Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

Professor Snape Is Really Nice
“Wear this hat to cover up your scar.”

Harry frowned. “Why?”

“Because I said so, mostly.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Do you have your list of school supplies?”

“Er… no, I threw that away.”

Professor Snape pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Of course you did. Well, we’ll simply have to muddle through. The stores usually have their own list of school supplies, anyway.”

“Wouldn’t you know what I need, sir?” Harry asked. “I mean, you are a professor and all.”

“I am a potions professor who focuses on his own classroom, not on first years needs for every class.”

“Oh,” said Harry. “I’m sorry.”

“Whatever for?”

“For throwing the list away.”

Professor Snape sighed again. “I can hardly blame you for believing it to be a prank as you had no knowledge of the existence of magic. That fault lies with your relatives.”

Harry shrugged, though the professor didn’t see it as he was walking ahead of him. Where they were going, Harry wasn’t quite sure, but he trailed behind the man regardless.

They came to a halt in a deserted alleyway and Harry felt just a bit of apprehension as the professor took his arm (albeit a bit grudgingly) and warned him to brace himself. What followed was an absolutely horrid sensation, Harry felt as though he was turning inside out and what must have only been a matter of seconds felt like hours.

“Here,” Professor Snape’s voice came as Harry was swaying on the grounds of who knows where, “drink this.” He handed him some sort of glass container and after he had swallowed it Harry supposed that it went to show just how gullible he was to accept a drink from a practical stranger who had informed him of the existence of magic.

He thought idly of how he had believed him quite easily even as he had yet to see magic, but then he looked up as the nausea faded away and found himself in a world so abnormal that it couldn’t be anything but magical. The streets were made of cobblestone and the buildings were so, so… strange. Some of them certainly couldn’t have kept themselves held together without the existence of magic. The colors were so very vibrant and surely wouldn’t be acceptable in a world that hosted simplistic neighborhoods such as Little Whinging.

Harry felt very nervous all of a sudden, realizing just how out of his depth he was in this new world. He understood the non-magical world well enough, he wasn’t welcomed in it for the most part, and he desperately wanted to be welcome and accepted in this world but he didn’t even know where to start. It seemed as though it could only end in disaster.

He shuffled a bit closer to Professor Snape, perhaps hoping to gain some form of comfort from him. The man sighed (did he ever stop doing that?) and placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder, steering him in the direction of a tall building that seemed to sway at the top, labeled Gringotts Bank.

***

“Your aunt and uncle called, they should be back tomorrow afternoon,” Mrs. Figg said as they arrived back at her house and Professor Snape was unshrinking Harry’s purchases. There were so many things needed to begin a wizarding education, Harry didn’t know where on earth he would even begin, or how he could possibly be expected to catch up with his peers who had had their whole entire lives to learn what they would consider to be the basics.

Harry nodded glumly. What a rotten way to end an otherwise nice day. Well, at least he would only have to spend one more month with the Dursleys before school started. That also meant he would be away from Gary, though…

“Thank you for taking me shopping today, Professor,” Harry said, regarding Professor Snape. “I’ll look forward to seeing you again come September.”

Professor Snape seemed to be a bit conflicted about something. “Actually… I thought that it might be more… prudent, if you were to come to visit Hogwarts with me this afternoon.”

“Prudent?” Mrs. Figg snorted. “Severus, really…”

Professor Snape sent her a glare. “Yes, prudent. I’m sure that the headmaster would enjoy seeing you again, Mr. Potter.”

Harry furrowed his brow. “Why? He could have visited me here anytime.”

The professor blew out a breath. “Yes, well, the headmaster is a very busy man. Come.”

Harry glanced at Mrs. Figg as if asking for permission and she only smiled humorously, so he followed Professor Snape for another glorious round of a- apear- apparating. He gripped his hand perhaps a bit more forcibly than necessary, and they did that terrible thing again. They landed in a shopping district again, but this time it was not Diagon Alley with its brightly colored shops, but a snowy little village that a sign announced as Hogsmeade.

Harry shivered a little in his t-shirt. “How is it snowing here in August?”

“While I imagine that ‘magic’ would serve as a sufficient enough answer for you,” the man said, picking up a stick and with a wave of his wand turning it into a cloak(!?), “the factual answer would be that Hogsmeade is above the snow line. It snows here 365 days of the year.”

“Wow,” Harry said as the professor draped the cloak around his shoulders, “that’s like, every day of the year, isn’t it?”

Professor Snape made some sort of weird choking noise in his throat but eventually informed him that yes, there were 365 days in a year (excluding leap year).

They started down a long winding path, where it gradually became less snowy as they walked. Harry was a bit sad to see the snow go, but he was still chilly even with the cloak so it wasn’t so bad. It wasn’t too terribly long before he could see a great castle appearing in the distance.

“Oh,” Harry breathed, unable to prevent himself from stopping to stare. “It- it’s a castle.”

“Did I not mention that?” Professor Snape asked, taking him gently by the elbow and guiding him through the remainder of the path. Harry shook his head. The view only became more breathtaking as they journeyed closer to the castle, and Harry struggled not to trip over his own two feet.

“You’ll have plenty of time to admire the castle throughout your seven year residence here, Mr. Potter,” said Professor Snape. “Do try to refrain from using your mouth as a fly trap.”

Harry clamped his mouth shut with an audible snap. It was really difficult not to gawk, though. He’d never seen anything like Hogwarts before, and it was even better on the inside. Long corridors, great halls, talking portraits. He could hardly manage to wrap his head around any of this before they reached a large and ugly gargoyle. Professor Snape murmured something that Harry didn’t quite catch and the gargoyle moved aside, like magic.

Harry had really better get used to all of this magic business before school started.

They then stepped onto a circular stone staircase that moved, and Harry wondered absently if that was magic too or something along the lines of an elevator or escalator like at the mall. When the staircase reached the top they stepped off of it and into what Harry presumed to be the headmaster’s office. It was quite spectacular, really, though there did seem to be an absence of a headmaster as far as Harry could tell.

Professor Snape led Harry over to sit in a chair in front of the desk as he waved his wand in some random motion. Harry realized that he hadn’t once heard him utter a single spell while the wizards and witches in Diagon Alley were constantly spewing off strange words as they waved their wands around.

It was only a moment or two later when a very old man with a long white beard came into the room. He wore bright purple robes decorated with stars and Harry could have sworn that his eyes twinkled. If there ever was a time where Harry had imagined what a wizard looked like, this man was the perfect representation.

“Severus!” the man greeted joyfully. “And do my eyes deceive me, or is this Mister Harry Potter?”

“Heaven only knows what your eyes perceive, but they are correct in the assumption that this is Harry Potter, yes,” Professor Snape drawled with an air of drama that even Aunt Petunia couldn’t manage in her most delicate of moments.

The old man only grinned maniacally at this as he came over to shake Harry’s hand. “Harry! It is such a pleasure to see you again. I haven’t seen you since you were an infant.”

“Hullo, sir,” Harry greeted, returning the handshake. “Forgive me, but I’m afraid that I don’t quite remember making your acquaintance before.”

The man laughed while Professor Snape rolled his eyes. “Mr. Potter, this is the headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Albus Dumbledore.”

Professor Dumbledore took a seat behind his desk and offered Harry a lemon drop, which he accepted easily.

“You shouldn’t accept candy from strangers,” Professor Snape practically reprimanded. Harry shrugged.

“He’s not a stranger, sir, he’s the headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Albus Dumbledore.”

Professor Snape only sighed while Professor Dumbledore laughed again. “Ah, it seems like our Harry is a bit of a quipster. Much like his mother, yes?”

The question was directed at Professor Snape who suddenly looked quite pained, but Harry jumped on the mention of his mother.

“Really? Did you know my mum? What was she like? Was she pretty? Did she-”

“Mr. Potter, really,” Professor Snape interrupted him. “Enough with the vexatious questions. This isn’t an interview.”

“Yes, well, may I ask what this is then, Severus?” questioned Professor Dumbledore. “As far as I know, Harry here isn’t due to arrive at Hogwarts for another month yet, with his classmates.”

“As you well know, you sent me to take the boy to Diagon Alley.”

“Yes, and that was yesterday, I do believe.”

“I was unable to take the boy yesterday as by the time he arrived back home, it was quite late.”

Harry shifted uncomfortably. “Sorry, sir,” he murmured.

Professor Snape shook his head. “His relatives were not home. They have not been home for who knows how long. They went on vacation and left a ten-year-old child to fend for himself.”

“Eleven. And they’ve only been gone for a week or so,” Harry offered. He felt as though he fended for himself most of the time whether the Dursleys were home or not, anyway.

Professor Dumbledore frowned. “Where were you before returning home yesterday, Harry?”

“Erm, a friend’s house.” It wasn’t a lie, really. Gary was a friend.

“Well, not completely alone, then?”

“I hardly think that a fellow pre-adolescent would act as suitable supervision,” Professor Snape said, sounding annoyed.

“Surely there was an adult at this friend’s house, Harry?”

Harry hesitated for just a fraction of a second before nodding. He hadn’t been asked if his friend was the adult, after all.

“And this adult is so responsible that they did not have him stay there or even walk the boy to his empty home? I was a stranger and he blindly trusted me when I informed him of the existence of magic. Which, by the way, he did not know that he was a wizard or that wizards were even real.”

Harry flushed. “I did not blindly trust you…”

“Yes, you did. You may have hesitated for thirty seconds,” said Professor Snape. “You did not know me, and I could have easily been a danger to you.”

Harry crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah, well, you weren’t!”

“That is beside the point-”

“Severus,” Professor Dumbledore interrupted their argument, “is the situation really so dire? You know how valuable the protection he receives from the Dursleys is.”

Professor Snape seemed uncomfortable. “Headmaster, it’s… the boy sleeps in a cupboard. He’s skin and bones. He isn’t even staying with them at the moment as they left him alone to go out of town, so the question of protection is irrelevant at this point. It is an unsuitable home situation.”

The headmaster gazed at Professor Snape intently. “I trust your judgment, Severus. But what exactly are you proposing? Someone has to look after the child.”

“Surely Minerva would welcome him-”

“She is quite busy with her start of term duties, I don’t believe that she has the time nor the patience to look after a child, even one as well behaved as Mr. Potter.”

“Filius or Pomona, then.”

“They are out of the country until school is back in session.”

“Rubeus, surely!

“As much as I trust Hagrid, I hardly believe him to be suitable to look after a child for any long period of time.”

The child in question was beginning to feel just a bit annoyed. They were speaking as though he weren’t even there! “Can’t I just stay with Professor Snape? I mean, he’s really nice.”

Professor Snape looked as though he had smelt something foul in the air and Headmaster Dumbledore seemed to be struggling not to burst out in laughter. “Ah, he is very nice, isn’t he, my boy? Well, Severus, what do you think?”

Professor Snape glared at the headmaster. “What I think wouldn’t be suitable for a child’s ears, Headmaster.”

“It’s okay, Professor,” said Harry, “Uncle Vernon says a lot of bad words around me, and my ears are fine.”

Professor Snape rested his head in his hands while Professor Dumbledore stopped his attempts to reign in his laughter.

“See, Severus, the boy would be fine in your care, even if you manage to allow a few unsavory words to slip out from time to time.”

“I hardly wish to be considered on the same page as Uncle Vernon,” Professor Snape sneered.

“Oh, no, sir, I didn’t mean to be rude,” Harry assured. “You’re nothing like Uncle Vernon, really. I mean for starters, you probably weigh at least 20 stone less than him, and he has this weird and ugly mustache thing going on while you seem like the kind of guy who shaves every day, and-”

“I think I get the picture, Mr. Potter, thank you.”

“Of course, Professor,” Harry smiled.

“Well, Severus?” Professor Dumbledore said, beaming.

As usual, Professor Snape sighed.

***

For someone who obviously didn’t want Harry around, Professor Snape was very accommodating with his quarters. Then again, Harry had grown up in a cupboard, so he didn’t have very high expectations in that department.

He had his very own room (well, guest room, but he was still allowed to sleep in it unlike with the one at the Dursleys), was allowed to read anything within reach on the bookshelves (Harry didn’t really like to think about what the books on the higher shelves were about), and Professor Snape had instructed him that he would be eating three square meals a day, no exceptions. It was weird, and it was made even weirder with how awkward Professor Snape behaved at times. It was like he was aware that he was responsible for Harry but didn’t want to spend much time around him outside of making sure he was fed and went to bed at a decent time. He stayed in his potions lab for the most part, one of the two places Harry had been forbidden to enter in the quarters (the other being Professor Snape’s bedroom, which Harry had no desire to enter, anyway).

Harry wasn’t all that sure how he felt about the situation himself. A few days ago, he’d had no idea that magic actually existed and even after learning that, would have never expected to find himself living with a wizard in a school for magic.

For the most part, he felt that he liked it. He was still a bit worried about leaving Little Whinging so abruptly, though. Professor Snape had quickly retrieved his school supplies and things from Mrs. Figg and brought them back to the dungeons (which was where the professor lived, by choice!), but he hadn’t even had a chance to tell Gary goodbye or where he was going.

Maybe he could write him a letter? Harry had gotten an owl in Diagon Alley and he hadn’t seen her much since the as Professor Snape had insisted she be kept in the owlery rather than the dark dungeons without any windows, but he could use her to send a letter!

He supposed that he should ask Professor Snape for permission first, though, so he went over to the door of his potions lab and knocked. The man appeared a moment later, looking a bit disheveled.

“What is it?” he asked, sounding more than a little annoyed. Harry swallowed.

“Um, sir, I was just wondering, if I could send a letter to my friend? Explaining to him where I’ve gone? He’s likely a bit worried about me as I sort of just disappeared…”

Professor Snape frowned. “I suppose that is a valid concern, but you can’t tell him where you are or anything about being a wizard. Muggles aren’t to know about such things.”

“Muggles, sir?”

Professor Snape let out a heavy breath and stepped completely out of his lab, closing the door behind him. He went over to the living room and Harry sat down on the couch beside him. Professor Snape was probably trying to be subtle as he shifted away from him, but Harry noticed him doing so anyway.

“A muggle is someone without magic. Someone such as your friend, and your relatives. Likely most of the people you’ve met have been Muggles. We have laws in the wizarding world to prevent Muggles from learning of our existence. It’s best for everyone involved to keep it a secret.”

“Oh,” Harry said, digesting this. “Alright. But if magical and non-magical people are separated, how come I lived with Muggles? And how come my mum was a witch while her sister is a Muggle?”

“I suppose that is another thing you will need to know. Not all wizards and witches have magical parents, in fact, a large portion of the population does not. Your mother’s parents, your grandparents, were Muggles.”

“What about my dad?” asked Harry.

A muscle twitched in Professor Snape’s jaw. “Your father was a Pureblood.”

“Pureblood? Like a dog?” Aunt Marge was always going on about her pureblooded pups. He rather thought that a dog was a dog. And he wasn’t fond of dogs. Bulldogs in particular.

Professor Snape snorted. “Yes, I suppose so. Do keep in mind that this is all nonsense, but I will explain it to you regardless so that you are not lost in conversations with your classmates who did not grow up with Muggles as you did. In general, there are three categories for the blood status of wizards and witches. Pureblood, Half-Blood and Muggleborn. Some will refer to the last one as a Mudblood, which is a foul word you would do best to never utter, especially in my presence. Understood?”

Harry nodded fervently.

“Good. Now,” Professor Snape continued, “the wizarding world can be very prejudiced, and many will judge your worth based on your blood status. Your mother was a Muggleborn, your father came from a line of wizards and witches which made him a Pureblood, and that makes you a Half-Blood.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No, it is not. It does not matter. But as I said, many will make biased assumptions because of it. Purebloods tend to believe that they rank high above the rest of us and will make an effort to associate only with fellow Purebloods. Purebloods that do not follow that path are considered blood traitors. Half-Bloods are considered to be of only slightly more importance than Muggleborns, which are viewed very badly in these circles. As I said, it’s all a bunch of nonsense and you would do best not to pay any mind to it.”

“Yes, sir,” agreed Harry. “It sounds like a form of racism to me.”

Professor Snape nodded. “That’s exactly what it is.”

“What’s your blood status, sir? If I may ask?”

“Just as I said, it’s not of importance,” said Professor Snape. “But I am a Half-Blood like yourself.”

“Oh, that’s so cool!” said Harry. “We’re in the same cata- category.”

Professor Snape grimaced a bit but nodded again. “So it would seem. Now, back to the original topic. When writing to your Muggle friend, you will have to tell him that you have been accepted into a private boarding school for the gifted or something along those lines. You will have to use the return address of a post office with your name, and then the post office will send it to you. You can address the letter going to him as normally, the owl will deliver it just as one did with your Hogwarts letter. Just make up some sort of plausible excuse to explain your absence, do not mention magic in any way.”

Harry nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Professor Snape summoned a notebook and pen. “You will be expected to learn how to write with a quill on parchment during your time at Hogwarts, but for now I think it would be best if your letter to a Muggle looked as Mugglish as possible,” he said, handing the items to Harry. “When you’re finished, there’s some envelopes and stamps on my desk.

Harry grinned as he slid off the couch and placed the notebook on the coffee table to start writing in. “Thank you, Professor!”

Professor Snape went back to his lab and Harry began to write his letter.
Chapter End Notes:
I skipped the gen fic ritual of a shopping trip, I don't enjoy reading those scenes over and over again so I was hardly going to write one. I hope that the way I'm writing Harry isn't too jarring, in my original outline I had his character traits as: "Innocent, oblivious, and cute." XD then I started writing the first chapter and he became quite a serious child with not much happiness in his life, soooo yeah... I mean, I was still playing with baby dolls at 12 and then became one of those depressed teenagers at 13. Kids are weird like that. I feel like it isn't so strange as sexual abuse can lead to a lot of changes in behavior and mood swings, but next chapter we're switching to Severus' POV and Harry might come off as even more childish then, but that's not so strange as it's an adult's POV. I’m taking a fairly soft approach with Severus as well. I think I’ve found that my favorite way to write him is inwardly clueless yet displaying confidence on the outside lmao

thank you so much for reading!!

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