Not really sure how often I'll update. Probably once every 1-2 weeks. Thanks for the nice comments!
"She always makes me prep the vegetables," Ron grumbled, digging through the drawer for a peeler. Harry, who'd been tasked with dividing the bread roll dough into smaller rolls to bake, shrugged. "Lots of bloody people in this house," Ron continued. "It's a lot of vegetables you know."
He'd begun attacking the potatoes with the peeler, flinging the peeled skin across the counter.
"I have to help cook sometimes too," Harry said, pulling his wand out and tapping the baking sheet so the dough split into 20 rolls. "Not everything, but lunches and stuff."
Ron was staring at him.
"Did you just use magic?" Ron hissed. "You can't! They've have the trace and you'll be..."
"Expelled?" Harry said, shrugging and shoving his wand in his back pocket. Ron shook his head.
"Yeah, maybe not, considering that you killed You Know Who and all, but when Mum finds out she'll be pissed."
"How will she find out?" Harry asked. "I forgot and wasn't thinking. You're not going tell her, are you?"
"No," Ron scoffed. "I'm not a snitch. But the Ministry'll send a letter won't they, and she'll spot it right away."
Ron still had the peeler gripped strongly in his hand and was glancing to the sides to make sure they weren't overheard.
"They won't to here. There's too many wizards and witches here; they just assume the magic is being done by someone else," Harry explained.
"What," Ron said, looking scandalised. "Are you telling me…"
His voice got quieter and turned more to a hiss as they both heard Mrs Weasley and someone else coming down the stairs.
"Yeah," Harry quietly replied. "Snape doesn't care because they can't actually tell and he also said that dunderheads should practice in the summer so they don't go back to school dumber than when they left."
"Fuckin' hell," Ron breathed out. "All this time I could have…"
"You could have what, Ronnie?" George asked, carrying a suspicious-looking box into the kitchen.
"Nothing," Ron said, picking up the peeler again and narrowing his eyes at his brother. "What have you got?"
"…Nothing," George replied, giving Ron a suspicious look back.
"Hurry up, boys," Mrs Weasley said, walking into the room with Fred closely on her heels. "Dinner should be in an hour so Harry can get back home before it's gone late."
George had put the box on the counter and stood in front of it, and Harry narrowed his eyes as Fred switched spots with him and George started following their mother to help with the tidying she was doing.
"What's in the box?" Harry said, as George and Mrs Weasley headed back upstairs.
Fred picked it up with a mischievous smile.
"All will be revealed to birthday celebrants and potential investors in due time," Fred said, and slipped out the side kitchen door.
"Diffindo," Ron whispered, chopping up all the potatoes in one fell swoop of his wand. "Don't ask, Harry. They're definitely up to something but they refuse to say what."
"What do they need investors for?" Harry asked. He'd put his tray of bun dough on the worktop nearest to the stove and was helping Ron with the rest of the vegetables. Mrs Weasley had a pot roast in the oven, and they were cutting it close to get the veg cooked in time.
"More of those trick sweets, I reckon," Ron replied. He'd been glancing out the window for any incoming Ministry owls, but let the tension out of his shoulders and brought the pot of potatoes over to the cooker. "Anyone else find out about you being a Snape now?"
"I'm not, technically," Harry said. "But no. Just you lot that I told before we left for the train."
Harry didn't say anything else, and focused on making sure he'd wiped up all the crumbs of the bread dough that he'd been working with. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Ron was watching him.
"The Heir of Slytherin," Ron finally said, tossing the peeler to the sink.
Harry snapped his head up and gave his friend a confused look.
"What?"
"You remember what that was like, people staring at you, avoiding you in school, thinking you're out to murder people. You're used to it already."
"That's not exactly comforting, Ron," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "And I'm not out to murder people!"
"Who's murdering people?" George gleefully called, from the floor above.
"No one had better be murdering anyone," Mrs Weasley snapped, coming back down the stairs toward the kitchen.
"They could even use the same nickname," Ron laughed, ignoring Harry's annoyed look.
He grinned and ducked as Harry threw a dishtowel at him.
….
Harry didn't think he'd ever get tired of coming back to Lower Tarrow, to his little bedroom tucked in behind the mill wheel. He dropped his bag on the bed and looked around, noting that nothing had been moved, nothing had been binned, and reminded himself that nothing was hidden because he no longer need to do that. There was a packet of biscuits that Harry had shoved beside some books on his desk and he wasn't sure why he'd left them there, as Snape often bought far too many biscuits and they'd never run out.
Harry followed the sound of chatter to the kitchen, where Snape had gone and interrupted what sounded like a regular argument between his parents. They'd come for early supper, and Harry thought he could smell meat pies or pasties.
Snape had shoved several of his notebooks and two cauldrons to the back corner of the kitchen, putting his ladles and a few bottles of potion ingredients in a slightly precarious pile. There was enough room at the kitchen table for four, once the extra detritus had been removed. Harry, being the smallest and more flexible of the group, climbed into the seat in the corner of the kitchen, stubbing his toe on hidden stack of potion magazines under the table.
"Had a good day then?" Eileen asked, giving Harry a stern look as she put a Cornish pasty on her plate.
"Have done, yeah," Harry nodded. He had a handful of crisps in his hand from the bowl at the table and had nearly shoved them all in his face. "My mate Sean is off to his dad's later today so was at his playing Nintendo this morning. Tomorrow I'll go to see Sirius and the Weasleys."
"Sirius Black, the escaped convict?" Eileen asked, not sounding particularly concerned.
"Wrongfully convicted," Harry said, ignoring Snape's dark mutterings. "The Ministry didn't give him a fair trial."
"The Ministry has a funny idea of fair, boy," Eileen said, giving Snape a significant glance.
Tobias scoffed and tapped his canes that were leaning against the table by his glass.
"The Muggle one ain't much better," he reached to the plate in the centre of the table and picked up a pasty.
"I'm still glad he was finally cleared," Harry said. "I've not been to his house before but he said it was some grim old house in Islington, a proper old posh townhouse."
"Posher than an old mill house flat," Snape said, his voice crisp on the final T.
"Severus," Tobias warned, at the same time that Harry scowled. He'd reached for his own pasty and dropped it back to his plate.
"My best mate is from a poor family; I don't care about someone being rich," Harry strongly said.
"As you shouldn't," Tobias said, at the same time that Eileen added, "The name is the power."
Snape turned his head up slightly, giving his mother an unwavering look.
"His name is worth the same, if not more," Snape said. "The Black family have fallen since the war, and their approval of the Dark Lord's views on blood purity was not exactly a secret. Sirius Black is the last of his line, and I am quite certain he's considered a blood traitor to them."
An awkward silence settled on the table that left Eileen and Snape giving each other doubting looks, and Tobias eating his supper with ease, as if his wife and son often got into arguments about wizarding custom and culture and he regularly ignored said arguments.
"I'm just curious about the house, really," Harry finally said, not enjoying the silence. "Plus, I've never had a birthday party before. The Weasleys and Hermione will be there, and Sirius mentioned showing off some cool stuff he has, like exploding cauldrons."
"Did he now," Snape said, passing the salad bowl across the table.
Harry's smile faltered a little and Eileen glanced up at him with a knowing smirk.
"Yeah, he and the twins said they were usable as actual cauldrons for a bit but...maybe not."
"What do you need exploding' ones for?" Eileen asked. "Seems like a daft invention when a poorly made potion will do just that."
She took the salad bowl and gave Harry a pointed look.
"Or a twelve-year-old with a firecracker, I believe it was?" Snape asked, his tone neutral but telling Harry that he absolutely knew what had happened in second year.
Snape's eyebrow raised and Harry felt his face heat up. One Snape staring at him was difficult enough, but Harry still wasn't used to all three of them in the same room against him.
"Well, pretty sure I don't need a fancy one to make it blow up. Bring one of them outside after supper, and we'll nick one of Severus'. See who can make a bigger explosion," Tobias said, winking at Harry.
"You will not," Snape said, grabbing the last of the heated pasties.
"Come now, you get them supplied by that school of yours," Tobias said. "Though we'll have to nip to the store for some ingredients of our own."
….
Harry shifted the carrier bags in his arms and walked a little slower keep pace with Tobias Snape, doing his best to make that concession unnoticeable.
"Wind's gone strange," Tobias muttered, his canes clumping against the pavement as they walked. Harry looked up at this, noting a small and ominously dark rain cloud cresting over the Tesco and heading their way.
"That doesn't look like normal rain," Harry said. They were headed toward the taxi stand on the high street, taking a shortcut through a narrow alley to get there. Harry felt the wind whisking across his skin and shivered, wondering what kind of summer storm they were in for and if they'd get to a cab in time.
Tobias suddenly stopped, his canes wavering as his hands shook, and Harry stared as his and Tobias' breath came out with visible fog.
"Bollocks," Harry said. He dropped one carrier bag and whipped his wand out, staring around to see what was nearby. Goosebumps raced along his arms as he spun round and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He considered calling for help but what if it was just a storm? He'd look like a proper idiot being afraid of a summer storm.
"This isn't right," Tobias said, the canes clattering as he shook. Harry knew that Tobias couldn't see anything, but he also knew that the cold dread of a dementor was unnatural and brought fear to muggles and wizards alike. And this felt exactly like a dementor's presence. He held his wand strongly, not bothered if a muggle saw it. His fingertips started to feel like pinpricks of ice were poking him, but Harry kept his grip tight.
"Can we get to the taxi faster?" Harry muttered, reaching for Tobias' arm to help. As he did, he felt a freezing cold breeze at the top of his head, and ducked instinctively.
The dementor was one of the largest Harry had seen, its shrouds whipping by Harry's face and its skeletal hands reaching out to grab him.
"Ex…" Harry said, taking in a deep breath and nearly choking on the chill that hit his throat. One of Tobias' canes dropped as he reached out to grab Harry's arm.
"Expecto PATRONUM!" Harry yelled, thrusting his arm upward and aiming his stag patronus right at the dementor. He vaguely heard noise to his left as it flew off, but disregarded the noise to make sure the dementor didn't rebound at them right away.
Harry spun around a few more times, his eyes darting all up and down the alley and up the walls. He kept close to Tobias and leaned down.
"Grandad," Harry said, grabbing Tobias' cane. "Let's go."
Harry pressed his tattoo mole quickly, his wand wavering slightly as he shivered from the cold and the feeling of dread.
"What was that?" Tobias demanded; his voice stronger than Harry expected it to be. The alley was still stormy dark and Harry could see that there was ice on a small pool of water by the sewer grate.
A whooshing noise sounded to his left and Harry turned quickly to find Snape there, wand in hand. He was holding a tea towel in his other hand, as if he'd taken off at a run to the apparition point to get to Harry and forgotten to put it down.
"Why's it so cold?" Snape said, storming toward them with a stride that made it look like he was punishing the very ground he walked on.
"Dementor," Harry said. He'd reached down for the shopping that he'd dropped when casting his spell. "Just one, I think."
"In Upper Tarrow?" Snape asked, glancing around.
"I know what it was, Dad," Harry said, his voice a higher pitch than he expected it to be. "It was cold all of a sudden and it…"
"I can see," Snape interrupted. "Hold onto his other arm."
Harry grabbed it without questioning, and before he could say another word, they apparated away.
….
Snape paced back and forth in front of his cauldrons as Eileen waved her wand over her husband. Harry sat at the table watching, finding it somewhat comforting that for this round of weird and strange magic over the summer, that his home and family were now mostly witches and wizards. He was pretty sure that he wouldn't be kicked out of the house for doing magic in front of a muggle this time.
"Fecking cold I am," Tobias grumbled, sat in the chair with a blanket around his shoulders. He waved away Eileen's wand a few times in irritation, which made her tsk and have to restart her spell.
"There's chocolate…" Harry said, springing up from his seat to go to the kitchen cabinet.
"Get some for yourself too, Harry, there's a good lad," Eileen told him.
"You are certain the dementor was after you," Snape stated, his arms crossed as he stopped at the end of the table and watched closely. The kettle had been put on, and Snape had lined up four mugs on the counter.
"Who else would it be after in Upper Tarrow?" Harry asked. He scratched his nail uselessly against the chocolate bar wrapper a few times until Snape gently took it from him. Snape opened it and a large piece was broken off for Tobias and one for Harry, and Harry was pushed to sit at the kitchen table.
"The dementors are controlled by the Ministry," Snape said, low as if he was talking it out to himself. "The Dark Lord is gone, so there should be no reason to send one after you."
"Could be testing him," Eileen said, staring at Harry. "See what the lad can do."
Snape flicked his wand and Harry found himself wrapped in a blanket that had come sailing out of Snape's bedroom. His adrenaline was running out and he had started to shiver.
"Kept me safe, he did," Tobias tiredly said. "Can't see those buggers of course, but that feelin' of despair was something else."
He had just finished his sentence when pecking at the window signalled the arrival of an owl. It didn't come in, but rather dropped a letter in the post chute and few off.
Snape snatched it quickly and held it up to inspection, though the Ministry logo was recognisable from across the room.
Dear Mr Potter,
Due to an incident involving underage magic outside of school, and in front of a Muggle, you have hereby been expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Regards,
A. Fern
Ministry of Magic
"What?" Harry said, jumping to his feet and nearly tripping over on the blanket. "Expelled! I can't be!"
"Ignore it," Snape ordered, his eyes reading over the letter once more.
"Dad, I can't leave Hogwarts, it's my..."
"Your what?" Snape said, looking up from the letter, his eyes glinting. Both Eileen and Tobias stared at Harry as well, though it was more a curious look than anything else.
Harry was saved by the gentle popping sound and flash of colour that signified Fawkes' arrival.
"Am at the Ministry," Snape read, now holding the letter Fawkes had brought. "Will arrange hearing, stand by."
"What happens if I do get expelled?" Harry said, wrapping the blanket back around himself. "And how does Dumbledore know about this already?"
"He's notified if someone is expelled, isn't he?" Eileen asked. She summoned the leftovers from supper and offered Fawkes a piece of pasty.
"You won't be," Snape immediately replied, pacing again slightly and tapping the letters against his palm. "I've been trying to expel you for years and it's never worked."
"You've got blackmail on people or something?" Tobias asked, at the same time that Harry threw part of his chocolate at Snape. Magic stopped it in mid-air and the piece was flung right back at him.
"Something," Snape confirmed, his eyebrows furrowed as he thought. Harry had often wondered why there was a u-shaped wear pattern in the kitchen stone floor and from Snape's pacing he finally had his answer. His head snapped back up as Snape turned to look at Harry.
"Was there anyone else there?"
"No," Harry said. "Just us. Well, there was a shuffling noise at one point, but I didn't see what it was."
Another owl appeared at the window, and Eileen swore as she snatched this letter before her son could get to it.
Dear Mr Potter,
You will appear at the Ministry of Magic for a hearing to discuss your:
-Use of underage magic
-Use of magic in front of a Muggle
On Thursday, 3 August, 1995.
Regards,
A. Fern
Ministry of Magic
She held it in her hand and somehow, to Harry, it didn't feel as threatening being read by her.
"Do they normally expel kids the first time?" Tobias asked, breaking off another piece of chocolate to eat.
"This isn't his first time, is it?" Snape asked, and he had a wry grin on his face that inexplicably made Harry feel better.
"The last time was accidental," Harry blurted. "I swear."
"This wasn't," Eileen darkly said, getting up to brew the tea, "Dementors on the loose; don't believe it's an accident for a second."
….
Harry sat on his bed and closed his notebook. He'd written out all the events of the day in it, along with some thoughts about why it had happened and what he could say at the hearing to keep himself at school. He didn't think Snape would let him be expelled, or Dumbledore, but the Ministry had the final say and Harry didn't fully trust them.
"Come in," Harry said, after a knock sounded on his door.
Snape came into the room and sat down on Harry's desk chair, rubbing his wrist where he normally wore a watch.
"I didn't mean to do magic outside of the house," Harry said. "I don't know if there's any other way to stop the dementors."
Snape looked at him, his expression neutral.
"Is your chill gone?"
Harry blinked at the question. He'd put on warmer pyjamas, not something he'd considered at all during the heat wave of the rest of the summer, but wasn't feeling overheated.
"Yeah? Mostly."
Snape nodded.
"I expect you to keep yourself safe and you did so. Expulsion is the least of my concerns."
"Really?" Harry said. "But I don't want to leave Hogwarts. And you, you work there."
"I do," Snape said, with a little smile. "And as such I know that you're not the only one to do magic in front of Muggles in the summer."
Harry felt the tension in his shoulders melt a little at that. He swung his feet up on the bed and slipped them under the covers.
"Let me guess, some Slytherins do as well?" Harry said.
"All houses," Snape replied, rolling his eyes at Harry's grin. "Very few end up at the Ministry though."
Harry scrunched his face slightly at that. "I thought things would be really boring now that he's gone, but I guess not."
Snape looked like he was deciding whether to tell Harry his next thought or not. Harry knew he'd been following the papers closely, and gone on a few unexplained excursions, but was keeping his cards close for now. Harry figured it had something to do with the pact they'd made with the Ministry, to keep Voldemort's return and demise a secret.
"There is a strong possibility that this will end up in the news. Do all your friends know?" Snape asked, instead of giving any information.
Harry yawned and then blinked a few times.
"You're coming with me to the Ministry for the hearing?"
"Of course," Snape stood and stepped to the window to close the curtains. Harry usually forgot to close them and whilst it didn't bother Harry that much, it certainly annoyed Snape.
"I've told a few," Harry said. "The lads in my dorm that didn't believe me at first. The rest I was waiting until next term."
Snape nodded.
"You should assume that this will be reported on, and I will be explaining my presence at the hearing."
"That's okay," Harry said. He took his glasses off and put them on the book case shelf next to his bed. "It's for life, right?"
"So says the paperwork," Snape dryly responded.
Harry rolled his eyes as he yanked the covers up. Snape walked to the door and turned off the light.
"Well done today, Harry."
Harry couldn't help the grin that formed on his face, and he was grateful that the room was quite dark because it meant that Snape couldn't see him. Snape probably knew anyway.
"Er, thanks," Harry said. He rolled over in his bed and faced the wall, staring at the Oasis poster. The feeling of happiness from Snape's praise slipped away quickly as the rest of his thoughts invaded. He'd never before been to the Ministry and the idea of going for a hearing was terrifying. Would he finally be expelled from Hogwarts? Snape had been trying for years to expel him, and now that Voldemort was fully gone, did he care about Harry staying? He seemed to, and he still seemed to be comfortably in the role of a dad for Harry, but his answer of what the paperwork said wasn't a confirmation from him.
Harry turned back over, facing the desk this time. He could hear Snape walking up and down the hallway outside his door.
This will end up in the news.
Everyone will know, Harry told himself. On the one hand, it would be like ripping off a plaster and Harry wouldn't have to pretend he was an orphan any longer, that his family hated him and that he was alone in the wizarding world. On the other hand, Snape's reputation as an arsehole wasn't exactly unearned, and Harry knew it looked weird for him to have been adopted by someone who from all outward appearances hated him. A man who apparently had previously been suspected as a Death Eater – and had secretly actually been one.
Harry shifted in bed again, forcing himself to not think of the hearing, or the fall out and the chance that Snape would decide that Harry and his bad luck just wasn't worth it. Instead, he thought back on what had actually happened: he'd successfully used his training to summon his patronus and keep both himself and Snape's dad safe. That was something to be proud of, and he'd even gotten a well done for it. Harry smiled to himself, feeling like he finally had some of the skills one would expect from The Boy Who Lived.
He replayed the day again and again in his mind, slipping into sleep, and wondering as he drifted off why he hadn't heard his mother screaming at all when the dementor had swooped down on them.
