"You will not argue with me when I tell you what clothing you will be wearing for the year," Snape said, and Harry frowned up at him, confused. "I already have clothes sir."

"The ratty sweatshirt full of holes and few items of summer clothing you have are insufficient for the winter. While we are out shopping you are to be on your best behavior. Do not beg me for items as I will not purchase them for you. We will be getting only the items on the list."

He handed Harry a piece of muggle lined paper with a list written in the man's loopy cursive.

7 T-shirts
2 Polo Shirts
2 Sweaters
Socks
Underwear
4 Pairs Of Jeans
2 Pairs Of Sweatpants
1 Pair Of Pajama Bottoms
1 Winter Coat
1 Pair Of Winter Gloves
1 Pair Of Sturdy Shoes

Harry raised his eyes at the man again when he looked up from the list. He was buying all of this for him?

Snape sneered down at him and led him off down the street. A few streets away from Camden Alley Harry was led into a muggle clothing store where Snape told him to pick out two sweatshirts from the many racks of them in the men's section. He stalked off towards the racks of t-shirts and Harry wondered what he'd done to anger him.

Harry picked out a dark green zip up hoodie and a dark crimson hoodie with no zipper. Snape was by his side again just as he finished and had 7 T-shirts in plain colors. They looked a lot nicer than the ones aunt Petunia had picked out earlier that summer, and Harry was glad they weren't all in black like the one Snape had given him days ago. There was one black T-shirt, but also a sage green one, an earthy blue shirt, and others in muted colors.

Snape picked out a heavy winter coat, gloves and four pairs of jeans and sent Harry to another part of the store to find two pairs of sweatpants, a pair of pajama bottoms, a package of socks and a package of underwear. When Harry found him again twenty minutes later, Snape had picked out several pairs of shoes and had them waiting for Harry to try on. Of the ones Snape had ready, the pair that fit Harry the best was a pair of thick dark brown hiking boots, so that's what they got. The shopping trip had only taken them an hour, including walking to and from Camden Alley, and Snape had spent just over 200 pounds.

Back at the flat Snape instructed Harry to remove all of the tags and labels and fold all of the clothes neatly. "You will receive your winter hat and scarf at school," he told him before Harry went into the guest room.

"Winter hat and scarf?" Harry asked.

"That is what I said. I have already sent the fee to the Hogwarts clothier."

"You mean I'll get the Gryffindor scarf and hat?"

"What is so difficult to understand Potter?" Snape said, growing irritated.

"I just didn't have those before," Harry said. The other students always got scarves and hats in their house colors, and Harry had had them his first year, but he'd never had money for them after that. Guardians had to send money by owl to Hogwarts over the summer for them, and then they were handed out the first week of school by a student's head of house. Harry always envied Ron and Hermione for having them to keep them warm.

"I will not be paying an ungodly amount of money for personal tailored items Potter. The school scarf and hat are more than adequate and you will wear them when it's cold. I will give you detention if I find that you've caught a cold for refusing to wear them."

"I'll wear them," Harry told him, and went into the guest room to fold the many bags of clothes. Why did the man always have to think the worst of him? He thought Harry wanted more expensive items? Harry was just glad to have anything at all.

* * *

Later that afternoon Snape took Harry out to London again, this time to a store full of school supplies. Harry was happy to be able to get another stack of lined Muggle notebooks, smooth writing muggle pens, pencils, and even a few stacks of sticky notes.

Snape also bought a brown suede leather backpack and Harry was surprised he'd picked one that was so nice as it cost a hefty seventy pounds.

Back at the flat the man didn't give Harry time to put the new items away and instead sent him out with a note and a handful of sickles to get Chinese takeaway on Camden Alley. It was the first time he'd sent Harry on an errand that wasn't going to the apothecary, and it was only the second time so far that Harry had been allowed out on his own on a non-apothecary trip. Snape appeared to know the exact amount for the food he'd ordered on the note he'd sent Harry with, because the woman behind the counter took the note and all of the coins Harry had been sent with before giving him a bag with two boxes of food in it.

A few minutes later as Harry ate, Snape pulled the new school supplies out and set them in two piles.

"The black notebooks are for notes and work you will do as an apprentice. The blue ones are for your other classes. You will take meticulous notes on whatever I assign you to read or study for your apprenticeship, and will keep all of them until the apprenticeship is over. Do not throw the notebooks away, even once they are filled up. Use the sticky notes to organize your notes within books."

Snape pulled a book down from his bookshelf and opened it to show Harry what he meant. There were aging sticky notes inside on random pages with notes the man had written on them.

"All of this might not fit in my trunk with my school things."

"I am aware."

He didn't say anything more than that and left Harry there to eat his dinner. Harry felt like it had been an odd day that had broken their routine. He wasn't sorry to get some time off of brewing potions, but the entire day had been one awkward moment after another.

* * *

The next day was full of more shopping. Snape took Harry to Diagon Alley, where Harry fretted that he might run into his classmates or friends, who would question him about why he was with the Slytherin head of house. He had been secretly afraid for weeks now that the man would tell him he could no longer be friends with Ron and Hermione once he got back to Hogwarts, and prayed now that they wouldn't run into them before school started.

Snape took Harry to Flourish and Blotts where he purchased four books, and then to Slugg And Jiggers apothecary where he purchased three more, these ones all small with brown leather bindings. One of them looked just like the book full of sticky notes that Snape had shown him the night before.

"Ah, apprentice books," the man behind the apothecary counter said with a smile. He eyed Snape for a moment and then his eyes traveled down to Harry. "I heard you'd picked up an apprentice," he said to Snape. "Will this be all or do you need new tools?"

"He already has the necessary tools, but thank you," Snape said. He paid for the purchase and hurried Harry out of the apothecary and down the street to a store that sold trunks in various shapes and sizes.

Hagrid had made sure Harry had a good trunk his first year. It was dark blue and had good hinges and a sturdy lock, but was standard for Hogwarts students. Dean had the same exact one as Harry did, and Ron had a similar one that was deep red. Harry had seen Draco with a more expensive looking trunk, but in general most students had one just like his.

Snape seemed to be buying a new trunk for himself, and Harry was interested to see that he was picking out a square trunk instead of the standard size. It had black leather on the outside and silver hinges. It was just the right size for some books and other things, but not big enough for clothes.

Back at the flat again, Snape didn't take the black trunk to his room though, he levitated it into the guest room Harry was using.

"This is for your potions books, potions notes, and apprentice tools. Do not store anything else in this. It will go with you to Hogwarts."

Harry frowned down at it. He did need more storage with the added potions tools and notes, and Snape was technically supposed to buy what he needed, but he was still surprised he had purchased the nice trunk. It was nicer than any of the ones the other boys in his dorm had. Not as nice as Draco's trunk, but the leather was thick and handsome and the hinges highly polished.

"Is there a problem?" Snape asked testily when Harry had just stared down at the trunk in thought. Harry looked up at him.

"Am I allowed to have two trunks at school?" he asked.

"Yes," the man said, lips pursed, and then he turned on his heel and left the room.

Harry knew he'd have to tell his friends eventually that he'd been sold into apprenticeship slavery, but the new trunk would ensure it would be as soon as he saw them. They'd ask why he had two trunks and what was inside, and he'd have to tell them right away. As much as he feared that Snape would tell him he couldn't have friends anymore, he also feared that Ron would be angry at him for having to spend so much time around the potions master. Harry also hoped that once they got back to school Snape would leave him alone and just let him do his schoolwork, keeping apprenticeship stuff to holidays. Despite what he hoped for, he had a feeling everything would turn out for the worse somehow. Whether Snape banned him from having friends or not, he feared that outcome would come true.

After Harry had put his supply box with his potions tools and gloves into the new black trunk, Snape called him into the living room and told him to bring his new books. Harry was surprised to find two brand new cauldrons on the kitchen counter. They were small, like the ones they used in class, just big enough to brew a small batch of potion, but small enough to fit into a student's trunk, or his new potions trunk.

"These are yours and will go into the potions trunk," Snape told him, indicating the cauldrons. "One is pewter, the other is copper. Certain potions require brewing in a copper cauldron. Do not bring the copper cauldron to class. You will bring the new pewter cauldron to class."

"What about my old one?"

"Bring it here."

Harry retrieved the standard pewter cauldron he'd been using for four years at school, and as soon as he handed it to Snape, the man used his wand to banish it.

"Cauldrons should be replaced periodically," Snape said at the astonished look on Harry's face. "They degrade over time and can ruin potions by contaminating them with particles of metal."

"Shouldn't everyone be getting a new cauldron then?" Harry asked, thinking of Ron and Hermione.

"It is customary for students to get a new cauldron when going into a NEWT level Potions course." Here Snape leveled a stare at Harry and said, "You will be passing your Potions OWL and going into NEWT potions."

"Yes sir." Hermione at least would be thrilled that Harry would be studying potions with her this year for his OWLs. He knew Ron's goal was to pass all of his OWLs and then drop potions, but Harry couldn't be so lucky. He supposed it would look bad for a potions apprentice to fail his OWLs.

Seeing that Harry wasn't going to argue with him, Severus sat down on the couch and told Harry to bring the five new apprentice books to the coffee table. Harry did so, sitting in the comfortable chair instead of next to his potions master on the sofa.

"These are your apprentice books. These hold all of the necessary information to pass the apprenticeship exam at the end of the first two years. Apprentices who move on to a second apprenticeship get more advanced books. The same goes for those moving on to their third two year apprenticeship."

All five of the books were relatively small in size, and thin. All of them were bound in brown leather, and some had a strap to hold them closed, possibly to keep notes inside from falling out.

"Each of these books covers its own subject. This one is on composition of all classes of potions. It must be memorized as you will be tested on potions from each of the 27 classes. You will not know which potions you are being tested on, so you must know the basic makeup of each class of potions."

Harry thought that sounded rather complicated and hoped his brain wouldn't melt trying to memorize all the information.

Snape held up the next book and said, "This book covers ingredients, their properties, where they can be found, and other pertinent information. You will memorize it."

Harry's heart sank as Snape picked up the third book, knowing the man would tell him to memorize all of them. At least he had two years to do it, though with his other schoolwork he felt like it would be impossible. Maybe if he focused on memorizing these books over holidays and really buckled down in the summer he could get it all done.

The third book was about the history of potions, and while he wasn't told to memorize this one, he was told to know all the dates and names inside. The fourth book was the thinnest and was about rare potions and their uses, and the final book was about the laws of potion making in the UK as well as in other major countries across the world.

"This is the most important book," Snape told him about the law book. "If you do not follow the laws in whatever country you are gathering ingredients from or making potions in, you could find yourself in jail, pay heavy fines, or be banned from making potions or gathering ingredients. I will be very displeased if you break any of these laws as it will reflect poorly on me. As you are an underage apprentice, if you break one of these laws I will be the one responsible for paying the fines or doing jail time."

"Yes sir. Am I being tested on this one?"

Snape glared at him. "You will know all of the information necessary."

Harry fidgeted for a moment, wondering how many countries were in the book. He wanted to ask if he could just read the information for the isles but didn't want to get yelled at.

"You have something you wish to say?" Snape asked.

"No sir."

The man sighed heavily, as though it was trying to talk with Harry, and said, "It is important that you ask so that you are clear on all the information given to you."

Harry pulled his hands back and tried to stop fidgeting. "Can I just read the laws for our Ministry of Magic right now and then read the laws for other countries if I ever have to go to them?"

Snape pursed his lips but didn't seem angry. "That is a prudent course of action."

Harry relaxed a little. It wasn't a compliment, was it? Definitely not, he decided. Snape rarely complimented anyone, and never Harry.

"You are to study these books throughout the school year. I will be testing you on the information found inside of these books frequently. If I find that you have not been studying enough, you will find yourself studying in my office under my supervision during your free time at school."

Harry began to fidget again.

"Say whatever you have to say Potter," Snape said. He was definitely exasperated now.

Harry looked over at the five books. "Could you tell me how much is enough? I mean, I'll be studying sir, but how many chapters per week of each one do you want me to do?" He didn't think he could keep his grades up if he was bogged down memorizing these books.

Instead of scolding him Snape got up and got a muggle style pen and a stack of his own muggle sticky notes and scribbled something down. When that note was full he started another, and another until he had five. He put one note inside the front cover of each book and said, "That is your timetable."

Harry picked one of the books up and opened the cover. The note inside said, ‘Read the book all the way through once by Christmas.' Then there was a bulleted list underneath listing the months until Summer that read, ‘January Chapter 1, February Chapter 2, March Chapter 3...'

"The first time through each book you are reading for a general idea of what the book entails. After that you will study each chapter for one month to work on getting a full understanding of the material. You are not expected to have the information memorized completely until the end of your second year. At the pace outlined in the notes you will be ready to begin memorization of the information by the start of the next school year, and can spend your second year of apprenticeship memorizing for the test."

Harry didn't want to study this extra material at all, but he thought it was doable and felt relief that he wasn't expected to have these books memorized right away. If he was just supposed to read through them each once by Christmas and wasn't expected to test on them yet, he could try to get through a couple of them in the last few weeks of summer.

"Once you begin thoroughly studying after Christmas I will begin testing you on what is in the chapters you have studied."

"Yes sir."

Snape told him to pack up and get ready to go back to his relatives, and to leave his potions trunk and new items for school here, but to take at least one of the apprenticeship books. Before they left the flat to go back to Little Whinging, Severus said, "You are returning home for three days. Do not check out any library books. The next time I collect you, you will be going to Hogwarts with me for the remaining three weeks of summer. Have all of your belongings ready to go when I pick you up on Sunday."

"We're going to Hogwarts?" Harry asked. He'd never been to the school in the summer before, despite having asked the Headmaster several times if he could stay there instead of going home for holidays.

"I have work to do and you have potions to brew and books to study," was all Harry got in response.

Snape took him back to his relatives, and when Harry relayed the information to his family, his uncle was gleeful that they'd be getting three full weeks that summer without him. "What did I tell you boy? Better than a job at the library isn't it? You're getting plenty of time to study and should be on track for that other thing you wanted to do, right? What was it? Something to do with studying weather? Aurora borealis?"

Harry just stared at him, open mouthed. His uncle had put time into learning about what Harry wanted and was interested in, but not for Harry, only to impress his boss. Now just over a month later he seemed to have put it from his mind altogether.

"Yeah," Harry said lamely, "that was it." He could tell his uncle again, tell him about aurors and the Ministry and law enforcement, but he didn't see the point. His uncle didn't care and never would. Harry had always known that, had known that truth from the start of his uncle's questions that summer. He went upstairs to his room to pack, angry with himself for being upset about it... angry that he'd let himself pretend at all that his uncle had been interested in his life that summer. Pretending was only being cruel to himself, because it was only putting off the disappointment of reality until later on. Harry had done enough pretending in his life living with the Dursleys to know that, yet he'd done it anyway.

As Harry lay in bed that night, waiting for the next few days to pass before Snape collected him again, he wondered why he never pretended with Snape. He didn't pretend to be loved or wanted or liked there above Camden Alley, but he did every summer when he came back to Privet Drive.