It was a hot day. The sun was at its highest point in the sky. The dour man did not want to be out. Actually, he only wanted to sleep. He was having a killer headache and he knew that it was only going to get worse as the day progressed. He was asked, albeit forcefully, to go watch the Potter boy.

Severus didn't want to let on that he wasn't feeling well. Admitting that he wasn't feeling like himself meant that he would be fussed over. For some, that wouldn't be such a bad thing, but for a private man, as Severus was, it was excruciating having his mentor and the matron fussing over him.

As he continued on to his destination, his headache grew ten fold. The sun was becoming too bright. All Severus wanted to do was curl up in his dark bedroom and not come out for a few days.

Walking down the deserted street, Severus waited until he was at Number 4 before he cast a disillusionment charm on himself. Not that anyone would have noticed anyway. This day was so hot it seemed like all of the residences of Privet Drive were all comfortably in their homes. Severus walked to the back of Number 4. He saw a small shed in the back and there was a small respite. There was a cover from the sun. Severus slowly walked over to that shadowy spot. He instantly felt a little cooler. Not much, but enough to give a small sigh.

The house seemed to be like the others on the street. There was little to no disturbance to the house. Severus liked that. It meant that he probably wouldn't have to stay long. His headache seemed to doubled in pain. Not only was his head pounding, but there was a piercing pain behind his eyes. Severus knew he needed his potion. With shaky fingers, Severus reached into his robes and pulled out a small phial. The once nimble fingers that could slice, dice, and ground many ingredients could not hold on to the small potion and it slipped through his fingers as he was trying to open it, breaking on impact on the ground.

Deep down, Severus knew he needed to get out of there, but from the amount of pain he was in, he just couldn't think straight. His breathing became shallow and fast, almost panting. His vision dimmed. His head pounded, and his throat ached.

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The day had been a typical day for Harry. Once he got up in the morning; he was to make breakfast for the family and while they were eating, he was to start on his chores for the day. He knew that he would not be allowed to have food until he was finished with his morning list of duties.

Today was a small list. Vernon's boss came for dinner last night and Harry had to clean the house from top to bottom before mid-afternoon. Trying not to get on his uncle's bad side, Harry knew that this would probably happen so he got up extra early and started on the chores. He had most of the house clean before the Dursleys were even out of bed. When Harry heard the unmistakable sounds of his relatives waking up, he stopped what he was doing and started on breakfast.

Harry wasn't really trying to get on his relatives' good side by doing this. No, Harry was trying to survive another summer with no problems. He did not want what happened last year to happen again. He didn't even do it and he was still blamed.

Stupid Dobby, Harry thought, shaking his head to the memory of what the elf did that almost cost him his freedom from his relatives.

After much convincing and bargaining, Harry was able to come back to the Dursleys' house. Not that they really had a choice, but Harry wasn't going to let them know that.

Harry was able to keep Dudley's second bedroom. The downside was that his trunk was in his cupboard under the stairs locked up. The window, or what used to be the window, was now boarded up. After the younger Weasley boys came to rescue Harry from his family, Vernon never replaced the bars, or even the window for that matter.

Harry told himself that he wasn't going to cause any problems this summer. He just wanted to stay to himself and hope the summer pass soon so that he could go back home to Hogwarts.

Harry missed the school during the summer. After learning so much about himself and his parents in the past two years, he begun to wish he could stay at Hogwarts forever. To be able to walk the halls that his parents walked. To fly around the Qudditch pitch like his father used to do. To just feel accepted for being Harry not be a burden or a freak to his relatives.

With a sigh, Harry stepped out into the hot sun, so that he could begin on his outside chores. He had wanted to do these chores earlier when the sun wasn't baking outside, but when was anything fair for Harry Potter? Harry started with the easy things to do first.

Walking towards the shed, unaware that there was someone there, Harry walked in and pulled out a few items in his arms. One of the items was a old watering pail. Because he had so much in his arms, the pail slipped from his arms and fell at his feet.

“Ouch,” Harry moaned as he dropped the other items and looked at the freshly made scratch on his arm from the pail. It wasn't deep, but it did sting and was bleeding profusly.

Harry walked the short distant to the water hose, turning on the water and letting it run over the cut on his forearm. The cool water felt wonderful on his skin, and he wanted to raise the hose and let the water flow over his head. Looking up at the house, he didn't see anyone around, but that didn't mean that his aunt would not show up. She always had a knack of seeing him do things that he wasn't suppose to do, and letting the water cool him down on this stifling day was one of the things that he would get in trouble for. Not wanting any trouble, Harry dismissed the pleasurable idea of cooling off and began his outside chores.

Harry walked back over to the dropped items and began picking them back up. The next thing that Harry felt wasn't the heat. An arm wrapped around his chest, pinning his arms to his side. A hand was on his head tilting it to one side. Then there was a sharp, piercing pain on his neck. The pain radiated his entire body. He felt like he was burning from the inside out. The last thing that passed through Harry's mind while something was attached to his neck was of flying. Harry looked at the clear blue sky as his vision dimmed and he was losing consciousness.

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Severus tried to calm himself down. It was much harder now that he didn't have his potion. He watched through squinted eyes as Potter walked over towards him. Severus knew the boy couldn't see him, but that didn't stop his already racing !heartbeat to quicken a little.

Severus was struggling to keep himself unnoticed. The thirst was becoming unbearable. This side of Severus knew he needed to feed, but he was trying to hold out, thinking of anything to take his mind off the dry, parched pain in his throat.

Severus closed his eyes, trying to meditate. He tried to calm his breathing, taking deeper breaths. Then there was a noise that brought him back to reality. The smell hit him before he even registered what he was looking at. The sweet smell hit his nose. He could feel his instincts taking over. Severus could no longer resist. As fast as he could, Severus canceled the Disillusionment charm over him and grabbed the small child. No longer fighting his urges, Severus bit down on the 'sweet spot' and tasted pure heaven.

TBC