"Dursley! Where's my hot chocolate!"
At breakfast the next day, Severus and Lupin stared wide-eyed at a scene they would normally never witness.
Draco sat at the dining table with an air of haughtiness, issuing orders to Harry as if he were a master to a servant.
Meanwhile, Harry, who usually never indulged Draco's young master attitude and always confronted him head-on, was now acting completely out of character, actually pouring a cup of hot chocolate for Draco.
Although Harry's face was full of defiance, and when Draco glanced sideways and demanded, "Is that any way to serve your boss?", he retorted with a pout, "Take it or leave it," he still ultimately placed the hot chocolate in front of Draco.
Draco didn't seem to mind Harry's contradictory attitude, as Harry's current posture said it all.
He began enjoying his breakfast in high spirits. Harry, with a sour expression, also sat down at the table and started eating.
"Are you two playing some kind of role-playing game?" Lupin couldn't help but ask.
Harry was pouring milk into the cereal in his bowl. He sighed heavily.
"I want to borrow the book you gave him from Draco. He insisted I be his attendant for two days before he'd agree."
Severus shrugged.
"Sounds like a pretty good deal."
"He wanted my wand first!" Harry gripped his spoon, stirring the milk and cereal in his bowl vigorously, as if he were using a pestle to smash Draco's smug face, "I refused, so he proposed this condition instead."
"But you agreed, didn't you?" Draco still wore a triumphant smile, sipping the hot chocolate from his cup with relish, "Since you agreed, it's a fair trade."
To this, Severus blinked.
"As long as there was no coercion, it is indeed a fair trade. Be a good attendant for Draco for two days."
These words made Lupin, who had been about to offer Harry that he actually had another copy of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, hold his tongue.
Clearly, at this moment, it wouldn't be appropriate for him to speak up and offer Harry a copy of the same book Draco had.
With Severus's approval, Draco felt even more justified in ordering Harry around.
After breakfast, Draco announced he wanted to sunbathe by the river and instructed Harry to move the tent's lounge chair outside for him, along with preparing a fruit platter and orange soda from the kitchen.
Harry, still wearing a sour expression, complied fully.
Just before lunch, Kabunara found Severus.
"Was it you who brought that great French Alchemist here?"
Severus certainly knew who he meant. He didn't deny it.
"Correct. He should have already contacted you and entered that underground ruin, right?"
"He has given us a lot of help, even directly helped us determine exactly who built that ruin," Kabunara said. "I've already reported this matter to the Ministry. That Mr. Williams asked me to come find you, to tell you that he is studying the Fountain of Fair Fortune mural in the underground ruin and has already found clues within it that will help you solve the puzzle. He asks you to wait for him for two more days."
Hearing the news Kabunara brought, a clear look of pleasant surprise appeared on Severus's face.
"That's excellent news! Please convey to him when you return that I will be right here waiting for him!"
Kabunara didn't stay for lunch and soon hurried off.
After lunch, Severus and Lupin went to help Andrews treat a troll whose foot had been pierced by a piece of shrapnel, leaving only Harry and Draco near the tent.
"We have a lot to do this afternoon," Draco declared with great vigor.
Harry just looked at him sideways.
"What else do you want to do?"
Draco turned his head and glared at him disapprovingly.
"You should call me 'Young Master'!"
"Alright then, Young Master Malfoy, what would you like to do this afternoon?"
"How about building a treehouse in that tree?" Draco pointed excitedly at a maple tree not far from the tent that was at least a hundred years old.
It was indeed a very suitable tree, with a thick trunk and branches that spread out widely enough to provide a sufficient base.
But Harry was visibly reluctant. He knew what Draco was planning, and most of the work would inevitably fall on him.
"We probably won't be staying in this forest much longer. Building a treehouse now only to use it for a week or two seems like a waste."
"Not a waste at all!" Draco shook his head, "Besides, we don't need to make it super sturdy or complicated, just a simple treehouse is enough. Snape has taught you a lot of magic, right? It shouldn't be too difficult for you. We can even get Lulu to help us… it can handle the wood!"
Even so, Harry remained completely unwilling.
Until Draco pulled rank.
"Don't forget, I'm your boss now, and you're my attendant!"
Harry's face fell. At that moment, he wanted to call off the deal. Working himself to death as this pompous Malfoy's lackey just to read a book really didn't seem worth it.
But then he thought, he'd already been the lackey for one evening and one morning. If he gave up now, all that hard work would have been for nothing!
So, Harry gritted his teeth.
"Fine!"
That afternoon, Harry and Draco were busy.
Although Draco talked about ordering Harry to do the work, he didn't slack off initially either. He pitched in with what needed to be done.
The two of them spent half an hour together finalizing a design plan. Then, they took this plan to Severus and the others.
Ultimately, Andrews, who had some experience building treehouses, helped them modify the details and gave them some precautions before letting the two boys work on it themselves.
They opted for a bolting method, fixing the support beams directly onto the tree. Then Harry climbed up the tree and used the Severing Charm, which Severus had taught him only a few days prior, to clear away the branches that would interfere with the treehouse construction.
At this point, Draco could finally rest. He moved his lounge chair under the tree and, while drinking black tea, as Severus thought he was drinking too much soda and had locked away the juice and soda, directed Harry's work.
"Cut down that branch too, Dudley. Cut it down for me."
Harry, wearing gardening gloves and wielding his wand, looked at the branch Draco was pointing at and said listlessly,
"This branch doesn't affect the treehouse construction. Cutting it would only harm the tree for no reason."
"You actually have the heart to feel sorry for a tree now! Don't worry, Snape said he has Growth Potion ready, so the tree won't be harmed! Hurry up and cut it down for me!"
"What do you want that branch for?"
"It would make a great slingshot, wouldn't it? Hurry up, I order you to do it now!"
Faced with Draco's whims, Harry could only reluctantly agree.
"At your service, Young Master Malfoy."
His performance satisfied Draco.
"That's more like it."
Harry waved his wand again. His Severing Charm wasn't very proficient yet. Even after constant use all afternoon, it was much better than at the start, but he still couldn't cut the forked branch Draco wanted with a single spell.
Just as Harry was about to cast the Severing Charm again on the half-cut branch, a dark shadow caught the corner of his eye in a clump of grass not far away!
Harry paused, then focused his gaze intently on that patch of grass.
Draco, who was supervising his work, noticed this suspected attempt to slack off and said discontentedly,
"What are you doing! If you don't work properly, no dinner for you tonight!"
"There seems to be something in that grass over there," Harry said hesitantly.
Draco looked skeptical as he stood up. He quickly walked over to the patch of grass Harry indicated and poked around inside it with a stick, but found nothing.
"You're definitely making excuses to slack off!" he accused.
Seeing that Draco found nothing, Harry just shrugged.
"Alright, maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me."
"From now on, I'm watching you. Your task for today is to trim off all those unwanted branches!"
After that, Harry worked busily up in the tree for the entire afternoon, finally managing to clear away the tree's excess branches just before dark.
This exhausted Harry. He went back to the tent and gulped down a large glass of water.
Then, at dinner, he had to set the table for Draco and serve him spaghetti.
It was after dinner that Severus seemed to notice something. He kept staring out the window and even left the tent to look around outside.
"What's wrong?" Lupin asked, puzzled.
Severus shook his head.
"Nothing. Just felt like someone might be watching us from outside during dinner."
"That must be your imagination. We're in the troll camp right now, and the trolls aren't asleep yet. If someone really wanted to sneak in, they'd have to get past the trolls first."
Severus thought Lupin made sense and didn't dwell on it further.
After the meal, Harry poured Draco another glass of milk and prepared his clothes and shoes for the next day, finally ending his day as an attendant and returning to his room.
He was truly exhausted. Shortly after lying down in bed after washing up, he fell asleep.
The night grew deeper. At some point, a large, jet-black dog silently entered Harry's room.
Its pitch-black eyes, gleaming under the moonlight, looked full of menace.
The Puffskein, originally sleeping on the cupboard, seemed to sense something. It drowsily opened its eyes in its sleep but could only vaguely see a dark shadow quietly leaving the bedroom, like a hallucination from not being fully awake.
It blinked, seemingly not paying it much mind, chose a more comfortable position, and went back to sleep.
The one who had left Harry's room was, naturally, Sirius Black!
After stealing the letter with the location from Nicholas, Sirius had impatiently found this troll camp in the forest.
He had been very cautious. Although excited upon seeing Harry and Severus, he restrained his impulses and hid in the shadows.
Even though he firmly believed in his heart that everyone, like Lupin, Dumbledore, even Nicolas Flamel, had been deceived by the facade Severus had constructed-
But when it came down to it, Sirius was also hesitant. Was there the slightest possibility that what Nicholas said was true?
Even if Severus hadn't become a better person, what if, out of regard for his past history with Lily, he treated Harry at least somewhat decently?
Holding onto this thought, Sirius hid in the shadows and observed Harry's life for an entire afternoon.
And then, the fury he could no longer suppress made Sirius want to charge out and bite that little Malfoy brat to death!
What was written in that letter he saw at Malfoy Manor was true!
James's son, Harry Potter, had truly been completely tamed and turned into a slave by this Malfoy boy!
What had Harry been doing all afternoon?
Working himself to death building a treehouse for the Malfoy boy!
If he paused for even a moment, he was threatened with no dinner!
In the evening, he had to set the table and serve food for Malfoy, looking more like a house-elf than a house-elf!
And before bed, he had to prepare his clothes and shoes!
Watching this scene unfold, Sirius had nearly lost control several times, wanting to charge out, bite all those who were mistreating James's son to death, and take Harry away.
He had even almost been discovered by Severus outside.
But in the end, his reason overcame his impulse.
Sirius, in a clear-headed state, understood perfectly well that without a wand, he was no match for Severus, let alone with Lupin, who seemed to have completely betrayed them, by his side!
To truly rescue Harry, he had to wait for the right opportunity, a moment when Severus didn't have his wand in hand.
So Sirius endured like this until deep into the night, then quietly infiltrated the tent.
He didn't go for Severus first but instead slipped into Harry's room, gazing intently at the sleeping Harry.
'He looked so much like him.'
Even with the disguise Severus had put on Harry, for someone like Sirius, who had been closer than brothers with James, it was easy to see that Harry looked incredibly like James.
Staring at Harry's face, Sirius made a decision in his heart.
Later, he wouldn't kill Severus outright.
He would capture him, bring him before Harry, tell Harry all about how vile and evil this Snivellus had been, and then let Harry decide… to kill him, or to expose his true nature and send him to Azkaban!
With this thought, Sirius quietly left Harry's room and approached Severus's door.