Chapter 4 – Travels

They appeared near a small cottage on the coast. Once the wards were carefully removed, Snape entered the cottage. He erected his own set of charms and protections. He sent Albus to bed for it was one o'clock in the morning by the time they got some things settled. From there, Snape sent his patronus to Harry and Ginny then to McGonagall. He relayed to them that they were safe and would be fairly constantly on the move. That said, the boy would keep up with his studies as they traveled. An hour or so later, he received their replies of understanding.

Albus awakened to the scent of food being prepared. He threw on his trousers and shirt and wandered into the kitchen to find Snape getting breakfast ready.

"Professor?"

Without turning, "Good morning, Albus. Wash your hands and set the table for us."

Snape served the food, "This cottage belongs to one of my former colleagues who is in Azkaban for life."

"I slept in a Death Eater's bed?" Albus was mortified.

"Albus," began Snape, "we can all become Death Eaters given the wrong circumstances and wrong attitudes."

"You were a Death Eater, weren't you?"

Pursing his lips, Snape dropped his eyes for a moment then looked at the boy, "Yes, I was. The operative word being 'was.'"

Albus cocked his eyebrow at Snape.

"You father never told you the story?"

Albus shook his head "no" even though he had read it in Aunt Hermione's book. He wanted to hear it from Snape himself.

"Your grandmother Lily was the only woman I ever loved. She was the one beam of light in the darkness of my miserable life. My parents were more than happy to see me off to school. My father could not even bother to make the trip to the train. Lily and I had known one another since we were children, even before Hogwarts. She was the most beautiful witch I had ever laid my eyes upon. She was even kinder than she was beautiful. At school, I was bullied by your grandfather James and his closest mate, Sirius Black. I acted badly and deeply insulted Lily," Snape started to explain. "That cost us all our lives in the end."

"I have her eyes, don't I?" Albus asked.

Snape nodded, "You do, Albus. Otherwise, you look like your father and his father before him."

"So, you like me, Professor?"

Snape's eyebrow cocked itself involuntarily, "Albus, I have learned a few things since your father was in my care. You are you and not James nor Harry nor Lily. I've made peace with the past."

"But do you like me?" Albus insisted.

"Albus, you are sufficiently tolerable for a child," Snape stated matter-of-factly.

Albus figured this was about as much as he could extract today. He put that aside for the moment.

"What's next, sir?"

"We need to get you a wand and textbooks, so that your studies will not suffer unduly from this interruption," Snape added as he sent the dishes to the sink to wash themselves.

"Are we staying here until things work themselves out?"

"No. This is only temporary until we can put together a better plan. I can't even promise you that we will remain in the country. We have twin objectives – keep you safely out of the Ministry's hands and ensure that your magical education does not suffer. That may mean going abroad. It most assuredly means wand and textbooks for you."

Albus wrinkled his nose at the thought of lessons, "But it's so near the end of term, couldn't we just start summer holiday early?"

Snape looked at him incredulously, "Absolutely not. Your father put me in charge of you and your education. Now is not the time to go slack. We are going to be hunted by the best aurors the Ministry has on its payroll. It will take all our Slytherin cunning to avoid detection and capture, my boy!"

Snape, whose eyes were now glittering, was back in his element, and young Albus Potter was merely along for the ride.

Their first stop was a wand shop in Ireland where they both got new wands. Snape next stopped and selected texts for Albus's continued training. Typically, they were advanced texts since his plan did not include a summer holiday. He would give this lad, who bore his name, a magical education, most fitting of that name. Finally, they got some fresh clothes for their next round of travels.

Snape booked them passage to the continent on the wizards' ferry that traversed the waters between the British Isles and continent. They landed in France nearly a day later. Albus barely slept; his curiosity kept him wide-awake. Snape dozed in their compartment. He had warded the door so that neither could Albus slip out nor could anybody slip in without waking him. He slept with his wand gripped tightly in his hand. Since Snape had selected a cabin with a porthole, Albus contented himself with watching the ocean as his personal Headmaster slept lightly in the seat.