Harry sighed as he stared contemplatively at the simple cardboard box his cousin had given him. He figured since it had come from his aunt's house it was a box of his mother's things and that was also the reason he had never gotten it before now. He wasn't only contemplating the box. No, he had a very official looking envelope sitting beside the box and staring up at him as well. It had the Gringotts seal on it and Harry was nearly terrified to open it. If Severus had been there, he'd feel better about opening both the envelope and the box, but no…Severus was up in Dumbledore's office still helping out with Dudley and everyone else in the castle was doing their own thing. So Harry was sitting alone on the sofa in the quarters he shared with Severus, staring at the unopened letter and the unopened box.

Honestly, such little things caused such big trouble…or anxiety. Harry blew out a breath and shook his head at himself. He reached out and fingered the envelope.

"Hello, dear," Ivory said as she landed on the sofa next to him.

"Hey," Harry said absently, still letting his fingers drift over the letter.

"What is it, Harry, dear?" the raven asked.

"Nothing, really. Just apprehensive, I suppose," Harry told her.

"What is in the box?"

"I don't know specifically. It's a box of my mother's things most likely."

"And the letter?"

"From Gringotts."

"Both are very important, it would appear," Ivory said.

"More than likely." Harry nodded.

"Perhaps you should open them then, my dear," Ivory said, sounding amused.

So much like her Protected. It's honestly ridiculous, Harry thought with a silent chuckle.

"Do you know if Severus will be back soon?" Harry asked.

"He is still speaking to the headmaster about your cousin," Ivory said.

"Damn," Harry muttered. "I suppose I'll open the box first."

Maybe he'll be back in time to open the letter with me, Harry mused as he pulled the box closer. It really wasn't a big box and it was relatively light. There obviously wasn't much in it.

Taking a deep breath, Harry pulled the top open. Staring at the contents, Harry's heart jumped. Directly on top was a Muggle picture of Lily laying in a hospital bed, a blue bundle in her arms, and James was beside them, talking to his newborn son. Neither was looking at the camera, instead gazing at their baby.

Under the photo were two stacks of envelopes, held together with an elastic band. There was also a scarf, a dark blue book, a quill, and various other things, including more pictures. As he moved a picture of Lily and Petunia as children, his eyes caught a blue velvet box. Frowning slightly in curiosity, he pulled the box out. It wasn't very large but it had some weight to it. He pulled it open and gasped. Sitting on a bed of satin were two badges, one for Head Girl and the other for Head Boy. His parents' badges. He wondered why his Aunt Petunia would have had the badges.

"I am surprised that those were not put in a vault for safety," Ivory said, looking at the badges.

"Maybe they never got around to it," Harry said quietly, still staring at the things. Several minutes passed before he finally closed the velvet box and put it back in the cardboard box. "I probably never would have gotten this if my relatives hadn't died," he said, putting the box back on the coffee table.

"Are you upset over their deaths?" Ivory asked.

"I'm sorry for the way they died and no one ever deserves to die or be tortured, except for a couple special exceptions. I'm not sad they're gone. They've never been a good part of my life. I like not having to worry about ever seeing Vernon again," Harry said. "That sounds horrible. I should be upset that they're dead. I should feel guilty that they were killed."

"No," Ivory said gently. "You do feel remorse, dear, remorse for the taking of an innocent life, even if they were not innocent."

"They were innocent in this war. They weren't a part of it," Harry said.

"Exactly. You are upset that they were killed because they were killed for something they were not a part of. It is not horrible to not feel guilty over the death of someone who has made your life hard. You still feel compassion for the fact that they died," Ivory said and Harry thought over her words.

"Harry. I wasn't expecting you to be here." Harry looked up when he heard Severus' voice.

"Last I checked, I still lived here," Harry said with a grin.

"Brat," Severus said. "I just thought you might have gone with Draco or your other friends."

Harry shook his head. "I thought I'd look through this box and then I got this letter too."

"What is in the box?" Severus asked, intrigued as he sat on the sofa with Harry.

"A bunch of pictures and letters and other things that belonged to my mother. There was also a small box with the badges for Head Boy and Girl in it," Harry told him.

"Your parents' badges?" Severus said and Harry nodded. "Why would Petunia have those?"

"I have no idea but, like I told Ivory. If my aunt and uncle hadn't died, I probably never would have gotten this box," Harry said.

"That is probably true," Severus agreed. "And what of the letter?"

"It's from Gringotts but I haven't opened it," Harry said, picking up said letter.

"Why have you not opened it?"

"I don't know what it is."

Severus looked at him in amusement. "That is usually discovered when you open it."

Harry glared at him. "Don't be a git."

"Ah, but a git is what I am as I am so often told," Severus said, sitting back and crossing his legs, draping his arms along the back of the sofa.

"Fine then," Harry said. "Don't be a patronizing bastard." He poked Severus somewhat hard in the side.

Severus flinched away and narrowed his eyes at the younger man. "Watch it, Mr. Potter."

"Watch yourself, Mr. Snape," Harry said, laughing and moving away as Severus reached for him. He grinned at the Potions master from the other end of the sofa.

"Are you going to open your letter or not?" Severus said, settling back on the sofa again.

"What if it's something bad?" Harry asked, playfulness gone now.

"Then you will deal with it and I will help you," Severus said casually.

Harry smiled at him before looking down at the envelope in his hands. He wouldn't know what was going on until he opened it. Taking a deep breath, he flipped the envelope over and tore it open, breaking the seal. Pushing the flap open, he pulled out a thick stack of several parchments. He glanced at Severus who was watching with interest and curiosity. Seeing a handwritten letter on top, he placed the other parchments in his lap and read the letter.

Dear Mr. Harry J. Potter,
As of midnight on the thirty-first of July, 1997, you have come of age, being of seventeen years of age. Due to reaching your majority, several things previously withheld by Gringotts have now been unlocked and are now available to you. The following are documents of your inheritance. Any questions regarding this material can be explained at Gringotts.
Good day, Mr. Potter.
Magnus
Head Goblin of Wizarding Inheritances
Gringotts, Wizarding Bank

Harry frowned at the letter. Inheritance? What was he inheriting? He had a vault from his parents already and his father's Invisibility Cloak. What else was there? Putting the letter aside, he picked up the other parchments and began to peruse them.

"May I?" Severus asked. Harry looked at him and noticed he was gesturing to the letter.

"Yeah, go ahead." Harry nodded, returning to the other documents.

"Interesting," he heard Severus say but didn't pay much attention.

He wasn't sure what he was seeing. Sure, they were numbers—big numbers—but what did they mean? He flipped to another page and found a picture of a house. Scratch that, a picture of a mansion. And attached to that picture was a deed, a deed in his name. Why did he have a deed to a mansion in his name?

"Harry?" He looked up at Severus' voice. "You look extremely confused and more than a little lost."

"Just a little," Harry said and Severus smirked.

"What has you confused?" Severus asked.

"Everything," Harry said, dropping the documents back to his lap. "What inheritance are they talking about? I've already got a Gringotts vault from my parents and my Invisibility Cloak from James," he said.

"Surely you didn't think that was all they had left you, all they had," Severus said and Harry gave him a blank look. "Your parents were one of the wealthiest families in Britain. They were almost wealthier than the Malfoys."

"But—"

"Give me the first page," Severus said and Harry did so. "According to this, you have eight vaults at Gringotts. You have more money than Lucius Malfoy. You also have nine properties."

"Why haven't I heard about any of this? I thought the vault I have was the only one," Harry said, frowning still.

"It most definitely is not," Severus said. "As for why you haven't known, you haven't really been in Gringotts nor has this been something you would think to ask anyone, let alone the goblins. I believe the main reason you have not known before now would be because of Dumbledore."

"Of course," Harry said bitterly. "Just another thing in my life that he's meddled with and kept from me."

"You know now, Harry," Severus said and Harry sighed.

"Yeah," he said, looking down at the pages he was still flipping through. He stopped and turned back to one of the pages when a large picture caught his eye. The building was bigger than the first mansion he had looked at but it was smaller than the castle he appeared to own. It was made out of stone; a lighter coloured stone than Hogwarts was constructed of. The mansion had several floors and even a few towers. He moved the picture aside to read the details of the mansion. The place was definitely huge seeing as there were forty-three bedrooms alone. There were also six libraries and four towers. The place was honestly amazing. He did a double take when he saw the word 'magic'. He read the line again.

"One room designed and created specifically for practicing magic, particularly accidental and wandless."

A room for practicing magic? Interesting, Harry mused to himself thoughtfully as he read the full details on the 'practice room'.

"You look thoughtful which does not fill me with comfort." Severus broke his concentration. Harry scowled at him. "What has caught your attention so fully?"

Harry moved on the sofa to be right beside the man. "Look at this place," he said, handing the picture to Severus.

"Looks to be about thirteenth century, give or take a decade," Severus said, scrutinizing the photo.

"Thank you for the history lesson." Harry rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean?"

"Well, the place is huge. I'll never use it. I don't see how anyone can live in such a large place," Harry said and Severus raised an eyebrow.

"You live in a castle for ten months of the year."

"I meant living alone or even with a couple other people. There's just so much space," Harry said. "Anyways, I'll never use this place but I don't really want to just get rid of it."

"So what are you thinking?" Severus asked, interested.

"Well, it says there is a room that was designed for practicing magic, especially accidental and wandless. Not to mention there are loads of bedrooms."

"Are you going to reach your point in the next decade, brat?"

"I was getting there. Patience."

Severus snorted.

"Anyways, with the room for magic and all the bedrooms, I think I might like to turn the place into a care house for children of the war. I'd take orphans or children of Death Eaters or parents can bring children if they fear for their safety. Things like that," Harry explained.

"It is an honourable idea to pursue. You will want to go to this place first, however, and make sure it is still functional and safe," Severus said and Harry nodded. "Also, how do you expect to advertize without Voldemort and the Death Eaters noticing?"

"I'll think of that when I get to it. First, you're right. I need to check the place out," Harry said and spun to face Severus. "Come with me," he said.

"What?" Severus said, startled.

"Come with me to look at it. You'll never let me go alone and you don't trust anyone else to bring me. You're also interested in the idea and want to help," Harry said knowingly.

"You are a brat," Severus said and Harry grinned.

"So when are we going?" Harry asked.

"We'll wait a couple days. I doubt Voldemort is pleased that you weren't in Privet Drive," Severus said.


The Death Eater—Avery, Severus' mind supplied helpfully—collapsed with a loud gasp as he was released from the torture that was the Cruciatus. It seemed Severus had been right and Voldemort was anything but happy. Every Death Eater had been called on the evening of the thirty-first. It was strange as it was rare that all of the Death Eaters were called to one meeting.

They had only arrived a couple minutes prior before Voldemort exploded in a fit of rage and randomly cast an extremely powerful Cruciatus Curse. It had hit Avery who was only two spots away from Severus. That had been nearly five minutes ago and the curse was just being lifted now.

Avery didn't get up or move. He was twitching violently and breathing harshly. Severus couldn't help but wonder if Avery was now on his way to insanity.

Everyone's attention was torn from Avery at Voldemort's angry scream.

"Where is Harry Potter?"

The Death Eaters shuffled uneasily, wondering which of them would be tortured next.

"Severus!" Voldemort shouted, making several others jump and then look at Severus who had stepped forward out of the circle.

"My Lord?" Severus said as he bowed at the waist.

"It is the summer holidays and Harry Potter is not in Privet Drive," Voldemort said. "Where is Harry Potter?"

"He is staying at Hogwarts, my Lord," Severus said and knew with the admission that this meeting would not end well for him.

"And why was I not informed of this development?" Voldemort asked quietly.

"I was unaware until quite recently, my Lord," Severus said. "Dumbledore kept the decision from me."

"It appears Dumbledore may be questioning your loyalty, Severus," Voldemort said, his voice dangerously calm and putting Severus on guard. "I admit that I agree with Dumbledore's questioning. I have the same reservations myself."

Severus froze. Had he been discovered?

"However, I believe Dumbledore has more cause to worry. I think I will send him a warning for trying to hide Potter from me. Perhaps he will understand if he does it again," Voldemort said and raised his wand quickly, sending a wordless spell.

Severus gritted his teeth as he fought not to scream at the Cruciatus. He ended up falling to his knees but had managed not to scream. Glancing up at Voldemort, he knew it would take time to recover from this meeting.


Harry raced to the infirmary the minute Salazar informed him of Severus' arrival and condition. He nearly collided with Draco on the way. Neither spoke but continued to the hospital wing. They threw the doors open and rushed to the bed that Dumbledore and Pomfrey were hovering around. They slid to halts at the side of the bed and stared down at Severus who was still unconscious.

"What happened?" Draco asked.

"It is apparently a warning," Dumbledore said.

"A warning? For what?" Draco said.

"For hiding Harry," Dumbledore said after a pause and they saw Harry pale.

"This is because of me?" Harry whispered, staring at Severus in absolute horror.

The man was extremely pale though there were some spots that had a tinge of red to them from blood. There was a large piece of gauze on his forehead and a smaller piece on his left cheek just beneath his eye. There was more bandaging on his neck where, Harry was told, a deep Cutting Curse had just missed the artery. His right arm was wrapped and in a sling having been hit with a Bone-Breaking Curse. His left hand was wrapped as well as three fingers had been broken. Though mostly covered by the white sheet, they could see that the top part of his chest had been bandaged. Apparently an acidic potion used specifically for torture had been poured all over his chest. It had eaten through his robes and did considerable damage to his chest. They couldn't see his back or legs but were told they were badly damaged as well.

"Will he be okay?" Draco asked.

"It will take some time for him to recover but, yes, he will be fine." Pomfrey nodded.

"Can he go home and recover? He hates the hospital wing," Harry said, finally looking away from the man he knew he was falling for.

"He has to stay here overnight but I suppose he can go home tomorrow," Pomfrey said. "I'm sure I can trust you to give him potions and change the bandages but I will come down once a day to check on things."

Harry nodded and looked back at Severus with a soft expression. With the number of times he had seen Severus come home hurt or end up in the infirmary, he was more determined than ever to destroy Voldemort and end the war.

I'll free you from him even if it kills me, he vowed silently, placing a hand over Severus'.

Only Dumbledore noticed the tiny light that briefly shown under Harry's palm.


Harry was reading Salazar Slytherin's journal when he heard an alarm go off, telling him that Severus was awake. Three days had passed since Severus had been tortured at the last Death Eater meeting and it was now August third. Severus had woken up a few times over the days but never for very long.

Putting the journal aside, Harry walked into Severus' bedroom. The Potions master looked much better compared to when he had been in the hospital wing three days earlier. He wasn't nearly as pale anymore and a few of the bandages had been removed. His right arm was still in the sling and his chest and back was still wrapped. His legs were tender as they had nearly been skinned from all the Cutting Curses that had hit them.

As bad as the condition Severus was in was, Harry knew it could be worse. Voldemort hadn't been aiming to kill but to warn that it would be worse the next time.

"Hey, Severus," Harry said, walking over to the bed.

"Hello, Harry," Severus said quietly.

"How do you feel?" Harry asked.

"Better," Severus said.

"Good. Here," Harry said, pushing a potion into the man's left hand.

"Harry, I'm fine. I don't need a Pain Reliever," Severus protested.

"Yes, you do. Poppy wants you walking and moving today," Harry said and Severus sighed in resignation.

"Fine," he muttered and downed the potion. Harry grinned at the man's scowl.

"Good," Harry said. "Now let's get you up."

Harry proceeded to help Severus leave the bed and get onto his feet. He was unsteady so Harry kept one of the man's arms around his shoulders to help him. They slowly left the bedroom and walked over to the sofa. Poppy wanted Severus walking but had also said to do just a few short trips. He helped Severus down onto the sofa and sat beside him.

"Glad you took the potion now?" Harry asked cheekily at Severus' deep breathing.

Severus glared at him. "You are a brat."

"You're welcome."

Severus rolled his eyes and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. He was still so tired.

"I'm sorry this happened, Sev'rus," Harry said quietly and Severus turned his head to look at the younger man he adored.

"We've already had this discussion, Harry. It wasn't your fault," Severus said. "Voldemort was in a terrible mood. I told you about Avery. I would've been hurt regardless of the reason."

"I know," Harry said. "The way Dumbledore said it, he made it sound as though it was my fault."

"I doubt that man faults you for anything," Severus said, "but, I agree. He could have worded it differently."

"I wish this would stop happening," Harry said.

"It's my job, Harry. These things happen. I get hurt sometimes," Severus told him.

"Sometimes?" Harry repeated incredulously. "Like hell. I think you've been in the hospital wing this year more than me."

"No need to exaggerate."

"No one said I was exaggerating."

"Harry, this is what I do, what I have to do. I will get hurt."

"Doesn't mean I like it.

"It doesn't mean I do either."

"Can we not even talk about this?" Harry said, staring at Severus.

"We have talked about it. There is nothing more to discuss on the subject," Severus said.

"The hell there isn't!" Harry said angrily.


Another three days had passed and it was the sixth of August. Severus had been declared healed though his chest was still tender and sensitive. With Severus healed, Harry had approached a topic that had been pushed off while the man was recovering. The day after the Death Eater meeting when Severus had been moved back to the dungeons, Harry had received an owl. He had been invited to attend the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour on the sixteenth of August. It was to be held at the Burrow. Harry hadn't only been invited but had been asked if he would be one of Bill's groomsmen, joining Charlie Weasley and a close friend of Bill's who Harry had never met. Harry had told Severus about it, hoping for a happy reception, but it had instead resulted in the current fight.

"You are not attending that wedding. It's not safe," Severus said in a calm voice but Harry knew he was angry.

"Then come with me as I have suggested about four times now," Harry snapped.

"I have not been invited and I cannot be there should Voldemort or Death Eaters attack, you twit," Severus growled.

"Polyjuice exists, Severus. So do glamours," Harry said, glaring.

"Regardless, you are not going. It's too dangerous."

"I can't not go. I'm a groomsman."

"He will find another."

"The wedding is in a week!"

"Plenty of time."

"No, it's not!"

"He will manage."

"This is insane! Why the hell can I go to the care house but not the Burrow?"

"Because no one knows where the care house is but everyone in the world can find the bloody Burrow!" Severus said, raising his voice for the first time.

"I'll only be there for a few hours and you can bloody well come with me!"

"A lot can happen in a few hours, you imbecile!"

"You are unbelievable!" Harry shouted and proceeded to give a screaming rant.

Severus watched the Gryffindor pace and gesture angrily as his rant continued. He had seen Harry this angry only a handful of times. He didn't see why the stubborn young man couldn't understand that attending the wedding was far too dangerous. As he watched Harry, he found himself attracted to even this incredibly angry side of his young friend. Surely he would be making a fool of himself if he did anything. There was no way that Harry could possibly want him.

Merlin, did this rant ever have an end?

Without really knowing what he was doing, Severus grabbed Harry's arm and halted his pacing. He ignored Harry's questioning look and leaned in, capturing Harry's lips with his own.

The moment their lips touched, Severus found that the rational side of his brain had returned. However, the voice telling him to continue was louder so he ignored everything else. He was still holding Harry's arm and his other hand had come to rest on Harry's waist.

Harry got over his shock quickly and kissed back, his eyes sliding closed. His arm that wasn't being held by Severus had wrapped around the older man's neck.

Their lips moved gently over each other but behind the kiss was passion from feelings hid away for so long. They held each other tightly as they continued to kiss. They eventually needed air again, unfortunately, and they pulled apart.

Harry looked up at Severus, breathing heavily. "I guess that's one way to stop an argument."

Severus raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"I'm still going to the wedding," Harry said, laughing at Severus' scowl.

"Brat," he muttered but allowed Harry to pull him into another kiss.