The Sunshine of Hogwarts, Snape

"M-Mr. Snape, Master ordered me to bring Young Master to you."

Dobby's voice was timid as he looked at Severus.

Draco also spotted Severus sitting at the bar with the Weasley Family, his eyes filled with undisguised resentment.

Even now, he still had no idea what had gotten into his father. Since yesterday afternoon, Lucius had been gloomy and distracted, and this morning, he had outright decided to send Draco away… to Severus Snape, of all people, who was about to leave on a trip!

This infuriated Draco. He had argued fiercely with his parents at home, his mother Narcissa shedding tears in the corner, but Lucius's decision was not something Draco could refuse.

So early in the morning, Draco had been brought to the Leaky Cauldron by their house-elf, Dobby.

Upon noticing the newcomers and hearing Dobby's words, Harry's eyes widened in surprise. He glanced at Draco, then turned to look at Severus.

Arthur also froze for a moment, clearly recognizing whose child this was.

"This must be the Malfoy's only son, right?"

Severus spoke up at this point.

"Thank you for bringing him here so early, Dobby. Go back and tell Lucius I've received him and will take good care of him."

Dobby, flustered by the thanks, bowed deeply before leaving Draco behind in the Leaky Cauldron. With a soft pop, he vanished.

Draco remained standing there silently. He was seething with anger and drowning in self-pity.

He felt like he had done nothing wrong, yet his parents had unilaterally decided to abandon him!

"Another glass of milk and a sandwich. Judging by his expression, he probably didn't eat much for breakfast this morning."

Severus tapped the bar, giving Tom another order for the morning.

Then he turned to Draco, his tone calm as he invited, "Why don't you come sit with us, Draco?"

After Dobby left, Draco's eyes had been darting around, repeatedly glancing toward the door of the Leaky Cauldron. But under the weight of so many stares and Severus's words, he finally abandoned his childish plan of making a run for it.

He shuffled forward until he reached the bar, glaring at Severus as he demanded, "What kind of potion did you slip my Father to make him decide to abandon me like this?!"

At such words, Arthur and Molly looked startled, their eyes flicking to Severus. Meanwhile, among the children, George and Fred let out a synchronized whistle!

"I bet you secretly tricked one of your siblings into making an Unbreakable Vow?"

"Or maybe you stole your dad's wand and nearly burned the house down with a wild spell?"

"Only you two would pull something like that!" Percy said with disgust.

Draco turned his gray eyes on the talkative Weasley twins, shooting them a fierce glare… though it lacked any real intimidation, only fueling the twins' desire to stir the pot further.

Severus merely observed Draco calmly.

"You should understand that your father is one of my few friends. He's been lacking in your education, and yesterday, I noticed it too. So, I offered to take you along on my travels, hoping it might bring some change in you."

"This isn't your parents casting you aside. They know what's truly best for you."

"Then it's your fault!" Draco shouted. "Who asked you to say those things to my father? Everything was fine with me! Everything was fine with our family until you showed up and ruined it!"

Just this brief exchange was enough for the Weasley children to see how poorly behaved Draco was.

Ron, sitting between Harry and Ginny, whispered under his breath, "If I ever talked like that, Mom would've kicked my ass into next week.

"He seems spoiled rotten." Charlie remarked, crossing his arms, "Professor Snape is right. He does look like he needs an education."

George and Fred had already rolled up their sleeves and spoke up, "We can help, Professor Snape!"

"We've been at that age too. Sometimes, a good pain is the only way to get the lesson across!"

"I don't advocate solving educational problems with violence." Severus said, waving off the Weasley twins, "Though for certain extreme cases, forceful measures may be necessary, I don't believe Draco has reached that point yet."

His gaze returned to Draco.

"Putting aside everything else, since you're here now, is this how your father taught you to behave in public… shouting and making a scene like some unruly child?"

Draco noticed the eyes on him again. His lips pressed into a thin line, face flushing red, before he finally slunk to the farthest seat at the counter and sat down.

The Weasley children watched as he actually stopped causing a fuss. George and Fred let out a mocking jeer, and soon, the others ignored the sulky boy, returning to their own conversations.

Draco, seemingly unbothered by his isolation, waited silently until Tom brought over his sandwich and milk. He asked for a napkin and began eating his breakfast without another word.

Arthur glanced at the boy, then leaned closer to Severus, murmuring, "Malfoy actually agreed to let you take his precious son out like this?"

"Before this child is completely corrupted, someone ought to teach him the right way to think, don't you think?" Severus replied evasively.

Arthur nodded in agreement.

"I hope you can straighten him out. It's because of people like the Malfoys passing down their twisted beliefs that the Wizarding World keeps running into trouble."

After finishing the Butterbeer and pumpkin juice Severus had treated them to, the Weasleys soon left the Leaky Cauldron for Diagon Alley… they had a long shopping list to tackle.

They are going to do a big shopping today.

Once they were gone, Lupin, who had gone to Diagon Alley earlier to pick up some last-minute supplies, returned to the pub.

Spotting Draco, he looked genuinely surprised as well.

"His parents actually agreed to leave him with you? That's hard to believe."

Draco had finished his breakfast by now. He and Harry were sitting almost at opposite ends of the counter, their backs turned to each other as if even glancing at the other would dirty their eyes.

"Remember, from now on, our group only has Dudley Dursley… not Harry Potter." Severus said, pulling Remus and Harry closer to remind them that under no circumstances should they slip up!

Lupin no nodded, of course, without any objections. However, Harry looked uncomfortable.

"Professor, why did you have to bring him along?"

"His father is my friend." Severus said seriously to Harry, "His attitude is terrible, I know. But that's exactly why we should try to correct him, don't you think?"

"I won't force you to befriend him, Dudley. But you can help me by treating him like a troubled child with worse manners than you… try to teach him the right things."

Hearing this, Harry reluctantly nodded and muttered, "I'll try my best. I'll try to stop myself from punching him again, at least."

"If he provokes you like yesterday, I see no issue with you punching him." Severus said with a faint smirk.

Harry's expression finally brightened, as he'd been worried he'd have to hold back.

"Alright, Draco! Stop sitting there like an outsider. You want me to send you home? Fine. Just do as I say, complete what I have planned, and I'll take you back. I'll even tell your father you were perfect… an excellent, pride-worthy son. If you can manage that."

Draco turned to look at Severus, his eyes narrowing.

"You swear?"

Severus shrugged.

"You can ask Dudley… have I ever lied to him since we started traveling?"

Draco's gaze shifted to Harry, who gave him a dead-eyed stare.

"Professor never lies."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration. I'm quite skilled at lying… just rarely to children."

Finally, Draco moved to sit with them. Severus pulled out a map of Europe from his suitcase and pointed to Paris.

"We're going here first… to visit a world-renowned alchemist. If things go well, we'll then head to Albania."

"What's the point of going to these dump places?" Draco drawled, his tone dripping with the kind of arrogance that made Harry's fists itch.

"You don't need to worry about why we're going. Just stick with me until the end, and I'll make sure your father picks you up the moment we return."

Draco scoffed.

"What's so hard about that? Paris and Albania? We could do that in a day with the Floo Network!"

Severus just looked at him and shook his head.

"We're not using the Floo."

Draco squinted at him.

"You've got a Portkey set up?"

"No Portkeys either."

His face paled slightly.

"My Father told me… Side-Along Apparition with underage wizards is dangerous!"

Severus just continued to shake his head.

"We won't use Apparition either."

"Then how the hell are we getting there?!" Draco said impatiently.

Severus pulled out a stack of British pounds from his briefcase, which he had exchanged from Gringotts yesterday.

"We're traveling the Muggle way!"