Disclaimer: Don't own it, unfortunately…..
Thanks Mak for being such an awesome beta.
Thoughts are in italics. Review, you know you want to.
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Chapter Twenty-Two
A Visit to Number 12 Grimmauld Place
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Alex was sleeping peacefully, when he felt a strong hand shaking his shoulder. He swatted away the hand and rolled over, his back facing his tormentor. It was too early to be awake. He was almost away in dreamland when he felt his sheets pulled away from his body. The cold air hitting his body was a shock he wasn't prepared for. He whimpered and curled up tight in a ball.
Severus was trying to be nice, he really was. His son had wanted to go to London with him today, but he was being difficult. Severus did not have time for difficulties, especially today, when he would see his least favorite person and that family of annoying red heads. Today was not the day to try his patience and his son was doing that effectively.
"Sebastian," he said irritated, "get up this instance if you want to go to London."
"Wha time s'it?" Alex asked in a slur.
"It is 7:30 and if you are not up in one minute I will pour water all over you." Severus was glaring at his son now; the boy had not even turned over. He noticed Alex was shivering, but he was already too angry to care.
"Mm kay," Alex said as he rolled off the bed, landing wobbly on his feet. Shivering, he wrapped his hands around his arms and started to rub them, trying to warm up. "Why is it so cold?" he asked.
"I turned down the heat. It was entirely too hot," Severus replied curtly.
"Well now it is entirely too cold," Alex replied icily as he glared at his father. He hated being woken up. It annoyed him even more that his father was being such a jerk. His father could have mentioned when they were leaving last night and he would have set his alarm clock accordingly.
"Do not speak to me in that tone of voice, young man," Severus scolded. What cheek! The boy would never have been allowed to talk like that to an adult if Severus had been around in his childhood. He would have effectively ended that bad habit, and quick. Well, maybe he could still do something about it. "If you do not drop that childish attitude you will not be going with us today. Now get dressed."
"Yes sir," Alex replied angrily. He hastily grabbed some clothes and walked into the bathroom, but not before glaring at his father one last time and slamming the door.
Severus snarled and took one step toward the bathroom. He stopped himself from going any further. If he continued he most likely would have knocked the door down and taught his son a lesson. That thought alone stopped him in his tracks. I just sounded like my father. Good God. His anger at his son quickly dissipated and he became angry at himself. The thought that he would act like his father was alarming. The fact that Severus had the urge to want to hurt his son was even more alarming. He hated himself in that instant and wished he had his wife to talk to. She could have easily said something to calm him down and make him see reason. But no, Severus stood alone in his son's room looking at the bathroom door knowing that he could have become just like his father in that instant.
He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to calm down. He would never hurt his son like his father had done to him. Never. Severus loved his son too much to put him through that pain. Shaking his head and closing his eyes tightly he tried to block the memories from surfacing. He tried to think of anything else, so he rehashed what had happened this morning.
Severus knew he wasn't too kind when waking his son up, but, his bad mood made him act that way. His mood was due to Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter, and Occlumency lessons for said boy. Damn you Potter, he thought as he walked out of the room. He didn't want to face his son when he came out of the bathroom.
XXX
Alex was pissed. After he slammed the door he threw his clothes on the toilet seat, thinking the top was down. It wasn't, so some of his clothes fell into the toilet. He growled angrily and hastily grabbed them and threw them on the floor in disgust. Alex wanted to scream, his father was horrible and his clothes were soiled. Fuck!
He decided he needed a quick shower to wash away the morning. He scrubbed his hair roughly and washed his body in a hurry. God forbid he should leave his father waiting. Walking out of the shower he wondered if his father was still in his room. He was angry at the man and didn't really want to see him, but, he needed clothes that weren't dirty. Rolling his eyes, Alex strode out of the bathroom and right to his dresser, not even looking at the spot where his father last stood. He grabbed a few more things and walked back into the bathroom to change.
Once he was ready he walked out of his room, and towards the kitchen. Severus was seated on the couch still trying to calm down when Alex walked down the hall and towards the stairs leading to the kitchen. He noticed his son didn't even glance in his direction as he walked briskly by him. Severus thought in that moment that if his son were wearing robes, they most likely would have billowed like his own. Severus realized in that instance as well that his son had a temper that rivaled his own. The difference between the two was that Severus almost always had a temper and Alex rarely had a temper. It would be too stressful if they were always in bad moods and around each other for too long.
Severus really had been patient this whole trip. What would happen when the "honeymoon" wore off? Would they always act like this toward each other? He certainly hoped not. He would just have to try harder to not snap; it was the least he could do for his son. Severus owed the boy that much. Right?
The self loathing was still there inside of Severus as much as he tried to push past it. He sighed and stood up, hunger was taking over and he didn't want to argue with Potter on an empty stomach. As he was walking down the stairs he thought, well at least I don't have to have a talk with Sebastian about how he has to act like he doesn't like me. He's plenty pissed as it is.
Albus and Alex were seated at the table talking quietly as Severus came into the kitchen. He thought they were talking about him when he heard the headmaster say quietly, "Hmm, snap, crackle, and pop. Interesting selling point."
Alex snorted as he looked at his Rice Crispies cereal. "I suppose so. When I was little I remember watching the commercials and begging mom to get them for me so I could hear them talk to me." He looked down at the cereal before mumbling, "Kinda stupid really."
Severus grimaced as he heard his son sound so dejected. He knew he was the cause of that voice. Severus grabbed some toast and butter before sitting down at the table.
Albus could tell that something had happened between the two this morning. He knew that Severus was going to be in a bad mood all day, but it didn't have to push Alex into being in a similar mood. As much as he wanted to know what had happened, he knew better. He certainly didn't want to get hexed this early in the morning. Thinking they would be able to rationally talk about it for a few minutes before they left he made an excuse to leave. "Well," Albus started as he stood up, "I am going to watch a bit of the news before we leave."
"Very well," Severus said as he finished buttering his toast. Albus left the two sitting at the table, hoping they would get over their attitudes and move on.
Alex sat there, slumped over his cereal, swirling the last bits around. He was still angry and he really wanted to say something. He wanted to yell at his father. There was no reason for his father to treat him like this. Why is he being such an ass? I thought things were going well. He decided not to say anything because he feared that if he did he was likely to say something he would regret.
Severus skillfully stole glances at his son to try and gauge his mood. He could tell Alex was still angry. Part of him wanted to discuss it right now, but he knew that if he did he might fly off the handle. Things were going so well, he thought as he finished chewing a piece of toast.
Alex couldn't stand the tense atmosphere in the room anymore so he stood up suddenly and tossed his bowl and spoon in the sink. As he walked out of the room he almost wanted to tell his father that he wasn't going. Especially if you are going to be like this all day, he thought. Thankfully, he left his mouth shut. As much as he was angry at his father he did want to see a little bit of London. He had never been there before and his father wasn't going to spoil it for him.
Severus sighed warily after his son left the room. Why is this so difficult? They had disagreed on things before but they usually resolved them quickly. That was before we found out about our relationship. I suppose this is just another thing we are going to have to work out. He hoped it wasn't too ugly when they finally did discuss it. Severus hated having his son angry at him. It was odd for him to feel like this. The last time he was ever sorry someone was mad at him it was when Aurora was alive. Severus was disgusted with himself. Now he was pissed off at himself and Potter, and also upset that he and his son were at odds. What a wonderful day this has started out to be.
XXX
They apparated a short distance from their destination. Alex had chosen to apparate with his grandfather, effectively avoiding his father and proving that he was still upset. He was like his father in the fact that he had a hard time letting things go. Albus was not too keen on being an accessory to prolonging their disagreement, but Albus and Severus were still at odds as well. The only thing that could have made things worse would have been if Albus and Alex were angry at each other as well.
Albus was thankful that wasn't the case and handed Alex a sheet of parchment. Alex opened the folded sheet and read the contents:
The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, London.
The note burned itself up after a few seconds. Alex was only able to read it twice before it burned. Hermione had told him about the Order of the Phoenix. Well, just that his father was a part of the organization as a spy. Other than that he was never told about it. He walked behind his father and grandfather for a few blocks before they arrived at their location. Before he could say "Quidditch" a house appeared between two other houses, seemingly pushing the two away to make room for the third house. Alex's eyes bulged open as he witnessed this. He had never seen anything like that before. He muttered an amazed "Wow!" and his grandfather chuckled.
The two older men took off quickly leaving Alex behind for a second before he followed in haste. Alex noticed that his father unlocked the door rather quietly. He followed his grandfather in as his father closed the door just as silently. Albus turned around and addressed Alex, "Try not to make any loud noises in this room."
"Why?"
"You see that portrait there?" he said pointing to a painting with curtains around it. "That is the portrait of Mrs. Black, she likes to scream and yell, so we try to be quiet so as not to disturb her."
"Oh, ok," Alex replied as he followed his grandfather into the library.
XXX
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all watching from the stairs. They had been constantly watching who was coming and going from the house. All of them were surprised when Alex walked into the house with Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape. Hermione almost left her post she was so happy to see Alex. Harry had to hold her back and Ron had to put a hand over her mouth so she didn't squeal. Needless to say Hermione wasn't very happy at this. "Are you going to be quiet, Hermione," Harry asked.
She simply nodded and glared at Harry. "Alright," he said nodding at Ron to let go of Hermione. She huffed and called them both prats under her breath.
During this, Ginny had watched the three retire into the library. Suddenly, Ginny saw her mother walk from the kitchen into the library. Not much longer and she came out and walked up the stairs. She walked up a little ways and then stopped and put her hands on her hips. "Honestly, do you children have nothing better to do than sit on the steps and twiddle your thumbs? I can find you all work to do if that's the case."
"No ma'am," and "No Mum," was what she heard from the four as they quickly stood up.
"Very well. Hermione, Harry, if you two would come with me."
"What about us?" Ron asked irritably.
"You two can go clean your rooms. And no arguments Ronald Weasley!" she yelled.
"Yes ma'am," he said dejectedly.
Harry and Hermione followed Molly downstairs and into the library. They walked in to find Albus and Alex seated in the two wingback chairs in front of the fire and Professor Snape fixing a drink. Hermione noticed that Alex was scowling at their professor. When he noticed that she had walked in his eyes lit up and he smiled brightly. "Hermione!" he said happily as he stood up and made his way over to her. They embraced and kissed quickly.
"It's good to see you," they said simultaneously. Severus rolled his eyes at their display of affection and said scathingly. "If you two could cease that incessant teenaged idiocy I would appreciate it."
Alex leveled his eyes at his father and said, "Yes, sir," before taking Hermione's hand and walking towards the door.
"And don't wander off. We will not be long and I will not search this house for you," Severus said loudly and he took a long overdue sip of cognac.
Alex ignored him as they left the room. He was mumbling words that Hermione could not hear. She figured she didn't want to know so she let him be. "Where can we go to be alone?" he asked suddenly.
Hermione thought for a moment before suggesting her room, with a slight blush. She led the way and once they had shut the door Alex held her close to him and sighed heavily. "That bad, huh?" she asked as she rubbed his back with one hand and ran her other hand through his hair.
"You have no idea," he said before he released her. "I've missed you," he whispered before he kissed her.
She loved being held by him. She loved kissing him even more. He was so kind and gentle and his lips were soft but strong. "How has your break been?" she asked as she led him to sit on her bed.
"Tiring really. It started off well enough but I think I have been around Professor Snape too long," he sighed.
"It hasn't been that bad has it?" she asked concerned.
"Just recently, like I said. I don't know. I missed you," Alex said the last part looking at her and smiling.
"I missed you too," Hermione replied.
"How has your break been?" he questioned.
"Oh it's been good! Well we've been doing some cleaning, but mostly we've been trying to gather information from the adults on what is going on in the wizarding world. You know….with Voldemort."
"Any luck?"
"None. They are all hush-hush on the whole thing. It's frustrating but I suppose if we were meant to know we would have been informed."
Alex laughed. "You are too understanding."
Hermione punched him in the arm and he feigned being hurt. "It's true," he said giving her puppy eyes.
She simply rolled her eyes; she wasn't going to fall for that. "Thank you for my Christmas present," she said as she fingered her necklace.
Alex smiled and took the necklace from under her shirt so he could see what she looked like with it on. It was a silver chain with two intertwining hearts. "I hoped you would like it," he said. "It looks good on you, just like I thought it would." They kissed again and Alex wished he could stay longer with her. "Thank you for my book. It's been great."
"I'm glad you like it. So really, what have you done this break?"
"Well we started off going to my cabin in the Adirondack Mountains. That was relaxing," he said carefully thinking about what to say, and what not to say. He wished he could tell Hermione about finding his father and grandparents but he said he would say nothing. It killed him to have to keep that from her. "I went snowboarding with Michael and got yelled at because I came home so late." Hermione giggled and he continued, "He mostly read and kept to himself. You know, nothing exciting. Then we went to New York City for Christmas. It really is magical during the holidays; I'll have to take you there sometime."
"How was Christmas with Professor Snape," she asked.
"Ha! Well….that was….hm…interesting?" he answered as he raised his eyes to the ceiling. "Really, it wasn't bad, the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall came over, so it wasn't too awkward."
"Wow," Hermione replied.
"Yeah, so are you excited to go back to school?" Alex hoped this question would get her off topic and she wouldn't ask too many more questions. The more he said the more he lied. He dreaded the day he would have to tell her the truth.
Needless to say, it worked and Hermione went on and on about how much she was looking forward to learning this and that and how she had read ahead and already taken notes for all of her classes. Alex was content just to sit and hear her talk about school. He smiled as he watched her enthusiasm, how she would raise her arms when she got to a particularly interesting theory or how she would smile at him and ask him if he was listening to her. He nodded every time she asked that but he really wasn't listening to her talk about school. Alex was content just to occasionally hold her hand and rub random patterns over the back of her hand or steal an occasional kiss from her.
XXX
Downstairs things weren't going so well. Harry had stayed in the same spot until Albus invited him to sit in the chair Alex had deserted. He warily took the seat and looked at the Headmaster. He wasn't sure he was going to like what came out of his mouth. Before Albus continued, Remus and Sirius entered the room. Harry sighed in relief that he would have some back up if things got ugly. Sirius greeted Harry and Albus but ignored Severus completely. Remus greeted them all, though Severus blatantly ignored Remus.The two sat down on the couch and waited for the headmaster to start.
"Remus has told me some interesting things concerning some dreams you are having," Albus started.
Harry was shocked that Remus had told the headmaster about his dreams. He looked surprised at Remus who looked down at his hands. He told them to his professor in confidence. Well, he certainly wouldn't make that mistake again he thought as he folded his arms over his chest.
Sirius looked at Harry and said, "Now, Harry, we did this out of concern for you. You understand don't you? I don't want anything to happen to you so we have to take every threat seriously."
Harry simply nodded, but didn't agree with his godfather.
Albus noticed the varying emotions on Harry's face. He was sure the boy was angry at Remus for saying something about the dreams. "Now, don't get upset with Remus, Harry. He was very concerned about these dreams and he was correct."
"They're just dreams," Harry interrupted. Severus was still at the bar, drinking another glass, his back towards the two. He rolled his eyes as Harry interrupted. Prat!
"I have to disagree with you Mr. Potter. I believe these dreams come to you from Tom Riddle."
"What do you mean?" Harry didn't understand how Voldemort could be channeling dreams to him. And if he were why were the dreams about corridors and dark rooms?
"The scar on your forehead is your connection to Voldemort. He might be sending you these dreams to try and persuade you to do something you shouldn't."
"Oh," Harry replied lamely. "So what do I do to stop these dreams?"
"Good question, my boy," Albus said merrily. "Professor Snape has volunteered to teach you Occlumency, the art of closing your mind to outside influences."
Harry raised his eyebrows at the volunteered part. For some reason he doubted his sour professor would assist him freely. Severus glared at Harry as he turned around. "Do not mistake this Potter; there was no volunteering on my part."
"Not like you would volunteer for anything," Sirius mumbled. Remus elbowed him. Severus caught it and scowled at the dog.
Harry wanted to reply, no shit, but thought it would anger the man. He wanted this meeting over with so he could leave and not see Professor Snape until school started again.
"We will meet twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday at 8 o'clock," Severus said.
Harry stood up, interrupting, "but what about Quidditch practice?"
"I could care less about Quidditch practice."
Severus was interrupted by Sirius who stood up. "Snape you will not be allowed to take liberties like that. You are not allowed to say if he can or cannot participate in Quidditch."
"Oh, I certainly can Black. Occlumency is more important than that stupid sport." Now he addressed Harry himself, "If people ask you are taking remedial Potions. Anyone who has ever seen you attempt to brew a potion would not question it," Severus sneered. He was baiting the boy, hoping he would, so he could crush him like a bug. He hated looking at Potter; all he saw was a replica of James.
"Fine," Harry ground out. Oh how he hated that man. Would it kill him to be nice for once in his life? Harry could never figure out why his professor hated him so much but he wasn't about to ask him now, or ever for that matter.
"If I find out you are being even more of a prat than normal I will come to Hogwarts and hex you myself," Sirius said walking over to Snape.
"Oh please do, I would enjoy seeing you attempt to duel me. I would like even more to notify the Aurors that you are running amuck at Hogwarts. Watching the Dementors suck your soul out would be rather fun, I imagine," Severus said the last part gazing past Sirius as if wistfully dreaming it to come true.
Sirius reached to draw his wand and Severus caught it. They both drew their wands on each other and Harry stepped between them trying to push them away from each other. "Sirius, don't do it!"
"That's right Black, listen to the little brat, don't do it," he replied mockingly. There was an evil glint in his eyes just asking Black to do the opposite.
Remus came over now and was yelling for both of them to stop acting like they were school children. He grabbed Sirius by the shoulders and jerked him away. Sirius walked back to the couch looking over his shoulder saying, "I swear Snape you will treat Harry with respect."
Severus raised his chin and folded his arms over his chest. He gave a nasty smile and replied, "Oh, but of course. Since the great Sirius Black has commanded, we must all obey."
"Now, Severus," Remus said. Severus narrowed his eyes when the werewolf said his name as if they were friends. "You know Sirius is just concerned about Harry. We all are."
Harry had moved away from Severus and sat down heavily in his chair. They were almost as bad as two three year olds fighting over a toy. Harry looked back at the Headmaster who was seated in his chair, merrily chewing on some lemon drops. How the man could remain so calm when there was almost a full blown war between Sirius and The Bat was a mystery to him.
"Well now that we have that out of our systems," Albus said clapping his hands together. "Harry please take this seriously. I must impress upon you the importance of you mastering this skill. Voldemort could do terrible things if he found out certain information you know," he said stealing a glance at Severus, who was standing with his hands crossed over his chest and glaring.
For once, it wasn't lost on Harry that the Headmaster was talking about Snape's roll as a spy. He nodded thinking that wasn't much motivation for him to want to do this. However, his Gryffindor nobility won out and he knew he couldn't stand the thought of blood on his hands if Voldemort found out about Snape's duplicity.
Severus pulled a book from out of his robes and handed it to Harry. "Start reading this and try to do the exercises that go along with the book. Read as much as you can but I will certainly understand if you only get to Chapter Two. It is such a daunting book."
Remus gave Sirius a look as to not interrupt and he begrudgingly did.
"Now, now Severus, don't be so silly," Albus said as he plucked the book from Harry's hands. He flipped through a few pages, smiled, and handed it back to him. "Harry this is a good starter for you to understand what Occlumency is about and how to master it."
"Thank you, sir," Harry said directly to the Headmaster. He made a point not to thank his Potions Professor. Severus wasn't surprised but it still pissed him off that the boy lacked respect. Though, he wasn't surprised; Potter never did show any respect to him inside the classroom so why would he here.
"Oh, don't thank me Mr. Potter, thank Professor Snape. It's he who is taking time out of his busy schedule to teach you this." Albus smirked to himself as he made Harry thank the one teacher he disliked the most. It was difficult at times to deal with those two, but it was always amusing. They were more alike than they knew, or cared to think about.
"Thank you," Harry said quickly as he looked at Professor Snape.
"Thank you, what?" he replied silkily.
"Thank you, sir," Harry ground out in frustration. I hate you so much, he thought.
Severus smirked as he heard Harry's thought. Oh, if only they were at Hogwarts he would have enjoyed taking points. Well, if they were at Hogwarts and the Headmaster wasn't there he certainly would have. No doubt Albus heard it as well. Look at you smiling like you have no clue what is going on. Severus sneered at the Headmaster who took his bag of lemon drops out of his robes and popped one in his mouth.
"I will know if you haven't read or practiced, so do not wait until the last minute to read that book," Severus said seriously.
Harry nodded and asked the Headmaster, "Is that all?"
"Why yes I believe so. Enjoy the rest of your holiday. Oh, and if you would be so kind as to ask Mr. Barneo to join us, we will be leaving shortly," Albus said, his eyes twinkling.
"Yes, sir." Harry left the room and walked with his shoulders slumped up the stairs.
"That bad, mate?" Ron asked as Harry walked up the stairs.
"You have no idea," Harry said as he held out the book for Ron and Ginny to look at. "I have to take Occlumency lessons from Snape. As if it isn't bad enough I have to put up with him in Potions now I have to take "remedial Potions" with the git."
"Maybe it won't be so bad Harry," Ginny said trying to make him feel better.
"Yeah, I don't know about that Ginny," Harry said as he walked up the stairs.
"Where are you going Harry?" Ron asked looking up at Harry.
"I have to tell Alex they are leaving."
"Alright," Ron said as he flipped through the pages in the book. He looked at Ginny and said, "As if Harry doesn't have enough to put up with, now he has to take extra lessons from Snape."
"Hopefully he will take it seriously Ron. The headmaster wouldn't ask him to do it if it weren't important."
"I suppose," Ron said rising from the step.
XXX
Hermione and Alex were snogging on her bed when they heard a knock at the door, "Alex, Headmaster Dumbledore said to tell you to come downstairs."
"Thanks, Harry," Alex said loud enough so Harry heard. He sighed as he stood up. "I'm going to miss you Hermione."
"It's not too much longer until school starts again. You will be fine," she smiled as she kissed him one more time before they walked downstairs. As they walked down stairs they heard a commotion in the library. There was yelling and a lot of noise as if a scuffle was happening.
They looked at each other and started to run to the library. They burst in as they saw Sirius yell a curse at Severus, who effectively blocked it and cast one of his own. Albus and Remus were not there and the looks in both the men's eyes were murderous. The room was in disarray with chairs turned over and a table broken. "Come on Snivellus, too scared to throw a decent curse at me?" Sirius goaded.
"I'll show you, you mangy mutt," Severus said evilly.
Alex was pushed into the room when Remus, Molly and Albus came into the room to see what the commotion was. "Stop!" he yelled, but neither men listened. Remus went over to Sirius to try and stop him and Alex ran over to Severus. Albus tried to grab Alex but he was too fast. He jumped over the broken table and tried to get to his father.
Neither man was paying attention to what was happening around them. Remus got an elbow in the chin, and was knocked out, as Sirius raised his hand to cast a non-verbal spell. Alex had stepped right in front of Severus not realizing he was stepping on front of a curse as well. "Stop!" he screamed trying to get his fathers attention. Severus looked down and realized Alex was in the way of the curse. He could do nothing but watch as his son was hit powerfully in the back. Alex screamed and his eyes widened with shock as he felt his back rip open with the power of the curse. He fell limply into his fathers arms as he passed out.
Hermione had screamed, but was held back from running to Alex by Molly. Severus had scooped Alex in his arms and felt his son's blood running down his own arms. He looked down distressed as he noticed his son's pale face. He had to school his features so no one would get suspicious. His face became one of disgust as he looked up.
Sirius was shocked in place at what happened. He had hexed a child. Of course, he hadn't meant to, but, it was never his intention to hurt anybody but Snivellus. And what was that look that Severus just had? Was that distress over the American boy being hurt? No way! Sirius stood still watching the scene; he wouldn't say anything, yet.
Albus ran over to Severus and looked down at Alex. "Is he?" Albus couldn't finish his sentence as he looked over his grandson. He was very pale and was breathing shallowly.
"He's alive. I don't know what curse it was though," Severus said trying to reign in his emotions.
"Take him upstairs and I will find out." Severus nodded and walked out the room. Everyone parted from the door when he walked towards them. Everyone was quiet until he left.
Harry, Ron, and Ginny were walking towards the library when Snape came walking out quickly with Alex in his arms. He didn't even notice them as he walked swiftly by leaving them to wonder what had happened. They looked at each other and quickly made their way into the room as Severus made his way up the stairs and into a spare bedroom.
