AN: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews.

Getting Started

When the group of eight arrived at the Apparition point, arguing the best place to eat, Severus turned to Harry. "Remind me to teach you Apparition," he drawled. "It is becoming quite tiresome to haul a brat with me all the time."

Harry grinned up at him. "I already know how to do it, I just don't have my license."

Severus glared at him and turned to the group. "We will meet you at Sherlock's in half an hour," he stated curtly. "We have to get Mr. Potter's Apparition license." The Bar nodded and left. Harry and Severus headed back into the Ministry and down to the license office. With minimal fuss, Harry walked out twenty minutes later as the proud owner of an Apparition license.

Soon the two men rejoined their friends at the dark-paneled restaurant, finding them in a private room in the back. They all placed their orders and talked quietly till the food arrived. When everyone finished and sat back to enjoy an after-lunch drink, Luc turned to Harry. "You mentioned it was your birthday, how old are you?"

"Sixteen," Harry replied. Luc gave him a wicked grin and mocked, "Sweet sixteen, and never been kissed? Tell us, Harry, have you been kissed?"

Harry blushed red, "Once," he mumbled. The group laughed, and Gabriel said, "Oh, that won't do, everyone needs a birthday kiss." He stood up and walked over to Harry. Pulling the younger man to his feet, Gabriel wrapped one strong arm around Harry's waist, using the other to tilt the young man's chin up, leaned down, and kissed him, thoroughly.

It was the first time Harry had kissed a man, not that he had any objections. Gabriel could really kiss, and when the other man's tongue asked admittance to his mouth he granted it. Harry couldn't keep the thought out of his head, Wow; this is way better than kissing Cho… no tears. It was then that Harry had an epiphany − why did it matter what gender someone was? He could like guys as well as girls. When the kiss finally ended, Harry was grinning stupidly, and Gabriel patted his cheek, much to the others' amusement.

After lunch and a kiss, Harry headed to Gringotts with Spencer. As they walked the older man gave Harry an overview of what ancestral estates usually entailed. Struggling to understand, Harry once again wished someone had thought to tell him some of this earlier. He could have been learning these things for years, not getting a crash course in things most other wizards in his situation would have already known.

The goblin they dealt with was as polite as goblins can be. Spencer handled most of the details. There was an emotional moment when Sirius' will was read, but Harry dealt with it well and they were finished within two hours. As they walked back out of the bank, Harry asked Spencer, "Do wizards have accountants? Someone I could hire to deal with all of that till I know enough to do it myself?"

Spencer stopped walking and looked at the younger man closely. "Is that what you want, to learn to handle your finances?"

When Harry nodded eagerly to signify that he did, in fact, want to learn, Spencer offered, "Harry, I would be willing to look after them for you, and to teach you to do it yourself."

The younger man smiled his gratitude. "How much do you charge? Whatever it is it would be worth it."

Spencer refused his money, but Harry argued until finally the older man grumbled, "Harry, the Bar is filthy rich; we can buy anything we please. I enjoy financial matters, and none of the others like them. Let me teach you." With that, Harry and Spencer came to an agreement.

While talking to the goblins, Harry had discovered a modest sized home that had belonged to his Potter grandparents. After finding out that it had strong enough wards to keep out the remaining Death Eaters, he decided to use it as his home base.

Harry then felt free to turn his attention to his wardrobe, or lack thereof, and Luc was more than willing to help. Harry spent two very long hours with Luc and Madam Malkin. They poked and measured him; they held up cloth and argued colors. Harry's opinion was never asked nor did he feel the need to offer it. When they were finished Harry had six robes to take with him and another twelve to be delivered in the next week. They also bought slacks, jeans, shirts and various other articles of clothing. Harry was relieved his bank account was healthy.

As they were leaving the shop, Luc handed a list to Harry. "Severus asked that you pick up these books. He said you'll need them." Harry looked at the list, aghast. There had to be fifty books on there. What in the world was Snape planning to teach him?

Harry and Luc made short work of the list of books; when they were finished Luc handed him off to Gabriel who headed down the street, saying he was getting Harry a birthday present. Curious, Harry followed, wondering what the man who gave him his birthday kiss would think was a suitable present.

The two young men walked down Diagon Alley past Gringotts, to a small shop next door to Ollivander's. Harry looked at the sign over the door. Wizard's Ink was the name of the shop. Not understanding, he followed Gabriel in. It was a tattoo parlor, he discovered; Gabriel was getting him a tattoo for his birthday?

Seeing the younger man's confusion, Gabriel explained, "Not all wizard tattoos are like Severus' mark, Harry." He paused, eyes shadowed with distaste, outrage and something darker Harry couldn't identify. "That thing was a perversion of the idea," he spat finally.

Gabriel held the door open and ushered Harry inside, still talking. "Wizard tattoos should be an expression of who you have been, and who you want to become. You wouldn't have seen many; most wizards have them where the tattoo is not easily seen. It's a very personal thing."

For further explanation Gabriel removed his shirt and turned his back to Harry. On Gabriel's back was a green shield with a black bar running diagonally from the top right to the bottom left, with six runes scattered over the shield. Harry thought it was beautiful. "The black bar is the Bar Sinister; the runes are the six of us. They protected me as a child and now I protect them. That's what I mean by personal."

Harry understood what Gabriel meant. Can't get much more personal than tattooing your chosen family on your back. Wish I had a family like that; glad Gabriel found his…maybe someday I'll find mine.

After sliding his shirt back on Gabriel said, "There is a ritual to getting a tattoo: they give you a drink, you go into a kind of a trance. You will see images that make sense to you. You'll draw an image on parchment, and the artist will tattoo you in the place you envisioned it."

"I'm not going to lie, it does hurt," he added, "but not too badly. Plus I have one of Severus' painkillers with me. So what do you think, you up for it?"

Harry's eyes flashed with excitement and he rushed to say, "That would be brilliant."

The ritual potion was foul. The taste was so bad Harry thought he was going to be sick; then the room starting spinning. Harry sat down, and suddenly he wasn't in the tattoo parlor anymore. All he could see was smoke, black acrid smoke rolling past him; he heard metal striking metal and something hissing close to him. Turning towards the hissing, he saw a brilliant green snake, and discovered that it was coiled around the sword of Gryffindor. Looking up at the man holding the sword, he was startled to see himself. This other Harry was older, stronger, and had a peaceful expression on his face which was strangely at odds with the battle gear he was wearing. Slowly, the warrior Harry walked behind the real Harry and pressed the sword and intertwined snake into his back.

Harry woke with a hiss of pain; he was laying flat on his stomach on a table, Gabriel sitting beside him. The older man looked at Harry's back. "That is some piece of work; I've never seen anything like it. Do you know what it means?"

Harry wasn't even sure what was on his back. Asking to see it, he waited patiently while the tattoo artist arranged the mirrors. Finally Harry was able to get a clear look at the tattoo. It was exactly like his dream: the hilt of the Gryffindor sword started at the nape of his neck and the blade continued down his spine, ending below his waist. A green snake, the same color as Harry's eyes, coiled around the sword. The snake's head rested on his left shoulder blade, black snake eyes blazing out at the world.

Looking closely at the tattoo, Harry had a flash of premonition. "I am the weapon of the wizarding world, mindless at first. But I will hone myself to razor sharpness, and I will need the tactics of a snake, first to learn and then to succeed." The statement was flatly spoken, making it all the more powerful.

Gabriel nodded. "That you will. The Bar is at your service, Harry. Would you like to learn to wield a blade? I have my Mastery in swords and knives."

Harry turned to his friend, for he was a friend now. What else did you call someone who understood you so well and offered to help? He smiled slightly and said, "That would be brilliant, thank you, Gabriel."

Gabriel laughed. "Oh, don't thank me now. You'll hate me before we're through. Learning blades is murder."

Once the two young men left the small shop, the taller turned and asked his companion, "Where to now? We still have an hour before we're supposed to meet the others at the Leaky."

They started walking down the alley when Harry remembered the twins. "Let's go to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. It should be great; the twins opened it after leaving Hogwarts last year."

Harry used the walk to tell Gabriel about the twins, their products, the stunts they pulled on Umbridge and the dramatic exit of the Weasley twins from Hogwarts. People all over Diagon Alley watched the two striking young men laughing as they strolled down the street. Although the two didn't seem to notice, crowds parted for them, for it wasn't often the inhabitants of Diagon Alley saw two warriors walking calmly among them.

Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was packed; children of all ages were running everywhere, parents following helplessly. Harry spotted two identical redheads behind two identical cash registers. Pushing his way through the sea of children and dragging Gabriel behind him, Harry eventually reached his goal. "Fred, George, this is Gabriel. Gabriel, may I present the Weasley twins, terrors of Hogwarts."

The twins grinned identical grins. "Harry, and Harry's friend…So pleased you could visit…Just give us a moment…And we will be…Right with you." It was like a tennis match trying to have a conversation with the twins, speech going from one to the other.

Gabriel looked dizzy. "Do they always do that?" At Harry's nod he groaned. Meanwhile, the twins rounded up their assistant and instructed her to mind the shop. Soon, the four young men headed through the back of the shop up a set of stairs to a flat above the shop; waiting there were Tonks and Remus.

After greetings and introductions all around, the group settled for a talk. The conversation covered Harry and his new friends, his new apprenticeship and the temporary end of Voldemort. They passed a pleasant hour until it was time for Harry and Gabriel to leave. With reminders to write and call on them if anything was needed, the two young men left. Harry was glad to have seen his old friends, pleased to know that they supported him, and had in fact stuck up for him against the Order.

At the Leaky Cauldron, Tom the bartender directed Harry and Gabriel to a private dining room, saying their group was in there. Making their way there, the two young men walked into controlled chaos. Spencer and Sebastian were standing guard over two bound men. Severus and Vane were yelling at Aurors, and Luc was holding a blood stained cloth to the ribs of a prostrate Devlin.

Gabriel ran to Devlin's side and fell to his knees. "What in the bloody hell happened? I leave you alone for two hours and come back to find you bleeding," he shouted.

Devlin drew a long suffering breath. "It's not that bad, those two gits thought since I went to the loo alone they could take me. As you can see, they were wrong, it's just that one of them hit me with a cutting curse from behind. I turned to dodge it and it caught my ribs. I'll live."

Devlin added with a wicked grin, "Though someone should tell those Aurors to get the bleeding idiot to St. Mungo's soon. The blade I stabbed him with was poisoned."

Hearing that statement, Harry pushed his way past the Aurors to Snape's side. "Severus, Devlin says he stabbed one of them with a poisoned blade."

Severus looked at Devlin. "What poison?"

With a smug look on his face, Devlin replied, "Dolens Nex."

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Devlin, that poison is borderline legal. If you wish for someone to die horribly there are quicker methods," Severus complained.

Devlin shrugged and carefully got to his feet. "Then you shouldn't brew it for me. At least it acts slowly enough that you can counteract it."

The Potions master grumbled under his breath and pulled a small pouch from his pocket. In the pouch were loop holes filled with small vials; selecting one vial, he touched it with his wand and it enlarged. Walking over to the bleeding captive, the dark man poured the contents of the vial directly on the wound.

Harry had to ask, "Do you always carry antidotes to poison with you?"

Severus opened the pouch again, pointing out vials as he talked. "Poison, antidotes, calming draughts, pain relief potions, healing potions and restoratives. I am a Potions master after all, and I, unlike others, practice what I teach. Besides, as you have seen, you never know when a potion will be needed."

Harry nodded his understanding. "Why did those blokes attack Devlin?" he asked.

Severus shot the bound men a malevolent glare. "It seems Devlin turned their brother over to the Aurors and they sought revenge."

"What did the brother do?" Harry was intensely curious about the Bar and what exactly they did.

Meanwhile, Vane had finished with the Aurors and joined the conversation. "The idiot thought he could hide from Devlin after he picked his pocket. Nobody crosses the Bar without dire consequences," he said coldly.

Harry took in the Bar as a whole, realizing for the first time how ruthless these men could be. Well, that does away with any doubt that they can teach me to fight, he thought. I guess their lives have taught them to deal harshly with threats… Surprisingly, the thought doesn't bother me; seems like it's a skill I need to learn.

The Aurors soon left with the prisoners, and the group split up. Gabriel elected to accompany Harry and Severus to Harry's new home and check the wards, while the rest of the Bar returned to Sinister Place. After Apparating to a quiet street, the three approached the house; it was a modest two-story tan brick home. With several big old oak trees providing shade and privacy, the lawn was green and the path to the front door was lined with flowers. There was a large front porch with wicker furniture, glass tables and a jungle of green potted plants.

They walked through the front door and entered the living room; the house was spotless, the furniture was conservative but of obvious quality. Gabriel looked around with appreciation. "The goblins did a good job of looking after the place for you. The wards are strong. I can't find anything that needs to be added. You can Apparate out, but not in."

Walking over to the fireplace, Gabriel pointed out, "The only Floo connection open is the one in the living room, but it's warded to need a password or permission of the owner. Harry, I think you would be as safe here as you would at Sinister Place, and I set the wards there myself." Harry nodded and gave Gabriel his standing permission to Floo in. Immediately, Gabriel said his goodbyes, anxious to check up on Devlin.

Harry wandered his grandparents' house, happy to be in the place where his father had grown up. On the ground floor there were two bedrooms, one obviously the master bedroom, a small sitting room, a bathroom, kitchen, living and dining rooms and a breakfast room.

Upstairs had two more bedrooms, another large bathroom and a large empty room; Harry decided it would make a good training room and headed back down to find Snape. He found the older man preparing tea. Snape handed him the tea tray and they made themselves comfortable in the breakfast room.

"We should discuss the terms of the apprenticeship. The sooner it is formal, the sooner we can begin your N.E.W.T preparations," Severus said as he poured for both of them.

"Ok, where do we start?" Harry got up and found some parchment and a quill in the sideboard.

Severus leaned back in his chair with his tea. "First lodging; will a room in my quarters be acceptable?"

Harry nodded yes and wrote it down. "Next instructors," continued the older man. "Be sure to include the stipulation regarding the headmaster. I had planned on asking various members of the Bar to assist with your training; is that acceptable?"

Harry grinned his acceptance. "Add everything you can remember of our earlier discussion and I will look it over," finished Snape curtly.

Harry wrote steadily for a couple of minutes, looked the parchment over and handed it to Severus. The older man read quickly before asking, "Do you agree to all that is listed here?"

When Harry nodded Severus signed the document in his elegant hand, and returned the terms to Harry who also signed. "Do you have your O.W.L results?"

Harry said he did. "Well, go fetch them," Severus snapped. "I would like to know how much work I've got myself in for."

Harry ran to the living room where he had deposited his things earlier. A minute later, he handed the O.W.L. papers to Severus who glanced over them. "Perhaps we won't have as much to do as I believed; these are rather good. Now would you please explain why you seem such a mediocre student? These results show a sharp mind."

Harry tried to explain. "I already told you about the potions thing, yeah, and… well. At first, in first year I really was lost. Everything was new, but slowly classes started making sense."

Harry took a sip of tea; he hated talking about his relatives. "Anyway, at the Dursleys' I got punished for doing better than Dudley. So I got used to not trying very hard on papers and such. That didn't mean I didn't learn the information, though. Then there was Ron and Hermione, Hermione was the smart one, Ron was the funny one, and I was supposed to be the brave one. So again I didn't try that hard, but I still learned it."

He tapped his fingers on the table. "By the time the O.W.L's came around, I decided that being the brave one wasn't worth losing my future, so I studied, and it worked. Plus the Dursleys were never going to see those results."

Severus glared at the young man. "In the future you are expected and required to do the best you are capable of. Having seen these results, I will accept nothing less. You will pass your N.E.W.T's with similar or better results, or you will answer to me."

Harry did his best not to squirm under that glare, and when Severus finished all he could say was, "Yes, sir."

"Now that we have addressed that issue, is there a particular event we need to schedule around?" Harry remembered the offers he had received earlier that day. "Well, Spencer is going to handle my finances till he can teach me to do it myself, and Gabriel offered to teach me blades when we were getting my tattoo."

Severus didn't know which topic to address first. Can nothing ever be easy with the brat? he grumbled to himself. "Why in Circe's name did you get a tattoo?"

"Gabriel took me to a parlor for my birthday, he told me about what a wizard tattoo meant and I liked the sound of it. So I got one, not that it's any of your business." Harry glared at Severus. It was his body, and he could do what he liked to it.

Severus sighed at the brat's sensitivity. "I was not criticizing you. You are correct, it is not my concern how you choose to decorate your body. My concern was your vulnerability while in the trance; did Gabriel remain the entire time?" Severus asked.

Harry indicated he had before saying, "You know, you don't have to get all formal every time you act like a git and I snap at you, just tell me what you meant. After all, I already know you're a git, I don't expect that to change."

Severus simply sneered at him. "Moving on, you should take advantage of Spencer's offer; he is unparalleled in the financial world. As to Gabriel's offer, you should feel privileged. He has turned down any number of potential students, and I have never known him to take one."

"The only people he has ever consented to teach are his cousins," he added. "The young man is preternaturally gifted with a sword. I will make sure you have time to take advantage of both offers."

Harry had a hard time reconciling the fun-loving Gabriel he had come to know with the man Severus was describing. He was looking forward to learning blades all the same. "Gabriel said by the time he was finished I would hate him."

Severus laughed. "He was not exaggerating; sword play and knife work are exhausting, and he will push you further than you ever thought possible. It is a worthwhile skill to have, as you saw Devlin demonstrate today. Most wizards don't expect that type of attack. Also, when you keep your body in shape your magic will respond better."

The two men refilled their tea cups and Severus brought up another topic. "Potter, while at Hogwarts you will not be a student so the rules do not apply to you; however there are several issues I would like to settle."

Seeing that he had Harry's full attention, Severus continued. "I am not your parent; I have no desire to act in a parental manner with you. But if we are to live in close quarters then I believe we need to come to an agreement on several things. First, I would appreciate if you did not traipse in and out at all hours. I also don't wish to be unnecessarily concerned if you remain out all night."

Harry could see the older man's point. "Okay, how about if I agree to inform you if I plan on being out past Hogwarts curfew? My friends would have to be back then anyway," he offered.

Severus was pleased that the young man was being so agreeable. "That is acceptable; your friends are another issue I wish to discuss. Perhaps we could decide on two nights a week that they would be allowed in my quarters. I have no desire to be tripping over Gryffindors night and day."

Harry was surprised Severus was allowing that at all. "Wow, you're willing to put up with them two nights a week? That would be great."

Severus gave him a condescending glare. "I plan to absent myself on those nights. Perhaps I'll set up permanent detention days," he drawled.

Harry laughed. "It's okay, I doubt it would be every week. If I'm to take my N.E.W.T's by New Year's I'll have a lot of studying to do."

"Indeed," was Snape's only response.

"There is one last issue − my Slytherins; most should cause no problems. They are political creatures, and word will have spread about your accomplishments. If you gave Luc free reign with your wardrobe it will faintly scream power and wealth. However, there are those that would challenge you. All I ask is that you refrain from provoking them. By all means defend yourself if necessary, but do not instigate a confrontation." Severus sipped his tea and waited for Harry's response.

Harry rolled his eyes. "The only Slytherin I've had a real problem with is Malfoy. I don't know the rest well enough, and Malfoy always started it."

Severus nodded. "I have spoken to Narcissa Malfoy, and informed her it would be in Draco's best interest to avoid a confrontation with you. I can only hope he takes heed of the warning. I will be speaking to the rest of the Slytherins as well; it is my hope that we can avoid the issue entirely. Now, is there anything else you wish to discuss tonight? It is getting late." Severus was tired; it had been a very long day on top of several other long days.

Harry did have something he wanted to ask, but was unsure of how to bring it up. I'm supposed to be an adult now, he growled at himself. What adult is scared to sleep in a house alone? It's not part of our agreement, but I don't think I can live alone yet. It's a nice house and we are going to be sharing closer quarters soon, so maybe he won't mind. Well, it won't hurt to ask, the worst he can do is insult me and say no. Nothing new there. Come now, Potter, are you a Gryffindor or not?

"I was wondering if maybe you would be willing to stay here," he stuttered finally. "I've never been alone at night before. I mean in an empty house. First it was the Dursleys' then Hogwarts..." Harry knew he sounded childish but he didn't know how else to ask.

Severus looked over at the younger man. I forget how young he really is, he thought. The majority of the time he acts much older than his age, but he is only sixteen. Of course he's never slept in a house alone before, for Merlin's sake I was in my twenties before I did.

All he finally said was, "I will return within the hour. I want a downstairs bedroom."