Harry again woke bright and early the next day, stretching and feeling well rested considering his mind was full of the information from the books he had read last night. He looked over at the clock in his room and found that he had woken at 7.00 am again, he dressed quickly and quietly; shivering as he eased himself into his over-sized clothes. With a jolt he realised it was Saturday, perhaps he could have his wand back now! Making his way stealthily down the many stairs he walked briskly into the room and took his seat ignoring the frown that graced his teacher's face. He began busying himself with his food, pausing every now and then to peer up cautiously through his fringe at an attempt to subtly gauge his professor's mood. Swallowing his food down, he made a half hearted attempt at small talk. "Good morning, Sir, I trust you slept well?" he finished quickly.
"Potter, we both know you are dying to ask something so please spare me the fake enquiries into my routine and just ask what it is you want to ask." Snape responded tiredly. He noted again that the boy looked even better than he had yesterday and would have been somewhat pleased had he let himself feel such an emotion.
"Right Sir, Sorry. It... it's Saturday, Sir I was wondering if maybe.. maybe I could have my wand back now?" Harry enquired swiftly with a hint of hope behind his words.
"I know what day it is Potter! Do not confuse me with some idiot who does not have a grasp on such common knowledge. You will find it gets you nowhere" Snape bit back brusquely. "In answer to your question, I did say you may have your wand back today did I not?" With that he handed Harry back his wand sharply as if he had no other desire than to be rid of it as if it could contaminate him in some way.
Harry quickly took the proffered wand and felt the familiar warming sensation surge through his body. He could not help but break into a huge grin at having it back, it was like a safety blanket to him and in some ways this analogy was not far from the truth. With it he could now protect himself against anyone or anything that threatened him. "Thanks Sir." He ground out quickly, not wishing to anger the man so early and have it whipped away from him again.
Snape eyed him, deep in thought and gave Harry a small nod in acknowledgement. Finding nothing to criticise, Snape quickly finished his food and left to do some brewing. He gave Harry the rest of the day to finish all of the books that had been retrieved from the Library. Once alone, he began to make all the potions required for the Hogwarts infirmary. Poppy would be grateful for the supply, he knew. As he worked, he began contemplating all that was the idiotic boy-who-lived. Snape felt confused, he had clearly seen the injuries the boy had been sporting, knew without a doubt that it had not been a one time thing as he had hoped for, but could not find anything that hinted at abuse. The boy was just as boisterous and arrogant as Snape had always thought, that sort of behaviour wasn't typical of one so brutally treated. Most people in Harry's shoes had ended up in his own house, it made sense. Self preservation was something kids like Harry and himself (if he was honest enough about it) picked up at an early age. It was something that was required to survive in those types of environments. Carefully pulling up his walls to safe-guard his mind, blocking everything out in the process, Snape felt he had exhausted the subject enough for now, he would have his answers eventually. The thought of it all made his head feel like it was being battered by invisible fists.
Harry had skipped off to his bedroom, delighted with his wand. Without thinking, he excitedly said "Lumos!" His wand quickly lit itself as expected, yes Harry had missed his wand! Clearly speaking the word "Nox", the light diminished leaving only the natural lighting in the room again. At last he could start performing silencing spells before he went to sleep! He would not have to resort to the hidden stash of dreamless sleep potions he had hidden in his trunk after all, the professor would never know of Harry's dreams or his ability to brew this specific potion when he so readily believed Harry to be too stupid to even contemplate it. What Snape didn't know wouldn't hurt him, Harry thought gleefully. Nobody but him knew that he brewed this potion in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom just before the end of term, not even Moaning Myrtle herself! He always went to the bathroom during the periods when she left the toilet to frequent another spot, he had discovered this when he had been brewing the pollyjuice potion with Ron and Hermione. Grinning to himself, Harry practised his magic then settled to read through a couple more of the books on Occlumency. He felt he was beginning to understand it more. Meeting Snape down in the dining room for lunch, Harry could not stop the smile that graced his features all the way through dinner.
Snape just frowned deeply into his plate, he had once caught Harry's eye and in doing so, realised with a sharp pang of grief that Lily's eyes were staring at him from across the table. Feeling an oversized lump form in his throat, he felt the need to get away from Harry as fast as possible. He did also note that seeing Harry so happy was not as horrible as he would usually of thought, he must be ailing for something, he decided quickly. Finishing his food, he bid his farewell for the day after feeling satisfied that Harry was indeed reading the books and needing to be on his own as usual. He was safer on his own, nothing could distract him from his brewing especially not stupid boys named Harry Potter!
