Severus woke the next morning at seven feeling restless, as he always did in the morning; he had always been an insomniac. At home, he played the piano when he couldn't sleep, but at Hogwarts, he often walked the halls. These traipses served a dual purpose; they allowed him to clear his head, but also catch rule-breakers like Potter.

Potter.

Severus had momentarily forgotten that Potter was currently staying in his house and upon the realization, uttered a small groan and ran a hand tiredly over his face. Although the boy's presence had not been as abysmally intolerable as usual, Severus knew sooner or later his true colors would be exposed and he would return to hating the boy with all his might.

Not that he had stopped hating the boy, whatsoever.

Severus woke and bathed, thinking about Hogwarts as he stood in the scalding hot water. He didn't bathe much at Hogwarts because he was usually distracted by more important matters, but due to the large bathtub he had at the cottage, and his bathroom's view of the lake, he did so with much more frequency during the summers there. After dressing, he tended to his scars and after another annoyed sigh, put on his dratted glasses.

He trudged down the stairs, mentally slapping himself for not telling the boy an exact time to be awake for breakfast. Today he was going to set down the rules for the duration of this…stay, because in his experience, Potter, though a chronic rule-breaker, would wreak havoc everywhere if not for some stringent limitations. Like the teenage boy he was, Potter was probably going to sleep until noon and then expect breakfast. Well, perhaps not. After what Severus had heard about the boy's relatives, he thought that perhaps a few of his strictly-held beliefs had been slight misconceptions…

Caught up in his musings, Severus descended the stairs and was shell-shocked to see Potter standing at the counter, clean and dressed, holding a spoon. From the smell and bowl of batter behind him, the boy seemed to be making pudding.

"Good morning, sir," said the boy…nervously? "I'm making pudding."

"I see that, Potter. I have eyes." Severus tried to think of a way to ridicule the boy. "You think me a child, that I would eat pudding?"

Potter frowned. "Pudding isn't exclusively for children to eat. It's just breakfast." He raised his eyebrows for emphasis, then turned around and continued mixing.

Severus glared at him, but though he was loath to admit it, the food smelled remarkably good, and Severus was not up to cooking. He threw a hateful glance towards Potter that he did not see, and slowly sat down at a chair, pouring himself a cup of coffee from the pot on the table.

"Did you sleep well?" Potter asked. As if he were the host. Severus rolled his eyes.

"None of your business, Potter." He growled.

Potter turned around carrying two bowls of pudding, placing one before Severus.

"Well, I slept well." Potter continued conversationally. "The music from your piano actually lulled me to sleep."

Severus glared up at him, and reached for his wand to run a test on the food, to make sure it wasn't poisoned. It wasn't. Potter looked at him, aghast. "You think I put poison in the food?" he asked incredulously.

"Potter, I am not a foolish man." Severus said evenly. "I always run tests on my food when it is not made by myself or the Hogwarts house elves." He paused. "And I do find it a little…suspicious that you are awake early and made breakfast without being asked." He narrowed his eyes.

Potter glared back defiantly. "It was a friendly gesture. There is no ulterior motive." He slid into his own seat across from Severus, staring out the window instead of eating his food. "You must be a pretty paranoid man to do that all the time."

"I have reason to be paranoid, Potter."

Potter seemed to not know how to respond to that. He chose to delve into his pudding, which, after a moment's hesitation, Severus did too, although with more reserve and maturity. He was unpleasantly surprised to find that it tasted very good.

"Constant vigilance," Potter said quietly, smiling stupidly to himself.

"Moody," Snape muttered in spite of himself, rolling his eyes.

Potter looked up at him and his eyes were suddenly very melancholy. "He should have survived the war. If it hadn't been for me…" Potter trailed off and put his spoon down, looking troubled.

Severus didn't respond. He admitted, he had thought Mad-Eye Moody had the best shot of anyone at surviving the war – he was one of the toughest Aurors Severus had ever met. Even though he hadn't particularly liked the man – although his dire was more directed at the man that had impersonated Moody – his death had been unexpected and shocking.

As for the part about it being Potter's fault, it wasn't. Potter hadn't suggested the idea of decoys; on Dumbledore's orders, Severus had.

"I gave the order to Fletcher to suggest decoys." Severus said flatly.

Potter looked at him again and there was surprise and…what was that gratitude?...on his face. "I could have said no. Flat-out refused."

"You could have," Severus responded indifferently, "but they likely wouldn't have listened. Moody was likely to die that night either way."

Potter was watching him with a grateful expression, and Severus felt himself wince. He had not intended for the boy to draw any comfort from his words, he had merely been saying the truth – or perhaps, the version of truth that he had been telling himself.

"I suppose you're right." Potter conceded, watching him carefully.

They ate the rest of the meal in silence, watching the sun fully come up into the sky and cause the water to sparkle. While he was teaching and studying, Severus loved the darkness, but in his own home, he favored the light much more. Severus wondered if that confused Potter.

Potter stood up suddenly and, bringing both dishes to the sink, quickly washed, dried, and placed them back in the cabinet. Severus did not thank him but instead motioned with his head for Potter to sit down.

"Potter. It is time to set some rules." Severus leaned back and crossed his arms, trying to look intimidating. Potter did not look cowed, and Severus huffed internally. "I do not know how long you will be here – hopefully you are out as soon as possible – but for the foreseeable future, you are in danger and thus must stay here. I need not impress upon you how unfavorable it would be to encounter Rudolphus Lestrange." He paused. "Thus, you cannot leave this house, unless you have my permission, which will be given rarely. Since you will have copious amounts of downtime, I suggest you catch up on the work you missed this past year." Potter made a face and Severus rolled his eyes. "I do not know your ambitions or plans, Potter, but I think that even the Chosen One ought to have a sufficient education. Seventh-year material is the most important for any career." Potter opened his mouth to speak but Severus raised a hand to silence him. "Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be served every day at eight, noon, and six. If…if you wish to make a meal, I will not stop you," Potter widened his eyes and gave a minute smile, "but if not, it will always be here."

Potter opened his mouth again but closed it. He was watching Severus with the strangest expression on his face.

"I am going to go work on potions." Severus stood up. "I will owl to get some textbooks from Hogwarts. In the meantime, I am sure you can find something to amuse yourself. But do not touch anything that is not yours, besides those books in yo- in the room you're staying in." Severus swept out of the room, unaware that Harry was still watching him with that strange expression.

Severus spent his morning working on a pain reliever he was developing, to rid himself of the after-effects of the Cruciatus, after-effects that still gave him extreme arthritis-like pain. It was calming to be back in his own basement, therapeutically brewing something that would actually do good, instead of something that would maim and kill like all of the potions he'd made for Voldemort.

He made his way to the kitchen at quarter to noon, and was surprised to see Potter sitting at the table holding a book and eating a sandwich. Another plate containing a sandwich and chips was placed where Severus had sat that morning.

Staring confusedly at the boy, Severus sat down and picked up the sandwich gingerly, wanting to be cautious but not wanting to offend the boy again by using the testing spell.

Wait, when did he care about offending the boy?

"Have you ever read Jane Eyre?" Potter asked as Severus bit into the sandwich and found it to be, unsurprisingly, very good. He nodded in response.

"I read it before I went to Hogwarts. When I was ten."

"Ten?" Potter asked. "It's huge!"

Severus stared impassively, sneering. "I was a gifted reader, Potter."

"I guess that makes sense. You're kind of a genius." Potter muttered. Severus felt taken aback at the compliment, but did not respond.

"Did you like it?" Potter asked.

Severus paused. Jane Eyre happened to be one of his favorite books, if only because it did not follow the stereotypical happy ending, and its characters were flawed and human. But he did not want to share something so…personal with Potter. He nodded.

"I like it too. Jane is endearing and it has an interesting plotline." He paused. "Mr. Rochester is cool, too. He kind of reminds me of you."

Potter looked at him carefully as though expecting him to explode. But Severus merely nodded. He was quite familiar with the book and could see similarities between him and the character.

"Yeah," Potter continued contemplatively, "you're both kind of…enigmatic. Like you have some good and bad qualities." He pursed his lips and looked unbearably foolish. "You're both…mysterious." Potter wiggled his eyebrows.

Severus could not help himself. A small snort escaped from his lips, but it was not malicious or derisive. Potter had merely looked so…amusing when he said that.

Not amusing, Severus told himelf. Foolish, idiotic, and juvenile.

"You just laughed at my joke." Potter said, his eyes wide.

"I did not laugh, Potter," Severus said scathingly, composing himself. "I was merely scoffing at your idiotic expression and childish tone of voice."

"No, you laughed." Potter disagreed. Severus scowled and they continued to eat in silence. Once again, Potter cleared the dishes when they were both done. Severus, admittedly, was completely surprised at the boy's manners and sat rather awe-struck, though with his usual impassive mask on.

Potter turned around and suddenly looked apprehensive. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You can, but I might choose not to answer."

"Right." He looked outside. "Well, I know you said I couldn't go outside, but it's a really nice day outside and…erm…can I go swimming in the lake?"

Severus narrowed his eyes. He had seen Potter in the Triwizard Tournament, the boy was not the most adept swimmer. Plus, if Potter swam that meant he would have to go outside with him, and that would likely be a nightmare. Plus, couldn't the boy amuse himself reading?

But on the other hand, Potter hadn't been able to have much enjoyment for the past year, and had admittedly been an ideal houseguest since he had come to Severus's house. He supposed the boy deserved to spend some time outside.

Before he could ruminate further, Severus stared pointedly at Potter and mumbled, "Fine." Potter's face became delighted, but Severus held up a hand. "You're only going to be able to swim out so far, and I'll have to go with you." Severus made a face at the last part, but Potter looked even more delighted.

"Great!" he exclaimed. "I'll go put on my swimming clothes and I'll be back in five minutes."

Severus sighed and went into his own room to put on a bathing suit. Truth be told, he enjoyed swimming in the lake himself during the summers; it was good exercise and often helped him clear his brain. Plus, he was always looking for new ways to challenge himself, and often tested how long he could tread water without stopping or how far he could swim underwater without breathing.

When he went back to the kitchen, Potter was already there, holding a towel and looking rather thin and undernourished in his swim clothes. Severus made a mental note to make sure that Potter was eating sufficiently; it wouldn't reflect very well on Severus if the already-thin boy was losing weight under his care.

Severus, grumbling, led the way out the back door and into the sand before the lake. He breathed in the scent of fresh, clean lake air deeply, gently placing his towel down on the sand, taking off his shirt, and crossing him arms as he looked at Potter, who had done the same.

But Potter was staring at Severus's upper body with confusion and…concern. "What happened to you?"

"What?"

"There are…scars, and cuts all over your body. Not from the snake." He clarified.

Severus looked away uncomfortably. He had forgotten, in his haste to get this swimming session over as fast as possible, that Potter would see the scars and tears on his body from abuse at the hands of his father and Voldemort. He quickly transfigured his towel into a swimming shirt and put it on.

"Were you in an accident?" Potter asked quietly.

"I was in several. And they were not all accidents." Severus said evasively.

Potter looked at him, and those damn green eyes widened in unmistakable pity. "Was it Voldemort? The Cruciatus?"

Severus nodded before he thought better.

"Is that why you move like you have joint pain? The same thing happened to Hermione. And it was only used on her once."

Severus looked up, surprised that Potter had noticed something so small. He nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry that happened to you." Potter said sincerely.

"I don't need pity, Potter," Severus responded tersely, but all the same, cocked his head in acknowledgement. "Now, let's go in the water. That was the purpose of this outdoor escapade, was it not?"

Quickly shifting gears, Potter deftly ran forward and waded into the gradually deepening water, splashing childishly and delightedly. Severus entered swiftly behind him, wading into the water until he couldn't stand, patiently treading water and feeling the warm sun above him.

He suddenly felt something tightly grab his ankle and pull him under the surface, but before he could do a nonverbal, wandless spell, he had been released and saw Potter's face grinning stupidly at him. "Gotcha," the insolent boy said.

"Don't do that again, Potter." Said Severus dangerously. Suddenly, Potter felt himself consumed by massive waves as Severus uttered a wandless spell that mimicked a small tsunami around Potter. Potter came up spluttering as Severus finally cancelled the spell, smiling maliciously.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a similarly playful manner, with Severus using wandless and nonverbal spells to nearly drown Potter, only to save him at the last minute. Instead of annoying the boy, as was the intention, Potter only seemed to grow more excited with each near-death experience. He continued to splash and spook Severus, who eventually grew less and less annoyed, strangely taking a small bit of pleasure from seeing the genuine happiness on Potter's face.

Merlin, where had that come from?

As the sun slid down the sky, and the day came to a close, Severus finally made to get out of the water and motioned for Potter to do the same. The two men emerged from the lake, sopping wet, and swiftly toweled themselves dry on the sand.

"Did you have fun?" asked Potter, putting on his glasses.

"Fun?" Severus mocked derisively. But seeing the slightly hurt expression on the boy's face, he softened his tone. "It was not as abysmal as I expected. Although you need to become much stealthier in your attacks on me."

Potter's face split into a wide grin. "That's practically a compliment, coming from you."

"It's not. And don't let it inflate your already enormous ego." Severus sniffed. "Come, wash up and I will make dinner."

The two men reentered the house, bathed and dressed in their respective rooms, and reconvened in the kitchen. Severus was pleased to see that Potter had gotten some sun and looked healthier and happier than he had seen him in a while.

Not pleased. Satisfied.

Potter was staring at Severus with something akin to wonder. "You don't look so…pale."

"What?"

"You got some sun today." Potter explained. "You aren't as pale as usual. You look healthier."

Severus frowned at him and opened the fridge, pulling out meat and vegetables for dinner, but Potter cleared his throat behind him.

"Let me do that." He said. "You were nice enough to let me go in the lake, I want to make dinner. But, erm, if you wouldn't mind, I was thinking I could make blackberry pie for dessert. I saw some blackberry bushes outside if you wouldn't mind, erm…picking some from them." He looked at Severus apprehensively.

Severus stared back. He did not like that the Potter boy seemed to be giving him an order, but on the other hand, he was cooking the third meal of the day. And his telling Severus to pick blackberries was more of a polite request than order, Severus's sensible side pointed out.

"Very well." Severus said smoothly, transfiguring a plate into a basket. "I will return in ten minutes."

Potter looked momentarily surprised before nodding, giving him a small smile, and turning around to chop vegetables. Severus went outside through the back door, glorifying in the gentle breeze of a warm summer night. He turned left towards the thick forest behind him, walking slowly with his wand alit until he found the blackberry bushes.

He picked the blackberries quietly, strangely thinking of when he had done this with Dumbledore a few years ago. Ever a sweets lover, upon seeing the bushes, Dumbledore had suggested they make a pie to distract themselves from Severus's latest painful encounter with Voldemort. He had come to the thicket with Dumbledore, gingerly moving as his back was laced with painful lashes, holding a basket as Dumbledore picked the berries and hummed cheerfully. Although the scene had seemed so annoying and pointless at the time, upon rumination, Severus realized that Dumbledore's actions had been a paternal way of taking care of him. Now, Severus realized with a start, Potter was doing a bit of a similar thing.

Suddenly, Severus heard a loud hiss and turned around to see an enormous snake, its green eyes large and its lengthy tongue sticking out dangerously. It slithered towards Severus, who knelt rooted to the spot, paralyzed with fear, unable to stop thinking of Nagini and his near-death experience. His wand lay forgotten and useless in his pocket, and as the snake came closer, these were surely the last moments of Severus's life, and he had been saved only to die again…

"Petrificus Totalus!" someone screamed, and the snake fell paralyzed to the ground, unmoving. Severus stared at the beast, his heart thumping wildly, and felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He did not shake it off.

"Are you okay, sir?" asked Potter concernedly, kneeling down beside Severus.

Severus took a moment to compose himself and slowly pulled himself from Potter's grasp. "I am fine." He said loudly, pulling himself up.

Potter stood up as well, picking up the forgotten basket of blackberries from the ground. "Let's go back inside. The food is ready."

Severus stared at him. The boy was not going to make a derisive comment about how he had become immobilized, was not going to mock him for being so cowardly? Severus felt himself speak before he could think. "Thank you." He muttered softly. He looked up to see Potter staring back at him with a small smile.

"You're quite welcome, Snape," he responded softly.