Lily's Charm: The Gift

1996

Harry and Severus popped back into existence, and dizziness roiled through Harry as he tried to reorient himself. Severus didn't release him, holding him steady until he could easily make out the row of small buttons along Severus' waistcoat. As if he somehow knew exactly how long it would take for Harry to get his bearings, Severus stepped back. Feeling ridiculously young, Harry looked up at his father.

The disappointment hadn't left his face. Nor had the anger diminished. And Harry couldn't think of a thing to say.

Severus turned, and only then did Harry realize they weren't outside Hogwarts' metal gates. He looked around in confusion, but then he saw Moody half-sitting on his bed, propped up by pillows. Dumbledore was standing beside him. Dumbledore looked relieved; Moody just looked grumpy.

Severus took Harry's elbow and pointed to a chair beside Moody's bed. "Sit," he directed curtly. Harry's face burned as he obeyed; both Dumbledore and Moody were staring at him, Dumbledore with a mortifyingly knowing look, and Moody with a glower. Harry, imaging his spinning blue eye could actually reach in and pluck his thoughts out, dropped his gaze to study his jeans.

"Well?" Moody demanded, but Harry didn't bother looking up, deciding it was very unlikely that the grizzled old Auror was speaking to him. "Was she there, then?"

"Yes," Severus said, his voice tightly controlled as if he didn't want to answer the question.

"Were you able to perform the scan?" Dumbledore asked quietly, his voice suddenly anxious.

"She had already gone by the time I arrived."

Dumbledore sighed.

"If we can return our attention to Alastor, I have other matters to attend to," Severus said, sounding both irritated and impatient in the same breath.

"Yes...of course, Severus," Dumbledore said softly, obviously having a good idea of the matter which needed attending to. Harry rubbed his palm across his flaming cheek, though of course he couldn't scrub the humiliation away. He wanted to ask what they were talking about--what scan and why Moody had been included in a discussion on whether or not Dawn would be where Harry was, but he sat silently, listening to his father and Dumbledore chanting spell after spell over Moody, glancing up only when it seemed unlikely that any of them would be looking at him.

Finally, Dumbledore sighed. "This isn't a permanent solution, by any means, Alastor. Perhaps it would be best for you to allow the Healers at St. Mungo's to have a look."

"Too many questions," Moody disagreed gruffly.

"We have no proof of foul play, Alastor-"

A loud crack brought Harry's eyes up again. Tonks, her hair an exuberant green, popped into the room. She grinned when she saw Harry. "Wotcher, Harry!" Her cheeks were rosy, and she looked far too happy for someone who was supposed to be gathering clues about Moody's mysterious illness.

Harry nodded, not even able to smile. She looked a little confused at his lackluster greeting, but Dumbledore caught her attention before she could say anything.

"You have information?" he asked her solemnly. She switched her gaze to the Headmaster. She shook her head.

"We couldn't find any traces of Miss Ridley's magical signature," she told him. "Kingsley and I will have to search through traces that we did find in order to find a match. He's already gone back to the Ministry to begin."

"My own will be there," Moody put in from the bed.

"I know, Moody," she said with nod, sounding as if she had to constantly remind the older wizard of her competence. He grunted, but fell silent. "We'll contact you as soon as we find anything," Tonks said to Dumbledore, though her glance included Severus as well.

"Thank you, Nymphadora."

Tonks' face broke into a grin, and with an offset wave to Harry, she turned on the spot and was gone with another loud crack.

"It seems we have no recourse but to wait then," Dumbledore said to the room in general.

"Harry."

Harry's eyes snapped to his father. He realized as he found his dad's face that he was hoping for some hint of warmth in his eyes, but there was none.

"We are going home," Severus said, and Harry stood slowly, dread gnawing at his stomach.

"Thank you for your help, Severus, as always," Dumbledore said sincerely, while Moody grimaced in an expression which was probably meant to convey gratitude as well. Severus inclined his head in a sharp movement.

"It was good to see you, Harry," Dumbledore added. He smiled at Harry. Harry simply nodded, making sure to avoid Moody's spinning eye, and followed his father into the Floo.

Severus and Harry stepped out onto their own hearth rug a moment later. Harry watched his father as he stepped over to the pegs near the door, unbuttoned his heavy clasp and hung his cloak neatly. His fingers lingered as he straightened the already pin-straight fabric.

He finally turned.

He gazed at Harry, saying nothing. Severus pursed his lips as his gaze traveled over Harry's still form, and Harry realized he was clutching the front of his jumper, pressing the soft fabric into his abdomen. He slowly untangled his fingers and let his hands fall to his sides.

Even though he'd sat silently in Moody's house for what seemed like hours, with nothing to do but think, Harry hadn't come up with anything more to offer besides another plea to be allowed an explanation. So he waited, but his father only continued to stare at him.

Fidgeting and wanting instinctively to curl his fingers back into his jumper, he said, in nearly a whisper, "I can explain-"

"Explain?" Severus echoed quietly. "What exactly are you going to explain, Harry? That you deliberately ignored my instructions and instead, did exactly as you wished?"

Harry swallowed. "Sirius was trying to-"

But Severus shook his head, making Harry fall silent. "I do not care what Black was trying to do. You are responsible for your own actions, Harry, no matter what he said to you."

"I know, but-"

"There is no excuse for this, Harry. None, do you understand?" Severus interrupted again, and even thought the tone of his voice had not changed from the soft, even one that he had started with, Harry's chest constricted painfully "The only thing I have ever cared about was your safety," Severus continued, his voice shaking. Harry's face screwed up as his father went on, "I did not ask you to stay here in order to punish you, nor do I care if you wish to spend every waking moment with your godfather."

"I don't," Harry said, with a fervent shake of his head. "This isn't about wanting to be with Sirius-" he tried desperately to interject; needing his father to understand that he hadn't recklessly ignored his instructions just to spend a few hours with Sirius.

"Then what is this about, Harry?" The slightly plaintive query made Harry wish he could sink through the floor.

"I..." Harry faltered. How was he supposed to answer that, when he didn't even know what had possessed him to go with Sirius?

"You deliberately disobeyed me and you have no idea why?"

"I didn't-"

"You left our quarters, Harry!" The burst of frustration was quickly squelched, and Harry could actually feel his father's flame smoothing its momentary anger. Severus lifted his chin a little as he continued in a more measured voice, "And you left without Remus. You did precisely what I told you not to do."

"I couldn't find Remus." Harry had no idea why he was still arguing. It was a stupid argument anyway.

"You could have waited," Severus said, echoing what Harry already knew perfectly well. "You could have, but you chose not to. You chose to defy me."

"Dawn wasn't even supposed to be there." Harry said, coming close to a full-on whinge. He shook his head and tried again. "Sirius told her she couldn't see me. I thought it would be all right-"

Severus' eyes narrowed as he stepped toward Harry. "No," he corrected, "you thought it would be easy to persuade me that it was all right."

As his father's words came too close to the truth, Harry fell back a step, shaking his head, not even knowing why he was making the negative gesture. "I wasn't trying to defy you," he said miserably. "Sirius just sounded so upset...he was trying to do what you wanted..." He trailed off; he didn't really want to make any more excuses. His hands were once again twisted up in his jumper, but this time he left them there.

"You left because you did not want to upset Black." It was the same flat tone with which Severus had addressed Sirius in Sirius' new sitting room. It was the same betrayal.

Harry caught his lower lip between his teeth as he nodded, not daring to speak.

"It seems," Severus continued tonelessly, "that it was a mistake to allow you to see your godfather at all, since it seems you lose the ability to think for yourself in his presence."

Harry said nothing; his fingertips felt dead against his jumper.

Severus gazed at him. He half-opened and then closed his mouth twice before finally saying, "Until your first concern is your own safety..." Severus jaw flexed but he continued, his vocal chords straining to finish, "...you will not see your godfather. Nor will I feel comfortable allowing you your usual freedoms...not until I feel I can trust you again."

Until I can trust you again... Harry nodded numbly. He'd deserved that.

"I believed you when you told me you would not leave."

Harry looked away, finally unable to meet the accusation in his father's eyes.

His first Christmas with his father only a week away, and he'd bollixed everything up. Not that that was particularly surprising...

"Harry."

Harry shook his head, trying to soothe the burn in his throat as he swallowed.

"No, I understand," he assured his father croakily, not wanting to hear the gouging words repeated.

He looked up in surprise as he felt Severus' hand on his shoulder. Looking both exasperated and resigned, Severus silently palmed the back of Harry's head and with very little pressure, pulled Harry toward him. With his forehead pressed into Severus' shoulder, Harry closed his eyes, somehow feeling even more disgraced like this than he had at Moody's.

He wanted to apologize, but he knew it would sound too hollow.

"Do you realize how fragile you are?" Severus asked, the words muffled since his mouth was smushed against the top of Harry's head.

Fragile. Not exactly a word to make a person feel like a man.

"Despite five years' worth of Albus trying to teach you otherwise, you are not invincible," Severus continued, his voice growing stern for the first time, "And I assure you, Harry, I intend to make certain that you understand that before your propensity to rush blindly into danger, kills you."

Instead of irritating Harry, the hint of a threat eased some of the tension in his stomach.

"Your life is far too valuable for you to be so reckless with it."

I value your life too much, was what Harry heard. He smiled, even though the knot of tension in his stomach hadn't loosened all that much. But even so, Harry found his arm coming up in an awkward half-hug around his father's waist. Severus' fingers pressed briefly against the back of Harry's head, and they stood there for a long moment, neither of them feeling the need to speak anymore. And then Severus' hands were back on Harry's shoulders and he was being gently pulled back; Harry almost sighed in relief as he immediately found the familiar, and recently-elusive warmth in his dad's eyes.

"I need to brew a potion for Alastor. I trust, however," Severus said smoothly, "you know where you will be spending the next several hours."

Harry stared, trying to figure that one out. Obviously not in the lab with his father... Severus gave the corridor behind them a pointed look. Harry's lips parted in surprise. "You're....sending me to my room?" he asked, finding himself shocked by the notion. His father raised a single eyebrow.

"I am rather displeased with you at the moment, or was that unclear?"

"Er...no, it was clear," Harry said as his face grew hot again. He wanted to mention that he was sixteen and not six, and that he hadn't even protested any of the things his dad had said, not even about not seeing Sirius, but after a stilted moment, he decided not to test the mild glare he was being favored with.

"Excellent," Severus said as Harry nodded. "You can use the time to write a copy of your plan for me."

"Plan?"

"Mm," Severus agreed with a nod. "The plan you devised in case Miss Ridley or Simon threatened you once you arrived at Black's plot."

Harry's brow furrowed. "But I didn't have a..." He trailed off at his father's pointed look. Harry sighed. "Right."

"I will check on your progress in a few hours."

Harry tried not to let his shoulders slump dejectedly. "I'll be there," he said, sounding much gloomier than he meant to.

But damned if his dad's eyes weren't lit with mirth. "Indeed, you will be," he said dryly, and then before Harry could really check for amusement, he was being unceremoniously spun around and given a pointed nudge between his shoulder blades. He sighed and trudged off to his room, where a piece of parchment and quill were hovering in the air, waiting for him.

--

"Dinner is on the table."

Harry looked up, startled by sudden intrusion; he had grown used to the quiet. His father was standing in his doorway; Harry's stomach swooped. It was a stupid reaction, especially since his dad didn't look particularly displeased with him anymore. He was simply standing there, a small smile on his lips as he gazed at Harry. His shirtsleeves were rolled up past his elbows, and the collar of his shirt was open. Harry rarely saw his father looking so casual; the potion he'd been working on must have been particularly involved.

"Oh...right."

"Are you not hungry?" Severus asked in surprise, coming in the room to stand close to Harry's chair. Harry shrugged. After the initial struggle to begin working, he'd been too engrossed to pay much attention to his stomach.

"Guess I lost track of time," he explained as he set his chewed quill down; it left a soggy blotch against the parchment.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "May I see it?"

"Er...sure." Harry slipped the parchment from under the quill and handed it over. Severus took it and Harry watched his dark eyes scanning the words silently. "I...er, thought a lot about what you said...about Dawn and about...you know--making my own safety a priority."

Severus gave Harry his full attention. "Oh?"

Harry shifted in his chair.

"Yeah," he went on with a quick nod. "And I don't do that, you know? Not ever, really. And even though Dawn sort of makes me uncomfortable, and I believe you when you say she might be dangerous, I didn't really stop to think about it." Harry frowned to himself as he continued, "Which is stupid really, since I've done loads of daft things which should have gotten me killed..." Harry glanced down quickly and then gazed at his father with a solemn expression as he continued, "...and well Sirius has too, and between the two of us he did get killed and he should know better, I guess, so you're right about not seeing him-"

"Harry."

Harry paused in mid deep-breath at the quiet interruption.

"As I said earlier," Severus said easily, making no comment on Harry's flustered state, "you have been taught to believe in your own indestructibility. It is not stupid; you simply need to readjust your thinking."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, glancing down at his hands. When he looked back up again, his mouth was twisted in a grimace. "I'm really sorry."

"I know," Severus said with a gentle nod. "And I do appreciate that you are taking my words seriously." He gave Harry's fringe a cursory sweep before he pulled his hand back and said briskly, "Shall we have dinner then?" He smirked. "We can discuss your plan in detail."

Harry groaned, the rest of the knot dissolving as he hauled himself to his feet. "I'm on to you, you know, Dad. This is nothing but an essay in disguise."

Severus turned back toward the corridor. "I did not mean to disguise it all," he said, his amusement clear this time.

Harry smiled as he followed his father to the dinner table.

--

"I'm sorry, Gin," Harry said with an apologetic shake of his head, the next evening; they'd made plans before Ginny had left for home for Harry to visit the Burrow tomorrow. "I'm not even allowed to wander around the castle."

Harry had realized during their chat at dinner last night, that his father actually believed Sirius was going to visit the castle and make it his goal to coerce him. Harry had wisely not mentioned that it had only been Sirius' suggestion to go with him--there hadn't been any pressure. The fault was squarely Harry's own, and he wasn't particularly keen on a repeat of that mistake, so his father really didn't have much to worry about.

"Not at all?" Ginny asked, her ginger eyebrows shooting upward. Harry flushed.

"Er...well, not unless he's with me." Ruddy embarrassing, having to explain this to his girlfriend. He wished he could have told Ron to give her a message. It would be a lot easier to be a coward.

"I'm sorry, Harry," she softly. Harry shrugged. She reached one her hands through the fire and touched his cheek. "At least he let you talk to me."

"He'd have to tell you himself otherwise."

"To think, he'd rather dice flobberworms than talk to me," Ginny said with a shake of her head. Harry grinned. "You're both coming for Christmas though, aren't you?" Ginny asked worriedly. "Mum'll be so disappointed if you don't."

"Your mum'll be disappointed?" Harry asked, feigning hurt.

"And Ron," Ginny said with a crisp nod.

"Very funny," Harry grumbled, wishing he was with her as she grinned at him. "We're still coming for Christmas anyway," he told her. "I could probably come tomorrow as well...if my dad came with me. He'd probably want to follow us all around the property."

Ginny made a face. Harry had to agree--didn't sound like much fun at all.

He yelped as Ron's face suddenly poked through the green flames.

"Oi, Ron," Ginny groused, giving her brother a shove. Ron shoved her right back, jostling her with his shoulder.

"You two were taking forever," he told her. And to Harry, he asked, "Did you see the Prophet?"

Harry nodded. Lucius had been acquitted, though the issue of his Death Eater status was left rather hazy. Apparently though, the Wizengamot had decided Lucius' assistance to Harry was enough to keep him out of Azkaban. Neither Harry, nor Severus had been surprised by the news, or surprised by Simon's reputed glee.

Ron paused dramatically, and then said in a stage whisper, he said, "Dawn left as soon as the verdict was given."

"I know," Harry answered. "Dumbledore told us."

Ron went on, as if he hadn't even heard. "She hasn't been back to the Ministry since then. I heard Dad and Mum talking...they said she went off with Simon and...yeow!"

A hand, which was decidedly Mrs. Weasley's, had clamped onto Ron's ear.

"Mum," he complained, even as he was being hauled backward, and out of the flames. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"I'd better go," she said resignedly. She said a quick goodbye, sans kiss, and popped back out of the fire. The green flames died quickly.

Harry sighed as he sat back on his heels. This holiday was really beginning to ronk. Nothing for it though, he supposed. He pushed himself to his feet and went to find his father in the lab.

Severus was elbows-deep in frog innards, plucking intestines out with skilled fingers.

"Can I help?"

His father looked up in surprise. "You wish to help me disembowel frogs?"

"Not much else to do," Harry answered with a sheepish shrug.

"Ah." He gestured to the pile of innards. "I am nearly finished. Would you perhaps like to play a game of chess for the rest of the evening?"

"Yeah?"

"Certainly," Severus said with a small smile. "I will be finished in fifteen minutes," he said, glancing at his bubbling potion first.

Harry grinned. "I'll get a shower then." He smirked at his father's raised eyebrow. "I'll help you with your frogs next time."

"I will remember you said so."

Harry made a face as he turned to go. He probably would.

--

Severus looked up from his last frog. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, he cast a Stasis Charm over both the cauldron and the frogs, and stalked into the sitting room. Lupin's head was floating in the flames.

"I am brewing an extremely delicate potion," was Severus' greeting, and then paused to wonder why Remus looked so nervous. "What is it?" he demanded abruptly, his thoughts flying to Harry, even though he was still safely in the shower.

"Sirius was hoping to speak with Harry," Remus explained, with a mild grimace.

"No. Was that all?"

Remus sighed. "He wants to apologize, Severus."

"Again?" Severus queried icily. He shook his head as Remus opened his mouth. "Black is immature and reckless. And Harry is too easily influenced by him, but I will not allow any other lapses in judgment to affect him."

"Sirius is willing to speak to Harry in your presence."

"How very generous," Severus drawled.

Remus frowned. "If you feel no differently after Sirius speaks with Harry, he won't ask you again."

Severus wanted to scoff at that, but Remus' words were correct, since he would not allow Black to ask again. "I will eject him into the corridor if he even looks like he might suggest Harry do something foolish."

Remus smiled, though Severus had no idea why; he was being perfectly serious. "I will tell him." He pulled his head back through the flames, and with a soft snarl, Severus gave the Floo instructions to admit Sirius Black--only once.

A moment later, Black stepped out of the fireplace.

They stared at each other in silence.

"Harry will be with you momentarily," Severus finally said brusquely when the silence began to irritate him. He didn't offer the mutt a seat.

"Right," Black said with a single nod. He stuffed his fists into his pockets, shifting his gaze a bit but keeping his head very still, obviously trying very hard not to be too obvious about looking around at Severus' quarters.

"It is not quite what I you expected?" Severus asked sarcastically. "No bats, not a cobweb to speak of."

Black's eyes jumped back to Severus' face. Severus watched in amusement as Black strained against the slow flush that was heating his neck. Black frowned, but only for an instant, before he squared his shoulders and his lips dissolved their scowl.

"Look, Snape," he began awkwardly.

"Not Snivellus this time?" Severus drawled laconically. The muscles in Black's jaw palpated.

"Look, Snape," he repeated, almost spitting the words. He continued in a slightly less hostile tone once his neck stopped pulsing, "I just want to square things with Harry. Make certain he's all right."

Severus narrowed his eyes. "I am not Lucius," he said coldly. "I had no plans to thrash him."

Sirius said nothing, though he didn't look like he disbelieved the claim; his feet shifted against the heart rug.

"Harry...means the world to me," he went on, his voice faltering over the words; he looked like he'd swallowed one of the agents Severus used to dissolve metal for his potions. "I didn't know Dawn was going to be there."

If Severus hadn't known the mutt to be a worthless wretch, he would have assumed he was trying to apologize. But of course Black was only making excuses for himself. "Albus tells me she and Simon have left together on holiday," Severus said, unable to keep the smirk from his voice.

"As far as I know," Black said stiffly, after a pause.

"Pity."

Black's eyes flashed but he gave no retort. Severus eyed the other man, unsettled. But before he could attempt to test this new unflappable version of his old enemy, Harry, his hair damp and wild, rounded the corner. His fingers stilled on his pajama shirt's last button as he came to a very abrupt halt.

He looked quickly between the two men, and then more slowly. "Er...hi Sirius," he said uncertainly, glancing again at his father.

Sirius smiled at him, though he looked a little confused. "It's...only nine o'clock."

Harry finished slotting his button through its hole and nodded, trying to look more at ease than he felt. "We were going to play chess."

"Oh." Sirius looked even more flummoxed by that.

"What are you doing here?"

Sirius' fingers kneaded the juncture between neck and shoulder a few times as he glanced at Severus. "I wanted to speak with you."

Harry waited, but Sirius didn't say anything.

"I will be in my lab."

Harry glanced at his dad, and nodded. Severus turned and went into his lab. He kept the door open and he made no show of pretending to be busy; he kept his gaze on the sitting room as he plucked a stomach from a dead frog. Harry turned back to Sirius.

"Remus didn't yell at you anymore, did he...after we left?

Sirius' shoulders relaxed. "Just a bit."

Harry smiled. Remus could certainly deliver a lecture--he was glad he hadn't been Sirius last night. But then Harry remembered that Sirius had ventured into enemy territory, just to speak with him. He frowned at his godfather. "What's wrong Sirius?"

Sirius cleared his throat. "I shouldn't have asked you to come with me."

"It wasn't your fault, Sirius."

Harry shook his head as Sirius looked ready to argue, but Sirius spoke anyway, "Dawn's left."

"I heard. I'm sorry, Sirius-"

"I shouldn't have trusted her. I don't know how I didn't see how...odd, she was before last night. It seems a bit fuzzy now..." He shook his head as though to clear it. "And," he continued with a grimace, "I didn't mean to get you into trouble."

Harry shrugged, and wished he wouldn't blush so easily. "It's all right. I'm not in that much trouble." He didn't explain how disappointed his father had been, which was much worse than any punishment that could have been doled out.

Sirius nodded, but didn't press for details. "It was stupid of me to try to make you do something...I was being immature and competitive, as I always am." His hands shifted restlessly against his thighs. "Look Harry...I was trying to tell Snape, but I couldn't quite manage it..."

"Yeah?"

Sirius took a deep breath, and tried to make it look like he wasn't glancing at Severus in the lab. "I...just want things to be the way they used to be between us. I know Snape won't let you see me now, but when he will again..." Harry's stomach twisted as Sirius' face looked ready to crumple.

"I can learn to get along with him, Harry. I will."

Harry stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his godfather. Sirius' breath hitched in relief as he pulled Harry into a hug. Harry hadn't hugged him since that first night in the infirmary; he hadn't imagined it would relieve him so much; even if Sirius' chest was suffocating him a bit.

He had missed Sirius--even when he'd been only centimeters away.

"Oi, Harry, you must've grown six centimeters since the spring." Sirius poked Harry's ribs playfully. Harry pulled back, hissing out a breath of laughter. "And your ribs have some meat on them--finally. Molly must be pleased."

Harry brushed Sirius' hands away, still grinning a little. "She is. She actually told my dad he was taking good care of me."

"It seems to be the consensus," Sirius said with a nod. He smiled, putting his around Harry's shoulders and giving him a quick squeeze. "I won't keep you from your chess game, but I'll be at the Weasleys' on Christmas."

"Thanks, Sirius," Harry said as he handed his godfather the small dish of Floo powder.

Sirius grinned as he backed into the fireplace with his fistful of powder. "See ya, kiddo," he said with an easy wave and then he was flashing away in a roar of fire.

Harry shook his head in amusement. Still smiling, he went into the lab, where his father was just corking his neatly labeled flasks. Severus waved his wand, and Harry watched the tall flasks parading themselves into the tall storage cupboard.

"Thanks for letting Sirius come through," Harry said once his dad had closed the cupboard door.

"You are welcome."

Harry twisted the blunt end of the pestle into his palm. "He does mean what he said--about trying to get along with you."

"I have no doubt."

Harry pursed his lips as he tried to trace any sarcasm in his father's voice. He couldn't find any.

"Are you ready for our match?" his father queried. Harry dropped the stone pestle. He nodded as it plunked into the pestle.

"I've had loads of practice with Ron," he said with a challenging smile. His father raised an eyebrow.

"I often play with Albus."

Oi. "Maybe we should play gobstones instead..."

The chess game continued well past midnight.

And just as Harry feared, his father trounced him soundly.

--

Harry shook his head as he dropped the last intestine into the dish; it landed with a squishy plop. Three days. And Harry was slowly going mad. He had actually volunteered again this morning to gut frogs. He'd almost enjoyed himself too. Anything was better than reading Quidditch Through the Ages again.

He sighed as he watched Severus waving his wand to clean up the mess.

"I need to go to Diagon Alley to procure supplies for the upcoming semester."

Harry looked up hopefully. "Can I come with you?"

Severus' eyebrows rose. "Surely you would rather stay here and gut another pile of frogs?"

Harry really would have liked to stick his tongue out at his father. "Nah. Wouldn't want to cram all my fun into one day, you know."

"Get your cloak then. And I will attempt to make the trip as dull as possible."

Grinning, Harry wasted no time, fastening his cloak quickly and donning both cap and mittens before his dad had even wrapped his cloak around his shoulders. He waited impatiently, with a sneaking suspicion that his dad was moving as slowly as possible purely to torture him. But even so, they were stepping out of Diagon Alley's Floo Center within minutes.

"Where would you like to go first?" Severus asked as he and Harry dodged a tall, exuberant man who had recognized Harry instantly, even without his glasses.

Harry tilted his head, as he squinted up at his father. "I thought you needed to go to the Apothecary."

"Yes, I do," Severus answered with a nod. "It has been some time, however, since you purchased anything for yourself, has it not?" Without giving Harry a chance to answer, he straightened his gloves and inquired briskly, "What do you need?"

"Er..."

"Perhaps to Eyelops for a bag of treats for Hedwig? Or a bundle of quills to begin the new term? A new Quidditch manual?"

"Uh...yeah, all right," Harry agreed, taking in the eager glint in his father's eye. He could use some new quills and Hedwig would certainly appreciate the treats. He'd make sure to tell her they were from his dad.

"Excellent," Severus said in satisfaction.

"We can go to the twins' joke shop as well," Harry suggested with a straight face. "My supply of Skiving Snackboxes is running low." Harry nodded. "Don't worry, though, I won't use them in your class."

Severus' brow furrowed as he peered at Harry's innocent expression. Harry laughed and with a sound glare, he and his dad entered Eyelops. They spent the next two hours browsing around the shops. By the time they found the Apothecary, Severus' pockets were full of shrunken packages.

"Ah, Severus," the rotund shopkeeper boomed as they stepped into the fragrant shop, "what can I do for you today...and who's this?" He smiled widely at Harry though, waving his hand to cut off Severus' explanation. "Your son, yes. Harry."

"Yes, sir," Harry answered.

"Wonderful to have you here," he said sincerely. He gestured around the room. "Your father has been my best customer for years."

Harry smiled, but as he opened his mouth to comment, he felt an odd sensation in his belly...like a huge hook was grasping his navel... "Dad..." he gasped, panic quickly taking over as he recognized the pull of a Portkey. Everything around him was beginning to spin.

"Harry!" he heard his father shout as his spiraling black form lunged toward him.

And then Harry was crashing to the ground in a heap of limbs. He pushed himself up dizzily, seeing only frozen grass in front of him.

"Hello again, Harry."

Harry turned around slowly.

Dawn smiled back at him.

As Harry stared, her cruel smile twisted, and her body roiled and morphed. Harry backed up, his spine tingling.

It couldn't be. "You're dead..." Harry stammered.

Bellatrix laughed, low and cold.

"It seems," she said quietly as she stepped toward him, "that your father will be devastated after all."