Chapter Six; Friends Forever

"Hullo how may I help you?" The car dealer asked Ron and Hermione as soon as they had arrived.

"Uh yeah we're looking for a car." Ron told him.

"Alright, well it's good to know that you're looking for an elephant. Anyway, is there any particular car that you have in mind?" he questioned.

"Well I really don't know. You see we sort of had an argument with this friend of ours, he's actually more of a father figure." Ron told him.

"Oh I see, so you want to try and buy his forgiveness by getting him a new car." The man realized.

"No!" Ron exclaimed indignantly before turning over to look at Hermione. "We're not trying to do that are we Hermione?" he asked her.

"Well, actually I didn't think of it quite like that but now that you put it that way I guess we sort of are." She replied.

"Well I don't really care what your motive is, as long as you have money. That's the only thing I care about." The other man said as Ron narrowed his eyebrows at him and glared.

"Let's just get this over with!" he spat.

"Right this way." The man told them before he started leading them away.

….

"Alright to make the chocolate paradise dream cake we need some phoenix eggs, a half cup of flour, a quarter cup of unicorn milk, a cup of dream powder, and a half cup of water." Eve said while she read off the ingredients. That's when suddenly the telephone rang.

"Alright then, you get out the ingredients while I go ahead and answer the phone." Harry told her before rushing into the living room to go and grab it. "Hullo?" he answered.

"Hey Harry Ron Weasley." The voice on the other line began.

"Ron?" Harry questioned with uncertainty as Snape looked over at him with curiosity. "Where the heck have you been!?" he snapped inside a whisper.

"I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean to scare you but Hermione and I are very sorry about what happened and we've been trying to make it up to you and Snape by buying him a new car. We wanted to surprise you with it, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. I think that this guy thinks that we have sucker written all over our faces because he's trying to cheat us just so he can get more money than the car is already worth." Ron told him.

"You mean that you were trying to do that for us?" Harry inquired before glancing up at his father.

"Well yeah, you're our friends. The best friends that we have in the whole entire world." Ron told him.

"Uh hold on just a second Ron." Harry told him before he set the phone down and looked back up at his father. "Ron just told me that the reason he and Hermione have been avoiding us is because they have been trying to get you a new car." He told him.

"What?" Snape questioned him with uncertainty and disbelief.

"He said that they were doing it because we're their best friends. The best friends that they have in the whole entire world." He continued.

"Weasley actually said that?" Snape asked him still being taken aback as Harry nodded.

"And I've known Ron almost my whole entire life. When he says something like that you know that he really means it and that it's from the heart. The only problem is that the car dealer is giving them a hard time." He explained.

"Oh really?" Snape inquired before withdrawing his wand. "Well we'll just see about that." He told him before he disapparated and Harry quickly glanced up the ceiling.

"Oh Lord please don't let him do anything that he'll regret." He prayed before going back into the kitchen to help Eve bake the cake.

….

"We'll never be able to get Snape a new car now." Ron groaned as he and Hermione started walking back out in front of the building.

"Sure we will, it's just that we have to try somewhere else. This guy is an asshole." Hermione told him.

"Man that guy has a heart as cold as stone!" Ron grouched. "If Snape were here he'd know exactly what to say to him!" he spat.

"I sure would." A familiar voice said curtly as Ron and Hermione both whirled around and saw Snape standing behind them.

"Oh hey Snape, listen we're sorry that_" Ron began but he quickly interrupted him.

"It's alright Weasley, Harry just explained everything to me." He interjected. "However, I feel like it is I who should apologize. Listen you both have to know that I didn't mean anything on what I said the other day." He assured them. "It's just that I was really looking forward to spending the day with Harry and then_"

"We sort of got in the way." Ron finished for him while hanging his head guiltily.

"Well yes. But that doesn't excuse my behavior. I completely overreacted. Look you two, I know we don't always get along and we drive each other crazy, but that's what families do. They fight with each other and they can even say things that they don't mean. But that doesn't take away from the fact that underneath it all, they still love each other." Snape told him.

"You mean you still love us?" Ron inquired.

"Weasley, I have practically adopted you and Granger as my own children. Just because it's not in writing doesn't mean that you're not. And there is nothing that you can ever do to change my mind. Once you're part of my family and you earn my love it's official whether you realize it or not. You've always had it and you always will." He told them while smiling warmly at them before he reached out an arm and pulled them close to him inside a tight hug.

"Well, now that we've got the old team back together do you think between the three of us we can outfox the dealer?" Ron questioned him with a grin.

"Need I remind you that I'm a wizard and I'm carrying a wand?" Snape asked him. "But I'll help you only on the condition that you move back in." he told him.

"Hey as long as you continue to cook for us it's a deal." Ron said as Snape rolled his eyes.

"Alright, but you really should learn how to do your own cooking." He told him.

"Why should I when I've you and Hermione?" Ron asked as Hermione scowled at him and slapped him upside the head. "Ouch! Hey!" he exclaimed before he started rubbing it and shot an angry glare over at her.

"Ha, ha, serves you right." She teased.

"Oh c'mon you two knuckleheads, let's go." Snape told them with a grin before they broke out of the embrace and followed him back around the corner.