Primoris Oraculum Duo (First Prophecy Two)

Chapter 2

If Harry had thought that classes might be difficult, he learned that he had been worried in the wrong direction. His professors all exclaimed over the essays he had done, with the exception of Professor Binns. That essay had proved to be the hardest of all to do.

In his first Charms class, Professor Flitwick wanted him to give a practical demonstration of the techniques he had written about in his essay. Harry looked at him apprehensively. The wand in his hand felt familiar and strange all at the same time. Somehow he knew he could do a charm just by thinking of what he wanted. But he realized that Flitwick was expecting to see the appropriate wand movements and hear the proper words spoken.

"Come, come, Mr. Potter. Let's see you place a levitation charm on that desk. Move it across the class and have it place itself back in its original location." He waited expectantly.

Harry looked at the floor, trying not to think of what Flitwick wanted. He felt the magic seeking to escape him and he bit down on his tongue.

Hermione raised her hand, waving it to get Flitwick's attention. "Please Professor, I'd like to try it."

Harry was glad of the interruption and even gladder when Flitwick finally sighed and turned away from him. Hermione performed the charm flawlessly and when she looked at Harry, he gave her a weak smile of gratitude. Class continued, and Harry was relieved that Flitwick didn't ask him for more attempts at charms. He would give Harry a disappointed look whenever he asked the class for volunteers and Harry never obliged.

After class, he called out to him, "Mr. Potter, a word please."

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and they looked sympathetic. Harry sat back down and put his head in his hands. He had never been held back after Charms. Now he would be late for his first Potions class. Severus would kill him. Even as he thought it, Snape was in his head.

'What have you done that you feel would warrant my 'killing' you?'

'Professor Flitwick kept me after class … I wouldn't do the charms he asked me to.'

'Did you explain –'

'It's not that I can't do it, I just can't with my wand. I didn't want to do wandless on the first day of class in front of everybody! You told me not to – there were Slytherins in here!' He heard the note of panic in his own voice.

Harry heard a whoosh from the fireplace in the corner of the classroom. Professor Flitwick looked up, startled at the appearance of Snape. Harry closed his eyes and sighed. He was right; Snape had come to rant about not following instructions given by a teacher. He heard footfalls coming closer and was surprised to feel a large hand close on his shoulder. The hand was warm and the squeeze it gave was one of comfort and not one of irritation. He looked up into the black glittering eyes. They held his for a moment before turning to Flitwick.

"Professor, I believe that you may have the wrong idea about Harry's abilities in this class."

"I did give the boy a chance to give a proper demonstration, and he refused to even try, Severus." He was irritated that Harry would call Snape to come to his rescue.

"Harry is finding it difficult to grasp his magic in a standard form at the moment. I had asked him not to do anything that would draw undue attention, so if anyone is to blame for his reluctance, it is me."

"Be that as it may, I really believe that he could have given it a go, at least."

Snape waved a hand at the classroom door, locking it. Turning to Harry, he asked, "Can you do the charm that Professor Flitwick requested?"

Harry gave him a nod and stood up. He looked at Flitwick and saw that the teacher had a look of interest on his face, in spite of his irritation.

Harry looked at the desk that Flitwick had asked him to charm earlier. Closing his eyes, he visualized what he wanted. When he opened them again, the desk was moving smoothly through the air. Making a graceful turn, it moved back into its exact original location.

Professor Flitwick had a look of utter astonishment. "Wandless!" he breathed. "He did a wandless and wordless spell!"

Snape looked at Harry. "Try it now with your wand."

Harry drew his wand and concentrated on the motions and the words. The desk did as asked, although this time it was not nearly as graceful and smooth. In fact, it was pretty jerky and wobbly.

Snape looked at Professor Flitwick. "While it seems that Harry can do the spells the acceptable way, he is more comfortable with the wandless. You would agree that he does not need anything further to set him apart from his classmates." It was a statement that demanded agreement and not a question.

Flitwick nodded, still regarding Harry with amazement.

Harry said quietly, "I really did want to do the spell, sir, I was just afraid that if I started, it would just happen before I even got the words out … I can't always remember the right words to say."

Flitwick observed him for a moment and then said, "Knowing the proper words and motions are very important for most wizards. No doubt your experiences this summer and your inability to speak prompted the development of this magical ability in you. I do recall how difficult it was when it was revealed that you are a Parselmouth. Professor Snape is correct in that it would draw attention to you if others learn of this new ability." He looked thoughtful. "I would very much like to oversee your practice with wandless magic."

Snape considered the other teacher for a long moment. After a glance at Harry, he said, "That would be most generous of you. I'll leave the arrangements to the two of you, then."

Harry wanted to protest this; why couldn't Snape help him? But before he could voice this, Snape was gone in a flare of green flame. Professor Flitwick smiled at him. "Lets say that we will begin tonight? Be here at eight."

Harry sighed. Knowing that any resistance was pointless, he nodded. Gathering his book bag, he made his way to Potions class.

When he arrived, Snape was already lecturing the class on the directions for their first brewing assignment. He stopped when Harry entered.

"You are late, Mr. Potter."

"Professor Flitwick kept me after, sir."

"Being late is not a good way to start the term. Five points from Gryffindor."

Harry looked at him open-mouthed. How could he do that? He knew where Harry had been. He had been there himself. He felt a blush of anger start to creep up the back of his neck.

'Appearances, Harry,' came the calm voice in his head.

His anger abated somewhat, but he still grumbled silently as he took his seat, 'Some of us have to walk the long way from place to place, instead of using the Floo.'

'Some of us are teachers with those privileges reserved for emergencies.'

Harry stared up at the towering teacher in black. 'You considered it an emergency?'

'We will discuss it later.'

With that, the link closed so Snape could concentrate on the class. Harry found the work to be easier than he had expected. He thought it was because he had read way ahead over the summer. There were concepts that he had remembered being difficult, but were now quite easy. He even beat Hermione and Draco in raising his hand to answer a few questions. Harry didn't miss the small quirk of Snape's lips at Hermione's huff of irritation when Harry was able to do that.

Snape had mixed the sixth-years for brewing; pairing partners from opposite Houses. Harry wasn't surprised that Snape had paired him with Draco. Draco retrieved the potion ingredients while Harry set up the cauldron, adjusting the flame and setting out the tools they would need.

They worked silently, seeming to fall into an easy partnership. Harry looked up when they had finished to see Draco looking at him appraisingly.

"What?" he asked the blond Slytherin.

"I wouldn't have thought you were as adept at potions, Potter. You surprised me. I thought Granger was the one who was the brains of the Trio."

"Yeah? Well, she is the smart one." Harry shrugged. "I did some reading over the summer. This," he indicated the cauldron and all the surrounding implements and ingredients, "makes more sense now."

Snape was making his way around the class, observing results. When he got to theirs, he looked into the cauldron and then looked at each of them in turn. He raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. Turning to the rest of the class, he spoke,

"Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter have achieved the exact desired results. This could only be done by partners working cooperatively together. This potion is very sensitive to every nuance, and the slightest hesitation between efforts would have resulted in an inadequate brew." He stopped while all at the other tables, partners looked at each other and then at their own cauldrons. Snape continued, "In brewing potions, and in life, you will find yourselves in positions where you need to be able to work with others who you do not necessarily get along with. For the greater good, you need to be able put differences aside."

He moved to the front of the class. "Bottle a sample and label it. One partner should do this while the other one cleans your area. Then you are dismissed." He watched as the class complied and Harry had a feeling that it was a further test of being able to work together to accomplish a goal.

Again, Draco and Harry wordlessly performed their tasks. There were numerous hissed conversations around the room as partners argued about who would bottle, and who would do clean-up duty.

Harry hung back as the class left and was aggravated to see that Draco remained behind too. Snape looked at them for a long moment. "Is there something you wish to discuss?"

Draco spoke up quickly, "I wanted a moment to talk to you, Sev- Professor Snape. Alone." He threw a pointed glance at Harry.

Snape nodded. Looking coolly at Harry, he said, "Another time, Potter?"

Harry flushed at being so easily dismissed, but he gave Snape a jerky nod and walked out of the room.

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Harry hurried to be on time to Charms practice. He arrived at the classroom door just as Professor Flitwick did. The tiny man was very thorough with their session and Harry was gratified to be able to adequately perform many charms with his wand by the time they were done. Professor Flitwick ended the session by having Harry do some wandless and silent incantations.

"It's a talent that should be cultivated, as I do not doubt that it will save your life or the life of another one day. But, you should always be on guard with it. It is a type of magic that does not depend on proper mechanics, so it would be quite easy for it to be used rashly, say in a fit of anger. As you learn to control it, it will become less likely for you to accidentally cause damage with a spontaneous spell."

Harry had thought about telling Flitwick about Severus's broken ribs, but decided that he didn't want that episode to become common knowledge. As it was, Harry understood very well what the professor was saying. Having the ability to just think about a spell and it happening was a big responsibility.

"Yes, sir. That's why I really didn't want to try the charm yesterday in class. I was afraid that it would come out wrong, or I would drop the desk on somebody while I tried to keep it under a wanded spell."

"We will have regular practices, then. The sooner you have control of both, the better you'll feel about them. I spoke to Severus, and he agrees."

Harry looked at him silently. Why couldn't Severus have these practices with him? As if divining his thoughts, Flitwick put a small hand on Harry's arm.

"Severus is most concerned that you have a variety of individual instructors. You will benefit by the talents that are our strengths, and the differences in our techniques."

Harry gave a reluctant nod. Flitwick rubbed his hands together briskly, to get them back on track. "Now then; I will want you to practice both your wanded spells, as well as those you can do without your wand. Do you think you can manage that?"

Harry smiled. 'Now that we've done a bit here, I know more what to do when I'm alone. I'll do it, professor."

"Then I'll see you in a few nights. We'll see what the other teachers are doing before we set up a regular schedule."

Harry left feeling like he was going to wish he had a Timeturner to get everything done. Not only his regular homework and readings, but now more practicing. It sounded like Severus had recruited more than just Flitwick, if the tiny professor's words were any indication.

When he returned to the common room, Ron was waiting for him.

"Hey, mate. How did it go?"

"Flitwick really put me through some tough exercises." Harry slumped down onto the sofa and put a leg up on the cushions beside him. "We'll be having more sessions. He made it sound like other teachers would be having sessions with me too."

Ron shook his head. "You never get a break, do you? To think, I used to wish I got as much attention as you do."

"I wouldn't wish the kind of attention I get on my worst enemy," Harry said dryly.

"I know. I didn't understand back then. Now I know … more about what you actually endure. It's amazing that you haven't totally cracked up by now."

Harry looked at Ron and crossed his eyes. Putting an exaggerated tremor into his hands and twitching his head, he asked, "Are you so sure that I'm not cracked up?"

Ron laughed and Harry laughed in return. It felt good to do that. It felt normal.

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The days flowed into weeks. Harry had correctly understood that he would be working with more teachers than just Flitwick. Snape had made out the agenda himself. Harry's free moments were no longer free, but filled with time spent in out-of-the-way classrooms. Flitwick drilled him in charms and spells, both wanded and wandless, until Harry could do anything either way when Flitwick barked out rapid commands. Harry would never see the little man as a meek-mannered teacher again.

Professor McGonagall took her turns to drill Harry in Transfiguration. It proved to be more difficult, but not impossible for Harry to do those both ways, as well. She pushed him hard, but Harry could see that she was proud of his progress.

"Now, if you would apply yourself to History, you might do as well there, Mr. Potter."

"I'm sorry, Professor, but History is just plain boring. I can't do everything and that's the thing I choose to let slide."

She looked at him with disapproval, but didn't comment further. Harry would have thought it dropped until Snape held him back after Potions. Harry hadn't had a moment to spare and it had been days since they had said a word to each other. He missed Snape, but he didn't want to seem like a baby, whining about it, and he didn't know how to ask for time to just talk. He entertained a faint hope that they would just talk when the last student left the Potions classroom and Snape closed the door.

Snape dashed that hope when he narrowed his eyes and said sharply, "Professor McGonagall tells me you have decided to let History of Magic slide."

Harry looked at Snape, still hoping to see trace of 'I've missed you too' in his face. When Snape just looked at him expectantly, Harry sighed.

"I can't do it all."

"Perhaps you need to prioritize better."

Harry suddenly felt anger well up in him. "I guess I could give up sleeping. Would that make you happy?"

"Do not raise your voice to me. We will decide how to best utilize your time so that nothing is left to slide."

Harry stood up, hands clenched into fists. "You mean you'll decide. We're not discussing anything. In fact, you haven't said one word to me in days."

"You haven't tried to speak to me. I assumed that you were fine and did not require my help." Snape stood up, too, and began to pace the floor, with a swirl of black robes every time he changed direction.

Harry fumed, "You haven't asked if I was fine. When Malfoy stayed after class that first day, you had said we would talk later. You never did call to me."

"You're being petulant and childish."

Harry felt his control slipping rapidly. He gathered his book bag and slung it over his shoulder. "You're right; as usual. I'm being childish and I don't know how to prioritize. I'm sure you don't need my help to put together a schedule. You can owl it so you don't have to actually speak to me." He walked to the door and opened it. Before walking through he called over his shoulder, "Don't worry if you can't fit in all the meal times. I'm used to going without."

Snape stared after him, fighting the urge to yell at him to stop or lose points for Gryffindor.

He had been so busy with the new Muggle-born Orientation course that he oversaw in the evenings, and his own Potions classes, that he barely had a moment as it was. Now Potter was acting all disgruntled and whiny about not having any of his time. Did the boy not understand that there were only so many hours in a day for him to accomplish what he needed to do? Well, he would make the damn schedule and the brat would stick to it. There was no excuse for letting school work slide, as he put it. And did he really believe that there would be no time for sleeping or eating? Really? The brat could certainly be dramatic.

He threw Floo Powder into the grate and called McGonagall. Her head popped up amid the flames a moment later.

"Minerva, I need a copy of Harry's schedule. I'll be drawing up a new one to include time for all he needs to do."

"I take it that he was agreeable to working harder to set time aside for all his subjects?"

"If I make the schedule, he will have no excuse not to."

McGonagall looked at him for a minute and then said, "I'll Floo it through in a moment." Her head disappeared and after another few moments the fireplace spat out a roll of parchment.

Unrolling it, Snape laid it out on his desk. Taking a quill, he began to add the extra practice sessions for Charms and Transfiguration. Harry also needed DADA practice and he needed to resume Occlumency lessons as soon as possible. Looking over the schedule, Snape thought of the upcoming Quidditch season. Those practices would have to be figured in as well. Now for homework … he scribbled time for working on all his classes onto the schedule. Giving a satisfied grunt, he stared at the finished product. There; everything was taken care of.

He threw more Floo Powder into the fire and poked his head through to McGonagall's office. She was sitting at her own desk. "Would you mind passing this on to Harry?"

He handed the roll to her and disappeared back into his own office. Curious, she unrolled it and studied the schedule. She walked to her own fireplace and after throwing in Floo Powder, she stepped through to Snape's office.

"Severus, could we discuss this before I give it to Harry?"

Snape looked up from an essay he was grading. "Did I neglect to assign you adequate time?"

She looked worried. "No, Not at all. But I believe you may have forgotten to allow time for other things."

Snape heaved a sigh of aggravation and held out his hand. She placed the parchment in it and took a seat in the chair in front of his desk. He examined the parchment for a few moments before looking up at her. "I fail to see what I have forgotten."

"Has Harry given up eating again? I don't see you allowing time for meals. And you have every single moment of his weekends tied up as well. Is he to have no time for himself?"

Snape snapped the schedule open again and perused it as he started, "You were the one complaining about him not taking his classes seriously. I merely made certain he had everything accounted for, so of course he has to eat –" He was looking at the parchment more closely and his mouth had closed into a grim line. Tossing the paper onto the desk, he sat back and rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly.

McGonagall waited patiently for Snape to admit he had made a mistake. Finally, when he remained silent, she spoke softly, "Severus, you are trying too hard to be distant from him. I know you can't show what he means to you now that school has started, but I see his face when he looks at you in the Great Hall. He is still recovering from his summer …"

"Yes, yes. I know that. Don't you think I know that?" he said irritably. He stood up and clasped his hands behind his back. "I can only stretch myself so thin. But I see now that I tried to stretch him even thinner. Thank you for looking at it before giving it to him. He is already upset and it would have been disastrous. When I mentioned making a schedule to get it all set, he even told me to take away meals as he was used to going without." He looked into the fire with a deep frown. "I thought he was being an insolent brat and I told him to stop whining."

McGonagall stood up and laid a hand on his arm. "If you like, I will bring him to my office later, so you can talk to him. That way, he won't be seen going to your quarters."

Snape nodded silently. She left by the door and he stood in thought for awhile before throwing yet another handful of Floo Powder into the flames and stepping in.

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Harry stormed into the common room and stomped up the stairs to the dorm. Ron and Hermione had been sitting on the sofa together, waiting for him so they could walk down to dinner together. They looked at each other, raising worried eyebrows. Jumping up, they headed up to the dorm after him.

When they got to the room, Harry's bedcurtains were closed. Ron cleared his throat. "Harry? How did it go?"

There was no answer. Hermione gave him an encouraging nod, so Ron slowly put his head through the curtains. Harry was curled up on his side facing away from them. Ron climbed onto the bed and Hermione followed, closing the hangings after them. They took up positions on either side of him and leaned back against the headboard. Hermione gently rubbed his shoulders as they sat in silent support of their friend.

Ron finally sighed. "He was a git, wasn't he? Want me to go and hex him for you? I've got pretty good with Ginny's Bat Bogie."

They felt Harry shake his head. After a long while, he sat up between them. Banging his head back sharply, he muttered, "I hate my life. Just kill me now and save everyone the trouble of having to deal with me."

"You don't mean that," Hermione soothed.

"You know what? I do mean it. I wish I'd never been born. I wish I'd never heard of Hogwarts, or magic. I wish I was just some normal kid with a normal life with normal problems." He ground the heels of his hands against his eyes. Then softly, "I wish I was dead."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other over his head, alarmed. She put an arm around his shoulders. "Don't talk like that, Harry. It's not healthy. You don't really wish that."

"I really do, 'Mione." He scooted back down in the bed and yanked the blanket over his head. "Right now, I really want to be by myself, too."

"It's dinner time, mate," Ron said. "You'll feel better once you've eaten."

"No thanks. I'm not hungry."

"Harry, don't do this again. You know Professor Snape won't let you starve yourself again," Hermione scolded.

Harry lowered the blankets from his face. "You're wrong there. He'll be glad that there'll be more time he can fill with studies and practices. He won't mind at all."

He disappeared under the blanket again and refused to speak to them anymore. Ron and Hermione left him after no amount of begging made him respond to them.

In the Great Hall, they sat down and silently ate their own dinner, shrugging off questions about where Harry was. They avoided looking at the head table so they wouldn't have to face teacher questioning. But right as they were finishing, Seamus nudged Ron. When Ron looked at him, Seamus said, "McGonagall is acting like she wants to see you, mate."

Before thinking, Ron glanced up at the head table. Immediately, the teacher gestured sternly for him to come up. With a heavy sigh, he put down his fork and stood up. Hermione saw what was happening and she got up to go with him.

Standing in front of the teachers, Ron shifted his feet nervously. "Yes, Professor?"

"Where is Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley?" McGonagall asked.

Hermione looked at Ron and spoke quickly, "He's not feeling well, so he went to bed early."

"Does he need to see Madame Pomfrey?" Dumbledore asked.

Ron gave Snape a meaningful glare. "No, sir, that's not who he needs to see."

Hermione bit her lip and then burst out, "He seems very depressed, sir. He wouldn't come down and he said he wishes he was …" She glanced at Ron and he gave her a nod to continue. "He wishes he was dead."

McGonagall's fork clattered to her plate and there was a sudden silence from the teachers who had been listening.

Snape got to his feet and swept away without a word.