Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry that it took me so long to get this out. It's actually been finished for a week, but I kept getting distracted. My sincere apologies.
Chapter Eight - Harry gets a friend.
Severus inwardly smiled at the ecstatic look on Harry's face. He had a sinking feeling that Harry didn't have many happy memories and he was glad to have been able to give him one. He just hoped that the rest of the day would be just as good. Noticing that Harry was beginning to pick at his food a bit, Severus inquired, “Harry, are you getting full?”

“Yes, sir. I'm not really used to eating this much. I know it's bad manners not to finish eating what you take, but I don't think I could eat another bite.” Harry was obviously getting a bit upset and fighting tears.

That Harry, who was a growing boy, couldn't eat more than what amounted to what a very small child would eat was very troubling to Severus. It didn't bode well for what more he would discover about the treatment and care that Harry had received from the Dursleys. “If you feel like you cannot eat any more, it is perfectly fine for you to stop doing so, Harry. I would much rather you leave something on your plate than to have you develop a stomach ailment.” Severus hesitated for a moment, then reached over and gently rubbed Harry on the back to soothe him. “Harry, look at me. I'm not angry or even upset with you. You cannot help that your stomach is too small to eat more and it is perfectly normal for a child's eyes to be far larger than their stomach. Do not worry so.”

Harry gave a small sniff and nodded. “'kay. I am sorry, though, sir. Could you wrap it for me, so I can eat it later?”

“If you want me to, I will, but it is hardly necessary. Besides, if my plans come to fruition, we will not be here for the next meal of the day, so it is rather pointless to save it for you.” Thinking quickly he turned to ask his hostess a question. “Arabella, do you think that your felines would appreciate a treat? Some sausages, perhaps?”

Quickly catching on to his hint, Arabella smiled and said, “Oh, yes! I'm quite sure that they would adore having one.” Turning to Harry, she continued. “Harry, why don't you cut up the sausages into pieces and give my pretties some? The adults only please, as the kittens aren't quite old enough for something as rich as sausage.”

Harry visibly brightened and nodded with excitement. He loved to play with Ms. Figg's cats and was always up for spoiling them a bit. Deep down in his heart, he secretly hoped that maybe Mr. Snape and Ms. Figg might be willing to allow him to have one of the kittens for his birthday. He especially liked the grey one with the white feet. He reached out for a knife and carefully began to slice the sausages into even pieces.

Severus watched Harry's deft handling of the knife and the preciseness of the slices he made with surprise. Though Harry had told him that he was accustomed to cooking, he wasn't expecting the child to show so much skill. 'Maybe I should start teaching him about potions once we are safely situated. I hope that Dassy will return soon with her findings!'


Dassy was beginning to get a bit tired. She had been to most of the houses owned by her master that were unknown by his associates, but none had been suitable for habitation without a great deal of work or hadn't met his basic requirements. Dassy knew that a proper potions lab was a must, as was an area for a garden. He also needed enough habitable rooms for himself and a child.

'A child! I's finally gets a child!' Dassy's eyes glowed with excitement at the very idea of having a child to care for. She had always hoped that her master would marry and have children. It was every house elf's dream. Finding herself revitalized by the thought of finally caring for a child, Dassy popped herself to the next property. Arriving, she looked around her. At first, she thought that it might be a newly acquired property until she tested the wards. It was then that she realized that this was one of the homes her master had inherited from the Prince family. The feel and power of the wards was unmistakable.

The grounds were a touch overgrown, but appeared to have been maintained fairly recently. It really was a lovely piece of countryside. The property was surrounded by trees on all sides and was very private. There was what appeared to have been a vegetable garden at one time and a sadly neglected flower garden at the back of the house. There was also a nice sized piece of lawn for the child to play on and she could hear the faint sound of running water, which meant there might be a stream nearby. Dassy observed that there was a well on the property and checked it to make sure it wasn't dry. She found that it was indeed a working well and nodded with satisfaction. That was one worry out of the way. The only thing she needed to check is if it was still connected to the house or was meant only for maintaining the gardens and lawn.

She quickly sent a detection spell to see there were any structural issues with the house and found everything to be solid. While the house had clearly not been inhabited in sometime, it seemed to be in excellent condition and well maintained. The spells to keep the home from decay and rot were still going strong.

Having thoroughly assessed the outside of the house, Dassy decided it was time to proceed to the interior of it. Her first order of business was locating her domicile, the kitchen. She soon discovered that the kitchen was filthy and rather outdated, but those were trifling matters and easily fixed. She turned the faucet in the sink to see what would happen and was happy to see that the plumbing was still in working order. It was also good to see that the water, while brown at first from the sediment that had settled in the pipes, soon became crystal clear. She checked the cupboards and was happy to find them empty and showing no signs of rodent activity. So far it was looking very promising.

There were several doors along one of the walls in the kitchen and Dassy checked them one by one. The first led to a walk-in pantry and the second was a laundry area. The third led to what was probably once a servants stairway. She tested the staircase and found it to be stable and strong, but decided to wait until she was ready for the second floor to investigate further. The fourth and final door led to another staircase, this one leading down to what she assumed was the cellar. She descended the stairs and was happy to discover several rooms, one of which was an extremely outdated but usable potions lab. It would take Master Severus very little work to bring it up to his minimal standards. The other rooms were a specialized storage room for potions ingredients and a small wine cellar.

Dassy quickly toured the the rest of the first floor, finding the rest of the rooms to be rather dusty, but in otherwise good shape. The main floor had been well laid out with a large foyer in the center with a parlor, living room, dining room, and study all leading off of it. Each room had a fireplace and all of them were in good working order, needing only a good cleaning. Even the furniture, while very dated and in need of cleaning, was in excellent condition. This house was looking very promising, indeed.

Dassy ascended the grand staircase in the foyer and began to assess the second floor. She found four large bedrooms and two bathrooms, all in excellent shape. She went through the door to the servants stair and found that it not only went down to the kitchen but also went up to the attic. She decided to investigate and discovered that the attic contained a storage room, which had a treasure trove of extra furnishings and artwork, and the servants quarters, which had its own bathroom.

She was excited; Dassy was certain that she had found the perfect house for her master. “I's best go and tells the master. He will wants to know and quickly. I hopes I has chosen well.” With a look of hope in her eyes, Dassy popped herself to the house where she had last spoken to her master.


Severus watched fondly as Harry played with the kittens in the front parlor after giving out treats to the adult felines. He had quickly noticed that Harry had a definite preference for the little grey one with the white paws. The kitten seemed just as attached to Harry and never strayed far from him. It even seemed to guard him, which was a rather amusing sight to see. That Harry and the kitten already shared a strong bond was clear. He would have to speak with Arabella about acquiring it for Harry. Every child needed a familiar and a Kneazle was an excellent choice. They were intelligent and extremely loyal. His mind made up, Severus motioned to Arabella to follow him into the kitchen.

“Is there something wrong, Severus?” Arabella murmured softly, once the door had closed behind them. There was a worried note to her voice.

“Nothing is wrong, Arabella. I merely had a question that I didn't wish to ask in front of Harry.” Severus said with a faint smile.

“About what, may I ask?” She said a touch sharply, irritated by his having worried her, even if it was unintentionally done.

He raised a brow questioningly at the look on her face and her tone of voice, but decided to ignore them for now. “Harry seems to have become rather attached to one of your kittens and I was wondering if you would be willing to come to an agreement about purchasing it?”

Suddenly feeling silly for having gotten upset, Arabella smiled happily. “Yes, he appears to especially like the little grey female with the white socks. She is generally a shy, quiet little thing, but is very friendly and open with Harry. I never would have considered letting Harry have one of my darlings in the past, but now that he will be with you, I have no issue. She will be the perfect birthday present for him and that's exactly what she shall be, my birthday gift to him. You may buy all of the supplies that she will need, of course, but I will accept no money for her.”

“That will be perfectly acceptable. Shall we tell Harry of his new acquisition?” Severus said as he extended his arm to escort her back to the parlor.

As she reached out to accept his arm, Arabella responded. “Yes, we shall. He will have to choose a name for her and I wish to know what it is before you leave. I would like a picture as well.” Arabella felt a bit sad that she would likely not see little Harry for a long time, but knew that she couldn't possible leave on a moments notice because of her pretties. Besides, this was her home and she had no wish to leave it.

As they re-entered the parlor, they discovered that Harry and the little grey were now curled up together on the settee. It was obvious that neither boy nor kitten had noticed their return. The boy's fingers were taking long slow strokes over her back and the kitten's body was vibrating so hard with the power of her purring that she was having to hold onto his leg with her claw to keep from falling. Harry began to whisper to her in a tone just barely loud enough for them to hear from their vantage point. “I don't know if Mrs. Figg or Mr. Snape will agree, but I cannot bear the thought of not taking you with me when I leave with him. If they say yes, I think I will call you either Bianca or Deirdre. Which do you like?”

Severus and Arabella watched in fascinated awe as the kitten tilted her head to the side and began to watch Harry carefully. Seeing that he had her full attention, Harry said, “Do you like Bianca?” and motioned with his right hand, then said “Or Deirdre?” and motioned with his left. The kitten, her eyes clear and bright with intelligence, looked from one hand to the other, hesitated and seemed to seriously consider the choices for a moment, then gave Harry's right hand a gentle lick. The boy giggled and said, “Bianca, it is. That's my favorite, too.” Harry cuddled little Bianca close and resumed his stroking.

“Harry?” Arabella said gently, a soft smile on her face.

Harry gasped with startlement and looked up to see them standing just a few feet away. He hadn't even noticed them returning to the room. A blush of embarrassment flooded his cheeks and he said softly, “Um, I..I suppose that you heard me? What I said I mean.”

“Yes, Harry, we did, but it doesn't matter, because I had already decided to give her to you. Bianca is yours. Happy Birthday, dear heart.”

Harry's eyes grew big and he shook his head like he couldn't quite believe what he had just heard. “Really? I can keep her? She's mine?”

Severus nodded seriously and intoned “Yes. Arabella and I have spoken on the subject and agreed that you belonged together.”

Harry carefully set Bianca down on the settee and jumped up off of it. “Thank you so much. I promise that I'll take really, really good care of her.” Harry cried, tears of happiness running down his face. He ran over to them and flung his arms first around Arabella, who gave him a gentle squeeze in return, then around Severus, who awkwardly patted him on the shoulders, being not as sure how to handle such things.

“You are welcome and I will make sure that you do.” Severus said, his voice stern, but softened by the almost smile on his face. “She will be your responsibility.”

Harry trilled out a happy, “Yes, sir!”. He skipped back over to his kitten, whom he picked back up hugged close, asking her joyfully, “Did you hear that, Bianca? They said I can keep you.” Bianca gave a soft mew of assent and rubbed her head against his cheek, marking him as her own. Harry giggled as her whiskers tickled him. It was clear that both child and kitten were filled with happiness and it was a beautiful sight to see.

Chapter End Notes:
And now Harry has a familiar. But will she be the only one?

You must login (register) to review.
[Report This]


Disclaimer Charm: Harry Potter and all related works including movie stills belong to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic, Warner Bros, and Bloomsbury. Used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended. No money is being made off of this site. All fanfiction and fanart are the property of the individual writers and artists represented on this site and do not represent the views and opinions of the Webmistress.

Powered by eFiction 3.5