HP: Those Years Sleeping with the Half-Blood Prince

London.

"Ian!"

As soon as the door opened, he was embraced tightly in a warm hug. "Let me see! Merlin, you seem to have grown taller again!" Leah released him and looked him up and down, her eyes full of smiles and concern.

John patted Ian on the shoulder and said gently, "Welcome home, son. Looks like the food at Hogwarts is pretty good."

Ian grinned, tossed his luggage into the foyer, and took a deep breath of the familiar air of home.

"It's alright, but the days of sleeping in late are over, and I kind of miss it." Ian sighed dramatically, earning a gentle glare from his mother.

Dinner was plentiful; Leah made Ian's favorite roasted lamb chops and Yorkshire pudding, and the meal was filled with Ian's stories about school.

Of course, he omitted the parts about the nighttime excursion to the Forbidden Forest, the conflict with Avery and others, and the traces of dark magic.

He highlighted the potions competition, saying, "Severus is a genius! Professor Slughorn's eyes are practically glued to him!"

And there are fun lessons, as well as funny stories about Kevin and Aris.

John and Leah listened with smiles, occasionally asking a few questions.

John asked gently, "It sounds like you've made some good friends, that Snape, his family is...?"

Ian paused, his voice becoming calmer: "He's half-blood, his mother is a witch, and his father is a Muggle. He doesn't talk much about his family, but he's very capable, really, and he's very reliable."

Leah keenly caught the protectiveness in her son's tone, exchanged a glance with her husband, and smiled, "For you to speak of him like that, he must be a very good child. He's welcome to come over to play anytime, remember?"

"Of course I remember!" Ian said immediately, then added somewhat uncertainly, "But he might... well, I'll invite him."

Summer vacation unfolds at a leisurely pace.

Ian caught up on his sleep, cleaned up his textbooks and notes from the previous semester, and started tending to the magical plants he had brought from home to Hogwarts.

He started regularly visiting the magical district in London, using his saved allowance and the small rewards he occasionally received for running errands for his father to buy interesting things.

Naturally, he thought of Severus.

About two weeks after leaving Hogwarts, Ian announced to his parents at the breakfast table, "I want to send Severus something. He'll be alone all summer, and... he seems to really need some basic potion-making ingredients to practice with."

Leah immediately expressed her support, even taking a small packet of high-quality silver powder and standard ingredients from her own reserves.

"Give my regards to him. If he needs any basic medical or magical advice, feel free to write to him."

John reminded Ian to be careful with mail security and not to buy any prohibited items.

So the first owl with a bundle tied to it flew from the Burkes’ window toward Spider’s End.

The package wasn't large. Inside were several rolls of parchment that Ian found useful and reasonably priced, a bottle of ink that wouldn't smudge, a small packet of silver dust given by Leah, some basic potion ingredients bought from Diagon Alley, and a large box of gingerbread made by Leah herself, with icing decorated with funny little cauldron patterns.

Ian attached a note, the handwriting as unrestrained as ever:

"Severus, being stuck at home is fun (or not?). Here are some materials for you to practice with. My mom insisted on making gingerbread; she says it helps combat summer boredom. The parchment and ink are what I had left over, so don't mind them. If you need anything, or if you're feeling really bored at home, just let me know."

"P.S. Kevin wrote to say he tried to train his owl to deliver mail, but the bird almost nested in his hair! Hilarious! Keep in touch. —Ian"

After sending it out, Ian didn't think much of it and continued his summer vacation: he played a few games of football with his former classmates and watched two movies.

He spent most of his time in his father's study, browsing through interesting, non-curricular magic books, and occasionally trying out a few harmless little spells.

To his surprise, about ten days later, a strange, somewhat tired-looking barn owl knocked on his window and dropped a small package.

Inside the package was an inconspicuous little wooden box. When opened, it contained two small bottles of magic potions.

One bottle is a clear light blue, labeled "Energizer (Modified, Side Effects: None)"; the other is a soft milky white, labeled "Soothing Spray (Sleep Aid, External Use)".

There was no card, only the word "SS" engraved in tiny letters on the bottom of the bottle.

Ian picked up the bottle of stimulant, uncorked it, and took a sniff. It had a cool, refreshing scent of mint and bay leaf, which seemed milder than the version he had previously received from Severus.

He couldn't help but laugh and carefully put it away.

That evening, he replied, not mentioning potions, but rambling on about his summer experiences, the novelties of the Muggle world, and asking if he had started trying the medieval remedy and if he needed any other ingredients.

Severus's replies were always slow, his handwriting small and neat, his content brief, and he rarely touched on his personal life. His replies were limited to discussions about potions, confirmation of materials sent by Ian, and occasionally, extremely brief responses to one or two questions in Ian's letters.

But at least he replied.

Communication continued intermittently.

Ian was the one who took the initiative, sending things over from time to time: sometimes it was a few secondhand potion notebooks he'd found at a Diagon Alley bookstore, filled with notes (he thought Severus would be interested).

Sometimes it was rare but legal plant seeds or mineral powders obtained from a reliable merchant in Flip Lane. Later, he even sent two new, simple cotton underwear and socks ("My mother was cleaning out her closet and found they were too small, so don't waste them.").

Severus rarely wrote to me first, but every time Ian sent something, he would receive a small "return gift" after a while.

One day in late July, Ian received a letter from Severus that was a little longer than usual.

The letter was still devoid of pleasantries, but it detailed the key materials needed for several medieval remedy variants he was experimenting with. Two of them were extremely rare and expensive, while the others were relatively common but required specific qualities.

At the end of the letter, Severus added in barely visible handwriting: "...If there is any inconvenience, please do not force yourself."

Ian stared at the list and the almost "polite" remark for a long time.

He knew what Severus's order meant; he was seriously studying the formula and had hit a bottleneck, needing help.

That phrase, "No need to force yourself," was probably the closest he could come to saying, "I'm sorry to bother you."

"What's inconvenient about it?" Ian muttered, putting away the letter and starting to plan his secret stash of money and how to get it.

Those two rare materials, perhaps we should "talk" to Mr. Bokin and exchange them using some family ties or something else.

The other items should be able to be collected after a few more trips to Diagon Alley and Tumbleover Alley.