AN:Hi all, welcome to the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy! I just managed to get this done before going to bed :)
I do not own, yaddy yaddy yadda. Harry Potter awesome, J.K Rowling awesome, I am not awesome.
Harry stumbled as his foot clipped the threshold but managed to maintain his balance. He straightened up and looked around the cottage. It was warm and cosy with cream walls with dark brown beams and dark brown polished floorboards. A squishy brown sofa and two armchairs filled the living room with a low coffee table separated the furniture. And old fashioned fireplace was lodged in the wall and curtains were drawn over the windows. Snape led him to the kitchen and motioned for him to sit at the wooden dining table. There were wooden cupboards everywhere with a simple fridge. The basin was sunk into the worktop and soap sat on a small dish beside the tap. All in all, the house seemed...normal. Harry jumped when Snape placed a glass of water firmly on the table in front of him.
"Drink it," Snape ordered and sat down at the other side of the table and laced his fingers together. Harry took a sip and then realised how parched he was. He began to gulp the water down quickly and Snape coughed disapprovingly.
"Slow down, Potter. I see your parent's fortune could not buy you any manners, disgusting boy."
Harry frowned at him and set the glass down. "I spent a night in a cell and they didn't exactly take good care of me, you know."
"They fed you, gave you enough liquid so you would not dehydrate and gave you a roof over your head. You were given enough to survive. I am sorry it wasn't delivered on a silver platter."
Harry released his grip on his glass so he wouldn't throw it at his most hated professor.
"What is going on?" Harry asked as he sat on his hands to prevent him from making any rude gestures. Snape simply raised his eyebrow. Harry glowered at him.
"We may not be at school, Potter, but I still deserve respect. Therefore you will always address me as sir," Snape lectured. Harry remained silent; if Snape wouldn't respect him, then no way Harry would respect him.
The older man sighed and Harry was sure he saw steam coming out of his ears. "I will overlook your disrespect this once, Mr. Potter, simply due to the fact that you had a rather shocking morning. That truth potion was tampered with and had the effect of telling the opposite of the truth. How that had happened within the Ministry, I do not know."
"I saw Wormtail in my cell last night," Harry interrupted. "He was in his rat form and he ran through a hole in the wall."
Snaped eyed him." Are you positive it was him, Potter?"
"Yes...sir. He has a missing toe."
"Then that explains it. Though Wormtail is cowardly and a weakling, he is quite skilled at potions," Snape looked disgusted at that fact. "He must have switched the potion. So now you obviously know what happened at the Ministry."
Harry simply nodded sadly.
"He also framed me. The Dark Lord now believes that I had attempted to assassinate him and I am now wanted dead by the Death Eaters," Snape continued. "Professor Dumbledore has arranged for us to go into hiding here until he can clear our names. We are at one of his holiday homes not registered on the magical market. No one knows that we are here except for a select few. There are no known magical residents here, only Muggles. Whilst we are living here, you will be Nathan, my nephew. Your parents had died and you came to live with me, we just moved here from Devon and you are being homeschooled. You are not to talk about magic or write letters to your Gryffindor friends as we cannot risk the chance of being discovered. Do you follow so far?"
"I can't write to Ron or Hermione?" Harry asked dumfounded. His heart deflated at being stuck with his professor for who knows how long with no contact from his friends.
"No, we cannot risk your letters being intercepted. We are both wanted fugitives and have a price on our heads. Our lives are at risk and we must blend in as much as possible. Mr. Weasley believes that you have attacked his father and Miss Granger will no doubt figure out where we are. Speaking of blending in, that brings me to the next point. Potter, are you listening?"
Harry looked up miserably at his teacher and nodded.
"You cannot perform magic, at all. We are outside Hogwarts and you can be traced with magic. I have been given a wand from a wizard who barely uses it as he prefers to be more Muggle and is happy for me to use it for as long as I need. Even I will use it only when needed but apart from that, we are no longer part of the magical world until we have been cleared. Professor Dumbledore will contact us from time to time. I must say he played his part well at the trial. So far, they cannot connect him to us which is lucky on both parties."
"I can't believe this is happening," Harry groaned and rested his head in his hands. "All I had to do was finish your detention and now look at me; I'm stuck here with you!"
"I didn't ask for this either, Potter. Of all the dunderheaded students I had to land myself with, it had to be you!"
Harry stood up from his chair and went to walk out of the room.
"Sit your backside down!" Snape barked viciously. Harry slowly obeyed after a few seconds of hesitation. "You will show me respect or I'll make your life a living hell in this house, Potter."
"And what is your backstory, sir?"
"I write reports for professors at various universities and I am a gardening fanatic. I am not a sociable person therefore I am not keen on meeting people. Muggles can enter the property but magical people must be invited in. Once they are invited, then they can come and go as they please. So if I ask you to invite me in, what do you say?"
"Uh...yes?" Harry asked unsure.
"No you idiotic child!" Snape yelled and slammed his hand on the table. Harry grabbed his glass which was close to the edge. "I have already been invited in so anyone who looks like me or claims to be me who asks to be invited in is clearly an imposter. Already you have put yourself in danger with that stupid response. Until you know what we are dealing with, you are not to leave the property for the next week unless I give you permission. For now you are grounded until you understand the situation."
"You have got to be kidding me!"
"I most certainly am not, Potter. Now I suggest you calm yourself down before you speak again. And I swear to Merlin it better be an intelligent question."
Harry thought back to yoga and slowed his breathing down and closed his eyes. He felt slightly more relaxed after a few seconds and opened his eyes.
"What do I call you out in public, sir?" Harry asked bitterly.
"For once I see you have listened," Snape sighed with mock shock. "Uncle Michael. That will be my name. However Professor is still acceptable as we adapt to our roles. Now I will not be worshipping you like your Muggle family, Potter. You will be doing chores and behaving or suffer my displeasure. Professor Dumbledore has a potions lab here so I can continue brewing and I may just leave some cauldrons extra dirty for you to clean if you don't keep your attitude and behaviour in check. You will not be falling behind in your classes either. Only because you are not at school does not mean you will be slacking around doing nothing. Your school books are in your bedroom and you will study everyday and write whatever essays I assign. You will also help me in the lab whenever I need you to chop and prepare ingredients."
"My school books are here?" Harry asked dumbfounded.
"Professor Dumbledore and I have already arranged everything that we need to be in this house including your belongings, food and new clothing."
"New clothes?"
"Do you not listen, Potter? No nephew of mine will be walking around in rags and tattered clothes like Oliver Twist. You will keep your appearance neat and be polite and well dressed. Your room is to be kept clean at all times and any mess you make will be cleaned up at once. I will make the meals and you shall wash the dishes and do whatever chores I think need doing. You will not be sitting around being a lazy child under my watchful eye. When our names are cleared nobody is going to believe that you are the same Harry Potter when I'm through with you. Any rules broken will have consequences that will fit the crime."
"Yes, sir," Harry squeaked.
"Good, now listen as I am only going to go through the rules once," Snape said as he leaned forward and placed both palms flat on the table. "Your bedtime will be at nine o'clock every weeknight and ten o'clock on the weekends. There will be no disrespect, backtalk or disobedience from you. You do what I say and when I say. Do not answer the door unless I tell you to and if you feel in danger then press the orb on your dogtag and I will aid you. Do not speak to strangers and do not invite anybody in our grounds. I do not want ant whining, crying or complaining, you are a teenager so act like one...minus the partying and sarcastic remarks. No, you know what? Act like an adult instead; be responsible for once in your life."
Harry cringed at all the rules and was determined to shout that he didn't need a bedtime but he was too exhausted to argue. If he was to live with Snape, he may as well try to co-operate...but that didn't mean he wasn't going to rebel, he'll just do that discreetly.
"Is there anything else, sir?" Harry asked, desperate to leave the man's presence. Only because they were in the same house did not mean they had to stay in the same room. Harry made his mind up right then on the spot that he will try and avoid being in the same room as Snape as much as possible. He'll even barricade himself in his room if it came down to it.
"Now, I will now give you a tour of the house," Snape said calmly and pushed his seat back. He beckoned Harry to follow and led him outside and into the back garden. The tall walls cast long and menacing shadows over the grass and made Harry shiver. The backyard was huge with a large greenhouse in the corner. Harry had a sudden fear of greenhouses since Wormtail's attack and decided that he would not step foot in one again. If he ever got back to Hogwart's he'll apologise to Sprout and do his Herbology outside the building. The grass was lush and green with heaps of various plants and vegetables growing in their soil beds. There was a basketball beneath a hoop attached to one of the garden walls.
"As you can see, there is something for you to do out here," Snape said in a bored tone. Harry had never played basketball before but at least he will have something new to try. He was dragged back in the house and was shown the bathroom, toilet, laundry, mudroom, storage, and finally his bedroom. Snape pushed open the door and Harry craned his neck to see what belonged to him. He had a king single bed, a closet, chest of draws, bookshelf and a simple desk and chair which was tucked underneath the window. He saw his Hogwarts trunk at the foot of his bed but no sign of Hedwig.
"Where's my owl?" Harry asked broken-hearted.
"She is too recognisable so she has been given to your godfather for the time being."
"She's with Sirius?"
"Yes but you will not be receiving any mail from anybody for the time being. The mutt has been giving strict orders to remain silent."
"Don't call Sirius a mutt!"
"I will call him whatever I please. Now Professor Dumbledore has so graciously given you non school books to read at your leisure, a pack of playing cards, some puzzle books and a flying snitch for you to play with." Snape looked at the clock on Harry's desk. "It is now eleven thirty, lunch will be at twelve thirty. If you are not at the table when I call, then you do not eat until dinner which will be at five thirty. Breakfast will be at seven thirty. I suggest you go outside and do something quiet."
Snape stepped back from the door and watched the boy to see what he would do next. Harry reached for the snitch and Snape rolled his eyes. "Of course he would pick the snitch, no surprise there."
"Do I have my broom?" Harry asked. Snape had to resisted clipping the boy around the head.
"What part of we are blending in do you not understand, Potter?"
"I just-,"
"Do Muggles fly brooms?"
"No, sir."
"No, they sweep the floor with them. Muggles don't fly and neither do you, Nathan."
Harry angrily walked past Snape and stopped at a closed door just down the hall from his room.
"What's that?" Harry said as he faced his teacher.
"That is my room. You are not to go in there unless it is an emergency or your life is in danger...and by that I mean an intruder is on the grounds or you have half a litre of blood left in your body. When that door is shut I am not to be disturbed. If it is open then you may attract my attention, otherwise stay away from it. The door next to it is the potions lab; the same rules apply. You do not enter it or disturb me when the door is shut."
Harry continued to walk down the hall and stopped outside an open door. Inside was a large oak desk and chair with bookshelves crammed with books lined against the walls. Harry guessed Snape would use that as a study. Typical, Snape got the fancy desk and Harry had a measly little bit of cardboard on legs in his room. He went outside and released the snitch. The golden ball buzzed near his head and teased him. He took off his jacket and placed it on the floor before running and chasing the snitch. Whenever he caught it he released it almost immediately and continued the cycle until lunchtime.
"Potter, clean yourself up and have some lunch," Snape called from the kitchen window. Harry wiped the sweat from his forehead from the blazing sun and ran indoors. He washed his hands at the sink. Harry dried his hands and sat at the table before pressing a glass of cold water to his lips.
"Hello, my boy," a kind voice said.
Harry spat out his drink all over Snape as he placed a ham and cheese sandwich down in front of him.
"Merlin, Potter!" Snape snarled as he flicked water off his robes.
Sitting opposite Harry was Dumbledore.