"I might not be able to get another chapter up for another week or two." Or four. Whatever. Sorry, darlings.
Here's Chapter 7. Enjoy!
About a Boy – Chapter 7
When Harry awoke the next morning, he was tucked snugly into his bed in his father's quarters. He knew immediately that the other boys in his dormitory would be suspicious that he hadn't turned up all night, but as he pulled the heavy blanket around his shoulders tightly, he couldn't bring himself to care. Besides, Draco would cover for him. He always did.
He swung his feet over the side of the bed and slipped them into soft black slippers by his bedside. As he padded quietly out of his bedroom, he found Snape already seated at the table.
"Good morning," the man greeted around his coffee mug. "I trust you slept well?"
Harry nodded happily and took a seat. A full plate of eggs and bacon appeared in front of the two of them, and Harry dug in enthusiastically.
"Flying lessons are starting," Harry said conversationally.
Snape gave him a sharp look before sighing and murmuring. "Be careful, Harry. I am sure you will be a brilliant flier, but regardless, it is dangerous. I have not come this far to have you killed on a broom, child." A small smirk tugged the corner of his lips upward.
Harry smiled sheepishly. "I will."
oOoOo
Thursday found Harry, Draco, Ron, and Hermione standing side-by-side on the Quidditch pitch. Brooms in various conditions lay at their feet, and Harry shifted nervously from foot to foot as the wind whipped at his wild hair. Hermione looked as if she were about to faint, and Harry tried to smile reassuringly at her.
Madam Hooch paced back and forth amongst the lines of Gryffindors and Slytherins, barking out instructions. She was a tall witch in flying robes and a distinct no-nonsense aura about her, much like Professor McGonagall.
"Up!" he said eagerly, and to his delight, the broom jumped upward into his hand. He peeked sideways to see that Draco's had done the same, and they exchanged small, excited grins. Unfortunately, he also noted that Hermione's broom was still lying motionless on the ground, as was Ron, whose broomstick had somehow managed to kick up and catch him in the nose. A trickle of crimson blood was beginning to drip down his chin.
Hermione immediately dropped down to the boy's side, a mixture of concern and relief etched into her face. She grabbed Ron's hand and brought it up to his nose as Madam Hooch hurried over.
"Merlin's beard!" She crouched down and pulled Ron's hand away from his nose again. "What happened here, young man?"
Ron groaned and in a voice thick with embarrassment, muttered, "The broom got me in the nose."
After examining his nose for a moment more, Hooch stood and pulled Ron to his feet beside her. "I believe it is broken, Mr. Weasley. I will escort you to the hospital wing." She turned toward the rest of the class. "As for the rest of you, stay on the ground, or face expulsion." With that, she led Ron toward the castle.
The class sat in silence for several minutes before anyone moved. However, one of the Slytherin girls – a pug-nosed, pale-faced girl named Pansy Parkinson – suddenly moved forward and caught everyone's attention when she held up a small reddish-brown figure. When it moved in her hand, Harry realized immediately what it was – a small, animated toy dragon that Ron had received as a gift from his brother Charlie, who was a dragon keeper in Romania.
Parkinson closed her small hand around the toy. "Well, I guess Weasley won't be needing this anymore." She sniffed haughtily and moved to deposit it in her pocket.
Harry moved forward angrily, crossing his arms, and saw Draco take a small step forward as well. "That isn't yours, Pansy. You shouldn't take what doesn't belong to you."
Parkinson looked up, surprised, and faltered slightly when she realized who was defying her. Her hand hesitated halfway to her pocket. "H-Harry?"
Harry held one hand open in front of him, waiting. "That's Ron's. It doesn't belong to you. So give it here."
"I don't think I will, Potter. Standing up for a Gryffindor against your own house, are you?" She stuck her nose into the air slightly and tightened her grip on the dragon.
"I said, give it here, Pansy." A bit of anger leaked into Harry's voice and Draco moved closer, hovering behind him.
"Do you know what, Potter? You can have it." She stared at the figure for a moment before adding, "If you can catch it." Parkinson cocked her arm back and threw the dragon high into the air.
Without thinking, Harry slid onto his broom and slammed his heel hard into the ground, feeling the rough earth bite through his trainers. But then he was rising, rising, rising above the ground, and it felt wonderful, unlike anything Harry had ever experienced. And then he was shooting forward toward the falling toy, pressed flat against the handle of the slim broom.
oOoOo
Snape stood at the top of the West Tower, overlooking the field where the Gryffindors and Slytherins were receiving their first flying lesson. He watched with pride as Harry's broom jumped immediately into the boy's hand. He watched with unsuppressed amusement as Weasley's broom broke his nose. However, now that Madam Hooch had left and entered the castle, the Potions Master watched the events unfolding on the lawn with more than a little unease.
He would deal with Miss Parkinson later, because at the moment he was much more preoccupied with the fact that Harry had just jumped on his broom without any type of supervision and was shooting through the air thirty feet above the ground. Snape gripped the stone windowsill with his hands, his fingers tightening and turning white from the pressure.
Harry stretched his arm out and closed his fingers around the tiny figurine, then nearly slipped from the broom as he struggled to slow down. Snape nearly jumped from the tower to save him then and there.
Instead, he watched the boy land safely, then he turned and stalked angrily down the corridors and through the doors leading out of the castle.
oOoOo
As Harry ran back toward the group of first years, toy dragon in one hand, broomstick in the other, he smiled and let out the breath he hadn't realized that he'd been holding.
Draco slung an arm around him and shouted in his ear, "You're a natural, Harry. You'll make the team next year easily!"
And then the students noticed Snape marching angrily and purposefully toward them. All but Draco backed away from Harry cautiously.
"Mr. Potter!" Snape growled, low and menacing. "Come with me." When Draco moved to accompany him, he added, "Your presence is not necessary, Mr. Malfoy."
Harry felt fear begin to settle in his stomach at the anger in his father's voice, and he knew immediately that this was not an act. Snape was really, truly upset. He shifted uneasily and followed the billowing black robes toward the dungeons.
Harry stepped into Snape's office and took a seat in one of the straight-backed chairs tentatively as the man seated himself behind the desk.
"What in the name of Merlin did you think you were doing?" Snape leveled Harry with a vicious glare.
"I-I-" Harry stumbled over his words, trying to fight off the fears that were jumping into his head at every moment. "I was – Pansy took Ron's dragon and I was trying to get it back." He looked at his hands, where the small creature waved its tail back and forth lazily, oblivious to the tension in the room.
Snape held his hand out. "Let me see the dragon." When Harry handed it to him, he placed it forcefully on the dark wood of the desk with a clack. Harry jumped. "Do you have any idea the danger you put yourself in for this toy? This useless, worthless piece of plastic? Did you ever even stop to consider?"
Harry shook his head, staring hard at the toy.
"Use your words."
"No, sir."
"I didn't think so," Snape bit out. "I have no idea what possessed you to get on that broom. I know for a fact that Madam Hooch instructed all of you to stay on the ground or face expulsion. Do you want to be expelled, Harry?"
"No, sir."
"I didn't think so," the man repeated. "Now, there was no supervision. You had no experience on a broom. You could have been injured. You nearly fell just trying to slow down. If I had not been there watching to ensure nothing went wrong, Merlin knows what would have happened had you fallen. My word, Harry, I thought you were smarter than this."
Harry shifted his shoulders as if he had just been struck by Snape's words. He was fighting off tears as he whispered, "I'm sorry."
Snape's face softened slightly. "I am happy to hear that you are sorry, but it does not change the fact that you put yourself in danger today." He waved his wand and a long sheet of parchment appeared on the desk, as well as a quill and inkwell. "I want you to write 'I will think before I act.'"
"How many times, sir?" Harry's voice was scarcely more than a whisper.
"Just write, Harry. I will stop you when I believe that my point has been made."
Harry picked up the quill with trembling fingers and dipped it in the inkwell before beginning to scratch out the lines. The first tears fell down his cheeks and splashed onto the paper, mixing with the splattered ink from his shaking hands.
oOoOo
An hour later, Snape looked up from the papers he was grading to evaluate Harry's work. Although the lines were written, they were shaky and sloppy, and ink spots covered the margins of the paper.
"Harry, what happened to your paper?" Snape asked, signaling for the boy to stop writing and slipping the paper toward him. "Your essays are never this messy. Besides, I taught you how to write with a quill. You should not have any trouble."
"I don't," Harry murmured.
"Then why is your paper in such a state?" Snape held up the paper for Harry's examination. As he looked carefully at the boy seated across from him, he noticed the shaking and the tear streaks down his cheeks. "Oh, Harry. Come here."
He shifted his chair back and opened his arms in an invitation to the distressed boy. Harry shot from the chair and into his arms like a rocket, his crying coming back full force. Snape wrapped his arms around his son tightly and leaned back in his chair, rocking slightly.
"Are you – are you really angry with me?" Harry choked out against the coarse fabric of Snape's cloak.
"No, Harry, no. Admittedly, I was irritated earlier at your tactless behavior, but it was because I was frightened, not because I was truly angry with you. You scared me, child. I don't want to lose you," Snape soothed.
"I'm sorry, Dad! I'm sorry! I won't do it again!" Harry said frantically, his thin hands wrapping themselves tightly in the man's robes.
"I know, I know, child. It is alright. I hope that this teaches you to think before you make foolish decisions."
Harry sniffled softly before whispering, "I love you, Daddy."
Snape's arms tightened around the boy as he replied, "I love you too, Harry. I love you too."
I hope to get the next chapter up soon.
Review please! :)
