Harry didn't know what to think about Snape's attitude of everything. It was very odd how he held in his temper like that, not reacting like he usually did. Not like he was trying to provoke him, it was just a natural reply to the professor's presence.

"You do know who that man issss, do you? He was in my previoussss masssster'sss inner ccccircle!" Nagini exclaimed.

"Yessss, I know. He jussssst told me that he wasss a sssspy for Dumbledore."

She looked surprised. "Really? That man, Ssssevere-Sssstern, issss one of The Forsssaken One'sss mosssst trusssted." Harry grinned at Snape's name in parseltongue. So, Snape's first name, Severus, equals Severe-Stern. That was really funny!

"Well, I guesssss that'ssss the marking of a good ssspy." Harry slid off his trousers and pants and started applying the salve in the areas that seemed the worst. The cream really felt good on his lesions. The coolness stopped the constant burn of the damage everywhere. He wondered what it was for exactly as he put the stopper back on the bottle.

Already standing up, he put all his clothes back on and slid his shoes on. He didn't own any socks. He went out the door, Nagini following behind. He went down the stairs, turned the corner, and what he saw nearly made him laugh out loud.

Snape- excuse me, Severe-Stern- was standing in the middle of the room, staring at his Aunt, making her look very uncomfortable. He had crossed his arms and was using his very best glare at her.

Harry stifled his grin and emerged from his spot, saying, "I'm done."

Snape tore his eyes from Pink-Flower, and leveled them on him. "Good. We will be apparating to the front gates of Hogwarts." He took the vial Harry handed him, and then he furrowed his brow. "Don't you have better clothes? No? Of course not. Well, it seems like we'll be taking a detour to Diagon Alley."

Harry's eyebrows rose to his hairline. Snape was going to be taking him to Diagon Alley? What had this universe come to? "Oh… okay..." he said skeptically.

Snape looked surprised himself, as if stunned he would even suggest such a thing. Regaining his composure, he then said, "Where is your school trunk?" Harry pointed over to the cupboard under the stairs, and he creased his brow. Seeing the lock on the door, he cast an alohomora and he opened the cupboard. Harry then saw his eyes darken inexplicably, and he grabbed his trunk.

"Wait, can I go get something from my room?" Snape nodded. He ran (as much as he could with his still slightly smarting wounds), and ended up at his door. He opened it, and walked to his bed. He cast a glance over his sheets, which looked pretty bad. They were crusted with brown and red blood, old and new. He reached under the bed and pulled out the notebook paper he had written his many dreams on. He folded them many times, and stuffed them in his oversized pockets. He then went downstairs, seeing Snape still standing in the living room.

Snape then started toward the door. "Potter, are you coming?" he asked over his shoulder. Harry blinked and walked to him, groaning internally. His snake followed him. What had he gotten himself into?

He stopped at the sidewalk outside Number 4 Privet Drive, waiting for Harry to catch up. "Grab onto my arm."

What?

Harry remembered Hermione talking about apparition last school year, but he couldn't remember her saying this.

He must have seen his confused expression, because he then said "Potter, this is side-along apparition. I can bring you along with me, but I'm not so sure about the Dark Lord's snake." He eyed the serpent, still untrusting.

"Sir, she doesn't like being called that. She hates remembering what her previous master did."

Snape rolled his eyes and said, "I am not going to start calling it Potter's snake."

"Just call her Nagini."

Snape snorted. "First we will attempt to stop at Hogwarts with… Nagini. Then we will go to Diagon Alley to get you some decent attire. Grab onto my arm," he repeated.

"Okay, okay," Harry said. He put a hand on his arm and looked down at Nagini, who was looking puzzled. "Professor, would it be okay if Nagini coiled around me? I mean, I wouldn't be able to stand up straight, but it might be easier on all of us instead of just touching her."

"Very well."

"Nagini, I need you to do your besssst to wrap around me so we can sssside-along apparate." The snake nodded and started climbing up his leg, around his torso. It wasn't long before he couldn't sustain the weight of the enormous snake, and his knees buckled. Snape, upon seeing that, stepped forward and caught him awkwardly under the arms. Snape and Harry were having an extremely hard time holding both of them up along with the serpent, and once Nagini had settled herself completely against the two wizards, they apparated to the front gates of Hogwarts.

Harry immediately decided that he preferred a broom to get to places. Apparition made it feel like he was being squeezed through a small tube, and he had a feeling that Nagini being wrapped around Harry was making it worse. When they appeared with a crack at the gates, they both stumbled and fell. Harry had a difficult time keeping the bacon in his stomach down, but after a few swallows, he lost the feeling that he needed to gag. He was pretty adept at doing that, all thanks to his more violent visions from Voldemort.

He felt Snape's muscles tense, and Harry realized that his potions professor had fallen on top of him. Snape moved off of him and stood, brushing his robes off. Nagini uncoiled herself from Harry, and he took the offered hand and stood up. They silently walked, or in Nagini's case, slithered through the gates (which were open, thankfully). Harry stopped, wondering where he should go next. Snape pushed past him and started towards Hagrid's hut. Harry and Nagini trailed behind him, wondering where he was going with this.

Snape knocked on the door and Hagrid opened it. "Profes'r?" he said, sounding confused. "What'r you doin' here?"

"I need you to take care of a snake while I go off to Diagon Alley," he said in a superior tone of voice.

"Of course, profes'r. I c'n do that. Now, where's the little beauty?" the huge man asked, looking closely at his hands.

Snape raised an eyebrow. "I sincerely doubt that you will find the snake little once you have seen it." He stepped aside, revealing Nagini and Harry.

"Harry!" Hagrid exclaimed, seeing him first. Then, his eyes rested upon the serpent next to him, and he made a small "eep" sound. He blinked twice, and turned back to Snape. "Ye… ye'r lettin' me take care of 'im?"

"It's a her, Rubeus. Also, I'm not letting you take care of her, she is Potter's snake." Snape glanced down at Harry, who was tapping his feet on the floor nervously.

Hagrid looked stunned. "Harry? See… how… she's beautif'l! It's an honour! Where'd ye get 'er?"

"Well, about that," Harry stopped when Snape gave him a warning look that Harry could translate easily. Obviously, he didn't want the identity of the snake to be known, so Harry tried for a half-truth. "She just sort of came to me, you know?"

Hagrid nodded, brushing a tear out of his eye. "Yeah, yeah, of course. Just like with me and-" he broke off, his eyes glancing at Snape. Harry supposed he was going to say Norbert, but stopped himself just in time. "Say, Harry? Why'r you here? It's still a few weeks 'till school starts again!"

Harry sighed. "I'll explain it all to you all later, I promise. But first, I have to go get some clothes, and school supplies."

Hagrid seemed satisfied with that answer. "Could I use the fireplace to send this to my quarters?" Snape held up Harry's trunk, which had somehow survived the beating that apparition had done to it.

"Yeah, sure! Harry, bring yer snake in too!"

Harry looked at Nagini, and started to walk inside. "Thissss man issss one of the professssorsssss at Hogwartsss. He may ssssseem a bit… overenthussssssiasssstic about you, but he absolutely lovessss huge, dangerousss creaturesssss."

Nagini seemed to puff up. "I am flattered," she hissed. Harry snorted with dark humor. He watched as Snape stepped into the large fireplace with a handful of floo powder, throw it down, and say, "Severus Snape's quarters." he vanished in a plume of green flame, and Hagrid turned to him.

"I 'ad heard ye 'ad the ability ter speak ter snakes, but I didn't believe 'em!" He was looking at Harry with a bit of jealousy. "Wha'd ye say 'er name was, again?"

"Nagini," Harry said offhandedly. Then he froze, wondering if Hagrid had heard about the Dark Lord's snake. In a stroke of rare good luck, it seemed like he hadn't.

"Nagini… hmm. Sounds famili'r." He seemed to shrug it off, and he went off to a corner to make bedding for the serpent.

"Nagini, I'll have to leave you here for an hour or two. We will be going to Diagon Alley, and I'll be back here assss ssssoon asssss I can."

"Okay, jusssst be back in one piecccce, Army-Leader." Nagini slithered toward Hagrid, who was watching the conversation avidly. The snake slithered into the bedding, making herself comfortable.

Then, Snape reappeared in the fireplace, stepping out. Harry wondered how exactly he managed not to get any ash on himself. "Potter, we need to be off. Have a good day, Rubeus."

They walked out of the hut and back to the front gates. Snape took his wand put, and turned towards Harry. "We will both be needing glamors, so that my cover isn't blown, and so that we will not be overrun by over enthusiastic fans." Harry nodded warily, thinking, Well, if he hasn't cursed me so far, I doubt he'll do it now. He rose his wand, concentrating on his features.

"Is this to your liking?" he asked, conjuring a mirror. He was still in his ragged clothes, of course, but his facial features had been altered. He had blond hair, his face seemed fuller, his eyebrows were thicker, and his famous scar was gone. The only thing that had not been changed were his green eyes. Harry wondered why. He nodded, and Snape waved his wand over himself and made his hair shorter and a light brown, straightened out his nose, and made his eyes a deep blue. Upon seeing Harry's scrutiny, he said, "I have used this particular disguise in my work as a spy." He slid his wand back up his sleeve.

Harry, not needing a prompting, grabbed onto Snape's arm without looking at him. With a loud crack, they went through the tube again, and appeared at the dirty back room in the Leaky Cauldron. "I've never liked this pub," he muttered as he slid his wand out of his sleeve to tap on the brick wall.

They both stood back as the bricks shifted away, revealing the multiple shops and stores in Diagon Alley. The return of Voldemort had taken its toll on the general population, because it seemed as if there were less witches and wizards on the streets than usual. Lining the streets were stalls with some dodgy-looking witches and wizards selling magical objects, sweets, and trinkets. "Amulets that repel werewolves!" one sign proclaimed. "No Happy Thoughts? No Problem! Dementor-Repelling Bracelets! Guaranteed!" another one promised. "Necklaces that Make You Invisible to Inferi!" There were a multitude of these stalls.

On the corner of the street, the brightest shop was standing, Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. It made Harry smile to see the Triwizard money being put to good use.

"Potter," Snape suddenly said. Harry glanced at him, and he said, "While you are here, you will be known as Daniel Radcliffe, and I will be using the name of Alan Rickman." (A/N: Don't judge, I'm having a little fun here.) "I will be your guardian, and we will be picking up your school supplies in an endeavor to avoid the end of summer rush. Got it?"

Harry nodded and followed Snape to Twilfitt and Tatting's to get some robes that actually fit him, along with things to wear under them, rather than Dudley's old castoffs. They stepped inside and Harry took a glance around. The store was placed at the corner of a road, with a huge window at the front. There were clothes on racks that were on the floor, and ones that were floating in the air. He watched as a witch wearing elegant robes waved her wand, and a deep blue cloak came zooming out of the clothes. It was slightly more… upscale than Madam Malkin's, but Harry thought he preferred the less fancy shop.

Snape pulled Harry forward, snapping him out of his reverie. They walked up to the front desk, and the old wizard sitting there looked up from where he was scratching away with a quill on an order form. He peered at them through his glasses and said, "What are you looking for?"

Snape clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder and adopted a Scottish accent that wasn't half bad. "My son Daniel will be needing some new robes for the next school year at Hogwarts. And, while you're at it, can you get us some clothes to wear under his uniform?" The old man nodded, stood up, and accioed an advanced looking tape measure. "Potter," he muttered, "if I've heard that you've breathed one word about this, I will make it my personal job to make your life miserable." Harry gulped and inclined his head.

The wizard had the tape measure zoom around his body, taking measurements. When it was done, a piece of parchment appeared in his hands, and he seemed satisfied. "What house?" he asked.

"Gryffindor," Harry answered.

The man nodded, raising his wand. Black robes zoomed towards them, and they began the grueling task of measuring the clothing to fit him.

Severus watched Potter as he got measured and clothed with his new robes, shirts, and trousers. It looked like his patience was slowly running out, and he hoped that he would finish before his famous temper exploded. He had inherited his disposition from Lily. She had never stood for anyone being foolish or purposefully ignorant, like that pretender Umbridge last year. No matter what the general student population thought, he did not approve of her teaching methods.

He had honestly thought that Potter was a spoiled brat when he had first seen him in first year. His skinny, small frame had been explained away with the excuse that he was a picky eater, and his inattention and disrespect in his class had been seen as purposeful arrogance. Now, Severus had hit reality, hard. Potter was so small because he literally wasn't allowed to have meals over the summer. He had seen how skinny the boy was when he was applying the salve to his back and front. He had felt it truly when he had to apparate with him with the snake coiled around them. When he had fallen on top of him, he had to regain his bearings, and he had felt his ribs through his shirt. Just thinking about it made Severus dearly want to go back to the Dursleys and hex them into oblivion. Their incompatibility in class was mostly because of his misunderstandings, his presumptions, that the boy was a miniature copy of his father.

I am so sorry, Lily. He had failed his promise to protect her son after she had died. He could remember that day like it was yesterday.

Sixteen Years Ago

"Severus," Lily said. "I need you to promise me something."

They both were sitting in the Potters' living room, mere hours after Pettigrew had betrayed them to the Dark Lord, both of them unknowing at the time. The only person in the room that seemed distraught was little Harry Potter, who was being bounced on Lily's lap.

"I will do the best of my ability," he replied uneasily. A few years after school had ended for them, they had gotten over Severus's slip-up. They weren't romantically involved - Lily was stoutly faithful to James, and Severus wasn't about to ruin another relationship.

She sighed and looked at Harry. "You, of all people, know that He-Who-Must-Not-Be- Named is after us." Severus nodded, sitting forward. "I want you to promise me that you will keep Harry safe if… something happens to us."

Severus, who was used to being emotionless, felt his throat clog up at the very thought that Lily could die because of his mistake. Resolving himself, he nodded firmly. "I will do everything in my ability to keep the boy unharmed and well," he vowed solemnly.

Lily seemed satisfied with that. Her brows furrowed at the miniature Potter's insistent wails. "He's been crying for the last few hours. He seems really upset, and I don't know why..."

Days after that, all of the Potters had been found dead in that same house. Except for Harry. Minutes after it had happened, Severus had heard of the raid of the house in Godric's Hollow, and in a panic, he apparated to the front of their house. What he saw made his heart sink to his stomach. Most of the roof was blown off, and there was evidence of small fires peppered around the place.

Severus walked in the front door, and saw the wreckage of the house. The kitchen was in shambles, and the living room that they had sat in just days before was destroyed. Blinking the rebellious tears from his eyes, he marched toward the staircase. He tentatively set a foot on the first stair, seeing if it would hold his weight. It did, and seemingly in a trance, he walked up the stairs the rest of the way.

At the final landing, James Potter was sprawled halfway on the stairs and halfway on the floor, with a glassy look in his open eyes. There was no doubt he was dead. He braced himself for the scene that was behind the door at the end of the hallway, undoubtedly Harry's bedroom. Even bracing himself couldn't stop the horrific sight presented to him from making him clutch his heart and collapse against the wall.

Lily had crumpled on the ground in front of a crib, and he hardly registered the baby screaming in it. He just stood there, back against the wall, hardly taking in the situation. Once he had gotten out of the shock of the whole situation, he fell to his knees and crawled toward his one and only love.

With a shaking hand, he reached out and touched her cold, cold face. And finally, he broke. He cried almost as loudly as the child in the bed while clasping her to his chest, rocking back and forth in the rocking chair she had most likely used to calm Harry. "No, no, no! What have I done… NO!" he screamed in anguish.

He was found there by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who stepped into the room, tear tracks staining his face. He saw Severus holding Lily to his body for dear life, still weeping over her death. He had sniffled, patted him on the shoulder, and picked up little Harry in his crib, who had stopped crying a long time before and had taken to silently watching Severus in his grief.

Hagrid had walked out of the house, and he heard the revving of a motorcycle. A motorcycle? That was strange. However strange it was, it snapped him out of his mental agony. He laid Lily down on the ground, folding her hands above her chest and straightening out her limbs to make it look like she were sleeping. It took all of his willpower not to break down again, and to leave the house.

After that, he never cried again.

"Sir? Sir- Alan! Er… Mr. Rickman?" Severus heard a voice calling at him and something tugging at his sleeve. He finally got a poke in his side, and he whipped his wand out out of his sleeve and pointed it at a very alarmed and surprised-looking Harry Potter. Then, Severus realized he was in a flashback, and his eyes were watering. He turned away, and blinked the tears out of his eyes. He had promised himself he would never think of that incident again.

"Are… you okay?" he heard Potter's concerned voice. Concerned? The world must have been turned on his head.

"I haven't the faintest idea what you are talking about," he retorted, sliding his wand back in his right sleeve.

"O- okay," he said. "Well, I just wanted to say that we're done."

Severus then noticed that, indeed, they were done measuring him and Potter had a bag of clothes. "Ah. Yes." They turned to the desk again and the man handed Severus a receipt.

"I don't have any money-" Potter started.

"You can sign this receipt to take money directly from your account," he interjected.

"Oh. That's useful." He scrawled the name Harry Potter, and handed it to the wizard. Upon seeing the name upon the parchment, he opened his mouth, and Severus "shhh"ed him, putting a finger over his lips. The man, still open-mouthed, nodded. Severus grabbed Harry's shoulder, and he winced involuntarily.

He snatched his hand away as if burned, berating himself for forgetting about the wounds that were still probably painful under the glamours and cruciatus curse salve. But, he wasn't about to apologize. "We will be going to Flourish and Blotts next, to get your schoolbooks."

Harry followed Snape to the green-fronted shop with a door in between two large windows that displayed the . They walked inside, and the interior had books stacked up precariously, around a staircase and a round front desk. The dark-skinned witch running the desk saw them come in, and she stood up. "Good afternoon. Which books are you looking for?"

Snape took a piece of parchment from the front of his robes. "We need… The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6, Quintessence, the Quest, Confronting the Faceless, Advanced Potions making, A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration, and Flesh-Eating Trees of the World."

The woman smiled and went back into the store. She came back out seconds later with a stack of textbooks, balanced on her arms. Snape took four, and so did Harry. "It's a good thing we ordered these early," she said. "We didn't think anyone would be coming in only a few weeks into the summer!" She handed the check to Snape first, then he gave it to Harry, and he signed it.

Snape smirked. "Always the exceptions." He looked at Harry when he said that. He walked out of the store without a backwards glance.

"Have a great day!" Harry called over his shoulder at the befuddled-looking witch.

They walked briskly out the door, and Snape stopped. "Do you need any quills, parchment, or ink?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. All of them."

They started walking towards Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment. Harry preferred Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop in Hogsmeade better, but he refrained from commenting. On the way there, they passed Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. All the windows were boarded up, and the once bright lettering was fading and chipping off. "What happened here?" Harry asked, bewildered.

Snape seemed to be considering that question. "Fortescue has gone missing in the past few months. Many people suspect the Dark Lord, but I know it is. He was kidnapped and murdered, although I do not know why."

Harry looked down at the ground, feeling his mood darken. He had liked that man, he had given him free ice cream in his third year when he was restrained to Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron. It saddened and chilled him that Voldemort was getting so bold in his prospects of taking over the wizarding world.

They then passed Ollivander's. The condition of that building was the same as the ice cream parlour's, and he looked at Snape questioningly. Surely the old man couldn't be dead!

"No, Potter. Mr. Ollivander is alive, if not well. He only got kidnapped."

"Why?"

"I cannot tell you that."

Harry felt a surge of irritation at how he had been brushed off like that. He stamped on it, though, solely because Snape had been decent so far. Ollivander was a creepy man, but he didn't deserve to be kidnapped by Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Now that he thought of it, he remembered a dream from The Forsaken One that had mentioned Ollivander.

He had been alarmed when the potions master had zoned out, and he had gotten a look in his eyes that spoke of a loss so great, he couldn't handle it. And then, when he had almost started crying? That was absurd. He glanced at him as they entered Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment. Snape looked like his normal, grumpy self.

The building had a deep blue undertone with all sorts of objects in the windows. There was a huge ball floating close to the starry ceiling with an old-looking mural on it and golden rings of varying size circling. There were ornamental telescopes displayed around the room, since they were known especially for them, but they could also get parchment, quills, and ink also.

Harry walked over to one section of the store, obviously selling the things he needed. He grabbed a generous stack of parchment, ten quills, and three ink containers. He walked over to the front desk, where there was thankfully only a short line. Obviously, even in times of turmoil, people still needed the basic necessities of magical life. He looked around for Snape, and he seemed to be inspecting a basin that looked suspiciously like a pensive.

Harry was then reminded of the incident the previous year with Snape's memories. He had been no less than devastated to find out that his father had acted as bad as a bully as Malfoy, if not worse. Ever since he had come to Hogwarts, he had always heard about how his dad was a great and noble man, and hearing Snape describe him as irresponsible and arrogant had made him angry, but he never thought that it was true.

Oh, but it was. He had asked… Sirius… and Remus about it and they said that his father was just being a stupid fifteen year old. Harry didn't know about anyone else, but he knew, being a fifteen year old himself, that he would never do a Dudley-esque thing like raising someone in the air by their legs and threatening to take their trousers off.

Finally, Harry got to the front of the line, and he set all his things down on the desk. The wizard with graying black hair wordlessly waved his wand, and a check appeared out of nowhere. Harry took it from the air, and signed his name, giving it back to the cashier. Upon seeing his name, the man looked up, confused. Harry put a finger to his lips and shook his head. The man seemed to understand, tapped the receipt with his wand, and it vanished.

Harry walked to the front of the store and Snape met him there. "Are you finished, Potter?" he asked. Harry nodded and lifted up the bag of supplies he had bought. "Good. Now, I have to run some errands myself, so do not utterly destroy anything or make a scene."

He nodded again, and Snape walked off. Harry knew exactly where he wanted to go. He ran a bit, ignored the shady-looking saleswizards or witches calling out at him, and skidded to a stop outside of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. The place was painted bright orange, with a huge waving twin taking his top hat off, and putting it back on. Each time, something appeared on his head that wasn't there before.

He walked inside, slightly out of breath. Maybe he shouldn't have sprinted over here, even if he was levitating all of his things. This store was more crowded than even Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment! He had to dodge around people and their elbows as he passed U-No-Poo, Skiving Snackboxes, trick wands, spell-checking and Smart Answer Quills, reusable Hangmans, Daydream Charms, muggle magic tricks, Edible Dark Marks, Shield Products, Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, Decoy Detonators, joke cauldrons, Wonderwitch beauty products and 10-second pimple vanishers, Pygmy Puffs, love potions, and more.

He finally saw the twins near the back of the store, talking to a small boy with brown hair. They were obviously explaining how the Umbridge on the tightwire looked, because they were frequently pointing at it, talking to the little boy.

He walked over there, virtually unobstructed by the crowd. "Fred, George!" he called. The two redheads frowned, looking at him with two identical eyebrows raised.

"Do we-"

"- know you?" Fred and George said, looking at him with a smile.

Harry then realized he still had his glamours on, and he nodded. "It's me, Harry!" he whispered, just over the commotion in the room.

They now looked suspicious. "Really..."

"We'll ask you a question. What is the thing-"

"- that opens up the Map?"

Harry immediately knew what they were talking about. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he answered, grinning.

The twins' demeanor changed instantly. "Harry!" they both exclaimed.

"Sorry that we had to do that," Fred said,

"- but we've heard some awful stories lately-" George continued,

"- that involve killings or kidnappings-"

"- using polyjuice potion or impersonation!"

"Yeah, I understand," Harry said. "Why don't you show me your store?"

Thirty minutes later, when the twins were showing him the Edible Dark Marks and Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, Harry saw Snape, without his glamours, walk through the doors of the shop. His eyes scoped the shop, taking in all of the bright colors and loud noises, all with a wrinkled nose. Fred saw Harry staring over their shoulders, and he turned around to see what he was looking at. He gasped, causing George to look over as well.

"Well I'll be!" Fred said.

"We never thought we'd see the day-"

"- when Professor Snape himself came-"

"- to our shop!" Fred finished, mouth gaping.

Harry watched as Snape's gaze rested on him, and he started coming over. His robes were billowing out behind him as he walked.

"Uh-oh-"

"- the great greasy bat-"

"- of the dungeons-"

"- is marching over here!"

Harry dearly hoped Snape hadn't heard them. Turns out, his hopes weren't void, because he didn't comment when he reached them.

"I should have known I'd find you here, Daniel," he said, looking sour.

"They know it's me, professor," Harry answered, looking at the twins, who were standing back, watching the interaction.

Snape immediately looked angry. "What if someone had heard you? Has anything I told you sunk into your miniscule sized hea-" he stopped himself and took a calming breath, closing his eyes when he saw Harry involuntarily shrink away from his raised voice. "Potter. Remember Ollivander and Fortescue? They both had connections to you. Do you want the same thing to happen to the Weasley twins?" he growled lowly. He backed away, saying, "I want to see you outside this store in five minutes." He billowed away.

The twins looked confused. "Is he here for you?" George asked.

"No," Harry answered. "He got me from the Dursleys." He conveniently 'forgot' to tell them about Nagini. He didn't want to get them into any more danger by telling them about the serpent that was now loyal to him. Voldemort probably didn't know that she was with him.

Fred nodded. "Ah. Why him, though?" he mused.

Harry shrugged. "Beats me. I guess he was the only person in Hogwarts that was available."

Both twins hummed. "Yeah, I guess so." Then George grinned and grabbed a whole container of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, and handed it to Harry. "Just to let you know, Daniel," they both snickered,

"- everything that you can find in here-"

"- is absolutely free-"

"- for you!"

Harry was confused. "Why?"

"You were the one that gave us the money to truly start our business!" they said in unison. Harry wondered how they did that.

Harry accepted the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, saying, "Oh. Erm, thanks!" He gingerly set it on top of the rest of his things. "I've got to go now. Snape's gonna go into cardiac arrest if I don't show up at the front of your shop soon. Bye!" he said over his shoulder, waving.

"Bye!" they yelled after him, and then looked down at a little girl who was asking about the Edible Dark Marks.

Harry walked outside, and Snape was waiting there, tapping his foot with a frown. Harry's voice went ahead of his brain, and he said, "Why are you angry at me for telling Fred and George it was me, when you're not wearing your glamours?" Then he bit his tongue for saying that.

Snape scowled even deeper. "I have my own reasons. My patience is running thin, so I suggest you do not try me." He silently held out his arm, and Harry took it.

The tube-like sensation enveloped both of them once more. With a crack, they appeared back at the front gates of Hogwarts. "Why don't we apparate closer to the castle?" Harry asked once he had lost the sensation of nausea that apparating caused.

"You cannot apparate within the boundaries of Hogwarts. Haven't you ever read Hogwarts, a History?" Snape snapped. Harry had to stifle a laugh, but sadly, Snape noticed this. "What is it that you find so funny?"

Harry wondered whether he should say why or not. He decided he would. "That's pretty much Hermione's catchphrase. She likes lecturing us about that book."

Snape looked like something unpleasant had caught in his throat. He wordlessly swept away, his travelling cloak flowing out behind him. He then aimed his wand over his shoulder at Harry, who was trailing after him. He made a slashing movement with it, and Harry's glamours were obviously taken off.

They made it back to Hagrid's hut eventually, and the scene they found there was quite comical. Hagrid had collapsed on the couch, very sweaty and fanning himself while Nagini was draped around his fireplace looking very pleased with herself. Harry had to cover his mouth to hide his grin, and even Snape appeared to have trouble not smiling. His face twitched, and he schooled his expression into one of professionalism.

Upon their entry, Nagini looked up from where she was resting her head. "Army-Leader! Severe-Stern! It has been ten minutes less than an hour," she hissed.

"Well, I did say 'about an hour,' didn't I?" he retorted playfully. Nagini slithered from the mantle and glided gracefully towards Harry. He then looked up at Hagrid, who had opened his eyes and was looking blearily at them. "What happened?"