"Let him stare, Snape. He's had a shock." He glanced down to Harry, his expression growing softer, more tentative. "You said, before I had to run again, that you'd like to live with me. If you could. Well… here you are. A new home, if you'd like it."
"It's brilliant," Harry assured, beaming.
Sirius rocked up on his toes, releasing him and Remus and bounding back towards the house. "Come on, I'll show you inside!"
"It's like having another child," Snape muttered. Harry's eyes widened when Remus elbowed the man gently in the side.
"Leave him be, he's just excited. He hasn't had much to be happy about in the last twelve years," he chided. Harry followed his godfather up to the manor doors, and into a grand entrance hall. There was a huge dark wood staircase in front of him, the walls painted dark blue and the floors a gleaming white marble. The only portraits hanging were landscapes; no people whatsoever. "We'll give you the grand tour tomorrow," Sirius promised. "But Ceri almost has dinner ready."
With Sirius' guiding hand on his shoulder, Harry was led into a large kitchen and dining area, with a long wooden table set for four places. At the stove, perched on a stool, was a house elf. The elf wore a little black pinafore dress with a crest on the front that Harry recognised as the Black family crest. She — presumably a girl, going by the dress — tur ned when they entered, and her face lit up. "Master Harry, sir!" she greeted, bowing so low her nose touched the stool. "Master Sirius be saying he was bringing his godson soon! I is Ceri, young master; the elf of Seren Du. It is being an honour to have you here!"
"It's, uh, nice to meet you too, Ceri," Harry replied. His only previous experience of house elves was Dobby, and that had been… a little volatile.
"Such manners, young master!" Ceri muttered approvingly. "Please be sittings for dinner, sirs."
The four of them sat at the table, and Ceri soon had enormous plates of roast dinner in front of them; beef with all the trimmings, even Yorkshire puddings. Harry, who had barely eaten more than a few slices of bread and some cheese since he'd left Hogwarts, felt his mouth start to water. "This looks amazing, Ceri."
"Thank you, young master! If yous be needing anything else, just call for Ceri." With that she disappeared, leaving the four of them to their meal.
"Pass the gravy, would you, Snape?" Sirius asked politely, reaching out for the porcelain gravy boat. Snape did as asked, and Harry goggled. Last he'd known, Sirius and Snape hated each other. Snape had reluctantly agreed to hear him out the night of Pettigrew's escape, but there was definitely no love lost between the pair. What had changed? Harry's eyes turned to Remus, who was sat beside Snape, happily stealing the man's parsnips in exchange for his own carrots. He'd bet his Firebolt the werewolf had something to do with it.
"So you've been here since you escaped, have you?" Harry asked, once he'd sated his immediate hunger. He had to eat slowly, or he'd make himself sick. "Where's Buckbeak?"
"In the stables, out back. Loves it out here, he does; free run of the woods, as long as he's home by nightfall," Sirius said, looking pleased. Harry was glad; Buckbeak deserved some freedom, after being cooped up in Hagrid's hut for so long. "I stopped off long enough to find that owl and get a letter to you, then took a quick jaunt down to Norfolk to let some muggles see me, before heading this way. I hadn't been here since I was about thirteen, but I found it in the end."
"This place is incredible," Harry muttered, looking around. It was old-fashioned, but very clean, and surprisingly well decorated for a house that apparently hadn't seen people in two decades.
"Ceri kept it in good nick, waiting for the day the family would come use it again," Sirius agreed. "Just wait 'til you see the rest of it. I loved it as a kid — it's for family only, not visitors, so it's not nearly as stuffy and pretentious as the rest of the Black properties. Closest thing to home I had, except Hogwarts." He smiled, as if thinking of fond memories. "Anyway, as soon as Remus left the school he wrote me to see where I was, and I went and picked him up outside of Aberystwyth. He brought Snape with him a week or so later when the term ended."
"Wait, you live here too?" Harry blurted, turning to Snape. The dark-haired man nodded.
"Not permanently. I have a role to play back at Hogwarts, and the headmaster expects certain things of me. But I plan to spend much of my summer here." For some reason, that made Remus grin into his roast potatoes, and Sirius roll his eyes.
"Lucky me," he muttered under his breath, then cursed. Harry got the feeling Remus had just kicked him under the table. "Anyway," he continued, turning back to Harry, "when Remus told me you'd been living with Lily's harpy of a sister, we knew we couldn't let that slide. So I had Ceri clear a room for you, and Snape was kind enough to play chaperone. Was it everything you dreamed of?" That was directed at the Potions Master, who smirked, eyes flashing.
"Seeing Petunia again satisfying, thank you."
was
quite
"She looked like she'd seen a ghost," Harry said, laughing. "How do you know her, Professor?" If Sirius was making an effort to be nice to Snape, then he supposed he could as well. The man had just rescued him, after all. "I grew up in the same town as your mother's family; Cokeworth, not far from Wolverhampton. Lily and I met when we were seven, and Petunia was… not pleased with our association. Especially not once Lily got her Hogwarts letter and I was allowed to tell her the truth about magic," Snape explained.
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