Harry smiled. It was perfect. He knew from reading months of the Lighthouse that ads like this were perfectly normal. In fact, there was an ad several spots down proclaiming, ‘Werewolf needs suitable suits and robes for gainful employment. Send donations to the Lighthouse.' There was no need for all the details.

Last week there had been a mysterious ad that Harry had yet to fully decipher, but he was certain it was in code and calling on people to help a runaway Fae child. To him, the advertisement section was the best part of the entire newsletter. And now his call for help for Sirius was there amongst the others. Harry would have to send Hedwig with payment to Bellamy before dinner for his ad.

He scanned the pile of letters for anything from Silver but there was nothing. There was however a request from Ollivander to put in even more shelves, as he was going to be putting out a new line of wands with special cores, and a request from Basil and Bennet for Harry to come work the back to school rush for at least two days this week, and to stay late one of the days to help restock shelves. Bennet promised it was important work he needed to do to understand, and said he would learn invaluable lessons from it. Harry snorted, certain they just wanted help with the heavy books. But he had promised to work until he couldn't any longer due to school, so he'd ask Snape if he could take him tomorrow. If he worked Monday and Tuesday, he might have time Wednesday or Thursday to get his school things.

The last letter was from the Nimbus Racing Broom Company, and Harry opened it, wondering what they could want from him. He owned it, but they were located in Machester, a city Harry had never been to before. He'd had no communications with them at all since he'd found out about owning it.

‘Dear Mr. Potter, as you are aware we recently came out with the Firebolt, our most popular racing broom to date. Since you have recently become aware of your ownership of our business, it falls to you to make final decisions regarding future brooms and manufacturing practices. Would you prefer to come to the factory in Manchester to discuss future brooms, or continue working from your residence?

With best regards,

- Alban Herbert Dodsworth, Manager Of Operations, Nimbus Racing Broom Company'

Harry wanted more than anything to see how brooms were made at the Nimbus Racing Broom Company, and thought Ron and Justin would like to see as well, but his eyes roved over the other letters scattered over his bed. He would never have time to work, get supplies, pay Bellamy and visit the broom company. With a sigh he grabbed a fresh piece of parchment and a quill and tried to write in his best handwriting and most adult sounding words, ‘Regrettably I will have to visit another time. Please continue to correspond with me at Hogwarts.'

Harry read it over twice, and then a third time, and decided he couldn't sound more adult than that, and took it and a note of thanks to Bellamy with some coins to the owlery to send them off.

When he came back to the quarters to ask Severus if he could take him to Diagonalley, the man seemed to have vanished. He also didn't appear at dinner that night, and Harry wondered if he had left the castle altogether.

The next morning after a fitful sleep, Harry found Severus at his desk going over a large pile of papers. It seemed he had more in a black file-folder briefcase beside his desk in the living room.

"Sir?"

"What is it Potter?" he asked, not looking up from the papers he was marking up.

"They need me at Flourish and Blotts for the next two days. For the back to school rush," he added when Snape didn't respond.

"I'm busy. So is the Headmaster. I only have a few days left before the term starts to finish grading ruberiks, get the Slytherin common room ready, and attend over a dozen staff meetings." He sighed and looked at his watch. "One of which is in twenty minutes." He muttered something unfriendly about the Headmaster and overscheduling that Harry couldn't quite make out, and then stood up to leave, papers still stacked on the desk.

"Is that a no sir?" Harry asked.

Severus gave him a sharp look.

"You have spent the better part of the summer getting yourself to work and legal appointments. You appear to be old enough to take the floo on your own."

Harry eyed the man's living room fireplace warily and wondered how he was supposed to get through it. He supposed if he crawled...

"There is a floo connected to the network in the Headmaster's office and in the Great Hall. You have my permission to come and go by it if you return by six tonight. Say the password before stepping into it, and before stepping into it to return. You will have to floo into the Leaky Cauldron unless you have permission from some other business to use their floo."

He turned to put on his robes and then turned back to Harry, as though he'd forgotten to tell him something. "You must put a knut in the pot on top of the floo in the Leaky Cauldron whenever you exit or enter it to pay for the service of using it. Do you have coins with you?"

Harry shook his head and Snape walked back to his desk and pulled open the top drawer. He withdrew two knuts and dropped them into Harry's hand. "The password for the Great Hall floo is ‘Caldus'. The address to reach Hogwarts is, ‘Great Hall Staff Lounge, Hogwarts.'"

He swept to the door and as he opened it and hurried out he called behind him, "I will be very displeased if you do not return by six Potter!" And then he was gone.

Harry stared after him, stunned, and then looked down to the two knuts in his hand. Never in a million years had the thought Snape would give him money. It was only two Knuts, but he had half expected the man to rant about him having Galleons coming out his ears, but being too stupid to have money for the floo network.

"Great Hall Staff Lounge Hogwarts, Caldus," Harry repeated to himself as he went back to his room to pull his trainers on.

Harry repeated the information Snape had told him several more times as he made his way to the Great Hall a few minutes later. The Great Hall was empty and Harry made his way up onto the platform with the head table and went for the door behind it. It felt wrong going into the staff room. He'd never been inside before. Just as he reached for the door handle, the door opened of it's own accord and Harry sucked in a breath, ready for Filch or another teacher to yell at him for going out of bounds.

"Oh, Potter, you startled me." It was Professor McGonagall.

"Maam," Harry said.

"Is something the matter?" she asked hurriedly. "You look as though you've seen a ghost."

He motioned lamely to the door behind her. "Professor Snape gave me permission to use the floo to get to work on Diagon. He didn't have time to take me today."

"Of course," she said, as though there was no question Harry was telling the truth at all. "The powder is on the mantle. I assume he told you the password and school floo address?"

"Great Hall Staff Lounge Hogwarts, Caldus," Harry repeated again.

"Say the password first," she advised. "Caldus, Great Hall Staff Lounge Hogwarts."

"Thank you," he told her.

"I would stay to help you but I'm late to the staff meeting. I just came back from seeing a friend in Leicester."

She hurried off and Harry watched her go as he'd watched Snape hurry off fifteen minutes before. Harry pushed the door open, expecting a posh room and found a room much more ordinary. It was almost like a common room for the teachers, he thought. There was a large fireplace big enough to step into, four plush chairs around a small low table, a door Harry could only assume led to a bathroom, two couches and a table with several pastries and a pot of coffee. Harry hadn't eaten breakfast and dearly wanted to snag one of those pastries, but decided he felt like he was trespassing enough to not add thief to his wrongdoings as well. He grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. "Caldus, The Leaky Cauldron London," he said, and stepped into the fire, only to disappear in a poof of smoke and green flame.

Harry was happy to find himself whole and in one piece on the other side. He really hated using the floo. He brushed the soot off his shirt and pants and remembered to stick a knut in the pot on the mantle above the floo in the Leaky Cauldron before he headed out to the alley.

Basil and Bennet were more than happy to see Harry when he walked in a few minutes later. It was early but there was already a line of shoppers at the register waiting to be rung up.

"Second register Harry!" Bennet called, pointing to another register a few feet away from him.

Harry nodded and nervously went to the second register. The brothers had shown him how to ring items up and count back change, but he'd never done it by himself before.

A girl and her mother came up with a stack of used Hogwarts textbooks. He could tell they were used by the black marker slash near the name on the spine.

"Use the chart, Basil said, coming up behind him. Used books are 40% off full price."

The Flourish brothers had a color coded system for book prices. A charmed marker was used on the spine of each book. A red slashed book was ten Sickles. A blue slash was fifteen, a green slash was a Galleon, and a purple slash meant the price was open for bargaining. Harry had needed to familiarize himself with the colors earlier in the summer as he had been forced to consult charts and mark many of these books himself. The first book had two green slashes and a red slash, so it was two Galleons and ten Sickles. Harry consulted the chart and found the discount price and rang it up on the ancient register with round numbered buttons, pressing the plus button to add each new book to the total. When he was finished he told the woman, "Eight Galleons please."

She handed him the coins and he bagged the books in a brown paper sack charmed to make the load lighter, and handed the books and receipt that popped out of the register to her.

"Have a nice day," he told her, and the next customer came up.

With Harry helping to ring people up, they got through the long line quickly, and Basil pulled Harry away once the line was more manageable to put more books onto the shelves to replace the ones bought earlier that day.

"If you see the line reaching the door, pull the box of books you're working with back behind the counter and hit the second register until the line shortens. Got it?"

Harry nodded and went to work shelving the heavy books. He could tell which ones he had marked earlier that summer because his colored marker lines were quick and thin, and Bennet's were thick and heavy. Basil didn't have a steady hand, and his lines were wobbly.

He went back and forth between the register and stocking shelves all day, and by lunch was feeling weak and tired. He wished he'd taken a pastry from the staff room more and more as the day progressed.

"Lunch," Basil called, motioning Harry into the upstairs room where the office and excess book storage was.

"Eat here, you have twenty minutes, then you have to go back to the floor so Bennet can have his break."

Harry looked around and saw a huge box of pastries and another box with sandwiches. There was a pitcher of water and another pitcher of iced tea.

"I haven't got any lunch," Harry said, eyeing the items.

"This is for the three of us," Basil said. "The week before school starts, and in the two weeks leading up to Christmas we order in so we don't have to go out because we don't have time. Have whatever you want. Twenty minutes," he reminded Harry, and hurried down the stairs to start working the second register. Harry grabbed a big donut and leaned over the rail looking down to the store below as he ate. He had already seen several classmates and had even rung some of them up, but it looked to be mostly first years in the store at the moment. Harry ate a sandwich and a half and drank a big cup of water before he hurried downstairs and told Bennet he was done with his break. Harry took over his register and Bennet disappeared up the stairs.

The store was open until five thirty this week since it was the back to school rush, and Harry was wiped out and ready for bed by the time it closed.

"That was brutal," Bennet said, flopping into a chair at one of the desks upstairs.

"I have to be back by six tonight," Harry told them.

"But you're staying late tomorrow?"

"How late?" Harry asked.

"Nine at least. Maybe ten. We have a big shipment of merchandise coming in after closing and we have to mark it, add it to the inventory, and stock the shelves."

"I'll ask for permission," Harry said.

"Did you come in by floo?" Basil asked as Harry turned to go back downstairs to head to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Yeah."

"Use ours. You can come into ours tomorrow too. "The password is Liber Amans, the location is Flourish And Blotts."

Harry stared up at the ceiling, trying to work over the Latin words in his head. They didn't outright teach Latin at Hogwarts, but because a lot of the spells were in Latin students picked up a working knowledge of it. "Book lover?" Harry asked. Basil smiled.

"Come as early as you can," he said.

Harry thanked them and moved for the mantle, which was half hidden by stacks of boxes holding books. He turned though and asked, "Do you want a knut for using the floo?"

Bennet waved him away. "Staff use only, so it's free."

Harry thanked them again and floo'd back to Hogwarts, whispering the password under his breath and hoping that would work. It did, and a moment later he came out of the floo in the staff lounge behind the Great Hall. This time it wasn't empty, and he stared at a startled Professor Flitwick.

"Back from work Mr. Potter?"

"Er, yes sir," he told the tiny man, who was dipping a biscuit in his coffee.

"Did you have a pastry this morning on your way through?"

"No sir, I swear. I didn't steal any."

Flitwick laughed. "If you're passing through for work you might as well have a pastry. It's not like the elves can't replace them."

"Thank you sir," Harry said. "Good evening." He moved for the door, but Flitwick stopped him with a question.

"Busy day with all the students getting books?"

"Very busy," Harry said, and was surprised when Flitwick motioned him to one of the empty chairs in front of the mantle.

Harry sat down, unsure of what the man wanted. Usually the only times he had interactions with staff where he was asked to sit with them was to discuss poor grades, or get in trouble and be chastised. Flitwick didn't seem in a sour mood though, so Harry tried to relax.

"What is it you do there for them?"

Harry described what he'd done all summer, some of the things he had learned, and how he had spent the day restocking inventory and running the register.

"Do you find it to be interesting?"

"Some of it," he said. "Mostly it's a lot of hard work. I got a twenty minute break today, that was all. Tomorrow I have to go until nine or ten at night. There's a big shipment coming in and we have to take care of it before we leave."

Harry expected the Charms Professor to ask him more about work, but instead he redirected his line of questioning and asked, "Do you like living with Professor Snape?"

"Erm-"

"I won't tell him what you say," Flitwick reassured him.

"It's different than I'm used to," Harry said. "Not- bad, just different."

"I see. But do you like it?" he pressed.

Harry shrugged and looked down. "It's where I have to be if I wanna stay at Hogwarts. Professor Snape has been ok I guess. He gave me two Knuts this morning to use the floo, and got me new glasses. And we went on holiday over the weekend with the orphanage kids."

"You did?" Flitwick asked.

"Yeah, Snape had to chaperone so they'd have enough adults, becuase there's like twenty kids, plus me. We went to the beach and stayed in a big house, and then Professor Snape took all the older kids to a Falcons game." Harry's face lit up at the memory. "I thought Quidditch couldn't be more exciting, but it was so different than other games."

Flitwick changed his line of questioning again and asked Harry about the upcoming term and then told him he should get some dinner before it got too late. Harry told him good night and left the staff lounge, feeling oddly satisfied. He wasn't used to adults asking about his day or how he liked where he lived, aside from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley on the rare occasion he saw them, and Dumbledore very recently, though he was still trying to get used to that.

It was six fifteen when he got back to the dungeons.

"How long have you been in the castle?" Snape asked, though he didn't look up from the stack of papers. It was the same stack he'd been working on that morning when Harry had last seen him.

"Twenty minutes to six," Harry said. "Professor Flitwick stopped me to talk in the staff lounge."

"Did you eat dinner yet?" he checked several boxes on his parchment and flipped the page over to work on the next.

"Just a biscuit Professor Flitwick gave me."

"Tap the dinner table with your wand to get the elves to send dinner then."

Harry didn't head for the kitchen immediately and when Snape sensed this he paused in his work and looked up at Harry. "Sir, I'm supposed to stay late at work tomorrow. There's a shipment of books coming in they want me to work on. They said until nine or ten. They let me use their floo and said I could use it again tomorrow." Here Harry dug the second Knut out of his pocket and handed it back to Snape, but the man didn't take it.

"Keep it with you in case you have need of it for the floo in the future." He went back to his stack of papers. "You may stay until ten. If I decide to come check up on you tomorrow at any given time, I expect you to be where you have promised you will be."

"Yes sir. We might be upstairs in the office if you come after hours or during lunch time."

Snape waved him away in dismissal and Harry ate a quick dinner and then collapsed onto his bed, arms aching from carrying heavy books all day, and mind tired from the long day at work.

* * *

The next day Harry eyed the table of pastries again as he made his way through the staff room to the floo. Professor Flitwick had said he could take one, so he darted across the room and snagged a flaky pastry with white filling and raspberry jam spilling out the ends. He ate half and then stepped into the floo, glad when he reappeared upstairs in Flourish and Blotts that his remaining pastry hadn't been singed. He scarfed it down and licked his fingers clean before heading down the stairs to start work.

Work was exhausting just like the previous day, but the difference was when the shop closed at five thirty, their work was just beginning. They didn't break for dinner right away as Basil and Bennet had to sign for almost forty huge boxes of books, and they had to wheel them into the shop where they'd be safe. It was almost seven when that task was accomplished and a gangly teen wizard, probably newly graduated from Hogwarts, showed up at the door with bags of Muggle takeout.

Harry signed for the delivery and handed the payment in Sickles and Knuts to the delivery guy, and brought the food upstairs. It was fried rice, dumplings with meat, and spicy soup. Harry had had his fill at lunch of sandwiches, but he was starving now and ate until his stomach was fit to burst.

"Was work hard today?" Bennet asked as Harry finished eating.

"Yeah," and he eyed some of the boxes over the railing downstairs they had yet to even dig into.

"Was there anything you looked forward to all day?" Bennet asked.

"Uh, going to sleep tonight," Harry said, and Basil snorted. "And lunch and dinner," he said.

"Best guess why we feed the employees when hours are long and work is harder than normal," Bennet instructed Harry, and suddenly Harry knew why.

"Makes work seem less like work if there's something to look forward to," Harry said. "At school they keep the staff room stocked with coffee, tea, pastries and biscuits."

Basil nodded. "Seems about right. Some places give extra pay to employees who have to work longer hours, or bonus pay when holidays are coming up. Others give awards for the hardest working employees. We've never done it, but I've heard of big companies doing a yearly party or get together, especially after a busy season or a big push to get a product out or sold. Happy workers are good workers."

Harry thought that made a lot of sense.

"Now happy workers," Bennet said, "we have boxes of books to open, inventory, mark and shelve."

"I'll take inventory," Basil said. "Bennet, you can mark them, Harry, you take boxes of books we're finished with and shelve them. If a box is too heavy let us know and we'll levitate it for you."

Harry opened a few boxes and then waited as Basil did a quick inventory and Bennet set to work marking them. As soon as the first box was done (Herbology text books for first year), he got low against the box and used his body weight to push the huge thing to the far end of the shop near the entrance to Knockturn and began shelving books. Harry was barely finished when Bennet was calling out that a book of Defense texts was done and Harry pushed his empty box aside to hurry to get the next one.

Harry's back and arms were aching, but the mood was light as the brothers joked and laughed. Basil finished the inventory after only half an hour and sat in the center of the floor next to Bennet to mark books. They asked Harry things occasionally about life at school or his friends, and also about his recent holiday to the beach, and Harry was glad his mind was being kept busy as he worked. His mind was kept so busy in fact that he hadn't looked at his watch at all, and realized it was nearing midnight when they had finished. His stomach fell when he realized how late it was.

"What's wrong?" Bennet asked, seeing the look on his face.

"Snape is going to kill me. I'm dead. I was supposed to be back at ten."

"He came by at ten fifteen and peeked in the door, saw you working, nodded at us and left."

"No no no no," Harry said, feeling panicky. "He's gonna make me pay for making him come find me. He said he would."

"If he wanted you home that bad he would have taken you at ten," Basil said. "Do you want me to come back to the castle with you?"

Harry did want him to come back. Snape might not murder him if he had someone with him, but then Harry realized he was supposed to be a business man, not a scared child. Podmore's little lessons came flooding back to him. He straightened up and said, "No, I'll handle it. Thank you. I should have been more responsible with keeping an eye on the time."

Basil looked at Bennet and said, "Where did our little Harry go?"

"He's all grown up," Bennet teased, and Harry's cheeks turned red.

"Before you go, we have something for you," Bennet said, "though if you want to come back another day and collect it, I understand since you're already late."

"What is it?"

"You've worked hard without pay this summer, and you've done well. I was skeptical about taking on a twelve or thirteen year old, but I don't think I could have worked harder myself than you have. We want you to pick out twenty books and they're yours. Any twenty. Even your school books if you want."

Harry stared at them, mouth open. "I really want some of the books. Will you be offended if I let my friends have a few?"

"It's your payment, you can do whatever you want with it and we won't be offended."

"Can I come back later this week to pick out my books?"

"Of course."

Harry turned circles in the midst of the forty empty boxes and finally found what he was looking for. He grabbed a scrap of parchment and a pen from the counter and scribbled something down, then handed it to Bennet.

"Hermione Granger four books, Ginny Weasley two books, Ron Weasley one book, Justin FinchFletchy one book."

"Wait, I forgot one," Harry said, and Bennet gave him the parchment back. "My friend Bellamy at the Lighthouse. He can't come out in the day, but if you could owl him that he can pick any two books free, maybe you could send the books by owl. Would that be ok? Then my friends get ten books and I get ten books."

"You sure?" Bennet asked.

"Yeah, when Hermione comes in and you tell her she can pick four free books, I think she might cry. You should see how many she checks out from the library every year."

"Good man," Basil said, slapping Harry on the back. "Spreading the spirit of liber amans everywhere. Now it's four minutes to twelve and you'd better get going or Snape will kill us."

"Maybe I should have offered him a free book," Harry said as he thanked the brothers and rushed up the stairs to use the floo.

He was out of breath when he stepped through into the staff lounge a minute later. Professor McGonagall was sitting by the fire with a tartan blanket wrapped around her shoulders, reading a book and sipping a cup of tea.

"Ah, there you are. I was beginning to wonder."

"Maam?"

"Severus said you were working late. I was waiting up for you."

"I'm so sorry," he said. "I didn't realize the time and we didn't finish until twenty minutes ago."

She waved him away. "He said when he checked in on you you were working hard pushing large boxes across the shop. You must be tired. You left before eight this morning didn't you?"

"Yes Professor."

"Did you get to eat?"

"Uh, Professor Flitwick said I could have a pastry from the table, and at lunch I had a couple sandwiches. They brought in Chinese takeout for dinner."

"Do you want a snack before bed?"

"No thank you," he said. "Professor Snape is gonna be upset if I don't hurry back."

She gave him a knowing smile.

"Are you done working for the week then? Since the start of term is Friday?"

"I think so," he said. "I think most of the school came through to buy their books the last two days."

She didn't ask him to take a seat like Flitwick had, but she did ask if he wanted a cup of tea, which he declined, anxious to get back to the dungeon quarters. "One last question, only out of curiosity Harry," she said. "What did they pay you this summer? I understand you worked for them several days a week."

"Knowledge," Harry said. "I got to learn how to run a bookstore." She smiled, and then Harry remembered the books he'd just been offered. "Oh! And books," he said. "Twenty books, only I told them to give some to my friends. Hermione's gonna lose her mind when they tell her she can pick free books." He laughed and she smiled at him and bade him goodnight.

Harry ran down the stairs to the dungeons and practically flew through the halls. He was hoping to avoid Filch and was happy he didn't see the man or his cat or get stopped by any other Professors who might be out this late.

He was surprised when he didn't find Snape waiting up for him in the living room waiting to tell him off. He went into the kitchen but it was empty aside from a plate of food with a heating charm at his spot at the table. What was going on? Where was the yelling and the punishing and the recriminations?

Harry looked back into the darkened living room to be sure Snape wasn't hiding in a dark corner and then went down the hall to the bathroom to get ready for bed. What an odd night. He'd been surprised to find McGonagall waiting up for him (and he really felt bad that he'd made her stay up this late), but he was floored that Snape wasn't waiting with a long list of nasty names and accusations for him. He would have bet a hundred Galleons the man had worked himself into a fury. But all was silent in the dungeon quarters.

Harry checked his room twice to be sure the man wasn't hiding in a corner with a charm to make him invisible, and then finally fell face first onto his bed, shoes still on and on top of his covers. Harry wanted to think more on it, and on McGonagall, and even on Flitwick from the night before, but he was too tired, and was asleep before he could even try.

* * *

Harry woke to empty quarters. Snape was out for the day again it seemed. Perhaps he was saving up all his yelling for later that evening. Harry would really rather get it all over with. But the moment he stepped out into the living room, his heart stopped beating. For a breath, two breaths. Oh no. Why were there broom boxes piled by the hearth?

There was a parchment taped to the top box and Harry stepped forward to look at it, hands trembling. ‘Mr. Potter, here are the potential future line of brooms to be sold by the company. No need to send them back. We would like your input and commentary on changes you wish to be made, as well as which brooms, styles and names you would prefer. We have included a survey, but feel free to add your own commentary where desired. Please respond at your own convenience.'

Five brand new racing brooms. No, twelve. Thirteen? This, Snape would kill him for.

* * *

Severus sipped his mug of coffee as he made his way back to his quarters. He needed to get Potter up before it was too late in the day. The boy had worked late, (according to Minerva until almost midnight), but this was the only day Severus could take him to get his school things and clothes, and the train and start of year feast was Friday. It was Wednesday and this had to be the day they went.

He unlocked the door to his quarters with the password and opened the door to find Potter sitting on the living room floor in the midst of several long white boxes. At first Severus wondered if the Flourish brothers had sent work home with him, but his eyes narrowed when he saw an open box on the top with the end of a broom sticking out.

His eyes found Harry, who was frozen, eyes glued to him.

"I'm not keeping them all sir honest." When Severus didn't answer, Potter launched himself into an explanation, words almost frenetic as he hurried to get them all out. "The broom company wanted my input. They asked me to come to the factory but I didn't have time. I didn't know they were going to send all these brooms. I would never clutter up your living room sir, I promise. I'll send them all back. I just can't stash them in the common room or the other boys will go crazy and I'll never get them back." He finally took in a huge breath as it seemed he had run out of air, and stared wide eyed at his Potions Professor.

Severus strode forward to look at the broom in the top box. It was wrapped in white paper, though Harry had already pulled the paper away when he'd opened it to look inside. The broom was sleek and had a black handle and twigs. "Really Potter? The Potter 2000?" he read the golden lettering down the handle. "You had them name a broom after you?"

Harry shook his head mutely.

"No? What's the S7 on the handle?" he asked warily.

"Uh... it's my number on the field sir. Seeker 7."

"I thought you said you were returning them all?"

"Well, I think they were hoping I'd approve that one since they put my name on it and keep it for free advertising."

"I see," he said. The boy looked anxious enough to be sick, and Severus wondered if he was just tired from the night before or if he was going to pass out right there.

"You need to get dressed. We need to go to Diagonalley and out to Muggle London as well."

"Sir, please don't yell at Basil and Bennet. It was my fault I wasn't paying attention to the time and-" Snape held up his hand and Harry bit his lip to keep quiet.

"While I am displeased that you failed to return on time, or notify me that you would be later than expected, I understand that it can be easy to become consumed in your work. See that it does not happen again."

"Yes sir." Harry deflated, almost visibly as though he was a punctured balloon.

"When you did not return at the appointed time, I went to Diagonalley and found you hard at work. Given that you were being supervised and looked far from finished for the night, I allowed you to stay."

Harry swallowed, waiting for the rest, but there was nothing more forthcoming.

"I need to see what clothing you have before we leave."

"Sir?"

He motioned towards the hall leading to the bedrooms and bathroom and Harry led the way feeling awkward. He opened his trunk and the wardrobe and stood back. Maybe the man was checking for contraband or looking for expensive clothes to put him down for. Podmore had always accused him of spending ‘willy nilly' and Snape had done as much suggesting he had asked for ‘too nice' of things from the Headmaster.

"You'll need another sweat jacket, and a warm winter coat. Gloves, a hat. Socks and underwear, school robes and uniform, pajamas, pants and shirts." He looked around the floor to see what shoes Harry had and spied his dress shoes for going to court and the sandals the Headmaster had bought him for holiday. The only other shoes Harry had were a pair of worn out trainers he wore every day. "New shoes as well," he said. "Where are your dragonhide gloves for Potions?"

Harry dug through his trunk and came out with the pair he'd bought in first year. They were scorched in a few places and the thread was coming undone on several fingers.

"A new pair of dragonhide gloves as well. I would be seen as negligent if I let my ward burn his fingers in Potions."

Snape waved for Harry to follow him out of the room. Harry grabbed his trainers and struggled to put them on as he walked and hopped after Snape. "You can clean the brooms up when we get back. It's already ten and we will need to hurry if we are to get everything today. I do not have time to take you shopping for school items tomorrow."

Harry was stunned, and didn't know why he hadn't realized until that moment that Snape meant to take him shopping. "Yes sir," he said, trying not to stare and look stupid.

They used the floo to get to the Leaky Cauldron and made quick work of getting the items on Harry's shopping list from the apothecary and Madam Malkins. When they got to Flourish and Blotts Harry said, "Sir, I need a few extra minutes to pick out my books."

"You don't have the location of your school texts memorized by now?" Snape asked, brows raised.

"Erm, for payment I get to pick out ten extra books... for working all summer and staying late. It's a bonus."

"I see." He looked at his watch. "Twenty minutes. Anything beyond that and you will have to return tomorrow on your own."

Harry practically skipped across the shop to the Quidditch section and began browsing books. He was back in twenty minutes with his ten books and the stack of school textbooks.

"Got your books all picked out?" Basil asked with a grin and Harry nodded. "Been busy. Have half a mind to snag you to run the register, but I expect you need a day to get your school things yourself or you'll end up at school with nothing to write with."

Harry grinned. "Some years I do end up at school with nothing to write with. My friends let me borrow their things."

"Ah, so that's why you're giving half your books away. Justin came in earlier and picked his out, and we sent an owl off to Belamy this morning and a catalogue of what we have in stock or can get for him."

Harry grinned as they rang him up for his school texts and then as Snape came over and paid for the schoolbooks.

"See you over the holidays," Bennet called as Harry and Snape headed for the door, and Harry turned back to flash both brothers a smile.

"Where would you prefer to get your stationary items?" Severus asked.

"Magic Mart," Harry said. "They brought in a new line of Muggle notebooks and pens to bring customers in. They have quills and ink too."

"I need to go back to the apothecary for something I forgot. I will find you at Magic Mart in twenty minutes."

"Yes sir."

They split up and Harry headed for Knockturn, happy to see that there were several families coming from it with bags from Ollivander's, Magic Mart and Tilly's shop.

He had barely stepped two feet down Knocturn Alley when someone grabbed his shoulder and hauled him backwards.

"Harry James Potter!" Mrs. Weasley scolded him, and Harry wheeled around to find her along with Ron and his siblings. "I'm surprised at you!"

"Mrs. Weasley?" he frowned in question.

"You know better than to go down Knockturn Alley young man. With what happened last summer when you came out the wrong fireplace, I thought you would have learned your lesson. That is no place for a reputable young man to find himself for any reason."

Harry wanted to laugh, and struggled not to, but in the end the laugh escaped anyway. Ron gave him a wide eyed look from behind his mother and shook his head ‘no' to warn him off from laughing, but Harry said, "It's ok Mrs. Weasley. Knocturn is all right."

"I may not be your mother Harry, but Lily would be upset with me if I didn't discourage you from making poor choices."

"No, I mean, the alley has changed." Harry motioned behind him with his hand and just then several small children ran out of the alley giggling with large puffs of light blue and pink candy floss. Mrs. Weasley's eyes travelled up to the white flower baskets hanging on the walls and spilling over with pink and purple flowers and green vines, and then back down as a father and daughter stepped down the alley together. Harry spied a bright pink coupon for Tilly's shop in the little girl's hand. It was promising candy floss or a bag of gummy snakes.

Harry took Mrs. Weasley's hand and she looked down to see who the hand belonged to, and let her eyes follow up the arm until she met Harry's green eyes.

"It's not dark and dangerous anymore," Harry said leading her towards the alley. "I don't think it ever really was. It just needed some love and attention and so did the people who work here. It's ok, come on. I'll show you."

She was so stunned that Harry had taken her hand at all that she let him lead her down the alley.

Mr. Weasley came up behind them then and ran into Severus, though he didn't notice him there. "But how-" Mr. Weasley asked, just as stunned as his wife at how bright and clean the alley looked.

After Severus cleared his throat behind him, Mr. Weasley turned and saw him. "Harry did it," Severus said.

"Harry did this?" he asked. "A- all of it?"

Snape crossed his arms. "Like all Potters he is a pest. Persistent and annoyingly stubborn. However-" he paused and Arthur raised his brows, uncertain if what was coming would be an insult or not. He knew how Severus felt about Harry and how he'd felt about James. "-it seems to have worked out in everyone's favor this time."

Arthur smiled. "Yes, it seems it has," he said. They watched as several more children ran out of the alley with pale pink candy floss. "You know," Arthur said, "I remember coming here as a boy to buy food from Magic Mart with my parents. The alley was in decline but not as bad as it's been the last fifteen years. This looks far better than I remember."

"Apparently Harry's rash decision making and over spending has fixed the issue."

Arthur smiled again and said, "I heard you took him Severus... after the hearing didn't go his way."

"Because I am as rash as he is."

"Seems to have worked out though," Arthur said, reflecting the dark eyed man's earlier statement. When Severus didn't say anything, Arthur chuckled and walked down the alley to find his family. Severus waited several moments before he followed, certain he would find Potter dawdling and not getting his supplies now that his friends were there.

"I just can't believe it," Mrs. Weasley was saying as she sat in a chair in the courtyard at the end, looking around at the flowers in the multitude of hanging baskets. Arthur had just joined her. "And the orphanage... it's never looked this good. Not even when I was younger."

Severus ignored the couple oggling the new state of the alley to go into Magic Mart. Harry was with his friends, but they were in the new stationary aisle.

"Whatever you want," Harry was telling them, "I'll get it. I have an account."

"Are you sure Harry?" Ron asked, as if he was crazy.

"Just put it in a basket. Get all your paper and pens."

"I believe you have been warned about your overspending before Mr. Potter," Severus said, leaning against the end of the aisle with his arms crossed.

"I didn't mean for you to have to pay for it sir. I have an account with them. It'll come out of my personal funds."

"I am not allowed to tell you how to spend your funds from your personal account. I am however allowed to encourage you not to empty your account in one day."

"I won't sir, I promise," he said, and tried to draw his friend's attention away from the strange exchange they'd just witnessed between Harry and their least favorite professor.

"Well I'm getting some red pens then if Harry's buying," Ron said, and threw a pack of red Muggle pens into the basket his sister had picked up. Several boxes of pens in different colors, Muggle lined notebooks in a variety of colors, and enough bottles of ink and packs of new quills followed into the basket to last the Weasley twins, Ron and Ginny to the end of the year. Severus noted Harry had already put several notebooks in shades of blue and black into his own basket, as well as boxes of muggle pens and pencils, and bottles of ink and a new quill set.

When Mrs. Weasley came in a minute later and saw the basket full to the brim of supplies her children were carrying she clucked her tongue at them. "You know that's too much. We can re-trim your quills from last year and I'm planning on making new ink tonight."

"But Mum," Fred whined slightly. "Harry's buying."

"It's ok Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, "I got it."

"Harry dear, it's too much."

"I promise it's not. Let me get it this time."

Harry was greeted by Munroe McGlaggen at the counter, smiling from ear to ear. "Business is booming Harry!" he shouted and laughed. "Never thought I'd see it this busy again! More and more customers each day and did you see the piece the Prophet wrote about the new tea shop across the courtyard? Curious witches have been flooing directly into that shop for the last week just to peek through the windows to see what's out in the courtyard!" He laughed as he began ringing the two baskets up. "Coupons have worked miracles, especially at Tilly's. Old woman has been laughing non-stop for almost two weeks. Her coupons have been bringing so many people in I made more and paid for them myself! Might just have to keep handing them out all year!"

"Coupons?" Ron asked his mother. "What's that?"

In response Munroe pulled out five pink coupons and handed them to Harry's friends. "Take them next door to Tantalizing Sweets and she'll give you something sweet for free!"

"On your account Harry?" he asked a minute later, and Harry nodded, but Snape stepped in and said, "not this basket," motioning to Harry's own school supplies. Albus had been clear that all of Harry's items were to come out of a set of funds he'd given Severus access to.

"We must still go to get clothing," Snape told Harry as they exited Magic Mart.

Harry nodded and turned to his friends. "We have to go out into Muggle London, but I'll see you on the train. Did you go to Flourish and Blotts yet?"

"Yeah!" Ron said happily, "they gave me and Ginny free books! Imagine! It's like we won the lottery twice since we got to go to Egypt for free this summer too!"

Harry grinned at Ron and gave him a thumbs up and then followed Snape out through Double Lane into Muggle London.

Snape knew of a different clothing store than the one Dumbledore had taken him to, and directed Harry to get a certain number of shirts, pairs of pants, pajama bottoms, and other things to fill out his wardrobe. He followed Harry around as he put things in a basket, but said nothing aside from to comment things occasionally like, "pick a warmer coat," or, "those gloves will not keep your hands free of frostbite."

By the end of their shopping trip when they returned to Hogwarts through the floo in the Leaky Cauldron, arms full of bags with books, clothes, robes and supplies, Harry was overtired and ready for a nap, though it was dinner time.

"Put your things away," Snape said. "You can pack them into your trunk tomorrow if you wish."

"Yes sir. Thank you for taking me."

Severus nodded and went to make himself a strong cup of tea. He'd expected the day to be exhausting and trying. While it had been a tiresome day navigating the crowds on the alleys and then out in Muggle London, it wasn't as bad as he had expected it to be. He had expected Potter to gravitate towards the most expensive supplies and clothes, but he hadn't. He didn't even consider the best robes Madam Malkin's had to offer, or the most expensive supplies McGlaggen had on the shelves at Magic Mart. He didn't put the most expensive third year potions kit into his basket at the apothecary, and he gravitated towards the thinnest coats and gloves on offer in the clothing store, making Severus have to prompt him repeatedly to make warmer choices.

Perhaps the Headmaster had not been exaggerating about taking Potter to the Quidditch Expo. The more time he spent around the boy, the more unassuming Potter seemed to be. The only time the boy tended to spend a lot of money was when his friends were involved, or the orphanage needed something, or he was repairing buildings or making changes to the alleys. Case in point, the twice yearly holiday outings he was now funding for the orphanage. He hadn't even suggested planning one for himself.

Severus drank his tea and thought on it for almost half an hour before he went to call Potter to remind him to eat. Potter was asleep on top of his blanket again though, wearing one of his new shirts and new pairs of dark gray pajama bottoms. He would eat later if he woke up hungry, Severus told himself, and left the Gryffindor there to his nap, knowinig how little sleep the boy got on a nightly basis.