The patterns on the blue curtains reminded him a little of the swirls of wispy clouds in the late summer sky. Severus had woken with an unaccustomed soft toy in his arms, warm blankets over him and a comfortable bed. It had taken him a moment to remember what had happened the night before, being helped to have a bath that was warm and fragrant, Harry holding him and feeding him, tucking him in and patting him gently until he slept. His eyes prickled, and Severus knuckled them angrily. He would not cry.

Certain urgent needs made themselves known and Severus pushed the blankets down, rolling over the edge of the bed with a soft thump, glad that his arms and legs were once more under his control. He'd hated being floppy, and if it hadn't been for the tenderness that Harry had shown him he'd have had several things to say on the matter yesterday. The blue and white room was as he remembered it, and he used the po under the ewer stand with relief, watching as Magic cleaned up after him and washing his hands and face in the bowl and jug set. There was a soft pair of house shoes at the end of his bed and Severus slipped them on before investigating the bookcase beside the door. There were several fascinating looking books and games, and he pulled a few down to investigate more thoroughly.

After a few minutes Severus became aware of a repetitive shushing sound, and looked around to see if he could spot the source. It sounded louder near the bed, and he hooked the dragon into his arms, pulling on a tail to draw it closer. That was not the source of the sound, unlike the beastly teddy his great aunt had given him when he was two. That had sung to him, in a horrible croon, until he'd managed to lose it in the garden. This toy was silent, and just the right size, so he tucked it safely into his arms and headed around the bed. The armchair where Harry had held him last night for dinner hadn't changed, and the noise was louder there. There was a paved area outside the glass doors, with an ivy draped railing, and Severus opened the door curiously.

Immediately the sound was louder, and he realised that there was something outside that was making the noise. He stepped out into the warm sunshine eagerly, and tried to peer over the railing. With the mantle of ivy it was impossible to see over it, and he had to resort to climbing onto one of a set of wooden chairs that ringed a matching table and sitting on the table itself. Beyond the railing there was a garden, in a state of disrepair, and at the bottom of the garden was the biggest pond he had ever seen. It was a whole paint palette of deep blues and greens and sparkled in the early morning sunlight, its surface swelling and heaving gently. Severus sat with his mouth open for quite some time, in awe of the beautiful pond that met the sky, sniffing eagerly at the wafting scents of the garden and the slightly salty tang to the air. He'd never been anywhere like this before, and the peace of the scene eased something in him.

After a while, Severus' was recalled from his trance by a rumbling stomach and he sighed, looking around and wondering where Harry was. The green eyed teen had promised to stay with Severus, and the boy knew that all he had to do was find where Harry was sleeping. He had no doubt that his protector was around here somewhere: it was just a matter of discovering where.

Behind him was the door to his own room, a large window and a set of double doors modelled the same way as his single door. Severus climbed down from the table and collected his dragon before trotting over to the other doors. The handle was not locked and he let himself into the new room. Where his room was coloured blue and white, Harry's was mainly brown. Next to the doors that Severus had entered by was a roll-top desk like Father owned, set in the nook of a large fireplace. On the other side of the fireplace was a tall set of drawers, and then the bed on the back wall, enclosed with russet brown curtains edged with gold.

There was a low set of drawers on the other side of the bed and then a short wall where the door stood, forming a sort of nook around the bed. Opposite the door was the big window Severus had seen outside, with a large mahogany wardrobe standing beside it, a leather armchair standing under the window and a low bookshelf running along the wall from the window to the glass doors. There was a dark brown rug on the floor in front of the arm chair, and the walls were a pale colour. When Severus stood really still and held his breath he could hear Harry breathing and that was what eventually drew him over to the bed.

The curtains were soft to touch and he stroked them for a moment before parting them and peering into the darkened interior. Harry lay on his side, luckily facing Severus, and the boy smiled at successfully locating his quarry. Even as he watched, the light from the open curtains roused the teen and Harry yawned, bringing a hand up to scrub at his face and shift in the bed with a soft grunt.

"Harry," Severus whispered, and Harry sighed, beautiful green eyes fluttering open and blinking several times before focussing on Severus. Harry smiled at him and reached out, plucking him from the floor and rolling onto his back with Severus resting on his chest, the dragon pinned between them.

"Good morning, young man," Harry said solemnly, "And did you sleep well?"

"Yes," Severus smiled, "I'm not floppy any more, and I've been up for ages and did you know that we have a huge pond at the bottom of our garden? It goes back so far it meets the sky!"

"Really?" Harry chuckled, "I'll have to see that. Do you feel alright? Potions all finished with you?"

"My feet are all better," Severus confirmed, smiling brightly, and Harry took a deep breath before sitting up, catching the dragon before it could fall. Severus ended up in Harry's lap with the dragon on his.

"Perhaps you would care to introduce me to your friend here," Harry asked seriously, and Severus frowned.

"She doesn't have a name," he mused, "She's a Dragon."

"Fair enough," Harry slid Severus to the floor and got up, putting on his own house shoes and shooing Severus out onto the balcony while he headed for the loo. Severus started to climb back onto the table to look at the pond again, wondering if it had gotten smaller since he'd last looked, but the table was full of breakfast, and he settled Dragon into a chair before pulling his own up close and waiting eagerly for his Harry.

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