The term drew to a close swiftly, and under the glorious weather, students boarded the Hogwarts Express for their journey home. Before departing, Dumbledore made a point of telling Snape that he intended to visit Snape's home during the summer, with the exact date to be sent by owl later.
The train slowly began to move, its wheels clattering faster and faster along the tracks. The journey seemed to pass remarkably quickly. Snape and Pandora, along with their companions, sat in their compartment, chatting about many school matters and sampling every treat from the trolley, except for the dreaded Every Flavor Beans.
The scenery outside the window flew past like a painting. Just as they were thoroughly enjoying themselves, the train whistled, and its sturdy frame began to slow down with a resounding clang.
Once the scarlet steam engine came to a halt, Snape, dragging his trunk, followed the bustling crowd off the train. He bid farewell to his friends and once again walked towards the brick wall of Platform 9¾.
The platform was bathed in sunlight. On one side of the brick wall, Eileen was already waiting, watching him with a smile.
"Come on," she said softly, extending her arm to Snape, "Let's go home."
Snape didn't mention to Eileen that he had passed his Apparition test. Instead, he simply bent slightly and took her arm. This year, he had grown remarkably tall, already quite a bit taller than her.
After a dizzying spin, they stood on the hillside of Ottery St Catchpole. Before them, the village and the winding stream sparkled in the sunlight; behind them, the familiar little cottage stood quietly, awaiting its owners' return.
Snape enjoyed a comfortable summer holiday at home, occasionally visiting the Burrow with Eileen and helping Mrs. Weasley look after her three sons. Percy could now toddle a few shaky steps and even utter a few simple words. However, the little fellow wasn't keen on crawling around and getting himself dirty; he preferred to sit quietly to the side, wide-eyed, watching the adults chat. Out of sheer mischief, Snape had been trying to teach Percy words like "prefect" and "Head Boy."
One day, they were all gathered in the Burrow's kitchen, idly chatting. Suddenly, the wonderful clock on the wall chimed twice, and the hand representing Mr. Weasley swung straight to "Home." Immediately after, the front door burst open with a crash, and Mr. Weasley's booming voice echoed from the yard: "Molly! I'm home!"
"Ah, Eileen, Severus, you're here too," Mr. Weasley said, walking into the house with a tired expression. He greeted them, then flopped down onto a kitchen chair, took off his glasses, and rubbed his temples. Mrs. Weasley stood up behind him and gently massaged his shoulders.
"What a busy and exhausting day," Mr. Weasley sighed deeply. "Some old witch had bewitched one of those Muggle 'plugs,' and the 'plug' suddenly went mad, whipping out lightning at everything around it. Several Muggles ended up in the hospital." He complained, full of bewildered curiosity, "Why would a 'plug' release lightning?"
"'A plug?'" Snape asked, intrigued.
"Yes," Mr. Weasley said, pulling a dark, rather grubby plug from his pocket, with a short piece of wire still attached. "This thing."
"Why did you bring that back?" Mrs. Weasley asked, displeased, seeing the dark marks on Mr. Weasley's hands and robes.
"It's simply marvellous, Molly," Mr. Weasley seemed to perk up a little, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "That 'plug' was like a monster, whipping out blue streaks of lightning all over the place! Perkins and I had quite a time subduing it..." But seeing Mrs. Weasley's frown, he quickly tucked the plug back into his pocket.
"That's an electrical plug," Snape explained with a smile, realizing then that this was the origin of Mr. Weasley's fascination with collecting plugs. "Muggles use it to power their electrical devices."
Mr. Weasley sat up straight, eagerly pressing Snape for details about Muggle life. Snape attempted to explain, from televisions to washing machines. However, he soon realized that Mr. Weasley, lacking some fundamental concepts, found it difficult to grasp his explanations. With no other option, Snape made the excuse that he wasn't entirely sure himself, that he'd only heard these things through hearsay from Muggle-born classmates. This finally allowed him to escape Mr. Weasley's continuous questioning.
During dinner, Mr. Weasley warmly invited Snape to sit beside him. When Mrs. Weasley wasn't looking, he stealthily pulled out a few batteries to show Snape, inquiring about their purpose.
"Ahem, ahem." Mrs. Weasley couldn't resist a gentle cough.
"Ah, Molly," Mr. Weasley quickly changed the subject. "This summer, the Ministry has a staff benefit – a partial subsidy for Ministry employees and their families to go on holiday."
"Bertha Jorkins, who just transferred to the Ministry from the Daily Prophet, said she wants to holiday in Albania and asked if I wanted to bring the family along. Are you interested?"
"How many Galleons would that cost, Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley seemed a little tempted, asking hesitantly, "How much will the Ministry subsidize?"
"But Percy is still so young—" she added.
"Don't worry about that, we can take Muggle transportation to get there," Mr. Weasley said excitedly. "Jorkins said a trip to Albania wouldn't cost much. If all five of us go, the Ministry can subsidize up to two hundred Galleons."
"And, Molly," he added with a hint of apology in his voice, "we haven't had a proper trip since we got married. You've been so busy at home, I feel a bit guilty."
"Arthur," Mrs. Weasley said, a little embarrassed, whispering to him, "Eileen and Severus are still here."
"Ah," Mr. Weasley rubbed his hands together, saying, "Sorry, the Ministry subsidy is only for employees and their relatives."
Listening to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's conversation, Snape remembered Bertha Jorkins, the witch who was murdered by Voldemort, her death used to turn Nagini into a Horcrux. He quickly composed himself and said, "It's alright, we understand. However, if you don't mind, we could pay our own way and join you for the holiday."
Snape looked at Eileen: "Mum, would you be interested in a summer holiday in Albania?"
"If you want to go, then let's go," Eileen replied with a smile.
"Splendid!" Mr. Weasley said cheerfully. "Molly, don't refuse! It'll be much livelier with everyone there!"
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