Thank you all for the reviews! I worked extra hard on this chapter for you all. Thank you for the ideas you shared for the sleepover: I used so many of them! I hope you enjoy!


"I told him not to do any silly stunts."

"They're not silly. It's strategy. He's going to pull up and dive right down on the snitch."

"He's diving in too fast. He's going to miss it."

"He's not going to miss it! He's going to pull up and snatch it before it disappears in the water."

Severus completely disagreed with Sirius as they watched Harry fly after the snitch in a mini game of Quidditch. Harry, Draco, and Fred were on one team and Ron, George, and Neville were on another team. Hermione, not much of a flyer, decided to simply referee and she hovered on her broom and watched the boys play. In Severus's opinion, there were too many kids at his house. And people.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were sitting the outdoor picnic table Severus had transfigured from sticks and stones, along with their youngest, Ginny Weasley, who Severus noticed had blushed when Ron introduced her to Harry. Lucius and Narcissa had just left moments ago, lessening the load, and Remus and Sirius were of course present. As was Augusta Longbottom, who continuously corrected everything Neville did. She would be leaving soon, however. Thankfully.

At the present moment, Harry was chasing a snitch, a birthday present from his wonderful godfather, and the snitch was heading toward the pond. Severus watched his son's "strategy" closely. It wouldn't work. He would dive straight into the pond at the speed the snitch was moving.

"No," Severus said to Sirius, who stood at his side. "I guarantee he's going to miss it. He dove too early and now he's far behind the snitch."

"I bet you ten galleons he'll catch it," Sirius challenged.

"Alright," Severus said, never one to back down out of a good bet. "I bet you ten galleons he'll lose it in the pond."

"Really?" Remus called to them from the picnic table where he sat next to Augusta. "You're betting on your son and godson?"

"Deal," Sirius said, shaking Severus's hand. They both ignored Remus, who shook his head at them.

Harry was right behind the snitch, diving straight down towards the pond. Harry stretched his hand out, reaching for the tiny object. The other kids hovered way above Harry, merely watching to see how this would play out. Harry stretched a little further, than had to yank his broom up and fly sideways to avoid crashing into the still pond water, the snitch plunking into its depths, creating ripples.

Severus smirked and held out his hand palm up. Sirius rolled his eyes and pulled out a sac of coins to count out ten galleons. Severus waited patiently and smugly, watching as his son landed in front of them, leaving the other kids to look for the snitch. Sirius handed the money over.

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"Nothing, Harry," Severus answered, counting the money to double check the amount while Sirius simply glared at him.

"Were you making bets? On what – me?"

"Of course not," Severus said as he pocketed the money. "Go back and play with your friends."

"I was wondering if we could have a lemonade break. We've been playing for hours."

"Forty minutes is hardly an hour. But yes, I'll bring out the lemonade, have your friends give the brooms back to Sirius and put yours away."

"Okay," Harry said as the other six kids landed at his side, dismounting the brooms. "Thanks again for bringing the brooms, Uncle Siri."

"What would a party be without them?" Sirius smiled as he accepted the six brooms back.

Severus went inside and pulled the pitcher of lemonade out of the fridge. He heard Harry run upstairs and then back down, the pattering feet headed for the kitchen.

"Slow down, son," Severus called out. "I do not want a trip to St. Mungo's to be a part of your party because you simply couldn't slow down and crashed into a wall."

Harry appeared in the kitchen, a huge smile on his face.

"I won't crash," Harry said. "I'm really thirsty."

"Here," Severus handed the pitcher of lemonade to Harry. "Can you manage that? Or would you rather take the cups out?"

"I got it," Harry assured his father as he used both hands to carry the lemonade out to the picnic table.

Severus gathered cups, plates, and silverware, using a spell to make all the platters of food follow him outside. Harry was chatting amiably with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, the little ginger haired girl shyly smiling at Harry. Severus arranged everything on the table and everyone found a place on the benches and served themselves.

Midway through, Remus stood and talked over the loud chattering.

"I'd like to make a toast," Remus began, holding up his glass of lemonade and waiting till everyone was quiet. "To the birthday boy. Wow, twelve years old. I remember when I had visited Lily at the hospital right after you were born. And she dropped you right in my arms. You started crying immediately."

All the adults laughed and Harry smiled. Draco smirked at him and shouldered him playfully.

"I had no idea what to do. I told her "take him back, take him back!" She didn't listen to me, just told me to rock you and shush you. I think I forgot how to do anything in that moment, even breathe. I was so glad when she took you back. You were the tiniest baby though, so small with big green eyes like your mother's. You reminded me of a little owl. And you still do with your big green eyes and curious nature. I think I'm more happy that you don't cry each time I see you now. Happy twelfth birthday, Harry. To you."

Remus raised his glass and everyone followed his lead, chorusing "To Harry," before taking a quick drink. Remus sat back down and Sirius stood up with his lemonade.

"There was this one time," Sirius began, "when Harry was about two years old, I believe, and I was babysitting him for Severus. During that time, I slipped up and said a few curse words, and of course little Harry decides to start saying them as well. If you haven't heard a baby swear, put that on your bucket list . . ."


Harry enjoyed hearing the adults talk about fun times they remember with him. After Sirius had recollected teaching him to swear as a baby, Arthur and Molly both stood up and talked about first meeting Harry at the train station when they were picking up Ron. They spoke of how Harry had been the sweetest and well-mannered young man. Ginny stayed quiet. Augusta stood briefly just to give her birthday wishes and thank Harry for finding a friend in Neville.

Then Hermione had stood and told the story of how Harry and Ron had saved her from the troll, how she had felt like an outcast at Hogwarts and how Harry had made her feel welcomed. She ended with how glad she was to have met him and become friends.

Hermione's turn set off a chain reaction among the kids, who decided some funny stories were in need once again. The twins stood and talked about how they had used Harry as Faolan (Harry's Animagus tiger form) to pull a prank on their brother and ended up pranking Professor McGonagall instead. Ron talked about how he and Harry had challenged each other to a cookie eating contest until they were both sick to the point they vomited the cookies back up. Then challenged each other again when neither would admit defeat. The adults weren't too pleased with that story. Neville talked about the time Harry had been helping him look for Trevor and they both chased the frog down a hall at Hogwarts, trying to catch the slippery thing.

When Draco went, he told everyone how happy he was to have a cousin, a friend to play with, pull pranks with, and torment Uncle Sev with. That earned a laugh form everyone except Severus, who sent a playful glare Draco's way.

Severus talked about how proud he was to have Harry for a son, and with that, the man summoned the cake and placed it in front of Harry, twelve flaming candles in a circle. After everyone sang "Happy Birthday," Harry blew out the candles.

It was after dessert that the real fun began.

Augusta was the first to leave, and a while later the Weasley's left, taking the troublemaking twins with them. Then, after final goodbyes and hugs, Remus left followed soon after by Sirius. Then there was just Severus and five children.

"Why didn't your Aunt Petunia come?" Draco asked Harry as the five kids made a huge fort out of chairs, blankets and pillows in the living room. "And Dudley."

"They went on a trip to Spain for a few weeks," Harry answered. "They sent a birthday card, though."

"Just a card?" Draco looked displeased at the idea of receiving such a thing. Harry rolled his eyes.

"There's nothing wrong with that, Draco," Harry said.

"I guess not," Draco sighed.

It didn't take them long to make a large fort in the living room. They used the couch and two other chairs, leaving Severus's favorite chair alone, and pushed them all close. A large blanket was put over the couch and two chairs with books on the chairs to keep the blanket from sliding off. Then another blanket was draped over the large opening to conceal the kids inside. They padded the hard carpet floor with blankets and dragged pillows under the fort. Hermione was given the couch and the four boys claimed a spot on the floor in a circle manner. Harry dragged a lantern his father had given him under the fort so they could see.

"Is your plan to hide under there until bedtime?" Severus asked, standing outside the strange setup. "I thought you wanted a campfire."

"Aww, but that means we have to leave our fort," Harry protested.

"We spent forever building it," Draco added.

"You spent five minutes on this contraption," Severus corrected. "I have an idea. Come on out."

The kids crawled out one by one and watched as Severus used his wand to clear out the living room. He summoned a bowl and turned it into a stone fire pit. Logs and twigs flew in from outside and arranged themselves in a tipi set up before igniting in flames. Severus added a final spell to keep fire sparks from jumping out and another spell to take care of the smoke, as well as one to keep the stone pit cool so the kids wouldn't burn themselves if they got to close to it.

"Wow!" Draco exclaimed. "An indoor campfire!"

"Is that safe?" Hermione asked, looking at the pit warily. "What about smoke detectors?"

"They're spelled to know when there is a dangerous fire," Severus answered. "It's necessary when you live with a fire breathing fox."

"By the way, where is Sam?" Ron asked. "I haven't seen him all day."

"Isn't he usually around for your parties?" Draco asked.

"Sam wanted to get me something that he had hidden somewhere," Harry explained. "I'm thinking he probably forgot where he hid it."

"He'll arrive later tonight," Severus added. "He had to travel pretty far to get to one of his hiding spots."

"Maybe he's getting you a sword," Draco smiled.

"Or a knife," Ron added. "Like the one he has."

"Or throwing stars!" Harry said excitedly, pretending to throw invisible weapons. "You should watch Sam with those! His aim is incredible!"

"I told Sam that whatever it is," Severus interrupted, crossing his arms, "it better not be a weapon."

Harry huffed and crossed his arms, mirroring his father who merely raised an eyebrow at him.

The five kids pulled out their pillows and gathered around the indoor campfire, using their pillows as seats. Harry quickly discovered that the flames were untouchable, probably a safety spell his father placed, but they were still very warm.

"I would think that at twelve years old, you'd know not to touch fire."

Harry looked at his father and smiled. "I was sure you had some spell on it."

"And what if there wasn't?" Severus challenged.

"Then you'd have all the potions I would need to cure my hand."

"Indeed," Severus glared at Harry. "All twenty of them – drinkable only."

Harry made a disgusted face at that, though he was sure Severus was only joking. Severus gave each kid a stick and handed them a bag of marshmallows before sitting in his chair a good distance away to give the kids some space to fool around and pay whatever games they would. Harry wished he could light his on fire to cook it faster, but the fire gently licked the marshmallow, even when it was put directly into the flames. It was still fun to have an indoor campfire and make golden brown goodies.

"I bet I could fit twelve of these marshmallows in my mouth," Ron said aloud.

"There's no way!" Draco said. "There too big and fluffy."

"Not if you cook them a little," Ron argued.

"That's a choking hazard," Neville said. "They'll get all gooey and stuck in your throat."

"Then I'll just eat them plain. I can do it. Watch."

"Ron, don't be an idiot," Hermione gave the redhead a look.

"Yeah, Weasley," Draco smirked. "Don't be such a Gryffindor."

Ron ignored them and starting popping marshmallows in his mouth. He put in three and smashed them a bit in his mouth before adding three more. Hermione just gave Ron a disgusted look. Neville looked concerned. Draco seemed torn between making a snide comment or just waiting to see if Ron really could fit twelve in his mouth. Harry just watched Ron in amusement. Ron could shove a lot of things in his mouth – especially cookies.

When Ron got to ten marshmallows, he seemed to have a little trouble smashing them down a bit.

"Come on, Ron!" Harry encouraged. "Two more!"

Neville laughed at Ron's chipmunk like face and Draco offered a smirk. Harry picked up two marshmallows for Ron and handed them to him. Ron managed to stuff them in and with a bit of jaw movement, he managed to close his mouth completely. He raised his hands up in victory.

Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head while the three other boys clapped and cheered as well. Then Ron tried to move his jaws more. After a few seconds, he mumbled something through the marshmallows.

"What was that, Weasley?" Draco said, leaning in close and putting a hand to his ear. "I couldn't hear you over the marshmallow death trap you have in there."

Ron grunted something out again, his throat making noise but nothing coherent.

"What is he saying?" Neville asked.

Ron tried to speak again, but it remained incoherent.

"He can't chew," Hermione said.

"You managed to understand him?" Neville asked.

"No. But his dilemma is quite obvious. How do you feel about your silly challenge now?"

Ron glared at Hermione, though no one could take it serious with his puffed up face.

"What should we do?" Draco asked.

"Perhaps not shove twelve marshmallows in your mouth at one time," Severus said, standing behind them. He pointed his wand at Ron's mouth and the boy's cheeks slowly deflated as the marshmallows melted and trickled down Ron's throat.

"Mmm," Ron licked his lips happily. "Marshmallow milkshake. Thanks, sir."

"I believe you've all had enough marshmallows for one day."

Severus picked up the bag of remaining marshmallows and left to the kitchen.

"Now what should we do?" Neville asked.

"Sitting by the fire is nice," Hermione said. "It's warm and relaxing."

"I say we play truth or dare," Draco suggested.

"Okay," Harry agreed. "Since it was your idea, you first. Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Okay, I dare you to . . . sing the Hogwarts song."

"No!"

"It's a dare; you have to do it!"

"I'm not singing that stupid song!"

"Do it! Do it! Do it!" Harry started the chant and was joined by the others. Draco made an annoyed face and sighed.

"Fine!" Draco snapped. "I'll sing it." Then, as fast as he could, Draco said:

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, teach us something please, whether we be old and bald or young with scabby knees, our heads could do with filling with some interesting stuff, for now they're bare and full of air, dead flies and bits of fluff, so teach us things worth knowing, bring back what we've forgot, just do your best, we'll do the rest, and learn until our brains all rot."

"That wasn't singing," Hermione chided. "That was just you talking really fast."

"I can sing it in whatever tune I want. That was my tune. I did the stupid dare."

"Whatever. It's your turn to ask someone something."

"Fine, Granger. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Which one of us here are you most likely to kiss?"

"Draco!" Severus snapped from where he had returned to his chair in the far corner of the room, reading a fairly thin book. "Either be appropriate or you will be going home early."

Draco blushed, forgetting about Severus in the room. Hermione just gave him a disgusted look.

"None of you," she answered. "Neville, truth or dare?"

"Truth, please."

"What class do you hate the most at Hogwarts?"

Neville turned red and glanced at Harry then peered over the campfire towards Severus.

"Umm, potions," Neville tried to say in a whisper.

Harry didn't blame Neville; his father wasn't the nicest of teachers and Neville wasn't all that great in the subject any way. He offered a smile in hopes to ease Neville's fears of being ridiculed by the Potions Master himself or the man's son.

"Good to know, Neville. Your turn to ask someone," Harry encouraged.

"Harry, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to . . . uhh, eat a whole box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans in one mouthful!"

"That's brutal, Neville!" Harry exclaimed.

"You have to do it, Harry!" Draco smirked.

Both Ron and Hermione looked at Harry expectantly and sympathetically. Harry stood and walked over to his father.

"I was dared to eat a whole box of Every Flavor Beans," he told Severus.

"You're not eating a whole box," Severus said, summoning a box from the kitchen. "You definitely don't need all the candy so close to bed time. Here's a handful. That'll have to do."

"Thanks," Harry scrunched his nose at the multi-colored beans in his hand and walked back to the group and sat down. "I couldn't get a whole box, but this is a good amount. Here goes nothing."

Harry threw the beans in his mouth and chewed them, his face immediately scrunching up and his eyes closing tightly as flavors of vomit, banana, mint, coffee, fish, chocolate, and so many more drowned his taste buds and made him want to sick up. He fought to finish chewing them and swallow the dreadful combination of candy. He stuck his tongue out at the end, making a face and letting out a "bleh!"

"Good job, Harry," Hermione praised, smiling at his face.

"That must have been terrible!" Ron patted Harry's back. "Are you trying to poison Harry, Neville?"

"Of course not," Neville said, trying to hold back his laughter.

"That was the best dare yet!" Draco exclaimed.

"Okay, my turn," Harry looked at Ron. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare!"

"I dare you to . . ." Harry looked around, wanting to find a good dare for Ron. He saw a small, black spider crawling up the wall near the door. He smirked evilly as he remembered Ron's fear of the eight-legged creatures. "I dare you to go catch that spider and release it outside."

Everyone looked to where Harry was pointing by the entranceway, spotting the spider on the wall, now immobile. Everyone looked back at Ron and waited, taking in his wide eyes and fearful expression.

"You want me to . . ." Ron gulped and looked at Harry. "I'll eat the rest of those beans if you'd like."

"Nope," Harry shook his head. "That spider has to go back outside where he belongs."

"Come on, Weasley," Draco encouraged with a smirk. "Show off some of that Gryffindor bravery."

"You can do it, Ron," Hermione said. She stood and found a cup on the dining table and a paper plate from the party earlier. "Trap it with the cup and slide this under it. Then carry it outside and drop everything. It'll be easy."

Ron accepted the cup and plate and slowly made his way over to the spider still lifeless on the wall. Slowly, he placed the cup over the spider, his hands trembling the entire way there. His hands still shook as he kept the cup over the spider and slowly tried to slide the paper plate under the cup and unmoving spider. He had to lift the cup up slightly in order to do so, making him more nervous. The paper plate had just touched the spider when the little black thing ran forward. Ron screamed and threw the cup and plate and ran away from the wall and back to the group, falling beside Harry. The spider was gone.

"Nice going, Weasley," Draco laughed. "Now the spider will come find you in your sleep and exact revenge!"

Draco wiggled his fingers dramatically and Ron looked terrified.

"Don't listen to him, Ron," Hermione said. "Spiders like that one are harmless."

"It's your turn," Harry said.

"I think I've had enough truth and dare to last me a lifetime," Ron said, staring in the direction the spider had been.

"If he won't go, then I'll go, Draco said. "Longbottom, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Neville said.

"I dare you . . ." Draco looked around the room, then at the fire pit, past the fire pit and his eyes lingered on Severus reading his book. A slow smirk overcame his face. He leaned close to Neville and whispered in his ear. Neville's face paled and he shook his head.

"What? What did he say?" Hermione asked.

Neville leaned and whispered in Hermione's ear. Hermione huffed, rolled her eyes and shook her head, leaning close to Harry to whisper in his ear.

"Take the book Professor Snape is reading," she whispered. Harry smiled and whispered that to Ron who looked at Severus nervously and gave Draco an "are-you-crazy" look.

"I'm not doing that!" Neville said, a faint tremor in his voice. "You try and do that!"

"I'm the one who gave the dare, I don't have to. Weasley, you do it."

"You're out of your mind! You do it if you really want to see it done!"

"You chicken, you could hardly handle that spider –"

"I'll do it!" Hermione decided, standing to her feet and marching over to Severus.

Everyone stared wide-eyed as they watched her, amazed that she was actually braving it.

"Evening, sir," Hermione smiled, standing in front of Severus's chair. "What are you reading?"

"A book," Severus answered with a suspicious look. "Why are you over here instead of playing with your friends?"

"They're being too much like boys."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Severus had an amused look.

"You know, eating gross stuff, roughhousing, wet willies and all."

"Wet willies? What is that?" Draco asked softly to Harry, who promptly licked his finger and stuck it in Draco's ear, giving a quick twist. "Eww!" Draco pulled away and pushed Harry over, pulling a blanket out from under the fort and wrapped Harry's head in it, trying to playfully smother him. Neville and Ron laughed.

"See what I'm saying?" Harry heard Hermione's voice and he wrestled out of the blanket and shoved Draco off him good-humoredly. He looked back at Hermione and his father.

"So I see," Severus smiled. "And you decide to see what I'm doing?"

"I like reading."

"Yes, as every teacher at Hogwarts knows. This is a book on the updated process of brewing Wolfsbane. It's a faster way and produces more product than the way I've been doing it."

"Wolfsbane? But why would you be brewing that?"

"I don't believe that is any of your concern, Miss Granger."

"It sounds really interesting. Are we gong to brew that this coming year?"

Severus snorted, "While I'm sure you'd manage well, it's a rather complicated process for most second years."

Hermione looked shocked at the subtle compliment, but a smile quickly spread across her face and she shyly looked away.

"If you'd like, Severus said, closing the book and holding it out to her, "you may read it before lights out later."

"Thank you, sir!" Hermione said, taking the book. Before she could walk away, Severus motioned for her to lean closer and he whispered in her ear. Harry frowned as Hermione walked back over to them.

"See? I got the book."

"Congratulations, Granger," Draco gave a slow applause.

"What did Dad tell you?" Harry asked.

Hermione picked up a pillow and said, "He dared me to start a pillow fight by smacking you across the face."

And with that, Hermione smacked Harry hard with the pillow. Laughing, Harry grabbed his own pillow and attacked her back. So his father had known all along about the dare Hermione had done. And he let her win! Draco grabbed his pillow and started beating down on Harry with it. Ron attacked Neville who struggled to pull his own pillow out from under him. Soon, everyone was beating each other with a pillow. Harry stood up and yelled "Charge!"

Everyone followed his lead as he raced over to Severus who was smirking at them form his chair. Seeing the kids running to him, Severus frowned and tried to say, "Don't you dare –"

The kids beat him mercilessly as he struggled to stand out of the chair. Once he was on his feet, he used a spell that lifted the pillows out of their hands. With a flick of his wrist, the pillows attacked the children on their own, flying around and smacking at them. The kids screamed and ran back to the fort, scrambling under the blankets. The pillows couldn't follow in and stopped their attack, falling lifeless to the floor.

Everyone got in their spots inside the fort, Hermione on the couch and the boys on the floor. Harry turned the lantern back on and pulled the pillows into the fort, handing them to each person.

"Who's in the mood for a scary story?" Hermione asked, grabbing the lantern and putting a part of her blanket over it.

"It better be good and scary if you're telling it," Draco said, adjusting the blanket and pillow he had.

"I'm not big on scary stories, but I'll listen in," Neville said.

"Try me!" Ron demanded, staring intently at Hermione, daring her to scare him.

Harry just settled in among his friends, ready for a good scary story.

"This is one my parents used to tell me when we went camping," Hermione informed. She adjusted the blanket over the lantern, making it darker under the fort. She cleared her throat loudly.

"At the end of the street lies an old abandoned house. No one dares to go inside, only a fool would be so stupid to want to explore such a place. Well, two kids who lived down the street thought they were the bravest in town. They told their parents they were going to the park, but instead, they went to the abandoned house. They could hear the distant laughter of their friends at the playground, but it all faded out as they entered the building.

It was dark, not a single light switch worked. One lightbulb flickered as it swung from the ceiling, though neither kid could feel any draft that would cause it to swing. They went deeper into the house, curious as to what was up those creaky stairs. Then they heard a noise.

Step! Draaag. Step! Draaag!

It was coming from the basement. The two kids stared down the dark stairway leading to the basement. The light switch didn't work there either. They heard it again!

Step! Draaag. Step! Draaag.

Neither kid wanted to go down those stairs. Then a shadow appeared on the wall at the bottom of the stairs, slowly creeping up the stairs.

Boom! Draaag. Boom! Draaag.

The kids backed away as the noise grew louder, the shadow grew larger and came ever so closer.

That's when they saw it, a tall dark figure with glowing yellow eyes, pointy teeth, and long clawed fingers. It moved towards them.

Step! Draaag. Step! Draaag. Step! Draaag . . ."

Thud!

A noise outside the fort startled everyone in it, even Hermione.

Thud! Draaag. Thud! Draaag.

"Is this part of the story?" Neville asked with a trembling voice.

"No, Neville," Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's probably just Harry's dad trying to scare us."

"Dad!" Harry called out. "Stop that! It's not working!"

Thud! Draaag. Thud! Draaag.

"He's ignoring me," Harry rolled his eyes this time.

"Harry . . ." Ron looked over Harry's shoulder with a terrified look. Everyone followed Ron's gaze.

A dark figure was standing in the fort with them – standing, even though the blanket seemed undisturbed by it. The five kids stared wide-eyed at it, gaping mouths and frozen bodies. The creature seemed to grow even taller under the fort. Hermione scrambled away, knocking the blanket off the lantern. Light filled the enclosed are and the dark figure opened its glowing yellow eyes, long clawed hands reaching out for the kids.

"Ahhhh!" Everyone screamed and scrambled over each other to escape the tent, messing up the fort entirely, getting tangled in the blankets and tripping over pillows. They continued to scream as they freed themselves and ran away from the ruined fort and into Severus, who came running from the kitchen.

"Hey, hey, calm down," Severus soothed as the children gathered behind him. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"There's a . . . there's a . . ." Neville stammered.

"We saw a . . . we saw . . ." Hermione tried to say.

"A monster!" Ron spat out. "There's a monster under there!"

"I believe you've all had enough scary stories for one night," Severus said in a concerned tone.

"No, we really saw it, Uncle!" Draco said, trying to stay as much behind the man as was possible. "It's there!" He pointed at the collapsed blankets that had once made the fort.

"We really did see it!" Harry added. "It was huge! And under the fort but it didn't mess anything up or . . . or even touch anything! It was like a ghost!"

"I can assure you all that there are no monsters or ghosts in this house," Severus said.

: And I can assure you all that you just fell for a fox's illusion.

Everyone froze and looked at the three-tailed fox lying lazily in Severus's armchair, a smug, foxy smirk pulling at his lips as he rested his head on his black paws, his ears flicking in amusement.

"Sam!" the kids yelled.


Don't worry, the sleepover isn't over yet! Unintentional overuse of over. Anyway, there's more to come in the next chapter with the sleepover. I hope you liked it so far.