Harry was seated beside Hermione in the third row of desks in DADA class. With mixed feelings, he watched Professor Snape pace from one side of the classroom to the other in front of them. Harry had never agreed with Snape in a classroom. Interaction between the two of them had more often than not led to telling-offs, deductions of points from Gryffindor and detentions on Harry’s part.

During the few days that had elapsed since their turbulent parting that morning at Snape’s house at Spinner’s End, Harry had pondered upon how to behave toward Snape. He had come to the conclusion that he should try to keep his distance as much as possible, but endeavour to be polite and correct. He drew a deep breath to steel himself.

“We’ll do Incantations the first part of this term,” Snape began the lesson. “They are perhaps not as spectacular as pure curses, nor as effectual as jinxes, but they allow more complexity and the magic is robust and long lasting. Now, I’m sure all of you know how to perform at least one incantation. Can you give me some examples, please?” The class was silent. No one dared to be the first to speak.

“Come on!” Snape exclaimed impatiently. “Mr Weasley, did you perform any incantations lately?” Ron swallowed and sat a bit more upright.

“Er... I used incantations and charms when I wanted to cast protection around the place where we were camping. Muggle-repelling, disillusionment and soundproofing incantations. Those are the ones that I know.” Ron shrunk back.

“Makes a thorough protection together, I'd say, if you want to go undetected,” said Snape in a light tone.

“Well, there were Death Eaters and other Potter-hunters around,” Ron answered defensively.

“And there still are... there still are, Mr Weasley. Don’t let your guard down if you feel the urge to go camping again. Keep up with the incantations. Good. Anyone else?” retorted Snape.

Hermione raised her hand, but a couple of Slytherin students seemed to feel it was opportunely to show some knowledge, and Snape turned to them first.

“Incantations are needed to cure bad curses,” one said.

“Incantations might be used to strengthen a complex curse on an object or a person,” someone else said.

“Protecting, Relieving, Healing and Curing Incantations,” Ginny countered quickly in a clear voice, without raising her hand, which owed her a disapproving glow from Snape, but only a surprisingly mild reprisal.

“Don’t speak before I give you permission, Miss Weasley. The Protective Incantations you mentioned are, however, the ones we will focus on this year, as part of the Defence Against the Dark Arts’ subject. Those of you who took this class last year with Mr Carrow, might have learnt to incorporate incantations in cursing activities. However, I’d like you to forget about that. It’s Dark Magic and we’ll only learn how to counteract such curses, not to cast them,” said Snape. The same Slytherin boy who had inquired about Harry’s opinion of Snape in the morning raised his hand.

“You need to learn about the Dark Arts to be able to defend yourself against it. You, Professor, have more insights than anyone in that field. Why should you withhold that knowledge from us?” he said.

“There’s a difference between having a general knowledge about something and to practice it,” Snape said curtly.

Harry thought of all the books dealing with the Dark Arts that he had seen at Snape’s house. Had Snape really dissociated himself from the subject, or had he merely adjusted to new times? Harry asked himself. Snape frowned when he met Harry’s scrutinising gaze.

“Advanced studies of the Dark Arts is a dangerous and delicate subject that belongs to higher education and will not be taught at Hogwarts,” reinforced Snape. “Professor Dumbledore was particularly strict on that point and I intend to conduct the school in his spirit. Now can anyone tell me the difference between incantations and charms or spells?”

No one raised their hand except Hermione. Harry thought he might know the answer, but was uncertain how to phrase it properly, so he kept his hand down.

“That’s what I thought,” said Snape with a bow toward Hermione. “Don’t let Miss Granger answer the easy questions - her time comes when all the others fail at the difficult ones. Please, Miss Granger.” There was a sarcastic touch to Snape’s tone of voice.

“First of all, charms and spells are unidirectional in space and focus on one or a couple of defined objects at most. Incantations allow the spells to spread in space and in time. They allow modifications of present charms, and fine-tuning. There’s another difference in that incantations might be performed without wands because essentially they’re mediated through your hands and the tone of your voice,” said Hermione.

“Impeccable as always, Miss Granger! You know, I wonder you came back to Hogwarts at all this year. You already seem to know everything.” Snape spoke in his silky tone of voice and yet what he said sounded far from a compliment.

“She needs to get her NEWT grades like the rest of us, doesn’t she?” Ron blurted out irritably.

“Uh-oh...” Snape exclaimed dryly. “I think your boyfriend might be just a little jealous of your wit, Miss Granger. You look out for that. Now, can anyone develop what Miss Granger said? How do you do to expand a spell in space with the help of an incantation, for example?”

Ron looked murderous and Hermione raised her hand defiantly in the air again. Snape sighed demonstratively.

“I must give your fellow students a chance, Miss Granger.” But no one else had their hand up. “Mr Potter, do you have an idea?” asked Snape. Harry cleared his voice.

“The incantations consist of long phrases... And those make the magic sort of swell... And you have to sort of distribute it in space and time... There’s where you use your hands... You sort of paint the incantation around you or smooth it out with magic... And your tone of voice too... it might be monotonous, or singing and it sort of sends the magic off by resonance... and amplifies it - I read that...”  he added a bit embarrassed by the surprised looks he got by everybody, including Snape.

“Not very elegantly put by way of expression, but correct in essence,” Snape granted condescendingly. “Now, in future, Mr Potter, when you know an answer, I expect you to put your hand up.”

“Wouldn’t that apply to Hermione too then, Professor?” Harry asked candidly.

“Of course. What do you mean?” Snape looked puzzled.

“The sarcasm in your voice when you speak to her implies that you would like her not to raise her hand when she knows the answer and that you’d rather she shut up,” Harry said daringly, forgetting, on Hermione’s behalf, his intention not to antagonise his teacher. Snape frowned.

“That isn’t my intention. Miss Granger is to disregard my so-called sarcasm and raise her hand whenever she knows an answer, but I still reserve myself the right to put the question to whichever student I want to test the proficiencies of,” he said coldly. “Now it is time for a little demonstration.”

Snape returned to his podium and opened a box that lay on the table. He lifted it up and tilted it so that they could see what it contained: a golden bracelet placed on a black silky tissue.

“This is a cursed object. When someone touches it, the person becomes imprisoned in dense Dark Magma and is unable to move or to make his or her voice heard. To someone on the outside, it might look as if the person is dead, but they’re not, they are completely conscious and aware of the surroundings but unable to communicate and if they’re not released, they die by suffocation inside the Magma in the slowest and most agonising way possible,” explained Snape. The class held their breaths in apprehension. “Is there anyone who might explain what Magma is?” Hannah Abbott from Ravenclaw raised her hand hesitantly. “Yes?”

“Magma is used when you create Non-Apparition Zones,” she said.

“Good. Magma is a magic substance that increases the density of the air, the lightness of which is a prerequisite to move by Apparition. Now, you can produce different densities of Magma. Dark Magma is a thousandfold denser than Light Magma which is the one used for Non-Apparition Zones, so-called ‘NAZes’, like you said,” said Snape.

Harry began to find the lesson not so bad after all, if you disregarded Snape’s sarcasms directed at Hermione. This was interesting stuff. He started to wonder, however, if Snape was going to call someone forward to take the curse for the demonstration and if he was not in danger of being chosen. He noticed that some of the other students appeared to be pondering upon the same hazard, because many of them were ducking in their seats. They did not need to worry, because suddenly the wobbling head of the Gryffindor house ghost, Nearly Headless Nick, materialised like a hunting trophy on the door, peaking into the classroom, his immatierial body still at the other side, in the corridor.

“Exactly on time. Welcome through, Sir Nicholas!” exclaimed Snape. “Nick here has agreed to help me with the demonstration. His weightless body will not suffer from the impact of the Magma and he won’t mind holding his breath for a while.”

“Very funny, Sir, considering I haven’t drawn a breath for nearly five hundred and six years,” answered Sir Nicholas as he floated towards the podium. He seemed delighted by the attention.

“Put the bracelet on, please,” said Snape.

“That’s beautiful, reminds me of something that Lady Greyhound used to wear. It might not stay on my arm, though,” Sir Nicholas rattled on, but the moment his fingers moved through the bracelet, a glow that strengthened to blinding light emerged from the piece of jewellery. Nick spun round several times on the spot. When the light subsided he was floating in the air, motionless. It reminded Harry of the time when Nick had been petrified by the Basilisk in his second year at Hogwarts. Snape stepped forward again.

”Now,” he said, “...if this had been a creature who needed to breathe in order to stay alive, it would be a matter of minutes. Either you know the incantation to counteract this curse and you perform it without delay, or... what do you do? Grab the person and Apparate to St Mungo’s?” asked Snape. Harry raised his hand.

“Will the Magma not make it impossible to touch the person, Sir?” he asked, fascinated by the drama he envisioned if a living person had taken the curse and been paralysed by the dark Magma.

“You’re right, you cannot touch the body, nor move it by magical locomotion,” answered Snape.

“Then the only thing to do is to send a Patronus and call for someone you think would know the counter-curse incantation,” said Harry.

“Indeed, or else you learn to do it yourself, and you won’t put yourself in the agonising position of watching a person suffocate before your eyes,” responded Snape. Harry shuddered. “To make it easier for you to see how the incantation works, I’ll visualise the Magma for you. Revelo Magic!” When Snape uttered these words a box glowing faintly with a greenish, fluorescent light became visible around Nick. “Now watch,” said Snape. He raised his wand in his right hand, turned the palm of his left hand toward the magical Magma and approached the glowing box. He started humming words and revolving around the body of Nick, making circling movements with his left hand. Harry watched the fluorescent substance around Nick become thinner for each round, as if Snape peeled it off him and finally it came off entirely and Nick began to move.

“Ugh... It wasn’t exactly pleasant!” exclaimed Nick. The audience cheered appreciatively, both at Nick and Snape. Snape looked pleased with himself but hushed the class down quickly.

“Now, I gave you this as a taste of what you might be able to perform at the end of this year providing you put in hard work to learn about incantations. Unless someone wants to give it a try right away…? No…? Miss Granger, this is an opportunity for you to be exempted from Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons as well as from Charms...You’ll be free for at least eight weeks... Will you have a try…? No?” said Snape arching an eyebrow at Hermione who shook her head.

“I’ll have a go, if Nick puts up with it once more.” Harry raised his hand. Everyone turned to stare at him. He was a little red on his cheeks and he looked apologetically at Hermione who gaped at him. “I can always have a try. I think I got everything down,” he whispered to her and looked at a piece of paper where he had scribbled some words.

“Of course I’ll do it for you, Harry,” said Nick politely. Snape did not say anything, but gestured for Harry to advance to the podium.

“Have you performed this incantation before, Mr Potter?” he asked curtly when Harry stood in front of him.

“Never, Sir,” answered Harry.

“Yet you believe you could do it?” Snape looked at Harry with incredulity.

“You just showed us, Professor. And I only said I’d have a try,” retorted Harry. Snape pressed his lips together.

“Nick, bracelet!” he snapped. The curse repeated itself with the same force as before.

Harry had only had a short time to grasp the incantation. He glanced at his notes. Even if it had looked like the Magma just melted away from the body of Nick when Snape spoke the incantation, Harry realised instinctively that a powerful substance like that did not just go away into thin air. Parts of the incantation reminded him of the Relieving Incantations that he had performed when lifting pain away from injured and traumatised wizards and witches after the final battle. Healers from St Mungo’s had brought some sort of magical boxes where the pain pulled out from the injured bodies and contained in the wand of the healer, had been thrust and shut up for later annihilation. Harry had learnt that it was almost impossible to extract pain from people and just throw it away in the air, as most of it would rebound on the injured person. The suffering had to be attached to something. He supposed it was the same thing with this Dark Magma. He had to peel it off Nick and contain it in his wand to throw it back at the bracelet in the end. He thought he had seen Snape make an almost imperceptible jerk with his wand at the end of the incantation, where the last words had been “Capto”.

Harry took a deep breath, ready to start. “Revelo Magic,” he said and the Magma started to fluoresce. He raised his arms and with a clear voice he started to sing the words in a monotonous tone. He moved his left hand as if to rub a surface clean delicately. As he started to move around Nick’s body, he concentrated all his forces to extract the Magma at the surface of the box that had been loosened up by his magical singing and contain it in his wand. His arm felt heavy, which was a sign that the magic worked and he started to see the same melting effect that had occurred when Snape had worked the incantation. He did not pause, however, but continued repeating the incantation, over and over again.

His wand felt heavier and heavier and his arm started to shake, but there was not much left, he struggled with the last Magma and - “Capto” - he launched it at the bracelet, sure at aim. Nick was free. It was over. Everybody, including Snape, stared dumbfounded at him. Harry grimaced and stuck his wand away, stretching his numb fingers.

“Blimey, that was heavy! How on earth did you manage to make it look like you were peeling an orange, when in reality it was like dragging a troll away, Sir?” he addressed Snape and held out his arm which was trembling from the effort. Snape recovered from his surprise and smirked faintly at Harry.

“Oh... I think that I’ll keep some secrets for myself... Well done, Mr Potter. Twenty points to Gryffindor!” he said.

Harry stared at him with an open mouth, as did all the other students in the class, including the Slytherins. When had Snape ever distributed a single point to Gryffindor, no matter how well-earned? Harry’s face broke up in a broad smile and at last he received a thunderous applause from his fellow students, more enthusiastically from the left side of the room than from the right. When it subsided and Harry made a move to regain his seat, Snape held him back.

“Please, Mr Potter. I think everyone here is curious to know how you managed to memorise that incantation after only one single demonstration? You had taken some notes, I believe?” Snape took the parcel of paper from Harry’s hand. He glanced at it and waved his wand toward the black board whereupon Harry’s notes became visible for everyone. They were merely a few rows of words.

“Well...” Harry started hesitantly. “Incantations are put together by different passages. There are some standard ones. For instance, incantations almost all start in the same way. Like an introduction: here comes an incantation.” He gestured towards his abbreviations on the black board and recited a couple of lines. “Then there are two or three passages that are plaited together that conveys the general idea of the incantation. In this case, it’s a combination of loosing up and extracting something.” Harry paused and pointed at the black board and recited the second part of the incantation. “This single sentence that is often inserted between the passages in the middle...” Harry pointed again, “...is the hub of the incantation. In this case, it specifies that it’s Dark Magma we want to take away. Then more passages about loosing up, extracting and summoning or drawing the Magma to the wand.” Harry recited again. “These are all parts that you recognise from other incantations, that’s why I could memorise it. The parts are the same - there are about twenty different ones that you need to learn - and then you just have to look out for in which order they come, the number of repetitions, and minor modifications. And the Capto at the end is of course when you throw the Magma back at the bracelet.”

His friends looked at him with wide eyes.

“Why, for the first time in my life I read a school book in advance,” Harry owned a bit annoyed. “Hermione always does that.”

“But Harry,” said Hermione, gently argumentative. “How can you memorise the texts? It’s not even modern English. Those incantations are written in ancient runes. You’ve never studied that.”

“There’re translations in the books, so I know what they mean. And the words are just a pattern, like a rhythm or a song, you know. You can feel how it goes,” responded Harry.

“And how do you make your left hand work the magic simultaneously as you work your wand?” continued Hermione.

Harry looked at her with incredulity.

“It just works, does it not for everybody?”

Hermione shook her head.

“Not without practicing.”

“But that’s the point,” said Harry with relief. “I did practice this summer.” He explained to them about the Relieving Incantations.

“This is a different type of incantation, though. How did you learn the modulations of your voice and your movements?” Snape intervened suspiciously. Harry raised one eyebrow.

“But you just showed us. I copied you!” he said.

“You seem to have an intuitive facility with incantations,” Snape muttered reluctantly, some suspicion remaining in his voice, as if Harry had tricked him somehow. “Now sit down, Mr Potter.”

The remaining part of the lesson was dull to Harry as they started with the basic building of incantations. When the class split up to go directly to the Great Hall for dinner since it was so late, Snape walked up to Harry and said in his quiet, monotonous voice:

“I would like to speak to you, Mr Potter, this evening in my office.”

“Yes, Sir,” answered Harry.

***

“It can’t be a detention. He awarded you points,” said Ron while shoving huge forkfuls of mashed potatoes in his mouth at the Gryffindor table.

“You were awesome!” Ginny said proudly and leaned her head on Harry’s shoulder.

“Maybe he’s going to say you can skip his lessons for some weeks. He actually told us that,” proposed Hermione.

“I think it only concerned you, Hermione. I can’t imagine that it would apply to me. But it made me furious that he was trying to get at you all the time. I just can’t understand why he had to pick on you. It wound me up,” said Harry. ”I had actually decided to lie low and not attract attention. Then I ended up ruining his lesson all the same.” Harry shook his head.

“It wasn’t ruined,” said Ginny. ”It was the best lesson ever with Snape. Except for pestering Hermione, he was actually quite civil and I managed to stay attentive for at least half the time, until we started to read those texts to each others...” Ron looked morosely at his sister.

”Snape was not in the least civil…” he muttered.

“The demonstration was meant to be a spectacular introduction to the subject. He never thought that anyone would actually have a try,” objected Harry. He looked up at the teacher’s table. Snape rose and made a gesture for him to follow. “Here goes. See you later,” said Harry and followed Snape out of the hall.

He caught up with his professor and they walked side by side in silence until they reached the Gargoyle statue that guarded the entrance to the headmaster’s office.

“Thor’s hammer,” murmured Snape and the statue moved to let them in.

“Thor’s hammer?” repeated Harry inquiringly.

“An Aisir - an ancient wizard in Iceland,” said Snape.

They moved up the spiral stairs to reach the round office where Harry had met with Professor Dumbledore so many times. Harry glanced eagerly towards the portrait where the old headmaster sat, sound asleep in a beautiful armchair. Some of the other inhabitants of the portraits that lined the walls were awake, though, and a whisper travelled from frame to frame.

“It’s Potter. Harry Potter‘s here!” Several of the old headmasters started to greet Harry with due respect and Harry answered politely.

“I need to have words with Mr Potter. You’ll express your admiration another time,” Snape snapped and the portraits fell silent. They were bound by loyalty to the sitting headmaster.

“Take a seat, please,” Snape gestured formally toward the chair opposite his own across the desk. “You made an astounding performance in class this afternoon, Mr Potter,” said Snape in a polite tone.

“Thank you, Sir,” Harry answered cautiously.

“I know that I said to Miss Granger that she would be exempted of lessons if she performed that incantation...” began Snape. Harry made a gesture. “Wait...” interrupted Snape. “Miss Granger always has an admirably accurate theoretical base of her knowledge and knows how to express it.“

“Why don’t you say that to her some time, Sir? She’d be happy to know you think so,” said Harry.

“She already knows she has. Why should I express the obvious? Don’t interrupt me, Potter,” Snape spat. Harry clenched his jaws. “With you, however, I felt that I had to check your knowledge a bit more thoroughly before giving you permission to skip classes and that’s why you’re here.” Suddenly Snape summoned a couple of books that flew through the air right past Harry’s left ear. He ducked and they landed on Snape’s desk.

“Here we go then,” said Snape. He interrogated Harry for at least an hour. Snape showed him different texts of incantations and made Harry explain the meaning and the construction of them. He asked him theoretical questions concerning the uses of incantations and made him perform two more incantations in the middle of his office.

“My conclusion…” Snape finally said, “… is that you have a great talent for incantations. You might not have been aware of that before. You have good phrasing, a steady voice that you know how to modulate by small means and you have an excellent left hand. You’ve grasped the construction of incantations and analyse them with absurd ease. I’d almost say that you play with them. You like it, don’t you?”

“Why, yes I do,” said Harry, less embarrassed by the praise since Snape spoke not with admiration in his voice, but only as if relating a matter-of-fact business.

“However...” Here it comes, thought Harry as Snape continued: “You express yourself in an immature way. You understand the essence of the subject, but you lack in language. I’d say this is something you have in common with other subjects that you take, not only Defence. Therefore you are to write me an essay, which you’ll hand in at the close of eight weeks from now, where you compare Healing Incantations to Protective Incantations used in the Defence Against the Dark Arts. Start off with three or four incantations and develop an argumentation where you point out likenesses and differences. Pay attention in particular to the way you express yourself. You will in the mean time be exempt of Defence classes. This is not a punishment, Mr Potter, this is for your own good, to develop your language to something a little bit more passable in the adult world.” Snape looked ready to refute Harry’s protests, but Harry didn’t utter any.

“Which books should I read?” he simply asked.

Snape looked taken aback.

“I’ve read “Building Incantations Part one and Part two” and some tomes on Healing Incantations,” said Harry.

“Something a bit more advanced then...” said Snape. “I believe there’s something right here among the books Dumbledore left.” He scanned the bookshelves. “There it is, just the subject: “The Core of Incantations” by Silvia Tern.” Snape summoned a book with green covers and golden print. Harry received it reverently.

“It’s beautiful! Can I borrow it?”

“You may, I don’t think Professor Dumbledore would have minded,” said Snape. Harry turned the leaves carefully.

“Look, there’s a part on Ancient Magic at the end of the book,” Harry said excitedly. Dumbledore had spoken of Ancient Magic from time to time as of something Voldemort did not understand the value of. Dumbledore had deplored that it was forgotten knowledge and not fully appreciated for its worth in the modern wizard world. Ancient Magic was the magic of love that Harry’s mother had used to protect him against Voldemort when he was a baby. Suddenly, he thought that he detected a movement within the frame of Dumbledore’s portrait. When he looked up, he met a pair of blue eyes for a fraction of a second.

“He’s awake!” exclaimed Harry and rose so abruptly that the book in his hands fell down on the desk with a thud.

“Careful with the book!” scolded Snape, but Harry took no notice. He walked up expectantly to the portrait of Dumbledore who had his eyes closed again.

“Are you awake, Sir? Please, Professor Dumbledore, are you there?”  Harry spoke eagerly.

“He sleeps all the time. They’re not supposed to visit real life for a while after their deaths in order not to influence posterity,” supplied Snape.

“But I saw his eyes. He peeked at me.” Harry gestured agitatedly towards the portrait.

“I know, he does that from time to time.“ Snape tried to calm Harry down. “He made an exception last year and was unusually active. We spoke frequently then. He was still engaged in the fight against Voldemort and counselled me, but since I came back after my recovery I haven’t spoken to him once. Those are the rules. He shouldn’t influence his successors. It might take years before he wakes up again in that portrait.” Harry still stood right beneath the painting and looked longingly at Dumbledore.

“I only want to talk to you for a little while, Professor,” pleaded Harry. “Please!”

“That’s enough, Mr Potter! Harry! Back off from that portrait now!” barked Snape.

Harry lowered his head and took a few steps back.

“I miss him,” he mumbled in a stifled voice. He returned to the desk and grabbed the book with his left hand. Disappointment and regret flooded his body. He covered his eyes with the right hand and fought to compose himself.

When Harry looked up again, Snape lent over the desk to put his wand down in an elegant wand-holder, placed at the farther edge. He glanced at Harry in exactly the same moment as Harry removed his hand. When Snape met Harry’s green eyes so close to his own, he was taken by surprise. He flinched and his wand made a jerk. Snape’s dark eyes widened and sucked in the green ones. Suddenly Harry’s sight was blurred.

He heard the voice of a woman reciting in a singing tone. His mother appeared in front of him. Her face was wrought up in concentration and she had her wand out. She circled around him and Harry lost sight of her as she passed behind his back. His eyes fastened on a big book with gilt-edged pages which lay open on a table in front of him. He tried to touch it and saw chubby baby hands stretch out in front of him. The book was out of reach but his mother came back in his field of vision, still singing and gesturing. Harry heard another voice. Clear, monotonous little cries. But the baby was not in distress, it was trying to imitate his mother. His cries grew louder - he was singing and the voice mixed with his mother’s. At that moment his mother’s face broke up into a warm smile. She laughed. “Harry!” she exclaimed with exasperation. “You mustn’t do that. Mummy’s trying to concentrate.” She approached him and kissed his cheeks playfully. Her hand cupped the back of his head. He was wrapped up in love. “I think I’ve got it,” she whispered to him. Her green eyes were shining.

In Snape’s office, Harry staggered backwards with a roar.

“Why did you do that for?” he shouted at Snape. Tears splashed down his cheeks, in equal parts out of emotion elicited from the memory as out of anger over Snape’s intrusion. “How dare you use Legilimency on me?” Snape had retreated as far from Harry as possible and stood frozen with his back to the wall behind his desk.

“It was unintentional,” Snape managed to articulate. His face was white as a sheet.

“You forbid me even to speak her name and then you violate my mind and bring back memories of her that I didn’t even know I possessed!” Harry continued to rage. Some colour reappeared in Snape’s face.

“It’s your own doing! Getting yourself all emotional over a dead old man,” he spat angrily and gestured towards Dumbledore’s portrait.  “It makes you susceptible! You brought this on!”

“You shall never Legilimency me again,” Harry hissed back furiously, “...nor Obliviate me!” he added. “Leave my mind alone, Professor!”

“Get out of here, Harry Potter!” Snape countered at the top of his voice as Harry walked out of the office with his back straight.