A new home

Chapter 30

It was a Monday morning, and Severus usually dreaded it, but it was summer, so he was not in a bad mood at all. Instead, he sat at the table drinking his morning coffee and reading the Daily Prophet. It was only 6 AM.

When he was done with the paper, he took out a parchment to write down what to do today:
    •    Home-schooling Harry: Maths and History
    •    Brew the next batch of Pepper-Up while Albus could make himself useful by entertaining Harry.
    •    VACATION PLAN
    •    Grocery

As he made breakfast, he thought hard about what he could plan for the vacation. He didn't usually go on vacation, and definitely not with a child and an old man. But Albus was right, Harry deserved to experience normal things kids his age did. He guessed amusement parks were in order.

At 7 AM, when Severus was halfway through making breakfast, Albus came in with a half-asleep Harry, who was still holding his Paddington blanket, in his arms. Severus raised an eyebrow and Albus chuckled.

"Found this little fella poking his head out of his room on my way down" - he said as he set Harry down into his seat.

Severus served breakfast and they all ate in comfortable silence. Severus hadn't thought he would enjoy their company like this. He used to rush through breakfast with a potion journal or a Daily Prophet paper in hand, but now, he quite enjoyed the peace that an early breakfast with his family brought. There were no noisy students. Well, actually, there was one, but when he was half-asleep, he tended to be rather quiet. There was no urgent matter that needed him to tend to. There were no prefects reporting mischief.

When Severus was done with his breakfast and Harry was nearly done with his half-sized portion of breakfast, Severus said:

"Harry, we'll start your homeschooling today with Maths and History. Is that agreeable with you?"

Harry perked up and his eyes twinkled. Oh god, he's spent too much time with Albus. Severus hoped he hadn't just turned on the "chatty Harry" switch.

"Yes, sir!"

"Alright, finish your breakfast and go get yourself cleaned up and dressed. Then bring your books down here"

"Yes, sir"

Harry practically inhaled what was left on his plate, ignoring Severus' reminder to slow down, and rushed upstairs.

"He does take after Lily, you know. It's a pity we've only seen it now" - Albus said with a chuckle.

Severus just glared at Albus.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it. I need to look at the Diznee Land brochures anyway"

Albus left the room before Severus had a chance to throw a hex at him. Severus just huffed. He was sure there wasn't any Wizengamot report or new school year plan that was named 'Diznee Land brochures'. The old coot just wanted to rub it in his face so he wouldn't forget.

Harry got downstairs in record time, freshly showered, and dressed, with the Maths book, History book, pencils, and an eraser in his arms.

"I'm ready!" - he said excitedly.

"Yes, obviously"

He set Harry up at a desk that he conjured in the middle of the sitting room. He had considered letting the boy sit at the coffee table, but it might be bad for the boy's spine.

They started with the first algebra lesson. Severus only taught Harry the basics, let him read the text in the book, showed him a few examples, and assigned him some work. He gave the boy 50 practice questions in the book, then sat down on the couch and read a potion magazine on the latest findings in potion. However, he had only read the first 3 pages when Harry unexpectedly announced "Professor, I'm done!"