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Chapter 5 - July 4th - 8:01 A.M. - Day Two

Settling in and Ponderings

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Last Chapter:

After a while, Snape decided to say something.

"Well Potter, I believe it's time to lay down some rules."

Harry looked up at Snape wearily and waited for him to continue.

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Snape looked at Harry for a little bit before continuing.

"The first rule is that you are not to go into the basement. If you ever go down there for any reason, I will know and you will have to face the consequences. Trust me, they won't be nice either. Second, you will in no way enter any locked rooms. Some of them might kill you if opened. Thirdly, if you go into my bedroom, I will not be responsible for what happens. You may owl your 'friends', but you can not tell them where you are and why you are. You will tell them that you are in a secret place, training. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir." said Harry quietly.

"What was that?" said Snape, "I can't hear your incompetent muttering."

"Yes sir!" said Harry a little louder.

"When you are finished, Twinkle will show you around the house and grounds." said Snape standing up and walking toward the door.

He then took another glance at Harry and said,

"It might also be better if you wore something a little more appropriate than muggle rubbish. If you don't have any other clothes of wizarding decency, then perhaps Twinkle can arrange something for you. I will not have my s- someone who is staying with me wearing such garbage."

With that, Snape stalked out of the room.

Harry wondered about Snape's words as he finished eating. He wished that Snape hadn't taken the paper with him. He wanted to know what was going on with the ministry. As soon as Harry's plate was clean, Twinkle came in.

"Master Snape says to show Young Master around the manor. So Twinkle is going to do what Master says. Come now Young Master!"

Twinkle then grabbed Harry's hand and led him out of the dinning room. She took him into the entry way with the huge staircase.

"Now this is the grand foyer. The dinning room is to the right as you know and the sitting room is to the left. Since you have already seen the dinning room, I is going to show you the sitting room."

Twinkle then led Harry to an entry way. The room was about as dark as the foyer. The furniture was stiff. The whole room had a very stuffy feeling to it. It looked like it belonged in a museum instead of a house. The fireplace was large and was clearly connected to the Floo system, as a pot with green powder was on the mantle. A wizard painting was over the fireplace. A very sinister looking old man was painted sitting in a chair. As Harry looked at the painting, the man spoke to him.

"Well, finally a person is living in this house again. It's deadly boring with no one around. Now tell me, what is your name? Speak up now, I'm a bit deaf."

The man's voice was uppity and Harry was startled that it had a bit of a hissing noise to it.

"My name is Harry and I am staying here for the Summer." said Harry a little curious as to who the wizard was in the painting.

"Harry is it?" said the wizard, "Well, let me introduce myself, I'm Myrddin Snape, patriarch of the Snape lineage, and friend to Salazar Slytherin."

"It's an honor to meet you sir." said Harry choosing his words carefully.

"What fine manners in someone so young. So, young man, what brings you to Snape Manor?" said Myrddin smiling widely.

In Harry's opinion, the smile seemed a little creepy, but the portrait didn't seem all that bad. Just a little sinister.

"Well, I came here because I just found out that my father is Professor Snape." answered Harry.

"Ah! A new Snape! Splendid! I was wondering if that Severus would every produce an heir." said Myrddin jovially.

Their conversation was interrupted however, when Twinkle tugged on Harry's shirt to continue the tour of the Manor.

"I better go." said Harry, "I have to go and see the rest of the manor. It was a pleasure to meet you.

"And to you Harry! Do come back to talk with me. I do get very lonely all by myself." called Myrddin to Harry as Harry left the room.

Twinkle then led Harry to a door on the right that Harry had not noticed. She opened the door and as they walked in, Harry saw that this must be the kitchens. It was a little like the Hogwarts kitchens except a lot smaller. Also, he only saw one house elf running around, putting up dishes. The house elf was older looking and had a bit of a beard and big brown eyes. Twinkle ran over to the elf.

"Oh Dingle! You is old! Let Twinkle help you do this."

"No!" said Dingle, "I'm not that old. I can still serve Master Snape. Now get on with you!"

Dingle then caught sight of Harry who was standing at the door watching the argument.

"Young Master!" said Dingle in shock. He then ran over to Harry and took his hand.

"Please forgive Dingle for arguing. Dingle is very please to meet Young Master. Did Young Master like the breakfast Dingle prepared?" said the elf eagerly.

Harry was a little shocked at the house elf, but he managed to say,

"Um, yes, I enjoyed the breakfast. It was very delicious. I'm pleased to meet you as well Dingle."

"You is pleased to meet me?" said Dingle in awe, "You is truly a kind Young Master!"

Harry was a little lost for words when Twinkle unknowingly saved him from a very awkward moment.

"Now Dingle, I've got to go show Young Master around the house. Come now Young Master."

With those words, Twinkle ushered Harry out of the kitchens. They then went up the grand staircase and turned towards the staircase on the left. The staircase on the right went to the room Harry was staying in. When they reached the top of the staircase, they entered a large room. The ceiling seemed to go up forever until it domed up at the top. There were murals on the ceiling, however they were much different than the rest of the manor. They showed clouds and blue sky, well they also had lightning going across the clouds, but it was definitely much more welcoming than the parts of the manor he had seen so far. When Harry took his eyes off of the ceiling, he gasped. He was in a library that was huge! There had to be a thousand books in all. All Harry could register was that Hermione would love to be in this room.

Twinkle then said, "This is the Library. There is too much here to describe, so I think we should continue with the tour."

As they left, Harry knew he would have to come back here soon. They then went to the other staircase and headed down the hall opposite of where his room was. There were portraits lining the hall, but many of the occupants were asleep. The occupants that were awake, however, looked at Harry as he passed by. Twinkle showed Harry many of the guest bedrooms before taking him downstairs. They then went out the front doors. It was bright and sunny outside. Twinkle looked at the fountain and frowned. She snapped her fingers and the vines disappeared. She then seemed to concentrate and after a few minutes the fountain began to pour out water. Twinkle smiled in satisfaction and turned to Harry.

"Now you must follow me closely Young Master, because we is going through some dangerous area to get to the back." she said.

"Why do you constantly call me Young Master?" asked Harry before Twinkle started to move.

"Well, that's who you is. You is Young Master and so that's what I is calling you." said Twinkle plainly.

"Could you perhaps call me Harry?" said Harry, "I'm not too fond of being called 'Young Master'. It makes me feel uncomfortable."

"Of course Yo- Harry." said the elf bowing. "Now come, Twinkle must show you the grounds."

So they set off around the house. A strange plant almost attacked them before Twinkle could stop it. Eventually, however, they made it to the back of the manor. The back was about as overgrown with plants as the front was. Twinkle shook her head and snapped. All of the plants were trimmed back and the grass was cleanly cut. There was a patio with chairs and a table that Harry hadn't seen before. Out towards the edge of the forest was a pond. There were shrubs at the edge of the forest that surrounded the back. They were cut in the shapes of Snakes, Dragons, Gargoyles, and other intimidating creatures. Vines still covered the gray stones of the manor, but it seemed proper to leave them there. A door was by the patio. Twinkle headed towards it with Harry following behind.

"Master says I'm not to show you the basement so this is the end of the tour. Lunch is in an hour so you should clean up. I will get you some proper clothes to wear."

With those words, Twinkle opened the door, ushered Harry in and hurried towards the kitchen. Harry then went up the grand staircase and towards his room, deep in thought. When he reached his room, he was surprised to see some wizarding robes lying on his bed. They were dark green with gold trim. Harry just shrugged and headed towards the bathroom to clean up. The bathroom was white marble and had an old fashioned bathtub in it. He turned on the water and wondered what lunch would bring. After his bath, he changed into the robes and to his surprise, they were a perfect fit. He glanced at the mirror and was surprised to see that his hair was staying down. He looked at the clock and saw that he had five minutes to get to the dinning area, so he raced downstairs deciding not to worry about the change in his hair.

***

Snape headed towards his room after breakfast. Entering it, he started to rummage through the bedside table. He knew that picture was somewhere. Finally finding it, he sat on his bed. The picture was a wizarding one. A woman waved to him happily while wind blew her blond curls. Her smile was bright and her eyes were twinkling up at him. She was standing in a field of yellow flowers and the sky was a brilliant blue that matched her eyes. She was wearing a pale green dress that continued to wave about in the wind.

"Oh Regina," he said quietly, "Why did you have to leave me?"

He remembered the day that the picture was taken.

*Flashback*

Regina had insisted that they leave Snape Manor for the day and just go out and have fun. It took a while, but eventually Severus gave in. They asked the house elves to make a picnic lunch and they started walking down the lonely road, away from Snape Manor. Regina was smiling brightly and clinging to Severus' arm.

"This is going to be the best day ever Sev!" she said looking up at him.

"I hope so Regina." said Severus sighing, "I don't really like the outdoors that much."

"Why not? The outdoors are wonderful with the birds singing and chipmunks running through the trees." she said hitting him playfully.

"Well I suppose I'm just not a nature person." said Severus adjusting the picnic basket.

"Of course you are!" said Regina gleefully, "Everyone is a nature person! Some just don't know they are."

She then pulled Severus over to a small path on the side of the road.

"Let's see what's down the path." she said cautiously starting down it.

"Regina, it doesn't look that safe." said Severus trying to pull her back.

"Nonsense!" said Regina, "Come on!"

She then pulled a protesting Severus down the path. They walked for a while until they saw the sun shining brightly up ahead. When they reached the end of the path, they saw a huge field stretching out for miles covered in yellow flowers.

"Oh Severus! It's beautiful!" exclaimed Regina in complete awe.

Severus had to agree with her statement because it was a beautiful sight. Without saying any words at all, they agreed to have their picnic there. They ate the picnic and just sat with each other. Severus, leaning against a tree with Regina in his arms, was about to fall asleep when Regina said,

"Why don't we take some pictures?"

"I don't have a camera," said Severus nuzzling her.

"We could always conjure one." Regina persisted.

Finally Severus gave in and conjured a camera. They took some pictures of that happy day, and just as they were about to leave Severus had an idea.

"Regina could you stand in the field? I want to take one last picture."

"Okay," said Regina shrugging.

She stood out in the field when suddenly a huge gust of wind came through. She started to wave to tell Severus to not take the picture when he snapped a shot. When the pictures were developed Regina was in shock of the one that Severus had taken of her in the field.

"It's a great shot." said Severus wrapping his arms around her waist as she held the picture.

"It is." she said quietly.

Severus then took the picture out of her hands and said,

"I'm going to frame this picture and treasure it forever in memory of our perfect day."

Regina turned and smiled at him.

"I told you it was going to be the best day ever!"

*End Flashback*

Snape sat the picture on top of the bedside table. He thought back to Potter. Could he really be his son? Was the dream he had more than a dream? He looked at the clock and saw that he had an hour before lunch would be served. He looked in his closet. He still had some robes that he had before Regina's death. He wore color back then. When Regina died, he had no need for color and refused to wear anything but black. He found some robes that were a dark green color. They had a gold trim at the bottom and on the sleeves. He cast a spell on the robes to mold to the wearer's size.

He then exited his bedroom and went into the room he gave Potter. He laid the robes on the bed and headed towards the library. He needed to find a Potions book. He needed to think and making Potions was the best way for him to think. He found the book and headed downstairs. The dinning room table was already set. Snape sat down and opened the book.

A minute before twelve, he heard the sound of running and saw Potter rush in the dinning room. He raised his eye brow as Potter sat down just as lunch appeared. They both began to eat and they were both just about finished when someone knocked at the door.

~End Chapter 5~

A/N: Finally! Chapter 5! I'm very sorry for not updating last week, but I had a full weekend and had no time to write! The performance was a great success. We had a full house for the first time ever! However, I was sick during the last two performances, thank goodness I was just chorus! I'm not sure when chapter 6 will be done because I have exams this week, then I am leaving for Spring Break as well as my birthday. So it will most likely be a while until chapter 6 is written. Now I would like to say thank you to these people who reviewed chapter 4:

Xikum- I'm glad you liked the chapter and Regina's kick in the shins to Snape. You are totally right about the Prejudice that Snape holds!

Mikee- Thanks for your comments. To answer your questions, I'm not really sure if Sirius and Regina will make any more apperances in dreams. I might have a chapter with just them looking at the world of the living though. The future of this story is just hazy right now.

To mistik-elf13, Anarane Anwamane, HecateDeMort, starangel2106, Barbi Bee, emzgurl, pi, Lady S, and Drownin' in my Tears, Thank you so much for your reviews. They mean a lot.

So please review! I cherish all of the reviews I get, good or bad.

|~Lilyanphino~|