Fan Fiction ❯ Summer w/ Snape :0) ❯ Worries and Weasleys ( Chapter 3 )

Summary: When 16 yr. old Harry Potter is thrown out of his aunt and uncles house with nothing but the clothes his wearing and his wand, he really doesn't know what to do, after deciding to go to London to see if he can get a room in the leaky cauldron. Only when he gets to London, he's taken in by someone who he had hopped not to see for at least a few more months... when school starts again.



V. v. sorry that this wasn't up sooner, my internet crashed and It took us ages to get it back on... Soz :0(



Disclaimer 1: Harry, Sev and anybody/ anyplace else from the Harry Potter books does not belong to me. Lucy, tatty teddy, Korougu, Rush, Ares, Ashleigh, Miranda and Nathan are mine don't use them without permission.



Disclaimer 2: Katy and Michel belong to LuCiUs and I'm just nicking them for the occasion (thanx babs)



Disclaimer 3: The idea of Severus having a family comes from Silverfox1's story 'Runaway Dragon'.



Disclaimer 4: LuCiUs helped me make the design for Hannah, so I'm gonna credit her for it since she was her design. I don't know Katy and Mike well enough to know how a mother would handle them. Thanks LuCiUs.



Disclaimer 5: Wow, LuCiUs has helped me out again, I just realised that I'd given Katy and Mike a cat and a dog and i didn't have names for either of them, so I rang up my wonderful mate and now you can all say hello to Clea and well... we decided that the dog was just 'dog' so... I guess that was a bit boring but you know, didn't want to give it a name so... Anyway Clea is the cat, that's the name of LuCiUs' kitty, she let me borrow it :0)



Thank you Helene Jardon, Audrey Jardon, Sebastian Jardon and Madam Jardon for being the inspiration for this story. Sorry for doubting you Helene, never did believe you that Madam Jardon was actually nice until I saw her with you guys out of school!



- - - - -



Harry had forgotten about the graffiti on the walls, the pictures that he had wanted to look at.



His wrist was sore and he was sure that he had bruises with how tight Severus was holding it. The potions master was storming ahead in front of him, dragging him along and otherwise ignoring him. He knew he had gone too far to compare him to Mike but he was too proud to apologise to a Slytherin, especially a Slytherin like Snape.



He wasn't paying attention to where Severus was taking him, so it came as quite a shock when the older man pulled him round the corner and pushed him against the wall, letting go of his wrist as he did. He gasped as he abused hand hit the bin painfully and pulled it to his chest cradling it against himself.



"Harry, I want you to shut up and listen to me for one minute okay. No interruptions, no protests, just hear me out. Alright."



Harry nodded letting himself slide down the wall until he was sitting on the floor trying to block out the numb ache from his wrist against his heaving chest, not once braking eye contact with the potions master.



"Harry, you can not go around with Mike. I don't think you'd even want to if you knew what family line he was from. He's a muggle slytherin, just a awful as the wizarding ones at hogwarts that you seem to hate with such a passion. He's a londoner. He knows how to survive in the bad and shady parts of London, that is not stuff that the boy who lived needs to know, it's all theft and vandalism to him. He's in constant trouble with the law and can lie away his pride with out hesitation. If you go about with him then there's every possibility that you could be jailed for allowing him to drag you into one of his stupid rebellious criminal acts. If I went about allowing the infamous Harry Potter to socialize with 'white trash' like Michael Malfoy then it would be my head on the line."



"Whoa! Hold on a sec. I know you said no interruptions but- Michael *Malfoy*! Are you kidding- he's a muggle!"



"And his mother's a squib. Hannah Malfoy was Lucius' younger sister. How did you think I knew her, she ran away from home when Lucius received his prefects badge and nothing came for her. No hogwarts letter because she had no magic. They would have killed her, I reckon that Lucius still would if she knew that she was here."



"She doesn't look that much like a malfoy."



"She's got a Malfoy build, tall thin and quite beautiful when she does herself up, although I guess she doesn't really have time for herself anymore, what with having to look after two kids, especially kids like Katy and Mike, always in trouble with the police. She's got Malfoy eyes too- light grey, almost a silver. I think it's really just her hair that's different, her mother was a brunette which would normally counter out a blonde, but the Malfoys take 'blonde' to an all new extreme, so she ended up mousy."



Severus looked back out of the alley onto the street, arms folded across his chest and a slightly vacant look in his eyes. He stood like that lost in thought for a moment until the sound of Harry hissing in pain as he tried to push himself up on his bad hand.



"Sit down Harry, take the weight of your wrist." Harry sat back down in the dirt, cradling his wrist as Severus came to crouch in front of him. The long fingered hands gently pulled Harry's wrist away from his chest and dark eyes surveyed it apologetically.



"Does it hurt much?" Harry gave a small nod, feeling pathetic for showing such a weakness in front of the head of Slytherin house.



"Can you move it?" Without a word, Harry flexed his fingers and carefully rolled his wrist moving it up and down.



"Well at least it's not broken." Severus looked up to meet green eyes and gave him a weak smile. "I'm sorry Harry. I didn't mean to hurt you like this, I was just cross. Come on, we'll get you to diagon alley and we'll find you a potion or a salve to help fix this up, okay."



Harry nodded and took Severus' proffered hand with his good one and allowed the older man to help him to his feet.



He brushed himself off and the two of them left the dank little alley in favor of the busy street.



Five minutes later found the two of them outside of the leaky cauldron, they were once again talking and the atmosphere seemed to have cleared up greatly between the two of them. They passed through the pub room, Severus scowling all the time in utmost distaste.



They crossed the pub quickly and went out through the back door into the little alley, Severus pulled out his wand and tapped the brick to turn the wall into the arch leading to Diagon alley.



Harry smiled contentedly at the familiarity of it, even though he wasn't used to seeing it without all the Hogwarts shoppers. He looked up at Severus, his mind switching back to his wrist.



"So um- where would we get something for my wrist from?"



"Follow me, I know where to go." Harry trailed quietly behind, as Severus lead the way between the usual shops towards the less visited end of Diagon Alley.



A dark wood little shop with blue and silver embroidered blinds over the windows was barley visible amongst the larger shops. Harry wasn't sure he'd ever noticed it before, it had no sign declaring its name, and no stock displayed proudly out front, and if it wasn't for the fact that Harry knew Severus well enough to know that he trusted potions above all other means of magic, then wouldn't have known what the little shop was at all.



Severus pushed the door open and held it wide to let Harry in, before entering himself. It was in fact an apothecary. A rather petite witch was standing behind a tall desk, brewing a potion carefully, although Harry couldn't see any books or references or even an ingredients list to indicate what it was.



She didn't look up when they entered the shop but Harry got the feeling that she still knew that they were there.



"Hello Severus." It came out as a sigh and Harry briefly wondered what history had passed between them.



"Dinah, I need a healing potion or salve to clear up a bruised wrist."



"Severus, honestly. I'm ashamed of you. You can't brew one of those yourself, even after all this time!" She looked up for the first time and and full red lips turned up in a smirk before she returned to her potion.



"I can brew a healing potion you old hag! it was just easier to come here since we were coming to Diagon Alley anyway." he sneered crossly.



"Ohh- hey! That's actually not all that bad- you should keep sticking to that story, then somebody might start to actually believe you." She laughed and looked, up a triumphant look on her face. "Face it *Snivellus*,"



'Ah' Harry thought 'So she was at Hogwarts with him.'



"You just can't brew. I honestly don't see why Dumbledore even bothers with you, a good for nothing death eater!"



"I am *not* here to have this conversation." Severus shot her a glare, scowling, his arms folded across his chest, his voice the baileys smooth hissing tone that Harry was used to in the classroom. "I am here to get a phial of healing potion for young Mr Potters wrist."



Dinah's eyes shot, cold and calculating, towards Harry. Looking him over once before turning to pick a deep green glass potions bottle off the shelf behind her.



"Here. It's 5 sickles. Pay up and go."



Severus pulled the money out of the back pocket of the jeans he was wearing and threw them onto the counter with a sneer. He picked up the bottle and shoved it into Harry's hands as he passed on the way out.



Harry followed Severus out of the shop quickening his pace slightly to keep up with the taller man's long strides.



"Severus, who was she?"



"She was a Slytherin in our year at Hogwarts. I had rather a crush on her- and unfortunately for me, your father found out about it. She was very interested in potions, so in our last year when we had to do a piece of potions coursework, I offered to go with her, thinking that it would allow us to spend more time together. She agreed, knowing that I was good at potions and on the second day of our brewing, James and his friends decided that it would be- amusing- to slip a green hair day potion into our cauldron. When it got to a certain heat, the potion rejected the hair dye and it exploded sending it all into her face. She couldn't get the colour out and was forced to shave off her hair. Furthermore, she was convinced that it hadn't been James, that it had been me and my- incompetence."



Harry sighed and looked down at the glass phial in his hands. Why had his father always been so horrid to Severus, it didn't make any sense if Severus claimed that he was only ever mean to him in public.



"How come I've never been in that Apothecary before? I've always just gone straight to the other one."



"Oh, the other one has more basic- common- ingredients, fit for students, that one we've just been in is the only one that I know of that supplies the rarer of ingredients- legally that is- so I guess that it was just force of habit to go to that one since it's the one I use most often. Yours would have been fine for getting this potion from too though. Talking of that potion then you'd better drink that, it's doing your wrist no good to be kept waiting." Harry nodded and uncorked the phial. He bought it up to his nose and sniffed it before pulling away quickly, holding it at arms length with his other arm thrown over his face and nose.



"That's disgusting. There is no way that I am drinking that!"



Severus shot Harry a 'suit yourself but you'll regret it later' look and Harry quickly reconsidered. He carefully pinched his nose and slowly brought the potion up to his lips, grimacing as it flowed over his lips and burnt his tongue and throat on the way down.



He let out a hiss as he felt the muscles and bones fixing themselves under the skin, the dark bruises around his wrist quickly began to fade until the creamy skin was once more unblemished.



"You okay?"



"Yeah, I'm fine." He flexed his wrist, it still felt a little numb but overall it was a thousand times better than before.



Severus gave his wrist an appraising look then nodded, deeming the work satisfactory.



"Right, I have a bit of money on me but I'll probably have to go to the bank later to get some more. Where do you want to go first."



Harry gave an indifferent shrug. "Madame Malkin's is probably the safest bet for good clothes and- hey wait a minute *you* have a bit of money on *you*! Don't you want me to pay for my own stuff?"



"I hardly think it's fit to make a 16 year old boy pay for his own clothes. Now come on, we've go to get a lot of shopping done today."



- - - - -



An hour and a half later found Harry getting back changed from what must have been the hundredth pair of robes he'd tried on. Severus seemed determined to get him the very nicest clothes after 'all that trash those muggles made him wear'. They had found Several full outfits that both of them had liked and they only needed one more.



He pulled his own clothes on again and picked up the deep red robes he'd just tried on, they were perfect. Red and gold, the gryffindor colours, a perfect fit. Comfy and soft and unrestrictive.



Just beautiful.



"Severus, they fit. Can I have them?"



Severus frowned for a moment, obviously doubting Harry's choice of colour, he quickly seemed to make up his mind. He smiled and nodded, taking the robes out of Harry's arms and putting them on the counter with the rest of their choices.



"Do you think you have enough now."



"Yep! Thanks a bunch, I really needed some knew clothes. Hey! You don't happen to know what school books I'll need for the new year do you, we could get them whilst we're here."



"No, I'm afraid I don't. All I know is what you'll need for potions and I know for a fact that flourish and blots doesn't have them in yet as i only gave them my orders yesterday. We'll just come back when you get your letter. Now! For the rest of the day, I thought that we should probably go and get something to eat and then head out into muggle London to get you some jeans and tops and stuff before we head over to Hannah's to pick up Lucy and Ares. That okay by you?"



"Yeah. Perfectly." Harry got the impression that it probably wouldn't have mattered if it wasn't.



"Good."



Severus picked up the bag with Harry's new robes in and pulled out his wallet from his back pocket, he emptied the money onto the counter and counted out the right amount pushing it forwards towards one of Madam Malkin's assistants who recounted it then nodded and wished them a good day as they left.



"I need to go to the bank to draw out some money for lunch. Will you be okay here for 15 minutes."



"Yeah, sure. Can I go to take a look at the brooms?" Severus shrugged.



"Don't see why not. Just don't wonder off from there, promise. I don't want to have to be responsible for losing the boy who lived."



"Don't worry, I'll stay put. No harm will come to me, stop panicking!"



Severus gave him a hard look before nodding and letting out a sigh. "Okay. I'll be 15 minutes. Don't leave the shop. Here, take these with you." Severus passed him the bag with his robes in.



Harry nodded his consent and watched Severus leave in the direction of Gringots before turning towards his own destination. It was completely coincidental that he happened to pass Weasley's Wizard Wheezes on his way just as Fred and Ron walked out the shop.



"Harry, hey Harry over here!"



Harry turned around and saw his two friends, he quickly forgot about his promise to Severus as he raced over to meet them.



"Ron, what are you doing here?"



"I'm just visiting the shop, you know, to see how it's going."



"To buy a load of stuff don't you mean Ron."



"Hey, I'm pre-testing it for you guys, you should be grateful."



"Yeah Right."



"Where's George?"



"He's inside, sorting out a whole load of stock with Lee."



"Lee Jordan?"



"The one and only."



"Oh, how is he? Is he helping you guys with the joke shop now?"



"He seems great, but sadly no. he's only here for the weekend, we said that he could come and help us out. So what are you doing here."



Who, me- I'm just getting a few new robes."



"Right, right. Hey, why don't you come inside and take a look at all our stuff!"



"Yeah, that would be great." Harry followed the two Weasley's inside and set his bag down on the front desk, looking around the shop were something akin to wonder.



Row upon row of different jokes littered the walls and shelves, whilst brightly coloured posters illustrating how they were to be used lined the walls.



Crouching down on the floor, putting new stock onto a bottom shelf out of two large boxes open next to them were Lee Jordan and George Weasley, talking animatedly and looking probably the best he'd seen them in a long time.



"Lee, George! How are you!"



The two older teens looked up when Harry addressed them and immediately raced over to great him. "Harry! We've been great! Come on, we've got to show you around the shop." George put and arm around his shoulders and with Ron trailing behind them, the twins and their best mate led him off to see the rest of 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes'.



- - - - -



Severus pulled out a delicate silver key from a zip pocket in his wallet and passed it to the goblin with a look of distaste.



Goblins really were horrid little creatures...



Two cart rides and a wallet full of galleons later, Severus emerged from the doors of the banks and headed off quickly in the direction of the Quidditch suppliers (my friend nicked my books so I have no reference to find out what this shop was called, if you know plz review or email and tell me).



He entered the shop with a look of distaste, he'd never been fond on Quidditch. Truth was, he didn't like heights.



He quickly scanned round for Harry, then paused and looked round again more thoroughly this time.



He wasn't their!



Hastening to the front desk, his costumery scowl sliding easily into place, he folded his arms across his chest and cleared his throat to get the attention of what appeared to be a a witch or wizard of indeterminable sex and age straddling his or her chair and speaking animatedly into a cell phone.



Severus blinked, twice. A cell phone? Must be muggle born.



"No way!... No wa- SHUT UP! Oh my god, did they really do that!... So are they officially dating now or- oh hold it a sec." The witch or wizard put his or her hand over the mouth piece of the mobile and looked up at Severus with an annoyed look. "Excuse me sir, can you come back in about 10 minutes, I'm kind of busy here." He or she made a shooing motion at Severus with his or her hand and lifted the phone back up to his or her ear. "Okay and then what... uh huh... uh huh... that is so mingin'... why would anybody do that it's like... I know- it's stupid... well he's a dork anyway so..."



Irritated and panic stricken, Severus wanted nothing more than to look around and see Harry crouched in an obscure corner looking at some broom servicing set or something. Damn it, he'd lost the boy who lived, Albus was going to kill him...



Okay well maybe he wouldn't go that far- but he'd definitely be disappointed in him, and in ~Severus' opinion their was nothing worse than one of albus Dumbledore's guilt trips.



He slammed his fists down on the table and brought his face right up close until his was practically nose to nose with the androgynous looking shop assistant's. "Look, I'm searching for Harry Potter. He's about so tall with messy black hair, green eyes, round glasses and a lightning shaped scar on this side of his forehead. He's wearing shorts and a top, they're old and too big for him, and a pair of off white trainers. Have. You. See. Him." He punctuated his words by leaning further forwards, forcing the sales witch or wizard back in his or her seat, he or she looked rather uncomfortable with the recent turn of events.



"Nu uh. Haven't ever seen him. Was I supposed to have?"



"Yes." It almost came out as a sigh, but he managed to smother it just in time. He stood up straight and pulled his fingers through his black hair until they encountered the clasp which he promptly pulled out, letting grease free (for once) raven locks fall free around his face and down his back in his normal school teacher look.



"Thank you for your help." Not like the shop assistant had actually done much, let a lone ease Severus' worries, but manners didn't cost a thing now did it.



He turned around and made his best effort to sweep out of the shop, he seemed to manage it even though he was still wearing his muggle jeans and t-shirt.



'Damn it Harry! Where have you gone?"



- - - - -



Dusk was falling on the world outside of the Weasley twins' shop, when Harry finally realized exactly how long he'd been there for.



"Oh Merlin..." Harry sat bolt upright staring at the opposite wall, Severus was gonna kill him.



"What?" Ron, Lee and the twins gave him a curious look as his shoulders slumped, head in his hands.



"Severus..." He trailed off with a sigh, he was in deep shit.



"Severus? Who's Sev-" George pause, eyes widening in disbelief. "Severus Snape!!! Harry are you going on about Severus *Snape*! What about him? What's going on?"



"He's gonna kill me is what's going on!"



"Maybe you need a lie down Harry, I think you're getting a cold."



Lee nodded in agreement to Ron. "Yeah, I'm not a mediwitch but I would definitely say that this is a case of fever induced hallucinations Harry."



"You guys I'm not messing about, Severus is gonna by *furious*."



"Indeed he is Harry Potter." Harry, the three Weasleys and Lee Jordan practically leapt a foot in the air when Severus came up behind them, voice of boiling magma rushing over Harry with a hiss, making all five of them tense up as if they were in School.



Harry turned around slowly in his seat.



Chapped but full lips drawn into a line, arms folded across his chest and eyes narrowed dangerously at all of the boys, but at Harry in particular, he was almost an exact replica of the way the three older boys remembered him from their school days. The only remaining difference was the noticeable absence of bat like black robes, that harry knew Severus preferred not to where over the summer, and the now greaseless hair woven up into an intricate bundle, held back by todays choice of a deep brown mahogany wood clasp, some of it still fell lose from the clasp, falling around his face and tucked behind his ears.



It was just too fine- totally unmanageable.



"What, Harry James Potter, do you think you are doing no less than six and a half hours after I originally told you that I would only be fifteen minutes." Harry flinched at the low and dangerous growl. Painfully aware at how the other four boys in the room were all watching Severus and Himself with curiosity and something akin to amusement.



"Harry what's going on?" Ron raised an eyebrow at his best friend, determined not to have his day ruined by an evil son of a coming and pushing his mate around....



... At least, not before he knew why Severus was pushing harry around least ways.



"Um- Ron I-" He was cut off as Severus began a half teacher, half worried parent like rant, voice raising a notch at a time until he was yelling.



"Of all the stupid things to do you had to go and do this! As if it isn't bad enough that you ran away from your relatives house anyway! Harry I told you, I don't want to be held to blame for the disappearance and or death of a student, particularly not of a student like *you*! Do you think that the ministry would hesitate for even one second before sending me off to Azkaban if something like that happened!?! I can't believe that you could be so selfish, what am I saying? Of course I believe it, you are James' son after all!"



Harry felt a pull of guilt and a familiar tug of anger at the mention of him being his fathers son, but he didn't comment. He gave Ron a sideward glance and was shocked to see that it looked as if the red head had taken the comment even harder than he had.



"Do you have any idea what time it is? We were supposed to be picking Lucy up at six a clock, it's already half past!"



"Who's Lu-"



"I haven't eaten all day and that, coupled with the fact that I've been running around diagon alley worried sick for the last six and a half hours, is what, I suspect, is probably going to lead to my death in the end! You are in so much trouble when we get home, you know that don't you?"



Harry nodded.



"Get out of the shop right now. We are going home."Severus voice, low and deadly calm pried harry out of his chair and giving his friend a weak and apologetic smile, he picked up his bag and left the shop, not daring to open his mouth to say goodbye in the mood that Severus was in.



Severus followed Harry out of the shop and the door swung closed. It wasn't until the four boys had watched Severus and Harry out of sight that Ron finally turned back to his older brothers.



"Well- that was weird.



- - - - -



The walk from the Weasley twin's shop back to Michael and Hannah's apartment block dragged on painfully slowly as time seemed to make a stand at possibly the worst possible moment. Neither Harry nor Severus made a pass at a conversation and with the potions master walking a good five steps in front of Harry the entire way, it was hardly surprising.



Severus didn't hold the broken door open for harry this time, instead allowing it to swing back straight into the boys face.



He wrenched it open again, the corner dragging on the floor where it was hanging at an angle, broken off its hinges, he stubbed his toe with it and his shorts ripped as he tried to dodge passed before it swung shut again and the uneven edge caught his leg.



Severus was already half way up the first set of stairs and still ignoring him, the same as he had been doing for the last twenty minutes since he'd found him with `ron, Lee and the twins.



Stopping for a second to peer at the graffiti pictures on the walls, Harry barley made out the signature Michael malfoy beneath the layers of other doodles and mottos scattered across the wall.



The word 'runaway' caught his eye from within the jumbled mess and he let out a dejected sigh before starting on up stairs.



On the third floor landing, Harry found Hannah's front door wide open in invitation, but Severus was no where to be seen- he guessed that he'd gone in ahead of him.



Mike was visible through the open door, leaning back against the sofa that Lucy and Katy were sitting on, Elbows resting on his bent knees and his hand clasped between them, holding the game controller.



He smiled weakly and walked into the room, closing the door softly behind him.



Walking up quietly behind the two girls on the sofa, he pressed his finger to his lips when he noticed Katy watching him and bent down slightly until his mouth was at the same height as Lucy's ear.



"Hello Luce." The dark haired girl jumped and spun around in her seat to glare at Harry, hitting him on the arm crossly, her bottom lip sticking out in a pout whilst her best friend broke down into fits of hysteric giggling.



"Hello Harry, we were all worried about you." He looked around and blinked at Michael who was still staring at his game, seemingly having not even turned around. Had they really all been worried about him? Harry had just assumed that Severus didn't want to be held responsible for his disappearance, after all, he was the boy who lived.



"Oh don't look so surprised kid, come on sit down, I want to finish our game." He passed Harry a controller who sat indian style next to Mike.



- - - - -



It was only about five minutes later that Severus reappeared in the door way of the kitchen with Hannah.



"We're going, get your stuff together."



Lucy gave her daddy a peculiar look before climbing off the sofa and heading off towards her friends room to collect her jacket and shoes.



Harry paused his game, not bothering with strange looks as he knew full well why Severus was so cross. He gave Mike an apologetic look, he still liked the muggle boy, Malfoy blood or not.



"See you later Mike."



"Yeah." The brown eyed boy sighed and smiled at him. "Hey!" His eyes lit up and Harry knew he'd had an idea "Hold on a sec will ya, kid."



Harry didn't get time to protest, as Mike had already jumped to his feet with a natural grace and aristocratic elegance, which threw into stark view, just how much of a Malfoy the younger boy really was.



"Uncle Severus, I was wondering, It's market day tomorrow, do you think that Harry could come with Kirst and me?"



Severus' expression softened slightly but he stayed frowning. "Mike, I don't know. Harry's very important in the wizarding world and you and Kirsty Eckleston aren't really the sorts of role models that the wizarding world would want Harry to be associating with."



"Aww, please uncle Severus. Look, what if I say that I promise that I won't teach him to steal. I'll let Nat have that honour."



"Nathan, doesn't steal." he hesitated "Much- anyway I totally forbid him to teach Harry how. He's not a Londoner he doesn't need to know."



"Great, then I won't teach him and he'll be able to come with us tomorrow, yes!"



"Michael Christopher Malfoy! Stop berating Severus! He said that he can't come to the market with us, so he's not coming. That's that." Mike gave his mother a downcast look.



"However Severus. You *are* looking a bit pissed off at the moment. Don't worry about Lucy *or* Harry. They can stay here tonight. I'm sure they'll enjoy being with their friends and you look like you could do with a break. Go home and take a nice long bath. I'll deliver them back to you, spick and span tomorrow morning... we'll meet you at the market place."



Harry noticed Severus' relieved look, but he credited the man on the scowl that he managed to hold in place when he looked up at the squib, although now that he was actually looking at Severus he could plainly see the tiredness in his eyes.



"Since when were you my personal caretaker Hannah?" She grinned at the black haired wizard cheekily.



»I'm not. Not specifically anywayIºm your best friend Severus. Into that category falls teacher, student, mother, sister, companion, healer of hurts, shoulder to lean onpersonal caretaker.¡



The wizard gave her a weak smile as the scowl slipped away. "Thankyou Hannah, I'll see you tomorrow."



"You see that you do just that. I can't be looking after more kids for too long you know, cash is short now a days." She put her hands on Severus' back and literally pushed him towards the door. He seemed in a much better mood now than when they'd arrived but Harry was still eternally grateful that he didn't have to go back with him.



Lucy who'd been standing at the door with her jacket and shoes on, grabbed Severus' sleeve and tugged on it in irritation, a frown creasing up her pretty features and her bottom lip sticking out in a pout.


"So are we staying or going!" she demanded crossly with a stamp of her foot.


Severus looked down and ruffled her hair affectionately with a slight smile. "You're staying but I'm gonna go home, I'll pick you tomorrow, okay?"



"Okay!" Her grin lighted up her face making Severus laugh, she really was an adorable little girl.



"See you tomorrow uncle Severus."



"Bye uncle severus, come *on* Lucy." The blond haired girl urged her friend back to the bedroom and the various toys it held within.



Harry tipped his head back so that it was leaning against the sofa and grinned victoriously up at Severus. "Bye Severus- thankyou for taking me shopping today... I'm sorry I wondered off." Severus nodded towards him- the hard expression he'd worn earlier almost completely gone by now.


The potions master, gave him one small, barely visible smile to let him know that everything was okay before finally allowing Hannah to usher him out the door.


Harry flopped down to lie on the muddy green carpeted floor with an over exaggerated sigh of relief and his new friend lay down- albeit with a lot more grace- besides him, on his back with his hands behind his head.



Harry propped himself up to lie on one side, head on his hand to look at Mike who turned his face to grin at him. They smirked at each other remembering exactly how sneaky the Malfoy Squib had been. Seen they were in bouts of laughter.



Maybe Harry's day hadn't been ruined after all...



- - - - -



Wow, this is my best response to a story yet! Once again I have a lot of THANKS to give so here we go...



Sarah:- I'm very glad that you think it is so amazing, hopefully you liked this new chapter too!



Lady Nicole Malfoy-Potter:- Interesting? - how so? lots of ppl keep saying that. Once again, I'm glad you like it. Thanx for reviewing



Iced Flame (cool name):- Very glad you think so!



Phoenix:- I'm glad that you don't mind the ooc-ness of it. lol, yes the poking was very cool! I think that Lucy likes having Harry their as well as the other way round cuz she normally her brother and sister are always away and when they do come home then Nat pushes her away quite a bit and Ashleigh is much too old to really get on well in a sisterly way with my poor Luce! Well here's the next chapter. I took you advice and got a total of 2 and a half hours of sleep last night (at least it was better than nothing huh). Thankies for reviewing VegetandAru



Prophetess Of Hearts:- Slytherins and Gryffindors have personalities that you'll often find a combo of, so yes all Gryffindors do need a bit of Slytherin. Mike isn't stupid, not really anyway, he's a very smart boy who just so happens to have a bad background (you'll find out more about him later) He does stuff like thieving bcuz he knows that his family wouldn't be able to go on without the money that he brings in, he's quite a long shot from the Malfoy's that we're used to. you'll have to keep reading to find out whether Harry persuades 'Uncle Severus' to let him go out with MIke in the end. He's v. streetwise our Mike, a real Londoner, born and bred. Yeah, the poking scene rocked (or at least i thought so). Oh cute! Can I share your plushies with you! I'm sure I will, thanks!



ShadowedHand:- Sev is just worrying about Harry, he doesn't think that he's streetwise enough to cope, out thieving with Mike. Sev has known Mike ever since he was born and has known Hannah for ages since she was a Malfoy so he he does care, he loves and looks out for Mike, Katy and Hannah (although he'd probs rather die than admit it):- yup, and that's to keep reading... and reviewing (hint hint)



Steph:- Thanks! I think Harry and Lucy are cute together to I think that I may have subconsciously based them on my cousin and brother, they act like that a lot and it's where I got the idea for the poking fight from in the first place so i'm glad you liked it.



Padawan Jan-AQ:- Sorry bout the OOCness. It's all Helene's fault, blame her! <ggl> Although it's actually possible for someone to change that much between school life and home life, trust me, madame Jardon is a real life Sev, honestly. She's a bitch (everyone thinks so, even Hel), she's totally unfair, always favoring and giving green cards (our skools points system) to cloaks which pisses me off cuz i'm in sword (they're rival houses). I don't even take her classes (she teaches top french and i'm in bottom) and she still finds reasons to give me detentions!!! But then Helene and Audrey and Sebastian (her kids, Hel is in my form, Audrey- two years below us and Sebastian- two years above us in the boys skool across the road) Invited me over for the weekend and she was totally different, she even asked me to call her Iris instead of Madame Jardon (ugh)! So that big a change isn't completely out of the question. She's actually pretty nice, Kirsty almost had a fit when she found out, I think it broke down her entire belief system!
Anyway, Sev can still be Snape-ish at times, as you will see in chapters to come (hint hint)! Anyway, I'm glad that you enjoyed the second chapter more than the first and I hope you'll continue to read on bcuz you found out some of Sev's reasoning behind Mike in this chappie! Thanx for reviewing (twice)!



hahaha-evil:- wow thanks! Funny- I wasn't really trying to be funny but I'm very glad that you think it is. What story did you see- I've never had someone say that my story has had 'something more' before. Thankies!!!



Thanx v. v. much ppl! I hope ur all enjoying my story (I know I am)! Plz keep reviewin, It makes my day!



VegetandAru :0)