My mother, still bitter from our argument, was not as impressed with the fact that I now had a proper job as I would've hoped…

We stood in the back garden; she was taking down the washing from the line as I stood by the backdoor

"Foolish boy," she muttered as she folded socks into a basket. "You never learn, do you?"

I frowned, feeling very much like I was missing something. "Excuse me?"

Straightening herself up, my mother regarded me severely, "Are you really so daft that you can't see that you are being taken advantage of?" she said snidely.

My mind darkened and I gritted my teeth tightly together. "I am not," I ground out, "being taken advantage of and I resent the implication that I am!"

"Well then, you are daft."

Setting the basket of clean washing comfortably in her arms, my mother stalked into the house, kicking the back door open as she went.

"'Well then', you'd better explain that to me," I snapped, marching furiously after her. "Because I don't see how getting a better job than I had applied for suddenly means that I am daft!"

The basket was slammed down loudly upon the counter top and my mother whipped around to face me; her dark eyes forbidding and austere. I felt my mouth go dry and I couldn't hep but lower my eyes to the tiled floor. Merlin! I hate the way she can make me feel like a child!

"Fine." Her voice was crisp and her expression stony. "I shall tell you," she began to tick things off on her hand, her eyes never once leaving mine as she spoke. "You have, once again, been roped into doing something you had no intention of doing. Not only that, but you were flattered into doing so by a man who barely even acknowledged your existence before and now suddenly he wants a favour. And, to top it all off, you have also been conned into baby-sitting god-knows how many angst-ridden adolescents, even after you know how much trouble only one has caused you! You bloody fool, Severus Snape! You bloody bloody fool!"

I was, to adopt a phrase, rendered speechless. I wanted desperately to tell her that that was entirely wrong about the whole situation, but when it actually came down to it…she was right.

"You would be better off," my mother continued, turning back to her washing, "to go back with Draco. If nothing else, the money would be much better."

"Don't even go there!" Now this was something I could argue with. "I've already had this lecture from Draco's mother and I do not need to hear it from you! I have a proper job now, where I'm a professional and where I will be treated as such, instead of a servant beneath Lucius! There's no way I would ever do that again no matter what you or Narcissa say!"

"You mean it was offered…?" The fierceness had returned to her voice. She took several steps towards me and it was instinct for me to stumble back two. "It was offered and you turned it down? What is wrong with you?" The last sentence came out as a screech, making me flinch. "And what about Draco? Have you given any thought to him in all this?"

I bit my lip, not willing to answer.

"You know how much that boy depends on you…"

"I'm not his father!" I snapped, anger masking my guilt at the fact that actually I hadn't thought much of what would happen to Draco. "He shouldn't need to depend on me! And besides, I have my own life to lead. I cannot be there constantly to fight his battles for him. Draco needs to start standing up for himself and stop relying on me to do it for him!"

The sound of running footsteps suddenly caught my attention and Draco appeared, breathless and grinning around the doorframe. His smile faltered, however, when he sensed the tension crackling between my mother and I and his eyes- more blue than grey- flicked from me to her uneasily.

Seeing Draco made me immediately retract every word that had so carelessly come from my mouth. I hadn't meant them. Not in the way they were spoken, at least but I knew how badly Draco would react if he had heard me say what I had. And if he knew that I had been given the opportunity to and turned it down…I couldn't bear to hurt him again and I prayed that he would not find out.

"Sir," he said, stepping forward and pointing up to the clock. "It's quarter to one! We're going to be late!"

"Yes, yes. I'm coming. Aren't you going to roast in that?" I noticed that he was, again, wearing my coat.

Draco giggled and did a twirl, making the overlarge garment billow around him like a cape. "It isn't that hot…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It turns out that, actually, it was that hot and, within five minutes of being outside, the coat had come off and I was the one who was landed with carrying the wretched thing.

Diagon Alley was buzzing with soon-to-be Hogwarts students and their flustered parents checking and re-checking the supplies list and still not being sure whether or not navy socks were permitted or was it strictly black? You could tell at a glance who the first time parents of school students were apart and the more experienced ones were; the latter were entirely more relaxed and cruised in an out of shops at a leisurely pace whereas the others buzzed around as fast as was physically possible, dragging their offspring around by the collar.

It was rather amusing to observe this as Draco and I made our way from the Leaky Cauldron down the street to Florean Fortescue's.

Slughorn was late, but that was predictable. I knew for a fact that he did have a watch as it was common knowledge that it had been presented to him by the man who had developed the first Nimbus racing broom, a former student (obviously) who Slughorn claims was so deeply appreciative of his 'nurturing', he has promised to name his next creation after him.

But, more often than not, Slughorn's claims carry no real basis and are not taken seriously by many.

Anyway, we sat outside in the blazing heat of midsummer for at least twenty minutes before the walrus-like professor made his appearance and it was imperative that we ordered as soon as possible before we both melted waiting.

By the time Slughorn had finally rolled over to us, Draco was in danger of drowning in strawberry sauce and I was nose-deep in a new kind of ice-cream, the flavour of which I am still not entirely sure of. But it was cold, and that was all that mattered.

"Hullo!" boomed Slughorn jovially, pulling up a chair and beaming at us. "Fabulous weather, isn't it? You might even get a tan, Severus!"

"I don't tan, I burn."

"Indeed, indeed…sorry to have kept you waiting, lost track of time, you see. A terrible amount of paperwork to get through before I leave…" His moustache rustled irritably at the thought of it. But, as quickly as it takes to count to two, the subject was changed and an expression of delight appeared back on Slughorn's face. "And this must be the young Mr. Malfoy, I presume?"

At the mention of his name, Draco emerged from the icy depths of his glass and smiled shyly in greeting. "Hello," he murmured, wiping his mouth on the paper napkin provided.

Slughorn, looked at my godson thoughtfully then, "Stand up lad, let me look at you."

Draco obeyed, sliding off his chair and standing before us, hands clasped respectfully behind his back as Slughorn looked him up and down appraisingly.

I was reminded unpleasantly of the time that Draco was introduced to Lord Voldemort and the way that he was scrutinised then…the start of all our problems.

"You're smaller than I had expected," observed Slughorn. "Much smaller…and not as-" He thought for a moment, trying to phrase it right. "And not as solid either. Never mind, eh? I dare say you have the right sort of brain despite not having much stature."

Draco glanced over at me, silently asking how the hell he was supposed to respond to that kind of comment.

"I must say though," continued Slughorn contemplatively, twirling one end of his moustache around a finger. "You don't look a bit like either of your parents."

Now it was my turn to examine Draco- who was shifting from foot to foot, uncomfortable at having to stand still for so long. "He does. He's the spitting image of his father."

"Yes and no," Slughorn said cryptically. "He has Lucius' features but, and don't take this the wrong way, Severus, he has your look."

My eyebrow shot up. "My what?"

"Your look," he insisted. "Draco looks like you. Not physically obviously, but it's definitely there."

"Don't be ridiculous. You're going senile. Sit down Draco."

Smirking, Draco returned to his seat.

"What are you grinning about?" I snapped.

"I look like you, Sir."

I glowered. "Draco, you are a Malfoy and, as unfortunate as that may seem, you look exactly like your father and there's nothing you can do to change that. This subject is closed!"

We talked about various other things after that, mostly to do with Slughorn's plans for after the summer. He was very vague about it, but insisted that he wanted to make some sort of fantastic discovery or do something life changing.

"You only get to live once," he explained. "Better late than never, as I always say."

I also mentioned briefly what my mother had said this morning, about my being gullible.

"Don't be ridiculous!" protested Slughorn, a little too quickly. "You got that job because you were the best person for it…no other reason…So, Draco,"

My godson looked up, spoon in hand.

"You looking forward to going to Hogwarts?"

Draco's cheery demeanour faded. "I'm not going," he mumbled with a sigh. "Father wants me to go to Durmstrang…"

"It's an outrage!" Slughorn boomed, causing heads to turn in our direction. "I'll be having strong words with your father about this, boy. Make no mistake in that!"

Draco smiled weakly. "Thank you. I-I don't really want to go, but-"

"You'll bloody well do what you're told!"

Draco gave a small gasp and visibly froze as Lucius Malfoy stepped up behind him and rested his hands on the back of Draco's chair. "Good afternoon, gentlemen," he said with a smirk. "What a coincidence. Mind if I join you?"

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A/N: I was going to do more and update later on in the week, but my friend convinced me that it was an evil cliff0hanger and I should take advantage of that...so I am lol! Oooh! It's lovely not being in school and updates should become more frequent now that I have more spare time.

Please review! Going by the alerts for this fic, people should be reviewing far more than they are even if it's just a brief opinion. All you writers know how much reviews are appreciated, so please make the effort :P

Next one should be up in the next couple of days!

Lily xxx