It was nearly four in the morning when Harry woke with a start, his heart pounding frantically in his chest. He took several moments to get his bearings, staring up at the moonlight streaked ceiling as he drew in deep, steadying breaths in an attempt to calm his racing heartbeat.

Giving up on sleep as a lost cause, Harry slid out of bed and decided to work on his summer assignments that he hadn't had the chance to start yet, hoping to take his mind off the nightmare and keep it occupied. Usually, he could never do them at the Dursleys and would have to resort to hastily finishing them at the last minute.

Harry rummaged around in his trunk, pulled out his school books, some parchment, ink pot, and a quill, then settled at his desk and began working on his Charms homework first.

By the time breakfast rolled around, Harry had completed his Charms and a good chunk of his Transfiguration assignment.

He quickly got dressed and headed downstairs to breakfast.

Snape and Kieran were already there when Harry arrived, neither sparing him a glance as he took a seat at the table. Kieran easily chatted with Snape throughout breakfast, even while Snape was perusing the Daily Prophet, he still responded to everything Kieran said, and Harry couldn't help the sliver of jealously creeping up on him as he listened. He wished he had some sort of this easy going relationship with their father.

Harry focused his attention completely on his breakfast, keeping his head down and quietly finished as much of it as he could. He knew he would need all the sustenance if he was to complete the tasks Snape was about to set him for the day.

Once all the dishes had been magically cleared away, Snape flicked his wand and a piece of parchment appeared beside him.

"I expect each task to be completed today," Snape said curtly, handing Harry the parchment with his long spidery scrawl on it.

"Yes, sir," Harry said as he took it and looked over the list.

At least it was much shorter than any of the ones he had been given at the Dursleys. Those lists were impossible to finish in one day. This one at least seemed doable.

"Be careful when tending to the garden, Potter. Some of those plants were difficult to acquire," Snape said, then he pinned Harry with a stern look. "And I will be watching so I better not see you lazying about all day."

Harry nodded his understanding, then made his way out into the extensive back garden that was shrouded in the morning sunlight. Behind him, the manor stood gloriously with its many tall windows overlooking the back property, and Harry wondered if Snape would be standing at one of them, observing Harry closely, making sure he was working.

The potion's garden was in full summer bloom and Harry set to work, plucking the weeds grown around the colorful plants and herbs, ignoring the blisters that began forming on his hands as he continued on. He'd done this enough at the Dursleys to not really notice them anymore. At least his back seemed to have healed somewhat, no longer burning as bad as it was two days ago, though he was still working at a slower pace than what he would like.

After uprooting the last of the weeds, Harry took off his glasses and swiped away the sweat beading on his forehead with the back of his hand, then allowed himself a very brief break before he began working on harvesting the ingredients on the list Snape gave him. Thankfully, Snape had included instructions on how to harvest from the plants, otherwise, Harry wouldn't know where to even begin. Some of them had poisonous looking thorns and were relatively vicious looking.

Fortunately, he only ended up with a few scrapes on his hands and arms by the time he'd finished collecting the ingredients into a basket that materialized beside him. Harry carried it inside and was led down to the potions lab by Snape, where he was set to gutting rats and frogs, separating out the organs and placing them into jars.

Harry didn't know how much time had passed since he'd started, and it seemed as if everything was going smoothly for once. Though he should have known it was too good to be true.

"My dad's really putting you to work, isn't he?"

Harry jumped at the sudden sound of Kieran's voice behind him, but he didn't respond any further, deciding it was better to simply ignore him as he continued jarring some rat spleens. A smirk was plastered on Kieran's face as he strutted into the room.

"I suppose this is where you truly belong, Potter," Kieran sneered, coming to stand beside Harry. "You know, doing servant's work." He crinkled his nose, giving the rat guts a disgusted look.

Harry continued jarring the ingredients, trying not to pay any attention to Kieran's jibes, just like he did at the Dursleys whenever Dudley tried to mess with him while he worked on his chores. It never ended well for Harry whenever he had retaliated there and he just knew it would end the same way here with Kieran. Maybe even worse, considering Snape could use magic.

Hopefully, Kieran would get bored soon and leave him alone.

"It's not going to work."

That drew Harry out of his thoughts.

"What?" Harry glanced over at Kieran, not entirely sure what he meant.

The smirk was now gone from Kieran's face as he crossed his arms, glaring at him. "If you think my dad— mine not yours— is going to all of a sudden start liking you just because you did your stupid chores like a good boy, you have another thing coming."

Harry blinked, a bit surprised at that.

As if I didn't already know that, he thought bitterly, attempting to meet Kieran's glare with one of his own. It was certainly made apparent last night by both Snape and Kieran that Harry was unwelcome here.

"I don't think that," Harry said evenly. "Now can you leave me alone."

Kieran scoffed in response, obviously not believing him.

Harry turned back to the jars, screwing lids onto them with a bit more force than was necessary. He tried to refocus his attention on finishing this task, ignoring Kieran's presence as he gathered all the completed jars full of ingredients onto a metal tray and lifted it carefully, heading towards the cupboard where Snape kept his potions supplies.

Apparently, it was a mistake turning his back on Kieran. Harry wouldn't have missed the malicious gleam in Kieran's eyes as he drew his wand.

Everything happened too fast.

Harry heard Kieran mutter something under his breath, then without warning, his feet seemed to stumble over an invisible force. He was falling forward, the tray along with the jars flying out of his hands. Hastily reaching out, Harry just barely managed to prevent himself from running head first into the hundreds of glass jars lining the shelves, but the damage had already been done.

For what seemed like an eternity, the sounds of shattering glass echoed throughout the room, seeming to reverberate off the walls.

Harry stood quite motionless, taking in the sight before him, his heart thudding madly against his ribcage.

The jars he'd just filled were now cracked and broken at his feet, the slimy bits of rat and frog guts splattered all over the floor. Many of the jars that had been displayed on the shelf had also fallen from their places and shattered, the bits of animals and plants that had been suspended in multicolored potions were now spilling out of its containers.

"Dad!" Harry heard Kieran shouting as he ran from the room. "Potter just ruined some of your potion ingredients!"

I'm really going to get it now—

Snape stalked in not a minute later, his cold dark eyes sweeping over the mess on the floor before locking onto Harry. He looked downright furious.

"I was just talking to him, and he got angry and started knocking them off the shelves!" Kieran said from behind Snape.

Harry tried to defend himself, a slight tremble in his voice, "No I- I didn't—"

"I don't care to hear your excuses, Potter," Snape hissed, closing the distance between them. "You have single-handedly ruined a month's work of potions gathering."

Harry flinched when Snape reached out and gripped his upper arm, almost hard enough to leave a bruise, and began roughly dragging him out of the room. There was a horrible little smirk on Kieran's face as he watched them pass by.

Snape lead Harry down the hall to what appeared to be an unused storage room.

"This room better be immaculate by the time I return, or your punishment will be twice as severe," Snape snarled, throwing Harry away from him as if he was burned. Then he turned and left, slamming the door shut behind him.

For a moment, Harry simply stood in the middle of the room, attempting to take deep breaths and control his trembling. He'd fully expected a punishment similar to one of Uncle Vernon's, maybe even worse, and perhaps that would be what he'd get if he didn't hurry and clean this room before Snape came back.

He'd better get started. Who knew when Snape would return.

Harry hastily looked around, noting that the room was practically empty except for a long counter with a few cabinets and a sink situated in one corner. There were cobwebs and dust all over the walls and furniture, indicating years of disuse. Finding a bucket and some cleaning supplies, he quickly set to work, ignoring the exhaustion settling into his muscles and his now aching back.

Severus scowled and sharply flicked his wand, cleaning up the last of the mess that Potter had created. He also cast unbreakable charms on all the remaining jars, ensuring that another incident such as this wouldn't happen again. In hindsight, he should have done this sooner.

He'd expected a mishap to occur sooner or later, but was surprised that it had taken this long. And of course, Potter had decided to target Severus' potions ingredients— some of which he'd taken ages to painstakingly acquire. Fortunately, Severus had managed to salvage a substantial amount so it wasn't a complete loss.

There was a hint of satisfaction in seeing Potter's usual impulsive and careless self finally re-emerging after catching glimpses of the boy actually working throughout the morning. Every time Severus had glanced out the window of his study, he saw Potter continuing to work in the garden. The boy never seemed to take a break, Severus had realized, but didn't think much of it, glad that Potter was actually doing as he was told for once. And when lunch time rolled around, Severus and Kieran ate together while Potter didn't make an appearance. Severus had shrugged off the hint of concern in the back of his mind; he had made it clear to Potter what the rules were, if he didn't show up for meals, then so be it.

Severus shook his head, clearing his mind of all things Potter related and stalked back to his lab to finish the potion he'd been brewing before heading up to dinner. Kieran was noticeably a bit more cheerful at dinner, more like his usual chatty self from before Severus broke the news about Potter coming to stay here.

"Were you able to save some of the ingredients?" Kieran asked, spearing a piece of chicken with his fork.

Severus nodded. "Fortunately, most were salvageable," he said, cutting into his dinner. "What exactly brought about the incident?"

Kieran shrugged nonchalantly, making swirls in his mash potatoes. "Like I told you; I just asked him what he was doing, and he got mad all of a sudden."

Severus narrowed his eyes at him, sensing that Kieran wasn't telling the whole truth, but he mentally shrugged off the feeling. "I see. Well, I suggest you stay away from Potter for the time being. Remember the rules about fighting."

"I know, Dad," Kieran said easily. Then an eager smile appeared on his face as he asked, "Can we go flying tomorrow?"

Severus hummed thoughtfully, taking a sip of his tea. "I suppose so," he said, pleased to see his son's sour mood finally lifting.

After dinner had been cleared away, Severus went down to retrieve Potter and sent him back to his room for the rest of the night. He had been taken aback (and also slightly impressed) with how clean that dusty storage room appeared when he arrived, considering the amount of time Potter had been in there. His initial thought was that the boy must have used magic, but then brushed it off, remembering that Potter didn't have his wand.

Severus then instructed a house elf to send some dinner to Potter's room. Just this once, he would allow it, only because he knew the boy had worked the majority of the day and hadn't eaten anything since breakfast this morning. Even if Severus didn't like having Potter here, he wouldn't deprive the boy of basic necessities.

Once Harry made it back to his room, he collapsed tiredly onto his bed, releasing a long breath. He was rather relieved to have somehow avoided a more severe punishment. He'd scrubbed the floor and walls until his arms were sore and shaky, and when Snape had returned, Harry had anticipated the worse as he nervously waited for the verdict. It had come as a complete surprise to him when Snape simply gave the room a brief once-over and deemed it "adequate" before sending Harry back to his room for the night.

This time he'd managed to get off easy, but from here on out, Harry knew he would have to be extra careful around Kieran. This was no different than at the Dursleys. It seemed that no matter what Kieran did, Harry could get blamed for it. Snape didn't ask for Harry's side of the story and would just accepted Kieran's word.

A small pop suddenly sounded, and Harry sat up, spotting a tray that had appeared on his desk. It held a plate of roasted chicken with fluffy mash potatoes and mixed vegetables, and a goblet of pumpkin juice. The enticing smells that wafted over to him were heavenly, causing his stomach to grumble.

Harry took a seat at his desk and hungrily started to tuck in, eating as much as he could. He found it surprising that Snape still decided to give him dinner. After all, Harry had surely thought he would be going to bed without tonight, having done so many times at the Dursley's.

Even after the exhausting day he'd had, Harry still woke up early the next morning, and unable to go back to sleep, decided to finish his Transfiguration assignments.

Just as he was about to head down for breakfast, a rolled up piece of parchment appeared on top of his desk. It was his chores for today, much longer than yesterday's and mainly consisted of manual labor outdoors.

At least it wasn't very hot yet, Harry thought as he walked into the back garden after breakfast. It probably will be later in the afternoon and he wanted to finish mowing before that time. Taking in the enormous property, Harry knew it was going to take him a while to get that task completed.

He went over to the shed and was surprised to find what looked like a Muggle lawn mower inside, similar to the one Harry had used many times at the Dursleys. He hauled it out and began to mow the lawn, carefully maneuvering around the potions garden as he did. From a very young age, he had been doing yard work for the Dursleys with big machines that were difficult for any young child to handle. It wasn't anything Harry wasn't used to.

Halfway through finishing the lawn, Harry noticed Kieran and Snape strolling out of the manor, brooms clutched in their hands. They went to the side of the garden that Harry had already finished, mounted their brooms, and took off. It was still strange to see Snape flying, as the only time Harry had ever seen Snape on a broom was when he had refereed a quidditch match in Harry's first year.

Harry watched them for a few moments, the sight reminding him of when he dreamt of being able to fly with his da— James because everyone told him how good of a flyer he was. He had always fantasized about what spending time with a parent would be like. Harry could see Kieran laughing as he and Snape raced toward a large oak tree in the back of the garden, nearly neck and neck until Kieran pulled ahead just as they reached it. There was a big grin on Kieran's face and Snape appeared almost content— well, as content as Snape could be that is.

All of a sudden, Harry felt a pang of something and he had to look away, not able to watch them any longer. He almost felt like he was intruding on a happy father and son bonding moment.

Returning his attention back to mowing the lawn, Harry put more effort into his chores to keep his mind away from the depressing thoughts that threatened to overwhelm him.

Severus hovered on his broom, watching as Kieran continued to fly in circles around him. Though his mind was preoccupied by another matter at the moment.

Potter had already finished mowing half of the back garden. And it had barely been an hour since he'd started.

These were supposed to be punishments that would take the boy the entire day to complete.

If Severus didn't know any better he would have thought that the boy was used to doing this type of yard work.

There is something not quite right with the boy, Severus thought, no longer able to deny it.

Potter hadn't said a word out of place yet. Severus had anticipated Potter to groan and complain when he'd handed him the list of chores yesterday. And he'd expected the boy to not take them seriously and constantly whine about the hard work Severus was ordering him to do, but instead, the boy accepted it without complaint, not even a hint of resistance. Even more unsettling was that Potter had been quiet and even polite, no sign of the arrogantly defiant rule breaker Severus had known for the last five years.

Maybe all those encounters with the Dark Lord had finally got to him? Whatever it was, Severus was now determined to find out.

And exactly what was the boy wearing? His clothes seemed fit for a large whale not for a scrawny teen...

"Dad! Let's race to that tree again!" Kieran's voice broke Severus out of his thoughts. He directed his attention back to his son and nodded, indicating with a gesture of his hand to proceed.

Kieran lined up his broom with Severus'.

"Ready... Set... GO!"

During the rest of their flying session, Severus was often distracted by Potter's peculiar behavior as he occasionally observed the boy continuing to work, and Kieran would snap him out of it by calling out "Dad" every few minutes.

When Severus had returned to his study, intending on getting some work done, he found himself becoming increasingly distracted by watching Potter instead. The boy had finished mowing the lawn and was now in the middle of pulling a few weeds from the garden. From the second floor window, Severus could see Potter efficiently pulling out the weeds, as if he'd been doing it his whole life. Then Severus watched as the boy went back and forth, filling two watering cans at the well and then lugging them back to the potions garden to water the plants, sweat seeming to drip down his face.

A frown appeared on his usually stoic features as Severus glanced at the clock and realized that in the three hours he'd been watching, Potter hadn't once slacked off, nor had he taken a break.

At this rate, the boy would be finished with all his chores before dinner.

Severus would be lying to himself if there wasn't a small measure of concern beginning to build within him. He wasn't sure what to make of this new Potter, and he did not like being confused.

Just like yesterday, only Severus and Kieran were present at lunch. Potter was still outside, and once lunch had finished, Severus decided to (again) let the boy off the hook with the rule of being on time to meals in order to eat.

He went out to fetch him and found Potter in the potions garden, watering the Hellebore plants.

"Potter," Severus said, coming up behind him.

Potter flinched and turned around sharply with... was that fear in his eyes? It was gone a moment later, replaced with a suspiciously blank expression as he lowered the watering can and turned to face Severus.

"Yes, sir?" Potter said, averting his eyes and shoving his hands into his pocket.

Severus had noticed the slight trembling of his hands, but didn't comment, filing it away for later.

"You missed lunch," said Severus.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir. I must've lost track of time," Potter replied softly, looking at a point to the right of Severus' shoulder.

"Come inside, Potter. I will let you off this time for being late," Severus said, turning back toward the manor and expecting Potter to follow.

Harry brushed his hands on his trousers, getting rid of the dirt before following Snape inside. He cursed himself for letting Snape see that involuntary flinch he gave. How did the man manage to always sneak up on him like that? Were his shoes capable of absorbing all the sound or something?

He trailed after Snape, still surprised that the man actually came to get him and was letting him have lunch even though he had specifically stated Harry wouldn't get any if he was late.

When they arrived, there was a plate of food and a goblet of pumpkin juice on the table. With a sharp wave of his wand, Snape removed the stasis charm surrounding them.

"Go wash your hands and then eat, Potter."

"Alright. Thanks sir," Harry said as he made his way to the bathroom.

He was quite hungry, but was still unable to eat very much. Once he ate all that he could, he took his plate into the kitchen and was going to wash it when a pop sounded from his right, startling him.

"Young Master need not do that. That is Mimkey's job," squeaked a tiny house elf. It reminded Harry distinctly of Dobby, but dressed in a nice black uniform with a family crest on it.

"Oh, it's fine, I can do it," Harry replied.

"No no no. Mimkey can do it." The little elf shook her head as she took the plate from Harry's hands. "It is Mimkey's job."

"Er, alright... Thanks, Mimkey," Harry said as he left the kitchen and went back outside to finish his chores.

He managed to finish the rest of his chores just as dinner time came around with no mishaps unlike yesterday. After dinner, he took a shower, still relishing in the fact that he could use warm water unlike at the Dursley's where he was limited to only cold water and less than five minutes.

His body was tired, but his mind wouldn't let him rest easy. Seeing Kieran and Snape flying together today had unleashed feelings of longing that Harry had buried away long ago after he realized that he could never have that. He had seen Uncle Vernon spending time with Dudley like that and had wished that he could experience what spending time with one of his parents would be like.

Harry shook his head, he shouldn't be hoping for anything more than what he already had. At least here he wasn't starved or beaten because he didn't do all his chores right. Snape still let Harry eat even when he missed it. Even though Harry was certain Snape still hated him, the man hadn't belittled Harry like he usually did at school, nor did he say that anything was wrong with the chores Harry had done so far.

Maybe I actually did something right for once... Maybe—

No, he shouldn't think too much of it. While Snape didn't say that he did anything wrong, he certainly didn't say that he did anything right either.

Harry gave a dejected sigh and tiredly ran a hand over his face. He decided to work more on his school assignments before he went to bed.

It was close to midnight, and Severus was seated in his armchair in the sitting room, a potions journal open on his lap. Though it laid ignored as Severus stared into the crackling fire, his mind trying to comprehend the strangeness that was Potter.

Besides that potions ingredients incident, Severus could admit that Potter had done a good job on his chores, even completing them in a faster manner than he had thought possible without the use of magic. The boy must have acquired the skills somewhere— it was as if he'd been doing them for all of his life.

Again, Severus found himself questioning: Hadn't the boy been spoiled and waited on by his relatives?

After the past two days, Severus wasn't so certain anymore. He had been sure the boy hadn't done a hard day's work before in his life, and yet, Potter had worked diligently, never slacking off. It was as if the boy was used to it. Potter didn't even complain about being tired or demand for a break either, just carried on until the work was complete. Severus certainly thought that Potter would have put up a fight over three of his most valuable possessions being taken away, but the boy just silently acquiesced to his command. Potter had been more polite and respectful the past few days than Severus had seen from him in all the years the boy had been at Hogwarts.

More unsettling was the flinch that Severus had witnessed when he had called him to come in for lunch. Where did that come from? Severus was well aware of his intimidating presence, but he had never gotten that reaction before. Especially never from Potter. And was that really fear he saw in the boy's green eyes? The more he thought about this the more perplexed he felt. Where was that insolent brat that he had known for the last five years? So far the boy was a contradiction of everything that Severus had come to expect from him.

Just then Severus heard a pop and Mimkey appeared next to him, her eyes wide, wringing her hands agitatedly.

"Master Snape sir, Young Master is having a terrible nightmare up on the third floor in that small room! Mimkey was cleaning when Young Master started screaming and tossing in bed!" the little elf said frantically, nearly in tears.

"Thank you for informing me, Mimkey," Severus said as he promptly rose to his feet and walked past her, hastily making his way up to Potter's room.