5

Severus Snape's morning was sad, like all the other moments of his lonely life.

A lonely cup of coffee, a lonely cigarette, a lonely house...

And soon, that bloody Hogwarts... How annoying they all are!

There is no other word for the stupid faces of pupils, the lean face of the Headmaster, the dried front of McGonagall... enemies everywhere.

Snape wouldn't have said it like that, either.

A knock on the door came as a surprise. Cursing to himself, the stupid neighbours, the idiotic Muggles and the silly world, Snape opened the door - and was dumbfounded.

Standing on the threshold was... Standing on the doorstep was a woman he hadn't seen in ten years but still couldn't forget.

Petunia.

Lily's sister.

She mainly had stayed the same over the years. She had grown drier, wrinkles in the corners of her mouth, her lips were firmly pressed together, and her expression was such that Severus suddenly wondered about alimony. Indeed he didn't have to pay it? Because with a face like that, bad debtors were being chased...

- Severus.

- Petunia... what brings you here?

- Here.

The letter was held out as if it were a dead toad.

- And - here.

Only then did Severus deign to lower his head to meet the insolent stare from the green eyes.

Standing next to Petunia was a boy. Short, black-haired, scarred forehead, the spitting image of James Potter if it wasn't for his eyes...

He had Lily's eyes.

No introduction was necessary.

- Harry Potter...

- Exactly. You were a freak, too! You'll figure it out!

With those words, Petunia left the battlefield, leaving the slightly (very slightly) dazed Potter alone with the aspiring chemist.

And it must be said that it wasn't the potions who came to his senses first.

- Uncle Snape, are you really a wizard? This is not a trick, is it?

Severus mentally groaned. It seemed a lousy morning promised to turn into an even lousier day.

Lousy Potter...

- What. You. There. Need?!

-" Harry had clearly inherited his father's cheekiness. - I need to buy all this crap," a second sheet from the letter slipped under his nose, listing the books and inventory. - And find out what Hogwarts is and who blew it up.

- Blew it up, why?!

A puzzled smile appeared on the little brat's face.

- How? Still, waiting? Let's see...

Severus's hand involuntarily jerked upwards. It was either grasping his forehead or crossing himself.

***

Exactly fifteen minutes later, the Potter was pacing toward Slanted Alley. Harry Potter followed behind him, not shutting up even to get answers to his questions.

- How old was Hogwarts?

- Who was the first wizard?!

- Why...

- Potter! Silenzio!!!

For the first time all morning, Snape managed to sigh as he saw the cheeky boy mimic a perch - silently opening his mouth and flapping his gills.

- You pester me with questions; you keep quiet for the rest of the time until the first of September. Do you understand me? You may nod.

Harry nodded obediently. Severus took a breath.

- I will take the spell off you now, and you will be silent. If you start talking, I will silence you again. Is that clear?

Harry nodded again.

Snape pointed his wand at him - without noticing as the boy's hand dived into his pocket.

What kind of chemist leaves home without a smoke bomb? For friends, for acquaintances, just good people...

***

The moment of retribution on Harry's part came when Snape wrapped up at the Hole Cauldron, sped through it at the speed of a ground-to-air missile, and began pounding on the bricks of the wall in the backyard. That's when Harry squeezed the smokestack lightly - and quickly slipped it into the pocket of the Potter's robe.

The countdown went to seconds.

The bricks slid open, revealing a passageway into the busy street. Snape stepped through and was greeted by a pop from his pocket and thick white smoke billowing profusely from his robes. From the outside, it looked like Potter was smoking somewhere around the sciatic nerve.

The delighted squeals of the regulars were his reward. Also...

- Aguamenti!!!

Out of great affection, Snape was extinguished with three wands at once. It didn't affect the smoke or Harry, who dodged it in time. The professor, on the other hand, was getting a full-blown pooch.

- POTTER!!!!!

The innocent look in his green eyes would have fooled anyone but not the Legiliment. Snape's hand reached out to grasp the boy's ear, but he dodged and sprinted down the alley.

- Snape, what's wrong with you?!

What's wrong with him!!!

Snape could answer that perfectly. He had let Potter out into the magical world without a collar, a leash and a muzzle. And the consequences could have been...

Why would there be consequences?!

He seemed overly optimistic today.

- Lucius, I seem to have triggered the armageddon of the magical world...

Lucius Malfoy, elegant as a piano in the bush, stared perplexedly at Snape. Still, the latter had a more critical task than even the smokestack, commandeering a long life in the pocket of his robe.

Where in Merlin's name had that little parasite gone!

***

The little vermin flew into the shop, marked "Madame Malkin's Robes" at this point, and took a breath. The professor would calm down now, and it would be possible to show his face. I suppose... I don't have the ears for it...

Standing on the stool, a blond boy looked up at Potter in bewilderment.

- Hey! Who are you?

- You're the "hey!" - Harry snapped back at me. - I have a name.

- Not just any name, I hope?

Harry glanced at the boy.

Skinny, blond, arrogant... ...or should I kick the stool? Or let him live out his days unscathed?

- You hope. Is there a way out of this?

- What, are they chasing you?

Harry looked out through the shop window. Snape was standing outside the shop, and his expression made the boy worry about more than just his ears.

- You could say that. So, a joke...

- A bit of a joke?

- Yeah, well, that Snape's a bit of a frostbite. Stupid...

- Snape?

- What are you trying to do? Repeat after me? Get out! Is there a way out of here?

- I don't know. Who are you, then?

- Harry Potter.

Draco almost fell off his stool on his own.

- WHO!?

- Henry James Potter, at your service and that of your kin," Harry retorted nervously, glancing outside. A menace called Snape was approaching along with some blond... Wait a minute...

- Is that - your dad outside with Snape?!

Draco jumped up to the shop window.

- Oh, yeah.

- Blimey! Bummer!

The heir to the Malfoy bloodline was not a wrong judge of character in critical situations either.

- Hold still; we're going to get you out of here.

***

The boys stood on stools when Snape and Malfoy entered the magic shop. Madam Malkin was bustling around in person, patching up robes, adjusting collars, and putting the finishing touches to the image of the two young gentlemen.

- Potter!!! - The freshly extinguished Potter roared like a wounded bear.

- Godfather!!! - Draco squealed in tune with him, hanging on Snape's neck.

Lucius shut his eyes and looked at the green-eyed boy on the stool. He was watching the family reunion with the smile of a former world-class tomboy.

A nasty lump stirred in the man's chest.

Had Snape been so wrong about armageddon?

Snape, meanwhile, pulled Draco away from him and looked at Potter.

- Permission to report, professor. The robes have been ordered. Now we need books, wands and other magical junk. When do we do that?

The Potter looked as if he was about to have a stroke. Lucius Malfoy sighed.

- Severus, sit in the cafe for now and get some rest. We'll get everything ourselves. Draco and I have a long way to go here anyway.

That was the happiest look Lucius had seen in the Potter's eyes since the Dark Lord had disappeared.