“Sorry, Harry, I can’t tell yeh that,” Hagrid said and Harry sighed, patting Fang on the head.

“I already know what the task is,” Harry argued. “Is it really such a big deal if I know some of what’s inside the maze?”

The half-giant gave him a sad look. “Sorry, but Dumbledore’s orders. No champions are te know what’s in the maze. How do yeh know ‘bout the maze anyway?”

“Overheard a conversation,” Harry lied quickly.

Hagrid raised a bushy eyebrow. “Were yeh eavesdroppin’?”

“No, as hard as that may be to believe,” Harry said and Hagrid shrugged.

“With yer track record.”

Harry rolled his eyes.

“Are yeh nervous?” Hagrid asked.

Harry looked down at Fang. “Nervous about going into a cursed maze that is infested with creatures and might make the others go crazy? Not to mention the person that wants me dead, who I am pretty sure is Moody. No, I’m not nervous,” he said sardonically.

“Yer gonna be fine,” Hagrid said. “An’ what’s that ‘bout Professor Moody?”

“It’s not Moody,” Harry said, “but I have no proof so forget it.”

Hagrid gave him a look, but didn’t say anything.

“I should get back,” Harry said, getting to his feet.

“I’ll walk yeh back,” Hagrid said.

“That’s not necessary.”

“Professor Snape’s orders.”

Harry huffed, annoyed, but waited for the half-giant to walk with him. They were mostly quiet as they walked across the dark grounds up to the castle.

“What is happenin’ this summer?” Hagrid asked. “Yeh goin’ back ter the Dursleys’?”

Harry shook his head. “I’m going to be living with Severus, Lucius, and Alexei.”

“That’s great,” Hagrid said. “Where yeh gonna be?”

“We’re still deciding,” Harry said. “Alexei has a bunch of places that we’re looking through. We have it narrowed down to three.”

“I’m happy fer yeh,” Hagrid said, smiling. “Yeh always wanted a family. Professor Snape has really been like a father ter yeh.”

Harry paused for a moment, thinking. “Yeah,” was all he said. “I have to go.” He began to run ahead.

“Harry!”

“You can watch me until I get inside!” Harry said and kept running until he was inside the school. Once inside and heading up to Gryffindor Tower, he slowed back down to a walk. He wasn’t sure why he had reacted the way he did to Hagrid’s words. It was as though the moment Hagrid said ‘father’, his mind went into a panic. He had never thought of their situation in that way. Were they really a family? Did he consider Severus a father? Did he want Severus as his father? He cared about Severus and the others, and he knew he wanted to stay with them. If he accepted the adoption, it made it all so official. It would be permanent and official. Severus would be his father.

He ran his hands through his hair as he walked into his empty dorm. Everyone was still at dinner, allowing him some time alone.

He looked around, needing to think about something else. He thought about Moody. He knew he was right about the man. He knew Moody was not Moody, knew Moody was the one using Polyjuice Potion. He wished he had proof. He was sure it was the imposter that had entered him in the tournament. It was the imposter that was going to mess with the Final Task. If he was right about everything, it was actually Barty Crouch Jr. posing as Moody, and was thus working for Voldemort. He needed proof so something could be done.

Coming up with an idea, he opened his trunk and pulled out his Invisibility Cloak. He cursed silently as he realized he had left the Marauder’s Map in his room in the dungeons.

Guess I’m doing this blind, just like I used to, Harry thought, leaving Gryffindor Tower with his cloak. He looked around to make sure he was alone and then donned the cloak, disappearing from view. He walked slowly down the stairs and through corridors, avoiding other students as he made his way to the Defence class. He glanced in the open classroom and found it empty. He walked in silently, moving between the desks. He kept his steps light as he walked up the stairs to the Defence office.

He paused and listened, trying to see if he could hear anything inside. When he heard nothing, he pulled his wand and waved it over the door. The twins had taught him a charm that caused a window to appear on a solid surface, allowing him to see through to whatever was on the other side. They thought it could help him get through the maze. He watched the one-way window appear on the door and he looked through into the Defence office. It appeared empty. Maybe Moody was still at dinner.

He cancelled the window charm and then used Alohomora. The lock clicked open and he quietly open the door. He slipped inside, closing the door again behind him and pulling off his cloak.

He hadn’t been in the Defence office that year and he looked around at how different it was from Lupin’s. Gone were all the books and parchments and magical creatures in tanks. Now, it was dark. There were books that looked like they belonged in the Restricted Section. There were things in jars that looked like they belonged in Severus’ lab. There were strange tools and artifacts that didn’t look friendly.

He began walking through the office. There had to be something somewhere that proved Moody was an imposter. He had been stealing ingredients and making Polyjuice Potion. It all had to be stored somewhere, had to be kept on hand to continuously keep up the charade. He scanned around, considering where something might be hidden, and also considering what he dared to approach.

He held his cloak close so he didn’t lose it and avoided touching those items that seemed most dangerous. He was walking by a large cabinet when he noticed it wasn’t just a small alcove beside it. It was actually another little room and he spotted a strange chest sitting on top of a very large trunk. His eyebrows came together as he slowly approached the chest. He was just reaching out to open it when the door to the office flew open. He spun around with wide eyes and his heart pounding with fear. He was prepared to see Moody, but he found he was even more terrified to see Severus instead.

Severus’ eyes were blazing with anger and Harry involuntarily winced. “What are you doing?” Severus hissed.

Harry fidgeted with his cloak, swallowing thickly. “I…I—”

“Come. Now,” Severus ordered.

Harry swallowed again and approached his guardian, his eyes downcast. He winced again when Severus’ hand landed heavily on his shoulder. In tense silence, he was led all the way down to the dungeons and into Severus’ rooms. Lucius and Alexei were there when they arrived, and Harry felt his heart sink even more with dread. He was in so much trouble.

“Sit,” Severus snapped and Harry obeyed instantly. He sat in his chair, holding his cloak tightly in his lap. He continued to fidget with the material, trying to hide how much he was shaking.

“What is going on?” Lucius asked, looking between Severus and Harry. Alexei put his book aside.

“It would appear that our Mr. Potter thought it wise to break into a professor’s office,” Severus said and Harry tried to disappear into his chair as Lucius and Alexei turned angry glares on him.

“Is this true?” Alexei asked. Harry gave a tiny nod and sunk further at the flash in the vampire’s eyes.

“Whose office?” Lucius asked.

Severus looked at Harry, his eyebrow raised and his arms crossed. “Well, Mr. Potter? Would you like to tell them, or shall I?”

Harry began to feel ill, especially as Severus continued to call him ‘Mr. Potter’. “Professor Moody,” he whispered.

“Harry…” Lucius admonished.

“What possessed you to do that?” Alexei asked.

“I wanted to find proof that he’s not Moody,” Harry said and Severus pinched the bridge of his nose.

“We already discussed this,” Severus said. “You cannot go around breaking into professors’ offices.”

“I know, but—”

“Do you even comprehend how utterly stupid and dangerous this was?” Severus said angrily. “What if you are correct and Moody is an imposter? What if he had found you? He is dangerous, imposter or not.”

“I know, but—”

“Obviously you do not if you did something so idiot,” Severus sneered and Harry looked down sadly. “I cannot deal with this right now. Go to your room and stay there.”

Harry didn’t respond. Keeping his head down, he got to his feet and began to go to his room.

“Wait.” Severus stopped him and he turned. “I think I should hang onto that cloak of yours.”

Harry looked at his guardian in horror. Not his Invisibility Cloak! It was all he had left of his father. His throat tight, he handed it over. He couldn’t handle looking at any of them. He couldn’t take the anger and disappointment. He closed his door and laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

He had really messed up. He never should have gone to Moody’s office. How had Severus known he was there?

He sighed. It was probably a good thing he hadn’t really decided about the adoption. It probably wasn’t going to be an option anymore. He might even be going back to the Dursleys’ after all.

He rolled onto his side and faced the wall. Tears began falling down his cheeks. He felt like he was losing everything all over again.

A small knock on the door pulled Harry from his light doze. “Harry?”

“Come in,” he muttered, just loud enough for Severus to hear. He remained in his position facing the wall as his guardian came into the room. Would Severus be his guardian for much longer?

“We need to talk.”

A burst of pain went through his chest. This was it. He was about to lose everything he had gained. He rolled over onto his back so he could look up at Severus. The man had pulled the desk chair over and was sitting beside the bed.

“What were you thinking?”

Harry sighed. “That I could prove Moody isn’t Moody and stop him before he tries to kill me in the Third Task.”

Severus shook his head. “I understand this is all frightening, but that does not excuse what you did. You cannot break into a professor’s office.”

“I know,” Harry mumbled.

“I don’t think you do. I don’t think you understand there are rules and you have to follow them. I don’t think you understand the danger you continuously put yourself in thinking you can do what you want,” Severus said.

Harry felt himself getting angry. Severus was talking to him the way he used to, accusing him of being spoiled, self-centered, and above the rules.

“Tell me what this is,” Severus said and Harry paled when the man held up the Marauder’s Map.

“Where did you find that?”

“In here. You had left it open on the bed. It is how I found you,” Severus said. “What is it?”

Harry felt his heart sink, knowing he was about the lose the map like his cloak. “It’s a map of Hogwarts. It’s the Marauder’s Map. My father, Sirius, Lupin, and Pettigrew created it when they were in school. The twins gave it to me last year.”

“This is how you have been able to sneak around,” Severus said, looking at the map disapprovingly. “How do you work it?”

“Tap it with your wand and say ‘I solemnly swear that I am up to no good’ to reveal it. Do the same and say ‘mischief managed’ to wipe it,” Harry explained dully.

“I will be keeping this with your cloak until I believe you can be trusted again,” Severus said. “It is time you learn there are consequences to your actions. Go back to the Tower.”

“Yes, sir,” Harry said and got off the bed. He left the rooms and made the long trek up to Gryffindor Tower. Once he got there, he found very few people in the common room and sat heavily in a chair by the fireplace. He stared into the flickering flames blankly.

“Hiya, Harry.”

He looked up and found Fred and George had joined him by the fire.

“What’s going on?” George asked.

Harry just shook his head.

“Have you made a decision about the adoption?” Fred asked.

“No, but I won’t have to anymore,” Harry said and the twins looked at him curiously. “Pretty sure he won’t want to adopt me now. I screwed up really bad.”

“What happened?” George said.

Harry sighed quietly, regretting his actions. “I broke into Moody’s office. Severus caught me.”

“Oh, Harry…” George said.

“Why would you do that?” Fred said.

“I wanted to find proof that he’s not Moody,” Harry said. “I wanted to end all of this.”

“Sure, it was stupid, but I don’t think that would make Snape forget the adoption,” Fred said.

“You didn’t see how angry he was,” Harry said. “Besides, I’m always doing stupid things. Why would he want to deal with a kid like that?”

“That’s not true,” George said.

Harry finally looked at them and they saw the way his eyes were shining with unshed tears. “Yes, it is, and you know it. Look at everything that’s happened, that I’ve done, since I came to Hogwarts. I don’t think. I do stupid things, I made bad choices. He won’t want to deal with that all the time. He won’t want that in his life and now he’s realizing it.”

The twins glanced at each other and back at the younger Gryffindor sadly. They weren’t sure what to say.

“It’s fine. I’ll go back to Surrey,” Harry said, staring back at the fire. “It doesn’t matter, I’ll be fine.”

The tear that fell down the boy’s cheek told the twins that was a complete lie.

Harry sat curled up in his chair, staring at one of the final house options. He wasn’t sure why he was bothering since he would probably be going back to the Dursleys’ anyway. He couldn’t put this one down, however. It was the one he had found he was most drawn to.

It was a two-story, soft blue cottage. It was just outside the town of Geiranger in Norway. It, along with the town, sat at the head of the Geirangerfjord. He had been meaning to ask Alexei what that was exactly. Whatever it was, the cottage and the area was beautiful. There were pictures of hills and snow-covered mountains, and what looked like a huge lake in a valley between cliffs. 

The cottage was at the base of these mountains with the lake and valley in the not-too-far distance. It looked so peaceful, on its own and with its colour. The sitting room had huge bay windows that face some mountains. It had five bedrooms, a finished basement, two studies, a library, and a huge kitchen. Two of the bedrooms faced the valley. One had a window seat and the other had a small balcony.

It seemed so perfect.

“You seem to really like that one.”

Harry raised his eyes to find Alexei. The vampire stood beside his chair and was apparently also looking at the listing.

“I designed that one and had it built,” Alexei said. “It’s why it’s half a cottage and half a house.”

Harry nodded. “What is this?” he asked, pointing to the world without even attempting to pronounce it.

“The Geirangerfjord?” Alexei said flawlessly and Harry nodded again. “A fjord is when the sea flows into a small, narrow, and deep inlet between high cliffs. It’s what creates the valley. The Geirangerfjord is that exact thing except with a town at the head of the inlet. It has snow-covered mountains, tons of waterfalls, and lots of greenery. There are paths you can take up the mountains as well to see the waterfalls and the view.”

“Sounds great,” Harry said, sad he wouldn’t get to see it. He would miss Alexei so much. He had been looking forward to spending even more time with the vampire and learning so much. He would miss all of them.”

“Ah, Harry, Alexei,” Severus said, exiting his lab. “Alexei, would you finish the batch of Pain Relievers? I must speak with Harry.”

Harry put the cottage listing in his lap as he looked up at his friend and his guardian. Severus wasn’t really showing any emotion so Harry couldn’t figure out what kind of a talk it would be. Alexei nodded and walked down to Severus’ lab, closing the door as Severus came to sit on the sofa.

“How have you been? We have not seen you for a few days,” Severus said and Harry shrugged.

“Been busy, I guess,” he said. “Trying to be ready for the task.”

It wasn’t a total lie. He was getting ready for the Final Task. It was just over a week away after all. It just wasn’t his main reason for not being around.

“Do you think you are ready?”

“No,” Harry said shortly, “but I haven’t been for the entire tournament.”

“You will be alright,” Severus said. “Just do what you can and come out—”

“Alive, I know,” Harry interrupted. He looked down at the cottage listing and at the corner he was methodically folding. “I really don’t have many other plans.”

He ignored the quiet sigh he heard from his guardian. He just focused on folding the corner.

“Harry, I believe we should talk about what happened with Moody’s office,” Severus said and it was Harry’s turn to sigh.

“I really don’t think we do,” he said. “We already did.”

“No, we didn’t, not really,” Severus said. “I want you to explain why you did such a thing.”

“Because I’m a Potter,” Harry mumbled, not intending for Severus to hear but, from the man’s raised eyebrow, he knew the man had heard. He just blew out a breath and continud on. “Because I wanted to prove Moody is the one using Polyjuice Potion. He’s the imposter and I can pretty much guarantee he’s Barty Crouch Jr. I wanted to prove it before I go into the Final Task where he’s going to try kill me or bring me to Voldemort or something.”

“I understand how frustrating this must be and I am sorry we cannot do more,” Severus said. “Do you realize how dangerous what you did was, particularly if you are correct about Moody?”

“Yes, I do, I always do. I’m not that stupid,” Harry said angrily. “Do you really think I didn’t know it was dangerous to go down that trapdoor in first year? Or to go into the Chamber of Secrets? Or to go after a supposed mass murderer and go back in time? You think I do these things because they’re good or smart things to do? I do these things because the people—the adults—that are supposed to never do, so there is no other choice. I’m not as stupid as everyone thinks.”

“We do not think you are stupid.”

“Anymore,” Harry said. “You would’ve thought differently a few months ago.”

“True,” Severus said, “but things have changed. We have changed.”

“Have they?” Harry said. “I’m still the same as I was. I still do the same stupid stuff. I really haven’t changed.”

“And that is alright because that is the child I have come to care for,” Severus said and Harry looked at him. “I have no desire to change who you are. However, you must realize that all I want is to protect you and sometimes that means you must mind what I say. I know a stable, reliable adult is not something you have ever had, but I am trying.”

“I know,” Harry said.

“I don’t think you know how much we all care about you,” Severus said. “How much we love you.”

Harry just looked at him without speaking. He wasn’t sure if that mattered. It may not even be true. They could care about him, but decide they don’t want the responsibility of taking care of him. How would he know?

For all he knew, he was heading back to Privet Drive.

If he survived the Final Task.