Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

Author's Chapter Notes:
Quote: "Sword," said Lockhart dimly. " I havn't got a sword, that boy does. He'll lend you one. "
Severus, Suspisions, and a Meeting with Dumbledore

It had been three months since Severus first offered to teach Harry. Harry, being a fast learner and avid reader, had mastered all of the the sixth years? material, and most of the seventh years?. He was currently learning to Apparate. Severus had also agreed to teach him what the young Gryffindor wanted to learn most: to become an Animagus.

Severus? and Harry?s relationship had developed greatly; each day, after their ?remedial potions? lessons, they spent ten minutes together just to be able to talk and get to know each other. Harry learned a lot of things about the Potions Master that he would never have guessed. Severus found himself letting go of hatreds and caring for the son of an old enemy. They confided in each other and discussed many things; Severus always talked to Harry about what had been going on in his classes, and Harry had always been able to think of an amusing yet sarcastic remark.

Meanwhile, the school knew nothing about what was going on between the Potions Master and Harry Potter. Both student and teacher were careful not to show their affection; instead, they disguised it with Severus constantly giving Harry detensions for breaking rules, and Harry always smirking and giving sarcastic retorts.

Right now, Harry sat next to the Potions Master, listening what the other repeating (for the tenth time that week) the facts of transforming.

?I know you've practised for over a month already, but so far, you've only managed to transform half-way. So let's just go over the basics. You have to concentrate on the words ?Verretia Transformus.? Empty your mind and relax; do not think about anything other than what you are trying to do. I know it's tiring for you to transform, that you're feeling constantly exhausted and clumsy. But don?t worry, the more practise you get, the less these transformations will affect you. Try now; concentrate."

"Verretia Transformus, Verretia Transformus, Verretia Transformus," Harry murmured to himself. He closed his eyes and emptied his mind of all thoughts. Instead, he concentrated on the words. For now, nothing in the world mattered; All he had to do was think about the spell... He imagined the words, written on a blank scroll, all the while murmuring "Verretia Transformus..."

The transformation came suddenly. One second, Harry was standing, and the next, he was on all fours. He opened his eyes to find himself with four hooves and a tail. He heard a stifled gasp behind him.

"You did it! Finally, the practises have paid off!" Severus cried. He was amused. And was it his imagination, or did he see a small glint of... waht was it? /Pride?/ Was that /pride/ he saw in the Potion Master's normally emotionless face? Harr tucked the information away to ponder over later as he trotted to the tall mirror and to take his first look at his Animagus self.

Standing in front of him was a beautiful unicorn; the body was icy- white and the golden mane shone in the evening moonlight. The silver-gold horns were delicate and smooth and staring back at him were two emerald- green eyes, beautiful, yet haunting. Last, but not least, a pair of feathery wings sprouted from his back.

"Oh my God, I can't believe it..." Severus whispered in slight awe.

Harry couldn't help it; he smirked. This was the first time he had ever seen the cold Potions Master surprised or dazzled. He hadn't thought it was possible.

"Okay," Severus said in a more commanding tone, shaking himself and snapping out of his daze. "Now, think, concentrate, Verretia Humanus or Verretia Persona, which ever one you want..."

Harry chose Verretia Persona; it had a nice ring to it. Once more, he emptied his thoughts and concentrated, Verretia Persona, Verretia Persona, Verretia Persona...

He felt himself transform once again, and he shut his eyes tightly. A moment later, he was back in his human form.

He felt strangly tired and collapsed onto the ground. A second later, he heard Severus' concerned , "Harry!" as strong hands held him up. Harry opened his eyes for a moment and found himself in Severus' embrace. He was levitated onto the sofa and a blanket was wrapped snugly around him. He soon fell asleep.

**************

Harry slowly opened his eyes a few hours later to the sound of voices. His glasses had been removed and everything was blurry. He fumbled around and realized that they were on the table; he picked them up and put them on.

Judging by the moonlight, it was about eight thirty p.m. already. Uh oh, he had promised Hermione that he would be back by eight. Listening carefully, he caught a few words of the conversation.

"... But Professor, is he okay?"

"....fine..... Ms. Granger... Weasley.... busy for one more hour..."

"Are... sure?"

"I assure you........ go back.....room...."

"No...refuse......... see him now........."

Oh God, no... Judging by the voices, it was Ron and Hermione. They had probably gotten worried about him and come to check on him. And from what Harry was hearing, his friends weren't planning to leave until they got a glimpse of him. Well, he'ld just have to satisfy their request.

Smoothing his messy hair back, Harry walked stood up and walked out of the room into the hallway in which Sev and his friends were arguing.

"No, I'm sorry, Professor, I will NOT leave until I see Harry. I don't care it you take points off Gry---" She stopped abruptly when she spotted Harry, and surprise passed over her features. "Harry!" she cried, running towards him, Ron close behind. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Hermione..." Harry assured his female friend.

"Why were you late?" Ron asked good-naturedly. "You said you'ld come down at eight... We were so worried that um..." he stopped, looking at the Potions Master.

Sev raised and eyebrow, causing the redhead to look away quickly.

"Sorry, Ron," Harry replied. "Se-- Professor Snape was just teaching me about the... Trustianda Potion..."

Hermione's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Harry, we learned that in class, you mastered it perfectly!"

"Um..." Harry stuttered, turning a bit pale. Hermione noticed this change and stored the information in the back of her mind to ponder over later.

"Mrs. Granger," Severus interrupted coldly. "I assure you that he has NOT mastered it correctly, which is why he requires and extra hour to practise. Now, please go back to your dorms..." The Potions Master turned his icy gaze to Harry. "Come, Potter." He disappeared into the dungeon, and to Ron and Hermione's surprised, Harry followed suit without another word.

**************

"Ron," Hermione asked intently. "Do you get the feeling that something's wrong with Harry?"

"Well," Ron began hesitantly. "He has been spending an awful lot of time with the git, Snape..."

"And did you noticed the way he went pale when I asked him about the Trustianda Potion? I get this feeling that Harry's hiding something..."

"Me too," Ron was quick to agree. "And for some reason, Harry's gone all polite on Snape."

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you hear how he corrected you last week? You kept on saying 'Snape', and Harry kept on saying 'Professor Snape'... It was... weird. Since when did he start being polite to Snape?"

Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "You're right, I've noticed that. And did you see him this evening? Snape disappeared into the dungeon and Harry followed without another word! He was... submissive!"

"You... um.... don't think that git's doing something to him, do you?"

"Like what?" Hermione said sharply.

"Threatening Harry, or something... Maybe he even...." the redhead trailed off, giving Hermione a meaningful look.

The Gryffindor witch's eyes widened as she caught the meaning of the statement. "Ron, you can't think that Snape's abusing him?"

"Hey, hey," Ron said, holding up his hands. "I'm just considering things from all the possibilities here. You never know." He shivered. "Though I REALLY hope I'm wrong.

"I know, Ron, I know. I hope so too."

**************

Draco Malfoy sat in his bed, his head his hands. Beside him say a piece of crumpled parchment.

He had recieved a letter from his father again. Lucius Malfoy was an insistent man. He would do ANYTHING to get what he wanted. And right now, Draco was getting commanded to meet his father at the edge of the Forbidden Forest to have a little 'talk'. Which was something he dreaded with all his heart.

Draco had no doubt what his father wanted to talk about; this wasn't first letter he had recieved. A week ago, his father had asked him to go with him to go and meet Voldemort. Lucius, of course, wanted his son to become a Death Eater. Draco shivered again when he remembered those icy, reptilian eyes...

In his outward manner, he was an arrogant, comfident boy, a replica of his father. But this was all an act. Inside, Draco was nothing more than a young, lost boy. His father wanted him to be a Death Eater, but Draco... He had seen the torturing and punishments his father had recieved, he didn't want to be like that... Not if it meant giving up his freedom, giving up his pride. His father had told him many times that the Dark Lord would grant them power, how they would become noble and wealthy, and rule the whole country... But Draco had his doubts. After all, why would Voldemort pay any attention to them once he gained control over the entire wizarding world?

Draco desperately wanted to tell his father all this, to tell Lucius that he was wrong; that they were nothing more than toys, to be used and thrown away... But of course, he didn't dare. No one seemed to realize this, but he feared his father... And in his heart, he knew that he was not brave, not couragous like the famous Harry Potter.

His father was determined to make him as famous as Harry. But Draco didn't think he wanted that to happened. Over the years, he had carefully observed the Gryffindor boy. Most people thought that it was effortless to be the Boy-Who-Lived, that you didn't have to risk or sacrifice anything... But Draco knew better. Harry, though seemingly unstressful, led a difficult life. He had nothing, no parents, no one to care for him... Draco had seem the many strains of being the Boy-Who-Lived, the way responsibility weighed heavily on the boy's shoulders, and it was not something the blond Slytherin envied.

And speaking of Potter... There was something going on between his Head of House and the Gryffindor. The way Harry smirked at the Potions Master, the way Professor Snape shot icy glares at the Gryffindor boy...Draco could tell that this was all an act. After all, who could know better than the boy who constantly masked his true self with cold arrogance?

His dorm mates arrived in the room just then. Draco checked the clock. 9 p.m. He sighed, and tucking the letter in a small, black notebook, went to sleep.

**************

Harry finished his work with a reliefed sigh. Sev, who was watching him, let a thin smile play on his lips. "You can go now, Harry," he urged gently. "You're late as it is. Just don't you dare forget those new spells I taught you today..."

"I won't," Harry promised. "Oops, gotta run! Bye, Severus, I'll see you tomorrow!"

With that, the Gryffindor raced out the door, turned the corner, and ran out of sight.

**************

The next morning during charms class, there was an abrupt knock on the door. A second later, Professor Dumbledore stepped in.

"May I borrow Mr. Potter please?" The Headmaster asked.

"Of course, Albus," replied Professor Flitwick.

Harry gathered his notes and followed Dumbledore, leaving Ron and Hermione staring curiously.

After walking for a few minutes, they arrived at Dumbledore's office. The door swung open as Dumbledore mumbled, "Croakroach Clusters!"

Together, they walked into the office. A cheery fire was burnign in the fireplace.

"You wanted me, sir?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry," Dumbledore answered gravely, his face frowning. "This has to do with Professor Snape."

"Is something wrong?"

"Not yet," was the reply. "You see, Severus as called to another meeting today by Voldemort."

Harry froze, his face creased with worry.

"We havn't heard from him yet," the Headmaster continued. "There's no need to panic at the moment. There's one problem. I havn't been able to find a subsitute for him on such short notice. I was just wondering whether you and Ms. Granger would like to take over his lessons for him this afternoon. " The twinkle returned to Dumbledore's eyes as he saw Harry's look of shock. "From what I've heard from Severus, you've learned quite a lot."

Harry hesitated for a moment, then nodded in acceptance. "All right, sir," he said. "Hermione and I can plan our lesson during the study block."

"Oh, and one more thing," Dumbledore said. "About Voldemort's plan..."

"Um... Professor, there's an confession I have to make, I..."

"I know you were there that night when I was talking with Severus," the Headmaster interupted. "I think it would be wise if... we keep this a secret until the time comes for it to be revealed."

"Yes, sir... I'm afraid I've told Ron and Hermione already."

"I trust that Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger will have no problem keeping it secret."

"Yes, Professor," Harry mumbled. "I... um...." His voice faltered.

"Is there anything else you want, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes... um.. I.. well, I just wanted to say that... I would like to know if Voldemrot plans anything else about my father..."

Dumbledore looked up thoughtfully. "Yes, now that you mention it, I believe that you have the right to know. I will inform you of any news. You may leave."

"Thank you, sir," Harry smiled as he left the room.

Chapter End Notes:
There, finally done! Please review!!!

A great big thank you to all readers. Special thanks to rachegrint, Anora, and SilverKnight7, my tireless reviewers.

Next: Lessons with the Slytherins... hehehe

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