Chapter 22 - Take Root

Having dropped Holly off at Lucius’s office, Harry quickly makes his way to the library, where Luna awaits him.

There’s still time before the library closes and Madam Pince kicks everyone out for the night. He doesn’t have much homework to finish – he only needs to complete the conclusion to his Astronomy essay, half of his Ancient Runes, and proofread his Charms homework.

DADA and Potions were the only classes that did not yet have homework. Having missed Monday’s lesson due to the incident with Snape, Lucius had spent the class time explaining the course aims, what they needed to expect for the OWL years and what spells they should have learned already. Ron had been doubly glad he no longer had to attend DADA with Lucius when Harry and Hermione told him they’d spent the class completing a quiz the blond would use to see who needed to be caught up and which areas.

And regarding Potions, though homework was assigned at the end of the first class, Dumbledore had cancelled that instruction due to Snape’s suspension. Only Hermione had been unhappy about that.

“Hi, Luna,” Harry whispers breathlessly as he races over to where Luna is sitting.

“Hello, Harry,” Luna greets him serenely, a pleased smile on her lips.

Harry sits next to Luna, feeling shy all of a sudden. Between Holly, his homework and his prefect duties, he feels like he’s been ignoring Luna without meaning to: though it’s only the end of the first week, Harry feels he’s done enough homework for a month. The professors all act like the OWL exams will happen in weeks instead of the following May. Even Hermione, who loves learning and completing homework, looks frazzled.

And though being Prefect feels like a huge honour, Harry finds it’s only adding more to his already overflowing workload.

“I’m sorry I’ve not been able to see you as much since school started,” Harry offers his quiet apology as he unpacks his bag.

“I don’t mind, Harry,” Luna replies with the same pleased smile. “I know you’ve been spending time with Holly. I don’t have any siblings of my own, but I imagine if I had a sister like her, I’d want to spend time with her as well.”

Harry smiles in relief, grateful she understands. He never doubted she would. Luna has been much more serene about Holly’s presence in Harry’s life than Ron and Hermione have. Hermione might hide it better, but Harry knows his friend well enough to see that she has issues with his sister. He had debated confronting her about it but, in the end, decided that as long as they didn’t hurt Holly, there was no need to push the issue.

Neville accepted Holly’s presence with much more aplomb, though the other boy spent more time with Professor Sprout than in the Common Room - he wasted no time returning to the Herbology club.

They spend the next forty minutes completing their homework. It doesn’t take him long to finish his Astronomy work, proofread his Charms essay, and make minor corrections. He finishes his Ancient Runes work quickly, deciding to revise it the next day, and takes the opportunity to help Luna with some of her Arithmancy work, which is the last of her homework. Essays completed, they pack away their belongings and walk out of the library together.

Harry walks with Luna towards her Common Room, taking her hand as soon as they clear the library. She gives him another smile, though this one is shyer than the one she gave him before. Seeing a chance, he pulls her behind a tapestry and looks behind him to see if she minds. She doesn’t seem to, giving the same trusting look she had before.

They stop further down, and Harry drops his bag from his shoulders, tugging on hers and dropping it beside his. He takes her hands in his, gently caressing her knuckles with the pad of his thumb.

He clears his throat nervously.

“You truly don’t mind that we’ve not seen each other much this week?” Harry presses.

Luna lays her head on his shoulder, pressing closer to him.

“No,” she whispers. “We spent half the summer together at Headquarters. And I know you missed her terribly.”

“Yeah,” he agrees, clearing his throat once more. Releasing her hands, he holds her waist, nervously wondering if he should pull her closer. “I did. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I’d been writing to her all along.”

“You don’t have to tell me all your secrets if you don’t want to,” Luna reassures him, and Harry feels her fingers tickling the back of his neck as she plays with his hair. His skin tingles where her fingers graze him.

“I will share some stuff with you,” Harry promises, pulling back to look into her eyes so she knows he’s serious. “One day. It’s just… not stuff- it’s not all my stuff to share.”

“I trust you, Harry,” Luna says simply.

Harry smiles and sighs, relieved at her presence.

He leans in for a small taste of her lips, which is naive of him as it turns into something more. Pulling Luna so close that even a piece of parchment could pass between them, he moves his lips over hers, sighing at her warmth. Her hands move into his hair, and his hands travel from her waist, up her back and rest on her shoulders.

A sudden noise startles them, and Harry pulls back abruptly, heart hammering. They both look around to see if anyone is there, but they are still alone and burst out laughing nervously when they look at each other again.

“I better walk you down to your Common Room,” Harry says reluctantly. He reaches down to grab both their bags, still keeping hold of hers, but takes her hand in his again.

“Ron’s parents agreed to let them drop Defence and let me tutor them instead,” Harry informs Luna as they continue their walk.

“That’s great,” Luna replies. “Ginny likes to show she’s confident, but I don’t think she was ready to see Professor Malfoy.”

“I’ll be tutoring all of them every week. I need to see McGonagall tomorrow to note what days are best, but she told Ron and the others that if their parents agree, she’ll let us use the empty Transfiguration classroom next to hers.”

Luna nods, showing that she is listening.

Harry swallows nervously.

“You can join us if you want,” he adds quickly.

She freezes on the spot and turns to look at him in comical surprise.

“Not that I think you need tutoring,” Harry tacks on rapidly. “I mean, you’re already brilliant, and I don’t think you need help. But you know, Hermione’s really smart as well, and she’ll be joining us because she said it’ll be good practical experience for OWLs to learn the spells as much as possible. And Neville will be joining because he’s always looking to practice his wand work. And I thought maybe you’d like to join as well because you’ll get some practice in, and you could keep Ginny company because she’s the only fourth-year student. And I also thought maybe we could spend more time together too.”

Harry has to pause to breathe and anxiously waits for her to answer, hoping she understands everything.

“Of course,” she tells him with another pleased smile. “I’d love to join you.”

“Great,” Harry beams at her, relieved.

They reach outside the Ravenclaw Common Room several minutes later, where he kisses her goodbye, a little self-conscious of the statue. Harry would like to think he’s not stupid; however, he’s glad he doesn’t have to answer a riddle to get into his Common area as the Ravenclaws have to.

Harry dreamily walks back to Gryffindor Tower, absently giving the password to the portrait. Waving to his friends, he climbs the stairs to his dorms and begins getting ready for bed, not noticing the blue eyes watching him almost resentfully.

ooOoo

Following Holly to the Gym near the Transfiguration classroom, Lucius begins to have misgivings about losing his Saturday morning to something so unknown. He and Holly had a routine of spending an hour together every evening before school started, and some of those evenings were spent doing some sort of workout. Holly had taught him a warm-up routine that consisted of push-ups, sit-ups, star jumps and squats. The exercises were enough to have Lucius break out into a light sweat, easily handled with a Freshening Charm.

Holly had advised him last night that he would be better showering after the workout. That morning, she insisted he eats something light, such as fruit and some eggs, rather than his usual Full English. Consequently, Lucius feels hungry from the lack of filling food and grit from a lack of his early morning shower. She’d given him an odd look at his clothes, but Lucius didn’t have anything she would consider suitable for her type of workout.

Still, he follows Holly, who is decked out in something she called a leotard and leggings. It’s skin-tight and blue-coloured. Lucius insisted she cover it with a small cloak, which she wears like a cape. However, he’s confused about why she stops every so often, balancing on one leg with the other sticking out, both arms stretched out in front of her, and her hands curled into fists.

Finally, they reach the room in question. They hear voices coming from inside as they approach the door, which has already been propped open.

Holly races ahead with an excited smile, Lucius following behind at a slower pace.

“Hiya, Harry,” she calls out before she even enters. “Hiya, Dean.”

“Morning, midget,” a voice, not Potter’s, replies.

“Have you had breakfast?” Potter asks.

“Yes,” she answers as Lucius enters the room. He listens to Holly with half an ear as she tells Potter what breakfast she’s eaten with Lucius. The blond is busy taking in the layout of the room. It’s an old Transfiguration classroom that’s been expanded magically to be three times its normal size. 

Some equipment has been laid, some he recognises, like the pull-up bar and the weight racks. There are skipping ropes and yoga mats hanging from hooks on the far wall. However, there is plenty of other equipment he doesn’t recognise at all.

Potter and another boy, Dean Thomas, sit on large padded boxes.

Thomas, wearing shorts and a vest, is drenched in sweat, gulping down water as if he’s been on a desert for weeks, and then splashes some over his face with an almost obscene-sounding relieved noise.

Potter is wearing a grey short-sleeved t-shirt that comes to just above his elbows and black sweatpants. He recognises the clothes from his trip to Muggle Manchester; Holly had tried to persuade him to get some when they’d been at Sports Direct, but he’d resisted. He’d regretted it when they were doing their workouts, but Lucius had magically adjusted his trousers to something more suitable for that type of exercise.

“Are you staying for round three?” Potter asks Thomas, patting the empty space beside him for Holly. Potter has also worked up a sweat, his pits and neckline damp.

“Nah, I’m done. I’m going to go shower, relax for a bit and then come watch you lot at the Quidditch tryouts.”

“All right,” Potter nods. “I’ll catch you at the pitch later.”

Thomas heaves himself up, gives Lucius a polite “Professor” in his direction, calls Holly a midget again, and leaves.

“How long have you been here?” Holly asks once Thomas leaves.

“A little over an hour,” Potter tells her. “Dean and I did a warm-up together, and then I kept him company with some of his routine. I’ll do another workout with you. Are you joining us, Professor?”

Potter gives his clothes a dubious look, but Holly answers before Lucius can.

“Yeah, he is. Can you change his clothes?”

Lucius is wearing a white button-down shirt and formal trousers, and his shoes are shiny. Potter even gives his footwear a questionable look.

“Would you mind if I changed your clothes, sir?” Potter asks politely.

The blond gives his permission, trying not to tense up as Potter points his wand at him. Two quick spells later, his expensive shirts and pants are changed into something cotton and loose-fitting.

“I don’t want to mess up your shoes, so it might be better to take them off completely since you don’t have trainers.”

Holly nods sagely at Potter’s words.

“We’ll take off our shoes as well,” the boy offers, proceeding to do just that.

Hesitantly, Lucius copies him as Holly does the same. Potter had done him the courtesy of keeping his sleeves long to cover his Dark Mark. He’s done it for Holly’s sake, he knows it. Yet, oddly enough, exposing his bare feet makes him feel naked.

“Holly said you’ve been doing a light workout. I’ll show you some of our equipment here and take you through a similar routine to what we usually do for gymnastics,” Potter explains.

Lucius listens carefully as Potter shows him most of the equipment. There’s a lot more packed away into various storage trunks labelled Quidditch, Gymnastics (which is mostly empty), General and Games.

He sees some rings dangling down from the ceiling, a pommel horse, parallel bars, asymmetric bars and a balance beam, as Potter explains what each is. The blond spends fifteen minutes completing stretches and a warm-up routine with his transfigured t-shirt sticking to his back and guzzling down water with the same greediness he saw Thomas do earlier. Then, he spends another half watching Potter and Holly doing their own routines. Holly is on the balance beam, with Lucius observing her with part anxiety and awe. He’s seen her do a similar routine on the ground, which is impressive enough, but it’s different to see her do it on a narrow piece of wood.

Potter, likewise, is doing something equally awe-inspiring on the suspended rings before moving onto the parallel bars. Both have a confidence and flexibility that Lucius finds himself envying.

The boy pushes him to complete his exercises much harder than Holly had been doing for the last month or so. Lucius finds himself gritting his teeth as Potter leads him through many more reps than Holly had him completing. By the end, Lucius is sore, bruised and smelling like he’s bathed in grindylow piss. His beautiful blond hair looks like damp straw.

“Are you okay, Uncle Luc?” Holly leans over his horizontal body. His view of the ceiling is blocked by Holly’s concerned face and Potter’s somewhat neutral one.

Potter’s hair is as damp as Lucius’s, though it seems to be in better shape, despite always looking like a Fwooper nest.

Lucius keeps his mouth shut lest he releases a groan showing how much pain he is in. If only he could stop his chest from heaving as much as it is. He wishes he could show he is unaffected by all that Potter put him through, but truthfully he can barely move a muscle.

“Can’t you help him, Harry?” Holly asks plaintively.

Lucius is almost too out of it to see Potter take out his wand. It happens much too fast for Lucius to truly appreciate how vulnerable he is. With a quick wave of his wand, Potter has not only dried the sweat from his body but also cast some sort of muscle relaxant spell. Lucius feels the tension drain from his body. As Potter didn’t cast a freshening charm, the blond feels and smells disgusting, and his hair is atrocious that only a shower and thorough shampoo will help it return to its original brilliant state.

“The spell won’t last long,” Potter informs him as Lucius cautiously moves to a sitting position. The ache is still there but somehow still more manageable. “It’s better to go to Madam Pomfrey for a Muscle soother. Even with that potion, it will take a few days to feel better. If you decide to come back and do more exercise with us, the ache won’t be as bad. We don’t do the same exercises every time because the workout isn’t as effective unless you switch it up.”

Lucius hears the silent challenge in the boy’s voice. Will you give up after this session because it hurts, or will you come back for more?

Lucius Malfoy has never backed away from a challenge and looking into the Boy-Who-Lived eyes, he is determined to come back.

“No reward is without effort, Potter,” Lucius tells the boy.

Green eyes glitter at the look of determination.

“It’s not, is it?”

ooOoo

Poppy Pomfrey exasperatedly treats Lucius like a child as she instructs him to take a mild painkiller and muscle soother. Both potions help considerably, though he is ordered to take a bath with special healing salts she provided him.

“Stay in the bath for at least thirty minutes for it to work,” she tells him. “And take this Muscle soother before bed; otherwise, you’ll wake up like a plank in the morning. Use Cushioning Charms to sit, but don’t lie down until it’s time for bed. Try not to sit for too long either; it’s important to keep moving around. Dress warmly. The cold won’t help with keeping your body from stiffening. Don’t be afraid to use  Warming Charms on your clothes.”

Potter and Holly wait patiently and discreetly away from Lucius’s bed, but Poppy looks over in their direction.

“Do either of you need anything?”

“We’re fine, Madam Pomfrey,” Potter answers for them both.

“Can I still go to the Quidditch pitch with Harry?” Holly gives him an anxious look.

Lucius takes precious seconds to remember that Potter still has to attend Quidditch tryouts for his team to replace their Keeper.

“Yes,” he agrees. “However, make sure you come back in time.”

A churlish look overcomes the child’s face as she understands why he wants her to return. They need to discuss going back to Severus’s quarters.

She nods grudgingly. Lucius has no doubt that she will discuss everything with Potter in great detail, and any agreement from Holly will depend on whatever he says to the girl. Potter could very well tell Holly to keep away from Severus and drive a further wedge between them, so Lucius thinks about communicating this to Potter to make him understand that he should not stand in the way between father and daughter. Only at that moment, Lucius fully comprehends just how much power the boy has over Holly and how much damage he can do to Severus and Holly’s budding relationship.

“Can I go now?” the girl asks without looking at Lucius. “Or do you need help walking back to your room?”

His lips twitch at the offer, appreciating the spirit it’s given in.

“I’ll manage, darling,” he replies gently.

She trudges over and gives him a hug, which he accepts with a smile that’s more of a grimace, though looking over at Potter, he sees the boy watching him with an unreadable look. He is still wondering how to ask Potter to talk to Holly to get back to Severus, but realises how powerless he is at that moment.

After watching them leave, the Matron asks: “Any other ails?” and Lucius realises he has permission to leave. Unfortunately, he also realises that he doesn’t feel ready to get up. 

Seeing this, Poppy helps him get more comfortable on the bed without having him lie down entirely. Then, she summons herself a chair and keeps him company, observing him carefully.

“The first time after such vigorous exercise can take a toll,” Poppy offers quietly when Lucius doesn’t say anything. “You’re not the first to come to me in such a condition.”

Before Lucius can decide whether he feels good about that, she continues, “Of course, the others who have come here in your condition are students.”

Lucius tries not to bristle at the unsaid fact that the students are much younger. He is not that old!

Poppy shoots him an amused look as if reading his mind.

“Magic certainly makes a body more resilient to things that would bring a muggle to their knees,” she muses. “However, it also gives them more endurance.”

Lucius can’t help the sneer at those words. What would a muggle know about endurance?

Poppy sees the sneer but doesn’t show any other reaction than raising her chin in defiance, and Lucius reminds himself to be careful not to piss off the resident Medi-witch.

“I’m sure you’re right,” he offers, attempting to be conciliatory.

Again, Poppy seems amused, as if she knows what he’s thinking. Out of paranoia, he tightens his Occlumency shields.

“Will you be joining Harry in their exercises again?” Poppy changes the topic.

Lucius hesitates before he can answer. While exercising with Holly, he had been pleased with his progress, happy, even, with his efforts. He had sweated slightly and even had a mild ache, but nothing like today. Holly had easily been able to keep up with Potter, and though Potter had looked how Lucius felt, like a drowned rat, it spoke volumes that the boy was able to take a break and still go attend Quidditch tryouts with his House. A combination of things that indicated that Potter had been going easy. And still, Lucius is struggling - something that he’s not used to. Physical exercise is something entirely new for the wizarding world. Apart from Quidditch, the most predominant careers that required such rigorous activity would be the Aurors, Hit-wizards and anyone who was part of the Duelling Arena, demanding to be in pique physical condition. There might have been some other careers that needed a witch or wizard to be in good physical condition, but nothing obvious came to mind. Perhaps a Dragon handler or Curse Breaker required to be in good condition, but that was more about having excellent reflexes.

“Would you happen to know how often Potter is in the Gym?” Lucius asks, only partly deflecting.

“Almost every day,” Poppy answers nonchalantly. “It’s mostly because of Harry that the room even exists.”

Lucius sends her a questioning look, but the Matron leans back in her seat, pinning him with a piercing look of her own.

“Do you know how many muggle sports there are worldwide?”

Holding back his annoyance at the random question, but also unable to contain his curiosity, the blond shakes his head, reluctantly admitting: “I only know Football seems to be a popular one.”

“There are close to eight thousand sports in the whole of the muggle world,” Poppy informs him and, before he can catch himself, Lucius blinks in astonishment.

That could not possibly be true!

“Muggleborn witches and wizards have been attending Hogwarts just as long as Purebloods have,” the witch continues. “And I have been at Hogwarts long enough to see them come and go. Children entering from the Muggle world leave behind their whole lives, and even from a young age, sports seem to be important to a lot of them. Some of them try to play while they attend. They find like minded individuals, gather together as a group and play a game every so often. They hang on to their games until the weather forces them to stop, and they fall out of the habit of playing football, or rugby or what have you, and by the time the weather becomes favourable once more, they have on with their lives and forget to bring muggle sports with them again.”

Lucius listens, intrigued against his will.

“So the trend continues. Every few years, someone will play for a while and then move on with the weather.” Giving Lucius an impish look, Poppy asks, “Would you believe Harry is the first person ever to ask for space inside the castle once the weather turned?”

 Lucius denies. “Surely not,”

Poppy chuckles, shaking her head at his denial.

“Harry came to Hogwarts wide-eyed and in awe. Having grown up with muggles,” she explains, and Lucius catches the strange inflection in her voice about the muggles, which he files away to think about later. “His chosen sport was gymnastics rather than football. Perhaps that was the difference. It’s a sport played indoors, so he immediately asked Minerva for space. When the weather was well, Harry practised outdoors, but he had a designated room inside, so he was also the only one to continue on a regular space. At first, it was just Harry and Dean Thomas. They were both regular patients of mine in the beginning before Minerva enacted some safety measures. She and Filius spelled the whole room with Cushioning Charms. In fact, Minerva and Filius quite enjoyed the challenge of putting that room together and ensuring the safety of the students. What started with Harry Potter and Dean Thomas eventually grew to include a few more muggle-born and half-blood students. Then I recall the Quidditch team joining. Even some pureblood students attend the room, though they are in the minority. Now, it’s even bigger than ever, and I can imagine that the room itself will continue to endure once Harry graduates.”

Lucius finds himself thinking about the Gym and the number of equipment. Before he can ask his next question, Poppy asks briskly, “Do you want to try standing up now? You don’t want your muscles to seize.”

Lucius stands up slowly, still feeling his body ache though the potions had thankfully kicked in. Poppy, having also stood up, pokes and prods him without her wand and makes him stretch his arms and legs to loosen his muscles.

“Perhaps try walking around a little,” she suggests.

The Matron studies Lucius carefully as he paces between the empty bed and nods in satisfaction.

“Don’t forget to take a bath with the healing salts. Hold on, I’ll fetch them for you. And your extra potions.”

Lucius, however, follows her to the store room stocked with all her healing potions and equipment.

“So, Potter is a regular attendee of the Gym?” Lucius asks, bringing them back to the original question. The boy was practically the Founder of the Gym room.

“I would say so,” Poppy throws over her shoulder as she roots through the room. “He’s there almost every day.”

Lucius closes his eyes in dread at the thought of doing that sort of exercise daily. However, he recalls the challenge in the boy’s eyes. The expectation in them that said he thought Lucius would give up.

“Will I feel like this every time?” Lucius asks. Lucius has earned everything in his life. He might have been born into money, but his father made him earn the title of being an heir and had trained his son quite harshly to look after the family name and finances. Abraxas also made Lucius earn the right to marry. He had loved Narcissa for years, and though their marriage was arranged, Abraxas refused to let them marry until he deemed Lucius ready. Even at the Dark Lord’s side, Lucius fought his way to the top and then fought to remain there. After the Dark Lord’s fall, Lucius fought hard, and some would say dirty, to keep himself out of Azkaban so he could protect Narcissa and Draco.

To see Potter look at him like he expected the blond to give up riled him like nothing else the boy had done so far. He was beginning to understand the arrogance Draco and Severus alluded to. In fact, he was reminded of the way the boy stood up to him several years ago after the Diary fiasco. Lucius has never failed at something he put his mind to, and he would not fail this either.

Coming out of the store room with the relevant vials, she answers, “You’re working muscles that you’ve never worked before. It’s not surprising you feel the way you do. If you decide you would like to continue working with Harry, I would advise taking a break before you try again. Don’t try any more exercise this weekend. A break is good for the body as well. Harry tries to work out every other day, depending on his schedule, or sometimes he’ll attend the Gym for several consecutive days and then takes a few days off to allow his body to recover. It’s important to eat correctly as well. Less sugary foods and more protein.”

Lucius knows he’s in no condition to exercise tomorrow, thankfully.

“The more you exercise, the more your body will feel used to exercising. If you take an extended break and then complete the workout with the same vigour you did today, you will continue to feel like this.”

Lucius nods his understanding. He doesn’t want to feel this badly again. He thought he was in good condition, and Potter’s proved him wrong. In front of Holly, who’d looked at Lucius in pity. No one looks at him in pity. Not a child he’s vowed to protect.

Seeing Lucius’s determined expression, Poppy nods in resignation.

“It’s a good thing I’m fully stocked up on Muscle Soothers,” she sighs. “I’ve had to be since Harry started the gym and started a trend.”

ooOoo

Ron lets out a sigh of relief when Angelina announces him as the new Keeper. Many hopefuls let out a groan of disappointment, which Ron drowns out, as he looks happily towards his brothers and Harry.

Harry smiles at Ron, clearly pleased for him and comes racing across to congratulate him.

Ignoring McLaggen’s grumbling of nepotism (like he can talk, when he shows off all the time about how he knows the Minister and goes hunting with several people – look into this again), Ron still wears his disbelieving smile as Fred and George join him.

“Well done, Ron,” Fred says.

“Yeah. Better you than McLaggen,” George tells him.

“Right? Couldn’t put up with that git.”

The words pierce Ron, but he hides it, not wanting them to realise how much their words hurt so they can make fun of him some more. It annoys him that they think he’s only made Keeper because he’s less irritating than McLaggen. He knows McLaggen did as well as he did, and truthfully he could have done better. He’d barely made the last save, but he’d still made it.

Still, he continues to smile. He just needs to work harder. Prove to Angelina and the others that he’d make a good Keeper and team player.

He beams when Hermione comes down and offers her congratulations as well. He’s surrounded by the Quidditch team, all looking very pleased for him and the team.

Angelina dismisses the rest of the crowd, who walk away now that the tryouts are over. Ginny bounds over to give Ron a congratulatory hug and then dashes away with her friends. Ginny’s hoping to try out for Chaser next year. She’s also very good at playing Seeker, but Harry’s so much better, and she’s got no chance while he’s still on the team.

His smile slips slightly when Holly races down from the spectator stands and tries to keep it on his face, despite his rising resentment of the child. He couldn’t say what it was that he didn’t like about Holly. He’d met her briefly a few times at King’s Cross and even sent her sweets over the years, but only because her grandmother sent Harry and Ron sweets as well.

Ron never voiced it over the years, but he never truly felt like Holly and her grandmother were family to Harry. They were probably kindly neighbours who took Harry in. Upon finding out that Holly’s mother was a muggle-born, who was more than likely aware of Harry’s celebrity status, the elderly woman probably thought that ingratiating herself and her granddaughter with Harry would give them an easy life. Why else would a woman who had no connection to Harry give him new clothes every year, if not make him feel beholden to her later on?

Sure, the woman passed away before she could get any benefits from knowing the Boy-Who-Lived and left Harry all of her daughter’s old books, but Holly is still around. The old woman just wanted her granddaughter to be taken care of after she croaked it.

So, Harry spent all summer moping after Holly when he should have been worrying about You-Know-Who and Death Eaters and himself. Then, finding out that Holly was Snape’s daughter? Harry should let the girl go - let Snape take care of his brat. Instead, he’s letting Holly follow him around like a little puppy.

He should have known that the black feathered menace belonged to Holly, who had even admitted that the owl had been given to her by Lucius Malfoy. He should have known. He hated how the menace had attacked Pig. Everything the Malfoys touched was poisoned. And knowing Holly spent the last couple of months with the Malfoys made Ron trust her even less. He doesn’t care that she apologised for her owl attacking his.

Still, if Ron wants to keep peace with Harry, he must stay quiet. Harry won’t hear a word against Holly, and even His brothers and sister were on Harry and Holly’s side. He doesn’t understand why. Only Hermione is on Ron’s side, though she isn’t talking to Harry about Holly at all, so he feels alone in his misgivings.

“Looks like someone’s going to need a new broom,” George is saying.

Ron becomes hopeful before coming firmly down to earth.

“There’s no way Mum and Dad can afford a new broom,” he mutters, feeling the tips of his ears heating up. He’d like a Nimbus, but he knows that’s an impossible dream. If he asks, he might get a newer model Cleansweep to replace Charlie’s old one. Clean Sweeps are much better than the Comets.

“We could get you a new one,” Fred shrugs, watching Ron keenly.

“Really?” Ron voices warily, knowing there’ll be a catch.

“Maybe we could buy you a new broom, a Cleansweep 11 say?” George offers.

“You’re not going to buy me one out of the goodness of your heart,” Ron says flatly.

Fred and George look at each other with comically dismayed expressions.

“What’s family for, if not to look out for each other?”

Angelina shakes her head in exasperation.

“We’ve got the pitch booked for another forty minutes. You lot quickly finish this conversation and get on your brooms,” she orders. “Ron, Oliver’s old uniform is hanging on the hook inside the locker room. Go try it on and see if it fits.”

“We’ll show him,” Fred says, swinging his arm around Ron’s shoulders. Ron pushes him away, suspicious.

Harry hangs back to speak to Holly and Hermione, who take off back to the stands.

“What do I have to do for the broom?” Ron questions. The twins had already bought him brand-new dress robes during the summer. Owl ordered them from Gladrags in his favourite blue colour. They hadn’t been terribly expensive, but they were brand new and in Ron’s size. They were modern instead of several decades old like the ones his mum had bought him last year. It was a suspiciously kind gesture, even if Fred and Geroge had explained that they had done it because his horrible maroon robes had embarrassed them at the Yule Ball last year.

It had been the kindest thing his brothers had ever done for him. However, he felt it was negated by the fact that there was nowhere he could wear them. There’s no point in having brand-new dress robes if there’s no Ball to attend.

“You have to earn the broom,” George informs him bluntly.

“How?” he asks resignedly, already knowing he will agree to whatever they ask.

“We have some products we could use your help testing,” George smirks at him.

Ron nods miserably. He suspected that might be the case. He tells himself that the twins have been testing their products on him for years; at least this time, he’ll get something out of it.

“Agreed?” Fred prompts.

“Agreed,” Ron says reluctantly.

“Great,” they chorus together.

“Now, let’s see if Oliver’s old uniform fits you,” Fred grins.

ooOoo

“Are you feeling better, Uncle Luc?” is Holly’s first question as she comes bounding through his door.

How the child has so much energy after all that exercise this morning and probably flying around with Potter is beyond the blond.

After returning from the Hospital Wing, Lucius discarded his still transfigured clothes and gingerly got into the shower to wash away the grime. However, just a shower had the power to soothe his muscles in a way that the potions had not. He relaxed a little, then washed his lovely hair with sore arms, restoring it to its former shine and glory.

After the shower, he filled his bathtub with more hot water and added healing salts and various other scented soaps into the mix. He groaned almost obscenely as he lay there for the prescribed thirty minutes. After, as much as he wanted to lie down in bed, Lucius decided to take a walk around the castle, heading towards the Owlery with a letter he’d written to Narcissa - requesting workout clothes, appropriate footwear and some of the sports books he’d bought in Muggle Manchester that day. He hadn’t even looked at them, too busy preparing for being a professor.

Then he’d come back and waited patiently for Holly to return, constructing various arguments in his head to counter whatever reasons Potter might have come up with to stop Holly from returning to her father.

“I’m fine, my darling,” he tells her, but instead of being placated, she gives him a narrow-eyed stare.

“I don’t like that word,” she says.

Frowning slightly in confusion, he prompts her to elaborate, pulling her close when she is within reachable distance.

“People shouldn’t say they’re fine unless they mean it. I don’t like that word,” she adds, not looking in the eye.

Lucius senses a wealth of emotion behind that sentiment, knowing it’s another puzzle to solve. His immediate thought goes to her grandmother. Eileen had been ill before her passing. More than likely, in order not to worry her granddaughter, Eileen had told Holly she was fine when, in fact, she was not. Then she died, leaving the child alone.

To indulge and allay her concern, he elaborates, “I’m still sore, my darling, but much better than this morning.”

She studies him once more and nods, placated this time.

“Now, you still need to shower, don’t you?” he raises a questioning brow at her.

She nods with an impish smile.

“Go, smelly child. Scrub yourself properly,” he orders as she races off.

He sighs, envying her energy.

Twenty minutes later, she comes out of her room to the kitchen where Lucius waits for her, confident he can counter any arguments Potter might have made, as he is no doubt that Holly has spoken to the boy about returning to the dungeons.

He hasn’t requested lunch in his rooms, hoping they’ll both go to Severus’s quarters together and dine there.

“Have some juice,” he orders, pushing a glass towards her. “Have you eaten?”

The unspoken question she is clever enough to pick up is whether she and Potter already had lunch together.

“Harry gave me a few snacks,” she answers, pushing her still-damp hair back and guzzling down her juice in one go.

Chocolates or pumpkin pasties, Lucius is sure. Teens tend to keep junk food to hand as their snacks. Though Lucius doesn’t ask what, Holly still informs Lucius what Potter gave her.

An apple and a banana, apparently, along with a handful of grapes.

Lucius nods approvingly, though he sighs when she adds she also snuck in a Liquorice wand.

“You know where we’re going for lunch, don’t you?” he gently starts the conversation, bracing himself for the first onset of rebellion.

“Yeah,” she sighs resignedly.

“You do?” Lucius tries not to look as puzzled as he is. “You’re willing to move back to the dungeons?”

Holly nods once more, though she doesn’t look happy about it. She’d only agree because Potter was amenable. He wonders what on earth had Potter said to get her to agree. The boy has a lot of power over this child, Lucius reminds himself once more, and he’s not sure if that’s a good thing.

He wants to ask what Potter said to her; she must have realised this, for she looks at him grumpily.

“Harry said he’s still my dad, and he was only trying to get to know me better,” she informs him. “And I should explain to him that he was wrong  to touch my stuff without permission and that I can keep all my stuff in my new trunk, which is spelled against tampering.”

Lucius hides a grimace at her words.

“Your father is very sorry,” he breaks it to her gently. “He says he wants to apologise to you in person and wants to spend more time with you.”

“He’ll stop me from trying to spend time with Harry, though. Won’t he?”

Lucius knows denying that statement is idiotic. Severus has never hidden his own ill feelings he has towards anyone named Potter. Lucius is willing to bet his Manor that Severus will attempt to break her daughter’s relationship with Potter, though he only hopes he becomes subtle about it. The blond has also realised that Severus will not succeed. He hasn’t observed the children the way Lucius has, and even if he does, Severus will convince himself otherwise.

“He won’t be able to,” Holly announces viciously. “I won’t let him. You’ll help me, won’t you?”

“Yes, my darling,” he agrees instantly. He needs to stay on Potter’s good side to keep their alliance from falling apart, and if that means helping Holly spend more time with Potter, then he’ll stand up to the Potions Master if he has to. When he has to, he amends silently.

Reaching into the pocket of her dress, she pulls out a folded piece of parchment, “Look, Harry and I made a timetable.”

Holly comes around the table to show Lucius the schedule, who studies it as he pulls her into his lap.

“See,” she says, pointing to the various days, “that’s Harry’s classes. Then, after school finishes, Harry said these are the days he’ll be in the Great Hall for dinner, Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. He says I can join him at the Gryffindor table, or I can sit with the teachers at the Head table.”

Pointing to the blocks in the morning before classes, he asks, “What are they?”

“That’s the time Harry goes to the Gym. He said he prefers a morning workout, but he’s also said I can join him on these days when he’s in there in the evenings.”

Lucius looks at the schedule with disbelief. Potter has meticulously planned his every waking minute. His prefect duties are also clearly labelled, and blocks of time have been assigned for homework and his friends. There’s a green block of time that takes almost three hours on Thursday evening, and he curiously asks, “Do you know what that’s for?”

Holly’s expression becomes cagey as she reluctantly explains, “Harry said that’s when he’s tutoring the Weasleys.”

She doesn’t expand on that further, though Lucius understands immediately. Potter will be tutoring the Weasley children in the Defence class they have dropped from their studies. It seems Holly knows something about it, hence her caginess, but Lucius won’t question her further, as tempted as he is. Looking back at the schedule, he sees Potter’s even blocked out time Sunday afternoon for his duelling lessons with Lucius.

“Why has he done this?” Lucius queries, though he suspects he already knows the answer.

“So if I ever need to go to him, I’ll know where to find him,” she answers, leaning back against his chest. “He even made me one.”

Lucius looks at the second schedule she pulls out from her pocket.

“Harry said I should fill it out and make him a copy as well.”

Holly’s weekday looks similar to Potter’s, with her various days blocked between Severus, Lucius and the other teachers helping her. Her morning block before breakfast is reserved for the Gym, mirroring Potter’s: to think about it, anytime Potter spends in the Gym is mirrored on Holly’s schedule. Lucius woefully waves a silent goodbye to his weekday mornings so he can join the duo.

“Harry said I should have different times to join you or the Professor for dinner, like away from the Great Hall. And he said that, if I want, then I can spend time with Draco in the Slytherin Common Room.”

Lucius is surprisingly touched by Holly and Potter’s thoughtfulness in making sure he has quality time by himself with the child. He smiles faintly but decides he should speak to Severus first. Lucius is stuck at the school for the most part, but Severus also helps Dumbledore’s Order, so they might need to leave on certain evenings.

“We’ll sort this out,” Lucius affirms firmly. “Now, we should make our way to the dungeons. You need to pack your belongings.”

A mulish look comes over her face, so he hastily adds, “Not everything. You can stay here any time you want, so you’ll want to leave some clothes here.”

He sighs in relief when she agrees.

“Let’s get your hair combed and tied up,” he suggests, getting up after she lets up from his lap. He tucks both schedules into his pocket for safekeeping and follows her to her room.

They go through her belongings and hang up a good portion of her clothes in her wardrobe. Lucius also insists that she leave some of her knick-knacks in his quarters, which she doesn’t argue about. They have spent some time over the last week going through some of what Potter packed into his trunk for her, and now it seems a good time to divide more things. Luckily for Lucius, there isn’t anything that overtly screams of Eileen, but he questions her about some of her knick-knacks. He can see her getting emotional as she talks about some of her belongings, so he doesn’t push too much. Despite the woman’s secrets, Potter and Holly had a great relationship with Eileen, and at this thought, a part of him gets angry on his brother’s behalf: why couldn’t she have been a better mother to Severus as she had been to these children?

Jasmine might have turned out to be a bitch, so Holly would have needed Eileen to protect her, but Potter? How had he been involved in the first place? He used to live with Lily’s sister and her family. Lucius doesn’t know her name, but he knows that the Evans sisters and Severus all lived in the same neighbourhood as children. Lily’s sister would have recognised Eileen at least. Yet another puzzle. The questions about the whole situation keep cropping up. Now that Lucius knows where Eileen had been the entire time, perhaps his PI could unearth more information. He’ll have to send off an owl for a meeting.

Eventually, Lucius stops indulging Holly in procrastinating and gently nudges her to get going. Her school bag is left, deliberately, on her bed: should things go well, Lucius will deliver it the following evening. Her secondhand trunk is also shrunk and placed in his pocket along with her schedules.

They walk down to the dungeons in silence; Lucius doesn’t push for conversation, feeling his goddaughter’s anxiety. Upon reaching the door to Severus’s room, he pauses and kneels before her, taking her shoulders comfortingly. Truthfully, he’d never expected to become an ally to Holly in such a manner upon first hearing of her existence. Until he laid eyes on her, she was an abstract thought to him.

However, seeing her for the first time, miserable, sad and tired, it reminded him so much of Severus when the other man had been a young wizard of eleven - of the same air of vulnerability that both hid for different reasons, the anger they carried at knowing they lived in an unfair world and were already adept at navigating through it. Needing to be helped, but denying the want for it.

“I’m here, my darling. He loves you and wants to show you how much you mean to him. Don’t – Keep that in mind.”

Mere weeks ago, Lucius and Narcissa had spied on a private conversation between father and daughter, more concerned about how Severus could lash out, verbally - because he wasn’t physically abusive, and would never hurt his child in that way. Yet, since then, he and his wife have learned that Holly wields far more power over Severus than any of them realised.

Holly doesn’t say anything in response to that, and Lucius, in response, doesn’t push. He stands up, straightening his clothes. With one comforting hand on her shoulder, he knocks on the door with the other, and they wait for it open for them.

ooOoo

Severus shoots up from the sofa he’s lying on at the sound of the firm knock. They’re here. He hopes it is both Lucius and Holly, and not just Lucius himself. He takes a deep, anxious breath, then lets it out slowly. Swinging his feet from the sofa, he realises he’s not wearing shoes. They’re in his bedroom. He wore shoes for the first few days but, unable to leave his quarters, he decided to forgo wearing them and has been walking around in bedroom slippers. Today, he’s not even wearing those. He’s not wearing any robes or even his frock - just trousers and his white button-down shirt.

When a second knock comes, he jumps. He has no time to put on shoes or throw on his robes. Straightening his clothes as he gets up from the sofa, he strides barefoot across to the door. Taking one final deep breath, he opens the door in one sharp motion. Lucius is there, but he looks down, and some tension drains from him when he looks down and sees Holly with him.

He steps towards her, wanting to pull her close. Only Lucius’s hand on her shoulder stops her from hiding behind the blond as she tries to step away.

Hurt anew, he moves back but gamely says, “I’m glad you’re here.”

He steps back to allow them to enter, then closes the door firmly behind them. He begins to lead them towards the kitchen, as the plan had been to have lunch together, but pauses, realising that those plans might no longer be valid.

“Have you already had lunch?”

There’s a brief, tense pause before Lucius answers for both, “No. We haven’t.”

Severus nods jerkily and continues to the kitchen table. He pulls out a chair for Holly and then takes a step back to allow her space. Lucius gently encourages her to take a seat but elects to stay standing protectively behind her. Severus notices Lucius moving stiffly and almost asks what’s happened but decides to wait until they are alone.

He calls for a House-Elf, requesting for lunch to be served. He takes a seat across from Holly as they wait.

“I’m sorry,” he says into the quiet. She hasn’t looked at him the whole time but pins him with her accusing eyes when he addresses her directly.

“For what?” she asks in a flat voice.

“For looking into your things without permission. For invading your privacy,” Severus replies. “For –”

“You’re only sorry you got caught,” she interrupts belligerently.

Above her head, he sees Lucius’s lips twitch in amusement as Severus fails to respond to that accusation.

 The Potion Master is determined not to be discouraged and tries a different approach. “How can I make it better?”

“Did you apologise to Harry for hurting him?”

Lucius’s expression straightens out. They both know how that particular apology worked out. A week ago, Severus would have said, quite confidently, that Holly knew nothing about Legilimency. A week ago, Severus would also have said that his daughter knew nothing about Harry Potter beyond what she’d read in the books in Lucius’s library. A week ago, he would have said Harry Potter knew nothing about Occlumency or that he had the discipline to learn it. Everything he’d thought he’d known about his daughter or everything he’d learned turned out to be a lie.

Whatever the truth was, Severus doubts Holly would be impressed upon finding out the end result of his attempted apology if she doesn’t already know. Potter’s had all week to turn his daughter against him, more than she already is. On the unlikely chance that Potter didn’t tell Holly, Severus never plans to reveal exactly how he behaved with Potter after she left.

 However, he does decide to be somewhat honest.

“It could have gone better,”  he admits.

Holly stares him down, silently weighing him while Severus sits still, allowing himself to be judged. He nervously wonders what Potter might have told her.

She eventually speaks. “Are you going to try again?”

I have no choice, Severus silently admits bitterly, so out loud, he firmly replies, “I will.”

Surprising both wizards, Holly bluntly tells him, “Don’t.”

 Severus is wholly startled. “What?”

“Don’t apologise to Harry again. You won’t mean it, so it’s useless saying the words. Bullies can’t be forced to be nice.”

Severus is caught between indignance at being called a bully and agreeing with the latter part of her statement. Potter and Black had been forced to apologise on those rare occasions where they had been caught in their wrongdoing, to which they had resentfully complied. Only for their subsequent retaliation to be even more vicious. His mind shies away from that comparison, so he shoves that thought deep into the recesses of his mind.

“I never intended to hurt him,” Severus confesses in a low voice, desperate for her to believe him. “I was just worried about you.”

“You didn’t even ask why we were there,” she spits out bitterly. “You just attacked him. You hurt him.”

An inarticulate sound escapes his throat, and he cannot defend himself. He had hurt Potter and regretted it even and not just because he was suspended as a result. He’d lost control. The last time he’d been so overcome with rage had been when Black had escaped two years ago. He wanted to attack Black that night, but the Golden Trio had stopped him.

“I’m sorry,” Severus says helplessly. “How can I make – make it better?”

Holly doesn’t answer for several precious seconds.

“Harry will always be the most important person to me,” she finally announces, the statement answering his question in a roundabout way.

His throat closes as he understands her true meaning, angering him simultaneously. Potter is more important to her than even her own father. Silently he reaffirms his vow to tear this relationship apart. He will take his rightful position in his child’s life. Holly is nothing more than a child. Potter simply took advantage of her innocence and naivety, probably praying on the ignorance of Holly’s grandmother and playing to Jasmine’s ambition. It was unfortunate both died, Jasmine before she could cash in the celebrity that the Boy-Who-Lived and Iris before she realised Potter had no substance behind him.

It doesn’t occur to Severus that his thinking is flawed; either Potter is useless and brainless, or he’s clever and manipulative.

How the hell does he always end up in the wrong with his daughter, Severus wonders. Since they met, she rebelled against him, hating and vilifying him. Severus has little hope of redeeming himself between Potter and Jasmine in his daughter’s eyes. When they argue, it’s to the point of tears, and Severus has shed his fair share since finding Holly. On the occasions when things had gone well, she’d only held her tongue to manipulate him to allow her to stay at Hogwarts with him. For Potter.

“I’m only here because Harry said I should come,” she continues.

Severus doesn’t need Lucius’s look of warning above Holly’s head to tell him to hold his tongue. Potter is cleverly driving a wedge between him and his daughter to keep them at odds with one another. The boy is showing himself as an angel, innocent and above reproach, by displaying his attempt to reconcile Severus and Holly’s relationship while subtly undermining everything. Where James Potter had been a charging dragon, standing between Severus and Lily, Harry Potter is a conniving little creep. Severus won’t let him get away with it: the boy will pay for coming between him and his daughter.

“Perhaps,” Lucius says, stepping towards the empty seat between Severus and Holly, as if afraid Severus will upset Holly again, “we should establish some rules for you both.”

Lucius gives Holly a speaking look. It seems that they have both had a discussion regarding this already. He pushes away the pang of hurt at this familiarity.

Holly nods grudgingly, sporting a slightly sour look as Lucius sits a little gingerly, ready to mediate between father and daughter.

“I want us to have a good relationship,” Severus offers sincerely. “I want to be a good father to you and make up for the time I wasn’t there.”

Severus pauses to see her reaction to this, gathers his thoughts, and thinks of the best way to articulate what he wants. Severus still blames Jasmine and his father for not telling about Holly’s birth. He might not have believed Jasmine initially, but surely she could have reached out to him after Holly was born. However, he knows he can’t blame Jasmine now. He knows Jasmine had hurt Holly, and used his name to do so on many occasions; however, using Jasmine to justify his absence won’t win him any points with his daughter.

“I am here now, and I always will be,” he assures her and, when she doesn’t answer immediately, he reminds her, “That’s why I wanted you to stay with me at Hogwarts.”

If she feels guilty for manipulating him, she certainly doesn’t show it, and it’s another thought he pushes away.

“You’re not allowed in my room again,” Holly eventually responds sullenly.

A considerable part of Severus relaxes. Such a proclamation means she will move back in with him.

“Without permission,” Lucius inserts smoothly. “And, of course, in the case of emergencies.”

“I promise,” he replies quickly, agreeing to both statements.

“And you won’t touch my stuff.”

“Without permission,” Lucius repeats.

“And I can stay out as late as I want,” she continues.

Lucius looks to Severus questioningly, waiting for the Potions Master to set firm terms. During the summer, Severus allowed Holly to spend all day with the other teachers, with the proviso that she returned to the dungeons for seven-thirty, usually in bed for an hour later.

He’d expected her to follow the same routine during the school year,  but apparently not.

“I expect you to come to my quarters by eight pm,” he says, believing he is being generous by extending her curfew by half an hour.

She scoffs at him and counters, “Ten.”

“If you return that late, then you’ll be going to bed too late,” Severus argues. “I propose you return for eight-thirty and in bed for nine. I shall extend your bedtime on the weekend to nine-thirty, though curfew will remain the same.”

“Fine,” she concedes without further argument.

From the corner of his eye, he sees Lucius looking between them approvingly.

“I’m spending every evening with Harry,” she adds tauntingly.

“No,” he disputes immediately and firmly. Through gritted teeth, he forces out the following words, “You may spend some evenings with him; however, you and I shall also have dinner several evenings a week. Alone.”

“How many?” she demands.

“Three.”

“Two evenings, and Uncle Luc has to be there for both. And I also get a separate evening with Uncle Luc in his rooms.”

“Two evenings, Lucius can join us for one, and you may have your own evening with him too,” Severus concedes. “Draco is also invited to join us twice a month, though he is welcome to join us for the evening Lucius does.”

At least three evenings, Potter won’t be monopolising Holly’s time and poisoning her against Severus. From there, it’s only a matter of time before Severus can keep them apart forever. Lucius and Holly exchange speaking looks, making Severus envy once again their easy camaraderie. At some unspoken word, Lucius reaches into his pocket for two pieces of parchment.

“What is that?” he questions curiously.

“Potter put together his schedule for Holly, so she can easily find him in the evenings,” Lucius informs him. “He also put together a schedule for Holly.” Directing his next question at Holly, the blond asks, “What evenings do you want to have dinner with us?”

Lucius scoots his chair closer to Holly to look over the schedules together. It takes almost an hour, during which their lunch arrives, and bites are taken between brutal negotiations. Having been a teacher for nineteen years, Severus knows how rigorous OWL-level classes are and how often homework is piled on. New homework is piled on every day, but Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are the days when the deadlines are kept to. Looking over Potter’s class timetable, he knows the boys are taking a heavy class load, along with Quidditch and the Prefect position he doesn’t deserve. Holly is clever enough to argue against spending time with Potter in those days he has Prefect duty, but not knowledgeable enough to know that if Potter is inundated with homework, he will have very little time for Holly - not if he wants to neglect his assignments. However, should Potter end up struggling with his homework and balancing everything he’s crammed into his schedule, he will have to choose between Quidditch and being a Prefect. Considering the boy’s status as a Quidditch legend, not undeserved, he is grudgingly forced to admit the boy will have to choose between being on the Quidditch team and being a Prefect. Severus has every expectation that should the occasion arise, Potter will choose Quidditch fun over the responsibility of being a Prefect any day.

As much as he hates how Potter’s put together this schedule for Holly’s sake, he’s found that it’s worked in his favour by allowing Holly to spend time with Potter on his busiest, most crammed days. From the look he receives from Lucius, the blond has picked up on Severus’s plans but doesn’t dispute the newly constructed schedule. Holly, on the other hand, looks happy and satisfied with everything.

Then, when Severus thinks everything has been settled, Holly throws a random bludger in the mix.

“I also want a cat,” she announces.

From the shocked look from Lucius, the other wizard wasn’t aware of this demand. Severus finds himself pleased that Lucius isn’t privy to everything.

“You already have an owl,” Lucius points out before Severus can firmly deny the request.

“Artemis is yours,” Holly replies innocently.

“You didn’t mind taking ownership yesterday when Artemis attacked another person’s familiar,” Severus interrupts.

“Did Aunt Min tell you?”

“The Headmaster informed me,” Severus says succinctly, and he’s astonished to see her blush.

“Only because I was helping Uncle Luc,” the girl argues.

“Helping me?” Lucius repeats, looking puzzled.

“Well,” she starts in an exasperated voice, “I saved you from Aunt Min’s look.”

Severus’s lips twitch at Holly’s credible imitation of Minerva’s look between disdain and disappointment at wrongdoing.

“Besides, it wouldn’t look good for one Professor to be told off by another professor. No one would respect you anymore,” Holly explains.

“I appreciate the thought,” Lucius tells her. However, Severus notices the blond doesn’t tell her there was no need for her to do that on his behalf.

“So I can get a cat?” Holly asks brightly, looking expectantly at Severus.

“No,” Severus denies firmly.

“I didn’t even know you liked cats,” Lucius comments.

“I like cats and owls. Mrs Figg has lots of cats, and they are really clever. I always helped her feed them because she has loads. I don’t like all dogs. Fang’s okay, but he’s more like a horse. Horses are okay. And unicorns. No spiders, though.”

Lucius nods sagely. Though neither the Potions Master nor the blond had seen the Acromantulas, they could live a long and happy life without ever coming across the giant arachnids. Severus, however, enjoys another instant of Lucius not knowing Holly as well as he thought.

“No cats,” Severus repeats.

“Fine. Harry said I’m not responsible for one either,” she mumbles, looking away with a pout.

Severus internally wages war with himself. She could either be manipulating him again, or she’s telling the truth, and he’s in an unenviable position of agreeing with Harry Pain-in-the-Arse Potter.

“Perhaps if you can show me you can take the responsibility seriously, we may revisit this topic at a later date.”

Startled at the unexpected concession, Holly gives him a solemn nod.

Severus feels the tension bleed out of him. He knows the situation between him and Holly is far from resolved. She is ridiculously protective of the boy for no reason that Severus can see that Potter deserves. Severus’s own Vow to protect him is for the sake of Lily, but the boy makes that difficult to keep by running into untold danger like a brainless dolt. There is nothing of Lily in the boy, and it vexes Severus deeply that the boy would throw away his mother’s sacrifice so cavalierly. Severus would trade Lily’s life for Potter’s in a heartbeat, and the arrogant half wit would drag Severus’s child into danger alongside him.

Holly is so wrapped around Potter’s fingers that she would follow the boy back to the Acromantula colony if he demanded it.

Still, he pushes down his rising resentment and follows his daughter and brother to her bedroom. He’s left at the threshold as Lucius pulls out a shrunken trunk, spells it back to its original size, and places it at the foot of the bed. Eying the initials ‘HP’, Severus keeps his feelings to himself but promises himself that Holly will one day take on his name and cast Potter away forever. He simply has to bide his time, he tells himself, as Holly and Lucius unpack the trunk.

For now, he must simply adhere to the strange shared custody agreement with Harry Potter.

●        Harry talking to Holly about going back to Snape

●        Quidditch trials

●        Discussing letters from Grimmauld Place

●        Holly and Snape talk

●        Harry spending the weekend coming up with a schedule for everything

●        Lucius’s lesson where he gives a quiz

●        Harry and Luna talk