What Is Wrong With Severus?
Chapter 1-Background according to Minerva
Severus was not a happy person and getting worse as time went on.. That was obvious to everyone who came into contact with him.
Professor McGonagall was getting more concerned with the continuing friction between Severus and Harry Potter. The two of them could barely stay in the same room without one or the other losing their cool.
Professor Mcgonagall has known Severus since he was eleven years old , when he came to Hogwarts dressed in some rather worn out robes, very pale and skinny. He was totally withdrawn and was obviously neglected and abused. He was not in her house but the distant forlorn look about him touched her maternal being. He never understood the normal interactions of childhood and she felt bad that she hadn't helped him then.
It was too bad he was Slytherin House while Slughorn was Head of House, that man didn't care for any of the children unless they were well connected and able to help him with his social climbing
It didn't help that James Potter and his gang of Marauders took an instant dislike to him and he returned that dislike. Those were very turbulent years and she suspected that his experiences with the Marauders twisted sense of humour towards him were partly responsible for Severus becoming a death eater.
Severus did his work conscientiously and was an excellent student, If he wasn't so depressed all the time and was able to interact more with others it might have been better for him.
Now Harry Potter was in a similar situation. Minerva had waited in front of 4 Privet Drive in her animagi form of a tabby cat observing those disgusting muggle relatives of Lily Evans Potter.
Too bad young Harry had to be left with these muggle relatives, but he had no other and Albus said that the boy had to go there.
Harry looked good in his new robes when he came to Hogwarts and that was with thanks to his parents having wizard money that was saved for him at Gringotts, but the years of abuse at his relatives hands was evident. He was in Griffindor which was good and she could keep and eye on him
Severus was hard on the boy from the first time they came in contact with each other and that was too bad as if he had been able to see beyond the boys similarity to his father they might have been able to help each other.
Minerva had tried to figure out how they both could be helped, Severus seemed to get more testy as time went on yet she could sense that he wasn't really meaning to be as nasty as he appeared.
Then there is Harry who is one of those people who think they must do the deed now and worry about the consequences later.
Minerva was determined to help Harry adjust like she couldn't do with Severus when he was a student. She felt like she was going upstream with the boy. he knew she was fond of him yet he disobeyed the rules laid down and she certainly heard about it when Severus caught him out after bedtime.
Minerva also wondered why Albus was not helping to make Harry obey the school rules like he should when she sent the boy to him.He always had some excuse to let Harry off.