"Morning Hermione," I greeted the girl as she came through the front door to my quarters and into my living room, which currently had a fair few books and boxes scattered about.

      "Hi Severus, getting ready to move to your summer home?" she inquired, gesturing to the box I had just finished carrying out of my lab.

      "Yes, mostly clearing out a few things from my lab I might need over the summer," I told her, rubbing my back.

      "I heard you and the boys have been working hard," Hermione said.

     "That's for sure," I replied. Harry, Draco and I had been disappearing on weekends to work on the new house I had bought, seeing as my place on Spinner's End was too small for us three, not to mention the location was known by the Dark Lord. I grimaced briefly before my mind went back to the house. "Furniture's all in, but we need to paint the outside still. That will be a job, getting those two lunatics to focus and not splatter each other with paint. Doing the kitchen was murder ..." 

      "Did you paint the kitchen a nice sunny yellow?" Hermione asked, eyes laughing.

     "Yes ... how did you know?' I inquired, mildly surprised.

     "Harry's hair was rather colorful," she said with a laugh.

     "Well, that would do it ..." I said, glancing at my watch. "You should probably get going; the carriages will be leaving pretty soon."

     "I know, I just wanted to say goodbye," Hermione said, rushing over to me giving me a hug, making my back twinge once more. Why did I not use a levitation charm for that last box?

     "You are welcome to come and stay with us for a while," I told her, "If you don't mind Draco and Harry being, well, Draco and Harry."

     "I'd love to. I'll owl you when I've asked my parents," Hermione told me happily, "Speaking of Draco and Harry, where are they?"

     "I'm not entirely sure actually..."

      Bang!

      "Oh no ..." I said as the floor shook beneath us. "That would be them, excuse me Hermione."

      I ran to the door and wrenched it open, dashed through my office and out into the corridor, only run back into my office to avoid being knocked over by a rampaging ... wardrobe?

     "HARRY JAMES POTTER, DRACO EVAN MALFOY WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!" I bellowed as a few desks stampeded by.

     "Hello Severus!" Draco said, riding by on a desk, his trunk balanced precariously on the seat.

     And this kid's in Slytherin? I thought to myself, He's got stupid Gryffindor written all over him!

     "What on earth... " Hermione exclaimed, peering over my shoulder to see Harry riding on a desk top (his school trunk was sitting in the seat), clearly having the time of his life.

      I shot spells at the various pieces of furniture, returning them to their previous state of immobilization. A couple of desks continued to slide a few feet before stopping, legs rigid once more. Harry's eyes widened as his desk came to a halt right in front of where I was standing. He cringed. It was clear he had not heard me shouting earlier. No wonder actually, as the noise had been quite horrendous. 

    "What in Merlin's name are you doing?" I said, voice becoming dangerously quiet, as I attempted to sound as intimidating as possible.

      Harry gulped like a fish, pointing at Draco. So much for Gryffindor bravery. Although I must admit, if we were in any other situation his reaction would be quite comical actually.

    "You told us to bring our trunks down," Draco told me. "You didn't say how ..."

      "Did it not occur to you to use a simple charm to levitate them?" I hissed while Hermione fought a smile.

      "Well, yeah ..." Draco continued, bravery (or stupidity, depending who you ask) faltering slightly. "But this was more fun."

      "More fun," I said dryly.

      Harry nodded weakly, still sitting on the desk.

      "You two are in so much trouble!" Hermione said, trying to remain serious.

     "As usual, Hermione is correct," I growled, arms crossed.

     "Come on, in ten years you'll laugh about this," Harry informed me, finally able to speak again.

      "Indeed I will laugh ... When I remember the looks on your faces while you disembowel frogs!"

      "Eww ..." Harry grimaced.

      "I want you two to return the desks and wardrobe back to where you found them, by levitation charm only, and then report to me," I said sternly, "Do you understand?"

     "Yes Sir," they said grimly,

     "What goes through their heads ..." I muttered as Hermione said her goodbyes.

    This is going to be one Hell of a summer ...

      ***

      "I really hate side-along apparition ..." Draco moaned as we landed on the edge of the property, the back of the house in sight.

       It was a nice little house, located just outside of Ottery St. Catchpole. Molly Weasley had mentioned it to me at an Order meeting around the start of spring. She had been talking with Harry and heard that I was looking to move, and things sort of snowballed from there. Harry had been very glad to hear that it wasn't too far from the Burrow, about a ten minute walk actually. Of course, the Weasley children had given Molly a fair amount of grief about suggesting that the "gits" (Draco and I of course) come live near them. But, owing to the fact that I was now Harry's guardian, they were at least happy they could see their friend often, even if it meant Draco and I were nearby. Not to mention the wards were very well constructed, which Molly and Arthur reminded them of.

      I had been most worried however about Black's reaction to Harry's new home situation,  for Harry's sake of course (I personally found it utterly hilarious that I now held guardianship over his godson). But no matter, Black had told Harry that he accepted his decision, even if he wasn't entirely keen on the idea. I had expected a childish tantrum of some sort, but perhaps a year with his horrid mother yelling at him had driven some discipline into him. Black had continued to write to Harry, and we had almost reached the point where we could be in the same room for five minutes, only with Harry present of course. We were going to work on it, however grudgingly we admitted it. I left my thoughts of Black behind and returned my thoughts to my location. 

      Draco and I began to approach the house. I frowned upon the chipped and peeling paint covering the outside walls, but that could be fixed, and I was at least happy with how the interior was coming along. A few coats of paint, a couple new boards, and the place was in quite nice shape, considering the house was fairly aged. There was a nice sized work shed off the side of the house which I was planning on setting up a little lab in for brewing over the summertime, seeing as it was my job to re-stock the hospital wing. Ideally I would want my lab in a basement, but seeing as the ground around here was quite wet, the shed would have to do.

      While I was happy with the prospect of my lab, Harry and Draco were quite happy with where they slept. The house had two bedrooms and an attic room. I had suggested that they flip a knut to see who would get the attic, (they both thought the circular window up there was quite marvellous) but they insisted that they shared it. And so we put their beds up there and left the small bedroom empty for anyone who wished to visit, quite likely Hermione.

      Finally, Draco and I reached the front of the house. We found Harry waiting for us on the veranda, perched on the edge of the porch swing and grinning lazily as the breeze ruffled his already messy hair. He got up and pushed the screen door  on the house aside for Draco, who was dragging his trunk.

     "Hey Severus guess what!" Harry said to me as we entered the house and I navigated around  few boxes I had brought from Hogwarts.

     "What," I asked dully as I looked at all the unpacking and organizing I would have to do.

     "I can see the top of the Burrow from the attic window!" Harry told me, far too excited for his own good.

     "That's good," I told him, casting a levitation charm on both of the boys' trunks and guiding them up the stairs with the help of Harry and Draco. The main problem was getting them up through the attic staircase without scratching the walls, as it was quite narrow.

     "Dudley would get stuck going through there for sure!" Harry said with a laugh once we reached the top and deposited the trunks by their beds. The loud thumping of the trunks on the floor caused something black and furry to shoot out from underneath Harry's bed. "Oh so you did bring Munkastrap!"

     "There you are Munk," I said, scratching my cat's ears fondly. "It took me quite some time yesterday to find him to bring him over here you know."

     "He does like to disappear doesn't he?" Harry commented, "Where was he this time?"

     "Down in the greenhouses," I said, "I think Pomona's got some catnip down there or something..."

     "Can we have lunch?" Draco blurted out, "I'm starving."

     "Alright," I  said with a chuckle, heading down to the kitchen, two hungry boys on my tail.

      ***

      The sun had almost set by the time I finished sorting out the boxes in the living room and the few in my bedroom. The last box held the photograph that Hermione and Harry had given me for Christmas while they were de-aged. The little children in the photograph laughed as they had a bath, bubbles all over their hair and faces. I smiled slightly before going downstairs to put it on the mantelpiece above the fireplace. The two boys had been sitting in the living room playing chess when Draco glanced at the photo and snickered at Harry, who retaliated by ordering one of his chess pieces, to bash one of Draco's to bits. I shook my head and went out to read on the porch by the light of a lantern hanging nearby.

     I was well into my book when I felt someone sit down next to my on the porch swing.

     "Hello Harry," I said. "Who won the chess match?"

     "I did."

     "Good job," I told him as I flipped the page.

     "It's not like I beat ... Ron," muttered Harry.

      Something was clearly on his mind. I closed my book.

      "Is something worrying you?" I asked as the crickets chirped in night air.

      "No," Harry said automatically.

      I stared at him, one eyebrow raised.

      "Well, yes," he said. Hah, I knew it. "I ... I'm worried that Ron is going to hate Draco or something."

      "Mr. Weasley seemed to be fine while you were at school."

      "Yeah, but Draco and I didn't really spend a lot of time together when Ron was around. I want Ron to be able to visit here sometimes but I'm just, scared I guess, that he's going to be mad that I'm friends with Draco now. I mean, Draco made so many terrible comments about the Weasleys. But he feels really bad about it, and I think it was mostly his family's influence on him anyway. "

      "If Mr. Weasley is a true friend he will accept it," I told Harry. "Why don't you tell him that you want to be friends with both Draco and him?"

      "I guess, but it's sort of hard," Harry answered. "If Ron doesn't want to listen he doesn't, and I really don't want to lose any friends over this. I really like the Weasleys too, and ..."

      "And you're worried that if Ron rejects you you won't be able to visit."

      "It's selfish of me, but yes," Harry muttered.

      "That isn't selfish Harry, for years they were the only thing you really had to look forward in the summertime," I reasoned with him. "I'm sure Mr. Weasley will understand eventually, and if he doesn't, Molly will make him."

     Harry snickered at the last sentence.

     "Yeah, Mrs. Weasley would."

     "Is anything else worrying you?"

     "No, just that," Harry said. "Thanks for listening."

     "You're welcome," I told him. "You should get to bed, I'll be getting you and Draco up early to help paint the outside of the house."

      "Alright," he said, "Goodnight Severus."

      "Goodnight Harry," I called after him as I opened my book.

      I did not however, read. For a few of Harry's words had brought back a sudden memory. The thought was encouraged by the warm night air and the way the stars shone in the sky, shimering in such a manner that it took my breath away. I had been reminded of a time when I was young; a moment so very far away, and yet, so close. I let the memory fill my mind, flitting across my eyes as they took in the stars above me.

        A scrawny fourteen year old boy leaned  against a grimy windowsill,  staring up at the stars. The house around him was quiet, and nothing but the wind could be heard through the trees, until the snap of a twig shattered the silence.

      "Sev!" a girl's voice whispered from the ground below.

     "Lily, what are you doing here?" Sev said, looking taken aback. "It's really late."

     "I couldn't sleep, can I come up?" Lily asked, sounding upset.

     Sev nodded, his head sticking out of his window. 

     Lily looked relieved and rushed toward the house. Sev watched as she carefully climbed up the rickety lattice by his window. He grabbed hold of her hands and pulled her in, careful not to make a sound lest he wake his father.

    They sat upon his bed, Lily panting slightly from the exhilarating climb up.

    "So, why can't you sleep?" Sev asked.

    "It's Dad," Lily muttered, bottom lip trembling. "There's something wrong with him. The doctors say he's got some sort of illness. He hasn't said anything to me and Petunia but I heard him and Mum talking ... I-I think it's serious!" her voice rose slightly as she tried to fight tears.

   "Shh, Lily," soothed Sev. "You might wake Tobias."

   She nodded, unable to speak, tears now flowing down her face.

   "It'll be ok," Sev reassured her.

  "It's just, f-first your Mum, and now my Dad," Lily shuddered slightly.

  "I know, it isn't fair," Sev muttered shakily.

   "I'm scared something will happen to you too!" Lily confided, trying hard to keep her voice down low. "With your father being so-"

   "Nothing to be done about it," he cut her off.

   "I know, but ..." Lily said more tears escaping her eyes. She suddenly flung herself at her friend and hugged him as hard as she could. His eyes widened in shock.

   "I'll be ok Lily, and so will your father," he muttered, slightly bewildered but nonetheless pleased that she had thrown herself into his arms.

   "How do you know?"

   "I don't, you've just got to believe Lily," he whispered into her hair as he held her in his arms, the sweet smell of peppermint from her hair filling his thoughts as the moonlight flitted through the window.

      The memory was so vivid that I had almost begun to smile, so sure that for a second I could smell peppermint. It was sad, yet comforting at the same time, recalling when Lily and I could tell each other anything. I smiled sadly and shook my head, knowing that Lily could not have been near, that the seat next to me was as empty as Harry had left it. With I sigh I went back to my book, wishing so very much that I could be young again and have Lily sitting next to me. Not a day had passed that I hadn't missed her.

      It took a very long time for me to realise that the moon had risen above the thicket of trees, and that I hadn't taken in a sentence of my book, which still lay open upon my lap. With a jolt I remembered that I should go to bed too, seeing as I wanted to get up early as well. The swing I had been sitting on creaked loudly in the stillness of the night as I turned my back on the moon and stars and entered the house through the screen door.

      The house was silent but for the sound of my footsteps going up the stairs. No light came from the attic. And then I heard a noise, a slight whimper had floated down the narrow attic staircase to reach my ears. Silently I crept up into the attic, which was lit softly by the moonlight that shone through the little round window. I glanced at Harry, who was sleeping soundly, hair sticking up even worse than usual. I smiled slightly when I noticed that he was cuddling Rexy, the old stuffed dinosaur Ronald Weasley had informed me that Lily had given him as a baby. I strode past Harry's bed, to Draco's. My eyebrows furrowed in worry as I saw the tears running down his face and the restless way he shifted in his sleep. It was no wonder he was having nightmares, seeing as what he'd been through the past year.

     "Draco," I whispered, sitting down on the edge of his bed and rubbing his shoulder to wake him.

      It took a while, but Draco finally awoke. He glanced up at me, sleep still in his eyes as he began to shake. I was a little bit startled for Draco rarely displayed emotions to extremes. Yet here we were, sitting in the darkness together as he choked back sobs. I felt my chest constrict tightly, and I gently pulled him into my arms, ending up settling him on my lap as he was scrunched up into such a tight ball. I was reminded of a time long ago when he was very young, and I would read to him by the fire until he fell asleep. As I held him tightly I reflected on how much that little boy had grown, and how much things had changed since then. I rubbed his back as he cried, as he muttered things about his parents and the fire, and the scar he now had across his cheek, which had faded but refused to disappear. But as time passed the shaking stopped and he didn't gasp quite so much and the tears no longer dripped onto my shoulder, until we sat there in the stillness once more.

      "I don't need to be held," Draco broke the silence suddenly, rather embarrassed having realised just where he was.

   "Of course you don't, I merely like to hold people in the middle of the night," I muttered quite sarcastically.

      Draco held back a smile.

     "Thanks Severus," he whispered, head on my shoulder.

     "You're welcome," I told him rather gruffly. "Now, I'd suggest you try to go back to sleep, we have a busy day ahead of us."

      "Alright," Draco told me softly.

      I helped him under the covers and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. I was about to leave when I noticed the look in his eyes, one I had seen frequently on the nights he had come to me when his parents were fighting with more intensity than usual.

     "Do you want me to stay with you until you fall asleep?" I sighed, trying not to sound reluctant, even though I was tired.

     "Er ..."

     "Alright," I said, reading him like an open book. I conjured up a chair and sat down. "Well, what are you waiting for, go to sleep," I told him sharply.

     Draco smiled a little, turned on his side and closed his eyes. He was out within five minutes, leaving me to vanish the chair and go to bed myself. As I left the attic I glanced at Harry, who had since kicked the covers off and was sleeping with them at his feet. I shook my head and spread the blanket over him again, making sure his feet were covered up too. I held my breath when he moved a bit, pulling that horribly worn stuffed dinosaur further into his arms and burying his face in it like he had done as a four year old. But Harry remained asleep, much to my relief. I think I might have died if he had caught me doing something so ... fatherly.  With one last glance at the two sleeping boys, I made my way to bed. A thought crossing my mind as I moved Munkastrap off my pillow, that perhaps, this summer wouldn't be as crazy as I thought.