Chapter 7

"Hey, I can say the same to you," Harry said, smiling slightly.

"Would you like something to eat? I brought some stuff along; you look like you could use it," Severus told him. He did not like how scrawny his mate was, or the pain and loneliness he could feel radiating from him.

"I would like that very much." Harry was surprised, but he would not say no to a free meal, as he was not sure when he would get something again.

"Good." Severus smiled as he returned a box to its normal size. Harry saw that

there looked like lots of food inside. Opening the lid of a spare plastic box, he filled it up with different foods sandwiches, sausage rolls, veggies and fruit meat. Handing it over, the teen smiled back and slowly ate his meal.

They both ate their meals, and in a few minutes Severus began asking more questions, nothing centring around him. The sun was descending the entire time, and Harry, for the first time that summer, felt full. He had probably never had such a healthy meal in his life.

"Would you like a potion?" Severus asked, as they sat back.

"What? Why would I need a potion?" Harry responded looking and feeling uneasy.

"Your feet are bleeding," Severus pointed out, not wanting to scare Harry and make him think that he was stalking him.

"Oh, I would like one," Harry said,

breathing a sigh of relief. Perhaps it would help his wounds on his body, or even numb the pain.

"Here, this one will numb the pain, and this one will heal the feet," Severus explained.

"I know, I'm good at potions," Harry told

him as he smelled them before he drank them. They were the ones he usually drank the night of the welcoming feast. He got them by sneaking into his teacher's private stores at night under his cloak.

"Are you really?" Severus was surprised. So, his mate and he had something in common at least.

"Yes, our teacher is very fair, although I don't learn much in defence. The teachers seemed to want to…never mind," Harry said not wanting to tell Severus that his teachers had nearly killed him.

Severus reading his mind was shocked. 'What kind of school had Hogwarts turned into?'

"Well, my best subjects when I was at school were defence and potions," Severus told him, 'and that's the main reason Voldemort wanted me on his side, and Dumbledore wanted me in the castle'. He had been offered the place as potions master at Hogwarts, which he had declined.

"Oh." Harry smiled slightly.

He was shocked he had met someone who seemed to like him, and not know about him being the boy who lived. They also had the same interests and he hoped the man wanted to see him again. He had no idea that he was falling in love and fast, having never experienced it in his life.

"I could teach you if you like."

Severus would love to train his mate, perhaps have him up to speed the same

as Draco and the others, by summer's end, if he trained the boy hard enough.

"You would?" Harry was shocked. It was not because he was the boy who lived, not wanting to train him to be weapon or anything, he genuinely wanted to train him, no strings attached.

"Certainly, but it would have to be out of view from both sides, otherwise the ministry would be down on us like a tidal wave," Severus told him seriously.

"I can't do magic outside of school," Harry said coming back to his senses.

Honestly what had he been thinking.

"Actually, I will train you in weaponry and physical combat, and I will get one of my men to find you a wand that could suit you. Then , I will teach you everything you need to know."

"Your men? What are you?" Harry asked

a bit curious and wary.

"Do you want the truth?" Severus replied, deciding it was best telling Harry now rather than later.

"Yes," Harry said not sure if he really wanted to know the truth, or not.

"Very well, I am a vampire or I used to be. I took a potion that I invented so that I no longer need to feed or stay out of sunlight because I will burn. I still have great speed and good eyesight," Severus explained,nervously.

"And the part about your men?"

Harry acted as though it did not bother him that he had just been told the man was a vampire.

"When I left I took people with me. They are loyal to me and I was the captain of the group if you like, and to me they are my men. They would do anything for me. I cannot be seen, because if Dumbledore or Voldemort knew I was back or alive I would not live another day."

"Oh, that's all right then, as long as you are not another Dark Lord in the making," Harry said relaxing with a small joke.

"How come you are not bothered that you just met a vampire?" Severus asked. No one had accepted him that fast, apart from his men. They, however, had been emotionally attached to him by then, so it mattered not if he was a vampire.

"It doesn't matter, I have an elf friend, a half giant friend, even a ghost for a friend, so why should it matter if I have a so called Dark creature to add to the list. Oh, and I forgot to mention I also have a friend who is a werewolf," Harry

explained.

"You are friends with a werewolf?" Severus demanded, his eyes glowing with rage.

"Yes, why?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I have nothing against them, just the one who tried to kill me," Severus said, not explaining any further. Then he went on. "Tell me something, what did your godfather do to piss you off so much yesterday?"

"Oh well, my dad died when I was just a baby, I don't remember him. I was sent to my relatives and brought up there. I have nothing but an invisibility cloak and my idiot of a godfather gave my best friend my father's broomstick. It may be old, but it would have meant the world to me. Now Ron will tell everyone and how do you think it will make me feel? Ron going around saying how he had famous James Potter's broom." Harry said bitterly.

"Is you're best friend an idiot or what?" Severus asked frowning at what kind of an idiot his mate was associating with.

"Yes, he is. I don't understand how he could treat me like that, I am seriously reconsidering being his friend," Harry said.

'He was getting sick of hanging around Ron the idiot as he was all the time. And, know it all Hermione, as much as he did not want to call her that it was really all she was. Next, his godfather will be giving something of his mother's to Hermione,' Harry thought.

"How did he get the items?" Severus asked.

"They were in my vaults," Harry replied

sighing.

"Then, you should send a letter to Gringotts and get your accounts frozen until you are of age. After that, you go and visit them, to get everything you want from the vaults," Severus explained.

"And you think they would do it?" Harry asked looking at Severus curiously.

"Of course, they are your vaults after all. You may be underage, but they are your vaults, now and forever. It would stop anyone from getting money from your vaults or your parent's things.

"I think I might just do that."

Harry would make sure his godfather did not give away anything of his parents again. They were his and his alone, and no one would get them not even the people he called best friends.

"And, you can even get the goblins to make sure that everything taken from

the vaults is returned. Your best friend would no longer have ownership over your broom. No matter who takes anything from your vaults and gives them away they are legally and rightfully yours."

"I will," Harry said with a wicked smirk. He thanked the man for giving him such a wonderful idea.

"Should you not already be leaving? I mean you left an hour earlier yesterday," Severus inquired, somewhat concerned.

"What? Oh right, no my family has gone for the time being, I will be here really early tomorrow, perhaps the afternoon. I would like to get a tan and start working on the sword practising you promised me." Harry smiled, looking exited. "Then, for as long as you can, I can stay until dinner time, or after dinner time for a while."

"That's fine then, I will be here at twelve and wait for you."

"Fine with me," Harry said.

"Oh, before I forget, here."

Severus chucked Harry's shoes at him.

The teen smiled and gratefully put them on. He had completely forgotten about his shoes and he would have gone home without them again.

"Don't you wear socks?" Severus inquired.

"My family have never cared, they only give me my cousin's clothes that no longer fit him. The socks I've gotten are full of holes and I refuse to wear them," Harry replied.

His eyes widened as he clasped his hand over his traitorous mouth, then he bolted from the beach not looking back to see Severus' shocked face.
Harry cursed all the way home; he did not understand why he had said that, he had been thinking something completely different. Such as, he had forgotten to wear them or they were all in the washing. Yet something completely different came out. He did not understand as he had never blurted anything like that before in his life.

Deciding not to think on it as he walked on. At hme, he slipped his shoes off and fell asleep almost immediately. The potions had probably helped a great deal, as he felt better than he had in ages; the potions had even stopped the tingling in his scar.