A/N: Well! Here's another fast update you guys! And it's our longest chapter yet! 17 pages! In this, I introduce Sylvia, Sev's little sis. Her name is pronounced: Sihl-vee-uh. Yep. And we introduce Voldie again, given ya'll an update on what moldy-shorts has been doin' lately.
I'll just be saying now, the horses will be a fairly large part in this fic, but not overwhelmingly so. Thank you guys for following! So: SLASH OR NO SLASH?
So far the tally is: Slash-3+me want slash=4 :: No Slash-4
It's a tie! I have to make my decision by this next chapter or the one after that…so VOTE! And the next chapter WON'T GO UP TILL I'VE GOT 73 REVIEWS! Weird # but oh well.
Thank you for reading you guys! Reviews bring updates faster! :D
I own Sylvia, the animals, Prince Manor, and the plot.
Chapter 9: Welcome to Prince Manor
Voldemort stared at the simple Muggle dwelling, sanguine eyes narrowed. He had waited two days, but he had had enough with postponing this raid. Lucius was standing at his side, Death Eater mask firmly in place.
"Shall we advance, my Lord?" The Malfoy patriarch asked softly.
"Yessss…" Voldemort hissed, twidling his wand between his hands in an impatient habit he'd never bothered to break.
Lucius nodded and gliding through the small group of Death Eaters to the front to adress them. "Search the house for the boy, but do not hurt him. Take him. Do not remove the Muggles unless it is necessary." He ordered calmly.
"Yes sir." Thorfinn Rowle said, rubbing his gloved hands together.
Their group consisted of Voldemort, Lucius, Thorfinn, the Carrows, Dolohov, Evan Rosier and Travers. As they moved forward as one, Voldmeort smiled, but it looked all wrong on his noseless face.
Travers blasted the door open, wand at the ready. Petunia came dashing into the hallway, eyes wide. "Who are you? What do you want?" She demanded, holding up an umbrella hastily snatched from the stand.
The Death Eaters ignored her as they filed into the house, Voldemort, gesturing for them to begin their search. "Get out of my house, you freaks!" Petunia shrieked.
Voldemort turned to fix her with a cool, deadly gaze. "Where is the boy?"
"I won't let you hurt my Diddykins!" She shouted, backing into the living room as the Dark Lord slowly advanced.
"I do not want your son, filth." Voldemort spat, dangerously close to snapping. "Where is Harry Potter?"
"P-Potter? I have no idea who you're talking about." She said stiffly, moving behind the couch.
"Well, then you've lost your usefullness, haven't you?" Dolohov, who had followed his Lord, jeered at the frightened woman.
"Where is your son and husband?" Voldemort asked, surveying the room.
"Vernon is at work…and Dudley is a Piers' house." Petunia stammered.
"Good. You will tell no one that this has happened." He said softly, raising his wand. "Imperio."
Petunia's gaze became blank. "Now be a good Muggle and sit on the couch until further orders are given." The Dark Lord ordered over his shoulder as he swept from the room.
A loud crash came from upstairs, and the snake-like man frowned at the ceiling. Seconds later, Amycus Carrow appeared at the top of the stairs. "He's not here, my Lord."
Voldemort's eyes narrowed. "And you should see his room." Amycus added.
The Dark Lord made his way up the stairs, following Amycus' pointed finger to the door of his nemesis' bedroom. Said door was covered with locks, and had a cat-flap installed in the bottom.
He entered the room carefully, taking in the surroundings. The first thing he noticed was the bed, with plenty of springs sticking up from the mattress. A feeble hoot came from the other side of the room, and he whipped his head around, wand raised.
An snow-white owl was perched inside a dirty, padlocked cage. Slowly moving over to the cage, he called, "Travers, come here."
Travers appeared seconds later. "Mi'Lord?"
"Open this cage." Voldemort ordered.
Travers moved into the room and opened the cage with a quickly cast Alohomora. The owl hopped out onto his arm almost immediately, looking exahusted and hungry. "What should I do with it?" Travers asked somewhat stupidly, staring at the bird.
In response, Voldemort blasted through the bars on Potter's window. "Let it go. It shall serve as nothing more than the Muggle let it out." He said.
Travers practically threw the owl out the window, as it refused to moved. On its way out, it managed to claw him in the face with her talons, drawing blood. Cursing, Travers healed himself and stalked out of the room.
Voldemort smirked and call the rest of the Death Eaters to him in the entry hall. "Dursley! Come!" The woman shambled out of the living room and towards him, amongst the snickers of the Death Eaters.
"Get out, call your husband, son, whatever. Do not speak of this to anyone. When Harry Potter is mentioned, do not reply in any way." The Dark Lord ordered.
Petunia nodded. "Do you know where the boy is?" Voldemort asked.
"No." Was the emotionless response.
He frowned and motioned the woman out of the house, himself and the Death Eaters following. "Torch it." He said nonchalantly, Disapparating.
His followers gladly set the house ablaze as the woman walked down the street numbly. When the house was burning like a bombfire, they all Disapparated with sharp POPs.
-ooOoo-
"Ah!"Harry snapped awake, panting.
Draco awoke at his shout and sat straight up. "Wha-?"
"Dream." Harry said, pressing his palm to his forehead.
"Dream? About what?" Draco asked tiredly.
"Nothing. It's just Voldemort being an arse." Harry grumbled sinking back into the covers.
"Huh? You can see what the Dark Lord does?" Draco suddenly looked excited.
"It's none of your buisness." Harry grouched, throwing himself off the bed and wrapping his shirt tightly around himself. "I've got to go."
"What? Where are you going?" Draco quickly followed the Boy-Who-Lived, throwing on a bathrobe.
"None of your buisness!" Harry shouted, opening the door and walking out.
"Well, I was just wondering where the bloody hell you want to go waltzing out to at two in the bloody morning!" Draco spat, stalking after him.
"Yes, Mr. Potter. Where are you going at two in the morning?" The boys whipped around to the sight of Severus leaning up against the wall near the kitchen.
"Well…uh…" Harry glanced between the two, then met Snape's eyes, desperatley trying to convey the message that he needed to see Dumbledore.
"I see." Snape said, getting the idea. "Draco go back to sleep. I shall esscort Mr. Potter to the hospital wing." Draco pouted, but shuffled back into the guest room without a fight.
Harry wanted to smack someone. "I need to go to-"
"Shh!" Snape hissed, striding past him and opening the portrait hole, letting Harry pass him.
"You imbecile! Draconis' father avidly supposrts the Dark Lord, you fool!" Severus snapped as they hurried to Dumbledore's office. "What if he'd heard you?"
"Oh…I…I'm sorry." Harry felt surprised and stupid.
He was still in a haze from his nightmare, watching the house he'd grown up in burn to the ground and his aunt put under the Imperius curse. Stumbling along after Snape, they arrived at Dumbledore's office, and with a spat password, (Blood-Pops) they entered the room.
"Potter had a nightmare." Snape said darkly, folding his arms across his chest as Harry sank into the chair before Dumbledore's desk.
"Oh? And what was this nightmare about, Harry?" Albus asked, twinkling as he steepled his fingers and peered over his half-moon spectacles at them.
"Voldemort." Severus flinched. "He and a few Death Eaters searcher my aunt and uncle's house and burned it. My aunt is under the Imperius curse to not tell anyone about me." Harry explained blankly, staring at the grain of the wood floor.
"Ah, I see." Dumbledore frowned. "Which Death Eaters were there?" He asked.
"Uh, I recognized Malfoy and I think…Dollyhave?" Harry looked up, hopelessly lost.
"Dolohov. Antonin." Snape corrected. "He would've been there, he's part of the Dark Lord's Inner Circle, as is Lucius." The Potions master slowly, in a dignified manner, sat in the other vacant chair next to Potter.
"I wonder if the whole Inner Circle was there." The dark-haired man mused, drumming his fingertips on the chair's right arm. "What did the others look like, Potter?"
"Well, there was seven, and Voldemort. Malfoy, Dolohov, a guy with shaggy dirt-brown hair, a boy and girl twin pair, and some dude with greyish-silver hair." Harry said. "Those are the six I got a good look at."
"The other you did not see?" Albus asked.
Harry shook his head. "The last one had their hood and mask on."
"Let's see, that's Thorfinn Rowle, the Carrows, Lucius, Antonin, and Evan Rosier. That's some of the Inner Circle. The last I'd bet was also close to the Dark Lord." Snape cogitated.
"Alright. Thank you, my boys. Now why don't you two go back to sleep, and I'll contact the Order." Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling madly.
Severus glared at the abrupt dissmissal, but honored the old coot's wishes and swept from the room fluidly. "Sir? What's the Order?" Harry asked.
"Have Severus explain it, Harry, there is much I must attend to." Dumbledore said vacantly.
Harry stomped from the room in a huff, reaching Snape's side where the man was standing at the foot of the stairs, waiting. "What's the Order?" Harry asked tartly.
Snape frowned, but was too tired to correct the boy on his respect-or lack thereof. "The Order of the Phoenix is a secret society Dumbledore founded back during the first war to combat the Dark Lord." He informed his charge.
"Can I join? Whose in it?" Harry asked eagerly, annoyance vanishing as quickly as you could Apparate.
"No, you cannot join. As to whose in it; your Godmutt, your werewolf, some Aurors, Mad-Eye, the elder members of the Weasley clan, and myself." Severus explained dryly.
"Neat! When can I join? Why can't I now?" Harry was practically bouncing around.
Severus fixed him with a stern glare as they walked. "You are much too young."
Harry pouted, vivid green eyes softening. "Fine. Be that way."
"It's not my rules." Severus had no idea why he was defending himself against the infuriating child, but as they arrived at the entrance to his chambers, he said, "Now we'll talk about this tomorrow, I for one, would like to go back to sleep."
Septimus let his portrait swing inwards to let them in, rolling his eyes at his descendent's antics. Snape swept into his rooms, Harry following at his heels like a puppy. Feeling irritated at this, Harry stomped into the guest room, ignoring Snape as he strode into his room, closing the door loudly.
The Boy-Who-Lived shut the door behind him and turned around, and was immediately faced by an irate blonde Slytherin. "Where'd you go?" Draco demanded, molten silver eyes flashing.
"To the infirmary. Snape said as much, don't you trust him?" Harry replied calmly.
"…" Draco stepped back a little, frowning. "Of course I trust him. He's my Godfather. I've grown up with him."
"Good. Now can I come in?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.
Draco sighed and moved away from his fellow charge. "Whatever. Let's go back to sleep."
Harry agreed and moved back to his bed, crawling under the covers. "G'Night, Malfoy."
"'Night, Potter." Draco replied gruffly as he relaxed against his pillow.
Several silent seconds later, Harry said, "Hey, Malfoy?"
"What, Potter?"
"Do ya' think we could call each other by our first names?" Harry asked curiously.
"Whatever, Harry." Draco grumbled.
"Thanks, Draco. 'Night."
"Whatever."
And they slept.
-ooOoo-
When Harry woke up the next morning, it was to a loud, rumbling noise. Groaning and rubbing his eyes, he turned to face the opposite side of the room. Draco, the Slytherin Ice Prince was spread out across his bed, belly down, face smushed into the pillow. And he was snoring. Loudly. Harry couldn't help but sleepily giggle, before rolling over and falling back asleep.
After what seemed like only a few seconds, Snape was knocking on the door, ordering them awake. "It's morning, wake up, you two!"
When this was met by no response, Severus walked in and yanked the curtains apart, letting sunlight spill into the room. Draco moaned and threw his arm across his face. Severus prodded him roughly in the shoulder and did the same for Harry, then walked out again.
"Up!" He called over his shoulder as he made his way through the living room.
Draco, being used to sleeping in a queen-sized bed at least, rolled over and fell to the floor with a thud in a tangle of blankets. Harry snapped awake at the blonde's cry of shock.
"Wha-!" He shot straight out of bed, blankets tangling around his legs.
The teen tripped and fell, landing on top of Malfoy, who squawked indignantly. "Gerroff me, Potter!"
Harry struggled to right himself, and the two managed to sit up. Severus glanced into the room as he passed, heading towards his laboratory to grab some extra Potions ingredient. Pausing, he arched a thin eyebrow.
Draco glared and jumped to his feet. "Never wake us up like that again." He growled.
Harry smirked as he stood as well, running his hands through his already messy hair. "Good morning, Professor."
"'Morning, Potter." Snape paused. "We shall be eating in the Great Hall this morning, so get dressed and ready, then we'll go." He said, before vanishing down the corridor.
"I hate being woken up early." Draco grumbled as he threw his blankets back onto the bed, face twisted into a fierce glower.
"Oh, well. Maybe we can sleep it tomorrow." Harry said cheerfully, just to get on the blonde's nerves.
Malfoy ground his teeth together. "Shut up, Potter." He hissed out, silver eyes flashing.
"Aw, I thought we were on first name terms now, Draco!" Harry teased, grinning impishly.
"Shut up, Harry." Draco teased back, anger seeping away as the Boy-Who-Lived's vivacious behavior became contagious.
Moving as one, the two began to rumage through their trunks, looking for appropriate clothes to wear. "Hey, Draco, how's the weather at this Manor place?" Harry asked.
"Hotish. Not that bad, but on other days it's scorching. You should probably wear a t-shirt or something." Draco replied, neatly folding his choice of clothing for the day.
Harry snorted loudly, making Draco look over at him. "What?"
"All I own is t-shirts that are too big for me and sweatpants and jeans. They're all hand-me-downs from my cousin." Harry told his Slytherin counterpart, who moved over to inspect the choices of said clothing.
His curious face immediately turned to one of digust as he saw the mess of Harry's trunk. "Well, these certainly won't do." He said primly, stalking back over to his own trunk dramatically.
"Here." Draco said a few moments of careful deliberation later. "These should work nicely."
He deposited a bundle of clothes into Harry's waiting arms, looking triumphant. "And this," He threw a Slytherin scarf around Harry's neck, "Should go with your eyes."
Harry laughed out loud, and Draco found himelf oddly flattered by the sound. "Thanks, Dray."
The flattered feeling slipped through his fingers like water. "Pardon?" Draco asked stiffly. "What did you just have the nerve to call me?"
"Dray. It's your new nick-name." Harry responded, clearly not modest enough to wait until Draco had even left to change into his newly aquired clothes.
"Dray?" Draco repeated dumly. "Nick's name?"
"Nick-name." Harry corrected as he forced the cast threw a sleeve.
"My name does not Nick!" Draco snapped. "And it never shall!"
"Sure, Dray."
"Shut up, Harry."
Harry grinned and turned to display himself. "How do I look?"
Draco noted with amusement that the other had left the Slytherin scarf around his neck. "Acceptable." He joked, smirking. "Better then those disgusting Muggle clothes."
"Hey, Muggles are cool." Harry said, folding his arms.
Harry ended up wearing a pair of dark jeans and a deep purple shirt, with the Slytherin scarf wrapped around his neck and a pair of old sneakers. Draco was looking as snobbish as usual, with a neat evergreen t-shirt over black slack-like pants, and a shiny pair of trainers.
The two went to breakfast without a thought about waiting for Severus, as they were two caught up in talking about the Manor. When they entered the Great Hall, Draco explaining something eagerly and Harry laughing, the staff all looked amongst themselves, amused.
Draco added hand gestures into the story he was telling, which only made Harry laugh harder. As they sat down, Harry began to choke on his laughter, and the amusement turned into wracking coughs. Draco scowled and smacked hm on the back.
Harry choked out another cough, then straightened up, wiping tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes. "Okay, never make me laugh again."
Draco snorted, rolling his eyes and collected his morning strawberries. Harry raised en eyebrow at his tenative friend's abundance of the little red fruits. "What's up with the strawberries?"
Draco shrugged. "Dunno. I like 'em." He said around a mouthful of said fruits.
Then it was Harry's turn to roll his eyes. "Looks more like an unhealthy obsession to me."
"But I thought strawberries were good for you!" Draco said, looking at the fruits gathered on his plate suspicously.
Harry gave a smirk worthy of Severus. "I'm joking, Dray."
"Oiy! Don't call me Dray, you… you furry texture!" Draco retorted.
"…" Harry stared at the blonde. "Furry texture?"
"Well, Harry. Like hairy!" Draco explained. "Duh."
Harry made face. "Sure, Dray-Dray."
"Oh, Merlin. Don't call me that, you sound like Parkinson." Draco grouched as Severus swept into the Hall.
"Don't you like her?" Harry asked, confused. "You dated her last year."
"Yeah, on my parents' orders. I've got a bloody arranged marriage with her." Draco replied, stabbing a piece of food with his fork and shoving it into his mouth to chew angrily.
"So you don't like her."
"Duh. She's stupid and all she cares about is being a Pureblood and looking pretty when really she's ugly and lot's of other stuff." Draco frowned. "I do not like her at all."
Severus sat beside his Godson. "Who?"
"Pansy Parkinson." Harry responded, chewing away at his toast.
"I see. Lucius still wants to go through with the arranged marriage?" Snape asked.
"Yes." Draco stabbed another strawberry.
McGonagall looked over at the three. "I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy, but I couldn't help but over hear your conversation." She said from Harry's right. "Did you say you have an arranged marriage with Miss Parkinson?"
"Yeah. Since I was like 9, I've known." Draco griped.
"Oh, well, my condolensces." Minerva said dryly, noticing Draco's expression of distaste.
"Yeah. Same here, Dray." Harry offered.
Snape barked out a laugh. "Dray?"
"Yes…furry texture here has been calling me that all morning."
"Furry texture?"
"Yeah, Dray's called me that since I called him Dray-Dray." Harry added.
Snape smirked. "Interesting."
"Yeah, whatever, Uncle Sev." Draco muttered, finishing up his breakfast.
As he put his fork down, a grey eagle owl swooped in and landed on the table in front of him. He removed the letter and read aloud to Severus:
"Dear Draco and Severus,
I have already taken the liberties of sending the rest of your things, Draco, to Prince Manor for your stay this summer. A certain surprise shall be there for you too. I do hope you are well, and am so sorry things got so out of hand with your father.
Severus, thank you for taking Draco in for the summer, it means a lot. Lucius threw a fit when he realized Draco was gone, but I believe it is for the best. Take care of him for me, please? Thank you again, I cannot express my graditude.
Sincerely, with love,
Narcissa Black-Malfoy."
Draco looked up. "Translation. My stuff is at the Manor, my mum is angry at my father, and she says thank you." He said, folding the latter and stowing it in his pocket before eyeing the dark-haired Potions master.
"You don't happen to know what my surprise is, do you?" He asked suspicously.
Snape smirked evilly. "Not a clue."
Draco frowned and fed Stormbringer a strawberry. "You do, but you aren't going to tell me, are you?" He muttered.
Severus' smirk grew wider. "Your theory is correct, Mr. Malfoy."
"Oh, shut up, you bloody great git." Draco growled, shoving his chair back and standing. "C'mon, Storm."
The large owl hooted softly and flew off ahead of Draco, presumably to the dungeons. "Severus, it's quite good to see you and Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter getting along so swimmingly." Dumbledore noted cheerily.
"Indeed." Snape replied. "Potter, we're leaving soon, do try to make it back to my rooms before then." With that, Severus stood, and for once did not stalk, sweep or stride out of the Hall.
Instead, the Potions master walked, nonchalantly, like a normal person. Harry watched, grinning. "Yes sir." He said cheekily, finishing his food and standing up.
"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore, for last night." He said as he left.
"Thank you, Harry." Was the reply. Harry could practically hear the blue eyes twinkling.
-ooOoo-
"Hey, Potter!"
Harry looked up from his last minute packing and turned around. "What?"
"You wanna' come to the owlrey with me to get Eros and send a ltter to my mum?" The blonde asked.
"Uh, sure, just give me a minute to finish this." Harry threw in the last object, hi school cloak, and straightened up. "Let's go."
They walked out of the guest room, and Draco called, "Sev? Me and furry texture are going to the owlrey real quick!"
Snap peeked his head around the wall that led to the kitchen. "Well, meet me at the entrance hall in 10 minutes or so." He said curtly, surveying the two. "And be careful."
"Yes, mother." Draco replied cheekily, grinning as Snape scowled and vanished back into the kitchen.
The pair high-fived, then made their way out to the owlrey. When they got there, the first question Harry asked was, "So which one is Eros?"
In response to this, a grey owl hooted loudly and fluttered down to meet them. Harry's second question was, "Whose owl is he?"
"Severus'." Draco answered shortly, pulling out a sheet of parchment and tying it to the owl's leg. "Deliver this to Narcissa Malfoy and meet us at Prince Manor." The blonde ordered before letting the owl hop onto his arm.
The Slytherin walked over to the window and let the bird fly off, watching until the owl was only a tiny speck in the sky. "We should probably go meet Professor Snape now." Harry noted, staring at the clear blue sky.
"Yep." Draco agreed, and they started the walk back down to the castle.
When they got to the entrance hall, Severus was already there, in his black robes, waiting for them. He raised an eyebrow. "I used Eros to send a ltter to my mum, and told him to meet us there." Draco explained.
Harry nodded in confirmation. "Well, as long as you weren't fighting…" Severus said, before turning on his heel and striding off.
"Wait, what about our trunks?" Harry asked, hurridley tacking on a, "Sir?"
"Magic. I have them in my pocket, along with my things." Severus responded dryly, without slowing or looking back at them.
Harry and Draco exchanged a look, green and silver eyes both rolling. When they reached the Apparition wards, Severus held out his arms. "I'll side-along you, and whatever you do, don't let go."
Draco immediately stepped into his Godfather's reach, twining himself around the offered arm. "I hate Apparating…" He whispered huffily.
Snape gave Harry a pointed stare. "Well, Mr. Potter?"
Harry hesitantly approached, asking, "What exactly is Apparition?"
Severus frowned. "Have you heard of the Muggle term teleporting?" Harry nodded. "It's teleporting."
"Oh. Does it hurt?"
"No, but it feels very strange." Snape responded, waving his arm. "Take my arm, Potter."
Harry stepped forward and grabbed Snape's forearm, the way Draco had. Suddenly, all the air was being crushed out of his lungs, and he was being squeezed through a very small tube.
With a loud POP, the feeling vanished and Harry tipped forward, releasing Snape's arm and loosing his balance. He face-planted into the ground before he could do anything about it, coughing violently.
He heard a groan from the ground beside him, and when his head stopped spinning, he realized Draco was on the ground, holding his stomach. "I hate Apparating." The blonde hissed.
"Me too." Harry moaned, dry heaving as he got to his hands and knees.
Severus chuckled dryly, and the boys looked up at him. He was standing, smirking down at them. "You get used to it after awhile." He said, extending hands to both of them.
When they took the offered hands, Snape hauled them to their feet. Draco managed to keep his footing, but Harry stumbled and ran into Severus. The Boy-Who-Lived flinched back, wary of a rebuttal.
But instead of smacking him, Severus merely placed a steadying hand on his charge's shoulder. "Alright, Potter?"
Harry nodded, blushing crimson at Draco's curious look. The blonde raised an elegant eyebrow, but Harry shook his head, shrugging one shoulder. Then, he looked around, taking in his surroundings and gasped.
They were standing on a long, gravel driveway, which was lined by rows of oak trees, causing ample shade to dapple the rock-strewn path. Beyond the drive, past the trees, there were rolling green pastures and in the distance a large stable yard.
Within the pastures, scattered around, was standing a relatively large herd of horses. They were all colors, duns, bays, blacks, greys, chestnuts, paints, roans, and a dazzling white. One of the blacks was galloping full speed along the fence away from them, up the drive.
At the end of the drive was a huge, elegant house. It appeared to be almost in a Victorian style. The outside was a light grey stone, with the occasional darker stone accent. The mansio-like house was three stories tall, with a rooftop vista.
The gravel drive ended in a circle, which surrounded a large obsidian fountain ornately decorated with rearing horses. The sprawling front lawn led into beautiful forests wrapping around the house, and a mysterious path leading around the house on the right.
Three cars were parked on a small neck of gravel off to the left of the circle. The first, an old red pick-up truck, the second a lime green and black Jeep, and the third a dark blue convertible, currently topless.
Next to these cars, parked on the grass, was a six-horse, cherry-red trailer and a smaller two-horse grey trailer besides that. Past the gravel strip was an old shed, that housed Quidditch equipment.
A lush, vibrant flowerbed stretched underneath the windowsills, and an English Creeper Vine had managed to spread itself out over the left corner of the mansion, tendrils holding onto the cracks of the old stone. The vine was dotted with brilliant pink and yellow flowers, which stood out brightly against the evergreen plant.
There were four wide marble steps leading up to the wrap-around porch, which had a large swing hanging from the ceiling not far from the door. The doors were massive, with two knockers framed by rearing horses.
Two dogs were sleeping in front of said doors, a large German Shepherd and an Egyptian Pharoah Hound. The pair was snoozing quietly, a warm breeze ruffling their fur every once in awhile. A white cat was padding along the edge of the house, tail erect.
Harry took a deep breath. "Wow." He breathed simply.
"Welcome to Prince Manor." Severus said, a smirk pulling at his lips as he began to walk down the long gravel driveway.
Draco beamed fondly around at his surroundings. "I love this place." He stated dotingly.
Harry sighed. "Woah. I mean, this place is…is…amazing!" He gasped out, staring stupidly at the group of horses.
Draco laughed aloud. "Yeah, it is, isn't it?"
"Come along, you two!" Snape called over his shoulder, robes flowing in the wind behind him as he walked.
"Yeah, wait until you see inside." Draco said, nudging Harry in the shoulder.
Harry nodded dumbly, following after his fellow charge. "This place is cool." He mumbled.
When they arrived at the door, Severus placed his palm against the door and murmured a password. The lock clicked audibly, and the Potions master pushed the huge heavy door open.
The Pharoah Hound looked up sleepily and barked. "Bella!" Draco crowed, dropping to his knees and throwing his arms around the dog as she padded over to him. "Hi, girl? Did ya' miss me? Huh?"
Harry watched the scene unfold, nervously watching as the other dog, the German Shepherd joined them. "This is Marcus." Severus introduced softly as Harry shyly reached down to let the animal sniff his hand.
When Marcus licked his palm, Harry smiled at the tickling feeling. Severus smirked in turn, watching Draco roll around with the normally reserved Egyptian Hound.
"You're a good girl, Bella! Yes, you are!" Draco crooned, scratching the eager dog behind her ears.
Harry carefully stroked the patient German Shepherd's head, a bright smile lighting his face at the animal's easy acceptance. "I've never had a dog." He noted.
Snape smirked. "We have lots of animals here."
Suddenly something dawned on Harry. "Who takes care of them when you're at school, Professor?" He inquired.
"My little-"
"SEVERUS!" Someone shrieked, voice laced with excitement.
A dark shape barrelled out of the house and into Snape's arms. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" The person demanded.
Snape stumbled back under the sudden weight of the person, who had thrown their arms around him tightly and was set on crushing all the air from his lungs. "Ack! Sylv…Sylvia, let go!" He gasped.
The person stepped back, beaming up at Severus. She had raven hair, like Severus, and shining silver-blue eyes. Her cheekbones were set high on her face, and she had a fairly prominent nose. The woman was fairly skinny, with pale skin, but not as sallow as Snape's.
The resemblance was very clear, although she looked a fair bit younger then Snape. "Is that…your daughter, Professor?" Harry asked, feeling out of the loop.
The woman threw her head back and laughed. Severus frowned. "No, Potter, I do not have any children. She is my little sister, Sylvia." He said.
The raven-haired woman stopped laughing and held her hand out. "I'm Sylvia, but you can call me Sylver. Or whatever else you can come up with. Who're you?"
"Erm…I'm Harry Potter." He said, shaking her hand.
"Cool! Why don't you guys come in?" She moved aside and ushered them in, then screeched, "DRACO!"
Malfoy braced himself as she gathered him into a fierce hug. "Hi!" She squealed happily.
"Hi, Sylvia." He greeted as she practically picked him up with the force of her hug.
When she released him, she turned to Snape and swatted him on the arm. "Why didn't you owl me?" She demanded.
"I did not have time. Draco and Harry were both lifted from the hands of their abusive relatives recently." Snape said, absentmindedly using Harry's first name.
"Oh, that's dreadful! Are you guys okay?" She asked, worry shining in her silver eyes.
Draco nodded. "I'm doing better then him, I'm not hacking my guts up every five seconds." He said, smirking at Harry, who scowled.
"I am not…" He mumbled, still shocked that Snape had used his first name.
"Well, Mr. Potter, do be careful. We do not want the savior of the Wizarding World loosing his guts now, do we?" Snape asked, a smirk pulling at his lips.
Harry realized with another jolt of shock that Snape was joking, as lame as that joke may have been. "No sir, that would not be very good." He replied.
Bella had padded in after them, affectionately head-butting Snape's thigh before moving on, tail swishing. Sylvia closed the door, and Harry took in the surroundings. To their left was a large, winding staircase, with a cherry wood banister and an intractely woven carpet beneath their feet.
A hall led further into the house, whereas to the right lay a parlor. Inside the parlor was a grand piano and several couches, chairs, and loveseats surrounding a few coffee tables. The room was brightly lit, surrounded by windows with cushioned seats.
Harry looked around, noting how cheery the place was. And the girl, Sylvia, Snape's little sister. From what he could tell so far, she was a polar-opposite of Snape. But then again, Snape hadn't been so malicously dreadul to him as of late, even going so far as to save him.
Snape gestured down the hallway. "Shall we show Mr. Potter around?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Alright." Sylvia agreed. "I'll see you guys in awhile, I have to go exercise Captain." The woman winked at Harry. "It was nice meeting you, Harry." With that, she swept out the front door in the same billowing manner Snape did.
Severus shook his head, pulling his hair back into a ponytail with a hairband that had been wrapped around his wrist. "Again, welcome to Prince Manor, Mr. Potter." The Potions master then led the way into the house, down the hallway.
Harry shared a glance with Draco, who grinning from ear to ear. "I love this place." Draco said, striding off after Snape.
The Boy-Who-Lived blinked owlishly, then shrugged and followed the two Slytherins.
-ooOoo-
