"Severus?" McGonagall asked Snape as soon as Harry had left.

"Yes, Minerva?"

"You should go check on him and make sure he isn't about to do anything too rash," she said, jerking her head towards the doors Harry had just left, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why? What do you think he could possibly do that would be considered rash -"

"Severus, you know exactly what I mean! He might try to reason with the Malfoys and end up in an altercation of some sort, but he would listen to you, of all people, if you told him not to get too carried away -"

"Last time I checked, Harry Potter was a thirty-six year old man, and therefore, perfectly capable of making his own decisions about how to deal with old enemies -"

"And you and Sirius Black were more or less the same age he is now, yet I recall many duels nearly breaking out during Order meetings on a regular basis. Speaking of Sirius Black, didn't Harry rush off to the Department of Mysteries to save him, a decision not very well thought out, which resulted in Black's death? Severus, all I'm asking is that you aid him should the need arise. Now go." There was no arguing with Minerva McGonagall when she got like this.

So, Snape got up and headed for Harry's guest quarters. The door was wide open and Harry was rummaging around in his suitcase, looking for something frantically, a determined expression on his face that Snape recognized all too well.

"Potter! What are you doing?" Harry jumped, having not realized Snape was there.

He resumed his search, muttering, "Just looking for my wand. Thought it was in my pocket, but I guess not."

"What would you need your wand for? I thought you were going to merely have a chat with a few family members?"

"I was planning on speaking with the Malfoys, as well. And it's always good to be prepared for a physical confrontation when it comes to them. Of course, I know this from past experience," Harry paused and looked at Snape. "Why are you here, by the way?"

A voice from the doorway spoke before Snape could. "Because I told him to be here and assist you in any way that he could."

It was McGonagall, who had Scorpius Malfoy by her side. "Now," she said firmly, turning to Scorpius, "give Mr. Potter back his wand and apologize."

Scorpius, who was clearly in a bad mood, walked up to Harry and held out the wand. "Sorry, Mr. Potter."

"Thank you, Scorpius."

Scorpius looked curiously at Harry. "How do you know my name?"

Harry smiled at him as though this weren't the son of his school rival. "You look exactly like your father, and I've heard from some people at work that Draco Malfoy's son was named Scorpius. So, how did you get my wand?"

"Your son apparently stole it from you while you were walking to breakfast."

"Was it the older one or the one that's your age?"

"The older one. James. The one that beat me up really badly." Harry raised his eyebrows at this, but he didn't interrupt. "He gave it to your niece for safe-keeping. The one that's the same age as James, the one with the brown hair. Lucy, I think her name is. I stole it from her when she wasn't looking."

Right on queue, James came running through the door, panting. "Dad! I - I was playing around with you - I stole - I mean, took - your wand - and Lucy lost -"

Then James took in the scene before him. His eyes darted from the wand in Harry's hand to Scorpius, and it looked like he was putting two and two together.

"Malfoy! You stole from my cousin? You stole from a girl?"

Harry tried to calm him down. "James, everything is fine. Scorpius has come clean and I accept his apology."

Snape knew from the look on Harry's face that he didn't really believe Scorpius and didn't really accept his apology, and that he was only saying this to prevent another fight between James and Scorpius breaking out.

McGonagall said, "Well, in any case, Harry, I have ordered Severus to assist you in correcting this situation -"

"That won't be necessary! Really, I've got it under control -"

"No, I insist. Goodness knows you need someone to help you who isn't prone to rash behavior -"

"Professor, really. I can handle -"

"Severus is the only suitable person here with a free schedule. This is my final word on the matter." She turned to leave. Scorpius made to follow her.

"Scorpius?" Harry asked. As he and Scorpius made eye contact, he continued, "Next time, don't exaggerate in your letters to home, alright?"

Scorpius looked as guilty as if he'd been caught with his hand in a cookie jar. His face turned red and he replied quietly, "Okay," with his lips barely moving. He left.

James was the only one left, apart from Snape and Harry.

"Potter, get to class."

"Sir, shouldn't you be teaching instead of going on an adventure with an old friend?" James replied, grinning.

"My classes do not start until a few hours from now, as you are very well aware."

"Mine, neither! That's convenient because it means I get to come with you wherever you're going!"

Harry spoke up with, "James, you do realize my first stop is our house, don't you? I can't imagine you'd want to see your mum after that howler -"

"But she won't be mad at me forever. I was her very first kid, and so I'm special." He was still grinning widely as ever.

"Well, we'll see, won't we?" Harry picked up the floo powder, tossed it into the flames, and said, "Potter residence!"

Snape could see all the signs of bad parenting. Harry was allowing a badly behaved twelve-year-old to come along with him to do an important job that had nothing to do with him!

James flooed to his house after Harry did, and Snape followed soon after, although it was against his better judgment.