"I know you cannot see it, Harry, but there is a gate here that leads into the courtyard of my home. We will be spending the night here and then we can go to Diagon Alley after breakfast tomorrow." Severus replied taking out the moonstone pendant he always wore on a chain around his neck and placing it into the indentation on the gate. There was a click and the gates opened. He reached out to Harry. "Just walk straight ahead and you will see the house."
Harry walked in the direction the professor indicated and suddenly he saw the house. He wondered why he couldn't see it before. He walked across the courtyard to the double doors and waited for Professor Snape to come and open the door.
Severus was proud of Witch's Moon. It was made of what looked like grey, quarried stone. It had two wings that had been built in the same style as the main house and with the same material. It meshed nicely architecturally and aesthetically without being ostentatious like the Malfoy and Potters mansions. He inherited it when he was twenty-five, but had never really had time to explore the entire house or the grounds. He fitted the medallion into the indentation in the front door and it swung open. He and Harry went inside and Severus locked the door behind them.
Harry spun around in the foyer trying to take in everything at once. The house was huge! He bet the Dursley's house could fit in right here. The staircase in front of him had two sections going off to the right and left and he assumed they led to different part of the house.
"We should go into the living room by the fire and get warm," Severus suggested. "Are you hungry?"
"A little," Harry admitted. "All Uncle Vernon could find was a small bag of crisps for each of us since the grocery stores aren't open on Sunday."
"Tita?" Severus called.
An elf popped into the foyer. Unlike the elves at Hogwarts, she wasn't dressed in a tea towel, but was dressed in a long green flannel dress with the Prince crest on it and wore leather slippers on her feet. Over her dress she wore an apron. "Mr. Severus, you should have let Tita know you is coming so she could get things ready for you," she scolded.
"I am sorry, Tita. I came here on the spur of the moment and did not have time to notify you. Would you please bring a pot of tea to the living room and a sandwich and a glass of milk for Harry?"
"Right away, Mr. Severus."
Severus led Harry into the living room where there was a fire roaring in the fireplace. The warmth washed over him, making him feel sleepy. The elf named Tita popped back into the living room carrying a tray that contained a teapot, cups, a plate with a sandwich, and a glass of milk.
Harry took a bite of the sandwich. It was thick with slices of chicken; slices of crispy bacon, a thick slice of tomato, and mayonnaise. It was quite the best thing he's ever tasted as was the cold milk. He finished eating and yawned.
Severus had finished his tea and got up. "I will show you where you will be staying tonight, Harry."
Harry followed Severus upstairs and into the wing on the right. He opened the door to a room. "This will be your room when we are staying here. There is an in-suite bathroom and a small balcony that overlooks the ground. If you should need me during the night, my room is two doors down on the left side."
Harry nodded. "Thank you, Professor. Goodnight, sir."
"Goodnight, Harry."
Harry immediately shed his clothing and took a hot shower. Feeling immensely better he came out and found a pair of dark blue pajamas lying on the bed. He put them on to find they fit perfectly and then crawled into the bed that felt so wonderfully soft and warm. He quickly fell asleep.
Severus checked on Harry before retiring and saw he was burrowed under his blanket and sound asleep. He shut off the overhead light, but left a small lamp burning dimly in case Harry needed to get up, he wouldn't trip over or run into anything.
He went to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and once again he found himself once again sitting on the swing next to Lily in their neighborhood park. "Thanks, Sev, for rescuing Harry. I know he'll be much happier living with you than with Petunia."
"I am going to talk with Harry about becoming his guardian and if he's agreeable we'll go to Wizarding Child Services today and get the paperwork started."
"Sev, you're already Harry's guardian and godfather. You and Alice were my first choices for guardians and godparents for him. James forbade me naming you of course, but I did it anyway because I knew you could protect Harry better than anybody else."
"Thanks for your vote of confidence, Lily."
When Severus woke up he decided he would talk to Harry at breakfast about becoming his guardian. He knew Sarah Mullings, the head of WCS, well as they had worked together many times over the last ten years due to the number of abused children sorted into Slytherin House.
He showered and got dressed. He wore black jeans, a green jumper and black trainers. He walked down the Hall and knocked on Harry's door. "Harry?"
Harry woke when he heard the knocking and he heard Professor Snape calling his name. He stretched, hopped out of bed and opened the door. "Good morning, Professor."
"Good morning, Harry. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, sir, I slept real good," Harry replied with a big smile.
"Good. We will be going to Diagon Alley as soon as we finish breakfast."
Harry hurried to take his shower. When he came out of the shower he found the clothes he'd worn the night before were gone and in their place were clothing and trainers that were clean and actually fit him. He got dressed and hurried downstairs. Tita appeared with a pop. "Mr. Severus is in the dining room. If you will follow Tita she will take you there."