Harry opened his eyes. Ron was still snoring beside him. Harry couldn't help the jittery feeling in his stomach. Even though he felt exhausted from the exams the day before, he felt excited and couldn't wait for Snape to come back for him. Snape said they were going to look at houses today.

The adoption still didn't feel quite real. Maybe it was because he still couldn't live with the potions master just yet. But he knew that there was a document somewhere saying that Severus Snape was legally his family. As soon as he got the certificate the first thing he was going to do was frame it.

Suddenly he felt flustered. God that would be embarrassing. Would Severus think he was being too emotional for wanting to do that? Oh but he really wanted to. He wanted to be able to look up and always see the proof if he ever started to forget.

"Mmnh… seriously… you need better sleep patterns." Ron mumbled beside him. Harry turned to look at him but Ron had already gone back to sleep.

Harry sighed and got out of bed as quietly as possible and made his way downstairs. Mrs. Weasley was already setting up the table and Mr. Weasley seemed to have just finished his, and looked dressed and ready for work.

"Morning." Harry said.

"Good morning Harry. Come have a seat dear. You must be excited about today." Mrs. Weasley said. Harry nodded.

"Severus mentions he's been looking around Scotland. Lovely greenery up there. Lovely winters as well. No muggles to bother you." Mr. Weasley said. "Just like Hogwarts."

"Yeah… that would be nice." Harry said thanking Mrs. Weasley as she poured him some tea.

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Severus sighed as he stretched his sore arm and grumbled about bloody werewolves. There was a knock on his door. He was back in Hogwarts temporarily.

"Severus my boy. Are you going to pick up Harry now?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes headmaster. I did promise him we would go together."

"Ah, a very good start. A father that keeps his promises." He said brightly.

Severus paused and ignored the uncomfortable sensation that settled in his chest. It was a mixture of embarrassment and pride.

"Yes well… I already broke one promise and I will not be late again."

"Oh I shall not keep you long then. I shall give you this to give to Harry when you see fit. Seeing as you are legally his father now."

Severus looked at the letter and saw the seal from the Malfoys. "I see… I assume it must mean their trial is coming up?"

"Indeed… and if Harry truly wishes to speak for them, then we best prepare him. The ministers, including Umbridge, who is allowed to work on trials despite suspended on other things, will be there. Those opposed to the Malfoys will try to rile Harry up and show him in a negative light."

"I understand headmaster. I will give it to him… at the opportune time." He said.

"Of course Severus, it is your decision now." Dumbledore said and turned to leave. Severus looked at the letter and put it away, making his way to the fireplace.

The Weasley home was quiet. It was quite early. He hoped Potter had not reverted to this pattern of waking up late. Oh well. Maybe the brat deserved a couple of lie ins.

"Have a bit more, Harry dear. You'll need your energy today." That was Molly Weasley's voice. Severus peeked into the room to see the matriarch pushing an egg and some sausages onto Harry's plate.

For once Severus saw Harry's hungry and eager expression and felt an unmeasurable amount of relief. He couldn't remember the last time he saw anything but nausea in the boy's face whenever he looked at food. Sure he wasn't as excited as the youngest Weasley boy would have been, and instead took his time with the food, but it was a huge improvement.

"Good morning Severus. Would you like to join us?" Arthur asked. Severus shook his head.

"No thank you."

"Some tea then?" Mrs. Weasley said. She was already pouring the cup and Potter was looking at him with a flicker of nervousness. He didn't really want tea.

"Yes. Thank you." He said and sat on the stool against the wall waiting for Potter to finish.

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Harry walked ahead, climbing the slope after the potions master trying not to sound out of breath. Just where was this house?

"Are we there yet?" Harry called.

"Potter. For the fifth time. We will get there when we get there." Snape said.

Harry huffed and kept pushing his aching legs to keep going. He hated this house already. Ok, that wasn't fair. It was just that for now Snape was unable to apparate. By order of the mediwizard. So they'd had to floo to the inn in the wizard town nearby. They could have gotten a wizard's cab but there weren't any when they got there.

Harry had been the one to suggest walking. It was a sunny day and they could see the surroundings. Snape was still wearing black, his signature colour, and Harry knew that he was likely to be boiling.

"Finally." Snape muttered and Harry groaned standing up straight as the hill evened out to a large colourful meadow.

Right in the middle there was a cottage, something that seemed to come out straight of a fairy book Harry had once found amongst the stacks of broken toys in Duddley's second bedroom when the Dursleys gave it to him.

"Hmm… looks decent enough." Snape mumbled, looking through a small diary he'd brought with him.

Something moved from the corner of Harry's eyes and he turned to see something small run off through the flowers. He wondered if the place had garden gnomes like the Weasley house had.

"Come on then Potter. I believe that's the owner." Harry turned his attention back to Snape and followed him closely.

The inside turned out to be quite spacious. Despite its appearance from the outside, it had rather high ceiling which made it quite comforting to be in. It looked rather empty since it wasn't furnished but Harry liked it.

It was all on one floor as well, except for a large cellar that Harry could already imagine Snape brewing in. It was actually rather big for just the two of them. Harry started worrying about the cost of this place. Houses are supposed to be expensive aren't they? The Dursleys always talked about their mortgage like it was something they were still paying.

"What do you think Potter? This is the last house on the list." Snape said, coming over to his side.

Harry looked up at him and then at the warm orange light filtering through the window. "It's much better than the others."

They both found a fault with everyone they'd been to before. One had too narrow corridors that reminded them too much of Spinner's end. Snape almost instantly took them out of there. Another was great, until they found the enchanted woodlice infestation in the attic.

Harry shuddered. One of those things was almost as big as his fist and they tended to fly.

"Snape… aren't houses expensive I mean… can't we just move to 12 Grimmauld place?" Harry asked. Snape took a deep breath and Harry knew he was considering how to reply without insulting his limited intellect.

"I will not live anywhere near the house of Black. Not to mention that distasteful house-elf resides there…"

Harry clenched his hands into fists. If Kreacher hadn't lied to him maybe Sirius would still be here.

"Besides, I would rather you live somewhere without ancient and cursed artefacts. 12 Grimmauld Place, I'm sure would be a splendid home, but to restore it and dispose or cleanse all those cursed artefacts will take a lot of time." And money. But Snape never seemed to use the word money with him if he could help it. "We need something a bit more… now."

"Yeah but… this looks really expensive."

"Do not worry yourself about finances Potter. We are fine."

"I'm fine. I can pay for this. It's the least I can do I mean you… you…" Severus placed his hands on Harry's shoulders and Harry looked down.

"Listen to me. You do not owe me anything. Anything. Do you understand?"

"But…"

"No buts. Do you like this house?" Harry hesitated before nodding. "Then it's settled." Harry looked up at Snape, who was back to looking around. A look of suspicion filled his eyes for a moment. "On second thought… best check around for any pests." He said.

Harry tried to cover the smile that formed, knowing that the vendor could pop back in any minute now.

There weren't any pests. But Snape sent him out when it came to the business side of things. Harry wanted to complain but he actually did want to take a look around before they left.

He walked round the house, detailing it from the outside. The sun was starting to set so he wouldn't have much time to explore. There was a second exit round the back that led from the kitchen. He could see Severus inside discussing things back and forth with the owner of the house.

A hoot drew Harry's attention and he looked up to see a small owlery sitting on the roof. Two owls looked at him curiously with a concentrated expression, following his every movement. It unnerved Harry a little.

He decided to follow a stone covered path through the wild flowers that eventually became bare earth. He followed it to the entrance of a forest that seemed to follow the rest of land's shape, undulating like a wave of green as far as Harry could see. It smelled nice. The breeze carried the smell of wet earth and herbs that probably hid beyond Harry's eyesight.

It was quiet as well, the odd tweet of a few birds echoed here or there. Harry didn't go in very far. He knew it was unwise to wander into a forest you didn't know when the sun was setting. Well, he'd always known that but he'd done it anyway. This time he actually worried of the retaliation Snape might send his way if he didn't listen to his common sense instead of his inquisitive mind.

He stood there considering his options a little bit too long. The sun set fast and it became dark pretty quickly. He turned to make his way back. As he entered back into the meadow, small lights flickered into existence around him and he had to stop.

At first he thought they were fireflies, but they remained constant without flickering once they had appeared and were a mix of light blues and purples. Harry looked up and saw how they matched the skies. Stars littered the sky which looked clearer than Harry had ever seen it. Even in the astronomy tower. He didn't know if it was an illusion or what it was, but it was… beautiful.

Surely this was probably added to the price too… something Harry didn't want to think about. He was feeling guilty enough as it is.

One of the lights hovered past slowly and Harry could see its pixy-like form, though they were much smaller than the Cornish pixies Lockhart had set loose on them in second year. Thankfully, they didn't seem nearly as testy as them either.

"Potter…" Snape came closer and paused, looking at him up and down. Harry looked at himself and noticed more pixies hovering around him or resting on his clothes like fallen snowflakes.

"What do I do?" Harry asked, looking up at Snape a little alarmed. God he prayed to god they weren't as testy as Cornish pixies. Strangely enough they staged far away from Snape. Snape came closer and flicked them off as if they were specks of dust. There were tiny squeaks coming from them as they flew back. "Hey! There's no need to hurt them."

"I'm not hurting them Potter just shaking them off. Come inside." Snape said placing his hand around his shoulder and leading him back to the cottage.

"If you weren't hurting them why were they crying out?"

"I was unaware of the fairies producing any sounds Potter." Snape said calmly, going into the house by the kitchen entrance.

"Fairies?"

"Indeed… I believe they might be drawn to you due to your bout of druid magic." He said lighting an oil lamp.

"…oh. Is that a bad thing?"

"Only if you are out at night a want to remain inconspicuous." Snape said and looked around. "Right… home sweet home Potter." He said. Harry looked around. The house looked a little creepy during the night. But nothing compared to Hogwarts.

"Are we staying here tonight?" Harry asked.

"No, there's too much to sort out, furniture, fireplace, protection spells and wards. We'll come back tomorrow and sort that out." Snape was casting small spells on every beam, window and doors.

Harry followed him closely. "What are you doing?"

"Casting some minor protection wards." He said.

"Want me to do another druid barrier?"

"Absolutely not." He said firmly, though he was too concentrated on the spells he was casting to direct his utter disagreement in his direction. "There are more controlled ways of erecting a barrier. I will show you tomorrow."

Harry had a feeling that this meant the other was going to give him something to read overnight. Still, the thought of spending more time with him did give him a warm feeling in his chest.

Snape moved to another window across the room and Harry ran after him, to stay near him. Snape paused looking at him curiously.

"Are you… afraid of the dark Potter?"

"Wha-?" Of course he wasn't. How many times had he not wondered the halls of Hogwarts at night? But then again… the halls of Hogwarts had portraits. And ghosts that he knew. Plus the marauders' map always told him where people were. But no there was no way.

"Very well then." Snape said, continuing on his way to the window. Harry tried to stay put but he felt an uneasy sensation crawl up his chest and he rushed after him, staying near him.

"There's… no ghosts here is there?" Harry mumbled.

"I doubt it."

"That's not a no…"

Snape stopped what he was doing and turned to him. He could tell Snape was trying to figure out where this strange new anxiety was coming from. He placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze.

"Maybe it is due to the new environment… or maybe the magic surrounding these lands is unsettling you a little. It's… nature magic, something you recently tapped into so you may be sensing new energies you weren't conscious of before."

Harry nodded. "Ok."

"Hmm… we'll see if it gets better in the following days. If not we can get you a talisman to ward off the sensation until you get used to it."

"Will I have to have that forever?" Harry asked, grimacing at his own strangeness. Snape had bought this amazing house and now here Harry was, saying he didn't like it.

"No, they're normally given to magical children when they become hypersensitive. It happens sometimes, perfectly normal." Snape said turning back to the task at hand.

Harry remained by his side and only relaxed a little when they left the home, but only because the fairies seemed far less ominous than the unknown shadows of the house.

"Don't worry yourself Potter, maybe it's in your blood. Your mother tapped into nature magic when she was quite young herself."

Harry looked up at that, shocked. "My mother did dark magic?"

"No. Nature magic. Making flowers grow, making it rain sometimes. It's the first forms of magic most children learn to do actually."

"…Will you tell me more about her someday?" Harry asked.

"Hmm… I don't see why not."

That was another thing Harry had to look forward to. He hoped his sense of 'too good to be true' had no real connection to reality.