DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter and all related characters belong to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., Scholastic Books, etc. I am merely borrowing them for my own twisted purposes.
WARNINGS: This story is slash, containing male/male relationships. If you find it offensive, then I suggest you go elsewhere. Post-Hogwarts and slightly AU.
------ oOo -----
30 Days Guide to Finding Your True Love
Chapter 02 – This Is Home
By: Deranged Firefly
Surpise was an understatement when Harry saw Snape's house. It wasn't a large and looming mansion as stated in the letter and it certainly wasn't what Harry expected. Instead, it was the most picturesque cottage Harry ever saw. The lawn in front of the cottage was manicured and well-tended. Rose bushes lined the pathway that had yet to bloom. The pathway leading to the front door was cobbled, not the usual dirt path common in cottages. The cottage roof was thatched and though it looked small outside, Harry was sure it was larger inside by magical means. It was hard to imagine that Snape live in this kind of place.
He must have looked thoroughly confused because Snape spoke up.
"If you used your sorry excuse for a brain just once, you might realize that the Headmaster forgot one small detail. I frequently entertain Death Eaters at the mansion as my position as a spy. I could hardly have you around waltzing in without Lucius or the Lestranges seeing you. The mansion itself is a good twenty miles from here. No one knows of this cottage except for you and my godson."
That made sense to Harry when suddenly, the Potions master grabbed his right hand and pressed it at the handles of the door.
"Wha – " He managed to stutter.
"Magic wards, Potter. The house has to recognize your magic identity so you can move around fully without alerting me."
Again, that made sense to Harry and briefly wondered if Snape had the gift of making anyone feel stupid. He felt a warm sensation to where Snape had held his hand. Strange.
The inside of the house was simply simply but elegantly furnished. There was an unlit fireplace at the east side of the cottage and surrounding it was semi-circular couch. Behind the couch was the stairs leading to the second floor. To Harry's left was a hallway probably leading to the dining and kitchen area.
"Your bedroom is upstairs. Third door from the left. There's an adjoining bathroom there so that shouldn't be a problem. Breakfast is at seven in the morning, lunch at twelve noon, and dinner is at seven in the evening otherwise its up to you to make your own meals."
Harry merely nodded, not knowing what exactly to say. He turned and went upstairs to inspect his bedroom.
His bedroom turned out to be a bit of an irony. It was decorated entirely in shades of green and silver. Slytherin colors. The walls was lined in light green and gray stripes. On one side of the wall was a painting of a pretty girl with black hair and dark green eyes sitting near a lake, pointedly ignoring Harry. She was wearing a simple green dress with a diamond girdle. A caption at the bottom read Serena Snape which obviously was her name. Beside the painting was a window with a magnificent view of the countryside. The sun was just setting from Harry's view making the horizon a mixture of blue, red, and orange. The only other furniture in the room was a bed, a dresser with a mirror, and a small wardrobe. Nevertheless, the whole room was a lot bigger than the one he had at the Dursleys. He supposed he should be grateful for that. He pulled out the trunk that he had shrunk from his pocket, turned it back to its original size, and placed it at the foot of his bed.
He stood by the window and watched as stars began to appear in the evening skies. A candle by the dresser lit itself bathing the room with a warm orange glow.
------ oOo ------
Severus was not at all pleased. The very place he considered a haven from the outside world was invaded by no less than Harry Potter. The son of his mortal nemesis. Oh, Potter senior would be probably rolling around his grave laughing his skeleton off! He supposed he could avoid the brat but that was bordering on the impossible. Not only had Dumbledore got them stuck together under the same roof he also managed to have them work together for the 'greater good', as the old coot liked to call it.
He strode to his bedroom which was on the first floor and directly beside the stairway that led to the basement, his Potions laboratory. He can never get away from his precious potions for so long. The Potions laboratory was Severus' last resort against Potter. Little did he know that it was about to change in a few days.
The sun had set and now Severus had another concern. Mainly to feed Potter.
"Izzy!" He called at the thin air and instantly, a house elf appeared in front of Severus.
"Yes, what does Master Snape wishes?"
"Bring the guest some sandwiches and juice."
Upstairs, Harry was pleasantly surprised to see chicken sandwiches and a jug of pumpkin appear the dress. He gobbled them up and when he was full, the plate and glass vanished.
Feeling rather tired than he ought to, Harry lay on the bed without changing his clothes and was soon sound asleep. The candle by the dresser automatically extinguishing itself.
------ oOo ------
He woke up the next day with the smell of bacon and eggs. He turned and checked the dresser if there was any food there. Harry then realized that he actually have to go down and endure Snape's presence if he don't want to end up starving the summer.
He went downstairs and saw Snape already halfway through breakfast and was reading that day's issue of The Daily Prophet.
"I thought you'll never show up." Snape said by way of greeting, without even looking up from the paper.
Harry bit back a reply, refusing to take the bait. His plan of ignoring Snape as much as possible will prove to be challenging. He took a seat and began eating.
After a moment of tense silence between them, Snape had been the one to break it.
"Your lessons will begin two days from now. I'll give you one hour in the mornings for Dark Arts and two hours in the afternoon for Occumancy. Once I am displeased with your performance in either area, I shall discontinue the lessons immediately. Any questions?" Snape raised an eyebrow as if daring Harry to ask any question.
"Just two, sir... why will it start two days from now?" Harry was almost sure that Snape wouldn't answer this one.
"I have matters to attend. And while I am away, I want you to do some background reading regarding theories behind Dark Arts and Occlumency. There's a small library next to your room which should prove adequate to your needs. Your next question?"
This time, Harry as 100% sure that Snape wouldn't answer his next question.
"I... uh... I'm wondering if..."
Snape's eyebrow rose higher.
"Well Dumbledore said I should help you when it come to the potion you were making."
"You can hardly make a potion without blowing it up." Snape replied coldly.
That's not true, thought Harry. He knew he was not that good at Potions – alright, he was horrible at Potions and he blew up a couple of potions but he was way better than Neville Longbottom. There's no need for Snape to rub it in his face. He glared at Snape but the man had already rose from the table.
"If you need anything, call for Izzy." With that, he was gone and Harry didn't see him again until the next two days. It was later he realized that they had made a halfway decent conversation.
------ oOo ------
After checking that the cottage was in order, Severus apparated outside the Snape Mansion's grounds. Like Hogwarts, ancient wards that protected the place prevented apparating directly in front of the mansion. The Snape Mansion or the Snape Family Ancestral Home for the old-fashioned had been standing since the turn of the seventeenth century. The first Snape migrated from Italy to England. At that time, magic was slipping into obscurity, existing only in Muggle children's stories, and scientific revolution took its stead. Gone were the days where magic was regarded as a mystical and unexplainable power. Science now has an answer for every question.
Severus never liked the mansion. It reminded him too much of Hogwarts minus the blundering crowd. As much as possible he liked to stay at the cottage that his grandmother had given him on fifteenth birthday. But staying at the mansion, at least once or twice, was a must. Like he said to Potter earlier on, his Death Eaters comrades liked to stop by either announced or unannounced. Lucius being the most common visitor of them all. Severus has a strong suspicion that the other man had an eye for the mansion since it was much bigger than the Malfoy Manor.
True enough, when he entered the mansion, a house elf greeted him stating that he had a guest. It didn't take him to become Trelawney to guess who that guest was. He leisurely walked to the parlor where he usually recieved guest.
"What do you want, Lucius?" His lips curled into a sneer. Lucius wasn't on his Top Five Favorite People list and without being under the Dark Lord's watchful eyes, he didn't have to play nice to the other man.
"I have news for you." Lucius paused for an effect. "The Dark Lord had heard that Dumbledore had removed Potter from Hogwarts. Any idea where he is?" He eyed Severus shrewdly.
"No. The Headmaster merely inform me that he will keep the brat hiding under the Fidelius Charm. As for the Secret Keeper, I have no idea who he or she may be. It might be Dumbledore himself." Severus was mildly surprised at how fast the Dark Lord knew that the Boy-who-Bloody-Lived wasn't at Hogwarts anymore. They had just left yesterday, for goodness sake! He fed Lucius with the false information that he and Albus had planned. Hopefully, Lucius and the Dark Lord will take the bait.
Lucius nodded, apparently satisfied with the information. He will return to the Dark Lord later that evening with the news and keep his place as Voldemort's favorite pet.
"I better leave then. There's no point of me staying here."
"Indeed."
Lucius frowned at the Potions master cold welcome. He knew that Severus was hiding something, he just couldn't figure out what.
------ oOo ------
Two days without Snape was something next to a miracle. After breakfast, Harry spent the better half of the day doing nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. He tried to coax the painting on his room into talking to him. For some reason, the girl pictured intrigued him but she ignored him just the same. Harry also noticed that there's a snake beside the girl who kept slithering in and out of the portrait. Lucky for Harry, the snake was more responsive than Serena and actually paused to listen to Harry's feeble attempts to make a conversation. Harry made a mental note to himself to check out the snake's breed at the library he hadn't visited yet. His growling stomach signalled that he should pause for the moment but he was not to be detered. Blame it on his Gryffindor perseverance.
Izzy had taken to liking Harry. The boy wasn't like his Master who was always cold and grim as if he was sitting next to Death. The boy had insisted on calling him Harry but his Master Snape specifically order all his guest to be called properly. Finally, the boy finally conceded being called Mister Harry.
When Harry ordered lunch, he was brought with an eight course meal that was enough to feed two elephants. The over zealous house elf seem eager to please him that reminded him of Dobby. The next time around, he specifically ordered what he want and was brought an amount that can feed four people.
The next day, Harry visited the library bent on taking the lessons with Snape seriously. The library was a big room lined shelves of books from top to bottom. At the center was a table that doubled as a mat for wizarding chess and four comfortable armchairs. With Izzy's help, he figured out that instead of going at the books one by one he simply had shout the suject he wished to find and books of the same topic will fly out from its shelves and arrange itself one by one. Obviously, most of the library contains books regarding Potions, but there were a sizable number of books on Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, and Herbology. There were even books on Muggle classics such as Shakespeare sitting on a dark corner. He took the books out of the library and brought it to his room, finding the atmosphere more cheery than the library.
Unfortunately for Harry, the two days passed by rather quickly and he dreaded the day he had to face Snape for his lessons.
------ oOo -----
Next Chapter: Harry starts his Dark Arts and Occlumency lessons with Snape. Madness ensues.
Author's Ramblings: And yet another chapter done. I finally figured out how to use the Quick Edit thingie. It wasn't working well for me at my first try. ; Also, please forgive me if my grammar and spelling are a bit rusty. My word processor lost its ability to spell check and I have yet to find a beta reader. –Hint, hint. Haha- Again, reviews (especially with constructive criticism) are greatly appreciated. And finally... a great big thanks for the previous reviewers – idril.tinuviel, Hel4, Shippo, bestvampire, Angie/Les, Fuzzy-Bumpkins, Olusha, Pilas, ataraxis, barbarataku, lillinfield, and Ezj-key.
WARNINGS: This story is slash, containing male/male relationships. If you find it offensive, then I suggest you go elsewhere. Post-Hogwarts and slightly AU.
------ oOo -----
30 Days Guide to Finding Your True Love
Chapter 02 – This Is Home
By: Deranged Firefly
Surpise was an understatement when Harry saw Snape's house. It wasn't a large and looming mansion as stated in the letter and it certainly wasn't what Harry expected. Instead, it was the most picturesque cottage Harry ever saw. The lawn in front of the cottage was manicured and well-tended. Rose bushes lined the pathway that had yet to bloom. The pathway leading to the front door was cobbled, not the usual dirt path common in cottages. The cottage roof was thatched and though it looked small outside, Harry was sure it was larger inside by magical means. It was hard to imagine that Snape live in this kind of place.
He must have looked thoroughly confused because Snape spoke up.
"If you used your sorry excuse for a brain just once, you might realize that the Headmaster forgot one small detail. I frequently entertain Death Eaters at the mansion as my position as a spy. I could hardly have you around waltzing in without Lucius or the Lestranges seeing you. The mansion itself is a good twenty miles from here. No one knows of this cottage except for you and my godson."
That made sense to Harry when suddenly, the Potions master grabbed his right hand and pressed it at the handles of the door.
"Wha – " He managed to stutter.
"Magic wards, Potter. The house has to recognize your magic identity so you can move around fully without alerting me."
Again, that made sense to Harry and briefly wondered if Snape had the gift of making anyone feel stupid. He felt a warm sensation to where Snape had held his hand. Strange.
The inside of the house was simply simply but elegantly furnished. There was an unlit fireplace at the east side of the cottage and surrounding it was semi-circular couch. Behind the couch was the stairs leading to the second floor. To Harry's left was a hallway probably leading to the dining and kitchen area.
"Your bedroom is upstairs. Third door from the left. There's an adjoining bathroom there so that shouldn't be a problem. Breakfast is at seven in the morning, lunch at twelve noon, and dinner is at seven in the evening otherwise its up to you to make your own meals."
Harry merely nodded, not knowing what exactly to say. He turned and went upstairs to inspect his bedroom.
His bedroom turned out to be a bit of an irony. It was decorated entirely in shades of green and silver. Slytherin colors. The walls was lined in light green and gray stripes. On one side of the wall was a painting of a pretty girl with black hair and dark green eyes sitting near a lake, pointedly ignoring Harry. She was wearing a simple green dress with a diamond girdle. A caption at the bottom read Serena Snape which obviously was her name. Beside the painting was a window with a magnificent view of the countryside. The sun was just setting from Harry's view making the horizon a mixture of blue, red, and orange. The only other furniture in the room was a bed, a dresser with a mirror, and a small wardrobe. Nevertheless, the whole room was a lot bigger than the one he had at the Dursleys. He supposed he should be grateful for that. He pulled out the trunk that he had shrunk from his pocket, turned it back to its original size, and placed it at the foot of his bed.
He stood by the window and watched as stars began to appear in the evening skies. A candle by the dresser lit itself bathing the room with a warm orange glow.
------ oOo ------
Severus was not at all pleased. The very place he considered a haven from the outside world was invaded by no less than Harry Potter. The son of his mortal nemesis. Oh, Potter senior would be probably rolling around his grave laughing his skeleton off! He supposed he could avoid the brat but that was bordering on the impossible. Not only had Dumbledore got them stuck together under the same roof he also managed to have them work together for the 'greater good', as the old coot liked to call it.
He strode to his bedroom which was on the first floor and directly beside the stairway that led to the basement, his Potions laboratory. He can never get away from his precious potions for so long. The Potions laboratory was Severus' last resort against Potter. Little did he know that it was about to change in a few days.
The sun had set and now Severus had another concern. Mainly to feed Potter.
"Izzy!" He called at the thin air and instantly, a house elf appeared in front of Severus.
"Yes, what does Master Snape wishes?"
"Bring the guest some sandwiches and juice."
Upstairs, Harry was pleasantly surprised to see chicken sandwiches and a jug of pumpkin appear the dress. He gobbled them up and when he was full, the plate and glass vanished.
Feeling rather tired than he ought to, Harry lay on the bed without changing his clothes and was soon sound asleep. The candle by the dresser automatically extinguishing itself.
------ oOo ------
He woke up the next day with the smell of bacon and eggs. He turned and checked the dresser if there was any food there. Harry then realized that he actually have to go down and endure Snape's presence if he don't want to end up starving the summer.
He went downstairs and saw Snape already halfway through breakfast and was reading that day's issue of The Daily Prophet.
"I thought you'll never show up." Snape said by way of greeting, without even looking up from the paper.
Harry bit back a reply, refusing to take the bait. His plan of ignoring Snape as much as possible will prove to be challenging. He took a seat and began eating.
After a moment of tense silence between them, Snape had been the one to break it.
"Your lessons will begin two days from now. I'll give you one hour in the mornings for Dark Arts and two hours in the afternoon for Occumancy. Once I am displeased with your performance in either area, I shall discontinue the lessons immediately. Any questions?" Snape raised an eyebrow as if daring Harry to ask any question.
"Just two, sir... why will it start two days from now?" Harry was almost sure that Snape wouldn't answer this one.
"I have matters to attend. And while I am away, I want you to do some background reading regarding theories behind Dark Arts and Occlumency. There's a small library next to your room which should prove adequate to your needs. Your next question?"
This time, Harry as 100% sure that Snape wouldn't answer his next question.
"I... uh... I'm wondering if..."
Snape's eyebrow rose higher.
"Well Dumbledore said I should help you when it come to the potion you were making."
"You can hardly make a potion without blowing it up." Snape replied coldly.
That's not true, thought Harry. He knew he was not that good at Potions – alright, he was horrible at Potions and he blew up a couple of potions but he was way better than Neville Longbottom. There's no need for Snape to rub it in his face. He glared at Snape but the man had already rose from the table.
"If you need anything, call for Izzy." With that, he was gone and Harry didn't see him again until the next two days. It was later he realized that they had made a halfway decent conversation.
------ oOo ------
After checking that the cottage was in order, Severus apparated outside the Snape Mansion's grounds. Like Hogwarts, ancient wards that protected the place prevented apparating directly in front of the mansion. The Snape Mansion or the Snape Family Ancestral Home for the old-fashioned had been standing since the turn of the seventeenth century. The first Snape migrated from Italy to England. At that time, magic was slipping into obscurity, existing only in Muggle children's stories, and scientific revolution took its stead. Gone were the days where magic was regarded as a mystical and unexplainable power. Science now has an answer for every question.
Severus never liked the mansion. It reminded him too much of Hogwarts minus the blundering crowd. As much as possible he liked to stay at the cottage that his grandmother had given him on fifteenth birthday. But staying at the mansion, at least once or twice, was a must. Like he said to Potter earlier on, his Death Eaters comrades liked to stop by either announced or unannounced. Lucius being the most common visitor of them all. Severus has a strong suspicion that the other man had an eye for the mansion since it was much bigger than the Malfoy Manor.
True enough, when he entered the mansion, a house elf greeted him stating that he had a guest. It didn't take him to become Trelawney to guess who that guest was. He leisurely walked to the parlor where he usually recieved guest.
"What do you want, Lucius?" His lips curled into a sneer. Lucius wasn't on his Top Five Favorite People list and without being under the Dark Lord's watchful eyes, he didn't have to play nice to the other man.
"I have news for you." Lucius paused for an effect. "The Dark Lord had heard that Dumbledore had removed Potter from Hogwarts. Any idea where he is?" He eyed Severus shrewdly.
"No. The Headmaster merely inform me that he will keep the brat hiding under the Fidelius Charm. As for the Secret Keeper, I have no idea who he or she may be. It might be Dumbledore himself." Severus was mildly surprised at how fast the Dark Lord knew that the Boy-who-Bloody-Lived wasn't at Hogwarts anymore. They had just left yesterday, for goodness sake! He fed Lucius with the false information that he and Albus had planned. Hopefully, Lucius and the Dark Lord will take the bait.
Lucius nodded, apparently satisfied with the information. He will return to the Dark Lord later that evening with the news and keep his place as Voldemort's favorite pet.
"I better leave then. There's no point of me staying here."
"Indeed."
Lucius frowned at the Potions master cold welcome. He knew that Severus was hiding something, he just couldn't figure out what.
------ oOo ------
Two days without Snape was something next to a miracle. After breakfast, Harry spent the better half of the day doing nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. He tried to coax the painting on his room into talking to him. For some reason, the girl pictured intrigued him but she ignored him just the same. Harry also noticed that there's a snake beside the girl who kept slithering in and out of the portrait. Lucky for Harry, the snake was more responsive than Serena and actually paused to listen to Harry's feeble attempts to make a conversation. Harry made a mental note to himself to check out the snake's breed at the library he hadn't visited yet. His growling stomach signalled that he should pause for the moment but he was not to be detered. Blame it on his Gryffindor perseverance.
Izzy had taken to liking Harry. The boy wasn't like his Master who was always cold and grim as if he was sitting next to Death. The boy had insisted on calling him Harry but his Master Snape specifically order all his guest to be called properly. Finally, the boy finally conceded being called Mister Harry.
When Harry ordered lunch, he was brought with an eight course meal that was enough to feed two elephants. The over zealous house elf seem eager to please him that reminded him of Dobby. The next time around, he specifically ordered what he want and was brought an amount that can feed four people.
The next day, Harry visited the library bent on taking the lessons with Snape seriously. The library was a big room lined shelves of books from top to bottom. At the center was a table that doubled as a mat for wizarding chess and four comfortable armchairs. With Izzy's help, he figured out that instead of going at the books one by one he simply had shout the suject he wished to find and books of the same topic will fly out from its shelves and arrange itself one by one. Obviously, most of the library contains books regarding Potions, but there were a sizable number of books on Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, and Herbology. There were even books on Muggle classics such as Shakespeare sitting on a dark corner. He took the books out of the library and brought it to his room, finding the atmosphere more cheery than the library.
Unfortunately for Harry, the two days passed by rather quickly and he dreaded the day he had to face Snape for his lessons.
------ oOo -----
Next Chapter: Harry starts his Dark Arts and Occlumency lessons with Snape. Madness ensues.
Author's Ramblings: And yet another chapter done. I finally figured out how to use the Quick Edit thingie. It wasn't working well for me at my first try. ; Also, please forgive me if my grammar and spelling are a bit rusty. My word processor lost its ability to spell check and I have yet to find a beta reader. –Hint, hint. Haha- Again, reviews (especially with constructive criticism) are greatly appreciated. And finally... a great big thanks for the previous reviewers – idril.tinuviel, Hel4, Shippo, bestvampire, Angie/Les, Fuzzy-Bumpkins, Olusha, Pilas, ataraxis, barbarataku, lillinfield, and Ezj-key.