Chapter 2

He didn't hear what he was just told. It just wasn't possible. There was no way in hell that Snape would willingly take him for the summer. This must be some sort of sick joke.

But, the Professor still stood there as if he were serious. And, why would Snape joke about something like this? This would probably be like a death sentence to the man.

"Dumbledore is making you take me, isn't he?" he finally managed to blurt out.

Snape glared. "I don't do anything I don't want to do," he said angrily.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like you really want to do this," he answered back sarcastically. "You and I both know that's not true. What's the real reason?"

"It's really none of your business, Potter. I will tell you, however, that the Headmaster feels it is in your best interest if you come with me over the holidays instead of your relatives." He figured Potter would do better with at least a little information. Maybe he wouldn't be so dramatic otherwise.

"So, Dumbledore did make you," Harry smirked. Snape glared.

"Let's get a few things straight, Mr. Potter. While you're under my roof, you will desist with this horrendous attitude you have taken on this past week."

"I'm not under your roof," Harry shot back.

"As of this moment, no, you're not, but you will be come tomorrow morning. Keep in mind that I can make your life a living hell."

"And what if I don't want to go with you? You can't make me."

Severus gave Harry a look that said quite plainly that he could make him if he wanted to.

"The Headmaster has the ultimate decision on where you stay, Potter. I don't think even all of your whining could dissuade him from his decision. You're stuck with me for the remainder of the summer holidays. And you will behave while in my home."

Harry didn't say anything more after that, feeling at least a little bit of self preservation might be in order.

Severus walked away, thinking he'd done a fairly good job at breaking the news to the little brat. Albus would probably say he could have done it with a little more decorum, but at least he didn't piss the boy off too much. Smirking at the look that was still on the brat's face, he turned the corner and headed down to the dungeons. He had things to prepare.

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"You can't be serious!"

A bowl of lemon drops were about to take an impromptu trip through the air in about five seconds. Harry couldn't believe Dumbledore would do this to him. Snape? What was he thinking? They got along about as well and he and Draco Malfoy got along, which was not at all. Staying with his most hated and despised professor was going to absolutely suck.

"Harry, you and Professor Snape have more in common than you think you do. Once you get to know each other, I'm sure you'll both enjoy each other's company," persuaded Dumbledore.

"Yeah, right! I don't want to stay with him, Headmaster! Just let me go to the Dursley's!" Harry never thought those words would willingly slip from his lips. Yet they were.

Albus shook his head and locked gazes with the boy. "Harry, honestly, I don't believe staying with the Dursley's is in your best interest. I know they don't always treat you as they should."

Harry scoffed. "Now you care? And what makes you think staying with Snape is in my best interest? We hate each other! It'll be worse than if I had stayed with my relatives!"

"I highly doubt that, Harry. I know for a fact that Professor Snape will take care of you," he said, looking down at his folded hands. "I know you and Severus don't always see eye to eye, and there have been some altercations at times, but I think if you just gave him a chance, you'd find your Professor isn't as evil as you presume."

Sighing heavily, Harry could tell he wasn't going to be able to talk the Headmaster out of his asinine idea. "What if things don't work out?" he asked, knowing they wouldn't. "You're not going to make me stay there if he tries to kill me, are you?" A little drama never hurt.

"He's not going to kill you, Harry. But, I will be checking in on the two of you every now and again, and if it looks like either of you are in imminent danger, I will take action," he promised.

Having made his case and lost, Harry nodded dejectedly and stood from the chair he'd been directed to when he'd first stormed into the Headmaster's office. The upcoming summer wasn't looking as pleasant as he had hoped. And considering he had planned on being locked in his bedroom all summer long that was saying something.

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Friday morning dawned bright and sunny without a cloud in the sky. Harry thought it was the direct opposite of how he was feeling, which kind of annoyed him…a lot. He almost thought he'd wake up to rain clouds, thunder and lighting. Maybe even a hurricane or tornado strength winds. No such thing happened. Almost disappointed, Harry sat up and started the tiresome task of dressing and packing the last of his things.

It didn't take long and all too soon he found himself standing on the Hogsmeade Station platform and watching as his friends got onto the train and disappeared from sight. Seeing as how he wasn't talking to any of them, no one even came to say good bye. It had seemed for a very short moment that Hermione was going to come and do so, but Ron grabbed her arm and the idea was waylaid. He didn't know why he felt disappointed.

When Snape came up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder to nudge him into moving, Harry roughly shook it off and started walking. Whether he was going in the right direction or not, he honestly didn't care. Though, apparently, he was as Snape followed behind him. At one point, Snape did have to point him in the right direction, as they had come into Hogsmeade and the crowded area had determined to make him rely on Snape for direction.

"Where are we going exactly?" he asked, shoving his hand in his pocket and rummaging there, feeling his shrunken belongings. "And how long is it going to take?" he asked petulantly, feeling put out that he even had to do this.

"We're going to my home, as you already know, and it will take less than an hour once we get to the apparition point," he said with little patience.

Harry growled low in his throat. He was already getting irritated and he honestly wasn't sure why. "But where is your home?" he asked, spitting out the last word as if it were something disgusting.

"It's none of your business, Potter. You don't need to know its location, so stop your whining and keep up!" he said heatedly, and Harry felt his own steam rise.

"Stop talking to me like I'm nothing!" he yelled, his loud voice making a couple who had been sitting outside at a café stop what they were doing and look at them worriedly.

Snape grabbed Harry's shoulder, gave the couple an exasperated look, and pulled the boy into a nearby alley.

Yeah, that couple isn't going to be suspicious at all, thought Harry sarcastically. They probably thought Snape was beating him to death this very moment. It would serve the bastard right if he started screaming in fake agony. He didn't though, he wasn't that immature.

"What?" he asked, once again ripping his arm out of the man's grip. "Do you always have to man-handle me wherever we go?" he asked, rubbing the appendage as if it hurt, when it really didn't.

"Yes, Potter, it is my life's ambition to man-handle you whenever we are out in public," he replied just as sarcastically as the boy had been speaking to him earlier. "Now, stop behaving like a spoiled little brat and do as you're told for once in your life!" he said through clenched teeth. "I've about had it with your attitude."

"Yeah, well, you'd better get used to it because you're stuck with me for the entire summer and I doubt it's going to go away any time soon!" he yelled back.

Snape had to restrain himself from grabbing the boy's arms again. "Potter, keep your tongue inside your mouth until we get to the house, or so help me, I will make sure it stays shut!" he said venomously, brandishing his wand to let Harry know he meant business.

Glowering and giving Snape the look of death, Harry slammed his mouth shut and started stalking out of the alley. It was at that point that Snape grabbed his arm again and Harry about came unglued.

"Calm yourself, Potter!" he said vehemently, "This is where we are to apparate," he explained.

Oh.

"Fine," he muttered, before looking with just a little trepidation at the man with the wand still in his hand. Snape didn't seem inclined to follow through with his earlier threat, so Harry relaxed a bit.

"Take my arm," instructed Snape.

"What?" asked Harry, taking a step away and looking at the Professor as if he'd just lost his mind. "What the hell for?"

"Potter! Mind your tongue!!" he yelled, and that time Harry really thought he was going to hex his mouth shut.

"Sorry!" he said quickly, placing both hands over his mouth protectively.

Severus rolled his eyes heavenward. "Stop being so dramatic and take my arm as I have already asked you. It is necessary in order to apparate," he finally mentioned and the boy nodded.

Why didn't you just say so, geez, thought Harry.

Grabbing the man's arm, Harry held on tight, not sure what to expect. No sooner than he'd held on than Harry felt the air around him dissipate and suddenly he felt weightless. A moment later, his feet were back on solid ground and he looked around at his new surroundings. There were trees and grass as far as he could see. In the distance, he heard the sound of water lapping against the shore, or so he assumed. He could also see smoke seeping through the tops of the trees somewhere up ahead.

"Is that your house?" he asked out of curiosity, pointing in the direction of the smoke.

"Yes."

Walking once more, Harry asked, "What's with the smoke? Is someone there?" he asked, expecting to be told about a house elf or something like that.

"No, I have a grounds keeper. He takes care of things while I'm away. He's probably burning the leaves or anything else that has gotten into the lighthouse while I've been away," he explained.

"If he's the grounds keeper, how come he let leaves and junk in there, anyways? Isn't it his job to keep the place clean?" he asked, curious as to what was up with the lighthouse. He couldn't imagine Snape living anywhere near a lighthouse, let alone in one. It just wasn't Snape.

"I haven't been out here in years, Potter. I gave Mr. Kirkpatrick leave if he so desired, and he took it. When I asked him to come back, he agreed."

Harry wasn't really interested; he had just wanted to see if he could get a rise out of the man. It hadn't really worked, so he continued walking in Snape's wake. After about a mile long walk, the trees finally started to clear and he saw the house appearing in front of him. It looked more like a cottage really; again, not something he envisioned Snape ever stepping foot in. There was a walkway that led off to a small lighthouse. Just behind the lighthouse was a steep drop off that fell into the ocean.

He wasn't sure where they were, since Snape hadn't deemed it necessary to tell him, but he felt a small measure of calm come over him at the sight and sounds of the waves.

The place wasn't the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. It needed work, he could tell that just from where he was standing. As they got closer to the house, he saw a man walk up from behind it, which was where the smoke was coming from.

"Severus!" the man called and waved once at them. The as of yet unnamed man was slightly tall, probably just around the same height as Snape, which meant they both towered over Harry, with dark brown hair and a muscular build.

Professor Snape returned the gesture as the man came up on them.

"About time you got here," he said jovially. "I've got most of the house cleaned up, but the lighthouse is going to need some work," he started, "And who is this?" he asked, just noticing the teenager at the man's side. "You didn't mention having a guest."

Harry didn't think it was any of this man's business if he was going to have a guest or not, but he figured that was his not altogether rational side talking.

"This is Harry," he said without further ado. "He'll be staying with me for the summer."

Kirkpatrick looked surprised at this information, but Harry assumed it was because Snape never had any company and it was just shocking the hell out of the man.

"Well, I guess an extra set of hands around here won't hurt," the man said and Harry glared at him in irritation.

"I'm not here to be your slave," he said suddenly, indicating both of them with his glare. "I'm not even here because I want to be," he continued, his voice rising in indignation at the looks on their faces. "And you've got another thing coming if you think I'm going to be the only one doing any work around here!"

He envisioned himself doing all the chores and cleaning just like when he was with the Dursley's. Well, he wasn't going to be their own personal house elf, and he was going to make sure they both knew it up front.

"I said 'extra', kid, not the only set of hands that will be doing all the damn work," Kirkpatrick said with a look on his face that told Harry if he was his kid, he'd be getting smacked upside the head.

"I'm just saying," Harry reiterated. He started to stalk off towards the house before realizing he had no idea where he would be staying.

"Lost, Potter?" Snape asked with a grim smile on his face.

Harry glared. "Where am I staying?" he asked, his tone showing every bit of his disdain towards the entire situation.

"In the shed," said the other man. His tone made it sound like he was joking, but his eyes told a different story. For a moment, Harry's heart skipped a beat within his chest.

Severus didn't notice the interaction between the two, he'd only heard the inflection in the man's voice.

"I'll show you to your room, Potter," he said, his voice already strained and they'd only just arrived. He took Harry's arm without consideration and the boy roughly shoved it off.

"Keep your hands to yourself!" he spat, and stomped off towards the house.

"That kid needs some discipline, Severus," he heard them talking behind him and he assumed the man thought he was out of earshot.

Yeah right.

"And he'll get it," Snape replied.

Harry glared at the defenseless house ahead of him. Snape could make this summer a living hell, as he'd already mentioned doing, but he was going to make sure to return the favor.

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The house opened up into a small living area that branched off into the kitchen and a hallway that presumably led to the bedrooms and bathroom. His assumption proved correct when Snape led him down said hallway and opened the first door on the left.

"This is your room, Potter. You're to keep it neat and clean while you stay here," he ordered, motioning with his hand that Harry should enter.

He pointed down the hallway to a door on the right.

"That is my bedroom. Enter at your own peril, Potter," which in Harry's mind meant that if he went in there, he was going to die a painful death.

"Is that the bathroom?" he asked, his eyes locked on the door across from Snape's.

"Yes."

"Can I enter it without risking any peril?" he asked cheekily.

Snape intentionally grabbed Harry's shoulder and when Harry tried to shrug it off like all the times before, the man held on tighter.

"Enough with the cheek, Potter," he growled, his eyes glaring into Harry's own.

"Or what?" Harry somehow found the guts to ask.

"Or you'll spend the entirety of your time here doing nothing but your chores," he ground out between clenched teeth. Harry had the distinct impression Snape would make those chores nothing short of the hardest and most labor intensive chores he could imagine. He was also surprised Snape hadn't threatened him with imminent death.

"Fine," he snapped, and finally managed to yank himself out of the man's grasp.

Snape still seemed angry, but Harry wasn't too worried at the present moment. "Now, you're going to spend the rest of the day in your room," he started.

Thinking the man intended to keep him in there all day without a break made him start to worry, however. "But, I…"

Snape interrupted, "You're going to put away your things and straighten the place up to look at least presentable and lived in."

Looking at the room, Harry figured that would be an all day job. He'd definitely be rearranging and dusting if he planned to sleep in there that night.

"When I come to check on you in a few hours, I expect results, Potter."

Harry mouthed the words at Snape's back and almost stuck his tongue out at him, but he figured that might take the immature to the extreme.

He glanced around at the room, the first time all day he'd been alone, and immediately was flooded with the sights and sounds from that night. Seeing Cedric's agonizing, condemning eyes, Harry hastened to work. Anything to keep his mind free from those horrible thoughts.

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Later on that evening, Harry learned, to his annoyance, that Kirkpatrick would be staying with them. As if having one person in charge of him wasn't enough, now there was going to be this guy who thought he could tell him what to do.

As it turned out, Snape wasn't the one who ended up checking on his 'progress,' it was the grounds keeper. Like he had any idea of how a clean room should look. The thought wasn't all that nasty, but Harry's inner voice made it seem that way. For whatever reason, Harry hadn't quite figured it out yet, he just really did not like the guy.

"How's it coming?" Kirkpatrick came into his room without even knocking. Strike one on Harry's, 'I hate this guy' list.

"It's coming," the sarcastic reply was out of his mouth before he could actually stop it. He knew he couldn't keep mouthing off, even though the temptation was almost too hard to resist lately, or he'd be spending his vacation cleaning. What fun would that be?

"You want to watch your mouth, you little brat!" the words were spat at him.

Harry looked up from making his bed in surprise, the sheets he'd been putting on the mattress without the luxury of magic fluttering uselessly to the bed.

"Excuse me?" he asked, his tone unintentionally becoming threatening. Like he could do anything to this man, Snape would throttle him.

"While under this roof, you will not speak to me with such a tone! Do you understand me?" the man took another step into the room, his stature starting to become menacing.

Without thought, Harry took a step backwards and immediately ran into the wall. The sudden impact brought him back to himself and he retook the distance he had lost.

"You can't tell me what to do," he said, sounding childish to his own ears. "This isn't your house."

"That doesn't matter, Potter. Severus is a friend of mine, and neither he nor I will tolerate your stubborn, annoying attitude. I demand respect, as does your Professor," he said.

Harry had a moment to wonder how the man knew Snape was his teacher and how he knew his last name. But that was a stupid thought. The man probably overheard Snape calling him Potter and it probably wasn't any surprise to him that Snape was a teacher.

"I'll show you respect when you show me some respect," Harry had the gall to reply.

"You don't get respect, Potter. You earn it."

Scoffing at the man's holier than thou attitude, Harry just glared at him, at a loss for words. He wasn't sure how to handle the man.

"Just get out of my room. And maybe you could knock next time, eh?"

Kirkpatrick was about to say something else, Harry could tell that just by looking at his face. But, at that precise moment, Severus walked into the room. His eyes skimmed over the room and then took in his friend's face. He saw the anger and the irritation showing clearly there.

"Potter," he said, clearly fed up with the boy's attitude and immediately contributing said attitude to his friend's look.

"I didn't do anything!" Harry defended himself.

"I highly doubt that," he answered.

Harry scowled. His summer vacation hadn't even gone past five hours and he already knew he was going to spend the rest of it doing 'chores.'

"You'll finish with your room and after you've had your dinner, you'll go straight to bed, Potter," Snape said wearily.

Harry was actually very surprised at the almost normal reaction he was receiving from Snape. It wasn't what he expected at all. He'd actually contemplated his punishments as being more along the lines of what he was made to do during detentions.

"You should make him go to bed without supper, Severus," Kirkpatrick threw in his two cents.

It wouldn't be the first time Harry had gone without food, so this wasn't necessarily a threat to the boy. But, he wasn't surprised the arse in front of him would come up with the idea.

"No, he'll eat," said Severus. Another surprise. "He'll need his strength for the work he'll be doing tomorrow."

Ah, so the torture would start tomorrow. Harry groaned.

"You brought it on yourself, Potter."

"I didn't do anything!" Harry reiterated. "If you'd believe me instead of that jerk!" he said, hastily pointing at the other man.

Snape looked honestly surprised. "Why would I believe anything that came out of your mouth, Potter?" he asked, his tone turning scathing.

Harry wasn't sure why he had thought he would either.

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A/N:

The chapter lengths will vary, FYI. This one isn't horribly long, but I'm just setting up things here.

And, yes, Kirkpatrick will be a big fat jerk. A mean fat jerk. He's not really fat. He's muscular. Argh.

Anyways, please review and let me know what you think.

Shoonasasi, how is it? DID YOU LIKE IT????? Let me know. Don't worry, I do intend to incorporate almost everything into the story that we talked about.

This story is sooo going to be longer than 5 chapters…

REVIEW. I know you see the button…just push it and type something. You can do it. I know you can.