The next morning his father was at the table in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee and eating eggs and bacon. There was a plate waiting for Harry with a heating charm on it when he came downstairs.

"Good morning," Severus said quietly, lowering his paper to look at Harry.

"Good morning," Harry said brightly.

"You have plans for the day I assume?" Severus asked.

"I don't have to," Harry said.

"I have several things I must do today. We'll need to make several trips to gem dealers over the break from school to distribute the excess of gems we mined over the summer. Today would be a good day for you to go visiting or attend to your own plans."

"I was going to go visit Mr. and Mrs. Mayer."

Severus nodded and went back to his paper to finish reading an article about something having to do with Diagon Alley.

"We will also go shopping this week," Severus said, "and we'll need to get a tree. I need to arrange a day with Mr. Mayer."

"Can I help decorate it?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

"With fairy lights?"

"Yes. There are several boxes of decorations in the living room closet. Mrs. Mayer may also want help decorating the house."

"I'll ask her this morning," Harry said. He tried not to feel nervous as he finished his eggs and bacon. When it looked like Severus was finished with his own breakfast and getting ready to leave the table Harry said quickly, "Sir, could I- I mean, over the break could we- I mean, could me and Ron-"

Severus raised his brows as Harry fumbled over his words. He was clearly nervous. "Take a breath and ask what you want in one sentence."

Harry gave him a nervous glance, took a breath and said quickly, "Could I have Ron over one night for a sleepover? I've never been allowed to have a friend over before because the orphanage didn't allow it." He wanted to add that the Dursleys would never allow such a thing either but preferred to mention the Dursleys as little as possible.

"A sleepover?"

"Yes sir."

They were silent for long moments as Severus seemed to be considering him. "If his parents are amenable."

"Really?"

"Yes. There will be rules however."

"Yes sir."

"You are not to take him into the mines without me, nor are the two of you to spend hours pestering Mr. and Mrs. Mayer. Perhaps he can come Friday evening before dinner and then spend the day Saturday. He could return home through the Floo Saturday evening after dinner." When Severus turned to look at Harry again, the boy's face was bright and hopeful, and Severus was happy to see it. He didn't let himself smile until Harry had jumped up and thanked him profusely and then asked to use the Floo to firecall the Burrow.

Severus listened as Harry firecalled the Burrow on his hands and knees, head in the living room fireplace as he described the arrangement to his friend. Severus didn't care to have extra children about the house, but if it made Harry happy, he could stand to have one of his friends over for a 24 hour period. The boy had had such a lack of a childhood that Severus didn't mind indulging him now that he had a home to call his own.

* * *

There was an inch of snow on the ground as Harry hurried down the lane to Millie and Arran's house. It seemed Millie had been waiting for him or had seen him coming in the gate, because as he reached the front door she opened it and pulled him into a hug.

"Harry!" she said happily, "I'm so happy you're back. Did you have a good term at school?"

Harry nodded and came inside so she could close the door and keep the cold air out. "Me too. I did have a good term. I got good grades in all my classes."

"That's good, come in and have some hot chocolate."

"Is that Master Snape?" Arran called from another room. He came in a minute later, looked Harry up and down and smiled at him, chin rough with stubble. "Not Master Snape, just Harry," he corrected himself, seeing that Harry wasn't in his nice visiting clothes.

Harry grinned up at him and set to telling them how school had been for the last few months. He didn't tell them about the Dementors, and thought Snape must not have told them either since they didn't ask about them.

"And Friday my friend Ron is coming to stay the night," Harry said happily half an hour later. "I'm going to take him into Hawes to get donuts and coffee. I've been getting an allowance now so I have some money to spend."

"Oh an allowance," Arran said, nodding in approval. "What does a young master make these days?"

"8 Sickles a month, but then I got 5 sickles at the end of the term for every O I got, and two for every E. So I have 43 sickles saved up now."

Mrs. Mayer looked like she was doing maths in her head and said, "Is that about 30 pounds?"

"Yeah, just a little under. And I had ten pounds still from last summer. I'm gonna ask the neighbors if I can shovel snow for some extra money."

"You still want to make more money?" Arran asked.

"I was gonna save up and ask my dad if we can buy some toys and balls and stuff to take to the orphanage. The only things we got for Christmas when I was there were what people donated. Sometimes no one donated anything so the only thing the kids got was Christmas dinner."

"Before you go to buy toys Harry, we'd like to give you some money as well."

"I can earn it all," Harry hurried to say. "Just tell me what you want me to do. I have today and there's only a few days where we have to do things for the mine."

"We'd still like to donate some money for toys," Millie said.

"Do you have a snow shovel?" Arran asked.

Harry shook his head. "They sell them in town right?"

"They do. I have to go into town today to the hardware store to get some wood and nails. You can come with me if you want."

"Yes please."

"Get your coat on then. You have gloves right? You won't be able to shovel for long without warm gloves."

"I have some," Harry said.

Arran told Millie they would be back in forty five minutes and then he and Harry took the truck into Hawes.

The small hardware store only had a few people browsing the shelves when they got in. Arran helped Harry pick out a heavy duty snow shovel that wouldn't break easily, then got his wood and nails and they checked out. The shovel had cost Harry 12 pounds, but Arran told Harry he could earn that back shoveling just a few walkways.

Later that afternoon when Harry returned to the house for his gloves, Severus eyed the snow shovel in his hand and asked where he was going.

"I'm getting my gloves so I can go shovel Mrs. Mayer's walkway. I'm shoveling Mrs. Allan's too and then I'm going to go down the lane to the houses I did yard work at over the summer."

"You are earning money again?" Severus asked. "Is your allowance not sufficient?"

"Well, I had to spend some money on the shovel," Harry said, "but I can earn that back. After that I'm gonna buy toys with what I earn."

"You still play with toys?" Severus asked.

"For the orphanage," Harry said. "I was hoping you could take me once I buy some things."

"You wish to buy toys for others with your own money?"

"Well they might not get anything this year if I don't."

"Hm."

Harry hurried out with his gloves and shovel, leaving Severus deep in thought. At least he wasn't trying to earn money to buy his own clothes. Severus had wanted him to be confident that he would not go without the clothing he needed again. He had planned on taking him shopping for more winter clothes later in the week. Perhaps he would have to take him sooner if he was going to be out shoveling snow.

* * *

Harry was charging three pounds to shovel walkways and sidewalks. It was hard work, but not so bad when there was only a couple inches of snow on the ground. That first day he shoveled 10 walkways and made 30 pounds and added it to the jar in his room he was storing money in to buy toys with.

The next morning Severus apparated them to Kendal to a shopping center and bought Harry a new warm beanie, warm waterproof snow gloves, a snow coat, two pairs of thick wool socks and thermal underwear to wear under his clothes to keep him warm. Harry already had a pair of waterproof hiking boots, and when they got home Severus poured another waterproofing potion over the top of them to be sure Harry's feet would stay dry out in the snow.

That night it snowed heavily and Harry went into Hawes to see if he could bargain with the shop owners to shovel their sidewalks for a higher price. As it turned out they were happy to pay him five pounds to shovel the snow out from in front of their shops as there was almost five inches on the ground. The space that needed to be shoveled in front of each shop wasn't a very big section of sidewalk, so Harry felt like he was making a good profit for the amount of work. He was so warm in his new clothes he had to take his snow coat off and left it in his favorite coffee shop over the back of a chair until he was ready to move to the other side of the road. The shop owners on the other side were ready for him and didn't wait for him to come in and ask if they wanted him to work. The first shop owner he came to on the other side of the road opened the door, handed him five pounds and told him to come back when it snowed heavily again for more work.

By the time Harry got home that evening he was hungry and tired and his arms ached from all the work. He'd bargained at a coffee shop for donuts and coffee instead of money, so he'd at least been able to eat lunch.

Harry flopped into a dining room chair at five pm and shrugged out of his heavy winter coat. Snape eyed him for a moment and set to work making him some tea. A few minutes later and Harry had a hot cup of sweet orange tea in his hands and a plate of biscuits in front of him.

"How much have you made?"

"I did twenty shops in Hawes today at five pounds a piece, and one shop I shoveled for lunch."

"How many children are at the orphanage?"

"When I left it was 34. They only have space for 35."

"And what are you planning on buying?"

"I don't know. It's all boys. I was thinking some Muggle footballs and baseballs. Maybe some toy trucks for the younger boys. Mrs. Mayer said they were donating forty pounds, and Mrs. Allan said she would donate forty as well. So with all that I have 210."

"Will you be spending any money on your friends for Christmas?"

"I've gotta earn some money for that too."

"You have helped mine nine hundred galleons of crystals since you came here," Severus said. "I see no reason why you should not see some of that profit." He narrowed his eyes as Harry sipped his hot tea and said, "You've shown yourself to be business minded and I know that you've finished reading the book about conducting business in the wizard and Muggle worlds. Negotiate with me for what you would like to get out of what you have helped mine, and what you would like to earn in the future."

Harry set his cup of tea down and looked at his father. He tried to push the nervousness down in him. He didn't want Snape to laugh him out of the house or get upset with him for whatever he asked for. If he asked for too much, his father might decide he didn't want to buy him clothes anymore, or food, or school things. It wasn't about the money for Harry. Harry wanted his new father to do what parents did and take care of him.

"If I get something, or if I get nothing," Harry hedged, "will that change how things are between us now?"

"Explain what you mean."

"Will you... I mean, you've been real nice to me lately. I didn't have to earn money for clothes to keep warm and stuff."

Severus straightened and sat back in his chair. "As a child in this family... as my child, you will never be responsible for buying the things you need. I will buy your clothes and school supplies, and anything else you should need. That will not change based on any earnings you receive as part of this family's gem business."

"Ok," Harry said. "I want seventy percent of what we earned this summer."

Severus snorted, though he didn't look mad. "You can't be serious."

"I am."

"What are you basing your high percentage on?"

"You're supposed to negotiate before work, and you didn't. That gives me the upper hand to ask for higher amounts and take you to court over unpaid earnings if you don't agree."

"That is- underhanded." Severus said, though again not disapproving. "I never imagined you were so Slytherin."

"Seventy percent," Harry said again, all confidence.

"Assuming you don't go to court over it, because you can't afford the cost of a barrister, and because anything less than ten thousand galleons isn't worth going to court over, tell me what you're basing your 70% fee on."

Harry wasn't sure what to say to that. He and Snape had worked equal hours and had worked equally as hard, though 70% wasn't really his goal to begin with.

"My fee is based off of the extra time spent outside of the mines learning the trade."

"It could be argued that I should make 70% based on the years of learning and experience I have put in to be able to teach you the trade. 70% would be my fee for teaching you. An apprentice rarely makes more than 20%."

"I'm not an apprentice, I'm your son."

"Very clever," Severus said, taking a sip of his tea. "As my son I'll give you 30%."

"I worked equal hours to you, not counting the time spent studying. I couldn't settle for less than 65%."

Severus narrowed his eyes in approval. He supposed all the time he'd spent working for the neighbors over the summer had given his practice in negotiation.

"I had to pay 60 galleons for the ingredients for the potions used in mining, and you were allowed the use of tools I had already paid for in order to work in the mine."

"It's because of me that the mine doesn't belong to the Malfoy's right now," Harry countered.

"Fifty percent."

"Done," Harry said happily, reaching for another biscuit.

"When we go into town to take gems to the dealer later this week, you will do the negotiating," Severus said.

Harry started to look nervous again. "Really?"

"I wanted to see how you would do in a negotiation, which is why we just conducted this exercise."

"Oh, so I don't really get anything?"

"You will get 50% of what we earned, which will be placed into an account you will be able to access on your 17th birthday, with the exception of 50 galleons which will be paid to you before you go to buy things for the orphanage."

"What!?"

"You failed to negotiate how and when you would be paid before you closed the deal."

"I won't make that mistake again," Harry said angrily.

"See that you don't," Severus said with a smile.

"What about what we make in the future."

"That is still open to negotiation."

They agreed on 40% for the next three years as Harry was still just learning, and they agreed that it would be paid as soon as any earnings came in from the gem dealers and Ministry.

"I will also give you 100 pounds for the orphans."

Harry went to the kitchen drawer where they stored extra paper and began doing math. "I'll have 810 pounds altogether with what I have already, which is about 23 pounds per kid I can spend at the orphanage. Do you know how to get in contact with them sir? Could I call them on the phone and ask if they could get each kid to tell them one thing they want for Christmas so I could know what to buy?"

"I will contact them and ask them for a list."

Harry grinned at him and Severus decided that he'd do whatever he could in the future to continue getting that look from the child. A look like the boy was thankful to have him, and would rather be there in Bainbridge with him than anywhere else.