"Severus! Hurry up! …They're going to be here soon!" Harry cried impatiently as he pounded on his father's bedroom door with his free hand. He was holding fast to his Firebolt with the other.

"I'm right here, Harry," Severus said evenly as he opened his bedroom door. He had his hair pulled back with a black silken hair tie and had donned his light weight flying robes. He picked up the two new pairs of flying gloves that sat on the side-table. Harry watched curiously as his father slipped on one of the pairs, tugging one finger at a time. The gloves were made from very expensive Graphorn hide.

"These are for you." Severus tossed the second pair of the greyish-purple gloves to Harry. Harry caught the gloves instinctively, and stared at them as if he were trying to discern exactly what Severus had given him. "You do realise that they aren't due to arrive for another forty-five minutes."

Severus grabbed his broom from its new self from behind the door. He gave Harry a patronising pat on the shoulder as he manoeuvred his way past his son. Harry still remained transfixed in his spot. "You're the one in a hurry…let's go."

Over the past few days, Severus had come to realise how much he had truly misjudged Harry over the years. Other than the boy's unruly mop of hair, he did not resemble the reviled James Potter in the least. Albus had been correct in his comparison of Harry to Lily. The boy was almost unfailingly kind and forgiving…and it was not a false kindness that was meant to manipulate others to achieve an ends or to pacify or patronise. Harry's kindness was born of true empathy for others, just as Lily's had been. And because this kindness was genuine, it was by no means cloying or insufferable. Once Severus began to know him, he found Harry a truly pleasant person to be around.

Severus also came to realise that Harry was also very much his son as well. What Severus had once mistaken for Potter's arrogance in Harry, was actually Severus' own stubborn pride. Once Harry had it in his head that he was going to accomplish something, the boy took on his responsibility full-bore, his Occlumency lessons being a case in point. Harry was still a novice, but he was also a fast learner when he put his mind to something and the fact that the boy could throw off an Imperius Curse at the tender age of fourteen testified volumes to the fact that Harry had the strength of mind to someday be a very powerful Occlumens…just like his father. Severus couldn't help but to feel pride for his son. Harry followed the direction that Severus gave him and asked relevant questions. It was a shame that Severus had been so blinded to Harry's potential in the past.

Harry had picked up on Severus' pride and it was obvious that Harry was trusting Severus more as the days passed. Severus had given Harry permission to explore the estate and Harry had actually sought him out for advice when it came to finding his plants for his Potion's homework. More importantly, Harry came to Severus for guidance for his Occlumency. Severus knew of no words to describe that feeling. It was odd…to have someone depend upon him.

Severus was halfway down the stairs when Harry finally came out of his trance. "Hey…thanks, Severus! These are brilliant," Harry exclaimed as he ran to catch up.

Ever since he took Harry to explore the manor house, it was all the boy could do to keep himself from losing control of his bodily functions whenever he talked of having his friends over.

It truly was a good day, despite the company Severus was going to be forced to keep.

Severus awaited his son patently on the porch. "If you're in such a hurry, Harry, we can always take the Floo," he offered as he looked out over the picturesque countryside.

Severus was nearly knocked from his feet as Harry came running from behind his him. To Severus' horror, in one graceful motion, the boy jumped off the high porch and mounted his broom in mid-air. He flew out a few metres and turned about to hover just in front of Severus.

"Yeah…but why Floo…when you can fly!" Harry taunted then took off to the sky like a bolt of lightning.

"HARRY! YOU WON'T GET TO THE MANOR FLYING THAT DIRECTION!" Severus shouted up to his son as the boy made a 180° vertical climb.

Not to be outdone by his own son, Severus pushed off on his broom from a standing start and leaned forward in an effort to match Harry's ascent.

Harry was still fifty meters above Severus when the boy broke his climb and dove in the direction of the lake. Severus abruptly broke his ascent as well and banked around to follow his son. They met approximately one-hundred fifty meters above the lake.

They were flying horizontal now at matching break-neck speed…but not for long. Harry took a sideways glace at his father. Severus knew something was up when he saw the gleam in Harry's eyes and his mischievous grin.

Severus was taken aback for a moment. The eyes were definitely Lily's…but the sly grin...that was pure Severus.

Severus did not have time to ponder upon the ramifications of that, when Harry took a spiralling nose dive towards the lake. Determined not to be bested by his son's acrobatics, Severus made his descent end over end…backwards. It was quite a feat to do without becoming entangled in a mass of robes.

Severus had only done a half-dozen flips when he broke off, thinking that he had handily surpassed his son. But then his heart nearly froze when he saw that Harry was still spiralling towards the surface of the lake. Harry was going too fast. There was no way he would be able to pull out before he hit the lake. At the rate Harry was descending, he might as well crash into solid stone rather than the far-too-shallow lake. Severus brandished his wand in an attempt to save his son…but it was too late…or it would have been if Harry hadn't defied the laws of physics in mid-air and pulled out at the last second. The boy had cut it so close that the tips of his trainers broke the water's surface.

Well, Severus decided that was enough excitement for him in one day...now that Harry had effectively given him full-blown heart failure. Harry was still dangling his toes in the water when Severus flew over beside him and gestured forcefully towards the manor. Harry looked confused when he no doubt saw Severus' soured expression, but to the boy's credit, he did what he was told and made a beeline for the manor house. His friends would soon be there. That is if Severus didn't end up calling the whole damn thing off!

Harry approached the manor with wide wonder. It may not have been as big as Hogwarts, but to Harry, it was just as magical. Earlier in the week he had actually toured the main house with his father for the first time, but Harry knew he would always find the house awe-inspiring no matter how many times he came.

The manor was built from exquisite English limestone. The roof was blue slate with copper ornamentation. The façade was a colonnade, with the largest steeple tower in the centre. The grand entrance was within the centre of this tall tower. On the left of this rectangular tower was a semi- cylindrical glass-walled stair tower. To the right, the glass roofed winter garden jutted out from the façade.

Surely Draco Malfoy would pee himself if he ever saw this place. Harry doubted that the Malfoy Manor was this grand. He wondered if the Queen even lived in something so spectacular.

Harry flew over the circular lily-pond that graced the front courtyard and landed in front of the entry to the manor. Severus landed directly beside him. Despite his father's hair being pulled back, he looked as windswept as Harry. He did not look as happy, however.

"DON'TEVERDOTHATTOMEAGAIN!" Severus bellowed in one breath as he approached Harry in a thunderous fury.

"What did I do?" Harry honestly did not know what he had done wrong.

"That…over the lake." Severus was pointing at the lake as if Harry could see himself in an instant replay. Harry was looking as if there was something to see. "If I ever see you pull a stunt like that again…I'll…I'll ban you from Quidditch!"

"And this from the man who was flipping arse over cauldron!" Harry glared back at his father and defended himself.

"I had enough common sense to pull out before my broom could not right itself…And mind your cheek with me young man." Severus said dangerously as he opened the front entry. "I can still send your friends back, you know and ground you…literally."

"I'm sorry, alright." Harry did not want to test his father's patience. It was a virtue that Severus Snape was not known for…at least when it came to grandiose teenage stunts like that. Not that his dad hadn't just pulled one himself, mind you. But Harry had to admit, he couldn't have pulled it off if he wasn't on his Firebolt.

"If you had any real brains, Harry…you would have at least waited for me to change my Will before you tried to kill me with a heart attack."

"I'm sorry…I promise not to do it again." In front of you, anyway, Harry added silently to himself.

"I had better not find out otherwise." Severus warned ominously. "And dry your trainers would you." Severus was not so much worried about the Italian inlay floors…but he was afraid that he would hex his own child if the infernal squishing didn't stop.

Severus wasn't normally so high-strung, but he nearly jumped out of his pants out the sound of displaced air as a house-elf popped into the room.

Cassie, the Head Elf of Prince Manor had come to greet her master and his son. "Master Severus, sir. Young Master Harry, may I takes your brooms," she offered with an air of dignity.

Her voice was just as annoyingly shrill as other house elves, but she did not dance around and kowtow like so many others. Severus found her one of the few elves he could deal with without being totally exasperated.

"Thank you, Cassie," Severus said equably as he and Harry presented their brooms. She took them and the brooms disappeared directly from her hands.

The little She-Elf did not try to punish herself at her master's expressed appreciation. This was another trait of this particular elf Severus was grateful for.

"All of the rooms are ready for the arrival of your friends, Young Master Harry," she squeaked. "Bob will be assigned to see to the needs of your friends during their stay."

Harry looked over at his father as Severus unfastened his cloak. "'Bob'? You have a house-elf named 'Bob'?"

Severus almost choked on his amusement. "No…you have a house elf named Bob. Bob is the newest elf here." Severus tried to explain through his suppressed mirth. He was in the process of hanging his cloak in a nearby cupboard. "Your mother named him…she did not like many of the more traditional Elvin nam…"

*POP*

Severus jumped.

*POP*

An elf popped out of nowhere, took Severus cloak and disappeared again before he even had a chance to hang it.

"CASSIE! …Be so kind as to tell the other elves to stop that! The next elf that takes something out of my hands in such a manner will find themselves being fitted at Gladrag's for an entire wardrobe… Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Master Severus, sir. Cassie will make sure to tell them," she said, unaffected by the threat. "Wills you and Young Master and guests be having dinner in the grand dining room, sir?"

Severus ascended the spiral staircase, quickly followed by Harry and Cassie. "No…I think perhaps in the winter garden. Do you know how many to expect?"

"Yes sir…eleven for lunch and five young guests of Young Master's to stays for weekend."

"Thank you, Cassie…that will be all for now," Severus said as he stopped his ascent just long enough to dismiss his servant and the little elf popped away to supervise the preparations.

"Bob?" Harry said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes…Bob," Severus emphasised sarcastically. As if Harry had never heard the name 'Bob' before.

Severus turned to face his son, and he could feel his lips purse tightly in irritation. He thought Harry was past this. Severus sharply tapped his wand on Harry's head and the boy's windswept hair was neat once again. He just hoped his hair wouldn't be shambolic again before they reached the library.

"Ouch," Harry protested. The boy rubbed the spot where the wand made contact and Harry succeeded in messing up his hair again.

Five seconds…A new record, Severus thought derisively.

"Will you stop that?" Severus said in exasperation as he smacked Harry's hand away so he could straighten the boy's hair again. He had half a mind to cast a Sticking Charm on the boy's hair.

Severus then performed a grooming spell on his own hair.

When Severus was satisfied that he had done all he could to make him and his son presentable, he ordered, "Come, Harry," and with long strides, Severus marched his way through the sitting room. When he realised Harry was having to rush in order to keep up, Severus slowed his pace to allow his son to catch up.

Severus' sitting room wasn't exactly a sitting room. It was more like a collection of seating arrangements that extended along the length of the long second floor balcony that looked over the vast expanse of the estate and to nearby Goblin Combe. The entire room was centred around a massive marble fireplace that was almost long enough to accommodate a felled tree. At the far end of the sitting room were the double English oak doors that opened into the library. The doors opened of their own volition as they approached and Severus announced, "It's time to greet your guests."

Sirius Black was the last of Harry's lunch guests to come through the Floo. He stepped through across the hearth with his broom in hand. He casually observed the small crowd of people before him. His was the only face, other than Snape's, that did not seem impressed by the opulence before him. Hell…Hermione Granger was on the second landing of the library, looking as if she could cry from happiness. The Weasley children were staring out the French doors gawking at the expansive flying space outside.

If it wasn't for his devotion for Harry, Sirius could have happily stayed walled up inside Grimmauld Place for the rest of his life without seeing the inside of one of Severus Snape's homes. He had come close to calling Molly Weasley a liar when she told him that he had received an invitation to Snape's manor. Sirius had half a mind to write Snape and tell him where to stick his invitation when Molly had said the invitation was at Harry's behest. Hell Hounds couldn't keep Sirius away then. Besides, it was his chance to check in on how Snape was treating Harry.

"Sirius…I'm so glad you could come!" Harry ran up and embraced him happily before Sirius even had the chance to step on Snape's Persian carpet. It was a greeting Sirius hadn't expected after their last botched meeting.

"Do you honestly believe that I would ever turn down an invitation from you?" Sirius smiled genuinely as he greeted his godson.

No…Hell Hounds wouldn't keep him away. No matter how much time he had to spend with Snape in the bargain.

Severus' eyes narrowed as he observed the interaction between Harry and his god-mutt from across the library. He had to suppress the urge to hex the cur where he stood. Luckily, the Weasley patriarch interrupted Severus' musings.

"Severus…you have a lovely home," Arthur commented as he studied the massive stone bas-relief over the fireplace mantel.

The marble relief was that of a mounted nobleman, rumoured to be the twin brother of a French king. Phillip Prince was never able to substantiate the claim. And since history could account for the Sun King and the Duke of Orléans, the story was highly suspect to say the least.

But according to family legend, Phillip's death was feigned by his own father after the young Dauphiné's first fit of accidental magic at the tender age of three. The legend goes on to say that he was passed over in favour of his younger twin and replaced by a cousin, but none of the family journals seemed to be able to account for the differences in age.

The French monarchs were staunch Catholics and to have a wizard as an heir would have seriously jeopardized their standing with the Pope, who legitimized their power to the people. Apparently, the young prince was spirited away to be raised by a nun and Franciscan monk for nearly thirteen years. Phillip then reportedly ran away to England after making off with over half of the French treasury. Phillip, or rather Philippe, only wanted the money. He left the headaches of fighting a series of wars with the Dutch and the struggles of feeding a starving peasantry to his brother, Louis.

Smart man.

Unfortunately for the French monarchy, Louis' issue did not fare as well as Phillip's. Prince lore also states that it was Phillip who cursed his own family to having only one son, so that the inheritance would never be questioned. To Severus, that made absolutely no sense either. It was too much of a risk that the blood-line would die out. Chances are, about ninety-five percent of the tales were false. It made for a great story, but dismissing it totally could not account for how the Prince's came into their vast wealth or the fact that the entirety of the Prince blood-line consisted of men who were only children... at least until Severus' mother broke the trend. To Severus, the man immortalised in stone over his library hearth remained a great enigma.

"…you can see the family resemblance after all this time."

Severus almost didn't catch the last part of Arthur's statement.

Severus mused aloud, "Ah…yes…No mistaking the nose." Most people assumed that Severus inherited his nose from his father. Indeed, Severus had come to believe it himself. But every time he stared up at Louis XIV's doppelganger (there really was an uncanny resemblance), he could not help but wonder who was really at fault for his ponderous proboscis.

It only then registered that Arthur was standing right next to him.

"I do apologise, Arthur. My mind was elsewhere. It was kind of you to join us on your lunch break," Severus acknowledged stiffly with a slight nod of his head. "We customarily stay at the cottage, however, with such a large gathering and the children staying for the weekend, it seemed prudent to stay here."

Severus did not care for the manor house himself. The years that he had spent under the care of his grandfather were not pleasant. Yet someday the massive estate would belong to Harry. Severus was determined that his son would be blessed with more pleasant memories of his ancestral home than Severus had been.

Severus watched Harry as he affectionately conversed with his god-dog. Severus had hated to invite Black, but there was nothing he wouldn't do to assure his son's happiness, even if it meant stomaching a loathsome visit by the dingy mutt.

Harry then turned to the rest of his guests with an enthusiastic smile. "Come on guys… leave your brooms here and let's tucker into some lunch."

On their way back down to the conservatory, Severus followed soberly behind his son's guests while Harry happily chirped away to his friends about all of the wonders he had discovered on the Prince estate since his arrival.

Severus took keen interest as to what his son had to say.

Harry told young Mr Weasley and Ms Granger that the estate was the perfect place they could find their potions ingredients for their summer project. In his wanderings, Harry had found hellebore, yellow root, primroses, yew trees, countless species of ferns, lichens and mushrooms...and daisies, which for some odd reason Harry seemed to find highly amusing.

His son was still chatting away as the group made their way down the stairs and across the entry foyer. "…And just over that far copse, there are some brilliant caves with these really strange mushrooms …I've been meaning to ask Severus about them," Harry babbled on.

Severus made a mental note that he would have to speak to Harry about his spelunking.

"Where are we, Harry?" Ms Granger asked conversationally.

Harry turned and asked Severus as he led his friends past the limestone arches and into the conservatory, "Yeah, exactly where are we, Severus?"

"North Somerset…Bristol is the closest city of note."

"Oh and guys—I'm glad everyone brought their brooms!" Harry turned around and walked backwards so he could continue to speak to the Weasley children. "There's a Quidditch Pitch."

Severus sighed heavily. Now he was going to have to speak to the boy about proper behaviour in front of guests. But it was too late to address his son's disagreeable habits now. Severus was not about to admonish Harry in front Black, Lupin, and the Weasley adults, thereby opening himself up to criticism.

"No way!" Young Mr Weasley tactlessly exclaimed with his mouth agape. He and his siblings looked back disbelievingly at Severus, as if they weren't certain they were in the right place.

Apparently, no one from Grimmauld Place thought they were in the right place when the noticed where they were having lunch. Even the adults had the same undignified, gobsmacked looks as the children did.

They were going to dine in an indoor garden. The circular room was alive with palms, tropical plants, and flowers. From the limestone arches that lined the circumference of the room, oak buttresses protruded as if they grew out from the stone. The buttresses supported the high glass dome and from those, hung several wrought iron lanterns, alight, and warmly glowing through their opaque glass.

In the middle of the stunning room was a long glass and wrought iron table that was tastefully set. It zigzagged to make conversation between the many guests all the easier.

*POP*

Severus had to fight to keep from smiling as he felt his lip twitch when the entire population of Grimmauld Place jumped as they were startled by the entrance of his elf. Severus couldn't understand why. Though he had never seen it, apparently Grimmauld Place had a house-elf lurking about somewhere. Severus wondered where it might be hiding or if it had recently found a spot on that gruesome wall. But that would mean asking Black and Severus wasn't that curious.

"Welcome guests of Young Master Harry," Cassie greeted airily with her high-pitched voice. "Please makes yourselves comfortable and enjoy yours lunch." She then pulled out chair for Molly Weasley.

Everyone took a seat at the table. Black was seated at the far opposite end from Severus. This was not only because Severus wanted to be as far away from the mutt as possible. Black was the head of the visiting household. It was simple etiquette to seat him opposite the host.

Once everyone was seated and had become more comfortable with their surroundings, to Severus' chagrin, lunch had become just as boisterous affair as it ever was at Grimmauld Place. But Harry was happy. That Severus could give his son this small happiness made it all worthwhile.

"Harry…"said Ronald through a mouthful of his Sheppard's pie. Didn't Molly teach her kits any basic table manners? "Do you think we could play a pickup game of Quidditch while Sirius and Remus are still here?"

"Ronald Weasley. You know better than to talk with your mouth full, young man."

Finally! Molly said something. It was about time. The young Weasley had the good sense to look embraced at his mother's admonishment before such a large gathering.

Harry looked to Severus hopefully. "Can we, Severus?"

Severus shook his head in answer. "The Pitch is within the cottage grounds," he explained. "There is no way that your friends will make it past the Blood Wards.

"There must be some way," Harry pressed. "Mum was able to get through."

Severus was about to answer when the twins broke in. "It doesn't matter anyway, Harry…" said young George or Fredrick. Severus wasn't quite certain which had spoken. "We only have seven players. We need one more if we're going…

"…to have one player per position," his brother had finished.

Then the wolf had to open hi big-fat mouth. "Why don't you join in, Severus? That would give us two Seekers."

If Severus' and Black's eyes were shooting real daggers…Lupin would be a dead man. The teens…with the exception of Harry…were staring agape again at their professor. Perhaps it was a sort of physical defect? What did Molly feed the children?

"Come on, Severus," Harry pleaded. "I know you can get them past the wards."

Those damned eyes! Severus could feel it now. He was becoming an overindulgent parent already. At this rate, he would have Harry as spoiled as Draco Malfoy by the start of term. But Severus had never been able to say 'no' to those eyes when they looked at him like that…Not to Lily and apparently not to their son either. Lily had discovered that early on. Severus just prayed that Harry wouldn't.

"I will have one of the house-elves find the Portkey," he begrudgingly acquiesced.

"YES!" Harry and his ginger friend exclaimed. The twins were giving each other high fives and young Ms Weasley was practically bouncing out of her chair. The only Weasley girl was just as much of a Quidditch hoodlum as her older brothers. Apparently, none of the teenagers cared that the game was to include Hogwarts' most hated professor, as long as they had a chance to play Quidditch.

It didn't take long for Cassie to find the Portkey, the only way someone not of Prince blood could make it through the wards.

The Quidditch Match the evening before had been brilliant. Harry, Sirius, Ron and Fred had played against Severus, Remus, Ginny and George.

Hermione and Mrs Weasley had sat in the grass as cheering spectators. Mr Weasley had not stayed to watch because he had to be back to his job at the Ministry.

"Too bad we can't tell anybody about the game," Ron said wistfully.

Harry and his friends were sitting at a table on the library terrace under a shaded canopy, studying and enjoying the afternoon. The massive stone structure encompassed the centre third of the west side of the manor. Fifty people could do lunch on the terrace. They had all just returned from helping Ron and Hermione find their Potion's plants.

"I know…who would have ever guessed that Professor Snape was so good at Quidditch," said Ginny as she helped Hermione lace her daisy chain. "If Harry wasn't on a faster broom, I think the professor may have caught the Snitch.

"I imagine that there is a lot about the professor that we don't know," said Hermione sagely.

Harry grinned impishly, pondering if he should share his little secret.

The twins sniffed out the potential intrigue right off. It wasn't the first time Harry wondered how the sly pair didn't end up in Slytherin House.

Fred and George goaded, "Fess up Harry…give us the goods on your Old Man,"

"Well…" Harry leaned into the table and looked around as if someone might be listening…namely Severus.

Harry knew Severus would kill if he found out that Harry had divulged this very personal information, but right now Harry didn't care. He had to tell someone or he would bust. "Remember how I told you how I went exploring those caves the other day," he practically whispered.

"Yeah…so what's he got up there?" Ron asked, clearly drawn in by the mystery.

"Does he have a secret torture chamber for his Troll students?" Fred asked.

"Or maybe that's where he hides his concubines," suggested George, wagging his eyebrows.

Hermione put a hand over her mouth trying to suppress a giggle. Ginny smacked her older brother over the head and chastised him. "Stop that George…Let Harry finish."

Harry was trying not to laugh himself. "No…it's nothing like that," He said through his own stifled giggles. "But when I came home, Severus thought he was alone…I discovered something very interesting…" he said conspiringly.

"What?" asked his friends at once as they leaned farther into the table, hanging onto Harry's every word.

Harry looked over his shoulder once again, then turned and whispered to his friends, "Severus fancies Muggle music," Harry said scandalously.

"Muggle music?" His friends gasped in unison.

"Yeah…" Harry was excited now. He felt like he would explode if he didn't tell his friends everything. "But not just any Muggle music…it was American Muggle music. I could tell because the guy singing had one of those funny American accents."

"You've got to be yanking our chains, Harry," said Ron in disbelief.

Harry shook his head. "That's not the best part…you see, Severus was in his lab, just inside his office. He didn't know that I had come home. I heard this music playing really loud. I kind of recognized who it was, but I can't remember his name. But I recognised the voice from that American show on the telly," Harry then turned to Hermione, "Do you know the one I'm talking about, Hermione? My cousin watches it on Sky 1 every Saturday. The one with the flying orange car."

"Ooo, I know which one you're talking about, Harry," Hermione said with a mix of excitement and frustration. "I can hear the theme song in my head, but I don't watch the telly that much. I can't think of the name."

Harry shrugged off her ignorance but didn't begrudge it. After all, he was clueless too.

"Anyway," Harry said and continued with his tale. "I realized that there was someone else singing. So I snuck into his office and peeked into his lab…and get this…Dad was chopping his potions ingredients…and singing!"

Harry would remember those lyrics for as long as he lived. Harry had all of his friends in stiches, and Ron was literally rolling on the floor with laughter as Harry tried to imitate Severus' singing.

There ain't no good in an evil hearted woman…

And I ain't cut out to be no Jesse James…

And you don't go writing hot checks down in Mississippi …

And there ain't no good chain gang…

"NO WAY!" Everyone exclaimed at once.

"Did he catch you?" Hermione asked fearfully. She had turned pale, as if her life was at risk for knowing such secrets.

"Nope…" Harry said smugly as he shook his head. "I snuck back out and then came back in making a lot of noise so he would hear me…he stopped the music right off and acted as if nothing happened."

Fred and George were grinning at each other. This was blackmail fodder if they ever heard it and Harry knew it.

"I would have paid good Galleon's to see that," Fred laughed.

"If it ever happened at Hogwarts," George said, "Try to let us know. We'll sell tickets."

"Can he sing?" asked Ginny curiously.

"Yeah…he was actually pretty goo…"

*POP*

"AHH!" The mass of teenagers all startled at once. Nobody was used to house-elves just popping in and out in the middle of conversations…they all thought that it might have been Severus. Harry didn't put it past his father to Apparate into the middle of a circle of teenagers just to see if they were up to no good.

They all breathed collective sigh of relief.

This little house-elf was not as wrinkled as most others of his kind and his pointed ears stood erect. He was young, inexperienced, and eager to please.

Hermione was still uncomfortable about being waited upon by a bonded house-elf, but Severus had explained that he had once naively offered his elves freedom and a salary if they so desired, but they had refused. The retribution they had taken out on Severus for even mentioning such a dishonour was so terrible, that Severus was never tempted to do so again. Harry recalled his father mumbling about an allergy to starch and ineffective rash ointments under his breath, but Severus refused to give any further details.

"Young Master Harry?" Bob looked about nervously, as if debating if he would have to punish himself for causing his young master and his guests to lose control of their bodily functions.

"Bob is sorry for scaring the Young Master and his friends, sir. Bob only wants to knows where Young Master and his friends would cares to haves their lunch?" Bob held his gaze down and brushed his foot in circles on the stone terrace floor as he awaited an answer.

"That's alright, Bob," Harry said gently. He didn't want to scare the little elf into punishing himself. Hermione would have a Kneazle. "We'll just have our lunch right out here."

Harry and his friends enjoyed the rest of that beautiful summer day under the shade of the terrace. It was a very good day.

It would be the last good day Harry would have for some time to come