Harry nervously watched Professor Snape look at his finished potion with evident disgust.

“This is absolutely despicable, Potter.”

He pulled out his wand and murmured the Vanishing Spell that had become quite familiar to Harry. “Evanesco. And now, Mr. Potter, we will brew this potion again, correctly this time.”

Snape pulled the book back out of his deep pocket and it fell open in his hand on page 46. Severus ran his wand along the list of ingredients, waved it, and then the supplies appeared in front of Harry once more. He handed Harry the book and gestured for him to begin. Harry began carefully making the potion and Snape watched studiously. He winced as Harry tossed in a pinch of crushed chamomile without a care in the world. Harry noticed this and sighed.

“What’d I do this time?”

Professor Snape coughed slightly and said, “Have you learned nothing in Potions over the last five years, Mr. Potter?” Harry looked bewildered and shrugged. Professor Snape closed his eyes for a moment, then murmured, “You must pay attention to the delicacies of potion making. If you are careless, heavy-handed, and nonobservant, you will find the potion is not the best it could be. Next time don’t throw the chamomile in.”

"Oookay..." Harry turned back to the book with a skeptical look upon his face, mouthing "weirdo." He looked through the various herbs before him and grabbed a sprig of dried lavender and began grinding it into powder with his mortar and pestle. Once it was a very fine powder, Harry picked up the bowl and was about to dump it all in at once when he saw the faint look of horror on Snape's face. He checked himself and slowly poured it in so it wouldn't splash and would all hit the mixture at the same speed. He glanced at Professor Snape, who nodded. Then he picked up his ladle and stirred it carefully six times. A silver mist was rising from the potion, a little thicker than shown in the book. The color of the potion itself was a bit darker, but it was still the best potion Harry had ever brewed without Hermione's assistance.

Snape nodded again. "Almost perfect, Potter. You see that it's not exactly right because of the chamomile you threw in. Full marks though; you did well." To Harry's surprise, Professor Snape pulled out a flask and filled it with the potion.

Harry dared to ask him, "Why are you getting some, if you already graded it?"

Professor Snape narrowed his eyes slightly. "Sir. Why are you getting some, sir? This, Potter, will go to the Hospital Wing when we return to school. Madam Pomfrey is always in need of new calming potions, and the Draught of Peace is one, if a bit strong."

Harry nodded slightly, flattered that Snape thought his potion good enough for Madam Pomfrey. He didn't voice this opinion though, knowing that Snape would just sneer and say something sarcastic.

Suddenly, Aunt Petunia's voice drifted up the stairs. "Boys, Mr. Snape, come on downstairs! Lunch is ready!"

Professor Snape looked as if he'd roll his eyes if it weren't so immature, and said, "Gods, the way she yells. It's like some farmer's wife calling the dogs to their meat."

Harry gave Professor Snape a small grin at this and said, "You get used to it, after a while."

Snape muttered, "Hopefully I won't be here long enough," and thus ended their camaraderie, if it could be called that.

The two left Harry's room and made their way downstairs, where they could hear the faint murmur of conversation between Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley. Aunt Petunia had made tuna salad sandwiches and had set five places, each with a glass of tea, two sandwiches, and a handful of potato chips. Harry's pile of chips was rather scrawny, and his sandwiches didn't have much tuna on them compared to Dudley's mountains, but he didn't complain. He could sneak down and nick food later, once everyone was asleep. Instead, he concentrated on wolfing down his lunch as fast as possible before Dudley finished his and wanted to steal some of Harry's. Then he gulped down his tea. He rose first of the table and took his dishes to the sink, where he rinsed them and all the dishes Dudley had used during the day and put them in the dishwasher. Professor Snape swallowed the last bite of his sandwich and Harry automatically reached for his plate, but the man shook his head.

"I'll do it," he said, looking at Harry.

Immediately Uncle Vernon interrupted. "Really, Mr. Snape, you don't have to. You're a guest in this household, and the boy always does the dishes. It keeps him working hard, so he doesn't get lazy. He's a rude little brat, but he won't get away without working here."

Professor Snape conceded, but he sneered slightly at Uncle Vernon when his back was turned. Harry thought he heard him mutter, "Oh no, wouldn't want him to get lazy, that's what your son's for."

Harry quickly finished the dishes and then slowly walked up the stairs and down the hall to Professor Snape's room. He supposed he should get his next assignment. He knocked quietly, and heard Snape call out, "Enter."

Harry pushed the door open and found Snape at his desk, scrawling what looked like a letter at the dingy desk in the corner. Glancing curiously at it, Harry saw that it was to Dumbledore. Probably ascertaining that he had indeed made it to the Dursley's safely. Professor Snape didn't look up until he had signed the letter and stuffed it into an envelope.

"Well," he said then. "What do you want?"

"Well, you're supposed to be our tutor," Harry responded. "Don't you have some essay for me to write or something, sir?"

Professor Snape looked almost surprised for a moment, but he quickly cleared his face of emotion. "Not at the moment. I didn't expect that either you or Dudley would be taught all day long."

"Dudley probably won't be," Harry acknowledged. "He'll be lazing around watching TV and playing on his computer. But Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia will want be to be busy."

Snape nodded, sneering slightly. "Have you finished all your summer assignments?"

"Yes, sir."

"I'll go over those for you, if you'd like. You can start reading Penchant for Potions, by Alberta Kingston. It's on the booklist for sixth years." Professor Snape stood and walked over to his trunk, which he dug through for a moment until he found the book, which he handed to Harry. "Bring your schoolwork in here and I'll look at it now, while I'm not busy."

Harry nodded, and walked back to his room, where he set the book on his bed and rummaged through his trunk until he found his homework, held all together by a binder clip. He took the clip off and chucked it back into his trunk, then returned to Severus' room to give him the homework. As he left the room, he heard Snape mutter, "Wrong," and cross something out with his quill.

Harry smiled slightly in spite of himself. Finally, Snape was back to his usual critical self.