Disclaimer: I do not own Severus Snape or Harry Potter, nor many of the characters mentioned. I do not own ninety-eight percent of past events mentioned in this story. I am not JK Rowling or her ilk. Please contact me before using any characters not seen or mentioned in JK Rowling's Harry Potterseries. Thanks you.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
"The Burrow"
Severus bowed his head low as his master looked him over. Severus hoped that Master was finally done grooming him. All the grooming was making him worried; why would Master shave his head, rather than keep the hair to pull, like most of Severus' previous owners had? Why had he put him in yet another bath (assuming it was not to torture him, but to make him clean)? Severus was a man of logic, and so far, he was not pleased with the way things were adding up, because they did not make sense. It was all becoming confused, was what it was.
"Okay, Severus, before we go, let me remind of of a few things," Master picked up young Master Teddy in his arms. "There aren't going to be many people there – just Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Hermione, and us. They might be really excited to see you, but I'll try to keep them quiet so that they don't scare you."
Why would they scare him? Assuming that they were not in on whatever Master had planned, they would be fine. The only issues he had with seeing them was that seeing their faces would most certainly trigger memories of his past life, though not their fault. No, it was always Severus' fault. Like it had been that afternoon, when he spoke of it to Mistress Fields.
Memories of Master Malfoy ran through his mind, and it took everything in Severus not to cry out just thinking of him. It had gotten to the point of wondering of that man was just a figment of his imagination, until he saw the man from his nightmares standing right in front of him.
"Severus?" Master's voice interrupted. "Is something wrong?"
"No, sir." He replied. Nothing was wrong.
Master nodded. "Well, um, you're going to have to stand up to Floo – I don't think that you can do it on your hands and knees. Well, you could try, but you might end up in the wrong country or something." He laughed a nervous laugh. "I thought we were going to have to fly, but Mr. Weasley sent us a bit of powder to use – I'm going to have to buy some really soon. Like, tomorrow 'soon'."
Severus wearily eyed the fireplace. He remembered the Floo – a Floo was a fireplace that you stepped in, that took you places. Floos did not burn unless you stood in them for too long – this he knew, but that did not keep the thoughts of pain, screams, maniac laughter, and his own burning flesh out of his mind.
"Severus?" Master tried again, his voice soft – Severus wondered what he was trying to manipulate. "Is there something wrong with the Floo?"
Was there? Severus eyed that particular Floo. He had never seen anyone use it before, so how would he know? If there was something wrong with it, though, he could never let Master or young Master Teddy use it. His job as a slave, despite the treatment he got from his owners, was to protect his owners, even at the cost of his life.
"I do not know, sir." He went with the safest answer. Not knowing might get him slapped, but it was better than a wrong answer.
Master was silent for a moment. "Are you afraid of the Floo?"
Severus did not mind being a slave. It was his life, and one that he could no longer imagine not having (not that he dared to try to imagine it). The one thing that he hated about it was always have to tell his master the truth – always, unless given leave not to by his master, he had to tell everyoneabove him the truth. It was respectful.
"Yes, sir." He admitted to his master, not looking forward to the treatment that would certainly follow the revelation.
But Master just nodded. "More afraid than flying?"
Master had not thrown him off before. Severus had no reason to believe that Master would throw him off now. "Yes, sir." He admitted.
Master just nodded, then, "So we'll fly to the Weasleys. Go upstairs to my room and get my scarf and hat out of my drawer – I don't know what drawer – the scarf and hat are yellow and red striped."
"Yes, sir." Severus nodded, getting to his feet and going for the stairs. He wondered what changed his master's mind about Flooing. Certainly it had nothing do with Severus' fear of it. It did not make sense. Why wouldn't his master want Severus to get burned in the Floo? Even if it wasn't about punishment, how would Severus getting burned effect his master? And if it didn't, why would his master care? He was not a good and kind master, like Master Weston.
Perhaps he means for me to travel at the same time as himself,he realised, stepping into his master's room and making his way over to the chest of drawers. If I am here to become better trained, then of course he would not trust me to Floo on my own.
He located the hat and scarf, and hurried back down the stairs, ashamed that he was such a poor slave that his master could not trust him to Floo on his own, but grateful that his master decided to spare him the pain of getting burned.
It was easily a Kodak moment, seeing Severus Snape dressed in Gryffindor gear. All he needed now was Harry's mittens, but they would likely not fit Severus' hands.
In a way, Harry felt bad that Severus put on the hat and scarf without resignation. It was as if he did not even notice the house colours. To many people, wearing other house colours might not seem like such a big deal, but Hogwarts alumni understood. To a Hufflepuff, wearing green and silver was just as bad as a Gryffindor wearing black and yellow. It was simply wrong, and yet, as Severus obeyed Harry when Harry asked him to put on the gear, Severus acted as if he had never heard of the Hogwarts Four in his life.
Flying with Teddy could be fun when you were flying for leisure – Harry had done it all the time before Teddy's grandmother died. But it was not fun when you were actually trying to get somewhere, because you had to be high off the ground, and you were just paranoid that the baby would fall, despite how many protections you put on him. Coupled with a terrified person gripping the back of the broomstick, and it was one long trip to the Weasleys – especially when you earlier thought that you could get there in just a moment's time, and could be enjoying Yorkshire Pudding with gravy by now.
"Harry!" Hermione rushed to the back door to give Harry a hug. "Where have you been! We thought you were going to Floo!"
He dodged her, picking out one of her bushy hairs out of his mouth. "Severus was afraid to Floo, so we decided to fly." He handed his turquoise-haired godson over Mrs. Weasley, who rushed over to coo on the twice-orphaned baby. "Where's Ron?"
"Where's Ron?" Hermione sputtered. "Harry, where is Professor Snape? You were supposed to bring him with you."
"I-I did." He motioned out the back door. "That's why we flew, instead of using the Floo. Hermione, weren't you listening to a word I was-"
She smacked the side of his head, caused his glasses to fall sideways. "Where is he now?"
Oh. He had not explained to her that part, yet. "I left him outside to give him a couple moments to himself. He was scared to come in, so I thought he might want a couple minutes to pull himself together." He forgot to remind him not to wonder too far off – damn.
Hermione nodded, and took his elbow, leading him away from Mrs. Weasley's hearing range in the otherwise empty kitchen. "And since you should know where Ronald is, he is in the sitting room, trying to distract our guests."
"Guests?" He drew a blank on what she meant by that. "What do you mean, 'guests'?" It was just supposed to be Harry, Severus, Teddy, Ron, Hermione, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, wasn't it?
Hermione sighed. "So far, Percy, Professor McGonagall, Neville, and Luna have all shown up. I think George had the sense to stay home, but-"
"Wait." Harry shook his head. "What are theydoing here? I didn't tell them about Severus, or-"
"Harry, the entire worldknows that you have bought Professor Snape. It was printed in at least three papers this morning. Between Ron, you, and myself, I think that Mrs. Weasley Firecalled them." She told Harry in a low voice. "I don't know if she meant to invitethem but-"
"Then send them home!" Harry hissed. "I told Severus exactly who was supposed to be here, and that's exactly who he's expecting!"
"Well, what do you want me to do?" Hermione put her hands on her hips. "I can't ask Mrs. Weasley to send them all home."
"Why can't you?" Harry's mind raced with thoughts on how to deal with the situation. He couldn't keep Severus outside. Severus had thrown up his food for lunch, and had to eat. And he'd get frostbite if he stayed outside for too long – even though it was six degrees outside, Severus was wearing nothing but robes and his scarf and hat. Harry hadn't dared tried to even put him in any shorts, yet... though that was a detail he doubted anyone needed to know.
No, Severus had to come in and the company out.
"She's Ron's mother!" Hermione said, as if that explained everything.
"So? I know that?"
"For goodness' sake, Harry. I cannot just ask her to kick them out. I am dating her son!"
"Well, I'm not." He pushed past Hermione, intending to tell Mrs. Weasley exactly what he thought of everyone being there.
"Harry," Hermione grabbed his wrist, "don't be rude. I know it's probably not good for him to see all of us at once, but... maybe he'll surprise us. You can always leave if it becomes too much. Everyone will understand." she paused. "You know how Mrs. Weasley has been since after the War."
Harry hesitated, before glancing at Mrs. Weasley, who was waving her wand with one hand and balancing Teddy in her hip with the other. Hermione did have a point – ever since the end of the War (or the death of Fred), Mrs. Weasley had been a little bit more... intense when it came to having company. She welcomed it, enjoyed it... entertaining became just about her favourite thing. While it seemed kind of selfish to have company over when someone who was so... disturbed was coming, Mrs. Weasley surely hadn't done it intentionally. She just wanted to celebrate because he came home.
He sighed. "Okay, but you make sure everyone in there knows that they don't know the man I'm bringing in there."
Hermione didn't blink an eyes at his admission of how changed Severus was. She just nodded. "I will."
Severus stared down at the dirt on the ground. It was rather muddy, as if it had had the misfortune of being rained on recently. Even though it was cold, the mud felt good between his bare toes.
"Severus." He heard a voice behind him.
He spun around and took a leap back, a cold dread filling his core. By the time he realised that it was his master who had startled him, it was too late to take back his actions.
He knelt on the ground. "Hello, Master." he tried to speak clearly, but the words were coming out rather jittery. "Please forgive me for my initial reaction. You may punish me in whatever way you deem fit."
Severus had always found those words rather foolish - of course his master was free to punish him how he saw fit! His master was free to do anything to Severus that he pleased. But it was someone higher than Severus that set the rule of what he should say, so who was he to judge?
The cool mud had the advantage of soothing the pain on his forehead, if only slightly. Only his master could truly rid him of any of the pain, but Severus was in no position to ask. The only person he had ever trusted that situation with was Master Weston.
His master sighed, impatiently. "Severus, get up."
Severus scrambled to his feet, doing his best not to trip over the voluminous black robes that draped his frame.
"Sir?" Severus asked after he rose, keeping his eyes low. He was a great deal taller than his master, and had to take the precautions not to look him in the eye.
"I think it'd be a good idea if you came in the house now." Master spoke slowly and carefully, enunciating each syllable, almost as if he was not sure of himself. But Severus knew better; his master was more sure of himself than many people were of themselves. He would have to delve into his past life to support that, but kept himself from doing so.
"Shit! Look at your toes - they're turning blue! Shit - I forgot that you didn't have any shoes!"
Severus looked down at his toes, just like his master ordered. They were covered in mud, mostly, but he could see that parts of his feet were an icy blue. They did that a lot. He did not see what his master was so worked up over. He could always fix them if needed. That was what his past master had done.
"Come inside!" Master motioned to him, thankfully not touching him to pull him inside.
"Yes, sir." Severus quietly uttered, following his master through the back door of the Weasley home.
The warm air in the house warmed them as they walked in. Severus could smell the roast lamb and also the smell of some type of bread baking. The floors had been freshly scrubbed, it seemed.
He squirmed, his stomach doing nervous flips in his chest when he realised that the mud off of his feet would be ruining the floor. He was most certainly going to get a painful verbal, if not physical, beating for that.
The kitchen was empty of people, however. Severus could hear the voices of many people in the other room, and felt momentarily guilty for being the reason Master was in the kitchen, and not in there with his friends. No doubt his master would be bitter about that, and take it out on Severus.
"Severus," Master turned Severus' attention to him. "There was a bit of a misunderstanding between me and Mrs. Weasley. See, when she heard you were coming to visit, she just got so excited that she told all of our friends, so now... there are more people here than I told you that there was going to be."
The revelation made the put in Severus' stomach worse – he had been nervous about being in the presence of Masters and Mistress Weasley, and Mistress Granger, but now there were others? Strangers that he did not know? He closed his eyes as the room began to spin.
"Severus, it's okay; they're not going to hurt you." Master said. "You know these people – it's just Professor McGonagall, Percy Weasley, Neville – Neville works at Goldilocks Nursery in Diagon Ally now, and Luna – Professor McGonagall probably gave gave her permission to come with since she's... well, you know." Master took a deep breath. "But yeah, that's not a lotof people, is it?"
It was not Severus' concern that those people would hurt him – that was something that happened quite frequently, that he was used to. It was his concern that he didn't know at all what to expect, what there were planning to do to him. Why were they excitedto see him? It did not make sense – and that was one of the things that Severus hated most.
He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "What will you have me do, sir?" He had obviously been taken there for a reason – perhaps for his retraining to begin. Or his master simply did not trust Severus to stay at his home alone.
Master also took a deep breath. "You're just going to stay and stay out of the main hype, you know? You're just going to stay away from everyone, for the most part." Master paused. "Okay, well, that's not exactly what I meant – it's just that everyone is probably all going to want to talk to you at once, and I don't think that you're ready for that."
Severus had been trying his best to be a good slave, but he was used to being told that he was not good enough. It still surprised him that his master was the one retraining him – his master didn't seem like the slave-training type. Master Mering had hurt Severus many times by this point, and the worst this Master had done was... it simply did not make sense, and it hurt Severus' head. It scared him.
"Yes, sir." He went with the safe answer.
His master exhaled deeply before nodding. "Just do whatever you can, okay? If you get too uncomfortable, tell me and we'll leave."
"Yes, sir." Of course, Severus would never do that. His master was to enjoy spending time with his friends, and it would not be right for Severus to take him away from that. Severus was a good slave.
Hermione was always there for Harry. She always had been, ever since Harry saved her from the troll in first-year. She was the brains of the group, while Ron had the loyalty and Harry the courage. He probably counted on her a little too much, sometimes. This time, though, he could not have done it without her.
When she opened the door to the sitting room, it immediately grew hushed and quiet. People were not milling about the room as Harry had imagined, but were seated on the various seats around the room (except for Teddy, who was sitting in the centre of the room playing with a tin train). Everything was calm and orderly - no Weasley could have accomplished that. It had to be the work of Hermione, he had no doubt.
"Hey everyone," he said as brightly as he could. He could feel the tension, and wasn't sure if it was coming from the people in front of him, or Severus standing behind him.
"Professor Snape!" Hermione stood up from the sofa, where she was seated between Ron and Percy, and smoothed her skirt.
Harry realised with a fair amount of unease that everyone in the room was not staring at him, but the man behind him. He was also pretty sure that Severus had his eyes to the floor, and was shaking as if though he thought someone was about to throw him from an aeroplane without a parachute.
He turned to face Severus - how did he know? He wanted to grab Severus' sleeve to lead Severus over to the sofa, but had learned his lesson about touching him. So instead, he simply said, "so, where can I sit?" and was found a place between the arm of the sofa, and Ron.
"Here, you can sit here, Severus." Mr. Weasley got up and pulled out his wand to lengthen the sofa, the way he often did when the Weasleys had company.
Severus did not respond from the place he had knelt inside the doorway. He did, however, look up to see Mr. Weasley withdraw his wand, and quickly closed his eyes, burying his face into his knees.
Harry sighed, almost wishing Hermione wasn't so good at what she did; everyone in the room had gone completely silent, and were all staring at Severus. Harry knew that it had little with the mud all over his forehead.
"It's okay, Mr. Weasley - thanks, but no thanks. Severus won't be wanting to sit on the sofa." Severus either stood or sat on the floor - there were no in-betweens. "Come on, Severus - come sit over here." He felt like he was calling a dog, and as Severus complied, felt many eyes on the two of them.
Severus crawled over and settled at his feet, curled up in a kneeling position.
Harry tried to break up the awkward situation by coughing, and apparently, Luna took that as her cue to speak.
"I like frogs." Luna said in her ever dreamy tone of voice. "I like to sing to them as I walk by."
Harry and Ron exchanged looks. "That was random." Ron so keenly observed.
Luna smiled sweetly. "Yes, well, I didn't have anything to say about the situation at hand, so I just found my own way."
Luna's comment on frogs caused Hermione to ask whatever happeed to Trevor, Neville's toad, which reminded Mr. Weasley of the pet toad that he had had as a child. Eventually, the awkwardness and some of the staring eased up, and everyone in the room was laughing and telling stories, save Severus, until dinner.
"Here, Severus." Mrs. Weasley motioned to a seat at the foot of the table.
Severus had already sank to his knees at the right side of Harry's chair, which was at the end of one side of the table. He looked up at Harry, as if looking for instructions on what to do.
Come on, Severus - you can make your own decisions!Harry hated being the one that had to make decisions for everyone. Teddy was making more decisions on his own than Severus was - a little too many, in fact, as he felt it was perfectly reasonable to scream as he was put in the Weasley high chair by Ron.
Harry just shrugged his shoulders at both Mr. Weasley and Severus. Mrs. Weasley had the sense to just leave the situation, and Severus took that as his cue to continue kneeling at Harry's feet... like he had at every meal they'd shared together so far.
"Um, Mrs. Weasley?" Harry began hesitantly as she began to levitate over platters and bowls of food. "Would it be okay if I made Severus some porridge real quick?" All conversation at the table stopped. "He's kind of had trouble holding down much of anything."
"Do you, Professor?" Hermione leaned across the table.
There was a very long pause, before words finally escaped the slight curled frame. "Yes. Mistress Granger."
Harry watched at everyone at the table looked shocked at the first words that they had heard come out of Severus' mouth. And even though his expectations of Severus had been similar to theirs only a few days before, he couldn't help but wonder what they thought his response was going to be. Severus didn't hang around Harry's feet because he liked the smell.
Hermione was the first one to recover, easily because she had likely expected as much. "Oh, you don't have to call me that - 'Hermione' will work just fine." she stood and began to head for behind the kitchen counter. "I'll make your porridge. Would you like a glass of water while you wait?"
No answer.
"Thanks, 'Mione." Harry didn't think that those words were good enough for how grateful he felt to her. "And if you could put some water in a bowl for him, it'd be great."
Hermione just nodded as she walked by, she whispered in his ear, "I'm going to see if I can't mix it with some nutritive Potion from the Potions cupboard."
A nutritive Potion? Now that she said that, Harry was reminded of many a lecture given in Potions, in Snape's boring monotone lecture voice.
'Nutritive Potions are complex Potions brewed to do precisely what their name implies,' he could hear Snape drone. 'They are most commonly used by healers, but can also be used by incompetent individuals as yourselves. It is virtually impossible to overdose on a nutritive Potion and have it be lethal, however, there could be some unpleasant side effects, including, but not limited to, nausea, constipation – five points, Mr. Finnegan!'
Harry shook his head, clearing the memory from it. He couldn't really remember much else about the Potion, but if it could be used by the most incompetent, that meant that out of all the members of SPEW at the table, one of them definitely had it on hand.
The atmosphere at the table did not grow tense again until Hermione brought back the bowl of water twenty whole seconds later.
"So, Professor McGonagall." Harry hoped to divert the stares on poor Severus' lapping like a dog, but drawing the table occupants into conversation. "I guess you heard that I won't be coming back to school."
McGonagall turned to Harry, a troubled expression on her face that no doubt stemmed from Severus' state., "Oh yes, I heard, Potter. I must remind you thought that most students formally withdraw – they just don't leavein the middle of the school year."
Ron scoffed. "'Most' students, Professor. I think that we've already established that he's not like most."
Harry didn't like the conversation being completely on him. He realised that, of course, the reason everyone was there was either because of him and/or Severus, but he was getting a strange feeling that some were there mainly to seeSeverus, not to be with him. There was a difference.
"You still intend to apply for the Auror Programme, then?" She placed a forkful of the roast lamb into her mouth.
"Thanks, 'Mione." Harry said again as she came into the room, putting a hot bowl of porridge in front of Severus, who jumped back as if terrified when she bent down near him.
He cleared his throat. "I really want to. I mean, the only thing I've ever wanted to do is go into the Auror programme, Well, I mean, I thought about Professional Quidditch, but they'd probably just let me and Ron in because we are who we are, and that wouldn't be fun."
"And we couldn't play Professional Quidditch when we get old." Ron shoved a large bit of Yorkshire Pudding, drenched with gravy, in his mouth. "I mean, most Keepers go out when they're about seventy, and Seekers... what, 120? 130? Not old."
Harry glanced down at Severus, who was silently eating his porridge, before turning his attention to what Percy was saying.
"...salary would sustain you through the rest of your life." Percy explained. "If budgeted wisely, one could live on a five-year Professional Quidditch salary for the rest of their life." He took a very neat bite of his vegetable. "And then, you would have to look into the odds of actually getting in, Ron. I have no doubt that Harry could get in based on his name and talent, but you on the other hand..."
"Shut it, Pinhead." Ron muttered.
Severus was probably not making his eating any easier by eating like a dog. Maybe the next step would be trying to get him to eat like a human. That was more important than getting him to sleep in bed, and sit in chairs, and getting him to stop wetting the bed, as he had discovered Severus had done in his sleep the night before, and in his nap.
"What?" He jerked his head and looked around the room, trying to figure out who spoke to him.
"I asked how the meeting with W.F.S went this morning." Mrs. Weasley placed some more potatoes on Teddy's tray.
"Uh... was that this morning?" It seemed like a week ago. Since Wizarding Family Services left, he had been left helpless in five of Severus' debilitating panic attacks, took three things out of Teddy's mouth that weren't supposed to be in there, changed countless amounts of Teddy's nappies – and had to clean them, along with Severus' frock, which he was going to keep just in case, until he got Severus more clothes... in fact, the only peaceful moment he had gotten was when Severus took a nap, the same time Teddy did, right after Wizarding Family Services left.
"It went good." Harry recovered from his initial response quickly. "Except..." He didn't want to say the name when Severus was doing so well. "Except a big ferret interrupted the whole thing."
Ron's jaw dropped open. "Lucius Malfoy come by?"
Harry knew, despite popular belief, that Ron was an intelligent bloke, but even then, sometimes Harry wondered about him.
Harry glanced down at Severus, who was noticeably shakier than he had been only moments earlier, no doubt at hearing the name 'Lucius Malfoy'.
Mr. Weasley leaned forward. "What did he want?" He asked, his face lined with concern.
"I'm not sure. He didn't say." Harry tried to explain, all while keeping an eye on Severus. "I'm pretty sure he was trying to sabotage the interview."
"But how would he know about that?" Harry could practically see the gears turning in Hermione's head. "The Prophet doesn't publish potential adoptions, only ones that have been approved."
Mr. Weasley shook his head. "Lucius Malfoy has always had a way of manoeuvring – I remember when he first came to Hogwarts even, he smelled of trouble."
"Severus." Percy glanced down at Severus. "How would a former Death Eater gain access to Ministry records?"
It started out as a cough. "Severus, keep your head forward!" Harry cried out as Severus got up to sit on his knees, as the cough became more intense.
But it was too late – Severus threw up porridge all over his robes, and on the floor. The remains of the grey food dribbled down his chin, and down the front of his robes.
"I-I'm sorry, M-Master." Severus knelt down, his now face covered in mud and porridge. "Please forgive me, and punish me however you see fit."
The silence in the room was deafening. Harry knew everyone in the room was staring at them, without even looking at them.
And then Teddy began pitching another fit, deciding that it was the ideal time to scream his head off, since apparently the silence was too much for him.
"I think we'd better go." Harry said, weakly, standing to his feet, doing his best to step over a shaking Severus, who was still bowing, waiting for a response.
"Oh, you don't have to, dear." Mrs. Weasley said. "Severus can clean himself up, and I'll calm the baby."
The woman really did have no idea. "Severus can't clean himself up." Harry said, tiredly. "Thanks, Mrs. Weasley, everybody, but it's Teddy's bedtime – Severus' too, and he needs a bath. We'll try it again some other time. It's just too much too soon right now." Too soon for all of those people to be around Severus. Things would have been so much calmer had it just been the people Harry had originally specified. Severus might have opened up a bit in conversation with those he didn't see as his master. But tenpeople all at once was a little much. Six - the original four planned, plus Harry and Teddy - would have probably been too much.
"Here, put the hat and scarf back on, and meet me outside." Harry passed the items to Severus, who looked at them hesitantly. "You're not in trouble, don't worry. It's just long flight home, and I've got to clean Teddy up a bit."
"It's not your fault." Harry assured an apologizing Ron as he toted a screaming Teddy to the sofa in the sitting room. "Go on and finish eating – you and Hermione can stop by in an hour or so, after I put them to bed." He realised that Severus was a grown adult who shouldn't need a bedtime, but he was just too exhausted to deal with him any more that day.
"It was the Pinhead's fault." Ron muttered. "If he had just ignored Snape and acted almost as if he wasn't there like Hermione said to, then..."
"I'm not mad, Ron. Really." He pulled Teddy's trousers back over his bum, and lifted the screaming baby back up. "Just tired. Your mum won't mind that we're skipping out on the rest of dinner?"
Ron shook his head. "Hermione and I won't stop by tonight... unless you need help. You need to sleep. You look terrible."
Harry felt terrible, and that was only on the outside. The guilt mounting up on top of him, about what he let happen to Severus, was worse than terrible.
"Write me this week." He hefted the nappy bag over his shoulder. "Tell me if Ravenclaw beats Slytherin."
Ron snorted. "They won't. You know they won't."
He wasn't sure. He was getting to a part in his life where he was wondering if anything was impossible.
Coming soon in Unwell...
Chapter Forty: Help From a Friend