Chapter 55

Harry was in the kitchen at the table and Severus was beside him. The trunk was still in his Great Grandfather's office that had all sorts of artifacts inside it. He would be able to get it back once his Great Grandfather finished with the rest of it in the ballroom at Potter Manor. There were two give away trunks that his Great Grandfather had suggested to use as birthday and Christmas presents, one for children and one for adults. It made sense to him, he and his brothers wouldn't have to go shopping for quite awhile. Some of the things they had put into the give away trunk his Great Grandfather had pulled it right back out and explained why. There were a lot of items he didn't understand what they had been but now he did.

He was making egg salad sandwiches with Severus. "Granddad said I should talk to you about Uncle Leofric."

"What about him?" Severus asked as he was laying out more bread to add the egg salad to.

Harry paused and looked up at Severus. "Does he make you feel like a mouse in a maze and he's the big cat hunting you inside it?"

He watched as Severus paused placing the bread over the few sandwiches he had made and looked down at him. His dark black eyes still had that tunnel effect to them, but Harry could also see a warmth about them even more so. This warmth had been growing steadily with him ever since he had picked them up.

"Is that how he makes you feel?" Severus asked.

Harry grinned at him, "I asked first."

Severus gave him a slight smile, "that you did. At first yes, I very much felt like he was hunting me. My feeling has lessened and has been going away. As much as it sounds so wrong because of how you are feeling. You actually need to spend time with him and it works better if he's actually touching you."

Harry thought about what he had just said and started making the sandwiches again and watched as Severus placed the bread on top of what he had made. If he kept the oils on he would might be able to do it because he had to keep breathing them in when he was around Uncle Leofric. The rest of the family not so much.

"Is that the only way?" Harry asked as he started the last row of sandwiches the egg salad would make up.

"The only way I know, the only thing that has really worked for me as well. I still have some of that feeling left as well. So I know what it feels like." Severus told him. "But it is starting to go away, the more I'm around him."

Harry started cutting up the onions, tomatoes, and lettuce for the salad. The croutons were already done.

"Does cooking calm you down so things aren't so bad for you?" Severus asked him.

Harry nodded, "it was the only thing that worked. Along with the oils Mum started getting me to put on and to breath in. I couldn't focus at school, the teachers were always getting onto me. I couldn't sit still, I had one teacher who started yelling at me all the time. I turned her hair blue. I can focus on this though, then school kind of evened out."

"This is like potions. At least the prep work side of it. Potions take a lot of focus. They have recipes too." Severus told him.

"My Grandfather Fleamont talked to me about potions. From his portrait with Grandmother Euphemia." Harry said as he dumped the onions into the cut lettuce and started working on the others.

"The inventor of Sleekeazy's hair potion." Severus said.

Harry looked up at him as he stopped cutting up the tomatoes. "Yeah, he was working on something else as well. He told me where all of his notes were in the manor, but not to touch them until I was at NEWT level."

He could see Severus's eyebrows raise. "He was working on something new?"

"He started after he sold seventy-five percent of Sleekeazy's. He said he needed part of the gold for research. It has something to do with eyesight. He was trying to find a potion that could work with glasses to actually cure eyesight problems. But he said it was really advanced." Harry told him and he went back to finishing the salad.

"That would be a huge discovery, if he could make it work. Did he say how far along he was on it?" Severus asked as he started mixing the one bowl of salad as Harry moved on for another bowl to be cut up.

"He said one of them is finished and it works. But only for that specific eye problem and that one wouldn't help me. The one he got to work can actually take away Glaucoma. Grandmother Euphemia took that and it went away." Harry told him.

He watched as Severus sat down at the table. "It actually works?"

Harry looked over at him. "That's what they said. But he said he didn't want to release any of it until he could correct other eye problems. That was the first one he got to work. He said the eyes are really tricky and if the potion is wrong it will lead to blindness. That was why he didn't want to release it."


Severus couldn't believe it. Harry was sitting on a gold mine here. He never could understand why James Potter couldn't do potions with a father who was an inventor inside them. Eye problems plagued the wizarding world like muggle one. And here is Grandfather Fleamont had actually discovered a potion that would cure Glaucoma. That right there would be worth it, but he also understood the risks involved. The man wasn't stupid after all. A potion that could lead to blindness would get him killed right quick in there world. The product had to be accurate.

And with the way this little boy concentrated on everything he was doing while cutting and chopping the vegetables already told him Harry would have a knack for potions. He was meticulous with how he was doing things, and that was called for in potion making. And here his Grandfather Fleamont was handing him something for his future. Severus was pretty sure the man probably wouldn't have said anything about it unless he noticed something in Harry that would give him an indication that his grandchild might be able to finish his work. Severus knew he would dearly love to see those notes and the research. He held a great respect for potion inventors and potion masters and Fleamont Potter was a master potion maker.

"Is there anyway you could let me look at those notes and research? He said he told you where it was." Severus asked him.

Harry would be setup for the rest of his life as well as his future generations for decades, none of them would have to work for a living ever again. Severus understood why grown women were after this little boy, it was a well known fact that Fleamont Potter was a great inventor in potions. If Harry had not come into his family he highly doubted weather or not this child would have lived to have seen any of his adult life. Those witches would have killed him just get at his fortune and thus would end the Potter bloodline. Even once he was inside their family he had a feeling his Grandfather would have to keep all the marriage contracts at bay from this boy.

"I don't see why not. He just said I couldn't do anything with it until I reached NEWT level. He talked to me quite a bit about potions. Said I would might enjoy it after he learned I liked cooking." Harry said.

"Let's finish this up. We can see about getting the notes and research later. We don't have to do that today. I have to brew your mother's potion this afternoon." Severus said as he stood back up from the chair he had pulled out and pushed it back in.

There were only two salad bowls left for Harry to finish with, they wouldn't be in here much longer. Lunch had been easy compared to what breakfast had been for him.


Dudley kept smiling as his new Grandmother kept winking at him during lunch. Scrubbing the floors hadn't been so bad this morning after breakfast. He had been dreading it at first because of the size of the kitchen alone. It had only taken him an hour and a half to get the floor done, it should have taken a lot longer than that. But his new Grandmother had enchanted two extra scrub brushes so where ever he went they followed him. It sort of reminded of Fantasia and the Sorcerer's Apprentice, with the mops and things being enchanted to clean. He actually had fun doing it. Which ever way his arm went that was the way the brushes went as well. She had asked him how long it would normally take if he had been at his home he grew up in. He told her it would take a good hour to scrub the floor by hand because of how his mother wanted things cleaned.

She had even gone as far as asking him to check when something got cleaned to see if it would meet to his mother's expectations. Needless to say, they had to redo some stuff twice. He had told her it wouldn't work because certain surfaces in the kitchen would have food on it. And if it wasn't clean enough they wouldn't be able to use it unless it got clean enough. He told her what they always used for cleaning around the house. Most of this had started with him during the summer and he had told her as much. She had asked about his Dad. He loved his Dad but hated him at the same time. All his Dad liked doing was watching sports or the news, very rarely did he want to watch something with him on the telly. It was odd, because Mr. Prince took more of an interesting in him than his own father had. His Dad never asked about his grades or if he could actually do something in school. Could be why he never really tried as well, he had never gotten punished for his grades but he knew all of that was about to change. He could tell with how his Mum responded to Mr. Prince. And truth be told, he was glad the arguing had stopped he didn't know how many nights now it had been but he would still wake up every now and then from nightmares of his Dad being angry with his Mum. His Mum didn't want him to forget his Dad, but he knew he didn't want to be like him at all, and he was also glad he kind of wasn't like him. It was a relief he could do magic even if he had hidden it for so many years.

His new Grandmother had given him a lot to think about, because she had told him she knew exactly how his Mum felt. She gave him enough hints to let him know that Mr. Prince might understand being in his shoes. He talked to his brothers, but his brothers had been treated far worse than he had, besides most of the time, they been down stairs, not upstairs where you could hear everything being said. He was going with his Grandmother this afternoon after lunch, she had another potion she wanted him to try. Now if they could only make the potions taste better it wouldn't be so bad. So far, he had lost a quarter of a stone on the ones he'd started taking. She cared, that was something he found that almost seemed so odd to him in this family, they all seemed to care and it didn't matter if you were real blood or not.


The twins had gone with Great Grandfather and Dudley with their Grandmother considering Harry had his Great Grandfather for the morning he didn't feel so bad. But he felt out of sorts again because his brothers were elsewhere apart from him again. He followed Severus and his Mum back upstairs and went into her room where she made him do a couple of breathing techniques and inhaling some more oils, he didn't have to put these on. After thirty minutes of that he was free to leave again. Harry went into his room and pulled out their chessboard, the one they had bought at the fair, that was in a case now. He started down stairs with it. He knew Severus would be to busy with brewing his Mum's potion. The only problem with this board was it didn't move and he knew his brothers and himself really wanted it to move.

Once downstairs he ran into Zinnia and Celeste.

"What's in that?" Celeste asked.

"A chessboard." Harry told her. He looked up at Zinnia, "do you know anyone who could make a chessboard move?"

Zinnia looked down at him, she had black hair like all the Prince's that he could tell so far, but her eyes ended up dark brown, not quite black like most of the family. "Try Uncle Faustus. He's in the day room where most of the chessboards are at."

Harry gave her a nod. He turned to head towards the library, the room with the most chessboards was located off the library on the main floor. Once he had gone through the library he opened the door and peered inside. Uncle Faustus was in there but he wasn't alone, Uncle Leofric and himself were playing a game of chess. Uncle Wilfred was in there as well. He really didn't want to bother them while they were playing chess but Uncle Wilfred was watching, so he went over to them.

He was still pretty relaxed from the breathing and the oils his Mum made him smell. Harry still had that go and run feeling when Uncle Leofric looked up over at him and smiled at him as he came over to Uncle Wilfred. He looked up at Uncle Wilfred.

"Can you make a chessboard move Uncle Wilfred?" Harry asked.

Uncle Wilfred looked down at him. "I can't do that. Faustus can. What type of board you got there that doesn't move?"

"Dragons and wizards. It's made out of pewter and glass." Harry told him as he then looked at Uncle Faustus.

Uncle Leofric laid his king down. "I think we need to help Brandon with his chessboard Faustus."

"Let me move this one out of the way." Uncle Wilfred said while he reached down for the board his two Uncles were playing on.

"Put it on the table." Uncle Faustus said.

Harry put the case on the table and he glanced at Uncle Leofric who was smiling at him.

"Come here," Uncle Leofric said.

Harry went over slowly to him. He remembered what Severus had told him. The feeling would go away if Uncle Leofric was actually touching him, it not only sounded so wrong but it was the exact opposite of what his feelings were telling him to do. Uncle Leofric picked him up and turned him around on his lap so he could see Uncle Faustus.

"Let's watch the Master Enchanter of the house work shall we." Uncle Leofric told him.

Harry pulled up his shirt and took a few deep breaths after he had placed it over his nose. He knew this would take awhile to really start working if he started doing it every day like he had been. But he knew it worked, it had worked real well for school. He nodded and was able to pull the shirt back off his nose after a few minutes. Harry's eyes widen as he saw the first little dragon come off its pedestal and move around. He looked at Uncle Faustus, who looked up grinning at him.

"There you are. Only thirty-one more to go, then we'll see about the board. I'll have to make sure they move correctly as well too." Uncle Faustus said.

Harry noticed his eye, he had the same tunnel like look his soon to be father had as well as his Great Grandfather. Harry furrowed his brow has he tilted his head towards his shoulder looking at him.

"What's wrong?" Uncle Faustus asked.

"Why does your eyes look like you have tunnels inside them?" Harry asked.

"Before I answer that, who else has a tunnel look in their eyes?" Uncle Faustus asked as he looked back down and enchanted another dragon.

"Granddad and…." Harry paused, he knew he had been calling Severus Mr. Prince right along with Dudley, but in eight days he was going to be his father. He was unsure what to really call him though, the twins called him Dad. Harry didn't know his father so he wasn't sure if Severus would like it if he called him that. But he would really be the only dad he ever had.

"And?" Uncle Leofric asked.

"Father," Harry said.

He watched as Uncle Faustus looked back up at him. "Is that what you want to call him or have you even asked him?"

"Haven't asked him." Harry said as he took his shirt and pulled it over his nose and took a few deep breaths. His heart had started beating a little faster and he rather liked the slow calm beats that it did when he was calmer. Uncle Leofric rubbed his back.

"I don't think Severus will mind if you call him Dad like the twins." Uncle Leofric said. "From what we understand your parents died when you were really young. So you don't remember them."

He knew if he told them the truth they would figure out who he was, so instead he told them the lie Aunt Petunia had told him. "They died in a car crash and I was sent to Mum to live with her and Uncle Vernon."

"What were their names?" Uncle Faustus asked.

Harry shook his head. He realized what they had done, they had got him off track on the tunnel look in the eyes and turned it to find out about him.

"Can't answer that." Harry said. "I told you who but you didn't say why your eyes had a tunnel look to them."

He felt Uncle Leofric chuckle behind him. "Brandon's got you there Faustus."

Uncle Faustus looked up after enchanting the fourth dragon. "Have you asked your Dad about this?"

Harry shook his head. "No. We talk about something else and I keep forgetting to ask."

"Something else more important at the time than asking that question then?" Uncle Faustus asked as he started working on another dragon.

It was, he was actually sitting in the something elses lap at the moment. He also noticed he was doing okay as long as he kept his focus on watching the dragons fight each other on the table, even thought they were on the same team. They weren't breathing fire but little puffs of smoke were coming out their nostrils.

"Yes, that question has been sort of answered by Dad and Granddad." Harry said as he reached for one of the pewter dragons and it was trying to bite him on the finger. "Hey, cut that out."

"They can't take directions yet, Brandon." Uncle Leofric chuckled. "They'll get that from the board once it has been enchanted as well, then they'll be able to be picked up."

"So are you going to tell me Uncle Faustus?" Harry asked.

"I can't answer that, ask your Dad." Uncle Faustus said as he finished with the first set of dragons and started moving onto the wizards.

Harry leaned back forgetting for a moment whose lap he was in and felt an arm come around him and a hand running through his hair. His breathing hitched for a bit until he got his shirt over his nose again and he was able to calm it back down. No more questions were asked and he and Uncle Leofric watched as Uncle Faustus enchanted all the board pieces and started enchanting the board itself. Once the board was enchanted Harry watched as they all climbed up on top of the glass and organize themselves. Uncle Faustus starting giving commands to see if the pieces were moving correctly and they were. He looked back up at him.

"Let's play a game Brandon. I'll even let you have Leofric over there whispering in your ear to help." Uncle Faustus said.

Harry gave a nod and played his first ever game of chess, which he enjoyed because anytime the pieces died the board would raise up and the dragon bones below it would come to life and pull the dead chessman underneath it like it was going to a graveyard. He had more fun watching the board move than actually playing the game. Uncle Leofric was the real one who was playing, Harry was just telling them what to do.