Arc One: August

Chapter Four: The Potion Master's Return

Severus' eyes narrowed into slits and Harry resisted the urge to slap a hand across his mouth at the slip up.

"You cheeky arrogant—"

Charlie suddenly blocked Harry's view of Severus' angry expression.

"—Harry! It's been ages since we had a proper chat."

A weak smile broke across the teen's face as the second oldest Weasley brother attempted to nip any insults Severus might have given in the bud. Charlie's returning grin was bright, and he moved forward to embrace him briefly. Harry blinked in surprise, but then remembered that, out of all Ron's siblings, Charlie was the touchiest. He conveyed his feelings through contact and personal space meant nothing to him.

Though the latter might have something more to do with his job with dragons than anything else.

Since Charlie wasn't the tallest out of his siblings (a plus), Harry had no difficulty seeing over his shoulder. His eyes sought out Severus' again, only to find the man stiffly glancing around the hall to observe any changes that might have occurred. Despite the fact that he had almost been verbally cut to shreds, Harry felt something inside him ease at seeing the man at Hogwarts. Charlie's smooth voice quickly became nothing more than a buzz as Harry focused all his attention on Severus to quickly survey him.

Usual black robes? Check.

Greasy hair? Half check. All those weeks in the hospital not being around the fumes of potions all day had temporarily fixed that problem.

Scowl directed at Harry?

Harry frowned slightly and pulled away from Charlie.

Double check.

"—be studying under me this year?"

"Sorry," Harry gave himself a little shake, "what?"

Charlie's mouth quirked. "I hope you're not this absentminded in school. You defeat the Dark Lord and suddenly you've seen it all."

Another plus, his good nature.

"Can't argue with that," Harry shrugged. "So, how are you getting on?"

"I just got in from Romania this morning after I finished wrapping everything up," the red head said, then ran a hand through his hair. It immediately fell back down to brush his shoulders. "Sudden detachment for a dragon is never a good thing; it has to be done slowly. I've been training another lad to take up my place with the clan, so they should be alright. Dragana was the only one who didn't seem too pleased."

"Dragana?"

"A Hybridean Black dragon." Charlie flashed him another grin.

Harry opened his mouth to address Severus this time. He felt slightly awkward knowing the man was standing a few feet away listening to their conversation, yet taking no part in it. Before he could speak, however, Severus beat him to it.

"If you two have no intention of finishing," Severus' voice was even and deep, "I suggest you remove yourselves from this hallway and talk elsewhere."

They turned to face Severus. His expression was one of boredom, but when Harry continued to look on his face tightened. Choosing to ignore the tension between the two, Charlie chuckled good-naturedly and clamped his tanned hand down on Harry's shoulder.

"Don't be so stiff, Severus." Charlie ignored the sneer shot his way at the use of the man's first name. "It's not right to get jealous because you don't have this war hero all to yourself. It's good to share."

Severus blanched and Harry could hardly suppress the expression of incredulity that crossed his face. He respected and liked Severus (At least a little in regards to the latter. That might change now that he's awake to slander me), but still. He had known Severus for years, a majority of which had been spent hating the man. Plus, he was still Harry's professor, which made it more than a little awkward. Charlie has no sense of embarrassment sometimes.

"I've had enough of listening to the problems of an insolent brat all summer," Severus sneered. "This is a burden off my shoulders."

A bolt of emotion shot through Harry, so quickly he almost didn't notice. Almost. But he brushed it off. So Severus had a sharp tongue. That was nothing new.

"And Mr. Potter," Harry met Severus' gaze. It was cold. "Defeating the Dark Lord does not grant you the liberty of no restrictions. You will address me respectfully, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

The man stepped forward to move around Charlie and Harry, but Harry found himself shifting to block his path. Severus' jaw tightened and he glared in a silent command to move. Harry paid the look no mind.

"Actually…Professor," Harry found it strange that after years of calling the man "Snape", he was having a hard time calling him "Professor" and not by his forename, "I wanted to talk with you about the pensieve—"

"There is nothing to discuss, Potter." Severus snapped and brushed past the two, briskly opening Dumbledore's door.

"We have to talk about it sometime, Severus."

There was a brief moment that made Harry think Severus would turn around and get on his case about using his name again. But the moment passed and he stepped inside the office. Harry got a brief glimpse of Dumbledore behind his desk, smiling, then the door closed.

"Well, Harry," Charlie gave him a pat on the shoulder and a sunny smile to rival his brilliant red hair, "I wouldn't worry about old Severus, there. It'll take him a while to become accustomed to not having to pretend."

Harry raised a brow.

"I'm not saying he won't be a git, but just give him time to adjust." Charlie rustled Harry's hair and slowly moved to Dumbledore's office. "The two of you will get on in no time."

"Right," he muttered and started for the gargoyle.

As the gargoyle began to move, Harry thought about his first encounter with Severus since he had last seen him in St. Mungo's. Harry honestly wasn't surprised from the amount hostility shown when he had tried to broach the subject of Severus' pensieve memories. It was a sensitive topic, more than sensitive, to be sure. No doubt Severus thought Harry was going to take his memories of his childhood and love for his mother and use them against him. He couldn't blame him. If the roles were reversed, he would feel the same.

Even so, Harry caught sight of Hermione and Ron leaning against the wall nearby. They straightened when they saw him slowly descending. I would never do that. I only wanted to let him know that I intended to return his memories.

"We saw Professor Snape and Charlie go up," Hermione closed in on him quickly, and scanned him with concerned eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," he said and glanced at Ron. He had a sour expression on his face.

"Charlie reckons himself Snape's mate now, or something," the redhead said with a scoff. "Doubt that's going to last. The git probably doesn't even know what a friend is."

Harry rolled his eyes, and ignored Ron's hasty halfhearted apology at having called Severus a git. Again.

The trio made their way down the hall towards the great staircase. They noticed tiny changes along the way. The wall where the Room of Requirement entry used to appear was now an archway leading to a winding staircase. The portraits that had been destroyed had been removed and in their places were the simple gold frame that surrounded every portrait in the castle. It was almost as if the frames were waiting for the muslin to grow inside them. A few doors and passageways had appeared with the new renovations, and others had disappeared or changed into something else. In a passing, Harry noted that the pear portrait leading to the kitchens was still in place.

Around the fourth floor, Hermione tugged on Ron and Harry's sleeves and pointed.

"Look! It's Tobias the Terrible." She dropped their sleeves and walked up the stairs to where a portrait of a man sitting on a throne, hung on the stone wall.

"It's Tobias the Great, wench," the brown haired man sneered.

Ron's face coloured. "Don't talk to my girlfriend like that!"

"I shall speak to her as I wish," the man sniffed. "Such impertinence! Calling one such as I 'the Terrible'. I ought to have your head!"

"And I ought to burn your picture." Ron raised his wand.

"No, stop!" Hermione thrust Ron's arm down. "Don't you know who he is? This is King John of England, son of Henry the Second, and one of the few wizards to be a king."

"So?"

Harry was as equally lost as Ron. He hadn't been aware of any kings that had been wizards, much less that there were pictures of them at Hogwarts.

"John, King of England was most commonly referred to as Tobias by close friends and family, though it originated with his father," Hermione explained. "He battled France when war broke out in the early 1200s and was the first king to begin training a private wizard army. He gained land, made continental alliances, and reformed British laws. He was the one who proposed the idea that wizards and Muggles should fight and live together."

"Well," Tobias looked faintly pleased, "yes, that is accurate. At least someone in this dreadful place knows a king when they see one."

When Hermione smiled bashfully, Ron's face turned an even more violent shade of red than it had been previously. Worried his friend might actually hurt their dormitory portrait—or worse, himself—Harry cleared his throat.

"Gaberlunzie," he spoke clearly.

Tobias gave him a irritated look, but swung open at the sound of the password. Harry, Ron, and Hermione passed over the threshold to their new living quarters and paused in the middle of the common room. It wasn't too large, but was set up in much the same way as the other Hogwarts common rooms: fireplace with a couch and two chairs in front, a desk, a picnic bench, and two bookshelves. The colouring was House-neutral, something he was secretly relieved about, with dark brown furniture and light brown tapestries with wizards etched in them, on the walls.

"What was that about, Hermione?" Ron demanded once they had taken their surroundings in.

She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Ronald, there was no need to be so upset. I was just being nice so he would let us in. There's a reason he's called 'Tobias the Terrible' you know. He was known for being a pompous, foul wizard who lost more land than he won. The Wizarding laws he created only caused a riot, and the wizards sided with the king of France to overtake him."

"Then why were nice to the bloody git?" He threw his hands up. "I don't understand you, you know that?"

"That's nothing new," she retorted with a sniff and crossed the room where there were stairs leading to the girls rooms. Ron appeared taken aback, then let out a snort.

"This is exactly what I mean," he flopped down on the couch and Harry took a seat in one of the chairs. "Women are too complicated to figure out."

"That's not saying much," Draco Malfoy's voice carried over to them, "considering most things are too complicated for a Weasley to comprehend."

Ron shot up quickly, as did Harry.

Malfoy was standing near the bookshelf closest to the girls' stairs, his back to them. When he glanced over his shoulder, his gaze was cool.

"Nobody asked you, ferret," Ron shot back.

With narrowed eyes, Malfoy turned to say something, but Hermione came rushing back down the stairs. When she saw his figure blocking the way, she cleared her throat. Malfoy glanced over his shoulder and stepped aside to let her by. Hermione blinked in surprise, but muttered, "Thank you" and moved past him to sit next to Ron on the couch. As she began to speak, Harry noticed Malfoy pause before going back upstairs to the boys' rooms.

"I found this Spello-taped to outside of the rooms," she said and laid the parchment on the table. Harry moved closer so he could see.

"'Year Seven Returning Students'," Harry read aloud. "So this is a list of who's coming back to Hogwarts from our year?"

Hermione nodded. "And room assignments."

"Bloody hell," Ron groaned as he read the list of names. "We're in a room with Malfoy!"

Harry twisted his head to the side so he could read the piece of parchment better.

Year Seven Returning Students

Boys Dormitory Room One: Neville Longbottom, Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley

Boys Dormitory Room Two: Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, Zacharias Smith, Dean Thomas

Girls Dormitory Room One: Hannah Abbot, Mandy Brockelhurst, Leanne Simmons, Lisa Turpin

Girls Dormitory Room Two: Susan Bones, Hermione Granger, Daphne Greengrass

Please note there will be no changes in rooming assignments as per Professor Dumbledore's instructions.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

"That's not all, Ron," Harry brushed his fingers across a few names on the list. "Most of the people coming back are either muggle-borns or half-bloods."

"I noticed that too," Hermione commented softly. "It's nice they've been given a second chance."

The three of them went silent as they recalled last year. Harry had known every person on their side who had been killed at the Battle of Hogwarts, and every student that had been killed in their fight to defend their school. But he also knew how many students hadn't been allowed to return to Hogwarts because of their blood status, how greatly the number of half-blood students decreased, and how the number of muggle-borns disappeared entirely. It was something he would never forget. Just like he would never forget what Severus had done for his mother and, indirectly, him.

"What are you thinking about?"

Hermione's soft inquiry broke through his thoughts. He smiled slightly.

"Severus."

Ron rolled his eyes, stood, and stretched.

"The only thing you've done all summer is worry about the git—sorry, Snape," he corrected at Harry's sharp look. "Now that we're back and he's fine, you should stop worrying about him."

"Yeah, I should."

But I don't think I will.

Author's Note: If you know your history, I based the Tobias the Terrible off John, King of England. Please forget any mistakes made, as my knowledge is purely Wikipedia-based. Tobias is an actual portrait at Hogwarts, though he's the editor of Witch Weekly, not a king.

The returning students are all from Harry's year; none are fabricated.

There are 1000 students at Hogwarts each year total. I figure the amount of pure-blood students would be the least, with half and muggle-borns being about equal. Cutting out all muggle-borns from each year would total about 322 students, with only about half of the 470 half-bloods returning.