HP: Those Years Sleeping with the Half-Blood Prince

A spacious kitchen, a living room filled with books and a comfortable sofa, Leah's small study/pharmacy, and John's study where he works on documents at home.

"My room is right next door. If I need anything at night, or if Doraemon is too noisy, I can just knock on the wall." Ian pointed to a dark blue door. "The bathroom is at the end of the hallway, with hot water 24 hours a day. My parents' room is on the third floor, and they usually don't come down to bother me."

Finally, they passed through the French glass doors on the other side of the living room and came to a stone-paved balcony surrounded by flowers.

Tables and chairs were set up on the balcony, and afternoon tea was ready.

"Sit down." Ian pulled out a chair and sat down first, picked up a scone, broke it in half, and spread a thick layer of cream and jam on it.

Severus sat down opposite him and, imitating him, picked one up as well.

A gentle breeze carries the scents of roses and lavender.

"How is it?" Ian took a sip of tea, looking at him. "Is it alright?"

Severus swallowed the food in his mouth, remained silent for a moment, and nodded. "...This place is very nice."

"If you like it, that's fine." Ian smiled, his smile shining brightly in the slanting sunlight. "Then treat this place as your own territory, don't be shy. Tomorrow I'll take you to the workshop, see what you need, and we'll make a list. Buy what you need, and borrow what you need from my mom. Summer vacation is long, Severus, enough for you to do a lot of things you want."

Severus looked up at the quiet waiting workshop in the distance, and then at the friend in front of him who had brought him here from Spider's End and planned everything for him.

The warm, bittersweet feeling in his chest surged again, but this time, he didn't try to suppress it.

He simply nodded again, very lightly.

"Um."

……

The next morning, Severus woke up on time in an unfamiliar room.

The clear morning light shone through the gaps in the curtains, and the air was filled with the faint scent of clean cotton fabrics and wooden furniture warmed by the sun. It was unusually quiet, with only the faint chirping of birds in the far distance outside the window.

He lay in the soft bedding, momentarily disoriented, before realizing where he was.

Mornings in Spider's End Lane always begin with a mother's suppressed cough, a father's heavy, hungover footsteps, or the sounds of neighbors arguing that drift through the thin wall.

Here, there is only an almost luxurious tranquility.

He glanced at the simple little clock Ian had left him on the bedside table the night before; the hands had just passed seven.

Almost without hesitation, he got up, quickly and quietly washed up, and changed into a clean shirt and trousers.

As he gently pushed open the door and walked down the stairs, the aroma of food wafted from the direction of the kitchen.

He followed the sound and light to the restaurant entrance and saw Leah and John already seated at the table.

The morning paper floated beside John as he sipped his coffee and browsed the headlines.

A cup of herbal tea sat in front of Leah, and she held a magazine in her hand. She looked up when she heard footsteps.

"Severus? Good morning." Leah put down her book in surprise. "Why are you up so early? It's the first day of the holiday, it's okay to sleep in a little longer."

John looked up from his newspaper and nodded at him: "Good morning, did you sleep well?"

"Good morning, Aunt Leah, Uncle John. You slept well, thank you," Severus replied somewhat awkwardly from the doorway.

"Come sit down." Leah pulled out a chair next to her, smiling. "That kid Ian is probably still dreaming about fighting the poison tentacles. We won't see him until at least ten o'clock. Perfect, let's have breakfast together, yay!"

Dora appeared in response, bringing over a clean set of tableware, which she quickly placed in front of Severus. Then, she deftly began carrying food out of the kitchen.

"Tea? Coffee? Or pumpkin juice? Milk is also available," Leah asked.

"...Tea is fine, thank you." Severus sat down somewhat stiffly.

Dora immediately poured him a steaming cup of black tea and carefully pushed the sugar bowl and milk jug aside.

"Don't be shy, make yourself at home." John folded the newspaper and put it aside. "Leah and I are going out this afternoon to do routine rounds at a few therapist sites up north. We won't be back for about two weeks."

Leah chimed in, her tone relaxed: "So from now on, it'll just be you, Ian, and Doraemon at home. Feel free to use the workspace; the key's with Ian. The plants in the greenhouse, those with red labels, are for my recent experiments—just don't touch them. For anything else you need, just take it..."

She spoke so naturally, as if it were perfectly normal to completely open up one's own warehouse and greenhouse to a child one has only known for a short time.

Severus's fingers tightened slightly around the teacup. "...I'll be careful not to waste any ingredients. As for the rest...Ian said he'd help."

"That's fine then." Leah nodded, took a sip of tea, and then remembered something. "Oh, right, there are some case analyses and potion application notes that I've collected over the years in the study. They're on the bottom two shelves of that low bookshelf by the window, and they're unlocked. Some of the ideas might be... a bit far-fetched, even a little unconventional."

She winked, a hint of slyness in her eyes. "If you're bored, you can flip through it. Maybe it'll provide some negative examples, or... some inspiration."

John glanced at his wife, shook his head helplessly, but said nothing, clearly already used to it.

Breakfast concluded in a calm and efficient atmosphere.

After John and Leah finished eating, they got up to pack their luggage one last time. Before leaving, Leah gave Severus a few more instructions, telling him, "Don't let Ian's lazy holiday routine get you in the wrong direction, but don't push yourself too hard either." Then the two of them left through the Floo Network in the living room.

A green flame flickered, and silence returned to the fireplace, broken only by Dora humming an off-key tune and the faint sounds of washing dishes in the kitchen.

Severus sat alone at the dining table, slowly finishing the last bit of lukewarm tea in his cup.

He got up, took his dishes to the kitchen sink, and then went back upstairs.

As we passed Ian's tightly closed door, there was indeed no sound from inside.

He returned to his room, took out books and a few blank parchments from his suitcase, sat down at his desk, but found it difficult to concentrate.

My gaze fell on the vibrant garden outside the window and the quiet workspace.

After an unknown amount of time, footsteps finally echoed in the hallway, followed by Ian's drowsy, indistinct mumbling and the sound of the bathroom door closing.

A while later, footsteps stopped at his door, and a knock sounded.

Severus opened the door.

Ian, with his messy brown hair and wearing loose pajamas, leaned against the door frame, yawning sleepily.

"Good morning... You're amazing, getting up so early on the first day of the holiday. Where are my parents? Did they leave?"

"Yes, he left during breakfast," Severus said.

"I knew it." Ian rubbed his eyes. "So you've already eaten? Dora must have saved some for me... Wait for me for ten minutes, no, five minutes, to brush my teeth and change my clothes, then I'll take you to the workshop."

After he finished speaking, he shuffled back to his room in his slippers.

Severus sat down again, and this time, he opened the book.