capacity to love when he died. If only she had been a boy… if only she had been smarter… if only she had been pretty… If only her brother had lived…
She was a plain girl, her skin had been white and her hair dark and her black eyes… eyes that showed a depth… she was a girl that made you want to talk to her…
Eileen had had a sober childhood. She had been home schooled until her Hogwarts letter arrived. Her parents had an argument then, and it was one of the rare times where her mother put her foot down.
Eileen’s father said that as she was only a girl she did not need more education… after all she would only marry. At least her blood was pure, that and not her looks would land her a husband, maybe a well-to-do… or even rich husband that would help to upkeep the family estate…
Her mother was not such an optimist. She thought that Eileen would not improve her looks and considering the state of the estate it was better if she learned something that would help her sustain herself…
Eileen was sent to Hogwarts with a modest wardrobe and a ton of misconceptions. She made some friends, but they had to be as pureblooded as her. She was a good student and found her true self in potions. She convinced her parents to let her go back after she passed her OWLs for her 6th and 7th year, and was going to specialize in Potions…
Her parents found her a suitor in the middle of her 7th year.
He was the son of a cousin, once or twice removed from the Blacks of London. He shared the last name…
He was a childless fortyish widower that wanted a pureblood bride who could give him a cartful of children. He was wealthy, having investments in several parts of the world…
For the Prince parents it was a dream come true, with the wealth that would come to Eileen, they would live as their station required…
Eileen’s mother placed the order for the wedding dress and for complete wardrobe for her and for her daughter… Yes this was what they needed.
During the spring break they broke the news to Eileen… there was no need for her to finish the year or to find an apprenticeship… she did not need to go back to school… she would be allowed to wear the family jewels… and the nice new clothes that her fiancé had bought for her…
Eileen knew that she had no saying in this mater... A price had been paid already for her… she could tell by the new furniture adorning the Manor… She did not even know the name of her husband to be.
She was dressed as a puppet, and met him for tea.
The man had a cruel face. His skin was clear but sunburned. He had a scar in the left cheek that came almost to his eye that made him look inhuman. He had blue cold eyes and his hair was almost white. His voice thundered inside the tall ceilings of Prince Manor… He was a Viking…
His first words, directed at his future father in law after being introduced to Eileen, were… “You are right she is not pretty… luckily I won’t have to see her face when in bed…”
He touched her waist proprietarily, she wished she could Apparate away, his hands felt dirty even over her multiple layered dress.
She was made to sit by him and to offer him tea and goodies. She was speechless, she couldn’t even sip her tea. It made her sick the way her parents fawned over the man.
“Yes she’s got a perfect education… she can play the piano and embroider…”
“She is a quiet obedient person...”
“She has always been a sturdy healthy girl…”
“I am sure she will be pregnant within this same year…”
“Of course the wedding could take place as soon as you wish, we do not really have a lot of family and we would not impose on you…”
“Of course you are welcome to stay here whenever you want…”
“Well, she is an only child, the apple of our eyes… we would love to see her often and… well, yes it would be great if we were to visit you…”
Eileen once again wished she could disappear… Now she was the beloved daughter…
Once her tea was cold, she was excused from their presence and allowed to walk in the yard. She went out looking for a way to escape.
The estate was in a forest, very close to a Muggle village… there was a train station there. She did not have a lot of money… she needed to find a job and… was she brave enough to cut all the ties with her parents? After all she had a duty to them, she was their only daughter… It was scary to go out to the world alone… She made her decision half an hour later when she was seated in a tree chair, and was found by her fiancé.
It was scarier to think that she was going to be married to that monster!
Eridanus Oswald Black was not a man that took no for an answer… he was paying good money for this comely girl, at least he would like to have a sample of the flesh he was buying.
Eileen was not as innocent as her parents made her look. She had shared a dormitory with 6 other girls for 6 years, and a half and she had heard her share of love and pleasure stories… She had even had a couple of boyfriends, and with the last one she had shared kisses and embraces… they had almost been caught before the break by the caretaker Filch… If she were to come back to Hogwarts she was sure that her sweet Hufflepuff boyfriend would be her first…
Eridanus sat beside her and placed his arm beside her back, she had nowhere to run… then he started caressing her body with a strong coarse hand, not minding that she had frozen the moment he touched her. The other hand went under her dress without more preamble, and when she was going to protest, her mouth was caught by his mouth… Eileen’s hands were frozen by her side… He was hurting her… one hand was pinching her breasts while the other was touching her between her legs… and she was suffocating with that tongue in her mouth and their teeth were clashing! She closed her legs and pushed, biting his tongue. Even if she was a not as strong, she pushed him aside and stood up. Her skirt torn…
Eridanus’ tongue and lips were bleeding where she bit him… the suddenness of the pain prevented him to lash out and the cursed girl had run inside the house…
Eileen ran to her room and bolted the door.
Her fiancé had to be appeased by her father while her mother entered the room and slapped her.
“Are you crazy girl… the man is going to be your husband!”
“He hurt me… pinched me… He… look at my dress…!”
“Daughter, you are going to be his wife, you are going to share his bed… you will bare his children… it is not time to be prudish about it.”
“But Mother…”
“You know what happens between a man and a woman girl. We had this conversation a long time ago…”
“But he is too old and…” Eileen was slapped again.
“You have to respect your husband…” Eileen’s mother went to the wardrobe and choose a light summer dress. “Darling this is your chance to do good for your family… If your brother had lived, you could have had a pampered life and married for love. I know this looks like a business transaction… but we all have to make sacrifices… You have to settle into this new life, and you will find fulfillment knowing what you have done for your parents and for the family name… Do you understand girl?”
“Yes, Mother. I understand.” Trough the pensive Severus had seen resolution in his mother’s eyes. She knew what to do now.
She put on the dress handed by her mother, and went out with the look of a martyr to be manhandled by her future husband. The lovebirds were left alone after all …
That night Eileen drank a potion for the soreness she was feeling, she could see on her arms little bruises showing where her future husband had held her… She packed her clothes in a small duffel bag, she took her wand and left the Manor, she was never going to return there.
Eileen walked the forest and arrived in the Muggle village when the sun was rising. No one saw her get on the first train of the day. She arrived in London and walked around. She avoided Diagon Alley as her parents would surely look for here there… She should stay in Muggle London… She was just 17th…
Eileen saw a shop that asked for help. She was accepted to stay for the food and board at first… She was a smart girl that soon was handling the shop alone. She had received some letters… the owls being able to locate her.
The first letters from her parents ordered her to come back. As the time passed they turned to pleas and the last one informed her that she had been disinherited by her family and her name blotted from the family tree…
It was hard to realize that she was not loved. But she had suspected that before she had learned to walk…
Eileen met Tobias Snape three months into her new life… He was handsome and polite. He had helped her off the bus and asked for her address at the same time. The next morning he took her to tea and for dinner…
He worked in a factory and studied in the night. He was going to be an engineer… He would build machines and had several ideas that he was going to patent…
He lived with his mother in Spinner’s end. Mrs. Snape was an old fragile woman who lived through her son’s eyes, she opened her arms to the dark dressed girl and soon she was calling her daughter and wanting to make marriage plans…
Eileen still needed to tell her boyfriend about her special heritage…. But she melted in his arms. When he kissed her she was made to feel like more than a piece of flesh. She felt her magic envelope them and each little kiss and touch was magic!
She allowed herself to dream.
Tobias’ mother died on her bed before the next spring and she told Eileen that she entrusted her with her son’s care. She was right for Tobias and they would marry as soon as possible. Barely 18 Eileen got married and went to live in Spinner’s end. Tobias would end his career in two more years and then they would sell the place and find another one…
Eileen had told Tobias that she was a witch before accepting the marriage proposal… there were a lot of tragedies told whenever a witch and a Muggle were married, and the secret of her magic was kept. Tobias was marveled by magic, he liked to ask his wife to warm his coffee or his bed… they were a blissful couple…
Eileen kept house and wished to be a mother.
Tobias had his work in the factory and his studies. They were a young married couple struggling to succeed and enjoying every step.
Then Eileen found out that she was pregnant and thought that her happiness was complete.
The pregnancy was good for her. Being good at potions she brewed remedies for morning sickness and was really happy. She even found a market for her brewing and supplied others from her house.
Then she received a letter from a friend. Her Mother was dying and wanted to see her.
Eileen knew that it was her duty. The woman was her mother. She told Tobias and he took her to the train station. Eileen would write him once she saw her mother.
The Manor was still standing and Eileen knew that all the repairs were made with magic. Her mother was in bed. Fragile looking. Her father did not talk to Eileen. He only said that his wife’s state was Eileen’s doing, that her heart was broken when Eileen walked away from the engagement.
Eileen sat by her mother and took her hand. The stern witch opened her eyes and looked at Eileen…
“Daughter… you came…”
“It is my duty, Mother.”
“It was your duty to marry Eridanus, Daughter.”
“I am sorry mother, that marriage would have killed me…”
“Your decision angered him very much. He threw a tantrum like the big baby he is. He is not a bad person. A little impulsive sometimes… He needs a wife … he has not found one yet… and… he says that… he still fancies you Eileen. I know it has not been easy for you to find a life away from us. He is still here. He may forgive you and… You may ask him and…”
“Mother, I am not going to apologize, I am not going to marry him… I have a life… I am already married and…”
“What!” The old Lady sat on the bed… You are married? To whom?”
“His name is Tobias, Mother. Tobias Snape.”
The woman looked at her with her piercing eyes…
“That is not a Pureblood’s name… how long has his family being magical?” Maybe not everything was lost. If this ungrateful daughter had decided to marry, their family may have a chance….
Eileen knew that the following was going to be more unpleasant.
“He is not magical, Mother… He is a Muggle.”
“A Muggle! You…! You Harlot!”
“Mother, please. He is a decent man… he is giving me a good life and I am happy. For the first time in my life…”
“Nonsense. You have to dissolve that marriage. Eridanus Black can overlook it, after all it only was a Muggle marriage!... And he… he was your first, wasn’t he?”
“Yes, Mother… he was… not that I had any say… but no more, Mother. I came to see you on your deathbed… that is my duty as your daughter but I am not coming back… I have a life now!”
“You are living with Muggles!” She said it as if her daughter was living in the jungle with a tribe of monkeys!
“Yes, I am. But it is the life I chose, he knows I am magical and I am selling potions in Diagon Alley… I am not going to come back here or dissolve my marriage… I am pregnant… Mother I am expecting Tobias’ child… you have to understand that this is my life now!”
“Pregnant! You do not look pregnant. How long into it are you?”
“8 weeks, I am going to be a Mother by January…”
The old Lady laid back on the bed… then she started coughing… a dry coarse cough, Eileen thought that she would spit her lung any moment now. Eileen held her as she drank some water. She could tell that the water had some minced mint leaves… After a while the old Lady was able to talk to her daughter again…
“You have to brew a potion, Eileen…”
“A potion Mother? What for…?” Eileen knew that there was no cure for her mother now…
“It is not too late… I have the instructions in the small Jewell box in my dresser… It is a useful potion… You have to drink it before week 10… yes… you can still be saved…”
It only took Eileen a moment to realize what her Mother intended for her to do…She stood up horrified! “Mother, I am going to have this child…”
Eileen’s mother was livid. Her pallid translucent skin turned green and a scream froze in her throat… she couldn’t breathe anymore. One more moment, then she stopped fighting, she was dead.
“See what you have done! Ungrateful witch! You have killed your own mother!” Eileen did not know for how long her father had stood by the door. But it did not matter…
“She was very sick!” Eileen stood up again… there was no use. No way to make her father understand… she had to go home. The old man went to embrace his death wife.
Eileen walked out of the room. There was nothing else for her there. She used her wand to create a disillusion charm around her and walked downstairs… It had been a good idea. In the library her scorned ex-fiancé, was drinking and bolstering with his cousin, another Black.
Eileen opened the door and ran all the way to the village.
She cried all the way back to London. Her mother was dead!
Tobias was not home when she arrived. He was not expecting her until later in the week. She took a bath and tried to relax. Her feet hurt.
Tobias arrived and was very glad that she was back. She did not tell him about what her mother wanted her to do. She settled again into her new life and into the baby she was expecting.
Severus was born in January 9th. Eileen had been attended by a midwife in her house. The birth was without complications. She had a healthy 7-pound baby boy. She asked Tobias about the name of the baby. In his family the tradition was to name the babies with the name of the saint of the day they were born. That day’s saint was Saint Severus… and they added Tobias, as the first-born kept his father’s name.
Eileen had received one more letter from her father… she was informed that her mother was buried at the Manor.
When Severus was born she informed the family lawyer. She knew that her father would scorn a half-blood grandchild, but her son was entitled to her name… Severus Tobias Snape Prince.
Severus saw memories of happy days. He was too young to remember…
But the small family had outings to the park and visits to the zoo, even long strolls through London… then tragedy struck…
Eridanus Black had tried to forget the plain black-haired girl that he almost married… He had even taken a wife to console him. After 2 years of marriage, the stupid girl had not managed to get pregnant… time was going by and he needed an heir. The useless wench had drunk all the potions available for fecundity. Eridanus had visited all the wizards possible. On one of his visits he was told that there was a potion that could help him to get his wife pregnant… but that it had to be brewed at the most, one hour before drinking it. And he was told that the best brewer was a witch that sometimes sold her potions in the apothecary… her name was Eileen Snape. He did not know she was the Eileen that haunted his nights… he settled an interview with the witch.
Eileen took Severus with her to Diagon Alley that day, the boy was fascinated by the visit, his eyes darted to all sides trying to see everything.
It was a shock for Eileen as well as for Eridanus to meet at the apothecary… Both composed themselves while the Old Wizard explained what needed to be in the potion, Eileen took notes and said that she would be available to prepare it the next Friday, as the moon would be in the correct quarter… Eridanus would set a room in his house for the brewing. The potions should not be exposed to additional magic and could not be transported by apparition or floo… Eileen had some misgivings when she left her house that Friday… she had not liked the way that Eridanus had watched her… but she thought he was already married… She left Severus with a neighbor and Apparated to Diagon Alley; from there she took the floo to Eridanus Mansion.
“This could have been all yours.” He told her as he was escorting her from the fireplace to the lab.
“It is better not to dwell in the past.”
“You are right. I suppose your husband is not so well off as he needs you to work.”
“He has a good job…”
“Working class… I see why you choose him…”
“I will need a place to wash the ingredients…”
“The lab has a sink… how long can you stay…?”
“Three hours… I would like to meet your wife…”
“You may stay for the night if you please…” He thought that he was charming!
“The potion needs complete concentration, I will tell you when it’s ready…”
Eileen bottled the potion and called the house elf that Eridanus had left at her service.
“Advice your master and mistress that the potion is ready.”
With a little plop the elf went to fulfill her request.
The Mistress of the house arrived five minutes later. Eridanus’ wife was very young. Eileen made her seat and gave her the potion. The girl drank it and looked at her with scared eyes.
“Are you sure this will make me have a baby?”
“There is no way to be sure of that dear, but it will make your body receptive and that helps… You and your husband must try for the next 3 days…”
“He wants a heir so badly…”
“And what about you?”
“I… I only want to please him…”
“That is good. I am sure that this potion will help you. Here you must put this salve also, after… I mean you have to try for three days…”
“Thank you.”
“I am glad I could help you…”
“Would you mind if I visit you… I mean… once I am pregnant…?”
“I would love you to dear… but I live far away… And Eridanus… I am sure he would like you to take care...”
“He said I could…”
“Just send me an owl… I will come to see you…”
“Thank you.”
Eileen couldn’t leave the Manor soon enough…
Tobias had picked up his son from the neighbors and was trying to feed him when Eileen arrived.
“Look at you! You both need a bath.”
She finished feeding her young son and fed her husband also. She could do a lot of things with a wand in her hand.
She wished that the young wife of that brute would get pregnant soon… She also wanted to be pregnant soon again, and give Severus a little brother or sister… but that was never going to happen.
Eileen did not leave him any memories of the attack. Severus knew that she had to be partially Obliviated.
Years later, Severus was able to find the report with the Aurors that arrived at the scene. The file said that a witch and her Muggle husband had been attacked by fanatic wizards that were against the intercultural marriages. The couple had to be transported to Saint Mungo’s. The husband had to be treated for severe nerve damage, he had been attacked with the Cruciatus curse for more that an hour. He did not respond well to the treatment and developed an over-sensitivity to magic. He felt pain in all his body every time anyone tried to fix his nerves with magic. He was able to drink some potions but would not recover from the damage. Eileen was not going to be able to have children anymore.
Severus was presumed dead until one of the Aurors found him inside a wardrobe. He was too young to explain how he had Apparated there when he heard his parents crying.
Eridanus Black had placed a tracking charm on Eileen the day she had gone to his house, and attacked them two nights later, with the help of some of his cronies. Of course, that did not appear in the report.
Severus remembered a very white room where he was placed until his mommy could come and get him. He knew he had stayed there for a long, long time.
After that nothing would be the same.
Tobias was in pain permanently. He found that he could numb it with alcohol. The pain got worse if Eileen used any kind of magic in the house. Even if she did it when he was not present. He couldn’t finish his degree and kept working at the factory. Falling more and more into the clutches of the alcohol.
Eileen looked for a job in a Muggle Laboratory to help the ends meet, she had the brewing experience but had to accept low pay because she did have not done any Muggle studies…
Tobias was a good man that tried to play with his firstborn… his only son… until Severus started having accidental magic bursts…
Tobias felt the magic in his bones. He tried to teach the little boy not to use his magic at all. But it was not possible.
Severus could remember well that man that lashed out at him for no reason at all. And he did try… Daddy said that he was bad when he used his magic to move his toys or to bring things from the table. And Daddy smacked him and made him stand in the corner. But his magic kept evolving… Mommy held him and told him to be careful and sometimes taught him how to control it. But they shouldn’t do magic at home. Daddy always knew.
Eileen never recovered from the attack. Not even when she knew that Eridanus was killed in a duel one year later. He had told her that he would be back for her little boy. So she tried to keep Severus always under her watchful eyes. The little boy was never allowed to play with other children. His father said that it was because he was bad and used magic, his mother said because he was too precious to her. She told him about the magical world and promised that one day he would go to Hogwarts.
Tobias stayed longer out of the house. And was a stranger to his wife and son.
When his letter arrived Eileen was very happy. Tobias could only say that his child was going to be able to have an education. Eileen gave him all her Hogwarts books and mended some of his father’s clothes to wear at school. Tobias and Eileen had taken him to the station for the first time and his father had hugged him and told him to learn to use his magic, so he would be able to control it at home.
During his school years Severus returned to his house and saw that his parents had got to an arrangement. They gave each other company but each one lived their own lives. Tobias in the pubs with his friends. Eileen with her potions.
Eileen got sick when Severus was in his 4th year at Hogwarts. He was allowed to go home to her. He knew that if he had taken her to Saint Mungo’s she could have been treated, but she refused the treatment and died. Barely 35 years old.
Severus was visited by a lawyer at Hogwarts one week after his mother’s burial. His grandfather wanted to meet him and invited him to Prince Manor for the Christmas Holidays. Severus was received at the Manor like the heir he was. His Grandfather was surprised that the boy looked so much like him and embraced Severus as the heir he should have been.
He was told that he should live with the old man. Severus asked his father for advice.
Tobias told him that he had been sober since Eileen had died, and that somehow the pain had stopped. He said that Severus was entitled to meet his mother’s family and that there was not much that Tobias could do for him. But he was not going to stop his relatives from helping Severus.
Severus knew that he was welcome home, but his father’s ailments would return if he was exposed again to magic. And if the ailments came back so would the alcohol. And he liked to have civilized conversations with his father, even if they were only by letter. So he accepted his Grandfather’s proposition, and went to live with him. Severus was 15 years old.
Life at the Manor was not as easy at it seemed at first. Both Severus and his Grandfather had tempers that sometimes clashed. And Severus learned that, when disagreements occurred he was made to see reason with the help of a cane. He decided to limit those encounters with the cane, but sometimes the old man was hard to please… Severus learned to keep some of his opinions to himself.
So Severus thought, counting in his head, he had had 4 father figures.
His father had loved him in another life before the attack. He could not even remember it. He grew scared of the man his father had turned into. Even if he was able to understand him later, he felt nothing for him.
His Grandfather was a stern man. He was always fair in his treatment and Severus knew that he was loved. His Grandfather did not cuddle and Severus was too old to be cuddled anyway. They liked each other fairly well.
Then he had entered to the service of Voldemort.
He thought that he shared his ideas, and embraced the servitude in exchange for shedding his weakness. He wanted power, he wanted to be on the strong side. Until the megalomaniac proposed to kill the love of his life… then he had come begging to Dumbledore to save her.
And Dumbledore... The old man would never stop being cuddling. Dumbledore’s arms were always open. He rarely rebuked and usually praised.
And Severus felt a warmth towards the eccentric wizard that was very close to love.
The man had given him more than a chance. And he would always be there for Severus.
And the man had allowed him to take care of the green-eyed child sleeping in his bed.
A child that like him couldn’t remember the father that loved him.
That like him had been punished and feared for his magic.
That had gone cold and hungry.
The child was not too old to cuddle. The child had his mother’s smile that melted Severus heart.
Could Severus embrace this chance that fate was giving him? He knew that he could never love another woman. But what about this child?
Of one thing he was sure. Harry was not going to step inside the Dursleys’ residence ever again.
Severus looked once again around his guest room. Harry was sleeping in his bed and he did not mind. Who was he trying to fool? He already loved the boy. Black Potter mop of hair and all.
Now he had to tell him. He felt a small tingle that indicated that his door had been opened.
Where would he have to follow Harry now?
Harry woke up, but kept his eyes closed. He liked this warm feeling between wakefulness and sleep. What time was it? It seemed that it was still early… He waited to hear the breathing and silent snoring of his roommates…. He could only hear his own breathing. Wait a moment, he thought, this is not my bed… Nor was it Snape’s couch… It was Snape’s bed! What did it mean?
Harry snuggled back and tried to sleep, it was dark and it was Saturday, he had no recollection about how he came to sleep in Snape’s bed but he felt welcome and he was not going to risk it, he was not going to roam around these rooms…
Who would have thought that Snape had such a comfortable bed. He could clear the rumor now about Snape being a vampire and sleeping in a coffin…
Harry tried to recall the last day’s events.
He had punched Malfoy! Ron would congratulate him for that. But it had not been that satisfying at all. Malfoy had been good company during the Christmas vacations and had kept his sarcasm to himself, after the classes started again…
He shouldn’t have hit Malfoy and… he should apologize, he had hidden his slippers.
Professor Snape had said that Malfoy would spend the night in the infirmary…
Harry had the door’s password… he could go to the infirmary, apologize to Malfoy and take him his slippers. Then he would come back and finish the essay he was coping yesterday…
He stood up, and lighted his wand with a small Lumos. He looked around for the door and saw, over the dresser, a picture of a red-haired woman that was smiling at him.
He placed his wand closer. He knew that woman… Why was her mother’s picture in Snape's bedroom? He should ask his Guardian about her… He tiptoed out of the room and pronounced the password quietly. The door opened and he went out.
The corridors were empty, and he ran holding the slippers in one hand toward the infirmary…
The door opened and he went in to find Malfoy on the first bed. He was the only one there.
The blond boy was sleeping peacefully. Harry found a feather in his pocket and used it to tickle Malfoy on the nose, until he sneezed and woke up.
“Good morning, Malfoy.”
“Potter!”
“Sh! Or Madam Pomfrey will come. I brought you your slippers…”
“Do you think you are funny? Why did you punch me?”
“It was not your fault. I am sorry. I… was angry because Snape failed me on the homework… and you were the first one I could lash out at…”
“I hope that Snape gave you a good walloping.”
“Yes, he did. I am sorry. I was sorry, even before he punished me.”
“He told me… he told me, that you said it was not my fault. Thank you. I know he would have spanked me after my injuries were cured.”
“It was not your fault. I am sorry. I will never do something like that. Would you forgive me?”
“We are not friends anyway, Potter.”
“I know, but it was nice when we played in the snow.”
“Do you remember the frozen lake…?”
“I thought we would never stop.”
“I can still hear you shouting!” Malfoy laughed but fell quiet fast “Your friends would never talk to you again, if we were to be friends Potter.”
“They would, if you were nicer to Hermione, or stop snubbing Ron.”
“My father wouldn’t like, if I were to mingle with a Muggleborn.”
“That Muggleborn witch has better grades than you!”
“Not always… she is a know-it-all…”
“I know.”
“What are you doing awake so early, did remorse keep you awake?”
“No… I just had to see you. I am sorry all right?”
“All right, Potter. But I will punch you when I can…”
“I can live with that… Anyway I know I have to watch my back when you are near…”
Malfoy threw his pillow at him.
Harry took a pillow from a nearby bed and they had a silent pillow fight.
They had to stop when their respective pillows froze in the air.
They turned and saw their Potions Professor standing at the door with his wand in his hand.
“Good morning, Professor” said Malfoy.
Snape was looking at Harry with his piercing eyes.
“Haven’t you two had enough with fighting?”
“We were just playing, Sir.”
“How do you feel, Mr. Malfoy?”
Malfoy smiled and looked at Harry. “I am fine professor.”
“Mr. Potter, what is your reason to sneak out of my quarters this early in the morning?”
Harry looked at his Guardian. Was it safe to joke? He did not look that angry…
“Malfoy needed his slippers, Sir, I was going to go back… I did not want to wake you…”
“Mr. Malfoy, put on your slippers and come with us. I guess we may find that breakfast is ready in my quarters.”
“Yes, sir.”
Draco and Harry ran ahead to Snape’s quarters.