The front door unlocked with a click. Draco rushed from the couch to the hallway to welcome his guardian home. The door opened and much to his surprise, there was more than one person standing on the porch. "Who's he?!" Draco asked. The smile on his face quickly changed into a frown. "He," said Snape, "is Harry. He will live with us from now on." The tone of his voice left no room for debate. "Harry, this is Draco, my godson and ward." Harry lifted his eyes curiously from his shoes to the blond boy in the hallway. "H-hello D-Draco," he greeted in a small voice. "Hi," Draco replied, lifting his chin and folding his arms in front of his chest. His eyes scanned Harry from top to bottom. Harry seemed small, definitely a year or two younger than himself. His face was pale and slim, the joints of his elbows protruded from the rest of his arms. Overall, he seemed like a skinny imp. Pathetic, really, easy prey.

Draco has lived with his godfather for about a month now. After his parents were convicted for more than one case of magical misconduct, including violence against muggles as well as severe neglect of parental duties, custody for the boy was transferred to his godfather, Severus Snape. The boy had recently turned nine and enjoyed the undivided attention he had received up until now. Spending time in his new home made him overcome the loss of his parents quickly, much to the surprise of his caretaker.

"Draco, mind your attitude," Snape reprimanded. "Here, take Harry's bag and put it in your room, then come back down again so we can talk about these new arrangements."

„What, why? I'm not a house el-," the boy started to complain, but stopped when he caught Severus' intimidating stare.

"Now, Draco. Do as you're told!"

Draco snatched the bag reluctantly, and trod upstairs into his room. Snape sighed, his eyes followed his charge up the stairs before addressing Harry. "Come on in then!" He ushered Harry in the house. "Welcome to your new home!"

"Thank you, sir," Harry replied.

"I will prepare some tea. You take off your shoes. Do not touch anything and no wandering around, I'll be back in a minute. The kitchen is over there," Snape said, pointed to the end of the short hallway, then left for the other room.

Harry nodded, took off his shoes and glanced around. This new place seemed alright. Cozy almost. The dark walls gave the hall a warm feeling. There was no decoration on the walls apart from a framed piece of paper that looked much like a certificate. Degree of "Master of Potions", awarded to Severus Snape, May 1984, he read.

To his left he saw what he thought would be the sitting room. Harry looked and took a step inside, but not too far. He did not want to start off on the wrong page with his new guardian. For all he knew, that man was intimidating, with his deep voice and dark, piercing eyes. The dark all-black attire contrasting the pale skin did not help ease that impression into anything more delightful.

The sitting room was filled with books. Books on all shelves, books on the sitting table, books in the window sill. A black couch and two head chairs filled the room. Heavy curtains half covered the windows on the left, facing the porch. A small fire place decorated the corner of the room. On the wall to his right was another door, closed. Harry could only image what was in there. Probably more books, he thought and smiled to himself.

Stomping sounds announced the return of another, particular inhabitant of that house: Draco. The blond boy smirked as he marched down the stairs like the little prince he thought he was. He stopped at the last stair. "So, you want to live here now, too, do you?" Draco sneered. Harry looked up into his eyes without saying anything. "What, can't you talk without old Snape around protecting you, or what?!" Draco stepped closer towards Harry in an attempt to intimidate the new boy. "You better watch your tongue and check whether old Snape is within ear shot, before talking so cowardly," uttered a deep voice, "and stop teasing Harry." Draco turned his head, blushed slightly in apologized in a mumble. Snape grunted to signify his displeasure. "Come on in to the kitchen. Tea's almost done."

Harry quickly followed the man into the kitchen.

"Take a seat," said Snape and turned to handle the kettle of hot water. There were five seats around a table. Harry headed for the chair closest to him and sat down. Draco shuffled into the kitchen and barked „Oi, that's my place!"

Harry startled and jumped off the chair. Snape intervened.

"Harry, sit back up. Draco," he pierced the boy with his eyes "find another chair. There's more than enough room for the three of us." Draco glared at Harry, while he walked around the table to sit as far away from the intruder as possible.

"Good. That wasn't too hard now, was it?" Snape asked snidely. He touched the top of the table with the tip of his wand. Tea cups appeared.

"I hope you like chamomile, Harry," he said as he filled three cups. Harry's eyes grew wide. He still needed to get the hang of magic surrounding him.

"Now, as I mentioned, we need to talk about this new situation," he said as he distributed the cups to each of his wards and pulled the last one to himself. Harry took the cup and put both hands around it. Draco scowled and stared at the new boy.

"Draco, as much as you may dislike the change of arrangement here, you will have no other option than to comply and I would furthermore recommend you lose that attitude you present right now. There will be no squabbling among the two of you. If you, however, do find yourselves in a row of misunderstandings, I want you to come to me and ask for help," he said as he addressed both boys. His gaze, however, rested upon Draco when he added "As your guardian, it is my task to provide a home for you. The both of you are in my care and I will treat you equally. In return, I demand obedience from you and respect not only towards myself but also towards each other. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said. His voice a little raspy for he hasn't spoken much so far. Draco scowled.

"Yes, sir," he added hesitantly through slightly gritted teeth.

"Good," Snape said in a calm yet determined tone.

"Now, another thing. After we had our tea, I will show you around the house, Harry. Draco, you are welcome to join us if you want." He sipped on his tea.

"There are a few rules in his house that need be obeyed. Fail to abide by them and you will suffer the consequences." Draco's eyes fell to his tea. Harry listened attentively, still clasping his cup.

"I expect honesty and do not tolerate being lied to. You will not scream, run around the house or cause havoc in any other way. You are to be friendly and respectful towards each other as well as any guest in this house. You will attend meals on time and clean up after yourselves. Furthermore, your room is to be kept tidy, that includes making your bed in the morning and putting away clothes in the evening."

Draco mentally rolled his eyes. Harry drank some tea and listened on.

"You will attend school here in this neighbourhood. I expect you to do nothing less than your best. I will not tolerate slacking off."

"Lastly, when I assign chores, I expect you follow through with them." Snape paused. "I believe that covers it for the beginning. Any questions?"

Harry was almost startled by the abrupt ending of the speech. That was it? Be on time for meals? Go to school and do chores? His thoughts were interrupted by Draco's wailing voice.

"Chores? Since when do…" Draco rambled.

"I know this concept is foreign to you, Draco, but in order to function symbiotically, I will assign minor tasks for you to fulfill from time to time. It will do you good and teach responsibility," Snape explained.

"If you've finished, let's start with the house tour."

Harry gulped down the last drop of tea, smiled and nodded excitedly. Hidden from his godfather's sight Draco clenched his fists under the table. He did not like this. At. All.

Leaving the kitchen, Snape and Harry followed to the sitting room. Draco, who remained sitting for a while, jumped off the chair, his feet pounding the floor. Severus noticed the noise, cast a quick glance over his shoulder, but decided to ignore it for now.

"The books in this room," he whirled around while pointing towards the dark wooden shelves behind him,"are available for your education as well as entertainment. There are also a few board games among the shelves. I expect you to handle all items with care." He looked at Harry, whose eyes scanned the bookshelves from the windows, followed down the wall towards a closed door. "Although the sitting arrangements might be inviting, they are not to be used as bouncy castles. The fireplace is connected to the floo, so make sure to always keep it clean of clutter. I will not have any guests, or myself, fall over scattered books or toys." Harry looked around as he took in all the information.

"Do you have any questions so far?"

Harry scooped up all courage he had in himself and asked, "Wh-what's behind that door?" Snape's eyes glided from Harry to the door he was pointing at.

"That would be my private study. Connected to it, you would find my potions laboratory." Looking back at the boy, "For your own safety as well as my peace of mind, you are not to set foot or even as much as glance inside that room without my supervision, except if you are in dire need of my person, say, in cases of emergency. My laboratory contains countless ingredients, potions, powders and plants, that, handled by the uneducated, effortlessly result in painful injuries if not death." With that said, he turned on the spot. The door remained closed throughout his statement. Draco stood in the door frame, arms folded, and watched. Snape passed him on his way upstairs, closely followed by his new charge.

At the top of the stairs, they came to a sudden halt. Snape turned around to face the boys and pointed to the far end of the hall.

"Down the hall is my private bedroom. Assuming you want to live peacefully in this house, I advise you to stay away from there and keep your feet on this side of the threshold. Emergencies are naturally excepted from this rule."

Harry looked back at the man and nodded in acknowledgement. Draco stood on the last step of the stairs, leaning against the wall.

"Here," his right hand guiding the view to the door right of him, "you find the bathroom, and finally," he opened the door to his left, closest to where they stood "the boys' room."

Harry's eyes were wide open now. Before him he saw a big chamber with two large windows on the far wall. Two beds on opposite sides of the room, a dresser made of dark wood, a bookshelf and two desks framed the area. He entered.

Squeezing himself between Snape's long legs and the door frame, Draco trudged into the room and slightly bounced against Harry's shoulder to give him a little push. He planted himself on the bed with the dark green bedding and a gray blanket on top. His bed.

Harry certainly noticed the push but did not act on it. His bag lay rumpled leaning against the dresser at the right wall of the room. The bed in the far right corner right next to the windows had red sheets on, covered by a brown blanket. He liked it.

"Now, I think this is all there is. Draco, please help Harry unpack and settle in?" Severus addressed his charge who had followed them like a shadow.

"Oh, yes of course, I would be delighted to," Draco replied in an overly-polite manner. Harry was too mesmerized by his new room to catch the change in Draco's tone. Severus squinted at Draco. "Well then," he paused. "Dinner will be in about an hour. I suggest you stow away your belongings and make yourselves acquainted." He left and headed downstairs again.

Harry walked around and explored the room. He was happy to finally own his own bed, and such a lovely one on top of that! Draco watched him from the other side of the room, then rushed into the corridor, lurked down the staircase and listened for footsteps. Snape seemed to be out of earshot now. He went back into the room and closed the door. Harry turned around.

"Just to make things clear," Draco approached Harry, "this is my room. Mine. Do you understand? I was here first, uncle Severus is my godfather and you are nothing more than an intruder! I make the rules." Intimidation marked Harry's face and tears of frustration shot into his eyes. He was used to be bullied by his cousin before but he hated how some things did not seem to have changed in his new home. He frowned, bit his lower lip and concentrated on suppressing tears.

"What, are you going to cry now? Go cry and run for help! He won't hear you now, you know, he's in his study and does not want to be disturbed. You heard him yourself!" Draco circled around Harry.

Both boys turned to face the door when they heard steps shuffling upstairs. Severus passed the boys' room and headed for his own to gather the latest edition of Potions Weekly. On his way back, rolled-up journal in one hand, he noticed that it was suspiciously quiet. The door to the boys' room stood ajar and he tipped it slightly to peek inside.

"Everything alright in here?" he asked. Harry straightened himself, glanced at Draco as he did not dare complain or tell on the other boy so early in his stay. Draco was probably right, he wasn't more than an intruder in this house, was he? His new guardian seemed alright and all, but how was he to compete against his godson? No chance of winning in there.

"Yes, uncle Severus, I was just about to help Harry unpack," Draco acted all friendly.

"Alright then," Snape said and left.

"Let's see what you've brought with you then," said Draco. He went for the bag, that he himself had carried upstairs like a sodding elf.

"No, don't open that!" Harry cried. He was well aware of the atrocious state of the few pieces of clothings he had in that bag and could only imagine the fun Draco would make of him when he saw. But it was too late, the boy had opened the zipper and dragged a piece out of the bag.

"What. Is. That," Draco wrinkled his nose and he held an oversized, sun-bleached and partly blood-stained t-shirt in front of him.

"Is that your clothing? What color is that? And that smell! Ugh! Are you poor or something? This is hilarious, wait until I tell everybody, they wouldn't believe I have to share a room with a rat like you!" he teased with an evil laugh.

"It's not mine!" Harry responded desperately. It was true, it wasn't his, not really. It was hand-me-downs from his elephant of a cousin but, unfortunately, it was all he had. He leapt towards Draco, trying to snatch the bag off him but was unsuccessful. Draco turned in defense, pushing Harry away his left hand, while holding the bag up high, away from him, with his right. He scavenged for more evidence for his claim that Harry was indeed some humanized rat.

Harry had dropped to his knees.

"Leave it, please!" He was embarrassed for some reason. He looked down on himself. The t-shirt he wore that day was the finest he had ever had. It was mottled gray with red seams at the neck and sleeves. His trousers were new, too, all black and almost dandy, he thought. He got them at the short-term foster home where he stayed the week before Severus had picked him up.

"Please, leave it," Harry cried. Draco went on, he did not think of stopping anytime soon, this was too much fun. He took the bag and unlocked the zipper fully, turned it upside down and made the content fly all over the place. It was a mess. The blond boy almost fell into a fit of laughter, while Harry jumped on top of the pile of clothes, trying to cover it all up.

Downstairs, Severus noticed the thumping noises and waited a little longer. Let them play and have fun, he thought. When he heard the evil laughter he knew from his dear godson, he laid down his reading and marched upstairs. Upon his arrival he was confronted with the situation: Draco laughing, while Harry clutched on all fours on a … what was that? Was that the boy's clothes? He did not hesitate to intervene.

"What in the name of Merlin happened here?"

Silence. No more laughter, only glares and sobs. His eyes wandered from Harry to Draco.

"Explain," he demanded in a stern voice.

"I.. I was helping him un-unpack," answered Draco, his eyes wandering back and forth from his angry godfather back to his feet and then to the pile Harry was now kneeling on.

"But.. look, it's just rags! He doesn't even have clo-," he stopped.

"And how is that a laughing matter to you?"

Silence. Draco's head fell and he stared at his feet. Something started boiling up in himself. He wouldn't cry, he was not a baby anymore stupid old mean Snape couldn't scare him so easily.

"Harry," Snape walked over to him and squatted down, "is that really all you have?"

"I told you already!" Draco barked.

Snape turned his head around to his charge, reprimanding with a glare alone. Draco closed his mouth and frowned.

"Harry," he tried again, "talk to me." Sobbing was the only response he got. He reached for the boy's shoulder. Harry flinched and backed away.

"What about the clothes you are wearing today," he asked in a calm voice while,"they look fine to me."

Harry looked up, but before he could speak, Draco affronted:"He probably stole them from some other boy he lived with befo-".

"Enough!" Snape snapped, turned around and marched to Draco.

"It's true though, isn't it?" teased Draco while taking a step back. Not fast enough though. Severus grabbed the boy by the shoulder of his shirt, jerked him around and navigated him into a corner of the room.

"Stand here and do not make a sound. Am I understood?"

"No, that's not fair!"

"I said, I am understood?" He bend down so that his eyes would meet the miscreant's, their noses almost touching. He did not wait for or even require to hear an answer. Draco took a last glare at his godfather and turned around, sulking.

"No fair," he whispered angrily to himself.

Snape returned to Harry, who kept staring at the scene and was afraid of what was coming next.

"Please, sir," he whispered, "he's right. I got this from the home where I lived when you picked me up. You see, all I ever had were these… these rags… it's embarrassing." Tears rolled down his cheeks.

Snape felt reminded of his own childhood, being the outcast for so many years and judged by his peers based on his misfitting appearance. He knelt down to be level with Harry and said, "It's okay. Don't be embarrassed, we will arrange new clothing for you. And until then," he stopped and pondered the possibilities.

After a short while, Harry stopped sobbing and Snape resumed his thoughts "I assume, you have no emotional ties to this hump of rags, Harry?"

Harry looked up, wiped away the last tears, then shook his head.

"Well, pick them up and follow me," Snape demanded and made for the door.

"You," he addressed Draco, who had turned around to see what was going on, "put your nose back into the corner. I will deal with you later." The boy's shoulders twitched slightly at the harsh sound of the man's voice. He exhaled an angry huff and turned around.

Harry didn't understand at first, and watched his guardian leave. He shook his head to bring himself back to the present moment, scrambled to pick up the pile of clothes and stumbled after the man. With the rags partly blocking his view, he went downstairs, placing one foot after the other onto, tilting his head slightly to see the steps. Right foot, left foot, watch, next step. Right foot,... . Phew! He made it without stumbling.

Draco heard the front door open and took the opportunity to escape his embarrassing situation in the corner. He didn't dare follow, but stayed upstairs and sneaked towards the window at the far end of the corridor, facing the front of the house.

Downstairs, Snape had conjured a bucket, filled it with a few pieces of wood. Incendio.

"Harry, outside!" he called towards the open front door. Harry stopped dead in his tracks and dropped the pile in astonishment. One last piece of clothing was still clutched to his hands. His mouth formed a perfect O-shape and his eyes were wide open. It dawned on him what Snape had planned.

"What do you think, should we just rid yourself of those horrible reminders of your previous.. caretakers?" Snape suggested and cringed internally as he pronounced the last word.

"D-Do you.. I mean.. Really? Really, sir?" Harry said excitedly.

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

"No, sir, sorry!" He quickly picked up the pile of clothes and hopped down the two steps connecting the porch with the front lawn.

"Go on, throw it in there!" Snape encouraged his young charge.

Harry hesitated, but only shortly, before he dropped a piece of clothing he particularly hated: one of Dudley's old boxers. Whoosh! A flame ignited that horrible rag and it was gone. This felt so good! Liberating, really!

Next came a bundle of socks, but they did not burn that well, as would be expected, considering they were more hole than fabric anyhow. Snape watched without comment but he noticed the change in Harry's behavior: while starting off hesitant, he practically threw one piece after another, ridding himself of his past and unfortunate memories under the thumb of his relations. Severus had previously reminisced about Harry's lack of confidence and how to boost it, but this right here seemed to be an unprecedented step into the right direction.

When almost all pieces were burned, Harry paused. His eyes went from the fire to his guardian, then asked, "Please, sir, can Draco come down, too?"

This request caught him by surprise. Draco! He almost forgot about his godson. The devil's kid! He contemplated shortly.

"While I must admit, I do appreciate the amount of compassion you present, I believe, Draco has yet some pondering to do. Now, let's finish up here, shall we?"

When the last piece was nothing but ashes, Severus extinguished the fire and guided the boy back inside, to the sitting room.

"Go entertain yourself, I'll be back shortly." He climbed upstairs and heard a door creak, accompanied by the sound of small feet shuffling close by. The man entered the boys' room and looked to his left, where Draco had obviously just placed himself back into the corner, pretending he had not moved an inch during the last ten minutes.

"Finally, I thought you'd never come back!" he moaned dramatically as he turned around and left the corner.

"Stop right there. I advise you to hold your tongue and listen," said Snape. He was still angry and could not begin to understand the way his godson behaved. Draco reconsidered his last move and concluded he tread on thin ice. He blushed and fell silent.

"Come here," Snape ordered, pointing in front of him, and, albeit reluctantly, Draco approached his godfather, his head hanging. "I am utterly displeased by your atrocious behavior this afternoon. Not only are you being an insufferable brat today, but you also fail to show any sign of respect towards myself or Harry." He inhaled deeply and kept focusing the top of the blond head, then resumed. "He is as much my ward now as you are. Do you understand that? You may live under the impression you are the king of this house, but let me remind you: you are not."

Draco blushed but remained silent. He kept staring at the buttons of Severus' cloak. There was a beautifully engraved letter S on there, decorated by some sort of flowers. That was odd, he thought and quickly snapped out when he felt a cool finger lifting his chin, forcing him to look up. "Look at me, Draco," Snape said, "Do you have anything to say for yourself, any reasoning for the way you acted?" Draco felt chastised like a little kid. "I'm sorry, sir," with his voice shaking only slightly. "I believe, I am not the right recipient of that statement, but I know of a boy to whom you should address this plead. Do you agree?" Draco glared, trying hard to keep the eye contact, alternating his focus on the man's left and right eye. He bit his tongue and finally nodded. "A verbal response, please," Snape required. "Yes, sir," Draco uttered. "One more thing, Draco. Harry has no more clothes apart from the ones he wears right now. I expect you to be a generous host and share some of your clothings with him." Snape headed over to the dresser, opened a drawer and collected two days worth of clothing for the boy. "Take this with you and hand it over to Harry as a sign of truce." Draco wanted to interfere but remained silent. "Yes, sir."

Downstairs, Draco entered the sitting room, while Snape waited at the door and watched with his armed folded in front of him. "Harry?" he called. "I'm sorry." Harry accepted the apology and the boys shook hands. Snape intervened. "That was barely an honest apology. Elaborate, what are you sorry for, Draco?" "It's fine, really," Harry interrupted, but Snape raised his hand, indicating Harry to be silent, while piercing Draco with his eyes. "I.. I'm sorry for making fun of your rag… clothes earlier." "Apology accepted," Harry replied, although he had to admit he liked Draco being this timid all of a sudden. "I want you to have these clothes, so that you can look like a normal boy." Draco explained.

Snape sighed, rolled his eyes and turned around. "Now, boys, I think dinner's about ready. Go wash your hands and come to the kitchen please, it's getting late." He pinched the bridge of his nose. This was going to be more exhausting than he had ever assumed.

AN: Merged Ch. 1 and 2 (deleted #2) to make this a longer read than it was before. (1 Oct 2018)