Honestly, wizards really needed give muggles a little more credit. Harry soon found himself very into the game. He was better at this then soccer anyways. He swiftly stole the ball from Jake and shot it straight through the net. And they said he only had grace in the air! This was very quickly and easily becoming Harry's favorite sport. Soon the glaring heat of the sun became too much to bear and he found it tempting to remove his shirt like the rest of them already had. Normally he would feel self-conscious without a shirt on, but he was too hot to care at the moment. Only after removing it did he realize his mistake. All of his scars stood out in bright contrast to his skin. There were also the bruises Snape had left on his arms when he had grabbed him. He was fumbling to replace his shirt when he noticed most of the guys looking at him. He also noticed Nick and Dylan talking quietly on his left, Danny staring at his feet.

Feeling his cheeks smolder, Harry hurriedly pulled the shirt to rights. It seemed like everyone was shocked out of their trance when Jake spoke.

"Woah! Dude, did Snape do that?"

Harry knew that all of them would have their ears hung on his every word, so he spoke carefully.

"No, those were from a long time ago, Snape had nothing to do with them."

It was apparent that not one of them believed him. He couldn't help but wonder why he cared what they thought of Snape.

"Nate if he's not being…fair… with you then you should speak up. I mean, I'm sure my parents won't mind you staying by me." Dylan said.

It didn't miss Harry's notice how much they all seemed to care, despite the fact that they barely knew him, and it felt good.

"It's ok, don't worry about it. Snape didn't leave those scars." Just the bruises, Harry thought.

He wished they would let it go. Thankfully, they were distracted when someone came out to get David.

Using this distraction to his advantage, Harry asked, "Why is it that David's mum is always in a rush to get him inside?"

It was Nick that answered the question. "Well, he's only twelve first of all. But the thing is that his brother, Ravin, died about five years ago. Ever since then his mom's been very overprotective. It was pretty hard on everyone. Those weren't exactly the best years for us. Things are a little better now. Even his mom isn't as paranoid as she use to be."

Harry wanted to know how the boy had died, but could see that none of them would be comfortable speaking of it. It wasn't really their story to tell, after all.

"Why is it that everyone around here sees you as the err….problems of the neighborhood?" They laughed at that.

"Well besides the fact that everyone around here hates people under the age of thirty, we might have been a little reckless before.", Dylan replied, and someone coughed noticeably at that reply.

"Ok, well… it's not really our fault that the ball happens to hit... and break... windows… accidentally... And when Ravin died, we sort of became even more careless. I think that was mostly because he was the one to keep us out of trouble… sometimes. We were little, we didn't know any better. I guess part of me was hoping he would come back if he felt the need to knock our heads together."

Harry wasn't too sure of what to say. "Er… sorry."

Nick, realizing his brother had forgotten the point of the conversation, decided to ask the question instead.

"Hey Nate, do you wanna come over for dinner tomorrow? We're all gonna be there, except David probably."

Harry wasn't sure of what to say. He was anxious over Snape's reaction to him asking permission, and all the guys could see it.

"I'll have to ask, I'm not sure if I'll be able to though. He kept himself from saying he was busy, it was a lame excuse to keep using. "Ok. So err… what time do you have to get back?" Dylan asked. Harry replied, "I have to be back by seven today, can someone remind me around six-thirty?"

"Sure," Sam and Jake answered.

"Let's go to Mcdonalds!" Matt yelled ecstatically. Everyone laughed.

"Ok. Nate your coming right?" Dylan asked.

"Alright" Harry replied.

"Well hurry up!" Dylan grabbed his skateboard and the rest of them took off in a run after him.

Arriving at McDonalds, Harry looked around. He had only seen one once, when his relatives had taken them. He had to stay in the car but he still remembered the wonderful smells of the food they had brought back with them. Now he would finally get to taste it. They found a table at the back, right next to the children's play area. Harry was seated facing it and he couldn't help but laugh at the children's antics. He had always wanted to play in one of those giant mazes. What possessed him to do what he did next, he had no idea, but he grabbed the person closest to him, Danny, and ran straight into the play place. Unexpectedly, Danny only smiled and followed him.

They reached the top, which was open so they could actually stand up. Looking around, Harry saw the rest of the guys laughing at them…. and Sam took out a camera. All Harry did was put his arm around Danny and smiled, nearly tipping them over in the process. Sam took another picture as Danny elbowed Harry in the gut. Ten minutes later that were back on solid ground, calmed down and returning to the table. Harry thankfully saw that the food was already set out for them.

"Who paid for this?" Harry asked.

"Don't worry about it", Dylan replied with a tone that left no room for argument, before he dug into his food, everyone else following. Half way through, Harry felt someone tap his shoulder. Looking to his left, Dylan mumbled for him to look the other way. He ended up looking straight into the eyes of a girl Dylan must have caught staring at him. She didn't look away, and Harry realized that she looked just like…his mum! She had Harry's green eyes, and golden red hair. The only difference may have been that she was a bit darker, if you can really tell that much from a picture. The girl had on a deep green dress shirt thing that only seemed to make her eyes glow brighter. He didn't know what they called it but it didn't matter, she was beautiful, and Harry blushed before looking away. A girl like that would never really want him anyways.

He looked up again and felt a disappointment as he saw her leave, a little boy holding her hand and talking excitedly. Jake caught his eyes and spoke.

"Dude! What's wrong with you? She was practically asking you to go talk to her!" he said. Harry looked down, attempting a smile.

"Nah, she was probably just looking at my eyes, it's not a very common color and hers are the same."

All of them looked at him exasperatedly, shaking their heads before going back to their food. He heard Danny snickering on his right side.

A very content Harry walked out, wondering about all the other delicacies he must have missed out on.

"What time is it?" he asked, to no one it particular.

"Just about three," one of the replied.

Harry turned around,"Um.. Well I'm supposed to go buy clothes now.", not bothering to hide his grimace as he said that.

"Could one of you show me to a good store?"

"Right this way" Jake replied, leading them.

Dylan rolled his eyes and explained that Jake was a total girl when it came to clothes and cologne and all that junk.

Jake, overhearing him, shoved Dylan before saying, "It's not my fault you guys prefer to dress like homeless mutts." Harry flinched unnoticeably.

"Come on Nate! I know the perfect place. It has…" He continued speaking animatedly as he explained all the different styles they would be able to choose from.

As they shopped, Harry couldn't help but be slightly relieved that he had Jake. He knew nothing about muggle fashion, besides the average jeans and t-shirts. The rest of the guys had decided to wait at the Gamestop store next door. Between Jake and the assistant, a tall, thin, lady with blonde hair, Harry had enough clothing for life.

"So you need everything, right?" Jake asked.

Harry only nodded, not really thinking about what "everything" meant. Once they measured his sizes, the two of them went to work, making their way through the aisles and leaving Harry in the dust. Looking idly, Harry sees a pair of…purple jeans… in the cart he was rolling. And not only that, they looked much too small to be able to fit him comfortably. Maybe it was because he was accustomed to Dudley's sizes but he had to ask.

"Um…I don't think those are my size…or color", Harry said cautiously.

The assistant was immediately on his case.

"Oh no, dear, this is definitely your size. Your thin as a rake and, believe me, girls will just be chasing you in these skinny jeans with a studded belt."

At this, she pointed to said belt, already in the cart.

"With your good looks I'm sure you'll be needing your mother to fend them off with a broom."

Harry reddened and said nothing at this. He quietly took the belt out and hid it beneath a pile of clothing next to them. Jake pretended not to see this as he directed the lady's attention back to the hoodies they had been staring at.

"I don't think.." Harry was cut off with two identical glares before he could object further.

It wasn't until six-thirty that the guys were heading back to their houses. Needless to say, that was the most fun that Harry had had in a long time, even the shopping bit wasn't that bad. He was telling them goodbye when Dylan reminded him to ask Snape about lunch.

"Ok, well, we'll be out here, let us know if Snape lets you. I could get my mom to talk to him if you wan't."

Harry nodded, trying to imagine Snape's reaction to a muggle woman insisting on Harry coming over for lunch. Walking inside and pushing the door closed with his leg, he continued to smile as he ran all the way up to the room he was sleeping in to put his clothes away. Apparently Snape heard him come in, because when Harry turned around from the wardrobe, he saw him leaning on the door.

"You're on time today, I see." Harry was trying in vain to stab down that tendril of fear he couldn't help but feel in Snape's presence. It didn't work and he hated himself for it. He just nodded and continued to stare like an idiot.

Eyes watering, he reached for the next book, only to drop it when he sneezed for the umpteenth time. He wouldn't be surprised if it were allergies that brought him to his downfall one day. One can only do a refresher spell so many times before getting impatient with it. Snape had finished nearly half the library; about 150 books were to be relocated to a locked room so the boy would be able to look around. He soon realized that nearly every change he made was because of Potter, and scowled. Well, he could leave the rest of it for another day, it won't kill the boy to wait a little.

Snape had chosen four occlumency books that he would give to Harry. Hopefully they were of some help to him. If not, well… they were all screwed. Picking up the books and opening the massive door, he once again stood in the dining room. Now that dust no longer covered the place, it actually looked habitable. In two or three days time they should be able to move in. He really just needed to confirm that everything remotely dark, or relating to his father, was locked safely in the attic. He wouldn't burn anything just yet.

Snape then resolved that if..Harry… ever worked up the nerve to ask if he could have his friends over, Snape would permit it. He was looking forward to the look of shock he should see on the boy's face. Snape, of course, would hide out in his lab the entire time. And it wouldn't do for the boy to think he was becoming…nice, Merlin forbid. So some threatening would be in order.

Suddenly Snape heard a door close, and realized that the boy in thought had returned. He looked at the time and was sated to see that the boy was five minutes early this time around. Locking to door to his soon to be home, he made his way into the muggle portion, soundlessly walking up the stairs and into the boy's room. He stood their quietly and concealed a smirk when the boy startled from seeing him. He had no smirk to conceal though, after noticing that the sight of him had wiped that sincere smile off of Harry's face, replacing it with a look of caution. Snape realized that, while it may have satisfied him in the past, he no longer liked scaring the boy by his mere presence.

"Your on time today, I see." he said. Harry nodded.

"Well, do you have everything you need?" he asked.

"Yes sir" Harry replied.

Things fell into an awkward silence. Snape deposited the Occlumency books on the boy's desk, telling him that he was expected to read the first four chapters by the next day.

Harry replied "Yes, sir, thank you." before silence once again filled their ears. Snape was about to make his leave when Harry finally managed to work up his nerve.

"Wait..er…sir" he said. Snape turned around, eyebrows raised, waiting for Harry to continue speaking.

"Well… Dylan wanted to see if I could go over to their house for lunch. I mean I don't want him to think that you're keeping me chained up or something…not that he would though. I mean.. I would understand completely if I couldn't..with all the dangers and everything. I'm.." Snape raised his hand and the room fell silent, he knew the boy was ranting due to nervousness.

Harry, taking this as refusal, nodded his head in acceptance. He really could understand though. The man probably had better things to do then worry about where he was. And Harry didn't want to seem ungrateful, like Snape wasn't feeding him or something. How could I ask that? He's been so decent, and there I go, disrespecting him like that. Harry berated himself.

He waited for Snape to leave and stood dumbstruck at his next words.

"Make sure his parents are aware of it, and it won't due to linger afterwards if you are not invited to do so."

Harry stood, mouth gaping, he looked up at Snape and could have sworn he saw a hint of humour in his eyes before they were back to their icy emotionless state.

"Right then…thank you, sir. He's already checked with his parents and err… I promise not to embarrass you or anything." He abruptly stopped talking and turned back to the wardrobe.

Snape told him that dinner would be in half an hour, before exiting. Harry felt like childishly jumping up and down. Snape said yes! He suddenly realized that he had been so sure of Snape's rejection to the idea. Ok…now to find something to wear. He once again turned to the wardrobe and looked suspiciously at the purple skinny jeans…

Does everyone like where this story is going? Please let me know, if there isn't enough support I might quit and dedicate time to my next one, "Just Keeps Getting Better". The beginning has already been posted, if you guys want to give it a shot.