Travelling by floo was still such a strange feeling. Somehow it was like he moved at an instant yet at the same time didn’t move at all. Harry’s head felt woozy and his legs wobbled a bit as he headed out of the large chimney. In his stupor he almost forgot about his bags.

Harry looked at his surroundings, he was in some kind of wine cellar, wooden barrels that went high up to the ceiling completely covered both sides of the wall. It was quiet, Harry didn’t enjoy the quietness in a dark place like this. The only light provided was a small, flickering bulb just before a wooden staircase and it was not at all enough to see clearly. Lily and James hadn’t come with him, they wanted to but the child insisted he was fine on his own. He somewhat regrets the decision now.

With his bags in hand he went up the stairs, hoping that the wood wouldn't suddenly crack.

He found himself in a bar of sorts, there was no one around but the hall looked much more inviting than the dark room from before. “Excuse me? Is anyone here?” Harry called but there was no answer. 

Looking outside it was somewhere around noon likely, bars typically opened much later than that. The boy couldn’t stay in the hall forever so he searched for a door leading outside.

Anxieties washed away as he made his way out, he saw an elderly couple sitting on a bench right next to the bar, they bowed their heads at him for a second before continuing on with a heated argument about whether wool socks or cashmere socks were better. As he continued on his way he saw a lot more elderly people, and even more elderly looking house structures. His mom did say that this was a pretty old town, having apparently existed for thousands of years.

Harry looked around, simply admiring the streets which were completely different to those in england. Instead of asphalt the ground was completely covered in stones of varying shapes, he only came across one street that seemed to be fit for vehicles and it was much too small for the huge trucks that would pass by his home everyday. It was likely moreso a path for bikes.

Eventually Harry had found himself in front of a statue, the place where he was supposed to wait at according to his father. He sat close by and rummaged through one of his bags, taking out a note alongside an envelope his mother gave him. 

The note read…

Don’t forget, if anything at all happens you can call our phones or come back with the floo network.

Until Snape arrives, don’t talk to any strangers. The people in Godric’s Hollow are generally nice folk but there can be some unkind ones too.

Make sure to stay safe and don’t eat too many candies, I’ll make sure that Severus writes to me if you stuff yourself to the point of puking again!...I’ll miss you dear, make sure to write us as soon as you settle in.

Harry put the note away and focused on the envelope instead, it seemed to be filled with a bit of money that was meant for Snape. There was no sign of the pale man yet so he opened it up a small bit and took one of the coins out. Wizard money had always looked so strange to him, it looked like those candy coins the school gives out during christmas for well behaved students, but much shinier.

The boy played with his coin for a good bit, flipping it and betting in his head whether it’ll fall on heads or tails.

“My…that’s an awfully strange pound…” An old passerby commented. “Is it a toy?...That can’t possibly be real gold.”

Harry raised a brow. “Sure it is, it’s a genuine galleon.”

“A galleon?” The man stuck out his hand. “May I take a closer look at it?”

Although he had just read about not talking to strangers, Harry found the old man to look harmless. Just as he was about to give the old man the coin, the boy’s wrist was grabbed and the coin was taken by a much taller figure wearing a lot of turquoise.

“Hey! Give that back!” Harry shouted.

“Now, now. Don’t be a fool, boy. Handing out hard earned coins like rocks? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you wanted to be thieved from.” A blonde man with a wide, sparkling smile spoke. He grabbed the envelope Harry held as well and shooed the old man away. “Good thing I came by, honestly…handing out wizarding money to muggles?”

Harry tilted his head with confusion. “A muggle…Wait, what do you mean? Is this not a wizard town?”

“Of course it is, but it’s got plenty of non-magic folk as well. Just a change that comes with the passage of time.” The blonde man shrugged, the wide grin on his face stretching further and further. He put the envelope into his breast pocket and snapped his fingers. “Come now, Severus is gonna have my head if I don’t get you to him soon. Such a worry wart…”

At the mention of the name Harry shot up. “You know Snape?”

“Last name basis, eh?” The blonde man responded instead of answering the question. “Small talk can come later. Hop up, grab your bags and let’s skedaddle.”

This man still seemed kind of suspicious, but if anything goes wrong Harry could potentially shout for help…just who the heck was this guy, and why did he have such a punchable face? Perhaps this is the “business partner” his mother mentioned. He thought business partner was just code for boyfriend, but this guy doesn’t exactly seem like the type Snape would go for, in Harry’s opinion.

Several minutes later the man had led the boy into an area closer to the forest than the town and Harry was starting to feel a little panicked being in this almost abandoned space with this blonde weirdo. That is, until he saw a familiar, grumpy face. Harry ran towards Snape and stood close to him, feeling safer around Snape despite the man’s grim visage. “Potter…You’re late, I was beginning to wonder if you got lost.” The older man spoke.

“It’s my first time here, I had no clue if I was even waiting at the right statue.” Severus sighed, he signalled the boy to follow him inside. The home was a very small cottage, the kitchen was very small and in the same space as the living room. There were three doors, one of them led to Snape’s room, another to the bathroom, so the last one must be…”Hey, Snape, is the blonde guy your boyfriend or like brother or something? Maybe both?”

The long haired man raised a brow. “He is neither of them actually.” He pointed at the blonde man with his thumb. “This is Gilderoy Lockhart, I work as a ghostwriter of sorts for him. He tells of his tall tales and I convert them into an actually comprehensible story.”

“Tall tales…please now. My journeys are all completely valid, Severus! You’ve seen the memorabilia, or should I show you my collection again?” Snape gave the other man a deep scowl, causing Gilderoy’s smile to shrink down. “Fine, fine, keep on being a skeptic…If nobody hates you, nobody truly loves you after all.” The blonde man seemed to be talking to himself.

Severus opened up the last room which Harry wondered about. It was nigh empty, the only piece of furniture inside was a small bed fit for a youth. “This is a guest room of sorts, you’ll be staying here for the rest of your visit.”

Despite the emptiness, the room was very small on closer inspection, by the time Harry put both his bags inside it felt more like a cluttered broom closet.

“I’ll be heading off then, Severus.” Gilderoy spoke, already half-way out the door. “I’ve got a meeting with a very…dedicated fan…and I don’t wanna leave her thinking I don’t appreciate my fans!” He wiggled his eyebrows when he spoke the word appreciate.

Snape waved his palm and the door shut, shoving the rest of the blonde out.

“Have you eaten lunch?” Snape asked. The boy nodded in response. “Alright then, settle in and don’t make too much noise. I still have about thirty pages that need to be proof-read and I require absolute silence to concentrate. Dinner will be served somewhere between eight and nine, be finished by then.”

Harry looked back into his room, he seemed plenty settled already. There wasn’t a closet for his clothes so no need to pack those in, there wasn’t a shelf or desk either so…Harry wasn’t exactly sure what else to do aside from maybe putting his shoes close to the front door. “Could I explore the forest a bit?” Harry had asked, somehow already knowing the answer he’ll get.

“Absolutely not.”

Of course.

“You should write to your parents about your safe arrival instead, I’m sure Lily must be worried sick ever since you left.”

“Huh?” Harry questioned. “But I haven’t even been gone for a day.”

“It’s the first time they’ve been separated from you from such a long distance, Potter.” The man spoke in a nagging tone. “Trust me, James’ panic must be rising with every second that passes after you’ve left.” He let out a short chuckle.

Harry shrugged, kind of managing to picture it. “Fine…Do I at least get to attach the letter to an owl or something? You have one, right?”

“...Sure. Just be careful to not get your fingers bit off.”

“Ye~s!”