Chapter 53

Harry made sure he redid the makeup on his forehead after he put in the contacts. He kept breathing deeply of the oils that were on his chest and noticed how his mind was not going from one constant thing to the other like it had been. The concentration that he had seemed to had lost was back and really took a good look at himself in the mirror. Every thing looked okay, so he knew no one would be able to notice the scar. The contacts in, his face looked somewhat normal. He could still see some of the lines he had around his eyes. Tension lines is what his mum called them and the ones across his forehead. Those would all take a while to leave. Leaving the loo he got dressed quickly in jeans, sneakers, and a black t-shirt that had white lettering that he had gotten made at the mall it said: 'Lying is a noble art and is my best and surest friend, so quit prostituting my best friend.' He and the twins had to much fun when they had these made up. They made up several others as well, but he felt like wearing this one today.

He grinned at himself in the mirror though. Harry couldn't help it, it had worked, granted he had to know Dudley awfully well in order for it to work. But it did. Dudley did get himself in trouble, which was inevitable in Harry's opinion. He had reasoned this all out last night while at dinner when Severus had mentioned them cooking for the next few weeks. Dudley made a blunder and he would have to fix it. Since he had lunch today he could only grin, because his cooking was done, and he didn't have to do it. Egg salad was easy to mix it all together not to mention doing the croutons as well for a salad. So his prep time at lunch would maybe be ten minutes now. And here Mum had called him sneaky this morning, she should have started last night.

He left his room but not after he grabbed the rule notebooks and headed down the Heir hallway and then turned and started heading down the stairs. Once he reached the ground floor he turned to head towards the kitchen and Uncle Leofric was walking this way. Harry paused and pulled open his t-shirt and put it over his nose and took a deep breath of this oils he could still smell on his chest. He wasn't sure what was with his soon to be great-Uncle but something about him was off. Harry always felt like he was a mouse trapped inside a maze around him.

Uncle Leofric stopped not to far from him and Harry could see him furrow his brow as he read his shirt. Then he turned his dark amber eyes upon him. "Noble art. So you consider lying worth it?"

Harry took another deep breath and dropped his t-shirt. "If the lie isn't for me, but can help someone else why not?"

Uncle Leofric smiled at him. "Ah. I can see how it could be a considered a noble art that way. I also heard Dudley, the twins and you cooked dinner last night. I wish to thank you, haven't had a meal like that in a long while. Where are you headed? You seem to be without your little human shields."

"The kitchen. I need to do what Mum wants me to." Harry said.

"Mind if I join you?" Uncle Leofric asked with a smile that went all the way to his eyes.

Harry pulled his shirt out again and repeated the process of taking a few more deep breaths as well. It was helping with the wanting to go run feeling he had, but not with the cat and mouse and the maze part. "Why?" He asked through his shirt.

Uncle Leofric bent down and Harry could see his dark amber eyes shine brighter for some reason. "Because you are talking to me and not running away. What is under your shirt?"

"I'm under my shirt." Harry told him, granted he couldn't see the grin he had going underneath it. He couldn't help it, he should have asked a better question that didn't have multiple answers.

The smile was wide on Uncle Leofric's face. "What are you breathing in and don't say your shirt, or our body scent? I can't quite make it out."

Harry took another deep breath and then dropped his shirt again. "Mum made it, I don't know what is all in it. I got to go." Harry moved to go around him and Uncle Leofric ran a hand through his hair over his head.

"May I join you?" Uncle Leofric asked as he had done that.

Harry paused and looked up at him. Every time Uncle Leofric had touched him he had cried, but the oils were helping, he wasn't crying. He still didn't know what it was about him. "I guess."

Harry started walking to the kitchen, besides his soon to be father was in there and so was Dudley. He hoped he might be able to pawn the big cat off to someone else. Harry opened the kitchen door and walked inside. Dudley was at the stove cooking sausage and bacon and the beans were going as well, it looked like the sausage still had a few rounds to go. His soon to be Grandmother was by the stove as well talking with Dudley quietly. He saw Severus leaning on the counter reading Dudley's rule notebook for the kitchen. Severus looked up at him and then glanced at Uncle Leofric, he saw the slight frown at seeing him. So Harry wasn't the only one bothered by Uncle Leofric.

"Brought company I see." Severus said to him then glanced down at his shirt and started reading. His eyebrow rose and he looked back at Harry.

His Grandmother looked over at them then. "Did you corner him Leofric?"

"Of course not Eileen. I had happened to be walking down the hall at that time." Uncle Leofric said as he was rubbing his hands over Harry's head, Harry pulled his shirt up over his nose yet again as he felt Uncle Leofric touch him and breathed again. "He actually spoke to me, imagine my surprise. Whatever his Mum has put on him seems to be working. Because before I appeared to be the plague of his existence in the house."

Dudley snorted. Harry had already talked with his brothers about redirecting Uncle Leofric if he got trapped by him. So far he hadn't really found a way to do it. They knew he called Uncle Leofric the human cat of the house and he referred to himself as the mouse. He and Dudley were used to quite a lot being together at school when Harry would be wearing the oils. Dudley started whistling the theme song to Tom and Jerry and Harry snickered. Leave it to his brother to at least make him laugh. The twins and Dudley kept telling him to see Uncle Leofric as Tom because Jerry tended to get the better of him.

"His mother put some oils on him Uncle Leofric." Severus told him as he gave Harry a slight grin. "They have a calming affect about them and they do work if he is talking to you."

Harry moved away from him and went to the counter and laid all four of his rule books down on the counter by Severus and picked up a platter of eggs. There were two of them, so he'd have to make a double batch of egg salad, but at least lunch would be a breeze for him. He moved the one platter over to the table and went back for the other. Severus put Dudley's rule book down and picked up one of his.

"You have four of these." Severus said as he started thumbing through one of them.

"They progressively get harder with the dishes." Harry said as he pulled the second platter of eggs off the counter and headed to the table and saw Uncle Leofric sitting at it now who was grinning at him. Harry sat it on the table and frowned at him, not exactly sure what the man was after.

"Don't you have work today?" Harry asked him.

Uncle Leofric shook his head. "Nope. I'll be around all day today."

Harry pulled up his t-shirt again over his nose and started breathing again. This was not going to work, he wouldn't be able to do this with him sitting at the table. He turned and went back over to Severus who was still thumbing through one of his books.

"Can you hand me a big bowl please in one of the cabinets?" Harry asked.

Severus bent down and looked at him on eye level and looked over to the table where Uncle Leofric was at. Severus whispered to him, "it bothers you with him in the room?"

Harry nodded as he pulled his shirt off his face again and whispered back, "I have to wash my hands and I can't keep putting my shirt over my face."

Severus ran his hands over Harry's head and stood back up and got a large bowl down for him out of one the upper cabinets. He sat it down on the counter. "Go wash your hands. I'll deal with him."


Severus shook his head as he headed for the table and leaned down near his Uncle Leofric. "He needs to be around you in small doses. He can't handle you anymore right now. You bother me, how much do you think it bothers him?"

"I know I bother both of you. You know what I am and you need to inform him. I won't hurt either of you and you know this."

Severus could see the hurt in his Uncle's eyes. "As soon as his mother is off the Kardia potion I'll inform her, he'll know then. She has his full trust. She takes another one tonight, then there is only one left."

"That's five days Severus." His Uncle stood. "I would rather him get used to me while he is still here for the summer. It'll be harder once he starts school."

Severus gave him a nod he understood, the longer Harry avoided Uncle Leofric the harder it would be just to get use to the man. Being down in the dungeon with him and Uncle Faustus together had helped him even if his Uncle still bothered him some. But Harry was different, even as emotional as he had been he wasn't exactly exploding things with his magic, which surprised Severus.

"Small steps is all I'm asking. You're not the only one that is having to do this with him. He doesn't even trust me yet Uncle Leofric and that little boy is going to be mine. I'm trying to bond with them as much as I can before school as well." Severus told him.

He watched as his Uncle stood and then give his shoulder a squeeze. "I'm not going to try an actively avoid him like I do most of the day. He'll run across me more often. You know this, as much as I run across you."

Severus watched as he left the kitchen and he turned around Harry was leaning on the counter near the bowl. He was pretty sure the little boy had watched the whole time while he was talking to his Uncle, but at least his Uncle left. Severus gave him a reassuring smile and he watched as Harry picked up the large bowl and headed over towards the table.

"Thank you," Harry told him.

"You're welcome. Do what your mother asked you to do." Severus said as he ran his hand over Harry's head like he had seen Petunia do and the other up the back side of his head hoping that it was at least helping him.