Walking into the Great Hall early the next morning, Severs was surprised to see that Potter, Malfoy, and Weasley, of all people, were up already and were sitting at the end of the Slytherin table nearest the Head Table.

“Good morning, Potter, Weasley, Draco,” he said quietly.

The three boys looked over and chorused, “Good morning, Professor Snape.”

“May I ask, Mr. Weasley, why you are sitting at the Slytherin table? Were you not sorted into Gryffindor?” Severus said with his characteristic scowl.

“Yes, I am a Gryffindor,” Ron said, “but I am sitting with my friends Draco and Harry. As Harry is the Heir of Slytherin and Gryffindor, thus owner of the school, he is allowed to let people sit where they want.”

“I am aware of that, Weasley,” Severus ground out. “However, I was not aware that you were friends with my godson.”

Ron looked at Harry, then at Draco. “I forgot you were Snape’s godson, Draco.”

“Everyone does, it seems, except for Uncle Sev,” Draco sighed. “He always makes time to visit with me. That is, unless he is in the middle of brewing something very important.”

“Like Uncle Moony’s potion for his ‘furry little problem’,” Harry said.

“Yes... well... Mr. Weasley, you will need to see Professor McGonagall to get your timetable, but I do know that you have double Potions this morning with my Snakes,” Severus said. “And Draco, Potter, here are your timetables.”

As he handed the timetables to the boys, they each said, “Thank you, Professor Snape.”

“Good day, boys,” Severus said. He turned and walked down the table to hand out timetables to the Slytherins who had trickled in while he had been talking to the somewhat odd trio.

~-~-~-~

That morning, at the beginning of his first class of the year, Severus decided he would start with his favourite speech. Charming his robes to billow out behind him as he walked, he slammed the classroom door open and strode down the centre aisle. As he drew near the front of the classroom, he said, “You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind and ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.”

He had reached the front of the room, and as he finished his speech, he looked around. Other than Potter, who was both Slytherin and Gryffindor, the students had equally divided themselves, Gryffindors to the right of the room, and Slytherins to the left. Potter was sitting next to Draco, and both were glassy-eyed and drooling in excitement from his speech.

Severus quickly took roll. Once he finished, he recalled that Potter claimed to be good at potions. “Potter!” he snapped suddenly. “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?”

“Draught of Living Death, sir. It is a sleeping potion that is wicked strong. In the Muggle fairy tales Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Sleeping Beauty, it is assumed that it is this potion that was used to put the heroines to sleep. Although the notion of the Prince kissing them to awaken them from the draught is laughable at best,” Harry said.

“Alright. Where would you look if I told you to get me a bezoar?” Severus inquired, shocked and somewhat annoyed at the correctness and thoroughness of Potter’s first answer.

Most of his Slytherins had their hands in the air, ready to answer if Harry was wrong, as did several Gryffindors.

“I would find a bezoar in the stomach of a goat, sir, although you probably have some in your storage cupboard in the event of an emergency,” Harry said.

“Correct on both counts,” Severus said. “One more question... what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?”

At this, several hands from both sides of the room shot up, surprisingly including Neville Longbottom’s.

“There is no difference, sir. They are also known as... as...”

“As what, Mr. Potter?”

“Aconite, Professor,” Neville blurted out.

“Correct, Mr. Longbottom. One point to Gryffindor for a correct answer. Two points from Gryffindor, however, for speaking out of turn,” Severus scowled. Oh, how he hated to grant Gryffindors points, but at least they were a point down. “Now turn your books to page seven and you will find the instructions on how to brew a simple boil curing potion. You have a half hour to read the theory and recipe. You will then spend the remainder of the class brewing said potion. Begin.”

With that he walked over to his desk and sat down. When there was ten minutes until the end of the class, he rose and said, “Bottle up your potions, label them with your name, House, and ‘Boil Remover’ and place them on my desk. You are responsible for cleaning up your workstation before leaving, as well.”

While the students were doing as they were told, he walked around to see how everything turned out. He was shocked that he made it through an entire first-year potions class with no melted, blown-up, or tipped cauldrons. Much to his dismay, Potter ended up brewing a perfect potion, as well.

~-~-~-~

Over the period of the next month, Severus watched as Potter brewed perfect potion after perfect potion. Finally, the day arrived in which he had to decide whether he would need permission from the Blacks for Potter to do the fast-paced mentoring program that he had asked for. Seeing no way out of it, Severus called Potter into his office.

“Mr. Potter, I assume you know why I have called you in here,” he began.

“I... think so, Professor,” Harry said nervously. “Parents’ Day is tomorrow, so you probably want to let me know whether or not I get your mentoring.”

“That is correct, Mr. Potter,” Severus said. “Reluctantly, I must admit you did amazingly well over the past month. Every potion was perfectly prepared. Is it still your wish to participate in an accelerated mentoring program?”

“Yes, sir!” Harry said eagerly.

“Very well,” Severus sighed. “Tomorrow, I shall speak with your guardians. Dismissed.”

“Thank you, Professor!” Harry said before hastily exiting Severus’ office.

‘I just hope that I am making the right decision,’ Severus thought before starting to grade papers.

~-~-~-~

The next day, Severus found himself addressing the assorted parents and guardians of his First Year students.

“Welcome to the Potions Lab. Over the course of the next five years, I will be attempting to prepare your children to take their Potions O.W.L. If your child receives an Outstanding on their O.W.L., they will be eligible to remain in my class for my N.E.W.T. preparatory program.

“While in my class, the students will learn the proper way to prepare ingredients, whether it is to cut, crush, or ground them. They will learn basic lab safety and proper brewing procedures. I keep a stock of ingredients for classroom use. Should your children desire to brew on their own outside of class, however, they will have to provide their own ingredients. Are there any questions?”

For the next several minutes, Severus fielded questions ranging from “Is my little Hannah behaving in class?" to "Is Gregory telling the truth when he says that you regularly turn into a bat?" Finally, he had satisfactorily answered all the parents’ questions. As they were leaving, Severus called out, “Mr. Black, Lady Black, a moment of your time, please?”

The two Blacks turned and walked over to Severus’ desk.

“Yes, Professor?” Lady Walberga Black inquired.

“As you obviously know, I have your ward in my class,” Severus began.

“The poor kid!” Sirius Black said under his breath.

“Sirius Arturo Black, you hush now!” Lady Black said with a whack of her purse across the back of Sirius’ head.

“Yes, Black, do be quiet,” Severus said smarmily. “On the 1st of September, during the Sorting Feast, your ward became even more of an anomaly than he already was. He became the first ever student that was not sorted into a single House. Of course, his being the Heir of two Founders had a lot to do with that, but we didn’t know that then. After the Feast was over, Mr. Potter and I were called into the Headmaster’s office, along with Professor McGonagall. During the course of our meeting with Headmaster Dumbledore, it came to light that Mr. Potter is the Heir of several influential families and kingdoms: Potter, Evans, Atlantis, Gryffindor, Slytherin, and is in line for the Muggle throne. Albus revealed the fact that Mr. Potter does not have to stay in the dorms – he may stay in either the Slytherin or the Gryffindor suite. It was also revealed that Mr. Potter is the sole owner of Hogwarts School and the property it sits on. Mr. Potter seemed to care less about anything except to say that he would stay in the Slytherin suite, as he claimed he needed to talk to me.”

“What about, Professor?” Sirius asked, wondering why his godson would want to talk to Snivellus, of all people.

“He requested that I mentor him through a fast-paced program in Potions. I told him I would need to observe him in class for awhile. We agreed I would observe him for one month. If, at the end of the month, I felt he was doing acceptable enough work, I told him I would seek permission from the two of you, his guardians, for the mentorship. Not only has his work been acceptable, it has been outstanding. Every single potion he has brewed has been perfect, and he has brewed a majority of them from memory.”

“Yes, I can see that. I have been training him in Potions since he was five years old,” Lady Black bragged. “He has had a lot of practice with his potions, so it is no wonder that he has several of the first year potions memorized.”

“Do I have your permission to do a fast-paced mentorship with Harry, then, Mrs. Bla- excuse me... Lady Black?” Severus asked.

“You have my permission,” Lady Black purred, “but good luck convincing his legal guardian.”

“I may not like the greasy git,” Sirius said, wincing as his mother swatted him across the back of the head again, “but I think that it would be a good thing for Harry to do this. Otherwise, he would try to work ahead on his own, unsupervised, and I don’t like that idea one bit!”

“Alright. If we are going to do this then, I will need you both to sign this agreement form so I don’t get any flack from the powers-that-be,” Severus said, handing Lady Black a parchment. “It is essentially a pre-Apprenticeship program, so I used the Apprenticeship agreement as a template for this document. Harry will be excused from attending ‘normal’ potions classes, but he will have to spend three evenings a week, as well as the two free periods during the week that we share here in the lab working on potions. During the other free periods that we do not share, as well as the two evenings per week he is not here, he will need to work on the set reading and theory, as well as his homework for other classes.”

“That is fine,” Sirius said. At Severus’ odd look, he added, “Yes, Severus, I think it is a good idea that Harry do this program. I know that you and I didn’t get along in school, but you are the best Potions Master in the world, and I couldn’t be happier to have my son Apprentice under you.”

“Just promise one thing, Professor Snape,” Lady Black requested.

“Yes, Lady Black?” Severus inquired.

“Take care of our child. He is all we have left. Sirius’ friends are dead or traitors, save for the Werewolf, Remus Lupin. My youngest son, Regulus, is dead for turning against the Dark Lord, and the rest of the Blacks are in service to Him as well, or pretending to be, at least. Harry is my pride and joy, Severus. Please keep him safe,” Lady Black pleaded.

“I, Severus Octavian Snape, vow to protect Harold James Potter, Lord Potter, to the best of my ability. By my blood, by my soul, and by my magic, I so vow,” Severus said. As he finished speaking, a white light flashed in the room as Magic itself accepted his vow.