Chapter 7: The new teacher

Harry had been quite disappointed by his trip. He had hoped to be allowed to explore some of the other stores. However, as Midas regretfully explained to him, they had simply spent too much time with Ollivander. And he immediately took the wand from him as soon as they landed in front of the house by portkey. He would be allowed to use it only during his lessons.

Over the next three weeks, Harry slipped into a state of depression. The next family dinner was particularly unpleasant, since Uncle Vernon gave him a long lecture on how he was to behave during his lessons and hold back his 'abnormalities'. Harry kept a stony face and a stoic demeanor. He had learned early on that it was never a good idea to show any emotions in front of the Dursleys.

It wasn't until his birthday that you could hear him laughing again. Midas had come to see him that afternoon, and had blindfolded him and then led him to the guesthouse. When he took the blindfold off, Harry saw a real classroom. On the wall hung a chalkboard, in the corner stood a globe, and the shelves housed dozens of books on magic. The only thing that distinguished the room from a real classroom was the number of desks: A total of three desks for the teachers, arranged next to each other before the board, opposite only a single desk stood – for Harry.

Then Midas led him into the new lab in the basement, and then finally into the small greenhouse. Not that there was much to see. Midas said they would plant the plants together with the new teacher who would come in one week.

Harry awaited his arrival with tension. At least, this man would teach him in three subjects (Herbology, Potions, and the one which Harry was especially curious about, Defense against the Dark Arts). That meant that he would spend a lot of time with him. In the meantime, he was content to read by himself in the magic books. With every word he read, a new world revealed itself to him, and gave his wish to be free of the Dursleys new hope.

Severus Snape hated apparating into an unknown place. But he had no other choice. Midas Fox's instructions had been clear when he was hired and had revealed Harry Potter's place of residence.

He landed in a sunny room. The large windows gave a clear view of an enormous mansion. The room itself was only sparsely furnished, so even though it was fairly small it looked quite roomy.

"Good morning, Mr. Snape," a voice behind him said. "I can see you had no problem finding us."

Severus was not surprised to see Midas Fox standing in the doorway. One did not survive long in the service of Voldemort, if you did not grow eyes in the back of your head.

"Good morning!" he answered. "Obviously, your instructions were extremely accurate."

He hated the pointless exchange of pleasantries. He hated the haughty style with which Midas Fox had hired him. So he fixed on him his most notorious teacher glare that never failed to make every Hogwarts student uneasy, even long after they had graduated. Unfortunately, Midas Fox had never been his pupil. Consequently, he was only mildly impressed.

"I have some things I would like to discuss with you before I introduce you to Harry. Shall we?" He directed Severus to a small comfortable living room area. "May I offer you something to drink? Coffee? Tea? Butterbeer? Firewhisky?"

"At this hour, coffee would probably be the most appropriate. Black, no sugar, please."

Severus had to admit that at least the coffee was good. Hot, strong and very bitter, exactly how he liked it.

"I am certain I don't have to tell you," Midas Fox began his little speech, "that everything you see here, if at possible, must be kept confidential. We especially appreciate not having Harry's private life dragged into public." But they have nothing against having his face plastered on every damn wall. "Harry may be a celebrity, but in the end, he is only a small boy. And we want him to remain that way. That is why we treat him as if he were any other boy. Nobody here mentions his celebrity status, and I expect you will also not fail to do likewise." As if he had the smallest desire to pamper Potter even more. If the boy was anything like his father, he already had an oversized ego. No reason, to give any more support to his arrogance. "We are in the Muggle world, and Harry's family occasionally has guests. Therefore, all lessons will take place in the guesthouse. We do not want the Muggles to notice us." The Muggles or Harry's family? Surely, adequate rooms could also be found in the mansion. "You have certainly noticed that the guesthouse has been put under a Muggle defense and an invisibility charm. Within this area, you may move around. I am relying on you to keep to these instructions. I would prefer not to endanger Harry's life, but I am compelled because of a request by the Ministry."

Indeed, Severus did not believe that something like that would make a difference as long as Potter himself was under the Fidelius charm, but he agreed anyway. Not that he really had a choice. As long as he lived and worked here, he had to abide by their rules.

"Well then, now we come to the lessons themselves. Have you already thought about a curriculum for Harry?"

Naturally, Severus had done so. He would not start his new position unprepared.

"I have prepared an adequate program."

Midas Fox turned out to be extremely inquisitive. He made Severus describe every detail of this curriculum. Then he went over again – which in Severus Snape's eyes was ridiculously excessive – the safety measures of the mansion. It was already midday, when he finally said: "I'll give you a quick tour of the rooms, and then introduce you to Harry."

Even if Severus would never admit it, he was looking forward to meeting the boy-who-lived.


Harry had spent the morning in the classroom. Midas had told him that he was to wait there for him and the new teacher. In the beginning, he kept looking expectantly to the door, but soon became engrossed in one of the many books instead.

As time passed by Harry slowly became nervous. It was almost noon. Aunt Petunia would expect him at exactly twelve o'clock for lunch. If he were not in the kitchen, he would get nothing warm. This would mean five days in a row of nothing but sandwiches. In addition, his aunt would give him a lecture at the next-best opportunity.

Midas had told him that he should wait. But so far, he had not seen him. Besides, Harry was starting to get really hungry. Soon Harry decided to leave the classroom and ran to the mansion.

He arrived just in time, before his aunt had left the kitchen.

"I should just go," she said. "You haven't even peeled the potatoes, and now you have come too late." Never-the-less, to Harry's great relief, she put some ingredients on the counter.

Harry didn't know what she was going to cook, however he didn't protest. He followed her instructions and peeled the potatoes, cleaned the vegetables and prepared the salad. Meanwhile Aunt Petunia grumbled quietly to herself.

"It's about time you cook for yourself. You're big enough, and it really isn't acceptable that I am still wasting my valuable time taking care of your needs."

Harry tried hard to hide his joy. If it had been up to him, he would have started cooking for himself long ago. After all, he had helped his aunt cook for years. In fact, the only thing she actually did was throw the ingredients into the pot or pan in the correct order. He could also do that for himself.

The only reason he hadn't started yet, was that his refrigerator simply did not hold the ingredients needed for a good meal. In it, there was only cheese, sausage, jam, and a little milk. Not even butter. And the only vegetables that were available to him were potatoes and tomatoes. The tomatoes were so that he ate something healthy (but he didn't really care for them), and the potatoes were so that he could peel them, and have them ready for when his aunt came to cook for him.

Harry had thought about asking if he could start cooking for himself. But if he had done that, his relatives would have certainly never permitted it. So he had held back and just hoped that he aunt would eventually decide cooking was too much. In view of her usual laziness with regard to manual labor (she was quick at pointing out even the smallest grain of dust to the maids, however she never lifted a finger herself), he had actually thought it wouldn't have taken as long as this. He had almost given up hope, but now, it appeared as if his wish was going to be fulfilled. Never again would he have to depend on the whims of Aunt Petunia's moods, every day a warm meal, and not just at noon, but whenever he was hungry. This day couldn't get any better.

It was half past twelve when he returned to the guesthouse. Aunt Petunia always chose meals that could be prepared as quick as possible, and then he had bolted his meal down as fast as he could, even though it was liver. He hated liver, but Aunt Petunia always cooked him things that were as healthy as possible. Things like fatty roast or sweets he only got on family days.

Harry tore open the door to the classroom but paused on the threshold when he saw the two men. One was Midas. The other was a tall man with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and pale skin. In his black robes, he looked extremely scary, and the piercing look that he threw Harry only intimidated him more. Harry withdrew a step uncertainly. He only hoped that this was not his new teacher.