And Then There Were Three

Chapter 4

Snape and Harry arrived at the little cottage by the sea around lunchtime the next day. Harry had slept in, but when he had awoken, Snape had made sure that he ate something before they left through the floo.

As soon as they put their bags away, Snape began walking around the area to set up the wards while Harry trailed behind him, asking questions about each of the spells he was using.

There were only two bedrooms, a small living room that connected with the kitchen, and a bathroom. There was a door in Harry's room that opened out to the back of the cottage, and from there, it was only a short walk down the hill to the beach.

"I could come in and out of this door whenever I wanted," Harry said, smirking up at his dad.

Snape narrowed his eyes at the teenager. "You most certainly cannot. You do not leave this house without me knowing, young man."

Harry huffed as he lay back on his bed. He spread his arms out and stretched up toward his headboard. "When are we going to the beach though?" he asked.

Snape finished up the spell he was concentrating on before turning back to face Harry. He pointed his wand at Harry's trunk, and it opened, then a moment later, a pair of blue and gray swim trunks flew out of it and landed neatly on Harry's bed.

"Whenever you're ready," Snape said.

Harry grinned as he scooped up the shorts and moved toward the bedroom door. He turned back before walking out and asked, "You're not going to wear that are you?"

Snape looked down at his usual robes, then back up to Harry. "What's wrong with them?"

Harry's eyes widened. "You can't be serious. We're at a Muggle beach, Dad, don't–"

Snape pointed toward the hallway. "Just go change, Harry. I'll meet you in the living room in five minutes."

With a sigh, Harry turned and walked away.

***

When Harry came into the living room exactly five minutes later, he found Snape standing beside the chair, wearing a pair of black swim trunks and a long sleeved, black water shirt.

"You don't have to wear the shirt, you know," Harry commented.

Snape looked up with a raised eyebrow. "I burn," he said drily.

Harry grinned as he moved past him toward the front door. "Not like you're a wizard or anything," he mumbled.

"Cheeky brat," Snape said as he followed him outside.

They walked down to the beach, both carrying everything they needed for the day. A picnic lunch of sandwiches and drinks, an umbrella, a blanket, and a book for Snape.

"It's more crowded than I expected," Snape said quietly as he stuck the umbrella in the sand.

Harry spread out the blanket before looking around. He wasn't sure what he had expected since he'd never been to the beach before. There were several families with small children who were all playing together, laughing and running around. A group of teenagers were playing volleyball on the other side of Harry and Snape, and still more people were swimming in the water. Or at least, they were trying to. It looked to Harry like they were mostly getting pushed around by the waves that crashed onto the shore.

Harry sat down on the edge of the blanket, letting his toes curl in the sand as he propped his arms up behind him.

"They all look like they're having fun though," he said.

A moment later, Snape sat down beside him. "They are. They're making memories."

Harry smiled. He reached out and scooped up a handful of sand and let it trickle out between his fingers. "Have you ever built a sandcastle?" he asked quietly without looking up at Snape.