Differences

Severus seemed to have been avoiding Harry's eyes the days leading to their Diagon Shopping trip with Draco. He did not know what to think of it as after 'that night' (Harry was avoiding it until the other man decided to bring it up again), the pair appeared to have gotten on civil terms again. There were times he thought he saw the red he had desperately been chasing whenever the older man turned his head away but had just chalked it up to wishful thinking. The way the man spoke to him had not changed, though he seemed to be worried about the trip to Diagon.

Two days ago they received a letter from Draco saying he will see them today and that a lock of Theodore's hair was enclosed and that he would bring some clothes for Harry to wear while under the polyjuice as he and Theo were not the same size. Severus had completed the polyjuice when they received the letter 'to be prepared' but seemed to be scowling at the envelope all the way to his lab. So here they were in Harry's room, ten minutes before Draco was due to arrive, with the potions master going over the plan.

"After you take this," he held the vial holding the polyjuice in front of Harry's face, "I will leave the room and you will get ready so we can meet Draco. While we are in Diagon you will speak as little as possible, we will go to Gringotts first so you have money on hand and pay for your equipment without fuss."

"How will the goblin's recognise me though? They didn't recognise Hermione was Bellatrix until it was too late!" Harry went silent to the horrified look on Severus's face, "umm I guess I never told you the whole story around the break in, huh?"

"No but you will be telling me everything with no details spared at some point. That aside, the goblins strengthened their security, an inheritance test must be done in order to move money and assets or to divulge information, you would have done one while accepting your lordships. Now drink up, Draco will be here soon." The man handed the vial to Harry, waiting to see confirmation he had ingested the potion.

Retaining eye contact, Harry downed the potion ignoring the vile taste just to see if he could catch the mans eyes change colour change again. Particularly paying attention to the young man's throat, the potion master tracked the movement of his Adams apple, eyes filling with that red which was quickly becoming Harry's favourite colour. He never seemed to notice what he was doing in these situations which allowed Harry to get his fill of looking into the man's eyes. The allure of the red was baffling every time and caused him to be even more shocked when he burst out into a coughing fit, bending his body in half, hugging his stomach. Severus took that as his cue to leave, also having been shocked back into his senses. Even as his skin was bubbling and changing his shape into that of Theodore Nott's, he could not help but muse on how much more frequent those moments get as the days go on. He was not complaining, but even Harry being in Severus's vicinity could cause the mans eyes to turn red. He knew it was because the man was a vampire but could not pinpoint what caused that specific reaction. Harry was sure he knew how to cause the man to react in a lot of ways (making the man mad was his specialty but he found less satisfaction in that than he used to) yet could not for the life of him figure out what caused that reaction from the vampire. It seemed to be random and he could not deduce if it was himself that brings it about as the only contact they have had with other people other than each other was their brief chat with Draco and that was too short to come to any conclusions.

The pain of the polyjuice transformation had subsided so he decided to stop thinking about it and finally get dressed, avoiding mirrors not wanting to see someone else's face staring back at him, and join the man plaguing said thoughts. Severus was stood by the fireplace with his hands behind his back. He turned to Harry and his face convulsed as if he had smelt something unsavoury.

"What?" Harry asked while checking that whatever the man had smelt was not coming from him.

"Nothing, lets go though." He schooled his expression and turned to step into the fireplace, dismissing Harry's query. "Leaky Cauldron!" Up in a puff of smoke and the man was gone, leaving a Theodore faced Harry staring dumbly at the place the vampire had stood. Shaking his head with a scoff, he repeated Severus's actions and was whisked away to Diagon Alley.

---

The Leaky Cauldron was as busy as expected in the weeks before the start of a school yet. Harry was spat out of the fireplace to find himself tumbling into the solid wall made of a bustling crowd and a grumpy Severus Snape. The Severus Snape who was currently leaning down to speak into his ear so he was heard over the noise.

"Come, Draco should be in front of Gringotts," with that the breath was no longer on his ear and he was being dragged by a hand on his forearm through the back to school crowd. When they escaped, Severus let go of his arm and begun striding through the alley without so much of a backwards glance. Harry supposed this was to keep up appearances, though it hurt non-the-less, so he forced the feeling down and focussed on catching up.

The greeting between Godfather and Godson was much colder than what he remembered he shared with Sirius being a short handshake, even Draco's greeting to 'Theo' was a simple nod. Harry decided if he ever had the chance he would try to make purebloods show more affection in public. He did not want to completely overhaul all of their mannerisms, he just believed that family should at least be able to greet each other warmly in informal settings. He did not get any affection while growing up so he cherished anyone close to him and hates the thought of having to hide it. It was sad that they did not even smile at one another in public settings, they were shopping not having a Wizengamot meeting.

The trio walked into the bank and to the nearest teller, asking for Ragnok and being taken to an office off to the side. The office was filled with dark wood furnishings that contrasted spectacularly with the white marble walls, magnificent pillars filling each of the eight corners. The bookcases and cabinets were so big that there was no space on the walls for art other than the, no doubt priceless, painting depicting the Great Goblin War that hung on the opposite wall to the wizards. The seats they were sat on and the one on the other side of the desk, were the only source of colour in the room other than the painting, the rich purple only adding to the rooms opulence. If Ragnok's office was this extravagant, Harry wondered what the Chief Bank teller's must look like, or even the Goblin Kings!

Once, the door was shut, Draco spoke up "I would have expected more aurors to be in Diagon with the Boy-Who-Lived being missing." All he received was a grunt in reply from Severus as the door to the office opened.

"Now would one of you explain what you required of me today? I do not oversee any of the the Nott, Prince or Malfoy accounts, so why was I specifically requested?" Ragnok's no-nonsense tone filled the office as he moved to sit behind the large desk in the centre of the room. He dropped the stack of papers he was holding on the desk's surface and looked over the rim of his well worn, wire-rimmed glasses to scrutinise the wizards.

"That would be because of me Ragnok, I am actually Harry Potter-Black. I am just under a polyjuice at the moment." Harry felt confident enough to speak up as he liked Ragnok, he was the goblin who helped with his inheritances being the goblin that looks over the Potter, now Black too, accounts. Said goblin looked him up and down before pulling out a sheet of parchment and a knife from the drawer beside him tapping it once placed on the desk, "three drops of blood." Obediently, Harry picked up the knife and cut a nick in his finger to allow the specified amount of blood to hit the parchment. Sticking his finger in his mouth to seal the wound ('stupid Potter, you are a wizard for Merlin's sake!') waiting for the parchment to fill, he side-eyed Snape to see if anything happened. The man had been avoiding looking at him since they got to the alley but now could not seem to keep his eyes off of his mouth, brows furrowed, irises flashing with that sporadic red Harry has been craving...craving? Is that what caused the colour change? Severus was hungry and Harry, being as accident prone as he is, frequently injured himself therefore exposing Severus to the blood? Harry had noticed the vampire had been drinking more potion spiked drinks recently but had not thought anything of it. Had he caused that? Deciding to speak to the man about it when they got home, Harry tuned back into the room and turned to the goblin.

"Ah it seems it is you Lord Potter-Black, what brings you here under the guise of Heir Nott?" It questioned, gravelly voice inhabiting a slightly more inviting tone now it knew it was speaking with a familiar wizard who just so happened to have multiple overflowing vaults.

"I only need to withdraw some money Ragnok, sorry for the fuss for such a little thing, I just didn't want to be recognised."

"Understandable, although you are aware such time wasting on our end comes with a fee?" One sparce eyebrow rose, as the goblins' signature shark-like grin spread across its wrinkly face.

"Of course! I would have expected nothing less, 3 Galleons should be satisfactory, correct?" Harry's polite smile did not faulter as he heard a pair of twin gasps beside him. Little did they know Harry had grown fond of the goblins and they him (not that they would admit it of course, they had attempted to verbally boil Harry alive after the Breakout Incident), ultimately granting him the unofficial title of Friend Of The Goblins. To the goblins that held weight as very few wizards were even polite enough to them to find out they were not as bad as they seemed, even uniquely funny. The title does not change how they treat Harry's vaults but it did mean they gave him some leniency and did not try to kick him out of the bank faster than he could say Sickle. In situations like these, the title allowed him to playfully haggle as the goblins loved a challenge, just not the offensive ones wizards usually made trying to undermine them.

"10 Galleons." It retorted.

"5!"

"9."

"7 but no higher!"

"Alright, 8 Galleons will be adequate. Here are your vault keys, Burgock will escort you down." With that Ragnok hopped off his chair and began to leave the room.

"May your gold flow, Ragnok," Harry said to the retreating back.

The Goblin stopped and turned, "and may your enemies fall at your feet, Lord Potter-black."

---

Harry's shopping companions appeared to be dumbstruck after that, unable to speak until they had exited the bank and were just entering Flourish & Blotts.

"How are you not being chopped up and stuffed in a cauldron to be the goblin's next meal?" The younger Slytherin grabbed the Gryffindor's arm and pulled him close to harshly whisper in his ear.

"They proclaimed me a Friend Of The Goblins and Ragnok loves a good back-and-forth," he did not elaborate any further but pulled Draco's hand, which was cutting off his circulation at this point, off his arm and walked to the shelves where their new books should be. Draco thankfully took the hint and joined his side, Severus silently trailing behind them.

"I wonder who our Defence Teacher will be this year, do you know Professor?" The Slytherin's eye's did not leave the bookcase, having trouble finding the book for said class.

"No I do not Mister Malfoy, Headmistress McGonagall has been having trouble with the post having such a turbulent past. Before you ask," Draco quickly closed his mouth, "no I am not applying, I am finishing this year in potions then leaving. There are some surprising up-and-coming potions apprentices who should have completed their mastery to be able to teach next year. There would have been some able to teach this year but McGonagall is attempting to keep as many original staff as possible as to not evoke too much change."

"Well at least we have you for our last year, we should be guaranteed O's on potions N.E.W.T.S.!" Harry shot an award-winning over his shoulder at the potions professor.

"For that you and Draco will be locked in a room for an hour every day to practice and revise potions to achieve those O's." Sly, sly snake.

"I did NOT agree to that! Har-Theo needs to shut his gob more often!" Draco exclaimed, head shooting back and forth between the pair. Harry chuckled and grabbed two of each defence books they needed and shoved half of the pile into Draco's arms before continuing further into the shop. "Professor, you really can't be making us do that, can you?" Severus gave simply shrugged and followed after the Gryffindor.

The trio went from shop to shop purchasing school supplies and general items like a broom maintenance kit Draco had just bought as his brand new broom he had used once was apparently in a 'state'. When leaving the shop, Draco was adjusting his bags in his arms as the three nearly jumped out of their skins from a scream coming from their right.

"Dracoooo! Theooooo!" A tall girl with a black bob was racing towards them. Draco immediately recognised her, while Harry took a second to place her as one of Draco's best friends in Slytherin, Pansy Parkinson. She was known for her pug-faced features and love for gossip in Hogwarts making most of Harry's information about the girl coming from Hermione, Ginny and other girls. The now woman's had grown out of her previous pug-like features and apparently must have found herself as her face was no longer contorted into a scowl and her deep brown eyes looked carefree and happy. Harry was drawn into a short hug before being let go of as Pansy moved to Draco to give him a longer, but no less rib-breaking, hug as well. "It is so nice to see you two! It's been weeks! I came with the girls today," she looked over her shoulder, gesturing at a group of girls walking towards them, "we thought we would go to that new café after shopping." The group had reached them at this point allowing Harry to see them better. Two of the women had their arms linked, the pair had identical brown hair and light green eyes. Harry vaguely remembered the elder as Daphne Greengrass so he assumed the other must be her younger sister Astoria. Beside them were two figures Harry did recognise, Tracey Davis, Pansy's gossip partner in crime, and Millicent Bulstrode, an ever imposing figure who Harry had heard was now being scouted by the Holyhead Harpies to be their new beater. Millicent was obviously considering the position as her build was more purposeful and well defined, her hair tactfully pulled into a hasty pony tail, she looked less insecure as she used to, Harry was glad to see she had grown into her own (now sun-kissed) skin. Tracey was smaller than her friend, dirty-blonde hair in a shaggy cut framing her olive-toned oval face. Her sharp eyes had a suspicious glint as she looked Theo/Harry up and down.

"Didn't you say you had already done your school shopping, Theo?" Those brown eyes were searching for anything strange about the man before her.

"Yes, but Draco wanted someone his age to shop with. We are here with Professor Snape," he gestured over his shoulder at the sombre man, "so he needed someone to understand his jokes." This caused Draco, who was about to step in to defend Harry, to blanch beside him.

"You make me sound desperate..." He heard Draco mumble to his side. "My mother has a cold so she requested Severus to accompany me and I thought there was strength in numbers nowadays in the alley so I invited Theo. I do apologise that I did not invite you beautiful ladies but I thought it may be too dull of a trip to take up your precious time with." This earned him a playful slap on the arm from Daphne and luckily took Tracey's attention away from her suspicions around Theo/Harry.

Astoria decided to pipe up, "you cannot smooth talk your way out of everything Draco, you owe us a shopping trip." A light blush appeared on Draco's face, apparently Harry had missed Draco's crush on the younger Greengrass sister in Hogwarts to which Harry blames how eventful his school years were not his own oblivious nature.

"Ask and you shall receive my dear Astoria!" He bowed dramatically and continued, "however, that cannot be today, we are time constricted I'm afraid. Professor Snape has time sensitive potions to get back to and Theo is blatantly not enjoying this trip so he will want to go home soon." Harry nodded in agreement, taking the out Draco was giving them. The polyjuice only lasted a few hours and they were somehow already two hours into their excursion.

"That is too bad, you could have joined us going to the café! If it is as nice as everyone is saying we should all meet and go again! I will write to you Draco to tell you how it goes." Sounds of agreement came from the remainder of the group. "And do not think you are exempt Theo," she pointed an accusatory finger Harry's way as she turned, arm still intertwined with her sister's, and walked presumably the direction of the café.

"You both will write to us all won't you? It has been too long since we have all been together." Pansy looked worried and Draco's face turned sad.

"Yes Pansy, I have missed you all. We shall invite Blaise too, shall we? I am sure he will love whatever frilly torture you have to await us."

With a giggle, Pansy said "Goodbye Draco, bye Theo," kissing them both on the cheek and following after the Greengrass sisters.

"You won't be too busy with try-outs, will you Millie?" Harry decided to try cover himself some more as he suspected Tracey had not gotten over her later questioning.

"I shouldn't be...although I have been receiving some letters late with how much I have been training, so if you don't mind, can you send letters to me to Tracey?"

At their looks, said girl decided to fill in, "I told the girls to send the letters to me since we live so close. I just take them around in the evening when I come over for dinner. Remember? I told you that I've been eating at Millie's since my parents are on holiday? It doesn't matter, just send the letters to me. Goodbye boys!" She turned and left tugging Millicent along with her as the other girl called out her goodbyes.

"You are lucky Theodore does not speak often," Severus made his appearance behind them, watching the women's retreating forms. "Although, I do empathise for him as he has now received plans to go to an unknown café with a bunch of young women without his knowledge." The man tore his eyes away and looked down at Harry, "well done for keeping up appearances but we should really be going." The potion's master left to enter the shop next door.

"I can not believe you got all of the credit for that! I was covering for you and do I get praised for it? No!" Draco's words got quieter as he to set off for the next shop. The young man, now stood alone, chuckled and went after his complaining friend.

---

The trio's shopping trip was otherwise uneventful. Severus pointed out 'Theo's' features changing while they were in the apothecary so they swiftly cashed up and left, returning to Spinner's End. Immediately Harry ran upstairs to change into his own clothes as the ones he was wearing were hanging off of him.

"I just remembered, Mother wanted to invite you over for dinner. I tried to say you were too busy but she just said to find out when you were free." Narcissa had loved dinner parties before the war and was trying to rehash that joy with her husband absent. Severus himself was invited to all of these parties but rarely attended due to his secluded lifestyle.

"Please tell Cissa that I will not be able to attend, I still have potions left to brew for the start of the school year. However, I will attend your end of summer dinner as always."

Draco raised a brow, "Uncle Sev, me and mother know you would have finished all the potions orders by now even without the help Harry mentioned giving. You should have a lot of free time now." Severus heard the unsaid why not?.

"I have to stay with Harry, the Order is still looking for him."

"The Order? As in the Order Of The Phoenix? You never did tell me why he was here, I just assumed he ran away after you mentioned he was hiding here."

"Draco, drop it." The vampire said firmly.

"No I will not! Harry-bloody-Potter is hiding in your house away from the Order and you keep looking at him in a way I have never seen you look at someone before," Severus pulled a face, "don't make that face! I also did not miss you drinking more of your blood substitute. What is going on with you Uncle Sev? You would never take more than you need so are you sick or has a certain wizard with green eyes got anything to do with it?" Severus hated that Draco could be perceptive when he wanted to. The subject of their conversation could come down at any times and Draco decided to corner him with questions.

"Drop it for now, I will speak to Harry about telling Narcissa about what is going on and I will Owl you a day we can come round for dinner, I will speak to you then."

He was right in his predictions as the younger man knocked and peeked his head around the door. "Have you finished talking? I didn't want to interrupt but I don't want to start making dinner too late and wanted to ask if you had any preferences? Oh and Draco you are welcome to stay if you would like?"

"Thank you but I have to get back to my mother Potter, she likes to get my school supplies packed insanely early before I go back. Goodbye Harry, goodbye Uncle Sev." He left the pair silent until he disappeared from the fireplace.

"Oh ok, um...what would you like then Severus?" Harry lead the conversation back to dinner.

"Anything will be fine, you are a great cook. Didn't you mention wanting some sort of cheesy pasta? Make that."

"Alright, if you're sure!" He went back to kitchen leaving Severus to figure out how their after dinner conversation would go.

---

Apparently it would start by Harry revealing Draco was not the only one who noticed his irregular potion taking.

"So," Harry wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin, "what's been going on with you taking more blood substitute?" He was eying the vial Severus was drinking straight, having forgone his usual preference of mixing it with alcohol. "Please do not lie to me, I have been worried! You have been drinking more and more everyday since I came here." Now Severus was feeling guilty, he had not wanted his mate to worry for him. But he still was reluctant to tell the younger man the whole truth, he does not want to jeopardise the relationship they have built.

"They haven't been working as well as they used to, I have been planning on researching how to strengthen them when I have the time." He was not expecting the reply he received.

"You know Severus? When I first came to Hogwarts, I would have been in Slytherin would it not been for Draco's pompous behaviour towards Ron?" He graciously allowed some time for this information to sink in for Severus. "The Sorting Hat wanted to put me there, it said I would have been great there. I had to convince it to put me in Gryffindor, so do not assume I can not see through a half-truth any worse than the next person." He could not blame the man for how mad he sounded, Severus was keeping secrets.

"I did not intend to undermine your intelligence Harry, it is just if I told you the other reason it could change a lot." The other man's anger turned to sadness as he hung his head.

"Fine, I will not press you on this but you have to answer this truthfully."

"I will try my best," he promised.

"Is it because of me?" The vampire did not want to answer this but it was about as open-ended a question as he could ask for.

"Yes."

Harry nodded solemnly and began cleaning up the plates until Severus caught his arm.

"You have not done anything wrong. The problem lies with me and I will speak to you as soon as I am ready." The man hoped he was conveying how scared he was to the younger. Weakness was not something he expressed often yet he needed to show he meant his words. Harry slowly pulled his arm away with another sombre nod to continue his task.