Harry was sitting on his new bed, scribbling down the list of the spells he had experimented with. It was amazing how his magic now seemed to have a mind of its own. He petted Nagini's head with gentle strokes. Just think - if the serpent hadn't been so curious of how magic worked, he would probably not have learned about this ability. Maybe this could be the 'power the Dark Lord knows not.' But, Harry shook his head at himself. Voldemort could speak parseltongue just as well as he could, if not better.
Sighing, he put his pencil down. He wondered if he would be able to visit Hogwarts over the summer. He knew Severus would be frequently going back to the castle, thanks to Dumbledore's condition. He wondered who the figurehead and leader of the Light would be after… he passed. With any luck, it wouldn't be Harry.
But, he did tend to have the worst of fortune.
Shrugging this depressing thought off, he stood to speak with Severus about what the plans for the week were. He relayed these thoughts to a languid Nagini, who was basking in the summer sun filtering down from his large window. She had a slight bulge in her stomach where her unfortunate prey now rested.
"Ooookaaaay," she replied, obviously enjoying the change in temperature. "I'll be here."
Harry walked a ridiculous distance to get to the lounge, where Severus said he'd be. When he finally got to his destination, Severus was poring through a book that looked older than both of them combined.
"What are you reading?" Harry asked as a greeting.
Severus gave a small sigh, setting the tome down on a small side table. "A book that I thought would shed light on why Parselmagic takes the form of animals. However, I am not having much success."
"Hmm." Harry crossed his arms over his body, thinking. Where on earth would information on this form of magic be?
Suddenly, Severus clicked his tongue and raised a finger. This was so unlike him that Harry couldn't help but stare a bit.
Looking slightly embarrassed, he lowered the finger. "Recall your second year," he said. Harry nodded, wondering where he was going with this. "Remember the Chamber of Secrets?"
"How could I forget?" Yes, Harry was painfully cognisant of his encounter with Voldemort in the dank, disgusting chamber. How Ginny had seemed so lifeless and pallid… how she had almost died. How he had almost died. In fact, Harry still had the scar where the basilisk's fang had punctured him.
"There is a possibility that some of Salazar Slytherin's old spellbooks are in there."
Harry blinked. "Yes, that's very true!" Then, his eyebrows furrowed. "Wait. I'm not really sure how to put this, but it's something that has been weighing on my mind recently." Severus nodded his head slightly. "You see, when I met Slytherin's portrait, he seemed really nice - not the kind of wizard to discriminate against anyone. And… the deal with his basilisk… he doesn't seem the type to bend a creature's free will like that. Especially to a snake!" He remembered how reverent Salazar had been of Nagini when he had seen her.
Severus leaned back in his chair. He remained silent for a few seconds, pondering his words. "Harry, you have to understand that people can change." When Harry nodded his head, he continued. "He was opposed to letting muggleborns attend Hogwarts early on in his life. However, when he got to know a few of these witches and wizards, his views slowly began to shift. At the end of his life, he was friends with quite a few muggleborns."
"Why isn't this common knowledge if it's true?" Harry asked. He'd heard almost everyone he knew talk badly about Salazar - even Professor Mcgonagall!
"Most people tend to accept what they hear as the truth. I just happened to do a little bit of research before jumping to a conclusion."
"Oh."
"About your concerns on the basilisk - it wasn't always like how it was when you killed it."
Severus dipped his head, almost mournfully. "Thousands of years of solitude and hunger can do that to a creature. Especially one with such intellect. When Slytherin first hatched the egg of the basilisk, I have a notion that it was not as bloodthirsty as it was when you encountered it."
Harry frowned, conflicted. He had a hard time linking the ferocious, terrifying monster he met in the Chamber with a poor, lonesome animal.
"I will contact the headmaster, and we will be going back to the castle tomorrow to investigate this lead we may have."
That sounded reasonable enough. "Okay," he responded. But, it was only eleven in the morning. "Will we be doing anything else today?"
"Yes. Your cousin will be coming with us to Diagon Alley to get robes. As you may have noticed, he cannot blend in with the rest of the wizarding world in t-shirts and jeans."
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Severus watched impassively as Harry's cousin lay on the ground. He had just gotten his first taste of apparation, and Mr. Dursley was having difficulties keeping his stomach in check. Harry was knelt on the ground making sure he was okay, but Severus couldn't care less.
None of them were wearing robes at the moment, but Severus had Harry keep his shrunken down in his pocket. They were going to put them on once they got into Diagon Alley.
Speaking of Diagon Alley…
Severus was conducting an experiment, unbeknownst to either of the young men beside him. This would determine whether Dursley had any magic in him or not.
Only witches and wizards could see the Leaky Cauldron. If Dudley could or couldn't, that would be the end of the conundrum that had been puzzling him for a while. If he was able to detect the restaurant, it was obvious that he had magic in his blood. If not, Severus would just take Dudley's measurements and go get the robes himself.
They started down the bustling street towards the Leaky Cauldron. It was only about a block away, so it wouldn't take long for them to reach it.
Severus glanced over at Harry. Earlier, Severus had re-cast the glamours over themselves. Severus Snape was now Alan Rickman, and Harry Potter was now Daniel Radcliffe. (A/N: Heh.) Dudley was still himself, because no one in the wizarding world would associate him with Harry Potter.
Not two minutes later, they arrived at the front of the Leaky Cauldron. Sure enough, Dudley was staring up at the old building, looking slightly confused.
"Why haven't I ever seen this place?" he asked, scrunching his face. "It sticks out like a sore thumb!"
Harry just shrugged. Severus stared. Then, he just turned away with a small sigh. Harry truly was a bright young man, but he could be as observant as a brick wall at times.
They managed to get through the restaurant without much delay. Dursley was taking his time, gawping at the various witches and wizards packing the place. When they reached the barrier between the pub and Diagon Alley, Dudley turned to Harry with a confused expression.
"What do we do now?" he asked, seeing the seemingly impenetrable wall before him.
Harry grinned. "Wait and see!"
Severus took his wand out of the holster on his arm. Telling Harry to get his robe on, he tapped the specific bricks that caused the wall to draw back on itself. Casting a glance to his side, he saw Dursley's mouth wide open in a slightly gruesome gape.
"Mr. Dursley," Severus snarked. "One would think you had never seen a wall vanish before your eyes."
With a glazed look on his face, Dudley turned to him. "Mr. Dursley is - was - my dad," he replied, still looking dazed. "I'm just Dudley."
Severus didn't know how to respond to that, so he just turned with a swish of his cloak.
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A few hours later, Harry was at his wit's end. He never knew how grueling it was to go clothes shopping for someone other than himself, because the Dursleys never took him to the store unless absolutely necessary. He didn't even have Nagini to talk to, since she was left at the Haven, basking in the copious amounts of sunlight.
You do not know the utter relief that Harry felt when Severus deemed the amount of clothing Dudley had as 'enough.'
"They are adjustable," the saleswizard advertised. "They will grow with you!" Harry hoped, for Dudley's sake, that he wouldn't be doing any more growing. Rather, he should be shrinking.
When they walked back out of the Leaky Cauldron, he breathed in a gulp of not-so-fresh London air. No matter how crowded the streets of London were, they would never compare to the narrow and winding alleyways of the wizarding cities.
"What time is it?" he asked Severus, who was walking a few feet ahead of them.
"About one o'clock."
"Are we going to eat lunch?" Harry asked, trying to keep a whining tone out of his voice. He didn't want to sound half his age. To his surprise, Harry actually found himself hungry. It seemed like his appetite was growing, finally. It was still to early for him to eat a full meal, but he could stomach about half of one.
Severus let out a small sigh. "I suppose I should be grateful that you are finding it in you to eat," he said. "Very well. We shall eat at…" he looked around the street they were on. "What is this… McDonald's?"
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About ten minutes later, Severus learned exactly what McDonald's was.
"What is this monstrosity that they call a "BigMac'?" he hissed while poking the hamburger with a fork he had acquired from who knows where. Harry suppressed a giggle behind his quarter pounder as Dudley looked unsure whether he should be amused or horrified.
Harry cleared his throat, trying to banish the laughter that was struggling to emerge from his mouth. It was just so absurd to see Severus Snape, wizard extraordinaire, considering the edibility of a burger at Mcdonald's. Once he got control of his voice, he said, "You shouldn't judge food before you eat it." A small smile cracked at the corners of his mouth.
A minute grimace graced Severus's face for a split second before he picked up his knife and went to work at the BigMac. Harry had to slam his arms down on the table and hide his face in them to conceal his silent laughter. He's using a knife on the burger! A knife! Those were the thoughts racing around his head as he drowned in mirth.
"What is so humourous?" Severus asked eventually.
Harry looked up from his arms just to see him with his hamburger cut into small, precise sections in the box it had come in as Dudley looked on in dismay. This was just enough to send him into hysterics that he wasn't able to contain.
Soon, Harry was able to choke out, "You're supposed to eat it with your hands, not a fork and a knife!"
He watched Severus look offended - through eyes blurry with tears. "Eating any kind of food with my hands is below me," he responded snootily.
Harry jerked backwards in his chair, silent laughter shaking his small frame. He's- Severus- knife- BigMac- below him- fragments of thoughts raced through his head. When he was just starting to calm down, seeing Severus's slightly concerned face only added gasoline to the fire.
As he began to cool down, he became aware of a slight tugging on his arm. Taking a deep breath, he turned to see who wanted his attention.
It was a small girl, maybe three or four years old, with big, deep brown eyes. She had tan skin and very curly black hair that was pulled back in a messy ponytail.
"Siw," she said, her r's making a w sound. "I'm lost." She looked ready to break down into tears, and Harry felt his laughter sweep out from under him. For some reason, the way she talked sounded… different. But, it was hard to tell through the high pitched voice she was speaking with.
Harry knelt down on the floor beside her. "Awww, don't cry. It'll be okay, I promise." As the girl began to calm down, he asked, "What's your name?"
"Vickie," she responded, sniffling.
Harry blinked at the odd name. You really didn't see little girls with names like that, these days. He smiled. "Well, Vickie, my name is Harry! Where did you last see your parents?"
"Ou… outside," she said. "Outside da stowe next to hewe. You wooked nice, so I came in to ask fow hewp." Harry's heart melted at Vickie's speech. He wasn't around little kids a lot, so he was helpless when he met one. (A/N: If you couldn't tell, she said "Outside. Outside the store next to here. You looked nice, so I came in to ask for help.")
"We'll take you to that store so we can look, okay?" Harry cooed. He stood up, eyeing his half-eaten burger. "I didn't want to eat that anyways. Severus, before we leave, try the BigMac!"
Severus scowled at Harry before directing his gaze to the diced up hamburger. He picked up his fork and stabbed a piece before inserting it into his mouth. Almost immediately, his face scrunched up comically with disgust. He swallowed the bite before saying, "Never again," shortly.
"Aww, it's not that bad," Harry grinned, while taking little Vickie's hand. "Come on. We'll find your parents."
Vickie gripped Harry's hand as Dudley came by. "I have never seen a man eat a burger with a fork and knife," he whispered. "I guess I can check that one off of my bucket list." Harry snickered.
They entered the store that Vickie had pointed to. It was a grocery store with a fair amount of people in it. It shouldn't have been that hard to find her parents, but it seemed that they had searched for a good twenty minutes before calling it quits.
"I'm not sure if your mum and dad are in h-" Dudley started before being cut off abruptly by Vickie.
"Antonia!" she squealed, running over to a girl who looked about ten years old. She had brown hair in a pixie cut, and pale skin. This was at great juxtaposition to the tan skin of Vickie.
"Oh, there you are! We were looking for you all over the place!" There was the odd accent again! Harry just couldn't place it. The girl, Antonia, looked over her shoulder and shouted, "Mom, Dad! I found Vickie!" She hugged her.
A man and a woman came over from an isle over. They had a guarded expression until they saw the two girls hugging. Their faces broke into relieved smiles and they rushed over.
The woman sighed. "Vickie, you had us so worried!" She had blond hair that came down to mid-back and warm, but shrewd, eyes. The man had, most noticeably, icy blue eyes and salt-and-pepper hair.
Suddenly, a horde of children came around the corner. Harry had a hard time keeping his jaw shut as they all surrounded Vickie. Honestly, it was like seeing the Weasley family, but small. The oldest of the group seemed to be a bit younger than him. His eyes darted around to try to count the sheer amount of kids that were clamouring to see the previously lost girl.
He counted seven.
Just like the Weasleys, then.
The oddest thing wasn't the amount of children, though. They all had extremely different skin tones and didn't look like each other at all. Not that he was saying it was wrong that this family was peculiarly diverse, but it just wasn't something you saw every day.
The dad creased his brow, looking up. "Were you the people who led her to us?"
Harry started, putting his hands into his pockets nervously. This man was so tall, it was almost intimidating! It didn't help that his eyes looked as if they were piercing your very soul. "Well, more like she led us to you-"
Severus cut him off before he could start rambling. "Yes, yes we were."
All of the children stood to look at them. Right then, Harry got to get a good look at them. The oldest was a girl with her mother's long blond hair and her father's blue eyes. Then there was the pixie-cut girl, Antonia. There was a African boy with glasses, and two boys who had olive skin and curly black hair. Still sitting with Vickie was a girl with tan skin and curly black hair drawn up into a bun. She had glasses also.
The man nodded at Severus. "Thank you. Sincerely." Then, it seemed as if he noticed Severus and Harry's odd dress and was trying not to be rude about it.
Harry just could not keep another burning question inside him, so he had to blurt something out before they left. "Where do you come from? You have a different accent."
Severus shot a look at him. Harry just shrugged. The family didn't look offended at all. The mother just smiled and said, "We're from America." Oh, that made a lot of since. "Nigel here just got relocated thanks to our military. My name is Gwen."
This seemed to break a dam of conversation that seemed to hold the kids back. Antonia jumped up and down, saying, "I'm Antonia! What's your name?"
Harry patted his chest. "I'm Harry. This is Dudley, and this is…" he paused while gesturing at Severus. He didn't know how to introduce him, since he preferred to be called Professor Snape in a classroom setting.
Severus opened his mouth to answer, but Vickie beat him to it. "Sev'us!" she squeaked. "Sev'us!"
Harry could see that Severus was holding back great exasperation. "Yes," he drawled. "My name is Severus."
"My name is Drew and I'm five!" the smaller of the curly-haired boys exclaimed.
"I'm Mike!" the larger said. "I'm six - but I'll be seven in October!"
The African American boy grinned. "I'm Samson, and nine."
The girl with a bun nodded primly. "I am Helena. I'm the same age as Samson."
"And I'm Vickie!" Vickie said excitedly, seeming to forget she had already told them her name. "I'm thwee." She held up four fingers.
The oldest girl spoke up. "My name is Honor. It's very nice to meet 'ya." Harry felt a little surprised at the glaringly obvious American contraction. "Thank you, again, for helping Vickie here find us."
"No problem," Harry replied.
Gwen smiled at them. "I can't believe we actually lost someone. We are in debt to you. If you ever need help…" she started to pull a piece of torn paper out of her purse. She wrote down something on it and handed it to Severus. "Call this number, okay? It's our house phone."
Severus gazed down at the series of numbers, looking somewhat perplexed. Harry took pity on him and said, "Thank you. We'll be sure to keep that in mind."
"Well, we'll be on our way, then," Nigel smiled. All the children choroused "Bye!" as they were ushered out of the store.
Harry waved his hand at the retreating family.
"Well, that was something," Dudley remarked.
Behind them, Severus cleared his throat. "Not to sound ignorant, but what does this string of numbers mean?"
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Yes! I got another chapter done! I feel very accomplished right now. This chapter made me laugh a bit while writing it, so I hope it did the same for you.
