By about mid-afternoon the next day I was quite regretting my thinking the previous night. This summer was in fact going to be just as crazy as I had originally thought, for Harry and Draco, who had been fine that morning, were now acting like lunatics and had once again proved to me that they should not be trusted with paint brushes. So much for sanity ...

     "Try getting some paint on the house," I called down to them from my position on the ladder, wand charming my paint brush to move around the attic window a ways to my right.

      "Don't get your knickers in a twist Severus," I heard Draco say as he ceased trying to paint Harry and once more began to cover the house.

      I was just thinking it was a good thing I didn't let the idiots use magic for this when I heard a splat and a loud laugh below.     

     "For the love of Merlin you're going to make my hair as grey as the paint!" I yelled down at a guilty looking Harry, and Draco who had a light grey handprint on his face. I calmed down slightly before issuing my next order. "Draco, go wash that off before it dries, and I know you can paint well Harry, so get to it."

      I heard Harry mumble something as he wiped his paint covered hand on the old pair of trousers he wore and went back to work, mischief still written across his face.

      Hedwig, Harry's owl suddenly fluttered down onto the ladder rung above me, a letter tied to her leg. I motioned her to follow me and went down the ladder.

     "Hey Draco, it's Hermione's reply," Harry cried excitedly as Draco made his reappearance.

      When I reached the ground Hedwig fluttered down onto my shoulder for me to untie the letter. Harry had sent her to Hermione's home so that she could inform us when she was visiting. Harry praised her for her speedy flying, ruffling her feathers and I opened the letter.

       Dear Severus,

      I had thought I might visit toward the end of summer, but my parents have to work a lot during the next week or so, so I thought would work nicely for me to come sooner. How about Saturday, around lunch? That way I can stay with you guys for a while, floo home when my parents have their days off and perhaps stop by the Burrow towards the end of the summer. Does that sound alright with you? I know you're quite busy with fixing up the house but I'd be positively delighted to help!

    Hope to hear from you soon,

    Hermione

    P.S. I hope you haven't killed Draco and Harry yet; I am rather looking forward to seeing them.

            I snorted in amusement at her last comment and handed the letter to Harry, who had been circling me like a vulture awaiting her response. He eagerly adjusted his glasses and began to read, Draco reading over his shoulder. 

    "Saturday," Draco grinned, "That's four days away!"

    "Well, then we'd better send our reply now," I muttered, going into the house and grabbing my quill.

      That sounds great Hermione, the boys are looking forward to seeing you.

    -Severus

       ***

         The Thursday before Hermione's arrival found me walking through the hallway of number twelve Grimmauld place, for yet another Order meeting was to take place; a smaller one but a meeting nonetheless. The usual crowd would be there: Lupin, Tonks, Black (naturally, it wasn't as though he could go anywhere), Mad-Eye, Dumbledore, the Weasleys that were of age and a few others. I had arrived early in order to give Harry time to spend with the Weasley children. Draco had come along as well. I was quite worried about what the others would think, and how they would treat Draco. Time would tell I supposed, but luckily Albus said he would back me up in the fact that Draco had no contact to any of his father's and mother's Death Eater friends. Hopefully they would see him as he truly was, just a boy.

    Delicious smells wafted toward me as I neared the kitchen. It was probably Molly's marvellous cooking. She usually made the evening meal before meetings for those who came early or got off duty around supper time. I had brought with me a bottle of wine to contribute, and having rid myself of the boys to the rest of the Weasley children, I endeavoured to give it to Molly. Unfortunately when I opened up the door to the kitchen, which was spelled with silencing charms and such, I found a rather uncomfortable sight. Black and Molly were at it again, right in the middle of a shouting match. I froze, both of them too oblivious to see me.

      "-had to run off again didn't you?" shouted Molly, brandishing her ladle quite menacingly.

      "What I do is none of your business!" Black yelled back at her.

      "What if you had been caught? If the dementors got you and left Harry without his godfather?" Molly screamed.

      "He doesn't need me anymore, he's got Snape remember?" Black countered.

      "You are so stupid!" Molly cried, infuriated.

      "Oh really?"  barked Black.

      "Yes you are! You can't even see what is right in front of you!!"

      "And what is right in front of me?" he shouted, face growing red and fists clenched.

      "The fact that Harry needs you both! Both of you, you ignorant moron!"

     "Get your silly freckled nose out you meddlesome woman, quit trying to tell me what's right and what isn't! You know nothing of my problems!"

      I could feel the heat rising up the back of my neck, Black's tone made me writhe with anger.

     "Sirius Black you need to get your priorities-"

     "Stop it!" I bellowed at the pair of them, heart racing as little walls fell and crumbled inside me, as little snaps of the past flew through my mind.

     They both looked around, eyes wide and mouths open.

"Would you two quite yelling? Can't you solve your problems like rational human beings?" I exclaimed angrily. "And Black, treat Molly with respect, she's only trying to help you!"

      Molly looked at me, surprised. I stared back, meeting her gaze. I could feel the fire behind my eyes and the heat of anger coursing in my skin. Black had hit a nerve.

     "What's up with you Snape?" Black began rather rudely, surprised. "You normally don't show enough respect to fill a thimble, let alone give out pointers on how others should behave."

     "Look Black," I hissed. "Even with my twisted conscience I know enough not to treat women like dirt."

     "I was not treating Molly like dir-"

      "You were shouting in the exact tone that you do with Kreacher, implying she is lower than you."

     Black neither confirmed nor denied it, but looked quite taken aback as I slammed the wine bottle on the table and stormed out of the kitchen.

     Huffing I threw myself down on the sofa in the sitting room, shaking from anger. I had been quite close to losing it completely back there. I respected Molly Weasley, and the way Black was shouting at her made me want to hex him into the next decade. Or at least I tried to convince myself that was my only reason for snapping like that. Before I could go deeper into my thoughts I took a deep breath and let my mind sink into oblivion, occluding and  willing my face to become blank and expressionless. I didn't notice that I was not alone.

     "Severus, what happened?" Draco asked, getting up from the armchair he sat in and sitting down next to me.

     "Nothing important," I told him, concealing my shock of his presence well.

     "It's the shouting isn't it?" Draco muttered. "I heard them when you opened the door."

     I did not answer.

      "I hate when people yell at each other like that," said Draco heavily, "reminds me of Father and Mother."

      "I'm sorry you had to hear them like that," I told him slowly.

      "I'm sorry you had to too."

      "I wasn't talking about Black and Molly," I clarified.

      "Neither was I," Draco said vaguely. And with that he left the room, leaving to wonder just how much he knew about me.

        ***

       "Albus, the Dark Lord has not called in months," I told the headmaster while people filed out of the grungy kitchen, the Order meeting having finished. "He's up to something. I fear he does not trust me like he used to."

      "I wonder why," Albus told me. "Have you let anything slip past your mental barriers?"

      "No, and I cannot think of anyone who would know enough to betray me either."

      "Keep me updated on the situation my boy," Albus replied before leaving the kitchen himself.

      Everyone had left, leaving me to go find Draco and Harry. Harry was easily found visiting Buckbeak with Ron and Ginny, unfortunately Harry hadn't seen Draco for quite some time. So, I left Harry and Ron to look for him. I wondered where he could have gone to when I heard a slight commotion upstairs. I rushed up the staircase and found a rather interesting scene. I slunk into the shadows to watch, for I recognized the sound of Draco's voice anywhere.

      "Hold on," Bill Weasley said as he tapped his wand on a cupboard door. Somebody was banging against the door and calling for help, obviously locked inside.

      The lock clicked and Draco stumbled out, looking quite frazzled, blonde hair sticking up and eyes wide.

      "T-thanks, I've been in there just about twenty minutes!" Draco said, sounding on the verge of a breakdown.

      "How did you get in there?" Bill asked, sounding slightly suspicious.

      "I don't really know. One minute I was eating one of the biscuits Mrs. Weasley set out for us and then everything went black and I found myself in this cupboard," Draco told him, bewildered.

      "Oh," Bill groaned, hand on his face. "That was Fred and George for sure."

      "How do you know?"

      "Trust me, it's got their style written all over it," began Bill. "It's sort of their idea of, hmm ... initiation I guess."

      "Initiation into what?" Draco asked, surprised.

      "Well, long story short they've pretty much locked every one of us, siblings  that is, in the cupboard at some point or another as a joke, and they tend to do that to people that hang around us too."

      "But why me? Is it because they hate me or something?" Draco asked.

      "Nah, they'd do something worse to you if they hated you. It's sort of their idea of fun. If you survive the cupboard they think you're worthy of hanging out with the family or something, it means they want you to be their friend."

      "You're joking," Draco exclaimed.

      "No I am not joking," Bill said. "They must accept you or something because in their books, ‘The Great Cupboard Ambush'- as I call it- means friendship. I know it sounds loony but Fred and George are a bit loony themselves."

      "Huh."

      "Oh, I'm Bill by the way," said Bill as he reached out to shake Draco's hand.

      "Draco. Thanks for you know, rescuing me."

      "No problem," grinned Bill before he turned and began to walk down the stairs.

      "Wait," called Draco at his retreating figure, which halted. "Did they lock Harry in a cupboard?"

     "No ... he was a special case," Bill sighed before leaving.

     "Good," Draco muttered to himself, standing at the top of the stairs briefly before going down them. "If they did they'd have Harry's brother to answer to."

     I could feel my eyebrows shoot up in surprise. But his comment made me smile slightly. I waited a few moments before following so that I could plead ignorance of the situation. After all, wouldn't want Harry's brother to know I'd heard what he said. I hoped someday he would be brave enough to say it to someone besides himself. 

        ***

       Saturday finally arrived, the house had since been painted and Harry and I had begun fixing some of the fences. The morning grew warmer while the sound of hammers and saws rang through the yard as we worked to replace a few of the old boards. Some were quite rotted, but most were fine. I really didn't mind the work anyway, and Harry was a good help, unlike Draco who was very bad with a hammer. I had been letting him sleep in while Harry and I worked, as he wasn't much of a help, in this department at least. Draco had been helping with other things however, such as organizing the books I had brought. I appreciated Draco's way of helping, but I was very glad that Harry was an early riser, and was quite skilled with a hammer. Most of the work involved fixing. He had told me he had to learn to repair things when quickly at the Dursley's, which made me feel rather guilty in recruiting him. But Harry assured me chores were rather fun with company, which I found was true; the mornings we had been spending together were a good time to talk. My cat rather liked to join in as well, not talking of course, but he frequently sat on the fence posts and watched us, ears pricking this way and that. Munk usually stayed for an hour or so before wandering off, not to be seen until late at night when he crept back into the house.

       Harry and I were just about to put the tools away and go inside for lunch when we heard a voice calling out to us from across the yard.

      "Hello!" said Hermione, walking across the yard to meet us. "My, aren't you two working hard."

     "Hermione!" Harry cried, dropping his hammer in the grass and going over to give her a quick hug.

      "Where's Draco?" Hermione asked, looking around.

      "Still in bed I presume," I told her, spelling the tools back into the tool box and sending them to the shed with another wave of my wand.

      "I should have guessed," Hermione said with a laugh, shaking her head in amusement. "Mind if I go up there to jump on him?"

      "Go ahead," I told her, thinking Draco could use a good sharp shock to get him up. "He's had far too much sleep for his own good by now."

      "Okay, see you in a minute!" she said before rushing off into the house.

      "Sorry Severus," said Harry before running after her. "But I have to see this!"

      I shook my head at them before following at a slower pace. When I entered the house I could hear laughing and shouts drifting down into the sitting room. It was nice to hear something other than silence, of which I had been so accustomed to over the years. Heart feeling light as air I went into the kitchen to prepare lunch, the sound of laughter and feet stumbling down the stairs ringing through the house.

  ***

      That evening Harry started up a campfire in a circle of rocks in the yard, and the three kids sat around toasting marshmallows, the pleasant breeze blowing and making the sparks drift slightly through the night sky. I however, was just finishing unpacking a few bottles of potions I had brewed for my purposes. I was organizing them by type, but most were healing potions for myself as I had an allergy to Arnica, a herb used in a fair few mainstream healing potions.  So naturally I always had a good stock, seeing as Poppy usually didn't keep any of the variations. I had set about finding a good substitute back in my student days, and had found one by my sixth year. It was true that back then there had been a few different ingredients that could act as substitutes, but unfortunately all were very pricy. Due to the fact that my family had little money, I decided to find a cheaper solution, which turned out to be fluxweed in combination with a little bit of bark from the willow tree. I recalled the late nights I spent brewing in abandoned classrooms, Lily sometimes coming to help. I enjoyed looking back on those nights, but at the moment I had a job to do, and so I put them aside for later.

       While sifting through the boxes I came upon a small phial, a sample of an indigo potion that I had taken a while ago. I hadn't a chance to shelve it properly however, for quite suddenly the dark mark on my arm flared up, and I set the sample on the nearest shelf. The muscles in my arm had begun to spasm terribly as I fought to keep from shouting out. I shakily made sure I had my wand and the emergency portkey that Albus had created for me. The portkey was a stone worked into the clasp of my cloak. It was designed to take me to a safe place no matter what. I now had it spelled to take me here, seeing as there would be people nearby if I was injured. During the school year it was spelled to Hogwarts. The portkey was activated by either unclasping it thrice in quick succession or saying the activation word "Safeguard" twice. Albus had originally had the activation words set to activate by saying three times "There's no place like home". He could be really asinine at times. I recall he had also mentioned that I should wear sparkly red shoes and click my heels if I ever got into trouble and had to use it. Needless to say I threatened to spike his morning juice with the nastiest potion I could think of unless he changed it. Lucky for him he did, because I had been itching to mix animal hair with polyjuice for him.

      Another wave of pain rose over me and I stumbled out of my workshed. Harry nearby was clutching his scar. His face filled with pain and fury for a second.

     "Don't go Severus," he told me hoarsly, eyes watering from the stinging scar upon his forhead. "He's very angry."

     "I thought you blocked him out Harry, you were supposed to be helping him Severus!" Hermione said, dropping her toasting fork.

     "I have, but when he's feeling a really intense emotion I still get flashes of it," Harry informed her. I paid little attention however, for I was preparing to go over what it was I needed to tell them.

     "I have to go," I began, trying to keep the pain out of my voice as fire snaked up my arm. "I'm sorry but I must. Don't leave the property and if you see or hear anyone returning besides me floo to the Burrow or Hogwarts immediately. If I am not back by morning fire call Albus. I'm sorry."

     They looked up at me grimly, flames from the campfire reflecting in their eyes the same worry and pain I felt by leaving them. I was surprised when Harry, Draco and Hermione got up, and followed me to the point where the wards ended. They stood there, determination to see me again shining in their eyes.

      "I will see you soon," I assured them, feeling a slight shiver down my spine as I stepped outside the wards, looking from Draco, to Hermione, to Harry; each of their faces out of reach; behind the walls that guarded a place I had to fight to return to. Then I spun on my heel and apparated, feeling the tug of the mark drag me irresistibly into the whirlpool of despair I had swam in for so long, hoping that this would not be the night I would be pulled under at last. I tried to remember their faces in the howl of swirling color, but I lost the image as I came to a halt and a new picture was spread out before me, one that made my heart flutter faintly beneath the blackness of my cloak.

     I should not have come