Part 3.

"Come on, boy." Snape walked as usual, looking the very image of a stalking annoyed predator. Harry couldn't figure out which one right now. His mind was a bit scrambled being so near to Snape for so long. At Hogwarts, he had stayed at the library or played Quiditch all day, so Harry hadn't been this close to Snape since his last nightmare even though they had been in the same living quarters. For some reason, a slightly panicked feeling came onto him when Snape was near.

That panicked feeling was on the middle part of his mind right now, with Snape six inches away and people flowing about them on their errands. He wanted to be away from Snape. Now. Snape would hurt him. Snape lived to hurt him.

But he never really hurt you, his mind said. He had been mean, but not physically mean. Not in Harry's memory, so why was he so panicked? Maybe he was having an aftereffect of the time he spent captured, whatever happened then. Yeah, that was it. They probably had drugged him and he was having after affects. Why else would he be doubly nervous of Snape lately?

He buried his panic as deep as he could. He would not be able to escape Snape until they finished. They were bonded together with some really weird sounding spell. No one could kidnap him without breaking the spell or kidnapping Snape also.

"Do you need anything for your loud, almost as annoying as you owl?" Snape said. They were standing in front of the pet store on Diagon Alley. He hadn't remembered getting here. The last place he really recalled was the Leaky Caldron. He had been too preoccupied with his thoughts.

"Just some food and stuff," he said faster than he should have. Snape didn't seem to care much about his answer, though there was this slight detest frown that indicated he was not pleased to have to go shopping and following a kid around. Snape could not go farther than five feet from Harry because of the spell. If only Dumbledore had not found Harry that day and then insisted on this trip and spell, it would have been great. But, Dumbledore had found him visiting Moaning Merle in the bathroom and had insisted on this.

The store inside was loud. The owls were mostly asleep, but the people inspecting them and the animals were a complete different sound level. The poor creatures probably had no sleep in so long. A small owl hooted from its stand. Such a cute little hoot it had. A neighbor owl hooted at the small one, probably cranky on being wakened up. A cat hissed at both of them as it licked at one of its little kitties.

Harry meant to go directly to the owl supplies. He really did. He didn't want to trail Snape's patient. That was the last thing on his mind until he did get distracted. When he gotten in here, this place was the last place he had wanted to go to. But he did go over there, the little, tiny kitties were just too cute to resist. The little tiger looking one was the cutest, he decided. The gray striped girl was the next cutest one, though the one with slightly blue tint to its white fur, it was the next cutest one. The mother cat scowled at him until he started petting her too. The three kitties and the cat were just so cute. He wanted to cuddle them, and hug them, and.--

"When you are down baby talking the cats, you may want to get your lovely owl food, Potter," Snape said, sarcasms at its finest.

Harry blushes his finest as he realized he had been baby talking the cats for some reason, which he didn't understand at all. He never baby talked Herminie's cat ever before. Maybe these were magical cats that made people want to pet them.

Very aware of Snape's eyes on him, Harry hurried over to the owl food and accessory stands. Now, what was Hewdig's favorite treats again?

Some specially, magically healthy treats, a big bag of never ending owl food (though it did end and ended way to quickly), some "Your owl will love them!" treats, and some other junk later, Harry thought he was down. He headed toward where he thought the cashier was. His shopping blocked most of his view.

"...got to take them all, with the mother. They are two young to be on their own. You can come back when they are..."

The shopkeeper was talking to a customer, so it probably was the cashier place. He scooted his load a bit onto the counter, but fearful to land on an owl or something. It wouldn't be that long. They were changing money right now.

"Have a good day, sire. May I have you, young sir?" Finally, Harry set his junk down, immediately after shaking his arm to loosen it. That stuff was heavy. Where were all the big, tough men when you needed one?

His body tingled with the feeling of somebody very close behind him. He looked backwards and saw the glimpse of Snape's robes.

"Hurry up, Potter. You took your own great time getting your junk."

Harry did hurry up. Snape stepped back thankfully. The panicked feeling had come back when he was so near. The cashier nodded at both of them as they left, Harry with his giant bag turned small by a spell, and Snape with a new bag pack on his back of all places. Harry commented on the new hunchback and got a scowl for his joke.

Next stop, the tailor who scowled at him for getting trimmer or something and then laughed when he said that he wanted pink dress robes. He spent exactly five minutes staring at the new brooms in. They were so pretty.  The newest and greatest broom, Firebolt Z series, looked so much better than his old one. Snape had to grab him by the collar and drag him to the bookstore.

"I would suggest this book for extra help on Potions this year. You do need all the help you can get." That was all the words Snape said before shoving a big volume in his hands with some weird cursive writing for a title. Harry added it to his stack. Thank goddess for the shrinking spell.

"Harry!" Ron and Hermione rushed him. Their arms and packages got jumbled up in the big bear hug, sending them on the floor. Questions started even before they got up with Harry shrugging or answering the best he could while grinning. He had been waiting to see them all day, hadn't he? He knew they would be here today, that is why he had come today.

As soon as he bought his required books and the book Snape had given him, they headed to the ice cream stand to catch up. Harry got strawberry for the first time. Usually, he tried to get the weirdest one. Today, the strawberry flavored one was calling to him.

His stomach clenched. The strawberry ice cream almost came up to peak again at the sun. Holding his stomach, he hurried over to the nearest bathroom with Snape on a five feet leash.

Leaning over the toilet seat, he waited for his stomach to heave up pink, but it never did.  It twisted and turned while his body burned in pain, but he never throw up, only hurt. Finally, it started lessening, then stopped.

He opened his eyes to look into his eyes on the face of a woman that could be his sister if she was not just a reflection in icky water. He pushed away his bangs as she pushed away her long, black hair to reveal the lightening shaped scar on both.

Harry fainted into the icky water, the last thought about the coming back stomachaches.

---

Splash.

Snape woke up from his brooding, much to the relief of the nervous wizards around him who had him in class now or in the past. Had Potter fallen into the toilet or something? The boy would manage to do that without local bullies, wouldn't he?

Snape knocked on the door, glaring at the men looking at him. Those men probably thought he cared about Harry or something. They did not know about the spell and the promise to keep the kid alive.

Why was Harry not answering? Did he faint and now dieing without air or something?

A small spell, and the door swung open. Harry lay as Snape had expected, though not for long. Snape scooped him up and carried him out. He was charged to take care of the kid, and he would.

---

It cracked in half the boy of the look of ten with long, black hair and sharp features was. That wasn't true, but that is what the broken mirror said was true. A broken reflection was not the truth, or was it? Maybe he was cracked and crazy as the mean man. That is why his mother never talked to him anymore. This mirror could tell more truth than the others. The others could be lying. This could be lying. But how could he tell? Was nothing the truth? Was everything the truth? He couldn't know.

He snarled. The mirror shattered. His green eyes flashed. All the glass in the room went back to the size of the sand like he wanted. They would not be lying anymore.

He shivered as a feeling swept him.

"What's wrong, mum?" He asked as he fell down to rest.

---

~~Why is Harry acting like a girl sort of?

Because of the potion, some part of his mind thinks he is a girl and trying to clue him and others in by acting and thinking like that