Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

Chapter 5
Poppy prepares some more sleeping and pain-relieving potions as the boys get ready for bed, and after a moment thought she decides that both boys will benefit from nutrition potions as well. While they are getting ready, she also summons a House Elf to fetch some cups of hot chocolate and biscuits before carefully examining Sev to make sure his dressings will be ok.

When they are done she ushers them into bed making sure both boys are comfortable and well supported so as not to aggravate their injuries before dimming the lights and heading for her office. The potions are quick to take effect, leaving both boys feeling drowsy

"What did Professor Snape want with you Sev, he didn't hurt you did he?"

"No" Sev replied frowning "It was really strange, he wanted to talk to me about you. He kept comparing you with James and making out as though that was why he hated you, seems pretty strange reason not to like someone don't you think?"

"Yeah I guess" he replied uneasily thinking about the memory he'd seen in the pensive and thinking he couldn't really blame him after the way his father acted not to mention the way he blundered about from one disaster to another, no matter what he did it seemed as though he couldn't help but get on his nerves. He turned his attention back to the little boy who was nodding off in the next bed across from him: "You did well today Sev you really surprised us with how brave you were"

"Thanks Harry" he replied drowsily part opening one sleepy eye and smiling blearily.

Madam Pomfrey checks on them regularly and is satisfied by their relatively peaceful expressions that the dreamless sleep potions were a good idea as the sun shines in warmly, she leaves them before gently waking Harry. It doesn't take much longer for Sev to rouse himself from his contented sleep, so she summons a House Elf to bring up some breakfast and fetches more potions. When they have finished she examines them and she is pleased to see an improvement. Most of the sores have healed and the colourful bruising that covered Harry's back has faded to a normal colour, she applies some more cream and salves to his back before giving him a clean bill of health and explaining that the Headmaster wants to see both boys later after his classes he nods promising to check back in with Sev later before heading off to his lessons.

She turns her attention to her other young charge, an idea already forming for how to keep him entertained without him getting into more trouble wandering through a castle full of students. Fortunately, the infirmary is still quiet with no other patients to treat so after treating and redressing his sores she asks him if he wants to help her some more and learn some basic healing spells and practical skills, the boy nods enthusiastically and so she finds herself spending the next few hours teaching the boy several basic healing and diagnostic spells she patiently explains how the spell is used and demonstrating the proper wand movements before allowing him to try for himself and she also summons some wizarding dummies to practise some more practical skills on.

She is pleased to find that the boy engages easily with the work, quickly mastering the basic spells and asking appropriate questions about what they're doing. Before too long he has mastered Episkey, Reparifors and a basic bandaging charm and is well on his learning the reviving, shock and stamina charms.

She writes down the names of a few books she thinks he will find interesting, including a book on healing spells, one she thinks he will find particularly interesting covering a range of healing potions, salves and cream explaining their uses and how to brew them correctly, and a guide to healing plants in Britain explaining their uses and how to identify them. She smiles at him pleased to see the once nervous boy coming out of his shell and taking an interest in being healed instead of hiding from her as she gives him the list along with a selection of things he can use if he needs to heal himself, reminding him that she's always happy to have an extra pair of hands and if he ever wants more experience he's more than welcome to help her in his spare time.

"Thank you, I'd like that, it's been really interesting learning all the new spells today. I'll try to come down when I have some spare time and try to find copies of some of those books. They look really interesting" he says enthusiastically.

After he's finished his classes Harry rushes up to the Owlery after he's finished his last class of the day, he steps in looking around before seeing a familiar snowy white owl at the far end who swoops down towards him dropping a small wrapped parcel which Harry catches easily before she lands on his shoulder and greets him with some soft chirps and a gentle nip, he strokes her affectionately and walking over to a nearby perch holding out his arm for her. He checks the time heading down to the Infirmary for some food and a catch up with Sev before they both head up to the Headmasters office, he is pleased to hear him talk with obvious enthusiasm about all the spells he's learnt.

They quickly reach the stone gargoyle outside the Headmaster's office and are quickly summoned through after giving the password of lemon drops and are quickly called into his office with the Headmaster asking them about their day, he is pleased to see Harry settling into his studies with his friends and to learn that the boy has enjoyed learning from Madam Pomfrey before explaining that it will soon be time for Severus to return home, he gives the boy a small bundle of letters asking him to send them to Hogwarts when he gets back, Sev looks sad at this news and confused about the letters. The Headmaster then reaches into his desk and produces two beautiful and identical leather-bound journals and matching quills.

He explains that these journals will allow the two boys to stay in touch with each other asking them both to demonstrate by writing something in their copy of the book, Harry writes first introducing himself and writing a quick greeting, to his surprise when Sev opens his copy he sees the message appear on the first page and quickly writes a reply, Dumbledore explains that the two books are magically linked so that anything one of them writes will appear in the other book but, that whatever they write will only be visible to the two boys unless they use a revealing charm on the book to allow someone else to see what's been written.

Both boys thank him for this incredible and thoughtful gift before Harry turns to Sev and produces a small wrapped parcel which he hands over to him, he looks up surprised at being given another gift, he eagerly unwraps it staring at the contents in amazement before carefully lifting the contents out revealing an invisibility cloak of his very own, it is certainly not of the same quality as the one belonging to Harry which he used the previous night but, it is still amazing and beautiful and it's for him, Harry explained that he was aware of a shop in Diagon Alley that specialises in rare items including invisibility cloaks and with Dumbledores help he sent them an owl last night asking to purchase one so that Sev could use it to hide from his tormentors at school and at home and maintain his friendship with Lily without attracting unwanted attention.

He wraps the book and letters up inside the cloak, finding a suitable pocket to stuff them into before standing up suddenly hugging Harry and thanking him for this amazing gift and all his help, Harry smiles remembering what he's learnt of the boys home life he subtly slips a small pouch of coins into his robes hoping this may help him to buy something nice like the books Madam Pomfrey recommended. He ruffles the boy's hair enjoying this moment as suddenly a cloud of magic swirls up round and round the small boy engulfing him in a green sparkling mist before blowing away leaving him embracing nothing more than a memory, as suddenly as the boy arrived he's gone again, he turns back to Dumbledore in confusion full of questions.

"Please have a seat, Harry, I'm sure you have a lot of questions" the Headmaster says, kindly indicating the chairs.

"Sir, what happened? Who was he? Was he really, well you know" he tails off unsure how to finish that thought.

Dumbledore gazes back at him for a moment thinking before replying "Professor Snape? No, I don't think so, at least not as we know him. I believe the boy travelled here from another reality using accidental magic"

Harry's eyes widened at this "another reality sir, is that, is it even possible?"

"I believe so, although I'll admit that I'm not aware of any examples of it actually happening. However, it is theorised that our every action affects our future creating many divergent timelines so it is not unreasonable to assume that there are other realities that exist parallel to our own where the future looks very different to our own. I believe that this boy is from one of those realities where time moves more slowly meaning that his future has not yet been written. If he was simply a younger version of our own Professor Snape, I believe that we would have quickly felt the effects of his presence as it would have affected our own timeline potentially with disastrous consequences having him travel here from the past and meeting himself, you understand?"

Harry nods slowly, taking it all in "I think so" suddenly something occurs to him "oh wait is that why Professor Snape was so mad at me?"

"Yes, I believe he was initially under the impression that the boy was a younger version of himself, as you might imagine he was quite distressed when he found out in spite of our best efforts to keep from him the nature of the emergency."

"Yeah I bet that was quite weird, I didn't mean for him to get upset, I always seem to mess things up where Professor Snape is concerned" he said soberly as he realised just what kind of thoughts may have been going through his Professor's mind.

"Now now you must not allow yourself to get down. It was not your fault, you did what you thought was best and tried to keep him safe besides which Professor Snape must also take responsibility for his actions, he is somewhat inclined to allow his past to cloud his judgment where you are concerned which unfortunately rarely helps matters between you. At any rate, it was perhaps not the best idea to inform him of the boy's arrival although I think we were all quite surprised when he concluded that Professor Snape was a distant relative"

"Yeah that was a close one, Ron saw him and called him Snape's son and I slipped up and called him Snape when I first saw him, I think he assumed there must be someone else called Snape here, I'm not sure that he didn't suspect something though"

"Perhaps even as a child Severus was very intelligent, quiet but very observant, it has served him well in his duties for the order and has been essential in ensuring his survival"

"As a spy?" Harry asked, curious to learn more about the man he was meant to trust, Dumbledore merely nodded so he instead pondered what he had just said. "Wait, if he used accidental magic why did he end up here of all places?"

Dumbledore ponders this for a minute, closing his eyes in thought "that is a good question. I am not entirely sure, but I believe he was drawn here because Hogwarts is a place where he feels safe"

"Ok, but why me Sir, surely he didn't associate me with safety, I mean he thought I was my dad at first" Harry asks, still confused.

"I can only assume his magic sought out someone who could help him, a kindred spirit who had experienced similar trauma and could help him heal, now that he has started to heal the magic that brought him here sensed it was the right time to send him home. I believe you both have more in common than many people would realise"

"Yeah, you know I realised that we were perhaps not so different as I first thought. He needed someone to help him heal, I think I did too. It was kind of strange, like having a brother, someone to protect and look after, but I liked that, I always wanted a real brother when I was younger. You know, I think he just needed some guidance. I'm going to miss him. Do you think he's going to be alright?"

"You know Harry, I think he's going to be fine. With your guidance and advice, he has a chance of having a happy life now. I am glad that you built up such a strong bond with him, I wish I had been able to provide you with a better family, alas I made a lot of mistakes and didn't realise how bad things were until it was too late. You did a very good job looking at him, he clearly seemed happy being with you and seemed much more confident than I remember him being when he was a student here at Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey explained how you managed to convince him to get treatment and said that she was very impressed with how well you dealt with the problem and came up with a creative solution to get him the help he needed"

"Thank you, Sir, I'm just glad he was happy and safe and had his wounds treated, it's quite different having to look after someone else, I would have felt guilty knowing he was suffering and having not done anything to help him" he pauses thinking something occurs to him as he thinks about the journals they've been given. "Do you think I should tell him you know about Voldermort and the Horcruxes and everything, was that why you gave us the journals?"

Dumbledore stares at him before putting his hands together as he often does when in deep thought "that my dear boy is a very good point and a difficult question to answer" he thinks about Severus Snape who he has known since he was only a young scared boy, he didn't recognise the signs back then or at least failed to act on them to do enough to save the boy from being bullied growing bitter and falling to the darkness.

He's known him for so many years, he's seen how he's suffered for his mistakes losing his friends, tormented by losing Lily the only woman he had ever loved, unable to move on, the man has spent a miserable life in torment and servitude trying to repent for his own mistakes. He wishes that he could go back and put things right for him, he can not but, perhaps this is a chance to save another life from following the same path perhaps to save many more lives if Voldermort can be stopped sooner. He knows all too well the dangers of misusing power but, if that future is indeed unwritten in that reality then surely this is a chance to do some real good he decides.

"I think you have already caused a great change in his life. I believe it would be prudent to share your adventures with him albeit with some slight alterations you understand? I think he will find them interesting if he wants to learn more. You could tell him what you know about Voldermort and what we have learnt about the Horcruxes. I believe in this instance if his future is unwritten then this information could have the power to change his future for the better this information could make it much easier to defeat Voldermort before he rises to full power and could save a lot of lives"

He pauses, reflecting.

"I have always regretted that I wasn't able to do more for Professor Snape when he was younger, I fear I have neglected you both, perhaps if he had the right help and guidance his life might have been very different and happier, I think he would want the boy to have a chance for the happy life he missed out on"

That was a mistake he was not making this time around, he had sent the boy off with carefully worded letters alluding to the boy's situation and his likely future if he felt abandoned and was left to follow the same path and repeat the mistakes of this world's Snape. Hopefully, this would be enough to convince that worlds Dumbledore to take some positive action to safeguard his future, and if not certainly a good ear-bending from their worlds matron would help him along the way courtesy of the letter he'd sent her.

Meanwhile, Sev opens his eyes slowly and realises he's no longer embracing his new friend, he looks around to find himself standing back in his room. He listens, hearing the footsteps again, coming up the stairs towards him, he thinks quickly trying not to panic he runs quietly to his bed lying down flat on it before feeling in his pocket he grasps the invisibility cloak quickly unwrapping it he hides the book that falls out before draping to cloak over him lifting his head to check he's completely covered. Moments later he hears the door pushed open, his father's angry voice shouting as he walks across the room checking the cupboard before looming over him. He can smell the overwhelming stench of cheap lager on him. He closes his eyes, trying to force himself not to breathe or move until he hears the steps moving away his father grumbling to himself about him, he lies still a few minutes longer relieved to have escaped a beating for once.

Slowly he sits up pulling the cloak off of him retrieving the journal and laying it on the bed with the cloak, he becomes aware of a weight in his pockets and empties out the pockets smiling as he retrieves the list of books and bundle of medical supplies and stares in amazement as he feels the bag of coins tipping it out his eyes light up, there's several galleons along with a few knuts and sickles probably enough for the books Madam Pomfrey recommended he ponders on this unspoken act of generosity grinning smiling again as he remembers Harry slipping his arms around him a suspicion forming in his mind, he'll have to write to him and thank him again. Just wait until he tells Lilly about this she'll never be able to believe it he thinks smiling, he has a feeling this is going to be a good year.

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