A/N: I'm happy for every feedback and constructive criticism but I will not respect straight out hate or trolls in the comments.

mizzrazz72: Maybe he will later on ;) For now he used pretty heavy occlumency to keep going for Harry's sake. I'm sure there will be an epic blow up :D

Vivid Snare: Oh yes now that's going to be interesting ;) I have one partially written already...

ThePhoenixandtheDragon: No it was a resurrection ritual that did not use the Horcruxes. Otherwise Marvolo would have had to have it there during the ritual. I am sure that Harry will have a main role in getting Severus to forgive Marvolo or something like that ;)

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling - I just played a bit in her universe.

Thanks to miu-sama95 for prereading, betaing and helping with the storyline ;)

Chapter 26: Diagon Alley & HOME

Words: 3191

Griphook had a hard time hiding his malicious smile from the three wizards sitting opposite him. They had just given him permission to review all of their accounts to find all illegal activities on them. This would give Gringotts the possibility to incriminate Albus Dumbledore further.

That egocentric man of a wizard with his high headedness was grating on all of the goblin's nerves and although they knew that some of his dealings were not strictly legal there was never any evidence of his own involvement. For all his preaching about equality for creatures he was worse in his treatment of them than all purebloods together. They at least knew how to properly greet a goblin.

Griphook liked young Lord Gryffindor-Potter - which was unusual since goblins liked nobody - and he would make it his responsibility to see the headmaster go down in flames. Lord Slytherin's words pulled him away from his sinister thoughts and back to reality.

'Thank you for all your help, Master Griphook. We have been taking up enough of your time lately so we will get out of your hair.'

'Help will always be given by the goblins if one knows how to ask for it. I will sort out these accounts and send you a letter afterwards.'

'Thank you, Master Griphook. May your enemies blood be always crism.'

'May your vaults never be empty, Lords Prince, Slytherin, Gryffindor - Potter.'

Before the three wizards left through the bank's main entrance, Severus quickly reapplied the glamours on their faces. They planned to do some shopping before heading to their manor which was now ready to be moved into. Once they stepped out into the streets of Diagon Alley they had to wait a few seconds for their eyes to adjust to the bright July sunshine.

'Where are we going, Dad?' Harry wondered.

'I remember someone needing a new wardrobe and since we are moving into our manor today I thought you might like to get a few things.'

'Are we? I completely forgot! Where are we heading first?'

Marvolo and Severus shared an indulgent smile at their son's excitement.

'First we will go and get some food into you since you didn't have breakfast, the magical clothes and furniture before we pop over to the muggle side of London.' Marvolo laid out the plans and although Harry wanted to go shopping straight away his stomach let itself be known at the mention of food.

'Your stomach approves.' Severus chuckled while the teen blushed a nice shade of pink.

'Alright, food first.'

Marvolo led them into a side alley that had one restaurant next to the other and Harry had a hard time to keep from gaping at all of them. He had never been here before since he usually just got his school supplies and although he had explored Diagon a bit before his third year he had not even noticed this street back then.

The small family easily got a table at a small italian place and since Harry looked completely lost when presented with the menu his father took the liberty of ordering for him. The teen just hoped it would taste good.

'Dad?' Harry asked tentatively as if afraid of asking something.

'Yes, Snitch?'

'Can… Can my friends come and visit at the manor?'

Severus had to fight not to pick his son up and cuddle him when he saw the teen look as if he expected to be denied his wish. He settled for placing a comforting hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

'Of course they can! Your friends are always welcome as long as you all behave and you don't have house arrest, son.'

'Thanks!' Harry beamed before frowning. 'What's house arrest?'

Marvolo spluttered and nearly spilled red wine all over himself. The teen had asked it so sincere that he had to wonder once again what those vile muggles had done to him.

'House arrest is a form of punishment.' Marvolo explained. 'It takes away your privilege to leave the house of have anyone visit because you were naughty. It can also confine you to your room or a specific room.'

Harry's sharp intake of breath alerted him that something was wrong with his explanations and when he looked up and saw the shocked and scared look in his son's eyes he simply had to lean over and hug hims sideways in silent comfort.

'Will you lock me in?' Came the whispered question.

'Merlin, no! Harry, look at me.' Severus exclaimed shocked. 'Being confined to your room will usually be for you to calm down. We would never leave you in there for longer than an hour and we would never ever lock the door!'

'Oh… Okay.'

Before they could say anything else the waiter appeared with their lunch and the adults decided to let the subject drop - for now. They were all quite hungry so they quickly tucked into each of their pasta dishes.

Harry had to keep himself from moaning out loud at the exquisite taste of his pasta. He had no idea what it was but it was amazing. Also it was no ordinary spaghetti. The pasta was shaped to look like lots of little snitches. Harry thought it may look a bit childish but he loved it.

'What did you order for me, Marv?'

'It's called the Seeker's Power. It is this snitch pasta with a sauce of semi dried tomatoes, sage, pine nuts and feta cheese.'

'Awesome! Maybe we can recreate it sometime.' Harry exclaimed and dug in again. He finished his dish in record time much to his father's amusement.

The two adults finished their meal a short while later and they decided to get Fortescue's ice cream as a dessert later on.

The first of their stops was at a fancy looking tailor shop Harry had never been in. He usually got all his things at Madame Malkins.

'Welcome to Corin's tailor!' the shopkeeper greeted cheerily when they entered. 'How may I help you?'

'My son needs a whole new wardrobe, including formal and winter wear as well as everyday clothes.' Marvolo stated in a tone that sent not only the shopkeeper but also his two young assistants scrambling. Harry was quickly measured while the assistants started pulling out samples of different fabrics.

Marvolo, Severus and Harry spent the next hour and a half agreeing to or dismissing colours and fabrics while the tailor already started on their order so they could take some articles of clothing with them right away.

Harry was not interested in fashion at all but he knew that green suited him and that he looked sick in yellow. It was also clear to the teen that from now on he would have to dress like a Lord as to not embarrass his houses. Also although he had been looking forward to getting new clothes he was quickly reaching his limit and wanted nothing more than simply run away.

Severus must have notices his agitated state of mind and immediately ended their shopping spree.

'I think this will be enough for now.' He told the sales assistant. 'We can still order more should he need it.'

'Of course, Lord Prince-Slytherin. Do you want to take everything that is already finished with you or would you like to finish your shopping and pick it up later on?'

'We will take everything that's done now,please. You can send us the rest by owl post to our manor.'

'Of course.' The young lady agreed amicable. 'They should be done in two day's time.'

He handed over his new Gringotts card and payed for everything before either Marvolo or Harry could object.

When the assistant wanted to put Harry's new clothes in a bag the Potions Master stopped her and picked out a casual outfit for his son to change into straight away.

With a huge grin on his face the teen left the tailor with his parents and they moved on to a furniture store.

Harry was fascinated by the layout of the shop alone even before he noticed all the cool things.

'There is basic furniture at the manor but next to no decorations.' Severus explained to his son. 'You may choose whatever you want for your rooms and tell me if you find anything else that caught your eye.'

'Awesome! Thanks Dad!'

With those words Harry took off to search for things he liked. After spending a part of every summer for the last years at the Weasleys he had a good idea what he wanted.

Marvolo chuckled and wrapped an arm around his husband, pulling him into a hug.

'Shall we also look for things for the house?' He murmured into the Potions Master's ear and reveled in the shiver he could feel running down his spine.

'Let's do this.'

The two wizards started slowly strolling through the store. Whenever they saw something they liked they simply tapped the tag with their wand so it would show up on the receipt. It didn't take long until their over energetic son came rushing back towards them.

'How does this work?' He panted.

'Ordering it?' Marvolo asked and after a small nod explained. 'You just tap your wand to the tag here. Like this.'

Marvolo had just spied a nice looking chest of drawers and demonstrated to his son how the system worked.

'Am I allowed to use magic here?' The teen asked astonished.

'Oh yes. That is no problem at all since we are in an area with a lot of magic around. The ministry's observations are not so tight in magical areas and they can't actually distinguish who cast the magic. So as long as you are near us you can use your wand as much as you like.'

'Awesome!'

And off he was again. Marvolo looked towards his husband who was rolling his eyes exasperated which made him chuckle.

''Come on, love. Let us continue.' Severus finally said after they had just stood there for a few minutes.

They caught up with Harry in the linen section where he was looking at different sets of sheets and comforters. When the teen noticed the presence of his fathers he turned to get their opinion on this matter.

'What do you think? The grey one that would match the curtains I picked or the bordeaux red that would flatter the carpet over there?'

'Which one do you like more, Snitch?' Severus asked neutrally. Although he personally favoured the light grey he didn't know what Harry had decided on so far.

'I like both! That's the problem!' Harry stated and brushed his hand through his unruly hair in agitation, messing it up even further. 'I really like the light grey because it lights up the room but the bordeaux feels warmer and also more constraining.'

Before Severus could come up with an adequate answer Marvolo decided to make it easy for them.

'Why don't you take both? I can imagine the grey would look good in spring and summer while the red would warm the room in fall and winter. '

Severus and Harry both looked at him with the exact same expression of surprise on their faces as if this possibility hadn't even crossed their mind.

'You are a genius!' Severus exclaimed and went to kiss his husband but stopped shortly before their lips met when his son's quiet question registered in his brain.

'Am I really allowed two sets of sheets?'

Severus quickly detangled himself from Marvolo and pulled Harry into a tight hug.

'Of course you are, son. You can have anything within reason in this store. We may ask why you want something but we would never just refuse you.'

'Thank you.'

Marvolo couldn't help himself and stepped over to join the hug. Harry stiffened up a bit but after a few seconds he relaxed again and basked in the warmth and love his parents gave him. After a moment of cuddling they separated and Harry quickly tapped his wand to the tags of the sheet sets he had chosen.

The tree wizard continued on together, choosing towels and bath mats, Dishes and silverware as well as sofas and shelves for the library.

It took them quite some time to have everything they wanted for now together. Thankfully the furniture stored offered same day elf delivery so they would actually get their things tonight.

Harry was getting grumpy by the time they left so Severus steered them towards the ice cream parlour.

Shortly before Fortescue's Harry spotted not just one but four mops of red hair and one step later he made out the smiling faces of the twins, Ron and Ginny. Not even thinking for a second he broke into a run and flung himself at a surprised Ron who was too shocked to react when the brown eyes boy jumped him. After a few seconds he found his wits again and pushed the other boy away from himself.

'What the bloody hell?!' Ron screamed red faced but quickly quieted when he saw people looking at them disapprovingly. 'What do you think you are doing and who the hell are you even?!'

'Ron? It's me! Harry!' The other teen replied confused.

'Yeah, sure. Try that again. My boyfriend has green eyes. Everybody knows that.'

'My eyes are green!' Harry exclaimed even more confused.

The riddle was solved for the teens when Severus and Marvolo reached the group of teens.

'Maybe you should let me take off the glamour to convince them.' Severus drawled, extremely amused by his son's sudden look of understanding on his face.

'Oh! I completely forgot! Sorry, Ron. We are here incognito.'

Severus drew his wand covertly and lifted the glamour on Harry's eyes for a moment before placing it again.

'Harry!' All four red heads exclaimed and Ron happily gathered his boyfriend in his arms again.

'It's really you! What are you doing here?'

'We had some things to sort out at Gringotts and then we went shopping for furniture for our new manor. How come you are here?'

While asking his question Harry went and hugged each of the other Weasley children als well before snaking his arm around Ron's waist and cuddling up to him.

'That was…' George began before Fred took over.

'... Kind of …'

'... Our fault.' The twins finished together.

They nearly blew up the kitchen so mum threw us all out and we are only allowed to come back home for dinner.' Ron quickly explained while Ginny scowled at the boys.

Marvolo noticed and filed it away for later before addressing the teens.

'As much as we like standing in the middle of the alley, would you like to come to Fortescue's with us?'

At the mentions of ice cream all kids perked up and they quickly made their way to the cafe. They all got their favourite ice cream ordered before they started talking about their summer plans. The twins were starting in earnest with their prank products and even managed to draw Severus into a discussion about their potions experiments and prank potions they were developing. Harry and Ron were snuggled up next to each other talking quietly while exchanging little kisses now and then.

Marvolo observed them all happily while keeping an eye out for threats. He noted again that Ginevra was glaring daggers at her brother and Harry with her arms crossed over her chest. Something was up with the girl but before he could think any further on the matter their waitress returned with their ice creams and they all started eating happily.

They spent the rest of the afternoon together at the ice cream parlour until the Weasley kids had to return home for dinner.

Harry was in a good mood now but he was completely exhausted from all the shopping they had done. He just wanted to go to the manor and curl up with a good cup of tea.

'How are you doing, son?' Marvolo asked when they could no longer see the red headed children in the alley.

'Tired. I just want to curl up with a cup of tea.'

'Mhmmmm… I guess we'll go shopping for muggle clothes some other day.' Severus murmured behind Harry.

'Merlin! Yes, please! No more today!'

'Alright.' Marvolo chuckled and started leading his family to one of the public floo points in the alley. Thankfully they were all equipped with silencing wards as to protect the wizard's addresses.

'Snake Pit! Serpens mortiferum!'

This time Severus went through the floo first to unlock it before Harry stumbled through and Marvolo followed suit.

Once they had gotten their footing back and dusted of their robes they all had a look around the receiving room.

It was a bright and friendly room with two big fireplaces and a cluster of couches and armchairs to await guests. There was not much in terms of decoration but that would soon change.

'Elf!' Severus called and four little creatures popped into existence in front of them.

'What can wes bes doing for masters?'

'Please tell us your names and occupation so we can call each of you individually if need be.'

'Mes is Pippy. I am head of elves and cooking for masters.' The elf who had spoken before introduced herself before naming the others. 'Mimsy bes cleaning the manor, her mate Kari bes tending the gardens and their child Toppy bes learning from us all.'

'It is nice to meet you all. My name is Severus and this is my husband Marvolo and our son Harry.'

'Wes be happy to serves you, masters. What can wes help with?'

'There should be some furniture delivered around six o'clock.' Marvolo informed them. 'We would like for it to be distributed in the rooms according to these instructions. We would like for dinner to be served at 6:30 PM and can one of you please show us to our rooms?'

'Toppy bes happy to show masters masters rooms.' The smallest elf squeaked while the others looked on with pride.

Harry, who had simply observed his father's interactions with the house elves noticed the prideful looks and decided to look it up in a book or ask Dobby. Not only were Mimsy and Kari smiling at their child but Pippy looked very pleased as well.

'Thank you, Toppy.' Severus said. 'You can all resume your work now.'

The other three elves bowed before vanishing with small pops.

Toppy motioned the wizards to follow her from the receiving room into the bog open entrance hall and up the stairs. Upon reaching the first floor landing they turned right into what Toppy called the family wing.

'This bes master heir Harry's rooms.' The small elf announced before opening the double doors.

Harry stepped inside first and a warm tingling feeling swept over him and he knew he was finally home.

For the first time in his life he had a place to truly call home.

Somewhere in an office high up in a tower a spinning trinket stopped turning and toppled over the edge of the desk, shattering on the stone floor.

TBC

First posted on: 27. August 2017

Next update planned: 03. September 2017