Harry and Snape followed each other around to the stores in Diagon Alley with Snape negotiating for pretty much everything and staring down anyone who even dared to attempt to approach the savior, and that was how the rest of their day went interspersed with buying a lot of snacks on Harry's part and reapplying his glamour on Snape's. Harry thought it was actually one of the most fun shopping trips he'd had, besides one tense moment when Snape tried to get him to buy a new owl but Harry refused and almost burst into tears (stupid lingering pregnancy hormones!). He couldn't replace Hedwig just yet.
However, Harry really enjoyed watching Snape haggle down the prices for almost everything, and the man threw about a dozen more books in his basket about warding and Arithmancy to help with his new career goal. Besides a few sidelong glares and some mutterings, people mostly either ignored Snape or treated him with a begrudging respect. It probably had a lot to do with who his shopping companion was though. On a positive note, Harry wasn't mobbed either since people both consciously and subconsciously gave the vampire a wide berth, it was win-win for the both of them.
Things had been going so well, that Harry didn't even see it coming when an "Avada Kedavra!" was screamed at them suddenly from a nearby alley.
Harry turned in what felt like horrified slow motion as a jet of green light barreled towards him from his left side…the side that had his defenseless egg hanging on it. He didn't even have time to think, it was already there…until there was a large promotional sign for new caldrons that slammed directly into the path of the light. Harry glanced over to see Snape lower his wand slightly, a deadly look on his face.
Harry, for his part, looked in the direction of the curse, his vision tunneling and his human side retreating as his creature screamed in anger. The man that strode towards them was someone Harry didn't know. He vaguely recognized him as being in the clearing when he'd gone to confront Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest, but who he actually was didn't register. What did register was that this was an escaped Death Eater who had just fired another killing curse at Snape, who barely dodged out of the way.
Now, Harry getting hit with a killing curse would be inconvenient, but not actually concerning. It was his egg though that had been in line with that curse, his baby, and that was all he needed to know…or at least all that his basilisk side needed to know. The human part of Harry's brain was gone as his creature side stood to attention and took over.
Harry waved the Elder wand, not even articulating an actual spell, throwing a bench then a newsstand filled with Daily Prophets between the Death Eater's curses and where they were aimed alternately at himself or Snape. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Harry knew the Death Eater was also spilling some vitriol about Snape being a traitor and him being a devil or the like, but his human brain side wasn't really processing much at the time, and that was perfectly ok with him. In a brief pause from the Death Eater's curses, Harry swiped the Elder wand down in a long arch, serving no purpose except to distract the Death Eater for a second and draw his attention to Harry.
A second of eye contact was all Harry needed as the membrane slid across his eyes and he stared into the man's soul. The Death Eater had opened his mouth to cast again but was dead before the first syllable crossed his lips, slumping to the ground immediately. Harry blinked, hooding his eyes once more and feeling the creature within him slowly retreat while the adrenaline in his system did as well. He could feel his fangs itching to bite and tear, even if the man was already taken care of. With a deep breath in, he retracted his fangs and talons that had begun to emerge.
Harry rounded on a Severus Snape who was standing his ground, wand drawn, and looking at their attacker in confused disbelief. "Are you ok?" Harry asked him in deep concern.
"What? What did you cast?" Snape blinked over at Harry, dark eyes wide.
"Snape, are you injured?" Harry snapped his fingers in front of the man's face to get him to focus on the very important question.
Snape sneered angrily but did seem to focus in. "No, I'm not injured," he informed Harry though he very clearly had several scrapes and probably some nasty bruises from diving out of the way of curses.
They had chosen a day for their shopping trip that was not busy on purpose, so there weren't many other people around the alley. The few that had been there had ducked for cover as soon as the curses started flying and were slowly peeking out of their hiding places. "Snape," Harry looked into the man's eyes, never more serious in his entire life. "I owe you a life-debt," he said clearly and evenly, a faint glow of magic marking the words. "Whatever you need…I'm here for you."
Harry could not bloody care less how many times he was killed and had to burn out at this point, but Snape had saved his child. He'd forever be in the man's debt. "No…" Snape was shaking his head firmly in almost horrified confusion. "You saved my life before; you owe me nothing…You saved everyone…"
Harry reached forward and gripped the man's arm probably much too tightly with his green eyes glowing. "No, you don't understand. The debt stands. Mark my words…I'll tell you one day, but I owe you more than you can imagine."
Snape visibly shuddered at the tone the man was using. He didn't know if it was in fear, recognition at the seriousness of the situation, or to his distress, arousal at the man's power behind the words. Not understanding in the slightest what was causing this, Snape just slowly nodded his head. Multiple pops sounded, causing both men to spin around with their wands drawn.
"Harry…I thought I told you to stay out of trouble," Nymphadora Tonks sighed as four aurors popped on the scene, having been called by someone on the alley. "It's my last day too, do you know how much paperwork this is going to cause me?!"
The group of aurors were already examining the dead Death Eater while Tonks and a very, young, junior auror walked over to them. "Make one of them do it," Potter scoffed and motioned to the other aurors on scene. "It's not like we had a choice. He just started firing killing curses at us. He didn't even start with a few jelly legs or stinging hexes, went straight to the unforgivable, that's just bad manners." Snape was surprised to see that his companion didn't seem to be traumatized by what he'd just done. What had Potter done during the battle at Hogwarts?
"Well, it looks like you handled it anyway," Tonks almost smirked as she looked back at the group casting the spells to log the man's information, including the faded Dark Mark clearly on his arm, and the spells he'd used before his demise. "Jennings here and I will take your statements while the rest of them get the bystanders," Tonks raised a pointed eyebrow to her auror trainee who immediately started trying to pull a pad of paper and a writing utensil out of his robes, dropping the quill to the ground and having to quickly pick it up. Tonks gave both men a look, clearly stating she was ready to be done with this day and out of the service.
"Right…er…can I have your names," Jennings, the very green auror, asked.
"Harry Potter and Severus Snape," Tonks pinched the bridge of her nose in distress. "Just give it to me and go help McDougal and Hong over there."
The auror quickly handed over the paper and rushed off, clearly being in distress at having to talk with the Savior of the Wizarding World and a former Death Eater. "Can't get good help these days?" Snape drawled in amusement, finally feeling his nerves start to calm down after the attack.
"You have no idea," she shook her head with a roll of her eyes. "So, tell me what happened in your own words."
"Snape saved my life," Potter stated firmly, now causing Severus to roll his eyes. "The Death Eater…I recognize him from the clearing with Voldemort at the final battle…anyway, he just cursed, and I didn't see it coming. Snape blocked it with that sign," he pointed to a pile of splinters that used to be a wooden sign.
Tonks looked at Snape with approval and appreciation in her eyes. "That was quick thinking, sir," she nodded and jotted down the information.
"Potter blocked several curses himself with the other debris you see around us…then he cast something that I didn't recognize," Snape turned questioningly to Potter, wanting to know what that spell was.
"It was the same one I used to kill Dolohov," Potter told the woman quietly. Severus's eyes widened, not having foreseen that Potter had been the one to end that particular monster as well.
"Ah," Tonks stopped writing and looked up. Harry hadn't told her what had happened, but he'd told her enough to know not to ask. She trusted the man her late husband had named godfather to their son and who was quickly becoming a best friend of hers…really family, and it was her last day as an auror anyway. "So, erm…pure magic that was focused to stop the heart…" she made up as she wrote it down. She'd made sure to see Dolohov's autopsy report in her curiosity, and that would track with what had shown up in that instance.
Snape didn't know why they were lying. Or were they lying? He felt like he was missing something vitally important. He and Potter had clearly avoided talking about the war and especially the battle at Hogwarts, but now he was thinking that they needed to get past their shared trauma and actually discuss it. Whatever Potter had just done to that Death Eater had to be something dark to kill that quickly and easily…did it have something to do with the mysterious bag and the secrets Potter and the elf seemed to be hiding?
Harry was not handling what happened in Diagon Alley as well as Snape and even Tonks believed him to be. Yes, he was certain that he'd done what he needed to and even that it'd been what was right in the situation, but that still meant that he had to come to terms with the fact that he'd taken yet another life. All this led to Harry sitting in Regulus's old/the baby's future room on the floor with his egg sitting on his lap late into the night after what happened at Diagon Alley.
Harry slowly ran a hand down the hard, emerald shell, just staring at the soft, yellow walls of the room. He and Kreacher hadn't decided on any furniture for the room since they weren't really sure what the baby would actually need; a bird needed something different from a snake which needed something different from a human baby. He didn't even pause in his musings when Fawkes appeared in the room.
"You realize I spend most of my days just tracking you down," Fawkes grumbled in song when he appeared.
"You don't have to stay," Harry shrugged in unconcern. "It sounded like you had a good thing going with that thunderbird."
"Too high-maintenance," the bird seemed to shrug. "Now, what has you moping this time? I swear, you need more lemon drops, they keep your sugar levels up. I think you're hypoglycemic."
"I am not. You just have an unhealthy addiction to lemon drops…I blame Dumbledore," Harry snorted, but he would admit he was actually starting to become a bit addicted himself.
"Well…out with it! What has you in a mope this time?" The bird huffed with a ruffle of his feathers.
"I killed a man today," Harry sighed and actually turned to face Fawkes now, hand still stroking his egg. "He shot a killing curse at me, and by extension, my baby."
"Right…sounds justified," Fawkes cocked his head to one side and waited for Harry to expand further.
"Fawkes…I don't think I'm fit to be a father," he said, a hitch catching in his throat. "I'm a murderer. In addition, I've never had a family of my own to know how they even work. I'm reading all these parenting books, and I realize that I don't even know what an appropriate punishment for a child is! How the hell can I be a good father?!"
Fawkes shuffled over closer on the floor, really wishing for some furniture to perch on in the room. "Ok, so you go around just killing off everyone who crosses you or who you don't like the looks of? Am I right?"
"What?! No! Of course, I don't. I've only ever killed people who were trying to kill those I love," Harry turned shocked eyes on his headmaster's old familiar.
"Yeah, so not a murderer, but a soldier," Fawkes corrected him with a trill. "You may not have ever officially been in service to your country, but they sure as hell made you their soldier even when you clearly didn't want to be."
"I've still killed…"
"Which means you will protect the miracle you're holding in your arms right now," Fawkes fluttered a wing towards the egg. "You have a precious gift from magic right there, and you're just the one to make sure he or she or they are protected. Now, I may think Albus was full of shite most of the time…"
Harry snorted, but Fawkes just gave him a glare before continuing. "He was right though in that you have an extraordinary capacity to love. Miraculous in itself since no one has ever shown you that in return."
"Ron and Hermione…"
"Love you as friends, right," Fawkes cut him off. "But you love them as family. It's not the same. They are wonderful, truly, but your love for them is stronger than theirs for you. You even took in that misanthrope down the hall when no one else would. I wouldn't call it love just yet, but if you keep him around long enough, I think you'll love him just as much as you do the others you've pulled into your little family."
Harry rolled his eyes, but he could see where Fawkes might have a little bit of a point. They did seem to have made a little family in Grimmauld Place, with Fawkes included since he refused to leave. Honestly, Harry didn't even want him to leave anymore, grumpy bird or not. "When my baby is hatched, you will stay around, right? You'll tell me if I'm ever not doing something right?"
Fawkes snorted, very strange for a bird let alone a phoenix. "You do realize you're never getting rid of me? I was never blessed with a hatchling, so I'm claiming yours as a bit of a grandkid or something. It was my tears that changed you into a phoenix-hybrid you know."
Harry couldn't help letting out a relieved laugh. "Well then, if I have you and Kreacher, and even Tonks and possibly Snape around, I know there'll always be someone to tell me when I'm doing something wrong."
"More than you'd like. I can guarantee that," Fawkes rested a wing over the egg.
Surprisingly, Harry felt absolutely no instinct to protect his egg from the other phoenix. Something within him acknowledged Fawkes's claim as a grandparent and family. They both stayed there for a long time, just looking at the egg and dreaming of the future. "You know, you could at least get a rocking chair for this room..." Fawkes grumbled to Harry's amusement.
Harry was still sitting with Fawkes and his egg when a ring sounded through the house marking someone crossing the wards and seeking entry. Harry frowned at the bird and carefully eased the egg back into his bag and stood. "Who would be stopping by this late?"
Harry met a tired-looking, teenage Snape pulling a dressing gown on over the silk pajamas he'd been gifted from Draco in the hospital. "Do you think it's the aurors with more questions?" Snape asked with concern in his tone.
"Maybe?" Harry continued past him. "Keep out of sight until we figure it out so you can cast your glamour if needed. It might be Malfoy or a Weasley though for some reason."
"Better not be Draco, he'll be starting the term with a detention if it is," the vampire grumbled, but seemed to sink into the shadows behind Harry, something the teen hadn't seen him do before, and he was instantly envious of the ability.
Kreacher had, of course, beat them to the door and was ushering in three redheads in various states of distress. George was clearly fuming with his magic almost crackling around him, Fred looked on the verge of tears, and Percy looked small. Harry had never seen him look small before. Percy had always had a presence, usually self-important and a bit pompous, but it was still a clear presence. Now, the young man looked like he was trying to disappear as efficiently as Snape had done moments before.
"Hey guys. What happened? Are you all ok?" Harry asked, worried they'd been attacked too. He was already looking them over as he approached for injuries.
"Mum dropped by for a surprise visit," George hissed, causing a light fixture to explode beside him on the wall. "Merlin, I'm sorry! You'd think I was still a first year."
Everyone had jumped, but Kreacher just snapped his fingers and it was instantly fixed. "No worries, Masters Weasleys. It happens, especially in his house," Kreacher nodded and stepped back to give Harry and them more space in the small hallway.
"She didn't realized Percy was staying with us. She'd assumed he still had his own flat," Fred now had an arm wrapped around his brother who turned sad, amber eyes on Harry. It was the definition of puppy dog eyes, and it was definitely unfair in Harry's opinion, especially since he knew his godson had inherited those.
"I know this is early since we were supposed to meet after the full moon, and you have Professor Snape and all…" Percy mumbled, looking down at the floor now.
A deep sigh sounded from behind Harry. "Of course, Percy Weasley somehow got himself turned into a werewolf," Snape appeared with his arms crossed and a sneer from the shadows at the end of the hallway. It seemed obvious from the man's glare towards the door that the sneer wasn't for Percy though surprisingly.
Percy gave a startled sniff before quickly pushing Fred behind him in surprise. "Harry…" He worriedly looked at the teen standing in front of their former professor. "You do realize…Snape's a vampire…"
Harry rolled his eyes dramatically and adjusted the strap of his satchel on his shoulder. "Clearly that's why I wanted us all to have a nice dinner and figure out how this was going to work ahead of time."
"If anyone's going to be fighting, you's will move it out of the house and away from Kreacher's master," the elf stepped forward again as Fawkes gave a trill that sounded clearly like a chuckle before flaming out, seeming to decide it wasn't anything to worry about.
"Kreacher will flay anyone alive who harms Master Harry," the elf continued, and he clearly wasn't bluffing if his protective stance more in front of the bag than actually Harry was any indication.
George seemed to let go of some of his anger with a deep chuckle as he crossed his arms and leaned against the scorch-marked but portrait-less wall. "Seems you're collecting quite the group here, Harrikins," he grinned before throwing a bit of a smirk at the vampire. "Looking good, Professor…I think I'm older than you now!"
"Where's Walburga?" Fred frowned at where George was leaning. "I get Snape, that was always a rumor, but where's the magically non-removable banshee portrait?"
"Potter avoids the question any time I ask," Snape huffed, more because George was right and he was actually older than him than Harry refusing to answer a question which happened quite a lot.
Harry looked a bit sheepish. "Only because it's a bit embarrassing…it was an accidental magic slip. As Kreacher said, that happens in this house," he murmured.
Walburga hadn't survived his pregnancy. The woman had screeched at him one morning when he had no longer been able to see his feet and his phoenix side had set her on fire…almost burned the whole wall and maybe house if Kreacher hadn't run in and put the fire out by conjuring a muggle fire extinguisher of all things.
"She had it coming," Kreacher darkly grumbled. The woman had taken it too far. She should have known not to insult a pregnant person, she'd gone through two of them herself, and that was Kreacher's new baby now too!
"Riiiight," Fred shared a questioningly look with his siblings. "Well, Perce won't let us curse Mum or even try to disown ourselves…"
"Which seems justified…" George added firmly.
"So, how bad is this…"
"Werewolf vs. vampire prejudice thing?"
"Yeah, is there room at the inn for our dear brother?" Fred ended as the twins turned hopeful eyes on Harry while Percy just winced in shame at the trauma of what he'd just gone through.
"I can be accepting of the situation if Mr. Weasley can," Snape gave the werewolf a small nod of his head in understanding of what he was going through. "I assume you'll need some help with your wolfsbane potion?" He added on in as much of a show of support as his personality was able.
"Please! I still haven't been able to figure out that bloody difficult brew!" George almost gave a bit of a dance at the offer of help. "We can't afford to ruin any more of the ingredients trying either."
"Percy…you have always been welcome here with me, all of you," Harry stepped forward and put a hand on the older teen's arm. "However…can I please at least curse her a little though?" he added on with a vicious hiss, green eyes flashing into snake slits for only a fraction of a second.
"Er…no," Percy shook his head, very concerned since he was the only one who actually knew what Harry was. "No cursing our parents, or pranking them, or getting yourself disowned," he sighed at the end. "They're scared and prejudiced…I'm not unleashing the likes of any of you on them. They aren't Death Eaters."
"Don't seem that much different right now," George gave a disgruntled sniff before pushing himself off the wall. "Well, I'm going to go fill in Ronnikins before Mum or Dad get their version of events owled off to Australia. He doesn't even know about Percy yet, and Perce really doesn't need to be around for another emotional revelation tonight. Your floo has their international connection, right?"
"Yeah, let us know how it goes," Harry waved a hand to the study where George and Fred disappeared to floo call their brother. "I'm so sorry, Percy," he squeezed the arm he still had his hand on before letting go.
Percy shrugged and picked up a knapsack he'd set on the floor when he'd come in. "I'm sorry to be imposing and all…"
"I'd already offered for you to come live here!" Harry snorted before turning to Kreacher. "Kreacher, please put the new linens we bought on the bed in my old room for Percy. I'll probably be the most comfortable one."
"Yes, Master Harry," Kreacher's head bobbed before he apparated away with a sharp crack.
"Is he a bit younger?" Percy frowned at the spot the elf used to be. "That seems to happen a lot in your house," he looked up at where Snape was still looming.
"He has a master who actually takes care of him now," Snape answered for Harry in explanation. "Will you be able to co-exist with a vampire? Lupin was always a little on-edge with me in the room, even if he didn't know what I was."
"You were too," Harry smirked at the man.
"More because of who he was instead of what," Snape gave him a fond glare that had Percy raising an eyebrow at their interaction.
"Personally, I think it might be a little fun to get to know a vampire," Percy's eyes flashed as he gave the man a wide grin, seeming to let go of just a little of the stress on his shoulders. "Besides, I still owe Harry a night of getting pissed and complaining about the wixen world."
"And your parents," Harry hissed darkly again. He'd been worried about the Weasley parents before, but now he was furious and only hoped that Ron, and hopefully Ginny, would support their brother. It would also speak volumes about their reaction when they learned what he was and what he was carrying with him in his bag.
"I will supply the liquor if I can join in a glass disparaging all things Albus, the ministry, or the Dark Lord," Snape offered with a snort as he turned, his dressing gown sweeping behind him as he made his way back up the stairs.
"That has to be a vampire thing," Percy chuckled with a look towards the dramatic sweep of the man's robes, not even slightly less impressive as a dressing gown.
"Nah, I think that's all Snape and his own magic," Harry threw an arm around Percy's waist and steered him towards the kitchen. "Now, we need tea and chocolate. I hear it works wonders for a werewolf in distress."
Percy sighed and allowed himself to be led away. "That sounds lovely…now, what's up with the bag?"
Harry groaned dramatically. "Nothing, just don't touch it or I might accidentally bite you, especially after what happened today."
Percy almost choked on air in surprise. "Right, yeah…that definitely sounds like nothing!"
"Just don't touch it, and I'll eventually tell you about it," Harry responded, still not ready to tell anyone outside of Kreacher, Fawkes, and his healer and actually have to mentally deal with it.
"Ok…" the werewolf agreed in concern when they entered the much cleaner and lighter kitchen. "Can you at least tell me what happened today then?"
Harry let out another sigh and put down the kettle to open a cabinet door. "I think I'm going to need to break out Sirius's whiskey instead of tea then." Percy's eyes went wide and he settled at the table to listen.
September 10th
Potter and I have recently returned from the hearing at the Ministry for Magic concerning what happened in Diagon Alley last week. Unsurprisingly, the ministry has basically shoved the entire thing under the rug in favor of promoting the end of the war and rebuilding. There was a small article buried in the Prophet the day after the event, but it contained few details and didn't mention anyone by name. In the hearing, all Potter and I had to do was confirm the aurors' report. After that, Potter insisted we go for a nice lunch since the case was immediately closed.
Observation #19: Potter seemed to struggle for a while with what had happened in Diagon Alley but shook it off far more quickly than I would have believed possible for him.
Conclusion #19: Either Potter is much more ruthless than he was before the war, or he has learned to control his emotions and place blame where it is deserved more easily. Whichever is the case, it looks good on the young man. I'm thankful I'm not sharing living space with someone who is going through some kind of mental breakdown. With the little I now know of all Potter has gone through, I feel I should have expected him to be more resilient than I did.
Observation #20: The bag…not everyone is equal in Potter's extreme protective reactions. Apparently, Teddy Lupin is allowed to touch the bag. Nymphadora Tonks dropped off the child so she could go shopping and have a small break. Potter seemed concerned about my feelings towards having a baby in the house, but the Lupin child is very well behaved for a baby and much easier to care for than the teenagers I normally have to deal with.
To my surprise, the baby scooted over to Potter's bag while they were playing on the floor and began to hug it. As for myself, I had already pulled my wand to summon the child away if Potter reacted similarly as he had with me. Besides a quick stiffening of his spine, Potter just smiled at the child and cooed over him even more if that were possible. Besides getting drool all over the leather satchel, nothing else happened.
Conclusion #20: The bag may not hold a dark artifact. If it does, Potter is farther gone than I believed since I'm absolutely certain he'd ever knowingly place his godson in harm's way. I asked him after the Lupin child left why he'd allowed the baby close to something Kreacher and I had been almost attacked over. Potter said, I quote, "Snape, he's only a baby. He can't hurt it, besides Teddy's not a threat."
"So, I'm a threat?" I, of course, asked next.
"No…" Potter said in his annoyingly daft way like he'd been caught out admitting something he didn't want to. "It's just…you could be, you know?"
I assured him that I really didn't know, but he wouldn't continue the discussion. He pointedly changed the subject to what we should bring to our chambers when we move to Hogwarts.
Observation #21: Percy Weasley may know something. I brought up the bag when we were alone in the library one day, and he instantly warned me to not touch it. When pressed, he swore to not know what it contained but that it was important to Harry and we should leave it alone.
Conclusion #21: Weasley knows something. It might not be about the bag, but there is something he isn't saying, and it's about Potter. It may have something to do with his werewolf senses. They do have a more developed sense of smell than vampires. I loathe being in the dark as to what is going on. I will figure out this mystery!
Weasley being added to the mix of this house has been much less impactful that I would have guessed. I have had to work with the Weasley twins on brewing his potion, but he was already supplied with what he needed for this moon and spent an uneventful evening in the basement. He works most days at the twins' shop and spends his evenings quietly reading. He is not as welcome of a conversational partner as Potter, but we are all getting on currently. Personally, if it were me, I would have (and would still very much like) to unleash the twins on his bigoted parents or even my own fury. I may have had a terrible childhood, but the Weasleys always pretended to be some kind of loving ideal of the perfect household, and that actually seems worse to have it ripped out from under you than to expect the vitriol.
Observation #22: The elf has been treating me with more respect recently. I trace it to what happened in Diagon Alley. He has been making my coffee for me each morning instead of insisting that I'm well enough to do it myself.
Conclusion #22: He still won't allow eggs in the house, so he remains a sadist.
Observation #23: I don't believe I'm upset or displeased that Potter will be moving into my spare room at Hogwarts. We will have to share a washroom and the sitting room, but he will have his own entrance to his personal room from the castle, and he will be banned from my potions lab. I find that the thought of sharing space isn't as unpleasant as it may have been several months ago.
Conclusion #23: I'm going soft. I blame too many crucio's throughout my life. If any of the marauders were still alive, they'd make my life living hell over this. It doesn't help that the man is much too attractive for his own good and has no clue about it either.
I'm not sure anymore if Lily would be pleased her son and I are now getting along, or if she'd curse my balls off since my thoughts concerning said son may not be as pure as any of us would like. Thank Merlin the man has absolutely no idea. I may be going soft, but I am still exceptional at keeping my emotions to myself. Albus is definitely rolling in his grave somewhere about now, probably in laughter.
On a parting note, Potter's little friends will be returning from Australia in a couple weeks. I find myself more nervous than I'd expect. I have no idea why the trio reuniting concerns me in any way whatsoever. Strange nerves aside, I'm hoping to get more answers concerning the perplexing bag and Potter's odd behavior since his friends are sure to notice these things.
Percy Weasley frowned from where he was sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast before work. A large brown owl had flown in to deposit a letter on his head before flapping over to wait for an answer by Fawkes who was grumbling at the intrusion. "It isn't your parents, is it?" Harry asked as Percy just frowned more deeply at the letter.
"There are a couple mild, undetectable curses I know that can easily be added to a return letter," Snape smirked darkly over the rim of his coffee cup.
"Huh? Oh, er no, but thanks," Percy's expression was now more confusion than anything else. "It's from Professor McGonagall…apparently Professor Binns must have crossed over during the battle or shortly thereafter, and not surprisingly, no one noticed until now. They're scrambling for a History of Magic teacher, and I guess I'm the only one in Britain that's still alive and not already gainfully employed that made an O on my History NEWT in the past couple decades."
"Oh wow, congratulations!" Harry beamed at him, raising his teacup in a bit of a toast.
"She wants to stop by in a couple days for a meeting/employment interview if I'm interested," Percy continued with a frown.
"It will pay more than your job at the shop," Snape added with an accepting nod of his head.
"But…she doesn't know I'm a werewolf…" Percy looked at them both with scared eyes.
"Merlin's balls!" Harry grumbled in frustration and set down the teacup now to get to planning.
Up Next: The return of Ron and Hermione...
