Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

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Thanks for reading or at the very least, clicking on this. Please give this story at least a shot and I will try and make it worth your while. Any and all reviews are welcome even its just a smiley or sad face. I plan for this to be a pretty long story and I will try to update regularly. Also just a warning it does contain child abuse, some violence and possibly torture way later in the story. Well Happy Reading!
The Circle of Idiots
“You're not seriously considering this Albus?”

“Severus, I implore you to see reason. We are running out of time, Voldermort has already begun to search and it won't be long before he figures out its location.”

The old wizard truly did begin too look a bit disturbed and his demeanour was serious but Severus was simply not backing down from this,

“I understand that but we will Find. Another. Way. I will search away from England or...”

“Severus” Dumbledore cut him off sharply. “We have been searching for weeks already, and as much as I am loathe to admit it…. We need a parseltongue and we have a willing participant. We are not sending him out alone or unguarded either, you will be there."

Snape inwardly groaned at the thought, to spend that much time with Potter would surely be torture.

“He is not part of the Order, nor is he ever ready to be! His arrogance and impulsive nature will surely compromise any covert mission, to say nothing of how much this will inflate Potter's ego. Who's to say he won't tell all of Gryffindor about what we are doing in a bid for more attention?”

Dumbledore regarded him coldly and he knew his feeble protests would not be enough.

“I trust you to impress on him the secrecy of this mission. Severus we have spent long enough searching, it's time we use the resources we have. I trust you in this and I hope you would trust my judgment as well.”

Snape inwardly grimaced, there was no way he could protest now without it looking like he didn't trust Dumbledore or was willing to do a disservice to the Order simply out of spite. Sometimes the old man was an excellent manipulator, he simply knew exactly which buttons to press.

“Very well headmaster.”

Dumbledore's annoyingly cheery smile returned and Severus began to exit the room, before he got to the door however the old wizard spoke,

“You never know Severus, you might even find the boy isn't such terrible company; after all he is Lily's son.”

Snape simply scoffed and made his way down the the stone staircase grumbling about "petulant teenagers" and "meddling old men".

***


Harry was having what had to be one of his worst summer's. He had heard practically nothing from Ron, Hermione or Sirius and told nothing of Voldemorts activities since he returned. However these were the least of his problems; far more annoying was the Dursley's. He had never been exactly loved here but it was getting steadily worse and worse, his back and torso were littered with bruises and cuts. His Uncle had been more heavy handed ever since Aunt Marge had died and he had been demoted in his job at Grunning's. Not that this was any of Harry's fault but that didn't seem to matter. He was pretty much resigned to it at this point, he couldn't really go anywhere else due to the blood-wards and it wasn't like he had to spend the rest of his life here; A few more years and he would be out of here and free to do what he wanted. His heart leapt at the thought. This was just one thing he had to deal with, take a bit of pain then get back to Hogwarts and see his friends. Besides this was nothing compared to his previous escapades right? he could hardly complain about a few knocks from his Uncle in comparison to to being cruico’d by Voldermort. He shivered at the thought of the graveyard and….Cedric.

'BOY! Get down here!'

He quickly got up, not willing to risk his Uncle’s wrath simply to dwell in his own depressing thoughts.

When he got to the bottom of the stairs his Uncle simply pushed a bucket and sponge into his hands.

“You’ve got 10 minutes, I want the car sparkling.” with that he promptly left.

Harry walked out onto the driveway and stared at the brutish car he thought matched its owner and began working. Only a couple minutes passed before someone Harry truly detested approached from the road.

“Hey Freak! would you like some help.” He said with a devilish grin

Harry just hoped he could get Dudley to leave him before his Uncle came back. Who knows what Dudley would try and pull.

“Think I’m fine big D” he said with mock enthusiasm, maybe if he played along Dudley would get bored. No such luck,

“You sure? ‘cause I think I could really help. See this colour just doesn’t look too good on the car, it could use a change.” He reached down and grabbed a large pile of dirt and chucked it squarely at a window.

Harry sighed, it had to be a window he had already cleaned.

“Brown looks soooo much better right?” he was daring Harry to protest but the young wizard simply continued cleaning, it wouldn’t be worth rising to the bait.

Angered, Dudley began grabbing more handfuls of dirt and pelting the car with more clumps of dirt.

“Stop! Stop!”

“Why? surely you could just fix it with your little stick.”

Harry was sure he’d do more than just that if he’d been allowed to use his wand.

At that moment a very angry Vernon emerged from the doorway.

“What in BLOODY HELL happened to my car!?”

Dudley smirked and Harry feared that the next words that came out of his cousins mouth would surely doom him.

“Well Dad I came just in time to see the freak throwing dirt at the car, I tried to stop him but he wouldn’t listen to me. I think he was throwin' a tantrum or somethin’. ”

All Harry could do was glare angrily and turn to face his inevitable punishment.

“WHAT!” he grabbed Harry’s shoulder, hard, and pulled him inside. He tried pointlessly to defend himself by mentioning Dudley had a hand but his Uncle ignored him.

“Wanted to get revenge did ya boy!? thought you could get away damaging one of my personal items and blame it all on Dudley?” Harry fell to the ground where his Uncle had backed him against the wall

“Well this is MY HOUSE! and MY RULES!” he pulled Harry up and aimed and a meaty fist that connected with his head.

“Vernon! Remember don’t leave something they’ll notice….” Aunt Petunia ran in having been drawn in by the noise.

Vernon stopped his next blow when Petunia’s words sunk in. Instead he grabbed Harry’s tender shoulder and dragged the boy into the cupboard under the stairs and slid the deadbolt lock into place.

“Perhaps you should spend sometime in here to think.” he words were frighteningly calm and Harry realised that his Uncle was trying very hard to restrain himself, a fact that simply made him more wary.

The rest of his relatives walked away including Dudley who kicked the door on his way out. Harry laid down on the too-small mattress riddled with holes and looked up at the dusty wooden supports. It had been awhile since he’d been banished to his cupboard but he still remembered it well. In way it was happily familiar, at least he’d be away from his Uncle for the time being. His stomach grumbled in protest as though it knew it would not be getting fed anytime soon. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep even though it was only 5 in the afternoon, it was usually a good way to pass time when one was stuck in a closet.

Unfortunately sleep didn’t come, so he tried to entertain himself with thoughts of what Ron and Hermione were doing. He imagined Ron playing exploding Snap with one of the twins, then challenging them to wizarding chess when he lost. He could see Hermione in a book store somewhere as she carefully chose which book she’d take home, intense contemplation on her face. He nearly laughed at his own imagination and continued thinking through different scenarios.

***

Severus Snape was more than unhappy. He’d accepted the task Dumbledore had given him carefully, it was risky to say the least and now he’d have to drag along the stupid brat as well! He had taken his time before collecting the boy, enjoying his last Potter-free hours but he supposed it’d be better to get this done and over with.

He apparated into Privet drive, careful to do so at night so he’d have less chance of being seen by any wayward muggles. He sneered as he realised he’d probably have to talk to Potters relatives, perhaps they’d protest when they realised he intended to take Potter. He didn’t really know how he would convince them, after all it wasn’t like where they were going was safe.

He finally spotted number four and made his way to the door and knocked. A very large beefy man opened the door and Snape didn’t bother to hide his disgust.

“I’m looking for Potter.”

Vernon Dursley grew angry at that and pointed a pudgy finger at Snape noting the strange clothing.

“You’re one of them…. Aren’t you!”

Snape regarded the man cooly, “If you mean a wizard then yes. I am a Professor at the school your nephew attends. I require Potter to accompany me, we will be…..”

Vernon’s barked laughed interrupted Snape to which he responded with a menacing scowl.

“You want the boy? Great, take him.”

Well, he was a little thrown at that. He had definitely expected more resistance, he hadn’t even told the man where he intended to take Potter. He watched on curiously from the doorway as Vernon opened a cupboard and pulled out a very disheveled looking Potter out of it. Snape smirked as Potter stared at him in shock.

“Prof… Professor Snape!”

He simply inclined his head, “Potter.” the beefy man left as soon as he retrieved the boy and he was left standing in the doorway

“You have exactly 3 minutes to collect your belongings, we are leaving.”

he didn’t bother to offer any more of an explanation as Potter ran up the stairs to where he presumed the boy’s room would be.

He inspected the house out of boredom as he waited. It seemed Potter’s relatives didn’t have any manners, they had left a guest, a Professor no less, at the door without even bothering to invite him in and offer a beverage. Not that he would’ve accepted anyway, he wanted to leave as soon as possible. There were plenty of pictures adorning the walls but curiously none containing the Boy-Who-Lived. There was however, a very large chubby boy who strongly resembled Vernon Dursley. Snape assumed this was Potter’s cousin, said boy chose that moment to come thundering down the stairs and stopped in surprise briefly as he saw Snape.

“Who are you?”

Snape grimaced at the greeting. Did this boy have absolutely no respect? he thought he’d perhaps use this as an opportunity to find out a little more about Potter. Perhaps he could keep the boy in line if he had something to tease about from his home life.

“I just moved in a few houses down and came to introduce myself. My name is Professor Snape, do you live here with just your parents? No brothers or sisters?”

the lie was far from smooth but the boy didn’t notice at all.

“Well there’s also my werido cousin. I’d stay away from him if I were you, normally he’s at St Brutus a school for criminals and stuff but during the summer he’s here. I go to Smeltings, one of the top schools in the country.” he clearly said the last sentence looking for praise but Snape wasn’t willing to indulge him. Instead he was thinking on what the boy had said, so they told the neighbourhood that Potter went to a school for criminals?

he was about to ask more question when he noticed Potter coming down the stairs with his trunk and bag in hand, strangely there was a large padlock on the trunk.

“Let’s go Potter.” he spoke using a very menacing tone hoping to make Potter hurry, it did indeed work. Potter’s cousin was now gwaking at both of them and before he could get a word in Potter had passed the doorway and Snape closed the door in satisfaction. To his surprise Potter also seemed to be looking on in amusement.

“Uh Sir, what exactly were you talking to Dudley about?”

“It’s of little consequence now.” he pointed his wand at Potter’s trunk and bag quickly shrinking them both and Potter pocketed them.

“Grab my arm.” the boy hesitantly did so and they disappeared from Privet drive.

When they landed Potter had turned vey pale and looked like he was trying very hard not to be sick. Snape allowed the boy a moment, he was aware of how uncomfortable disapperating was for those not used to it and he’d really rather not have Potter vomit all over his shoes.

After a minute had passed he walked forwards with his usual long strides.

“What, pray tell were you doing in a cupboard Potter?”

Potter was a little stunned and Snape knew he’d picked a good question to antagonize the boy. He also noticed the bruise on the boy’s face when he turned to answer him.

“I was looking for the vacuum. Sir”

“And this vacuum also happened to attack you while you were in there?”

Potter looked rather confused at that before understanding washed over his features and his hand unconsciously went to the discoloured skin on his face.

“Ah no.” the boy quickened his strides when he realised he was falling behind. “I….. fell down.”

Snape rolled his eyes, the boy was an open book. It was extremely obvious he was lying. Figuring he must of gotten into a fight with some other kids, he dropped the matter.

“How clumsy of you Potter.”

They walked in silence for awhile, the road they were on was wide and there were very few houses along the street. Severus still kept an eye out for anyone who might have been tailing them, he was after all, travelling with the golden boy.

“Professor, uh where exactly are we going? and why?” Severus was actually a little surprised it had taken the boy this long to ask,

“We are travelling to my house and I will answer why we are doing so later, when we are in a safer location.” knowing that probably gave Potter more questions than answers he smugly took in Potter’s frustrated expression.

Neither spoke for a little while lapsing into uncomfortable silence, until another question came from the blasted boy.

“How can I be sure you’re even Professor Snape?” Apparently the boy was at least sensible enough to question that, even if it would have been to late to act if he had been a Death Eater.

“Ask me something only I know then Potter.”

“What was the last detention you gave me for?”

“For wasting an entire jar of lacewing flies when you carelessly knocked it over on your way out of class.” He had made the boy scrub cauldrons for hours after that, perhaps a little more than nessecary.

“Nice to know it’s the real you Professor.” sarcastically mumbled Potter, he too apparently remembered the punishment.

He would’ve scolded the boy for a lack of respect but they had finally arrived at their destination. A building of considerable size stood before them and Snape began speaking the words which would temporarily dismantled the wards and allow them access.

“Potter, welcome to Prince Manor.”

***

Harry couldn’t help the surprised expression that crossed his face when he took in the building that was meant to be Snape’s home. If he had been asked what he thought Snapes home would have look like, he would’ve probably said dungeons, darkness and something akin to a prison. Instead the house looked almost, well, inviting. It hard a small grassy area out the front including a variety of plants that looked suspiciously like potion ingredients with long vines and leaves with silver streaks. The house was wide, tall and made of brick, a small stubby chimney jutting out. A short cobblestone path led up to a door covered with intricate patterns of swirls that seemed to start moving if you stared at them too long.

“Potter close your mouth before you start swallowing flies.”

He quickly schooled his expression and walked hurriedly to catch up with Snape.

“Sir, this is your house?” he had no idea how much the teachers at Hogwarts were paid but he was pretty sure it wasn’t enough to afford this.

“Were you expecting an underground lair filled with coffins?”

yes “Not exactly.”

Snape looked at him as if he had read his thoughts.

“Well Potter if you must know, this Manor was passed down from my mothers side, hence the name Prince. As I am the last remaining heir it was given to me, although my grandmother would surely be rolling in her grave at that.”

To be honest Harry had never given Snape’s family much thought, he just assumed that the man lived in the dungeons brewing potions and waiting to catch rule breaking students. Now he realised how little he truly knew about blood lines and pureblood families, perhaps Snape’s family was similar to the Malfoy’s, a thought that made him shudder, although from the sounds of it they were mostly deceased.

“This place is invisible to muggles and wizards alike, it is covered in so many wards, new and ancient, it would take even the Dark Lord himself days to dismantle them. While you are staying here you will not travel beyond the grass area both here in the front and backyard. Do I make myself clear?” Snape sounded exactly like he did when explaining school rules.

Harry nodded briskly, “Crystal clear, Sir.”

They had now reached the door and Snape placed his hand on the swirling patterns where it lit up with bright light beneath his fingers and once again muttered a few lines of latin.

The door swung open and Snape walked in without hesitating, Harry on the other hand stopped for a moment in trepidation before placing a foot forward and cautiously entering. It seemed possible that this was a trap but he was way to deep already too resist at this point.

Snape manoeuvred into a spacious living room that hard a very large fireplace surrounded by comfortable looking sofas; to Harry’s surprise the room was not awash with Slytherin green but rather royal blue and silver. The curtains, the pillows, the rugs and the blankets all matched.

“Mr Potter, unless you intend to stand there all night I suggest you take a seat.”

He now realised that Snape was staring intensely at him and he couldn’t ignore the feeling of being scrutinised, his baggy T-shirt and wide jeans definitely felt out of place in the luxurious Manor. He quickly took the sofa across from Snape in an effort to create some distance. He decided to start talking first in an effort to take some control.

“Uh, Sir? Why exactly am I here?”

Snape snorted then replied “A question we’d both like the answer to.”

Harry hoped Snape would elaborate and stayed silent.

“Well Mr Potter, it seems that the headmasters biased view of you seems to have finally been translated into actions that could possibly doom us all.”

What was he meant to say to that?

“Tell me are you aware of an organisation by the name of the Order of the Phoenix?”

“Uhh, no”

“Hmph, well what I am about to tell must be kept secret. If you even think about using this to flaunt your fame and reveal to your many fans your dashing bravery and boldness you will find yourself perhaps of a victim of a potion gone wrong where you are unable to utter another sound. That would teach you a lesson in secrecy. You will not breath a word of this to another living soul.”

Even though he was being scolded he couldn’t help but feel a little excited, after not hearing a word from anyone since Voldemort had risen he jumped at the chance for new information.

“I understand sir.”

“Be sure that you do Potter.” he levelled a deadly scowl at him that made him wish he’d put more distance between them then just the glass table.

“The Order of the Phoenix was created by Dumbledore in the first war against the Dark Lord. It was a group of powerful witches and wizards dedicated to defeating him and his followers, I myself was a member. In light of recent events the Headmasterhas tried to reform the Order along with some new additions.”

Harry was ecstatic at the news, so Dumbledore was doing something, they did have a plan. He just wasn’t quite sure were Snape was going with this.

“Are you inviting me to join Sir?”

apparently this was the wrong thing to say because Snape now looked completely enraged, his eyes glinting with anger.

“Potter exactly how arrogant are you! You believe that you, a wizard who is in his 5th year and with only just passable grades would be among witches and wizards who have trained and studied their entire lives!? Perhaps you thought your celebrity status would allow you to do whatever you liked, that no one would question the great Boy-Who-Lived when he joined an organisation with no training, no experience and no common sense!”

Snape seemed to calm done slightly after his rant and Harry simply sat patiently hoping that he wouldn’t anger the Potions Master any further.

“So no Potter, you will not be joining the Order any time soon.” Harry simply just tried to stare at the rug beneath him noting one thread that had seemed to come loose.

Snape sighed heavily clearly not enjoying the next bit of information he was about to relay “However, there is a task that must be completed for the Order and Professor Dumbledore has asked that I do so. Unfortunately it also requires a skill that no one in the Order posses nor anybody else who could possibly help us, believe me I have looked.”

Harry was more than curious now, what exactly did they need that they apparently thought Harry could do?

“What exactly is this skill?”

Snape really looked like he din’t want to say the next sentence, “The ability to talk to snakes,”

“Parseltongue? Why on earth is that important? What exactly is this mission?”

He could tell Snape was done explaining and he was torn between pushing further and trying to prevent Snape getting any angrier.

“Potter! I believe that is more than enough information for tonight, it is late and I do value my time sleeping. I will show you where you will be staying temporarily.”

He got up and his robes twirled with a daunting swoosh and Harry once again had to nearly run to catch up with the man.

They walked up a set of stairs Harry hadn’t even noticed until now and into a hallway containg many doors.

Snape stopped abruptly at one door and opened it,

“These will be your quarters, you are allowed in this room, the bathroom, the library, the kitchen, the living room and the yard area. If I find you in anywhere else I wont hesitate in making you scrub cauldrons for the rest of your time at Hogwarts.”

A threat which Harry took seriously. He pointed to the door next to them

“The Bathroom”

then to one door down

“My quarters, you may knock if you need me but you are never to enter without permission unless you are moments away from death. Any questions?”

“Ah Sir, would you mind enlarging my trunk and bag?” he pulled the miniature bag and trunk from his pockets.

Snape just scowled and pointed his wand at them and Harry fought to keep his balance at the sudden weight, he also remembered something else.

“Sir would…. could you also please unlock the padlock on my trunk?” he had no idea if Snape would actually do so but it was worth a shot, he’d at least have access to his things then.

“Potter even for locking your schoolbooks away is a foolhardy attempt at avoiding homework.”

he couldn’t help his retort at the comment, "I didn’t lock them away!”

Snape just looked at him like he was sure he was lying but did point his wand at the padlock and muttered an “alohomora”.

“Breakfast is at 8, be on time”

He left almost immediately after that shutting his own door behind him.

“Well good night to you too Professor..” Harry grumbled.

He then took stock of the very large nice looking room around him, it was at least 3 times the the size of the bedroom he’d had at the Dursley’s complete with a very large double bed. Like the rest of the house it was furnished with blue and silver colours that Harry found he very much enjoyed. He couldn’t help himself and he flung himself face forward onto the bed and breathed a sigh of relief. Even if he was stuck with Snape he couldn’t help but relish staying somewhere where he had a large comfortable bed, food and wasn’t forced to spend all day doing chores. He was so relaxed he jumped when he heard a small crack, he looked around for the source of the noise and found it on his bedside table.

There was a small jar where there most definitely hadn’t been before, as well as a note.

He picked up the jar and examined it, it seemed to be an off white paste with an almost creamy texture. The note was undeniably Snapes fluid hand writing

Mr Potter, bruise cream for your face. Couldn’t have Dumbledore thinking his golden boy was getting hurt.

Snape had given him bruise cream? well that surely seemed odd, maybe he was trying to poison him. However he couldn’t resist the temptation of perhaps easing some of the aches of the various bruises around his body.

He viewed himself in the mirror and applied a large dab of the paste to the bruise on his cheek, to his amazement the paste quickly turned clear and the bruise faded away leaving only a ghost of its presence. He removed his shirt and began to apply it to his arms where he been grabbed forcefully a few to many times and to the discoloured skin on his chest. The more severe bruises didn’t disappear as much as the one on his face but he was still extremely pleased, he was definitely going to have to learn how to make this stuff. Unfortunately he couldn’t reach his back nearly well enough to apply the paste but he felt a lot less strained from the bruises he had applied the cream to.

He placed the jar back on the bedside table along with his glasses and wand and reveled in the feeling of being in a bed not riddled with holes and the aching of his body somewhat dispelled. He feel asleep almost immediately into blissful darkness.

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