Author's Note: Hey all! Ahh, okay, this week I'm starting AP exams. It's quite frightening. I'm taking two English ones. I also have prom coming up soon, which has brought along with it some random drama. Obviously, I have a bit of a busy schedule, but I'm going to try to get the next chapter out soon, especially if I get a lot of reviews for this one, hint hint. I've been really busy lately babysitting and doing grunt work for a real estate company (stuffing envelopes, gah!), but hey, at least I'm getting some money! But anyways, wish me good luck for my exams and also for prom (my ex-boyfriend's going to be there and I have to make a fabulous impression. Lol)
Also, thank you so much to my newish, most-time beta Senri, who's looked over several chapters from Flawed Perfection. He is great about me coming to him with my random chapters in the middle of the night and having him use his wonderful knowledge of grammar and spelling and other HP facts and helps me catch such random stuff. I don't know how he does it. Plus, he works around my neurotic, perfectionist personality, and deals with my little neurotic habits with an incredible amount of patience. Do you all know he is forced to report to me every change he makes and has to deal with me arguing with him about the smallest details that you all probably don't notice anyways? Senri, you're awesome! And once again, no, Ginny is not doing a strip tease for Senri the house-elf.
All right, on with the show! Please review!
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"What the heck are those?" Harry asked as he walked into Draco's room to find the blonde holding strange long pointy things.
"These are fencing foils," Draco said dramatically.
Harry looked at him in bewilderment.
"You want to make a fence out of foil? I don't think those look like they'd make a great fence, Draco."
The blonde rolled his eyes. "Fencing is a sport for the civilized, obviously you wouldn't be familiar with it," he said with a smirk. Harry pulled a face at him. "It's like sword fighting, but with these. I'd teach you with real swords, but I doubt our godfathers would be really happy if one of us lopped off the other's head. Catch," he called, tossing one to Harry who deftly caught it.
"So you're going to teach me to fence?" Harry asked excitedly, swishing the foil around in the air.
"Yes. I feel it's my duty to teach you some sort of culture. Now I don't have any of the protective gear, so you're going to have to be really careful about not gouging out my eye, because I assure you, if you do, I'm taking one of yours to replace it."
The next several hours were spent with Draco teaching Harry the art of fencing. Harry was a fast learner at all the movements, blocks, jabs and whatnot, but Draco kept informing him that he lacked the graceful poise that Draco had. The Slytherin kept frowning and told Harry he looked like a pirate in a sword fight. Harry, unfortunately for Draco, thought this was a much cooler way to look than the prim and proper standard.
"You're hopeless," Draco declared at one point.
Harry just grinned at him. "Well, I still seem to be a bit difficult for you to beat," he pointed out.
"That's because you don't follow the etiquette standards of fencing," Draco exclaimed in annoyance.
"Well, this is good for you then. You already know how to fight people who follow the etiquette, and now you can learn how to fight people who don't, a.k.a. me," Harry said, swishing the fencing foil around in the air so he could hear the satisfying whoosh sound.
"All right, let's go again. And this time, keep that thing out of the general vicinity of my head," Draco warned.
"Ay ay, captain," Harry said with a smirk.
"En guarde," Draco said, and the two rested the tips of their fencing foils against each other's. "And…fence!"
Immediately, the two began fencing. The foils clanged together. While Draco's face was cool and passive, Harry's flipped between being screwed up with concentration to laughing with joy each time he felt he did something especially cool.
The two shuffled as they dueled, so they ended up near the back steps of Snape Manor. Draco smirked and threw his foil up in the air. Harry was distracted with watching the foil sail over his head. Draco dodged by Harry and darted up the three stairs, deftly catching the foil with a smug expression.
"Whoa, that was a wicked move!" Harry exclaimed in awe. Ducking as Draco swung at him.
"Of course," Draco said smugly. Harry swiped at the blonde's feet, but Draco jumped to avoid it and shuffled backwards into the house, Harry following him the whole way, foils clanging.
The two made their way into the living room where Snape was reading. The Potions professor looked up with a raised eyebrow as the two boys entered the room.
"Not on the…" he protested with a wince as Harry jumped up onto the couch to gain the advantage of height. "Off the couch!" he snapped.
Harry saluted him and stepped up onto the back of the couch and jumped off, followed by Draco who walked up the couch and jumped off, swiping at Harry who deftly blocked him.
Harry spun around and clinked foils with Draco with a proud smirk. Draco rolled his eyes.
"What? You know that was cool," Harry said, dodging a jab from the blonde.
"For an amateur," Draco smirked.
Harry grinned, turned, and ran into the hall, Draco trailing after him. The two resumed their sword fight in the foyer. House elves dodged out of their way as they made their way down the hall, the clanking of their foils echoing loudly.
"Sorry! Hey, Senri! Oops, sorry Bibs." Harry apologized as the house elves scurried out of the way.
Draco looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Sev was polite to house elves, unlike anyone at Malfoy Manor, but it always boggled him that Harry was actually friendly with them. He had learned the names of quite a few of the ones in Snape Manor and always asked how they were. The house elves were very fond of him.
The two backed up into the dining room. The house elves raced in after them and quickly grabbed away all the breakable things.
"Thanks guys!" Harry called. Draco stepped onto a chair and jumped up on the table. Harry ducked a swipe of Draco's foil and raced to the other end of the long wooden table, quickly climbing up.
"Kind of familiar," Draco mused as they clashed foils again. It was oddly reminiscent of the time they dueled on stage in their second year.
"Yeah, maybe I should get Lockhart over here to give me some more of his wonderful advice," Harry said sarcastically as the two circled around each other as they dodged and jabbed. "Have any snakes up your sleeves?"
"Why, you want to have a chat with one?" Draco smirked. "That's really unfair by the way. You get the coolest Slytherin talent and you're not even in Slytherin!"
"Well, let's just say that little talent doesn't exactly go over big with the general public."
"It would with snakes," Draco pointed out. Harry chuckled. Draco feinted up and when Harry brought his foil up to block it, he switched and jabbed it into Harry's chest, sending the dark-haired boy crashing down.
Harry landed flat on his back on the table and dropped his foil off the side. The wind was knocked out of him and it took him a second to regain his senses.
"Ow," he moaned with a chuckle. "I think you win."
Draco offered his hand and helped Harry to his feet. They shook hands to conclude the duel and climbed off the table before Snape could find them there.
"I think I'm done for the day," Harry announced, rubbing his sore chest that had now been jabbed hard with the fencing foil three times.
The house elves reset the table and one announced that dinner would be served shortly.
Draco decided that Harry would be staying for dinner. The house elves eagerly nodded their heads and set an extra place at the table.
When the boys were done getting cleaned up, they came down and entered the dining room. Harry stared in wide-eyed awe at the dinner table, which was covered by a fancy table clothes. Every place was set with far too much silverware, in Harry's opinion. Snape was already seated at the head of the table with the Prophet open in front of him. He was shaking his head with a scowl as he was reading it.
Suddenly, Harry, who hadn't been looking where he was going, ran into something very solid. There was a loud crash as Harry and the house elf he had run into fell to the ground, along with the tray of condiments the house elf had been carrying.
Snape and Draco exchanged a look and rolled their eyes.
"Oh my God, Senri, I'm so sorry!" Harry apologized to the house elf. He crawled around on the floor picking up the things he had knocked over.
"Harry Potter mustn't worry about it, sir. Senri will clean it, sir," the house elf assured him.
"No, here, let me help. Here's all the, um, stuff," he said, setting all the salt and peppershakers and small bowls back on the tray. With his hands, he began scooping a pile of some sort of thick sauce from the floor onto the tray. A bunch of other house elves ran over and insisted that Harry didn't have to help, while he insisted that he wanted to and that he was sorry for being so clumsy.
"Harry," Snape snapped. Harry looked up from the fray apologetically. Snape shook his head. "Just…sit," he said exasperatedly. Draco sniggered.
"Smooth one," he commented. Harry blushed and sat down.
A house elf ran up and gave him a moist towel to clean his hands, which were now covered in sauce. Harry quickly got his hands clean and handed the towel back to the house elf, apologizing once again.
"Who knew that we'd get dinner and entertainment by inviting you over?" Draco said with smirk.
"Guess I'm not quite used to the whole high-class dinner thing yet."
Suddenly there was a house elf at his side dishing food onto his plate. Harry looked up and saw that there were house elves at the others' sides as well. Snape was asking Draco about how he was coming along with his summer homework. Both were ignoring those serving them except for an occasional 'thank you' from Snape and awkward thanks from Draco, who wasn't used to even acknowledging house elves.
"Senri, what is all this stuff?" he whispered as the house elf placed a slab of spice-covered meat on his plate.
"This, Harry Potter sir, is ostrich meat. The soup is a bouillabaisse, which is a French fish stew. The salad contains tossed spinach leaves, tomato, cucumber, goat cheese, and a vinaigrette dressing. The pasta has angel hair noodles and…"
"Actually," Harry interrupted as politely as he could, "you know, I don't think it's a good idea to tell me anymore. Thanks, Senri," Harry said, looking at the food apprehensively as the house elf bowed and left. Why did rich people eat such weird food?
A house elf handed him a material napkin. Harry thanked him and placed it beside his plate without paying much attention. He grabbed a fork and looked at it confusedly. It was tiny and only had two prongs. He supposed it was another rich people thing. Maybe it was so they would take smaller bites and look classier or something.
Harry tried using it with the pasta, but failed miserably on getting any to stay on the tiny fork. He found something small on his plate and figured it would be easier to start with that. He poked the foreign substance with the tiny fork and popped it into his mouth. He chewed…and kept chewing. It tasted like rubber.
When the other two were distracted, Harry quickly spit the thing out into his hand and put it back on his plate, hiding it under the ostrich meat. He wished he had a paper napkin to spit things out in and wipe his hands on, not wanting to get the material one dirty.
"Not a fan of the escargot?" Snape asked suddenly. Harry looked up guiltily to find Snape watching him with a raised eyebrow.
"Er…" Harry started, trying to figure out how to avoid insulting anyone.
"Yes?"
"Um…I uh…"
"Well, spit it out," Snape said snappishly.
"Already did," Harry said with an embarrassed grin.
Draco burst out laughing.
"Did you actually try it, or did one of the house elves tell you what it was?" Snape asked.
"No I actually tried it. It was quite…chewy. Why, what is it?" Harry asked warily.
"Escargot is French for snail," Snape informed him.
Harry looked at him blankly for a moment before realizing what Snape was saying. His face quickly paled a few shades.
"You're joking," he said in horror.
"Do I ever joke?" Snape asked.
"That's a snail?" Harry gulped pointing at another one.
"Yes."
"You eat things that leave slime trails when they move?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Well, they don't exactly move anymore," Draco pointed out. "How have you not tried escargot?"
"Well, I've done quite a bit of gardening in my day, and you know, I've never once thought about picking up a snail and eating it. Strange how that happened," Harry said, pushing the rest of the strange food around on his plate. He forced himself to eat the rest.
'You've gone up against Death Eaters. You can do this. Cavemen ate weird stuff like this, you can too,' he thought in a silent pep talk with himself. He liked some of the things on his plate, but for the most part, he wasn't used to the intense flavors and strange tastes of the food. He would take a meal put together by Mrs. Weasley over this any day, but he politely made sure to at least try everything. While he ate, he imagined with amusement the well-dressed table being covered with elegant platters of hamburgers and hotdogs. He would love having the two nervously ask him what the hotdogs were exactly and telling them that nobody really knew for sure, but it was better not to ask.
Suddenly he realized that Snape was looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Harry, hold up your fork," he instructed. Harry warily showed it to him. Draco burst out laughing and Snape rolled his eyes.
"Are you having a difficult time eating with that?" Snape asked with an undertone of amusement.
"Well, yes actually, quite difficult in fact. It's a bit smaller than what I'm used to," he said awkwardly.
"Well then why not use one of the other forks that are a bit bigger?" Snape asked.
Harry looked at him confusedly and looked down near his plate. He lifted up his napkin and blushed to see four other forks there.
"Oh, whoops?" he said with a sheepish grin. "But honestly, why are there five forks? I only need one."
Two etiquette mess-ups and one spill later, Harry was proclaimed an official dining disaster.
***
"Harry…Harry wake up…"
In his semi-conscious state, Harry finally realized someone was there, calling his name. He quickly opened his eyes and squinted through the darkness. Without his glasses and with the sleep in his eyes, he could only see the general shape of a person. He could see that he was indeed in his bed where he was supposed to be at this time of night.
"Siri? Is somefing a matter?" he asked, not awake enough yet to form words that could be truly classified as belonging to the English language.
Glasses were placed gently on his face and his godfather's face showed up more clearly. The ex-convict's face, however, was not filled with worry. Instead, Sirius looked rather excited.
"Come on, Har, out of bed. You can stay in your pajamas, but put on your cloak and some shoes," he instructed.
"Are we going somewhere?" Harry asked as he sluggishly followed the directions.
Sirius grinned at him, pulling the top blankets off Harry's bed and gathering them into his arms. "You'll see," he said mysteriously.
Harry followed him from the room confusedly.
"Padfoot?" he questioned, but the Animagus just gestured for him to follow.
The two walked out the front door and Harry broke out into an excited grin. There was a motorcycle parked out front.
"Sirius? Is that your old motorcycle? The one that flies?" Harry asked excitedly.
"The one and only, just got it back. Hagrid had stored it away somewhere in the dungeons, but he dragged it back out for me," Sirius said proudly, securing the rolled-up blankets to the back. "And we're going to take it for a cruise."
"It's two o'clock in the morning," Harry reminded him.
"I know. I have something to show you. Show a little faith, Harry," Sirius said as he got on the bike and put his helmet on. "Climb on behind me."
Harry eagerly got on behind Sirius, never having been on a motorcycle before.
"All right, hold on tight," Sirius warned before starting up the engine. Harry wrapped his arms around his godfather, and held on even tighter as Sirius took off.
They sped along the dirt road for a few minutes before Sirius popped a wheelie and flew the bike up into the air.
The sensation was different from flying a broom and more like riding Buckbeak. It made a difference to not have control of what he was flying on. Harry breathed in the cold air and looked down over the landscape below. They were definitely passed the wards around the lighthouse now, so Harry had never been allowed to fly out over the trees and fields like this. He liked the sensation and hoped that one day, Sirius would teach him how to drive his bike.
"Oh look," Sirius said with amusement, "Buckbeak's decided to join us."
Harry looked to his left and grinned. Sure enough, the Hippogriff had left the pen at the Lighthouse to fly beside them. Harry was glad he was on the motorcycle rather than on Buckbeak.
Sirius finally brought the bike down on the top of a tall hill. Buckbeak continued to circle around the hill, content to be with some company while he was out flying. The hippogriff had grown very fond of the two and didn't like going far from the Lighthouse when the two were at home.
Sirius pulled the blankets off the back and laid one down for the two to sit on. Sirius plopped down on the blanket and lied back, sticking a pillow under his head and pulling a blanket over him to protect him from the chill of the gusts of wind. Harry looked at him curiously before following suit.
"Siri? What are we doing exactly?" Harry asked warily.
"Just watch," he said mysteriously, gesturing toward the sky.
Harry lied back and watched the black blanket of night above him.
"See that star right there?" Sirius asked, pointing to one. "That's Sirius, the dog star," he said with a grin. "Best damn star in the sky."
"Wow, it's really big. It must represent your ego," Harry teased.
Suddenly, a star shot across the sky.
"Siri, did you see that? A shooting star!" Harry said excitedly.
Sirius grinned in a knowing way. "Just keep watching."
Suddenly another one shot across, followed quickly by another.
Harry watched mystified as more and more streaks of light filled the sky. Soon there were almost a thousand shooting stars a minute.
"I've never seen a meteor shower before," Harry said in awe.
"Well, hopefully it won't be your last. The good ones are rare, but I know someone who's an astronomer who used to send me owls every time there was a good one we could see. Once my name got cleared, I contacted him and he promised to start owling me again," Sirius said, watching the mystifying show of nature above him. "This is one of the best parts of the Lighthouse. It's away from all the lights of civilization, so you can really see the stars at night. So what do you think?"
"I've never seen something so amazing," Harry said in wonder. "It's like magic."
Sirius looked over at him in surprise.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Your mother said the exact same thing when James and I showed her one for the first time. I mean, almost those exact same words," Sirius said with a wistful smile.
"Really?" Harry asked quietly. He knew that Sirius, consciously or unconsciously, compared Harry to James a lot. It was nice to be compared to his mother instead. When he was compared to his mother, it felt like something to be proud of, rather than something to compete with.
"Yeah. Let's see, it was right after she found out she was pregnant with you and we were saying that the meteor shower was really the universe celebrating it with her. I mean, it was a perfect coincidence that the two events happened to coincide. It was at a time where Peter had been gone a lot, probably at Death Eater meetings, but anyways, he wasn't there. It was the one time I ever let anyone, including James, drive my motorcycle, or even let him be on it without me there. He drove, with Lily on back, since we all were so concerned about her safety with you in her belly."
Harry smiled shyly, soaking in the fact that they had all seemed to care about him so much at that time.
"Moony and I flew on brooms. When we got there, we laid out blankets to lie on, just like this," he said, gesturing to the two of them. "Lily and James lied next to each other, of course, and during the entire thing, they both had their hands on Lily's stomach and kept glancing down at it, as if you were suddenly going to pop out of it."
The two chuckled. Sirius looked at Harry regretfully and sighed.
"You were the best thing they ever did, and they knew it even back then. I wish they could be here now. It could have been the same scene as it was back then, but with you at their side," he said with a sad smile before going back to watching the sky.
Harry swallowed hard, imagining the scene and how wonderful the imagined scene would be if it were real.
"Well, at least part of it's real. We're here and that's a big improvement on last summer," Harry said softly. He peaked over at Sirius anxiously out of the corner of his eye. He hadn't planned doing so, but he had just given Sirius a perfect opportunity to bring up what had happened with the Dursleys. But Sirius was too wrapped up in his memories to notice.
"They would have been really proud of you," Sirius said quietly. He wasn't good at the emotional conversations, as was made quite obvious with the awkwardness each time he said something sentimental. Because of this, the comment both really touched Harry, and suddenly made him not want Sirius to catch on to his reference to the Dursleys. He wanted so badly for Sirius's words to be true.
***
"Aw Sev, come on. Why can't we go to the Quidditch shop while you go to the apothecary?" Draco whined.
"Because I said so. Now stop whining," Snape said with authority.
Harry rolled his eyes at Draco's pouting. The blonde saw this and glared at the offending Gryffindor as they walked in after the Potions master. Snape had taken the two to Diagon Alley for a few hours. The two had been excited to go until they discovered that the main purpose of the trip was to get potions ingredients so that Snape could start tutoring them for next year's potions class. Draco blamed Harry for this turn of events, since it had been the Gryffindor who had first admitted that he didn't understand the summer homework. It was true that Draco didn't understand it either, but he would have rather left that revelation until later in the summer, knowing how the Potions master would jump upon the opportunity to teach them Potions.
"Now I want you two to find ten potions or ingredients that you don't know about and be prepared to tell me their names and any information it gives on the label.
The two boys gaped at him momentarily.
"Evil!" Draco announced accusingly.
"Thank you. Now off with you two," Snape said before walking off to find the ingredients he needed. The two boys walked off grumbling about sadistic Potions masters.
"You're right. He does need a girlfriend, desperately," Draco said as he began taking notes off a jar of some green, flaky substance labeled Rezlibats. He was referring to a conversation they had had a few days before, where they had come to the decision that Snape needed a life besides his potions, as much as the idea disturbed them.
He paused, waiting for a response. When he didn't receive one, he looked up curiously. "Harry?"
The boy in question was at the end of the aisle, peeking around the edge and watching something with interest.
"Harry?" he asked again with a raised eyebrow.
The Gryffindor turned to him and motioned for him to come. Draco crossed his arms in protest, not used to taking orders, only giving them, but curiosity got the better of him and he walked over to Harry who was back to watching whatever had grabbed his attention.
"What is it?" he asked, not seeing anything particularly unusual.
"Shh. Look there. See that blond woman? That's the one," Harry said matter-of-factly.
"Her? Why her?" Draco asked, trying to get a closer looked at the woman. She had long, blond hair and blue eyes. Light freckles were splattered across her nose and cheeks. Draco suspected she might be Irish. "She doesn't exactly look like Sev's type."
"Trust me; she's the one. Watch Professor Snape," Harry said quietly.
Draco looked to his godfather who was examining labels on jars, occasionally sticking one in his basket.
"I don't see…" he started, but just then he noticed Snape's eyes flick over to the woman who was now conversing with the shop owner. "No way," he said, mystified.
"You know, an apothecary is really the perfect place to find a girlfriend for him, if you think about it," Harry pointed out.
"That's so sad," Draco said. "We even have to pick out his girlfriends in a potions shop. He really needs a life."
"I've got an idea. Let's get those ten ingredient things done with quickly."
Draco nodded and the two rapidly picked bottles off the shelves and jotted down notes, intermittently checking to make sure the woman was still there.
As the woman went up to pay, Snape found the boys and announced that it was time to go. They got in line behind the blonde who grabbed her bags and, after telling the shopkeeper to have a nice day, turned to leave.
Harry watched the woman out of the corner of his eye and stepped back, crashing right into her, sending her bags to the floor.
He whirled around and put his hands over his mouth.
"Oh I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed, bending down to help her pick up the bottles that were now rolling everywhere.
The woman chuckled. "Oh don't worry, you're talking to a certified walking disaster. I crash around into people like a crazed Bludger," she said with a warm smile.
Harry glanced back at Snape who looked ready to kill him. He cast a desperate look at Draco, who thought quickly.
"Hey Sev, what's this?" Draco asked, picking up a fallen bottle.
"Merpeople scales," he announced after a glance, looking vaguely impressed. "They're used in very complex potions."
"Yes, well, it's a bit of a hobby of mine to brew potions, well attempt to at least. I've been attempting to make this new invisibility potion featured in this potions magazine I subscribe to, but it unfortunately keeps exploding."
"The Lucent Draught?" Snape asked in surprise. The woman stood up with her bags now full with potions once again. She looked excited.
"Yes! Have you heard of it?"
"Yes. It doesn't specify in the article, but remove the potion from the heat before mixing in the scales," he said in a much gentler tone than he used in class. He, himself, sounded more animated, eager to talk to someone who was interested in his favorite hobby.
The woman looked as if she had just had an epiphany.
"Of course! Hot Diminitiv can't mix with the scales! I can't believe you caught that!" she exclaimed. Snape couldn't take her eyes off her.
"Well, he is the Potions master at Hogwarts," Harry informed her. Snape shot him a glare and Harry just grinned innocently.
"Harry," he snapped warningly, but the woman just looked at him in awe.
"You teach Potions? That's amazing! From what I hear, you must be extremely skilled to work there," she said warmly.
"He is," Draco said with pride.
The woman shifted her bags and held out her hand to Snape. "I'm Laura McCormick."
Snape awkwardly shook it, looking oddly uncomfortable.
"Severus Snape."
The woman smiled and then turned to the boys for introductions.
"Draco Malfoy…er…I mean Snape," he corrected himself awkwardly, casting a questioning look at Snape who nodded reassuringly. The woman gave him a sympathetic smile.
"I read about you in the Prophet. That was a very brave thing you did, especially for Harry Potter, if you're enemies with him as the article says," she said kindly.
Draco cast an awkward look at Harry.
"Yeah, well things change," he said with a shrug.
"Yeah, Draco and I are friends now," Harry added. The woman turned toward him questioningly. "Oh, I'm Harry…Harry Potter," he said slightly wary of the woman's reaction.
Laura looked a bit surprised. "Oh, well you seem very down to earth for someone with your fame."
Harry thought Snape looked slightly disappointed, expecting the woman to pay all her attention to the boys, but suddenly Laura's expression turned to one of shock and she whirled around to face Snape.
"You're the one that invented the Wolfsbane Potion," she exclaimed with a gasp. "I knew your name sounded familiar!"
Harry looked at Snape in shock as well. How had he not been informed of that?
"Oh well, yes actually. About ten years ago," he said indifferently, but Harry could tell he was flattered at the recognition.
"That is amazing. The only potion I've ever managed to make was by accident and its only function was to turn everything it touched black."
"How useful," he said sarcastically with a raised eyebrow.
The boys winced at the man's crass sense of humor, thinking this would be the end of Laura.
But the blonde just grinned. "But of course! I could market it as a decorating tool for vampires."
Snape smirked appreciatively at the joke.
"Well, it was nice to meet you," said Laura, preparing to leave.
"Wait!" Draco blurted out desperately.
"We were just about to go get some ice cream. Do you want to come with us?" Harry quickly improvised.
"Yeah Sev, you promised," Draco added.
Snape looked at the two as if they had lost their minds, but quickly changed his expression when Laura turned to him.
"Yes, you should come," he said awkwardly.
Laura grinned and nodded. "I'd love to."
Snape quickly paid for the potions ingredients and the four walked to the ice cream parlor, the two adults in front, walking side by side, immersed in conversation about potions.
Draco and Harry trailed behind congratulating themselves.
The four eventually sat down at a small table with their ice cream, Harry and Laura with messy cones, and Draco and Snape with more dignified bowls.
They were all delighted with Laura's sense of humor and her appreciation of Snape's sarcastic one.
The conversation eventually rolled around to Draco and Harry's favorite topic.
"So, Laura, do you like Quidditch?" Harry asked eagerly.
She chuckled at the question. "You know, I never really got into the sport, but my daughter's crazy about it. I took her with some friends of mine to a match and she fell in love with it. She may only be four, but she knows what she likes."
The other three froze. Draco shot Harry a panicked look.
"Are you married?" Harry asked in a curious tone.
"Was. When my daughter, Anna, was born, her father decided he didn't want to be a dad and ran off with some young knock-out. He threatened to try to get full custody of Anna unless I gave him the house, so I let him have it. Best deal I ever made."
"He left you? What an idiot!" Snape blurted out bluntly. Laura smiled at him.
Yet after Laura's announcement that she had a kid, the boys could tell Snape's attitude toward her had changed slightly.
Harry whispered for Draco to distract the woman, and he convinced her to buy some ice cream for her daughter. The two blondes went back inside to pick out a tub.
"Ask her to dinner," Harry hissed to Snape as soon as they left.
"She has a kid," he hissed right back.
"So what? You like her!" Harry insisted. "Besides, you do too, remember? He's named Draco, extremely blond, about yay tall," he said gesturing above his head.
"Don't be a smart ass, Draco is different and you know it. He's a teenager and though teenagers have a whole set of their own difficulties, they're generally past the sticky fingers, sticking everything in their mouths, babbling nonsensically phase," he said. "I'm not good with kids. They hate me and I'm not fond of them, especially that young. They just whine, cry and smell," he said with distaste.
"When have you ever been around kids?" Harry asked skeptically.
"Never, because kids and I are not a good mix," he snapped.
"How would you know then if you've never been around them?" Harry challenged.
Snape scowled at Harry but was at a loss for a reply.
"Just try it because you fancy her and let's face it, you need a life," he said before biting off a piece of his cone.
"Watch it, Harry," Snape said threateningly.
"It's true," Harry said matter-of-factly.
"I have a life, thank you," Snape snapped.
"Being stuck in a potions lab all day does not count. You like her, Draco likes her, its perfect. You always tell me to put in some effort. As my professor, you need to set a good example," Harry pushed.
"I always knew you were a cheeky brat," Snape growled.
"And I always knew you had some brains, now use them!" Harry hissed.
"Boy do you have guts," Snape said menacingly, but Harry wasn't affected by it. "Anyways, she might say no."
"Of course she might say no, but you were a spy for how many years? I think you've taken bigger risks than asking someone to dinner."
"Somehow, facing the Dark Lord is easier than this," Snape admitted with a scowl.
"Cheers to that," Harry said with a smirk. The pair looked up to see the two blondes coming back.
"Ask her and tell her to bring her daughter," Harry said once last time before Draco and Laura got back.
"Well, I guess I better get going before my pint of ice cream melts. It was lovely to meet you all. I hope to run into you again sometime, Severus," she said, pushing in her chair.
Harry shot Snape a pointed look.
"Would you and your daughter like to have dinner at my home sometime?" he asked, sounding uncharacteristically nervous.
She looked at him in mild surprise. "I would love that," she said warmly.
"Are you free tonight around seven?"
"Fantastic. Are you connected to the Floo network?" she asked.
The two adults exchanged information so Snape could set his fireplace to allow her in, since it generally only allowed a few connections for his and Draco's protection.
When Laura Disapparated, Snape sat back down and groaned. The two boys sat down with him.
"Come on Sev, it'll be great," Draco said encouragingly.
"I can't believe you two got me into this. She's going to expect her kid and I to get along. What a disaster. This is going to be like Longbottom with a cauldron."
Draco laughed loudly at this while Harry looked at them disapprovingly.
"Neville tries really hard, you know. And he was loads better last year." Before an argument began, he shook his head. "But let's not get off topic. My friend Kota babysits all the time for little kids, so I'll go do kids research."
Snape just groaned, and mashed up a bit of ice cream with a scowl.
"Er, Sev? When was the last time you went on a date?" Draco asked cautiously.
Snape lifted his head and glared at his godson. "I've been involved with other things," he said indignantly.
"Sev?"
Snape just groaned again, putting his head into his hands.
The man mumbled something.
"Er…what was that?" Draco asked.
"I said, about ten years ago," he said with a glare that threatened a swift death if either made any jokes.
Draco gulped.
"That's okay, Sirius hasn't been on one for sixteen years," Harry said reassuringly.
"He's been in prison and on the run from the ministry," Snape pointed out snappishly.
"True…." Harry said, trying to think of some assurance. "Well, I've never been on one."
"I have," Draco announced proudly. "Many times, actually."
The two brunettes glared at him.
"What?" he asked innocently.
Snape and Harry rolled their eyes.
"You're fifteen. I'm twenty years older than you."
"Well, now's a good a time as any. And who cares that you've been busy with other things for the last ten years? Laura obviously likes you so you'll be fine. And I'll find out about the whole kid thing and Draco can help you with what to have for dinner and all that junk."
"This is humiliating," Snape groaned.
"Don't worry Sev, we all have to start somewhere," Draco said, patting his godfather's back.
Snape practically snarled at the blonde.
"Er…Dray, I don't think you're really helping," Harry said quietly.
"I know. It's hilarious, isn't it?" he asked, sounding quite entertained.
"Draco, do you want to be cleaning the manor for the entire rest of the summer?"
"Touchy," Draco said with a smirk.
"Fine. Draco, you helped get me into this, so you're going to help me get through this."
"Sev, I've been to more parties and dinners in my life than I can count. I've got food and clothes covered," he said smugly.
"All right, let's do this," Harry said, popping the last bit of cone into his mouth.
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A/N: Hey all, I've had some people ask when the plot's going to start. My answer's simply that it already has, you guys just might not know it yet. Lol. You'll get a better idea of what I mean next chapter. I know I haven't really made a specific plotline obvious by now, but I have to go through a lot of set up before I start getting into things, and the main conflict will come abruptly, but a bit later. Don't worry, there is a plot to this, I guarantee it. Oh and if anyone has any quotes they like, serious or funny, please send them my way so I can add them to my quote collection. Thanks! Now pop me a review and I'll try to get the next chapter out in about a week.
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Wiccan PussyKat: well, PK: Master of Sleuthery, mmm…Harry in swim trunks. Lovely image there. I'm glad I've made you skeptical. It's a good trait to have with this fic, though I won't say if you're right or not about this one. I'm glad you're seeing how I'm slowly setting things up. Many think I'm just being random. I don't like D/Hr fics either, but I like embarrassing the little Slytherin. He's so fun. Hey, you're the one getting yourself at the top with your awesome reviews! Lol, I know what you mean about the klutziness. I'm horrible. And the greatest is that I always trip over invisible things and then apologize to whatever I tripped over, even if it's not human. It just slips out! Ooh, good guessing, and we'll have to see if you're right or not.
Myr Halcyon: lol, yeah, Sparknotes have saved my butt many a time. Lol, I must admit I don't like D/Hr or D/G fics, I just thought it would be funny to put that side note in there to show that Draco is subject through the same crazy crushes that many of the characters in here are subject to. Lol, no familial relationships between the Malfoys and Voldie, but I like the speculation. It's what makes my job fun.
Eternally*Mine: thanks for the quotes, they were awesome! I love the skydiving one! Lol, that would make for a very short fic if I killed Harry right then. Good call with the Harry killing the dark lord thing, I'm glad you're starting to see you're looking below the surface on some of this seemingly random stuff I'm putting out there right now. Well, I can't really answer your questions, but I can tell you that next chapter will be the first attempt at a get-together with Draco and the Weasleys. No prob about randomness in your review, I love it!
LadyAbbeyBartlet: Well, about the fifth book, you're definitely in agreement with my beta, and most people I know. What can I say, I'm strange like that. Lol. Eloise likes to rant, but definitely not as the same things as Hermione. Mione's more into facts and morals and house elf rights, Eloise is more into romance and philosophizing about things like fate and such. Hermione's more of a text book whereas Eloise is more of a romance novel. Lol. That's the best I can come up with. I love grilled cheese, as you might be able to guess, lol. Oh, luckily, I found out that Rowan Atkinson playing Voldemort is just a rumor, but he's the guy that played Mr. Bean and was in Love Actually and Rat Race. I will convert! Muahahahaha…right. Lol, I thought the kissing thing in book 5 was cute just because it was Harry's first kiss, and it was so awkward (which first kisses really are!). I loved how he described it as wet. LOL. Even though I don't like Cho, it was fine with me that his first kiss was with her, since I know a lot of people, including myself, whose first kiss was definitely NOT romantic. It would be too mushy if it had been with someone he really liked. Okay, random story: with my friend's first kiss, when the guy stuck his tongue in her mouth, she was so surprised, she bit down! She bit his tongue!! LOL. And I still say that my first kiss just felt like there was a nasty slug in my mouth. Moral: first kisses are NOT necessarily romantic. Every girl I know hated her first kiss. I'm glad JK picked up on that instead of making it all mushy with a girl Harry loved. I need a Harry in my life. *sigh*
BratPrincess-187 (hey, no prob! I'm glad you like the H/D friendship. Lol, can't spill, but that'll be coming up soon.), Mikito, HarryandGinnyforever, Agnes, RyokoTenchi (lol, yeah, I don't like Draco pairings with either Ginny or Hermione. He's not going to be paired with her in this fic, I thought it would just be a funny side thing. Yeah, I did let out a lot of clues last chapter, and I'm surprised you picked up on them! Good job!), littlestomper (wow, thanks! I'm so glad you like my fics! Don't worry, I promise to finish this fic. I'm neurotic like that. I won't be able to stop something I've started, plus, I'm addicted to the reviews.), Maximum Poofy-Confused Queen, Fiery Ferret of Doom (we roadtripped along the west coast of the U.S., mostly California. It was so fun! I'm glad you like the D/H interaction, and your hunch may be right, you never know! Grilled cheese rocks!!), Kneh13, Musicstarlover (no, it's not slash, don't worry. It's H/G, R/H, and a few other pairings like Snape/Laura and such that I've already made obvious. I do like slash, but I could never write it and I promise this is not. :), Liz, Black-Rose1212 (lol, thanks. Wow you must be a fast reader! That's over 300 pages. I'm glad you didn't find it confusing since, you're right, there were a whole lot of characters. Thank you so much for the wonderful compliments!! I hope you continue to like F.P. just as much.), SillieGillie, lilynjamesAAF, waterdrifter, hedwigs-biggest-fan (lol, love the penname! Much Harry angst, I promise. Doesn't it just drive you crazy when your favorite authors seem to drop off the face of the earth mid-fic? Don't worry, I won't do that!), Liz (lol, you're the second to say they prefer Richard I. I've never read it. Anyways, glad you like the fic so far!), Lost angel92, Sailor-Knight Shadowstar (lol), Fraggle-Rock-Chick (no, I don't believe in Eloise's speech about fate, but toward the end of the fic, the subject will come up again and I'll explain, through Eloise, what I actually believe. Gasp, it's actually like a theme! Lol. Maybe not), rachegrint (lol, roadtrips rock! Glad you caught the foreshadowing!), EriEka127, Siri Kat (lol, maybe…), Stellaluna Melonballer, happigolucki616, Rhyllen, Magnolia Lane (lol, many questions, so few answers I can give. But I'm glad you're starting to get suspicious of the characters. There's a lot of them in this story and it's not certain that they're all good, though I won't say that for certain.), angel74 (Don't worry, I'll get back to the head pain very soon. Please update your fic soon!!), Fantagal (lol, Harry's living in a land called denial right now), Formerly Known as Erin, shadowsfriend, Phoenix Marauder, Lourdes, Mayhem El-Diablo, Fairy, Evil Unicorn (lol, I have a thing with backwards words. If you want, go back and look at the name of the ingredient Draco's looking at in the Apothecary and read it backwards. Nothing that exciting, but if you ever see a word like a potions ingredient that's incredibly random, it might be something spelled backwards, sometimes with some slight alterations.), Velith (lol, don't worry, Sirius will play a major role, even though obviously much of the story is focusing on Snape and Draco. I love Irish accents and that's so cool that you live there.), Arctic Wolf2, lyss33, yellowpages, Savoy Truffle, Miss Laine (ooh thanks! I'm so glad to hear I'm improving. That's what I really want!), Crystal113, Bosson12787 (no, Harry's powers aren't coming back. Nice try though! Lol.), TheSerpentAndTheLion (lol, yeah, you're right, I should have just named it questions, since all the answers just led to more questions. But we did find out that grilled cheese is the ultimate answer to everything, lol), Wynjara, Romm, Earthmom, Lindiel Eryn (thank Merlin that was just a rumor. *sighs in relief*), ParanoiaIn2005 (lol, you always make me feel special. I do everything for a reason, so never fear. I always try to tie up all my loose ends, hopefully in a decently entertaining way.), Athenakitty (lol, I can't answer any of your questions, but you're asking good ones that will definitely be explained), Helen, threetoedsloth, Shadow Bandit, ckat44, Kjkit, Nation El-Diablo (lol, very true, but she just figures it'll all work out for him in the end. We'll have to see if she's right. Dun dun dun….)