The next several days were relatively calm compared the previous week. Needless to say, the young Gryffindor was no longer afraid of the creature.  If anything, he was quickly becoming fond of it.  The red collar around its neck made it seem less wild and more docile.  

The protector seems to follow Harry everywhere, even to the loo.  Harry kept looking back expecting to see the protector trailing him, but it seems that it was very adept at hiding.  Sometimes, a red collar could be seen floating after Harry, bounding after him like it was attached to a invisible puppy. 

On occasion, Harry could hear purring sounds coming from near his feet and he assumed it was the protector. 

“You know what you should do, Harry?” Hermione asked, tilting her head to one side as she observed the invisible creature or rather, the depression on Harry’s bed where it had now taken up residence.

“What?” Harry asked back.

“You should name it,” she said happily.

“What? Name it?”

“Well why not.  It does seem quite attached to you, and it follows you everywhere.  It has a collar and it sleeps next to your bed. Why not give it a name? ”

“That thing is not a pet, Hermione,” said Ron.

“It doesn’t have to be a pet to have a name, Ron” Hermione responded. “Besides, it’s much more important than a pet.  From what you’ve told us so far, this creature’s sole purpose is to protect you, right Harry?”

“Um…we don’t know that much about it yet, but it did protect me from the Tulpa.”

“Exactly, it probably saved your life.  Don’t you think it deserves a name?”

“I guess…”

“So?  What are you going to call it then?”

Harry shurgged. “Er…I don’t know.  I’ll think about it I guess. Do you have any ideas?”

Ron shrugged too, giving Harry a look as if to say well don't ask me.

“Well, he’s your monster, you name it what you like," said Hermione

His monster? Harry kind of liked the sound of that, he thought as he watched the spot where the creature laid.  

"Anyway, I've got to go study, would you like to join me?" Hermione asked as she pushed herself up. 

Both Gryffindor boys shook their heads.  Hermione sighed.  She could never get anybody in Gryffindor to study with her. In fact, the only people in Gryffindor who wanted to study were the upper years.  But when she asked them, they said that the material was way beyond her and they didn't want to waste time explaining everything. That's okay though, she was used to studying by herself.  She got through elementary school studying on her own, and she could do it here too. 

After Hermione left, Harry and Ron chatted and played Exploding Snap before going to bed. Harry laid on his bed with the creature curled up next to him and was lulled to sleep by its rumbling purr. 

 ***

Severus had written the procedures on the board as usual, and instructed the students to follow them to the letter.  Every class, he told his students the importance of reading and following the instructions.  However, there was always a handful of students who refused to listen.  Severus scrutinized the students as they rushed to get the ingredients for today's assignment.  Unsurprisingly and almost immediately, Severus caught a student making a mistake before any prep work had started! Potter had took something from the student stores back to his table, something that was definitely not in the list of ingredients he had written.

“Can’t you read Potter?” Severus demanded from his pupil. “I’ve written the procedures clearly on the board.”

He made his way to Harry's desk and ordered Harry to stand up. When Harry didn’t obey immediately, the professor stood behind Harry and physically pulled the chair, with Harry still sitting in it, a full 2 inches backwards. 

Harry flinched noticeably and almost immediately, a small growl issued from underneath the boy's chair. The protector was not happy and its tiny but fierce growl had the desired effect. 

Severus gasped and took several steps back. He had forgotten all about the protector.   

Then, with as much dignity as he could muster, the potions master stepped forward again, albeit cautiously.  He wasn’t going to let some furry little cat creature get the better of him!

“Stand up, Mr. Potter,” said Severus in a stern voice, but Harry sat glued to his chair. H was just about to make Harry get up by putting on his most intimidating voice when another snarl was heard.

Severus growled himself.  He was very unaccustomed to being challenged in the classroom; especially not by some…thing.   However, he did not want another violent encounter with the protector, especially when there were students in the room.  The professor had tried very hard to exclude the creature from his classroom, citing several rules in the Hogwarts Giant Book of Rule: 343th edition. But all attempts to keep out, remove or chase away the protector had ended in failure.  So he was stuck with a potentially vicious creature in his classroom, guarding Potter like he was some sort of saint.

Saint Potter! Severus thought bitterly, always breaking the rules, well not in his classroom, not if he had anything to say about it, protector or no protector.

“So be it, it does not matter whether you sit or stand,” Severus drawled, taking his hands off the back of Harry’s chair. He strolled from behind the boy and stood next to his desk. 

Around him students began to whisper, for there had not been a time in recorded history that the feared potions master Severus Snape backed down to anyone other than the headmaster!  But nobody seemed to know why the potions professor backed down so easily. Everybody, both Slytherin and Gryffindor, expected Snape to give Harry a short but severe tongue lashing followed by detention if Harry wasn’t on his feet within 5 seconds.

“I want you to read those words on the board,” Snape drawled.

Harry stopped breathing.  Snape wanted him to do what???  The Gryffindor kept his head down and his voice silent. His heart began to speed up and he pushed himself into the chair. The boy began to sweat as he could feel the whole class watching him.   He could feel Ron and Hermione looking at him helplessly. 

“I would like not to have to repeat myself to you one more time this evening, Mr. Potter,” Severus said again, in a voice that was almost calm but said that if Harry didn’t start reading now he would be in detention for the rest of the year.

“The…the miniaturizing potion,” Harry started to read in a small voice, feeling himself start to shake all over. The only reason he could read the title was because Snape had told them what they were brewing, and underlined the words with a chalk when he said them.  But the instructions, the ingredients especially, there was just no way he would recognize the words.  

But he can’t have Snape and the whole class find out he could barely read!  His life would be over!  He’d be the laughing stock of the whole school once Malfoy spread the news around!  The boy who couldn’t read, they’d call him.  He felt so pathetic. 

But he couldn’t just sit there and look stupid!  Harry felt like he was stuck between a rock and several hard places, and hanging above a pit of scorpions.  He just didn’t know what to do!

Oh please, please don’t make me read them!

“Sometime today, Mr. Potter,” said Severus, his patience was wearing thin again.

“Um…you will require 1 bronze cauldron…erm….3 eye of goat,” Harry tried his hardest to speak smoothly, but his nerves got the better of him and his speech came out in broken bits and pieces, making him even more nervous.  He has a hard enough time reading to himself, and making sense of words on the page.  Reading out loud was something he was truly horrid at. Harry remembered that one time in 3rd grade, the whole class had laughed at him because he pronounced ‘island’ as ‘is-land’ as opposed to ‘i-land’. 

The boy’s face burned as he struggled to read the words and the snickering started.  This was 3rd grade all over again, only worse!

“…um, 1 portion of pre…um, pres…served dragon…co…clo…cloca.”

“Dragon cloaca, Potter!” Severus corrected, not bothering to insult Harry for his mistake or explain what the ingredient was. 

“Dragon cloaca,” Harry repeated after this professor.  He wringed his hand together and thought to himself. Okay, I’ve got this.  Only a bit more, then you’re through with the ingredients.

“2 clutches of s…smoked…niffler hair…”

“Two clutches of what now, Potter?”

“Niffler hair, sir?” Harry said timidly. 

 “Niffler hair?” Severus looked like he was about to burst into a tirade and tear Harry into tiny bits and pieces. He grabbed a cluck of hair and showed it to Harry. “You required 2 clutches of smoked Niffle Hare, you dunderhead! Niffle Hare, as in the animal, not hair! Can’t you tell the difference?”

The small, low growl came again. Harry felt the little monster brush against. It seemed to have wrapped himself around one of his legs.  Its red collar was the only thing that could be seen and it seemed to rattle as the protector snarled fiercely.

“What’s this?” said Severus as he spotted movement beneath his nose. He picked up the quill in mid motion and examined it.  This was a quick quotes quill! What was Potter doing with a quick quotes quill?

“What is this?” Severus enunciated sharply. “A quick quotes quill? You’re cheating, Potter.”

Harry shook his head frantically, “No, I…”

“Then, what do you call this?” the professor asked harshly, holding out the quill in Harry’s face and demanding an answer. “You lazy, arrogant little miscreant.  Is the famous Harry Potter too good to take his own notes?”

“No…no , sir.” Harry replied fearfully.

“We will see, Potter. You are not going to get away with cheating in my classroom."