Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

Story Notes:

Warning: In this fic Harry only makes himself known in an indirect way. Already in the second part of this series  - Chills Part II: Chills of a doom -there will be ample interaction between Snape and Harry however.

Chapter 1

The welcoming feast at Hogwarts, at the start of term the year that Voldemort overtook the rule of the magical community of Britain, was a sordid affair. Even a pureblood like Draco Malfoy seemed dismayed at the number of empty seats at the tables in the Great Hall. At least a quarter of last year’s pupils did not feel welcome or feared the sitting regime enough to voluntarily suspend themselves from Hogwarts prominent school of Witchcraft and Wizardry - a school that, for centuries back, had seen every family with magical members aspire to have their children accepted to. 

 

The absence of Harry Potter and his friends was conspicuous, of course. Several of the students nonetheless sought the Gryffindor table out, in a naive reflex, just to make sure he was not there. Harry Potter had been a pupil of their school for six years and they had been curious about him, admired him, envied him, pitied him, doubted him and hated him, in turns, but it still was not until they actually realised that he was gone - probably out there somewhere, preparing to fight You-know-who - that they realised, with a mixture of disbelief and dread, the chilling reality of things. They were at war. Some people, many of them Slytherins, accepted and acclaimed the new regime - more or less embracing, more or less reluctant. Others only cautiously played along and others still were out there resisting the new order. Some of the young had, until today, naively thought that, maybe, things would not have to change, but the welcoming feast taught them differently.

 

There were no laughs, very few smiles on the pupils’ faces and even the house ghosts kept their mouths shut. The new headmaster, Severus Snape, made an inauguration speech where he emphasised that he would tolerate no pranks, no chit-chat, no foolishness at all. He stated that the school of Hogwarts would from now on be a model of discipline in honour of the Dark Lord. 

 

”Our new leader aspires to a pure and successful magical society and it is only up to you to obey his orders if you want to belong to that illustrious community,” said the headmaster. The black-clad professor was as pale as an inferus and as stiff as an effigy made of ice.

 

The youngest Weasley was seated at the Gryffindor table. The red-headed, alert girl had a serious expression on her face and whispered to a tall, dark-headed boy. It was Neville Longbottom that had grown into a round-shouldered and heavy-looking young man. The two Gryffindors had deliberately left three empty seats next to them, located at the table where Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley used to sit when they attended Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall noticed and ignored their trick, but when the new headmaster discovered their attempt of silent protest, he glared warningly at the young couple, spoke a few harsh words to Gryffindor’s head of house, almost without parting his thin, blood-less lips, and made her fill the empty seats with newly sorted first-years. The loathing in Professor McGonagall’s eyes could not be hidden as she ushered the first years forth to their new places, with jerky gestures .

 

When it was time for the pupils to regain their houses, in neat, silent lines, Draco Malfoy, Prefect of Slytherin, had a minor altercation with a fifth year boy from his house. Since his attempted murder on Albus Dumbledore the previous spring, the young Malfoy’s aristocratic, self-important manners were tinged with an ever so slight amount of irresolution and he hesitated a fraction of a second before he reprimanded the fretting adolescent.

 

The exchange drew the attention of one of the newly appointed teachers, Amycus Carrow, who Draco knew as a Death Eater from the meetings at Malfoy Manor. Before anyone knew what had happened, the coarse man had drawn his wand and the insubordinate fifteen year old was wriggling and howling on the floor under a Cruciatus curse. Draco let out a yelp and took a stumbling step back. The headmaster took a step forward, but arrested himself when Carrow lifted his curse. The pupils in the hall had frozen in their movements and held a collective breath. 

 

”The headmaster called for obedience,” Amycus Carrow bellowed. ”You should all submit to your prefects’ orders and you…” He pointed at the terror-struck Draco, ”…should not hesitate to punish the offenders. There should be no weakness! You prefects are the elongated arm of the authority at Hogwarts and you should learn to put yourself in respect! It is time you make your father proud, Mr Malfoy. I’ll be happy to give you some private tutoring.” Draco gaped at the teacher. His limbs were trembling. A couple of pupils had raised the cruciated boy up and supported him. He looked shaken, but not seriously harmed. The headmaster advanced.

 

”Take your fellow pupils down to your house, Mr Malfoy,” Snape said in a tight, but controlled voice. He continued, louder, addressing the other prefects. ”Leave to your dormitories, all of you. In proper order. Now!” As he turned around, Snape whispered in Amycus Carrow’s ear: ”A word in my office, Mr Carrow.” 


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