Harry sighed once he’d finished his fish and chips, barely resisting the temptation to lick the crumbs from the polystyrene platter. Somehow he didn’t think Snape would like that.

“I take it you enjoyed that,” Snape said with a twitch of the mouth, as if he had read Harry’s mind.

“Yes, Professor. Thank you.”

“In future it would be preferable for you to not forget meals,” Snape said in a pointed tone.

“Um, I’ll try not to, sir.”

“Good.” Snape paused and looked around them. Harry glanced around too. The seaside attractions were starting to open; he could see a few kids on the trampolines and hear more from the playground. He could also see the beginnings of a queue for the crazy golf.

He had never played crazy golf before, though he had been forced to watch the Dursleys a couple of times, and it looked quite fun. This particular course seemed to have a theme; from where he was sitting he could see a pirate ship and a skull waterfall, and recalled earlier passing another ship and a chest filled with fake treasure.

For some reason the memory triggered another one, and he puzzled them both over for a while, not really paying any attention to Snape.

“Gemini,” Harry said suddenly.

“Pardon?”

“The crossword answer. Double lights, that means the twin stars, right? And ‘self contains treasure’—Gem-in-I.”

Snape stared at him in disbelief. “You said you weren’t good at them.”

“I know,” Harry said with a silly grin. “That’s the first one I’ve ever been able to work out. You’re welcome, by the way.”

Snape didn’t thank him. “What were you staring at so avidly just now?”

“Just the crazy golf.”

“Have you ever played it?”

“No,” Harry said.

“Neither have I.” Snape looked back at it. “The Headmaster is rather a fan, though.”

Harry grinned at this mental image. “Is he good at it?”

“He holds the world record.”

“Really?”

“Yes, and for ten pin bowling as well. Never, under any circumstances, challenge him to any kind of Muggle game involving precise hand-eye co-ordination, for you will sorely lose.”

“Personal experience?” Harry said with a raised eyebrow.

Snape only grimaced in reply. Harry took this to mean a ‘yes’.

“If you want a go,” Snape said suddenly after a moment, “just ask.”

Harry grinned. “Can we?”

“I suppose so.” Snape stood up. “On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You never, ever tell Albus Dumbledore that you managed to talk me into it.”

-

Later, Harry wished he had had a camera. As casual as Snape had been about the game before they started, he turned out to be quite competitive. This suited Harry fine; it was a trait they shared. Snape had a tendency to glare at the obstacles when he failed to overcome them, and at one point he swore at the offending slope.

Seeing Snape get frustrated over a game of crazy golf was quite amusing, as well as a refreshing change, and Harry stored the mental image away to describe to Ron and Hermione later.

They turned out to be quite evenly matched in terms of skill, and to Harry’s delight he won by one point. Snape looked rather sour about it, but held his tongue.

By the time the game ended, the midday sun was streaming down, and both Harry and Snape desperately needed to cool down. Harry’s mouth watered as he saw an ice cream stand, and as if reading his mind again—or perhaps the expression on his face, perhaps—Snape strode over.

“Flavour, Potter?”

“Chocolate,” Harry said immediately, then quickly added, “please.”

“One chocolate, one rum and raisin,” Snape said to the woman in the stand.

When they had their cones in their hands, Snape headed back to their picnic table on the beach, and Harry reluctantly followed.

The first lick was like heaven. Ice cream was one of Harry’s all-time favourite foods. This particular brand wasn’t quite as good as Florean Fortescue’s (nothing was), but still delicious and very welcome to a sticky, sweltering teenager.

“I take it the chocolate is good,” Snape said after Harry had inhaled half his cone.

“Uh-huh,” Harry said, not managing anything more for a moment because of the brain freeze. “What’s rum and raisin like?”

“Raisiny.”

“Not rummy?”

“Somewhat.”

Harry giggled.

Silence fell. Harry was deep in thought as he ate his ice cream, and after he had finished, waiting for Snape to finish his at more sedate pace.

“Professor,” he said eventually, unable to stop himself from asking anymore, “why are you doing all this?”

Snape looked at him sharply. “Doing what?”

“You know. Giving me food and money and ... and crazy golf!”

Snape’s mouth twitched, but he looked conflicted, as if he wasn’t sure how to answer.

“You don’t really need me to work for you, do you?” Harry asked.

For a moment he thought Snape wasn’t going to answer. “No, I do not,” he finally admitted.

“So why ...” Harry asked, puzzled.

“I did not wish for you to be starved or worked to death, Potter. This way you can get what you need whilst keeping those relatives of yours happy.”

“But ... why?”

Snape blinked. “Pardon?”

“Well it’s not like you like me, we both know you don’t. So why go out of your way to—”

“Potter,” Snape said, sounding exasperated. “I don’t like you. But I would never allow a child to be abused on my watch.”

Harry flinched. “There’s no abuse,” he mumbled, going red. Merlin, this was why Snape was acting so weird? He thought the Dursleys were beating him or something? “You’ve got it wrong.”

It was only as he was saying that that he realised by putting Snape right he was probably going to end up back in the position he had been in before Snape employed him—locked in his room around the clock with little to no food, cut off from everyone. But it was too late to take the words back, and besides, he wouldn’t have wanted to keep his escape hours through dishonesty.

“There’s more than one kind of abuse, Potter,” Snape said darkly. He sounded highly uncomfortable, having this conversation with him, but ploughed on determinedly. “If you don’t want to discuss it with me here and now, that’s fine. But you should talk with someone, someday.”

Harry didn’t reply. “Your cone’s melting.”

Snape looked down and hurriedly slurped up his runny ice cream in a most undignified manner. Harry giggled, breaking the tension, and Snape shot him a sour look.

“Since we seem to be in a sharing mood,” he said as he finished off his cone, “perhaps you could tell me the truth about what is bothering you.”

Harry’s smile vanished. He opened his mouth to say ‘nothing’, but somehow he could no longer do it.

“The—the sea.”

“What about it?” Snape asked, sounding surprised.

“I ... sort of ... don’t like water,” Harry said in a hurry. “I’m sort of ... slightlyactuallyveryafraidofit.”

It took a moment for Snape to untangle the end of the sentence. “Oh.”

“I’m wary enough of ponds and lakes,” Harry mumbled. “But the sea ... I mean ... it moves on its own. It scares the hell out of me.” He finished in a voice so low he wasn’t even sure Snape with his bat-like ears could hear him.

“I see,” Snape said slowly. Harry hoped that would just be the end of it, and he would never regret opening his big mouth. Sure, Snape had been decent enough recently, but who knew how he would use this against him once term started again ...

A silence fell except for the crunch of Snape finishing his cone. Once he was done, he stood up, and pulled Harry to his feet.

“Take off your shoes and socks.”

Harry stared at him, panic beginning to build in his chest. “Wh-what?”

“Take them off, Potter.” Snape was removing his own and starting to roll up his trouser legs.

Harry let out an embarrassing whimper. “Wh-why?”

“Because if you don’t face your fear it will rule you for the rest of your life. Take them off or I will do it for you.”

Harry’s hands were shaking so badly he could barely undo his trainers. Snape told him to leave them and follow him.

It was a tough decision—what scared him more, Snape or the sea?

“Come on, Potter,” Snape said.

Snape. Probably.

Harry stumbled after him, wincing on the stones. They didn’t seem to bother Snape—maybe he went barefoot on the beach all the time.

He was having difficulty breathing as they approached the shoreline. The waves were comparatively gentle, but that didn’t make Harry feel any better. He knew it was stupid, but he had always imagined the sea as some great monster whose sole purpose was to devour anyone foolish enough to step in it.

The kind of thing Hagrid would love, in fact.

“I-I-I can’t do this, Professor,” he stammered, his teeth chattering.

“Yes you can.” Snape’s tone was suddenly much gentler. Harry didn’t even know Snape had a gentle tone of voice.

“No I can’t!” Harry’s voice rose another few notches, and he was shaking so hard he almost fell over. “Please, sir, I can’t.”

“Potter, I have been there,” Snape said in the kindest voice Harry had ever heard him employ. “I know how you feel, and I am telling you, you can do this.” He held out a hand.

Harry stared at it. “Y-you were scared of w-w-water too?”

“Not water. Heights. I couldn’t even look out of a first floor window without becoming dizzy to the point of incapacitation. Now I can comfortably admire the view from the Astronomy Tower. You can do this.”

Very slowly, Harry took Snape’s hand. It was clasped firmly.

“Baby steps, Potter. Bend down and put your hand in the next wave.”

Trying not to imagine it being bitten off by the sea monster, Harry squatted and held out a shaking hand, just as the next wave rolled up. He jumped as if electrocuted as it made contact with the tips of his fingers, and tried to snatch it away, but Snape took a hold of that one as well and kept it in the water.

Neither of them spoke. Harry’s knees almost gave way, but Snape let go of his hand in the water to take a firm grip on his shoulders. It took a moment for Harry to realise that, despite not having it forced into the water anymore, Harry hadn’t taken his hand out. He was still shaking like crazy, but he fought the urge to get as far away from the water as possible, and gradually, his trembling eased.

“There,” Snape said finally. “Are you ready to go deeper?”

Harry shook his head vigorously. Snape’s grip tightened.

“I’m right here, Potter. Nothing is going to happen to you. Just take one small step into the water. I’m right here, I won’t let you go.”