Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Chapter 19: Diagon Alley
It was the morning that Ron and Hermione were supposed to be returning home. It was much too early when Tina came to wake Harry. He got up reluctantly and got ready for the day. Once he was ready, he went down to the Dining Room. He found Ron and Hermione there, looking just as tired as he felt. Snape watched him as he went to sit, looking much too pleased for Harry's taste. Harry started piling food on to his plate even though he wasn't feeling hungry. He started picking at his plate, noticing Ron and Hermione were doing the same.
"We shall be taking a portkey to a room in the Leaky Cauldron. From there we will head to Gringotts where we will meet up with Mrs. WeasleyI shall be going in disguise, unfortunately, as Damon Evans. If asked, I am a distant cousin of Potter's. The Headmaster's idea, I assure you. Potter, you will get your supplies as quickly as possible so that we may return here. I do have better things to do with my time then baby sit you. Understood?" Severus said with a sneer.
"Yes, sir." Harry muttered, not looking up from his plate.
They all finished eating in silence. Once they were finished, Snape got up and headed out the door. He stopped at the door and turned to look at them.
"You are to have your things and be by the door ready to leave within twenty minutes." Severus said, then turned and swept out the door.
"Sorry, mate. To have to be related to Snape is bad, even if it is not real." Ron said as soon as Snape was out of earshot.
"Yeah." Harry said half-heartedly, not looking at either of them.
Hermione was looking at Harry suspiciously. She knew something was up, but couldn't place what. She knew that there was something going on between Harry and Snape and was determined to find out what.
Exactly twenty minutes later found Harry, Ron, and Hermione waiting by the door for Snape. Ron and Hermione had their bags sitting on the floor by them. They didn't have long to wait for Snape. It was definitely not the Snape they were expecting. He was wearing long, flowing dark green robes. He had shoulder length, light brown hair with red highlights that could only be seen in the light. He had Hazel eyes and his nose was small and straight. His hair was lightly tanned, giving him a healthier look. He stood slightly taller then Harry still.
"Unc…" Harry started in surprise.
"Potter." Severus said sharply, cutting him off before he could finish.
"Sorry, sir." Harry said quickly, glancing at Ron and Hermione.
Hermione was watching Harry and Snape closely. Ron was too distracted by Snape's new look to notice the slip. Snape shrunk Ron and Hermione's belongings before heading out the door. Ron and Hermione quickly grabbed their things, hastily putting them into their pockets, before hurrying after him, Harry right behind them. No one noticed Tina as she came to stand in the door. She had a smile on her face as she watched them all pass the wards and grab on to the portkey. She turned and went back into the house, closing the door behind her, with a knowing smile. She knew that the girl would figure it out. She was a smart one after all.
Ron and Harry ended up in a heap on the floor as they landed. Hermione barely caught herself from following. Snape sneered down at them, not bothering to help them up.
"Get up. We do not have time for you to be fooling around." Severus snapped.
Hermione hurried over to them, helping them both stand up. They were both red in the face. Snape turned and swept away without another word, leaving them all to hurry after him. They were practically running to catch up to Snape's long strides. Finally, just outside Gringotts, they caught up to him. They could see Mrs. Weasley and Ginny standing by the doors, the red hair unmistakable. Ron and Hermione hurried over to them, leaving Snape behind. Harry tried to follow but was stopped. Snape grabbed his arm as he tried to go past him.
"As much as I would like to be rid of you, you are not joining your fan club without a few rules. You are to stay with the Weasley's at all times. Do not go off on your own. You will meet me at the Leaky Cauldron in two hours. That should be enough time to get your school supplies. Understood?" Severus said in a low whisper so as not to be over heard by anyone.
"Yes, sir." Harry said looking at the Weasley's as they all hugged.
Severus let go of Harry and Harry hurried over to the Weasley's. Mrs. Weasley pulled him into a hug as soon as he got to them.
"You have grown, Harry." Mrs. Weasley said, holding Harry at arms length.
"Thanks." Harry said, looking embarrassed.
Snape came over to them just then. Mrs. Weasley turned to him, letting Harry go.
"Hello. I'm Molly Weasley. Ron's mom." Molly said, holding out her hand to Snape.
"Hello, ma'am. Damon Evans. You may call me Damon." Severus said, taking her hand and shaking it.
"You must call me Molly." Molly said, letting go of Snape's hand.
"It would be a pleasure, Molly." Severus said, smiling.
"I hope the kid's behaved for you." Molly said, looking pointedly at Ron.
"Yes, they were as well as could be expected." Severus said, looking at Harry.
"Well, we really should get going. We have a lot of shopping to do." Molly said, heading towards the shops.
Harry wasn't sure what to do. He still needed to get his money from the bank. Snape came over to him and handed him a small, green pouch. Harry looked questionably at him, not wanting to take money from Snape.
"Don't worry. It is from your vault. Lupin got it for you." Severus said softly.
"Thanks, sir." Harry said, taking the pouch.
"Two hours. Do not forget." Severus said, then turned and headed towards the others.
Harry saw Severus talking to Mrs. Weasley before heading off on his own. As Harry got to the others they all started for Flourish Blotts. It was a busy day for them all. Mrs. Weasley took them to all the stores to get their supplies and some new robes. Ron had out grown his again. When they were done they still had thirty minutes before Harry was supposed to meet Snape. Mrs. Weasley let them wander on their own while she went to the Leaky Cauldron to meet up with Snape. Ron talked them all into going to visit Fred and George at their shop.
"Welcome, Harry. You look better then we would have expected." Fred said, grinning.
"Heard where you were staying. We have some new items that might interest you." George said in a whisper close to Harry.
"No thanks. I would hate to see what would happen if I even think of bringing anything like that into the house. Sorry guys. I really want to live to see the new school year." Harry said, smirking at them.
"Right. Maybe next time then. On your next visit. We'll save them for you." Fred said with a wink.
"Really. You shouldn't even be suggesting such a thing. Harry gets in enough trouble from Snape without you two trying to add to it." Hermione said in a fierce whisper, looking pointedly at them all.
"She's right, as much as it pains me to say it." Ron said, holding his hands over is heart as if in pain.
They all laughed at that. Fred and George did show them some of their new items, much to Hermione's dismay. Ron bought some of their Skiving Snack Boxes which only annoyed Hermione even more. It was almost time for Harry to be back so they said their goodbyes, grabbed their bags, and started towards the Leaky Cauldron. As they were walking past Knockturn Alley a large group of Witches and Wizards pushed past, knocking Harry into the Alley along with them. Harry tried to push past them to get back to the others, but was being swept down the Alley with them. By the time he got away from them he had no idea were he was. He started to panic a little and backed into a wall. The other Witches and Wizards were looking intently at him, making him even more nervous. Harry put his bags in one hand and reached into his pocket and grabbed on to his wand, holding it tightly.
Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all ran to the Leaky Cauldron, almost knocking a few people out of the way in their rush. They ran through the door and rushed over to the table where Mrs. Weasley and Snape were sitting.
"Harry got pushed in to Knockturn Alley. We tried to get him but we aren't allowed in there." Hermione said a little breathless.
Snape stood up quickly. Before he could go, Mrs. Weasley grabbed his arm. He glared down at her.
"Don't be hard on him, Damon. It wasn't his fault obviously." Molly said softly, looking worried.
Snape just sneered at her and pulled his arm free. He stalked out of the building, making an elderly couple move quickly out of his way.
"He will be all right, won't he?" Ron said, looking uncertain.
"He'll be fine. Damon is just worried about him." Mrs. Weasley said, trying to convince herself as much as the others.
Harry was slowly making his way back to the entrance, he hoped anyway, making sure to keep his back against the walls. He didn't want anyone sneaking up behind him. He really didn't like the looks he was getting from everyone around him. He was too busy watching the people around him that he didn't notice when he came to an open doorway until it was too late. A hand wrapped around his head covering his mouth while another grabbed him around the waist, pulling him into a darkened shop. Harry dropped his bags and started struggling to get away but the person holding him was too strong.
"Cease this foolishness at once." A familiar voice hissed in his ear.
Harry quit struggling but didn't relax. Knowing who had him didn't ease his mind at all. It only made him wearier.
"I am going to release you but only if you keep silent. Can you do that?" Severus said softly.
Harry nodded his head as best he could to show he understood. Severus released him only to grab his arm in a vice like grip. Harry winced but didn't try to fight him, knowing he was in enough trouble. Severus picked up Harry's bags and pushed them into his hands before pulling him towards the door, stopping just before it. He turned to glare down at Harry.
"You will keep your head down. Do not look at anyone. Do not react in anyway to anything around you. You will stay with me. We'll speak about this when we get back. Understood?" Severus said coldly.
"Yes, Damon." Harry said, not looking at him.
Without another word, Severus dragged Harry out of the building and down the Alley back towards Diagon Alley. Harry could still feel people watching him, but he felt safer with Snape with him. Even looking like he did he was a formidable looking person. No one was willing to take their chances with him and kept their distance, a few even jumping out of the way as Snape and Harry passed them. Soon they were back in Diagon Alley and Harry was being pulled towards the Leaky Cauldron. A few people stopped to watch them as they went by. Harry soon found himself in front of the Leaky Cauldron where Hermione and the Weasley's were waiting for them.
"Is he alright, Damon?" Molly said, coming quickly over to them.
"He is fine. We will be going. It was a pleasure to meet you, Molly." Severus said, trying to keep the anger from his voice.
"It was a pleasure to get to know you, Damon." Molly said, looking uncertainly at Harry.
Harry kept his head down and gripped his bags tightly. He could feel everyone looking at him but couldn't look at them. Besides, Snape had told him to keep his head down and he really didn't want to make him angrier, and he really didn't want to see the worried looks on the others faces either. Severus turned and headed into the Leaky Cauldron, pulling Harry with him. Harry had a hard time keeping up with Snape's long stride. He had to practically run up the stairs to keep from falling. As soon as the door closed to the room that Snape pulled him into, Snape Disapperated them both to just outside of the wards of his house. Before Harry had a chance to recover from the unexpected feeling of disappearing and reappearing. Severus was pulling him towards the house. Harry was glad Snape had a hold of him because he wasn't feeling to well. Harry caught a glimpse of Tina as they went through the front door. She was watching them worriedly as Harry was pulled into the study, the door slamming behind them. Severus pushed Harry into the chair by the desk before letting him go then went to sit in his chair behind the desk. Harry set his bags down next to the chair before looking at Snape.
"It wasn't like I went down there on my own, sir." Harry snapped feeling angry at being treated as if he had done something wrong.
Severus just looked at Harry with an unreadable expression.
"It wasn't like I planned it. We were on our way back to meet up with you. A group of people came by going that way and I got caught up in with them. I did try to get past them but there were too many. By the time I was free of them I was too confused and didn't know which way to go to get out." Harry said trying to defend himself, though he didn't really know why.
Severus still sat silently watching Harry. Harry was having a hard time sitting still. It wasn't easy having Snape stare at you with his blank, black eyes. After a few minutes of silence, Severus leaned back in his chair and smirked slightly.
"Trouble really does follow you, doesn't it?" Severus said softly.
Harry was surprised. He had expected a lot of things and that wasn't one of them.
"Do you honestly think I would have thought you of all people would go down there alone? You may be arrogant like your Father but I had hoped you would have more sense then he had. Besides, Ms. Granger would never have agreed with letting any of you go down there." Severus said, watching Harry closely.
"If you knew it wasn't my fault then why did you act as if it was? Why did you drag me out of there as if I was in trouble?" Harry said a little angrily.
"We wouldn't want your friends thinking I actually cared about what happened to you, now would we? It wouldn't do if it got around that I was being nice to Harry Potter. We couldn't have that going around Hogwarts." Severus said, smirking.
"Of course not, sir. It would ruin your image. We couldn't have people thinking you could actually be nice. To a Gryffindor no less." Harry said trying to look serious.
"As if they would ever believe that is possible." Severus said with a sneer.
Harry started laughing. Severus smirked at him.
"You have a strange sense of humor, sir." Harry said as soon as he could stop laughing.
"Indeed. I wouldn't mention it to anyone. They probably wouldn't believe you anyway." Severus said, leaning forward and opening one of the drawers on the desk.
"Can I go, sir?" Harry said still grinning.
"Go on. I have work to do." Severus said, pulling out some papers.
Harry got up, picked up his bags, and headed for the door. It opened for him before he got to it. A little surprised, he looked back at Snape. He was busy reading and marking the papers he had in front of him. Harry shook his head and went out the door. He went up to his room to study. He wanted to try summoning his wand to him so he could get better at it. Before his next lesson.
Severus looked up as Harry walked out the door. He really wasn't as bad as James had been, even if he did still look like him. He was starting to see more of Lily in him then he had before. He would never admit it to anyone but he was starting to enjoy having someone else in the house. It didn't seem so empty with Harry here. Or maybe it was just he was getting used to having him around. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Severus went back to his writing. He didn't have much time left to finish before he had to start teaching the little brats again.
Tina wasn't sure what to think. First Master Snape drags Master Potter in to the house as if he is in trouble. Then she hears them laughing together. It was a good sign though. She was happy that they seemed to be getting along. She only hoped it would survive through the next school year.
Xoxoxox
Sorry this took so long to update. I knew what I wanted in it, just couldn't figure out how write what I wanted. I'm not completely happy with it, but I didn't want you to have to wait longer. Hope it sounds all right.
I would like to say Thanx to everyone that has reviewed. I really appreciate it. I am working on the next chapter, but it may take awhile. I will be busy for the next few days, but I will work on it whenever I get a chance.
Again, Thanx for the reviews.
Rhi