Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

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Christmas passed and the New Year arrived. It was an afternoon in early January when the other students arrived back at the Hogwarts castle, returning the noise level and business to normal. And yet it didn't feel that way for Harry, not anymore. Since learning about Irma Pince really being Eileen Prince – mother of Severus Snape and grandmother of Toby – his entire outlook on everything had changed. It was not a drastic modification; however it was noticeable to the Gryffindor teenager as he paced the dormitory and pondered on how to share his new discoveries with his friends.

On top of that, he was also thinking constantly on the 8th of that month, because that would be when he was to meet Snape to discuss what the man might know about Harry’s mother. He was almost tempted to back out of it from stress alone.

'Are you alright, mate?' It was Ron who asked first that mid-morning (the day following the student’s return), as they sat around in the library to catch up on a little school-related reading as per Hermione's insisting.

'There's something I have to tell you both, but I don't quite know how to explain it.' Harry confessed with a heavy sigh and glanced over towards Irma. His friends didn't know it, but Toby was over there as well, having been delivered invisibly by Dobby so that he could spend the morning getting to know his grandmother as opposed to the boy being in the dormitory on his own.

'Should we go somewhere else?' Hermione suggested. She didn't want to abandon her studious task in the library but knew that whatever Harry was referring to was very important, at least to him.

'No.' Harry shook his head. 'I'm not ready to talk about it yet. I just wanted to let you know that in case you think I’m…I dunno, acting strange or something.’

‘Thanks.’ Ron nodded as he pulled a face towards his very short essay and sighed. He hated school work yet even more so when Hermione forced them to do it when they could be enjoying the time someplace else.

Harry continued to watch Irma for a moment and glanced at his friends, contemplating for only a brief moment longer before he spoke.

‘I’m almost done, so you’ll have to excuse me.’ He stood and gathered his books in his arms while shoving the rest of his belongings into the depths of his bag.

‘Sorry.’ Harry added as he walked away from Ron and Hermione to pause at the librarian’s desk.

‘Good morning, Harry.’ Irma smiled at him. ‘Your friend is fine, you needn’t worry.’

‘Oh, I’m not.’ Harry blushed as he had been rather curious as to how Toby was going. ‘I was just…well, I have some free time and…would you mind? It’s okay if you’re busy, really, it’s just an idea.’

‘You would rather sit here indoors with me than scurry outdoors with your friends?’ Irma raised a suspicious eyebrow at him that made the teenage realize where Snape got such a look from.

‘I spent most of the holidays outside.’ Harry shrugged. ‘I don’t mind, if it’s alright with you.’

‘By all means.’ Irma nodded towards a chair behind the counter. It was beside the one Harry knew contained Toby, who was invisibly reading a book and marveling in all the discreet magic that his grandmother knew. Toby had thought Harry’s magic was really cool but his grandmother knows lots and lots!

‘I have placed a few charms on the area here.’ Irma added over her shoulder. ‘You should have no reason to hesitate to speak freely.’

‘Oh, thanks.’ Harry nodded as he sat in the chair and resumed his reading.

He had lied to his friends when he’d said he was almost done with his work; if he hadn’t said that, they might have thought he didn’t want to be around them or was avoiding them whereas he simply couldn’t help trying to get to know Snape’s mother some more.

‘I have a meeting with him in a few days.’ Harry said. ‘It’s going to be weird, being in his office not because I’m in trouble or something.’ He sighed.

Cautiously, Harry glanced at Irma’s back and instantaneously relaxed with a small smile when he realized that his assumption was correct; she’d didn’t pry unless it was a cause for concern, not even if she was highly curious upon the matter. The only exception to this “rule” was any regarding his studies, of course.

‘Would you know how to get on his good side?’ Harry wondered. ‘I mean, you are his mother.’

‘In title only.’ Irma sighed. ‘One I feel undeserving of. I have no tips for you, Harry; his mood is interchanging and based upon more variable than one may even be aware of. Every individual person is different, regardless of being friend or foe.’

‘Great, I’ve got no chance then.’ Harry grumbled under his breath, accidentally causing a blob of ink to drip onto his parchment.

‘I think Snape is very interesting and a little scary.’ Toby reminded them of his invisible presence with his comment.

‘Cuz when bad things happen to someone they’re then really sad. Like Snape, and you Harry. Even Hagrid cuz he can’ t use much magic no more since he was kicked out of second year, and he works at a school filled with everyone else learning magic he can’t do!’ The boy nodded.

‘I’m not sad.’ Harry huffed. ‘Just…I dunno, I guess I would be happier if I hadn’t lost…’ He swallowed as he thought about his parents and Sirius. ‘But so what? It happens all the time to lots of people, that’s not reason to-to be so grumpy all the time like Snape is! It’s like he doesn’t want to be happy.’

‘He was unfamiliar with the emotion for long periods in his life.’ Irma sighed, coming to her son’s defense as she pressed on the guilt that began to remind her of her mistakes once again.

‘His childhood was not full of safety and structure, it was poorly and entwined in misery…yet he had a friend and many dreams he wanted to achieve. The world may have seen less dark to him whilst here at Hogwarts, yes even with the Marauders.’ She prevented Harry’s protests. He shut his mouth instantly.

‘After a while he lost his friend and he simply does not have a great deal of fortune nor opportunities to improve the aspects he despises, therefore he longs to control them instead. Not unlike yourself.’

‘What?’ Harry didn’t consider himself at all controlling and didn’t understand what she was referring to. ‘What do you mean?’

‘If you see a student being bullied, you will likely step in to defend him or her.’ Irma explained some of her observations.

‘Because you had been bullied yourself in the past and know how terrible it feels and how you wished someone had stepped in at your aide.’ She explained with accuracy. ‘See? You deemed there to be no chance in changing the bullying you received whereas you can still stop bullies and defend another from receiving the same ill fate.’

‘I get it now.’ Harry realized that it was true; he saved so many people because he didn’t think he could help himself and yet didn’t want others to go through what he had. He felt doomed and resigned to that fate, even as he fought for the sake of others. It sounded so selfless when phrased that way.

‘Is he like that?’ Harry whispered. ‘I haven’t seen him be nice to anyone, only scowl and favor Slytherins while he punishes Gryffindors for something stupid.’

‘Severus is a Slytherin who was bullied by righteous so-called heroic Gryffindors.’ Irma turned towards him. ‘Think about it.’

And Harry did. It seemed so obvious when she pointed it out; Snape hated Gryffindors not just for the Marauders but because he thought that their treatment of his house deserved retribution while he was also showing the Slytherins that they did have power over those deemed better by them based on their sorting alone.

‘Were you in Ravenclaw?’ Harry smiled at Irma.

She chuckled softly at his reply and shook her head. ‘No. Along with my entire family, I too was sorted into Slytherin.’

Toby perked up at that. ‘The sorting hat said I would probably be in Slytherin!’

‘I don’t doubt that.’ Irma said as she turned back to her books.

Harry sank a little in his chair and sighed, wishing that he wasn’t the third party or intervening company in which was a part of the group yet not belonging. Toby was no longer an orphan, not really, as he had family whereas Harry truly did not. Sure, they pretended to be brothers and now felt like such, but the disappointment remained when Harry didn’t gain a grandmother like the younger boy did. Although that would make Snape his…uncle? Father? Harry shuddered and didn’t think he could handle such a disturbing connection to the man who hated him and yet he was unable to loathe in return.

He knew too much about Snape now and had a deep-seeded respect for him, even if the professor still irked him to no end.


The days passed by with relative ease and Harry was acutely aware of the approaching meeting with Snape.

Dobby and Toby no longer used the Room of Requirement as Irma was content to deal with their company throughout the hours of each day since she was in the library most of the time and somewhat disapproved of the usage of house-elves rather than an actual adult. Although, Harry suspected that had she had the money to pay for an elf many years ago, she would have taken full advantage of having it look after with her son when she had been unable to.

His friends knew he still had something to tell them but Harry saw very little of them in the days leading up to the meeting on the eighth as Hermione had rushed off to study in her dorm and Ron was pre-occupied with Lavender. This left Harry feeling more alone than he ever had at Hogwarts, minus the time he was suspected of opening the Chamber of Secrets in second year. However, unlike it would have any other previous year in his life, Harry took to this new development quite well as he simply sat on his own in the dormitory or outside under the oak tree near the lake with an interesting book.

The parchment roll he’d received from Snape on Christmas remained with him at all times, although he hadn’t used it since. Because now Harry was afraid of getting too close to someone who could never even like him.

And yet, as Gryffindor as he was, Harry could not prevent the lingering urge to snatch a quill and scribble down any question he had or comment he wanted to tell the man. Being careful to avoid the actual roll of parchment, Harry scribbled these notes on the inside of his History of Magic textbook where a pile of unused parchment always resided. It wasn’t as though he’d suddenly take many notes for that class anyway, given the amount of each lesson in which he was busy sleeping through the dull sessions.

It was the day of the eighth and yet time had finally given Harry a sense of balance as time no longer moved at a quick yet uneventful pace as it had been in the past few days. He had two hours until his meeting in the dungeon office and hadn’t a clue how to spent it. He was all on his own, standing a few feet from the edge of the lake as he looked unseeingly at the mountains in the distance. Had it only been a twenty minute wait he might have dared to show up early, yet two hours might not settle too well with the man. Besides, Snape was more likely to label it as arrogance rather than punctuality.

Toby was learning vocabulary with Dobby and Irma in the library, Harry’s friends were elsewhere, his schoolwork was done, and there were no Quidditch practices scheduled for that day. Eying the roll of magical parchment for a brief moment, Harry stood and strode towards the castle with a scowl on his face as he knew exactly how he could spent a solid two hours or so. Dumbledore knew his secret and yet had said nothing, even going as far as to tell it to an unauthorized person who lacked the secret-keeping skills required.

As much as Harry liked Hagrid, those facts remained true.

Facing the gargoyle statue before him, Harry deepened his frown and muttered random names of sweets until “cockroach clusters” did the trick.

Standing on the spiraling staircase, Harry stashed the last of his books into his bag as he waited and then stepped through into the office without bothering to knock. He had simply been too annoyed to put any effort into such politeness, although this time he was lucky and apart from the headmaster himself being seated at his desk and Fawkes resting nearby on the designated perch, the office was empty of additional company.

‘Harry?’ Dumbledore looked over at him with surprised, although it seemed for a moment as though he was trying to recognize him. ‘And what do I owe such an unexpected visit?’

And yet no matter how annoyed Harry may be at the elderly man, his anger ebbed away and he felt a blush creep up his neck for just bursting in on the man.

‘Sorry I didn’t knock, sir.’ Harry said. ‘I wanted to confront you about something.’

‘It is quite alright.’ Dumbledore smiled. ‘I should be thanking you for rescuing me from a rather dull pile of paperwork.’ He chuckled. ‘Now, what may I do for you, Harry? You give me the implication that I have wronged you somewhere along the line; I do hope this is not the case. However, I can see this is not a social visit at all, is something the matter?’

‘Yes.’ Harry went into full ranting mode as the issue boiled inside him again.

‘You know what this is about; don’t pretend that what you did is okay! I’ve tried so hard to make sure everything is okay and that no one finds out.’ He continued. ‘And you’ve know all this time! Not only that, but you went and told Hagrid – you know he’s not the best person to share a secret with! He told Voldemort about how to calm Fluffy, and he spilled to us quite a bit about Nicholas Flamel, as well as that bloody dragon egg!’

Out of steam, Harry stopped pacing and sank heavily into the nearest chair to stare at Dumbledore, all thoughts of matters and respectable conduct washed from his concern as he waited for a response. He had half-expected to be kicked from the room, scolded at or patted on the head and be sent on his way with misinformed falsehood and discreet secret-keeping of the man’s own variety.

The spreading smile on the headmaster’s face was not only unexpected but also rather disquieting, to say the least.

‘Yes, I suspected that the topic of young Toby was likely to emerge within due time.’ Dumbledore nodded as he brushed a hand over his beard and continued to watch Harry with an expression the teenager squirmed in his seat in attempt to avoid.

‘I suspected that had one wished for me to know their most treasured secret than one would simply have approached me with such an honor.’ He said wisely.

‘As for Hagrid, precautions were made on his behalf when I informed him for the safety of the boy. Who would you assume to be most likely to spot the child during his adventures with the house-elf at the less-ventured sections of the grounds, save three people?’

‘But you did know!’ Harry pointed out. ‘I didn’t know you knew about it until Hagrid told me.’ He cared nothing for the precautions, not because he doubted Dumbledore’s ability but because at that moment the fact that matters had been modified to the situation was all he cared for. The rest was mere detail.

‘My own knowing is irrelevant to the fact that you still did not wish for me to know.’ Dumbledore said calmly.

‘I didn’t because I was… Harry paused as he remembered his fears of losing Toby if anyone found out, especially an adult of any kind. ‘I did want to tell you, sir. I just…’

‘You did not trust me.’ Dumbledore did not seem upset by this blunt fact although the twinkle in his eye dimmed considerably.

‘I’m sorry, sir.’ Harry lowered his gaze to where his hands were gripping his knees and sighed.

‘It is quite alright, Harry.’ Dumbledore nodded. ‘Given the circumstances, you may have been correct with any other member of the teaching staff. We have a duty of care, and the fact that a child as young as Toby is under the inexperienced care of an underage student is a matter in which should be addressed immediately.’ Catching the glimpse of startled fear in Harry’s face, Dumbledore held up a calming hand and continued before the teen could object and plead with him upon the issue.

‘Relax, dear boy. I have no intention of removing Toby from your care; I daresay you’ve done an excellent job with the boy, with all things considered.’ The headmaster smiled.

‘As long as things remain the way they are now with his wellbeing and your education, I see no reason to bring to light this situation before its due time.’

‘How did you find out about Toby, sir?’ Harry stared at him, relieved and yet still not quite trusting towards the man who kept his own secret from him for such a period of time.

‘As all-knowing and brilliant many may perceive me to be, I do owe some credit to the magic that is Hogwarts.’ Dumbledore leaned back in his hair and glanced at the portrait of one particular headmaster who was once again feigning sleep.

‘What do you mean?’ Harry wondered if the older wizard took delight in prolonging and riddling everything he said, forcing others to either guess or leave with a stronger state of confusion than what they had started with.

‘As Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it would be correct to assume that each and every non-student is under my employ here at this school, would you agree?’

‘Yes.’ Harry nodded. He was also certain that his previous theory was indeed accurate.

‘And therefore what of the portraits that hang along every corridor, near every set of stairs, and within every primary room within the entire castle?’ Dumbledore saw Harry beginning to understand as a look of alarm crossed the boy’s face, yet he continued. ‘And what of each of the hundreds of house-elves that clean Hogwarts day and night whose job is to work or heard from all? Or of the ghosts that have no limitations throughout the entire school save five rooms?’ The headmaster nodded.

‘Yes, I have quite a few in my employ who find it within their duty in which to report the strange or out-of-place occurrences within Hogwarts. I suspected Toby’s existence from the moment you stepped foot inside this castle. For a school of mystery and never-ending secrets than some may never discover…you’d be surprised how little those who step inside these walls are revealing to it.’

The astonishing truth hit Harry quite hard as he couldn’t believe he hadn’t realized all of these extra factors before. A part of him wished Dumbledore had offered him a lemon drop (which he would neglect to take, anyway), feed him uninformative half-truths and prod him towards some meaningless conversation before ushering him out of the office. This would have been much better than the sinking understanding that rested in his mind like a frog stuck in a dry pit.

Harry now knew that he had been foolish with his planning but even so it didn’t matter because…his secret had never been safe.

--

And while Harry was in Dumbledore’s office, Toby had managed to convince Irma to let him go outside and then he convinced Dobby into taking him to Hagrid’s rather than their usual spot outside. It had been a while since they had heard from Hagrid regarding the kitten the young boy had saved on Christmas Eve and Toby would wait no longer for the news of its recovery or ill being.

‘Not ter worry!’ Hagrid beamed at him as Toby stepped inside and Dobby vanished although not before they’d all seen a small cat rush to hide behind a large pot covered with a patched quilt.

‘Yeh, ‘e’s a tough fellow.’ Hagrid nodded. ‘Was Just on me way ter tell yeh ‘ow ‘e’s doin’ so well since yeh left ‘im with me.’ He nodded. ‘As yeh can see, ‘e’s as good as new!’

‘Yeah, thanks Hagrid.’ Toby smiled as he carefully reached and lifted the little cat into his arms. ‘Hello, Felix. Do you remember me?’ The boy whispered to it. ‘I saved you and I’m really glad you’re okay.’

‘Yeh named him.’ Hagrid chuckled.

‘Yeah, after the potion known as “liquid luck”, because this little kitten is really lucky.’ Toby smiled as he stroked the purring creature.

‘Yeh not wrong.’ Hagrid grunted with reply.

There was a sharp yet short knock on the door and Toby stared over at it with panic. Harry would have announced himself as would Ron or Hermione, although none of them had any reason to be there right now. Dobby would just have appeared, meaning whoever this visitor was they likely knew nothing of his existence.

Both Toby and Hagrid hoped to keep it that way.

‘I’ll be with yeh in a moment!’ Hagrid called and hushed Toby into a hiding place behind a large crate also covered in a tattered quilt. Toby gulped and clung to Felix, only mildly wishing he could peek over to see who was at the door. His skin felt cold as though he and the cat were back in the snow the moment he heard who he was hiding from.

‘Per’fesser Snape!’ Hagrid was rather surprised to see the Potions Master standing there in his usual black attire. Severus hadn’t visited him since the Slytherin had a little mishap in sixth year and ended up inside his but to calm himself and warm up by the fire.

‘Pardon the intrusion, Hagrid.’ Severus sighed as “good afternoon” did not seem fitting enough as a greeting.

Toby pressed his back carefully against the crate that concealed him and tried to keep his breathing even. No matter what he said in the man’s defense to Harry or the others, the boy was panicked to be near the darker wizard. He also feared Harry’s reaction if Snape was to discover him because of how much his brother seemed to dislike his professor.

Lost in his thoughts, Toby’s grip had loosened on the kitten to the point that when Felix leaped from his arms, he was powerless to stop it.

Severus thanked Hagrid for the matters of importance involving his own Potioneering interests and turned to leave. He paused and glanced over to one corner where a little kitten appeared from behind a crate with mingled sounds of breathing and movement was heard. He knew the fragile creature did not belong to the half-giant but wasn’t concerned as the hut often acted as an animal hospital from time to time. It was the way the kitten approached his leg and purred deeply at it as though it longed to rub its fury face against it yet had the sense not to do so.

As he stared at the olive-coloured eyes of the creature, Severus pulled his cloak tighter and turned to depart the hut without a single glance back.

Once the door was slammed shut by Hagrid’s large hands, Toby hurriedly emerged from his hiding spot and snatched up the kitten. He hugged it tightly for a long moment until the creature meowed in protest as though it was feeling squished.

‘What?’ Toby noticed the odd look Hagrid was giving his cat.

‘Nothin’, jus’…It’s a righ’ odd cat yeh got there, Toby.’ Hagrid nodded. ‘A bit o’ magic in ‘im, no doubt.’

‘Magic? What do you mean?’ Toby looked at Felix who stared back at him. ‘It looks normal enough.’

‘So do yeh.’ Hgrid pointed out and explained while he put on some tea.

‘If I ain’t mistaken, that cat there can sense the goodness in a person. ‘E can tell yeh if a person is trustworthy or nut jus’ by lookin’ at ‘em or bein’ near ‘em.’ He nodded and drifted off into a conversation about creature natures and trust, while Toby stared at the closed doorway of the hut and gasped mutely.

The boy had been unsure before and liked to believe in people but if what Hagrid hand said about Felix was true…

‘Thanks, Felix.’ Toby whispered to the kitten. ‘I know now that Snape’s not bad.’

In fact, the boy was convinced of it and at this point not a single thing in the entire world would be able to make him change his mind. He believed the possible instinct of a kitten over theories based on opinions any day. Now all he had to do was tell Harry that he was wrong, that Snape wasn’t as bad as he thought him to be after all. Because Toby knew Felix was lucky and special…those kinds of combinations didn’t usually lead to inaccurate judgments of character.

Toby truly believed that his father wasn’t bad like the boy’s biological mother had been.

Chapter End Notes:
Happy Easter to all who celebrate it!
Next chapter shall feature at least 90% of just Snape and Harry stuff, so most of you will probably quite like as it'll have more Harry and Snape than any previous chapter in this story so far. I felt, given what occurs and the importance of it, that they needed a chapter entirely of their own.
Keep in mind that this chapter wasn't re-read over in time update as I wanted to get it up as soon as possible. I hope I did Dumbledore and Hagrid to character, please let me know if you agree/disagree. Please review!!

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