Harry arrived at Double potions with butterflies in his stomach. He had finished all the exercises and had started with the Troll essay. He did not know what to expect in class of Snape now that he was his ‘Maniac Magic Mentor’. Would he really treat him different? Snape said that he would expect better results.
They had talked for a while on Sunday, after they cleared the confusion about the broom and the appointments. Snape explained to Harry how to prepare for a potions class and told him that they would have extra classes as needed.
They had not had any more meetings this week because Professor Snape went to the Magical Hospital to give a seminar on Poisons.
Harry had read the lesson twice and had also looked for the ingredients and their properties. He felt that he could answer some questions if he could keep himself calm.
Snape was his usual scary person in potions. He entered with long strides and the door closed behind him, the instructions appeared in the board and everyone ran to get the ingredients and start brewing.
Harry could feel his piercing eyes on him He was not questioned but when the cauldron was boiling he felt Snape behind him. He turned and their eyes met. Snape nodded slightly and Harry felt in the clouds, it was the first time that Snape had approved his work!
Everything was well until almost the end of the class. Seamus' cauldron started glowing red releasing blue smoke!
Snape contained the spill fast and asked the ones that were around him to remove their cauldrons from the fire as he covered them magically.
Harry took hold of his cauldron and felt his sleeves get up, and something slipped from them….
Autumn had settled making the castle very cold. Harry had started wearing all his clothes at the same time to keep himself warm. It was uncomfortable but it was better than being cold. It worked well but he couldn’t do it every day and he needed to be able to move for the practical part of his classes. And he also required something extra for the potions class, the dungeons were like an icebox…
He needed something else… if he only….
Harry found a box full of muggle magazines in his common room and realized that he could use them.
He placed the pages between his pajama and his school uniform. That made enough insulation to keep himself warm.
He had been using the pages for almost a week now and they were a little crumpled but they were not heavy and could move with him.
…. a crumpled page slipped out of Harry’s sleeve and caught fire. When Harry realized it he hurried to place his cauldron in the counter and tried to smother the fire on his arm. His shirt caught fire also, he could feel the fire near his skin…. He looked at the sink and went there, He placed his arm under the faucet and put out the fire on his arm. He realized that he had splashed himself and the floor around him with the water, well at least he was not on fire any more.
He turned around and saw that all his classmates had left the room. He could see their heads in the hall by the open door.
Snape was in the middle of the classroom looking at him angrily.
“What part of get out of the room you didn’t understand Potter? Ten points from Gryffindor!”
“Sir… I… My sleeve caught fire sir and I had to put it out.”
“Your sleeve? The robes had a charm that won’t let them catch fire. Were you foolish enough to remove the charm from your robes Potter?!”
“No Sir… I…”
“Are you hurt Potter?”
“No Sir… just wet.”
“Stay there.” Snape went back to the door and saw that the rest of the dunderheads enter one by one to name their cauldrons and pick up their things.
Hermione and Ron were the last ones. They saw Harry’s predicament, Hermione marked Harry’s cauldron and was about to pick up his things when Snape told her to get out. Harry was left alone in the classroom.
“May I leave now Sir?”
Snape closed the door.
“Remove your robe Potter….”
Harry unbuttoned it one handed and removed it. Snape got closer and took the robe, it was wet but it showed no damage from the fire. Then he saw the boy. Harry’s shirt was singed in the left arm and pieces of wet paper were falling from it.
“What is the meaning of this Potter? Reading material for boring classes? Remove your shirt.”
Snape couldn’t believe that paper pages started falling to the floor of his classroom. He couldn’t understand why a child would cover himself with paper….? Harry ended trembling in his wet pajamas.
“What is the meaning of this Potter?”
Harry looked him in the eyes. Surely it was not forbidden… he had to stay warm……. But how to explain? He looked at the pile of wet magazine pages around him…. And the only thing he could say was.
“Insulation Sir.”
“What do you mean…?”
“The paper works like insulation it stops the cold from entering, Sir.”
“Do you mean to tell me that you placed those pages between your clothes because you were cold?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Was it part of an experiment or were you dared to do it?”
“No Sir.”
“What happened to your winter clothes?”
“I don’t have any Sir.” Harry was looking at the floor.
Snape had to keep on breathing deeply.
“Did you forget to pack them child? You may send an owl to your relatives and ask them to send them...?”
Harry’s face fell. How could he explain it? Snape will sneer and laugh at him.
Snape did not wait for his answer, he turned and left the room.
Harry started picking up the papers from the floor and stacking them. He placed his wet clothes over a stool and looked at his arm. It felt a little sore…. His pajama was burned also, it was his only one, he had received it as an extra from Madam Malkin's. The sleeve was burned at the cuff… he would have to cut it…. What would happen now? Snape re-entered the room, he was holding a red robe.
“Are you wearing insulation under your pants child?”
“Yes sir.”
“Here put on this robe, get into the storage room and remove your pajamas and insulation from your pants. Then come back here.
Snape was beyond angry. Whom in his right mind allowed a child to go through winter with out the proper clothes? He marveled at the boy’s ingenuity. He had solved his problem….
Snape magically dried the clothes and disposed of the paper.
Harry left the storage room wearing the robe and with another stack of paper in one hand and his pajama pants on the other. He placed the paper over the counter and saw that Snape made them disappear. He had used all the magazines and his pajama was ruined. Tears were very close.
“I’m sorry Sir.”
Snape glared at him. He was Sorry! Snape wanted to snap some necks. First from those stupid muggles. Then from the boy’s head of house, she should have checked!
“Is your arm hurt?”
“I little…. It got burned with the pajama’s cuff Sir. It will be fine.”
“I will decide that. Let me see.” Snape put a salve over the red part. It stopped itching and a fresh sensation appeared.
“Thank you Sir.”
“Do you have a class now Potter?”
“No Sir… I have free period until dinner.”
“Come with me.”
They walked to Snape’s office.
Snape made him sit.
“You bought your robes at Madam Malkin’s, did you not?”
“Yes, in Diagon Alley Sir.”
Snape went to his desk and took parchment and quill. He gave them to Harry and said.
“Have you kept practicing your writing?”
“Yes Sir.”
Was Snape going to make him write lines…?
“Write the following child….
Attention:
Madam Malkin
Diagon Alley
We require you to supply the following:
4 winter underwear, tops and bottoms
8 pairs of woolen socks
3 woolen shirts, long sleeves, white
3 woolen winter pants, school regulation
2 school sweaters with vest.
1 pair of leather gloves
Would you like a hat Mr. Potter?”
“A hat Sir?”
“Yes something to cover your head with..?”
“Yes sir.”
“1 woolen hat and earmuffs, Gryffindor Colors
1 pair of winter boots
1 pair of shoes, water proof soles
3 woolen pajamas
1 under robe
3 sweatshirts
1 set of sport pants
Would that be enough? Have you written all?”
“Yes Sir. Enough for what?”
“For you… stupid child!”
“Sorry Sir. Yes I think it will be enough.”
“Add a winter cloak
5 white underwear.
1 pair of trainers.
Send to Hogwarts School attention to Severus Snape and/or Harry Potter.”
“Yes Sir……. I didn’t know.”
“Know what Potter?”
“That I could mail order clothes, I would have done it before Sir.”
“I realized that Potter.”
“Shouldn’t I place my Gringgots account name, Sir?”
“No Potter. Do not worry about the payment. Is there anything else you would need?”
“I do not think so, Sir.”
“Finish the letter then and ask for Express delivery, they should arrive in around two days.”
“What about the size Sir?”
“Madam Malkin has your size and we may shrink or enlarge them a bit to fit you, Potter. It won’t take long for your clothes to arrive but in the mean time you are going to keep on wearing that robe. It’s warm. Place it over your school uniform and under your robes, it will provide you with enough insulation.”
“Yes Sir. Thank you Sir.”
“I won’t lecture you about this Mr. Potter, but this is the kind of thing I should be helping you with. You are not supposed to fix all your problems alone. You are smart and your solution was ingenious, but the cold time is just starting…. I don’t want you cold or uncomfortable.”
“I am sorry Sir…. I am not used to…. Thank you for your help.”
“Madam Pomfrey will check you on Sunday. Have you been eating well?”
“Yes Sir.”
“You still look too thin, let’s wait for the results of Pomfrey’s tests… I am expecting your essay next Monday child, you may give it to me along with the potions homework.”
“Yes Sir.”
“You may go Mr. Potter, I’ll post the letter.”
Snape found Minerva drinking tea in her office.
“Do you know what is this?” He placed a bunch of crumpled paper over her desk.
“No I don’t. Do you plan to place it under the cage of a hamster or any other pet? They seem to belong to several muggle magazines.”
“Harry Potter was wearing them between his clothes!”
“Harry Potter…. But why? Was it a prank? How many points did my house loose?”
“Don’t tell me that your only concern is house points Minerva!”
“You know I don’t. Please enlighten me about Mr. Potter and this pages…”
“The boy was wearing his pajamas under his regular clothes and all these papers in between as insulation because he was cold! And he doesn’t own winter clothes!”
“But why?”
“Why? You will have to be more specific.”
“Why didn’t he tell me…? How did you find out?”
“Part of his insulation caught fire in class today, I made him tell me…. He is used to inventing solutions! Merlin knows when and how did he learn to insulate himself like that! Why was he not prepared for the cold…? Because you did not send a list of required clothing along with the acceptance letter and book list! And you did not check that your students have the necessary clothes for winter in Scotland! But you did ensure that he get the best available broom!”
“Have a cup of tea. What did you do?”
“I gave him a warm robe and we ordered the appropriate clothes by owl. If he had had that list he could have got them along with his books when Hagrid took him to Diagon Alley!”
“I am sorry Severus. I just assume that the parents care for their children.”
“Yes, I know. But the children that are not wanted stay like that even here.”
“Should I assume that you asked for a normal supply?”
“The boy is loaded Minerva! He has enough in those Gringgots vaults to buy new clothes each month! And he had to wear magazines between his clothes to keep himself warm! The cold started two weeks ago!”
“I am sorry, there is nothing more I can do now. I will talk to him, he should have told me….”
“Don’t you dare mention it. He doesn’t need to be shamed…. On top of that. Just do me a favor. Check that all your Gryffindors have adequate clothing for the winter.”
“I will do that. I should…. I know that you check the clothes the first night of the term….”
“Yes I do. I usually have to send back some things. But some times I have to ask for the winter clothes. Because some parents believe that the cold starts after Christmas. This is the first time that I’ve found a child using paper to keep himself warm. Blood wards or not Minerva… that boy is not going to go back to those Muggles!”
“We are all working on the wards Severus….. he is going to stay at school for the Christmas holidays, he won’t have to see them until the Summer…”
Minerva saw Snape make the papers disappear.
“We’ll keep this between us. Won’t we?”
“There is no need to inform any one else Minerva.”
Harry found his friends in the library. They looked at him anxiously.
“Did he gave you detention, Mate?”
“It was not your fault Harry, your sleeve caught fire…” Hermione held his hand.
“Since when does that matter to Snape…”
“I’m hungry.”
Harry couldn’t keep with Ron’s tirade. Snape had been angry and had taken points from his house. But he had cured his arm and given him the robe and ordered clothes for him… he was taking really serious the part about taking care of Harry.
Harry arrived before his classmates to Potions class the next week.
“Here is my essay Professor….”
“How do you feel writing in class now Potter?”
“Better… my hand is used to holding the quill now sir… I am writing faster and less messy...”
“You should keep practicing Mr. Potter, try to write one page of exercises before you start your homework.”
“For how long Sir?”
“Until the beginning of next term child. I do not need to see them, but I trust you understand their importance.”
“Yes Sir.”
“So this is your essay…”
“Yes Sir. 3 feet. But…”
“Is it ready or not.”
“Yes Sir but….. I think that you will not like the conclusions Sir.”
“Why not?”
“Because, I guess that you wanted us to realize that it was dangerous to face the Troll and we know that, it’s just that….”
“Let me read it Mr. Potter and we’ll talk about it later.”
“Yes Sir.”
The class passed without incident. For once Gryffindor did not loose any points at all.
Harry felt more comfortable and Snape did not breath down his neck at all, he gave him a good grade.
Snape took the essay with him to the teachers’ lounge that night.
He sat in front of the fireplace and began reading it...... He was actually smiling when Minerva placed a cup of tea in front him.
“What are you reading Severus?” Asked Minerva sitting in the sofa beside him.
“Homework.”
“You do not get that amused look reading homework.”
“I always enjoy the things that the students write.”
“You enjoy criticizing them…. But this is different. You are not crossing words and writing things on the side....”
“It’s Potter’s essay on Trolls and the troll incident, he recounted it with a completely, different version and explains that after analyzing all the facts, the only way to save Miss Granger was what they did.”
“And what do you think? Are you going to lecture him on the irrelevance of saving friends and that he has to learn to save only his hide? You wanted him repentant but allowed him to give reasons…… After this you won’t be able to make him feel bad about it.”
“It made me think. Should we teach them to run and hide. Or to stay and fight?”
“They are children, not soldiers.”
"Yes, they are children. Mr. Potter will receive his clothes tomorrow. Is there a way to make the Muggles pay for them?”
“Albus talked about cutting the money they received monthly when he heard about the clothes…” After the way Snape looked at her she continued. "You know I had to tell him....."
“I will just make sure that Harry does not forget that he has a vault and that he has a right to use its contents.”
Snape had called the green-eyed child to his quarters after class the next day.
Severus asked him about his day and his classes before telling him that the essay had been good. It looked like Harry and his friends had really researched the theme and also had taken care in writing the conclusions.....
“We… I…. we repeated it again in the corridors and timed it. Sir. And we realized that…. All the teachers were in the dungeons, the prefects were on the way to the common rooms, it is not possible to apparate inside the castle. Only Ron and I knew where Hermione was, we were looking for her, not for the troll. If only one had stayed… he couldn’t have been able to distract the troll…long enough…”
“So you are sure that it was the only way to save your friend?”
“Yes Sir.”
“She shouldn’t have been looking for trouble, don’t you think?”
“Se wasn’t, she lied… she was upset in the bathroom, she didn’t know about the troll until it attacked her….”
“There was no need to lie.”
“She did not want Ron and I to be in trouble after we saved her.”
“I see, well I hope then that you won’t be looking for trolls again or any other dangerous creature, will you?”
Harry remembered the three headed dog in the third floor corridor…. Snape had prohibited him explicitly to get near it. Well they knew where it was, there was no need for them to go looking for it again…
“No sir.”
“That is well child. Now lets see what is in those packages that arrived for you.”
“Yes Sir!”
Snape had to use all his spy training to keep a blank face as he saw the boy opening packages and finding his new clothes.
“This is too much Sir.”
“You have to change every day Mr. Potter.”
“It’s so warm. Thank you Sir.”
“Don’t thank me child. This is just what you needed. You should take your bath as always. You will wear the long underwear under your pajamas and change your pajamas for your uniform on the mornings. Then your robe. You may also place the warm robe under the normal one. I will take points from you if you are cold again.”
“There should be some kind of introduction to the magical world for muggle raised kids professor. It’s very confusing.”
“That is why I am your Mentor. You’ll get used to it soon enough. Well Mr. Potter place this all in your trunk and I’ll see that it gets back to your room.”
Snape had gone through the trunk contents and had discarded a lot of things and shrunk the rest to fit Harry. He will have to mail order some more clothes coming Spring.
“That’s great professor. Thank you.”
“No more insulation Mr. Potter.”
“No Sir.”
The boy looked happy, Snape hoped that he would stay out of trouble.
He knew that it was wishful thinking when he heard Malfoy taunting the boy at the end of the next potions class.
“It’s really sad that there are people that have to stay at school because they are not wanted home, don’t you think?”
Malfoy was telling his friends but loud enough for Harry to take notice.
Snape was ready to stop a fight but was glad to see that Harry just picked up his things and walked out of the classroom.
It’s hard to want to fight when all you are wearing is new, it fits and it’s warm. He was not wanted at the Dursley’s, but Snape was taking care of him and that plus Hogwarts was more than enough.
The End.