A forkful of scrambled eggs hanging, en route to his gaping mouth, Harry stared at the piece of parchment in his other hand, wide green eyes staring uncomprehendingly at the name.

Severus Snape.

It had to be a joke. There was no way that Dumbledore would have… have… inflicted this on him. On either of them. The selection was supposed to be random, yes, but the headmaster would have had some discretion, wouldn’t he?

Apparently not.

“Dear Mr Potter,

RE: Junior Aurors Association Easter Coursework

Your interviewee will be:

SEVERUS SNAPE

Please find enclosed your list of interview questions, which has been approved. Your interview will take place at 3pm on Saturday, in your interviewee’s office, unless otherwise advised by your interviewee.

Yours sincerely

A. Dumbledore, Headmaster.”

Sighing, Harry scrunched up the paper. “Bloody hell.”

“What’s up, Harry?” Hermione asked brightly, carefully folding up her own letter.

“Well, you know how I thought it’d be a good idea to sign up to that Junior Auror’s Association club, take my mind of Sirius Black being out for my blood and everything.”
 
Hermione’s brows knotted “Who did you get?”

“Well, you know how the universe hates me?”

Ron looked up from the scrambled eggs and bacon he had been hungrily spooning into his mouth, a concerned expression in his blue eyes “Not…”

“Yeah, Snape.”

“Oh Harry”

“Can’t you get Dumbledore…”

Harry raked his hands through his messy raven hair “Mate, Snape probably already knows and, if I’ve got this letter, he hasn’t been able to change Dumbledore’s mind.”

“Or maybe Snape hasn’t tried” Hermione added “And, if Harry complains to Dumbledore…”

“We’ll have ‘Golden Boy Potter doesn’t think the rules apply to him, what a spoilt little prince’ for the next year.” Harry grumbled.

“You already get that, mate” Ron said “Don’t know why you chose to interview a teacher, anyhow.”

“He chose it for the same reason that I did” Hermione said tartly “Not everyone has a wizarding family. Do try to think before you speak Ron.”

Ron blushed “Yeah, but he could’ve interviewed one of my family. Dad’s flooing in next Saturday, I could get him to bring Bill, he’d be willing if you want to do a swap.”

“We’ve already been through this! If Snape finds out that Harry has tried to get out of the interview…”

Harry shook his head “Perhaps I should just go and try to interview Sirius Black. I might just survive it!”

OoOoO

Clutching his list of questions to his chest, Harry knocked on the heavy elm door of Severus Snape’s office. To his relief, it was opened by a smiling Dumbledore. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad.

“Ah, Harry, so good to see you.” The elderly headmaster intoned, his blue eyes twinkling “Now, I’ve just set up the observation spell, so I can leave you two boys to it.”

“You’re not staying?” Harry asked, hope shattering.

“Surprisingly, Mr Potter, the Headmaster has more important tasks to attend to.” Snape sneered, his folded arms and tapering sillouette making him appear more bat-like than ever in the gloom of the doorway.

“Unfortunately, yes, I am afraid I must leave for the Ministry within the hour.” Dumbledore replied “The dementors are proving more troublesome than anticipated.

Shaking his head, Dumbledore turned and disappeared with an ambling stride up the corridor.

“In” Severus directed wearily to Harry. With a sinking stomach Harry followed the Potion’s Masters sweeping robe-tails through his office.

Harry stopped in front of Snape’s desk, not daring to sit down, but, to his surprise, Snape walked up to a dark painting which, on closer inspection, appeared to be of a witch whose austere expression contrasted sharply with her tall, rather ornate wig and full skirted, lace-edged gown, the green velvet of which had been embroidered with gold thread and set with tiny pearls. The potions master pressed his hand onto the outstretched palm of the witch and the portrait swung forward.

“The headmaster seemed to consider it more… appropriate if we conducted this interview in my private office.” Snape said, his eyebrows raised. “As far as I was aware, auror interviews generally take place in the holding cells of Azkaban, if not the bottom of a ditch where the suspect can be disposed of if necessary. But then, this interview is more akin to that of a Witch Weekly reporter than an auror.” He finished, frowning.

Harry gritted his teeth, as usual, Snape seemed to blame him for anything and everything. Including the interview’s stupid rules. To take his mind of his situation, Harry looked around: the large, light green room was still clearly an office, complete with a large, elm partners desk and the wall next to it was hidden by a huge bookcase, stuffed with old tomes. But there were also huge sash windows, with emerald velvet curtains, and a faded sage-green leather sofa sat in front of the massive fireplace, in which a cracking fire burnt. On an elegant side table, two half empty coffee cups and a small dish of sherbet lemons lingered beside a magazine on, surprisingly, divination.

“I have read through your scripted questions.” Snape continued “Inane, pointless and without focus but generally unoffensive. I suppose you thought that your dear headmaster would place you with your head of house, who better for the Gryffindor golden boy.” Snape sneered and, to Harry’s dismay, plucked the sheet of questions from his hand and threw them into the fire.

“Sir!”

“Silence, Potter! If we are going to commence with this travesty of an interview, it will be under my terms. You wish to be an auror, not a journalist, so you will question me as an auror!”

Horror crept inside Harry’s skin. This was going to go horribly wrong.

“So, let us outline the situation. I am a Potions Master at Hogwarts, You suspect that I am also a death-eater. Now, as I am a ‘pillar of the community’ you cannot afford to use the usual Ministry methods, those being beating the suspect until they confess. You must interview me, asking apparently innocuous questions until you have gathered enough evidence for an in-depth enquiry or you conclude that I am innocent.”

Harry fought with himself for a minute: was the devil better than the deep blue sea? “Sir, the whole point of the script that I wasn’t supposed to ask offensive or personal questions and accusing you of being a death eater…”

“I am setting you this task, I will not take precious house points or give you a detention” the Potions Master interrupted “I am wasting enough of my time as it is and, Potter, an auror who cannot distinguish between acting and reality will kill himself and his friends through his ignorance.” Snape finished tartly.

Harry bit his lip. Count to ten…

Snape walked over to the sofa and sat down. “Sit Potter.”

Harry walked over, trying not to tread on the nice, Persian looking rug that lay on the hardwood floor.

“So, begin. You wished to speak to me, Auror Potter”

“Yes Sir… Professor Snape.”

“And why, pray, have the Ministry interested themselves with me.”

“Well Sir”… Harry paused, what to say? Help us with our enquiries was too cliché. Inspiration struck “My superior wanted me to have a chat with all of the Hogwarts heads of house.”

“Why is that?” Snape asked silkenly.

“Well…” Harry looked around and his eyes landed on a portrait of a woman with platinum hair. “Some of the parents have death eater sympathies.” Yup, that’s good. Thank you Malfoy.

“I see, and you wish me to… inform on my students.” Severus asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh no, sir.” Harry said automatically. He took a deep breath, this was easy, he could get information out of people, he’d had enough practice, he just had to keep calm and think. “We, my superior that is, just wanted me to talk to the heads of house to make sure that…” excuse, excuse, excuse “to raise awareness that the children might be in danger and to look out for the signs.”

“Oh, and what might these signs be?”

“Well Sir…” Harry was at a loss and Snape knew it, smugly smiling git “perhaps it would be best if you first told me a bit about your own methods.”

“I see.”

Harry swallowed “Why did you decide to become a teacher?” It was off his scripted interview but worth a try.

“I do not see the relevance of that question.”

“It helps to have a bit of background, so I can see what would work best for you.”

Snape smiled, an appraising expression in his dark eyes “Hmm well, there were a number of reasons. As a Professor, I can choose to teach either Potions or defense, as I have a dual mastery, whereas if I became a researcher or an apothicary I would have to choose one of my disciplines. I am also fond of Hogwarts and, during my schooldays here, I often assisted Professor Slughorn in his potions lessons and ran an extracurricular club for fellow potioneers.”

Harry licked his lips, thinking hard “Was professor Slughorn also head of Slytherin?”

“Yes.”

“And the potions club, what sort of person joined?” Snapes raised eyebrow told Harry he was being too obvious, either in his prejudice against Slytherin or the ‘death eater’ thing. “I mean, was it your contemporaries or younger kids or…?”

“People from all year groups joined, it was something of a homework club in the beginning, as prefects we were tasked with helping the younger children and as it was held in an unused classroom, word spread and a number of children joined, along with OWL and NEWT students.”

“And what did you…” Harry paused- we? “Who ran the group with you?”

“Someone from Gryffindor. Hence the neutral setting.”

“Gryffindor?!”
 
Snape smiled tightly “We met before Hogwarts and, unfortunately, house rivalries did drive us apart.”

“I see.” Harry wondered if he dared but the dark look that had crossed Snapes face made a change in direction seem wise “Did you enjoy teaching when you were a student?”

“I was lucky in that the students who joined the club wholeheartedly wished to learn and, moreover, keeping an eye on a handful of students clustered around one cauldron is somewhat less taxing than having twenty apparently deaf dunderheads, each with a cauldron, an attitude and a number of explosive ingredients.”

“I see.” Harry thought for a moment “So what do you think is the most important trait in a teacher”

“Powers of observation, especially in Potions. However, as Head of Slytherin in particular, it is very important to pay attention to the fine detail. “As a potions master, acute observation is a necessity second only to discipline, both of oneself and others.” Severus replied “and as a Head of House, particularly as the head of Slytherin, it is vital.”

“Because most dark wizards come from Slytherin” Harry surmised

“No, you fool! All houses have produced death-eaters. No, the typical Slytherin traits of resourcefulness and cunning, along with a certain cynicism and disregard for arbitary rules, are traits most common in abused children. Those who have had to fight for survival in their earliest years.”

Harry blinked “So you’re an expert on spotting abuse?”

“It is not a discipline in which anyone with an ounce of sense can call themselves an expert. The symptoms are varied, sometimes even antonymous, the back-grounds these children come from can vary widely.”  

“Antonymous?” Harry repeated. He wished Snape wouldn’t speak like he’d swallowed a dictionary.

“A child who is abused may be thin through starvation- whether as a result of depression, self-inflicted as a method of control or through being denied the necessities of life. The child may be overweight, comfort eating to sooth the damage of emotional abuse. The child may be twitchy and shy, to avoid blows, or arrogant and brash, as they know the blows will fall anyway. The child may be a brilliant academic and sociable, in an attempt to gain the approval they crave, or they may be a work-shy loner or, worse still, a delinquent. The child may be kind, generous, helpful or cruel, spiteful and selfish.”

“But that could be anyone.” Harry said incredulously.

“Indeed. However, the child’s behaviour is not the only indicator. Certain clues can be discerned if you know where to look. If, for example, the child appears to be thinner when arriving at Hogwarts, spends the holidays at Hogwarts, receives too little post or appears to dread the arrival of an owl… these can all indicate abuse.”

A blush crept up Harry’s throat. “I see. Um and the backgrounds, is it usually pureblood families.”

“Purebloods appear pretty divided; some worship their precious heirs, others hold them to impossible standards. Muggleborns and half-bloods have their share of abused children.”

“Are lots of muggles still prejudiced against wizards then” Harry asked in what he hoped was a
sincere, relaxed voice.

“Most muggles are impressed and even overjoyed to discover that their child has a rare talent, as a head of house, I have taken Hogwarts letters to a number of muggleborn children and, in every case, I have been received with pleasure and enthusiasm. However, there are some muggles who think of children with magic as freaks.”

Harry flinched.

“Does the word ‘Freak’ offend your delicate sensibilities, Potter? I assure you there are worse terms.”

Harry’s eyes narrowed “Yeah, and I suppose your marvellous powers of perception mean that you are never blinded by prejudice.”

Snape pursed his lips “When a child has been overindulged it is similarly obvious.”

“I suppose because they are brash and arrogant, right?”

“Indeed. Children who believe themselves to be above the rules, spoilt, selfish and arrogant little
princes who believe that everyone should indulge them like their relatives.”

“So only Slytherins can be ‘abused’, the rest of us are just spoilt.” Harry replied coldly. “I think that you only look deeper if it's someone in your house”

“The rest of us, Potter” Sanpe said quietly, seriously.

“I mean any Gryffindors. There must be some abused kids in Gryffindor”

“Gryffindor is an… unusual house for abuse.” Snape said, his tone unnervingly gentle “It does happen sometimes, where a child has Gryffindor parents, for example and asks specifically to join that house.” Severus paused. “The warning signs, however, generally are in the child’s background. Most Gryffindors come from a few pureblood families, all of which are well known to Professor McGonagall, who has taught various generations, and, in the case of muggleborn students, a teacher is always sent…”

A silence stretched to an uncomfortable tautness. “Who collected you, Harry. I do not recall.”

“Um Hagrid.”

“Hagrid?”

“Yeah. Why?” Harry asked, perplexed. “He explained it all well enough, magic and being a wizard and what happened to my parents and everything.”

“You did not know that you were a wizard?”

“No, well I didn’t really know that much about magic before, my aunt and uncle don’t really understand it.” Harry said carefully.

“Your aunt? Petunia?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.” Harry cleared his throat, casting around desperately for a way to divert the conversation.

“I see. And you did not know what had happened to your parents?”

“Well, Petunia didn’t really like to talk about my Mum and dad. She only says anything when she has to, like when Sirius Black escaped. She said she overheard my dad telling my mum about Azkaban” Harry finished: Azkaban and Black were a good change of subject, after all. However, to his surprise, Snape frowned.

“She said that she overheard your father?”

“Well, she called him “that awful boy”.” Harry forced a laugh “Don’t think she liked him that much, like you I suppose. Thought he was a bit of a toe-rag but most people have a problem with their in-laws, right.”

Severus’ frown grew deeper “It strikes me, Potter, that your aunt told you very little about anything of importance.”

“It’s not my fault!” Harry said, his temper rising.

“No it is not.” Severus said “You never receive letters from your family”

“Well, they don’t own an owl or go to diagon alley all that often”

“As Petunia knows full well, the muggle post boxes are charmed to divert letters addressed to Hogwarts to the Headmaster’s office.”

Harry’s mouth fell open “How do you know.”

Snapes eyes narrowed “That is beside the point. What interests me is the phrase you used when talking about abused students “the rest of us”, it places a number of things into perspective.”

“It was just words that came out wrong.” Harry said quickly

“Indeed, however the perspective that you, however inadvertently suggested casts rather a different hue on my memories. A boy who arrived at school having not read his text books and knowing nothing of his subjects could be a boy who thought study beneath him, who expected to coast along on his own talents, as might the practice of completing his summer homework on the train. A boy who preferred to do stay at Hogwarts during Christmas and Easter might be too selfish to think of his family, preferring to spend the holidays with his friends. A boy who wore battered shoes might think himself above the mores of society and a slender build and fussiness over food could be genetic or a result of never having gone without… However, placed together and considered in the context of the child’s background, these explanations are rather hollow, don’t you think?”

Harry swallowed “Okay, yeah, Petunia and Vernon don’t like magic and they aren’t too fond of me, but that’s not abuse, is it?”

“What isn’t abuse, Potter? Tell me, why didn’t you respond to your Hogwarts letter? Were you not allowed to see it?”

“Er, they weren’t that keen…”

“What else were you not allowed? Food? Clothing? Love?”

Harry’s eyebrows knotted “Look, I got food right and lots of children wear cast offs.”

“Did you eat with the family.”

“Mostly”

“Mostly?”

“When I wasn’t being punished for something. But lots of kids get sent to their Cupb… room.”

 “Cupb? Cupboard Potter? You were sent to a cupboard.”

“They didn’t have room for me so they made room, it wasn’t that bad and I have a bedroom now.”

“Wasn’t that bad, Potter?” Snape looked at him, incredulous. “How on earth can you excuse it?”

“Lots of adults do crappy things to kids. It’s not abuse, its just their personality or something.”

Severus’ dark eyes narrowed “I may not be the most pleasant of teachers, it is not my job to be pleasant, it is my job to keep you alive. Nevertheless, I have never denied any student food, never told any student to scrub cauldrons- which you do too well- without appropriate clothing, never made any student sleep on the floor.  I take my responsibilities seriously, Potter, I have a duty of care towards all students, including you.”

“Care? You?!”

“I thought you needed boundaries, to be taught respect and humility.” Severus said quietly “My duty
is to keep you alive and if that meant making you fear me, making you fear the consequences if you were caught on dangerous ground, that is what I had to do. You did not seem the type of child to listen to reason.”

“You didn’t try reason.” Harry said hotly “You hated me because of my dad.”

“No, I hated you because you appeared bent on wasting all your mother sacrificed for you!”

“What do you care about my mother, she was just a mud…”

Severus stood up, his body taut with fury “Never say that word” he shouted, his eyes flashing with black fire.

Harry cringed back. Snape let out a deep breath and sat, his hands twisted in his lap.

“Your mother was a good woman, Potter, one of the best. It appears, however, that you are not the one who disregarded her sacrifice, Petunia was a spiteful girl and from what I have heard she has only become worse. I will speak to the headmaster about wardship.” On seeing  Harry’s confused expression, Snape explained “Hogwarts can adopt children, it is an ancient right of the school to claim guardianship of children who have need of it.”

“But Dumbledore said I couldn’t, that it wasn’t possible to stay over summer or anything.” Harry said, half hopefully, half expecting Snape to laugh in his face. The man never lied, though, a little voice in his head told him; Snape may be a bastard but he wasn’t a liar.

“Dumbledore was, perhaps, unaware of the true situation” Snape said quietly. “Would you accept a wardship?”

“I could stay at Hogwarts all the time?”

“Yes, and the Headmaster would essentially take on the administrative the place of a parent, signing forms etc, and there is also a fund to pay for the maintenance of wards.”

“I can pay for my own things” Harry said “I’ve got some money my parents left me.”

“You are a child, you should not have to maintain yourself.” Severus said firmly. “Would you accept a wardship, under these terms?”

“Yeah, of course But…”

“But what?”

“But what if Dumbledore says I must stay with my relatives?” Harry said quietly.

“Then, ‘being of over twelve years of age and an orphan’ you can accept an apprenticeship.”

“Who would take me on, though?” Harry asked. “I’m not talented in anything really.”

“I would.” Severus stood up.

As Harry got to his feet, he looked the potions master full in the face, noticing, for the first time, that there were smile lines around the man’s dark eyes, lines which made his expression look almost kind.

“Why did you say you would apprentice me, Sir? I’ve never been that good at potions and, anyway… you’ve always hated me.”

“I hated what I saw, not what there was.” Severus shook his head regretfully “And perhaps you will improve at potions, with the right guidance. Lily was the next best potioneer in our year. Now lets go and speak to the headmaster.”

“But he’s at the Ministry!” Harry said, his mind whirling. Lily, Snape had called his mother Lily and said she was the second best potioneer…

Severus shook his head “Dumbledore’s been in his office the entire afternoon, eating sweets and keeping his fingers crossed that we would ‘see past our differences’.”

“He set it up? He set the whole thing up?” Harry gasped.

“Yes” Snape smiled “Perhaps he too, should have remembered not to meddle in the affairs of wizards.””