A/N: Thanks to everyone who sent in reviews and comments. Also my apologies to everyone for the long delay in the posting of this chapter. I ran into a problem with one of the later chapters that I'm working on that if I hadn't fixed would have meant re-thinking and re-writing this one completely.
Also it's time for another Copyright acknowledgement.
I don't own Harry Potter or the Harry Potter world. That belongs to She Who Must Not be Named. (Except in whispers) lest she get the law firm of Dewey, Screwem & Young to come after me.
Chapter 11: The Potions Master Kisses the Floor
Wednesday, Sept 2
Harry was sitting in front of the fire in the Ravenclaw Common Room. He had Potions first thing this morning, and he was going through his Potions book again. but no matter how much he tried to read through the book, he couldn't concentrate. He was too bothered by his last class the day before.
The class, Defence Against the Dark Arts was taught by Professor Quirrel. A very odd looking man, which was saying a lot considering the things he'd seen so far in the Magical world. He was dressed in purple robes, and wore a turban. Harry remembered meeting Quirrel at the Leaky Cauldron when Hagrid first brought him to Diagon Alley, and he thought him a strange man then, what with his strange taste in clothes, and that stammer on top of it. But it was when he got to his first class with the man that Harry had really studied him….
The man had been odd to say the least and Harry could have sworn on more that one occasion he caught Quirrel staring at him. This was really the only thing that creeped Harry out. Since he come into this world, people had seemed to take an unusual interest in him, but with Quirrel, it was different somehow.
Maybe it's just Harry's warning to be careful around him that's spooked me. He thought. I'll ask Hermione what she thinks about him after class is over.
The class he gone without incident, although it was a bit boring, and more than a bit annoying as Quirrel stammered through everything he said. And then there was the strong, nearly overpowering smell of garlic that permeated the classroom. It was almost as if the man took a bath in the stuff.
Harry didn't mind garlic, he used it all the time at the Dursleys in fact, as it seemed to be the only spice other that salt that they liked. But this reminded him of the old saying about too much of a good thing.
Harry was pulled out of his memory when he heard someone coming down the stairs of the girls dormitory. He shook his head when he saw Hermione coming down the stairs. "Good morning Hermione." He said to her.
"Morning Harry. Sleep well?"
"Not too bad. A few strange dreams, but considering all the strange thing I've seen since I've come to this school, it's nothing. You ready for breakfast?"
"Absolutely. It's going to be a long morning. We have double Potions with the Hufflepuffs, and I've heard that Professor Snape isn't one of the most pleasant Professors in the school."
"Yeah, I've heard he favors his own house all the time. But I doubt he's that bad. Come on, we better get down to the Great Hall while there's something left."
Ten minutes later while eating, they heard a loud bang and looked up to see a big blue cloud of smoke rising over the Slytherin table. All the Slytherins were colored red and gold!
"Fred and George Weasley, my office NOW!" shouted Professor McGonagall to the pair.
"That was an interesting start to the morning," said Hermione, "although I wish they would have done it some time other than when we have Slytherins head of house in our first class."
"I know what you mean Harry. Professor Snape won't be in a good mood at all." She replied.
"Come on, we better get off to class before we're late." Said Harry glancing at his watch.
Hermione nodded and started gathering up her book bag which she had placed at her feet under the table. They were half way out of the hall when they were stopped by a call from Professor Flitwick.
"Mr. Potter, a moment please."
Harry and Hermione stopped and waited to the small Charms Professor to catch up to them. "Yes Sir?" Harry asked when Flitwick caught up to them.
"Mr. Potter, the Headmaster wishes to see you before class, and asked me to take you there because you won't know where his office is."
"Headmaster Dumbledore?" Harry asked. "Did I do something wrong Sir?" he asked, a little bit worried.
"Not as far as I know Mr. Potter. In fact I think he just wants to make sure that you're settling in here without any problems. He does that sometimes with students that are…well, better known than others." Said Flitwick.
Hermione frowned. "Better known?" Harry asked skeptically. "You mean famous don't you Sir?"
"Well, yes. That's probably closer to the truth than anything else I suppose."
Harry sighed as he turned to Hermione. "You might as well go ahead to class Hermione. I'll catch up to you as soon as I see what the Headmaster wants."
"Alright Harry. I'll take notes of anything you miss."
"Thanks." He replied with a smile, as she turned and headed off to the dungeons. Then turning back to his Head of house added. "After you Sir."
ooo000ooo
Headmaster's Office
Albus Dumbledore had just finished reading through his morning mail when he heard a knock on his door. "Enter." He said, already knowing who it was.
Filius, he saw came in first with Harry keeping a few respectful steps behind him. "Aw, Mr. Potter. Thank you for coming this morning. I've been meaning to speak to you but this is really the first opportunity I've had."
"Well I must admit Sir that I was curious why you wanted to see me. I was trying to remember if I'd done anything wrong on the way here, even though Professor Flitwick said I hadn't."
"Rest assured my boy, he is quite correct. No I wanted to see how your first day went and if you've been having any problems." Dumbledore replied.
Harry didn't let it show, but a warning bell went off in his head. "No Sir, my first day went well, and all the classes were amazing, at least so far."
"Good, good." Replied Dumbledore. "The other reason I wanted to see you is to tell you that if you do have any problems Harry, my door will always be open. Help will always be given to any student who asks for it."
"Thank you Sir." Harry said hesitantly. "Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Of course not Harry. That what a school is for. To ask questions."
"Well, and please don't think I'm being rude or anything Headmaster, but do you do this sort of thing for every new student? I mean ask them up here to your office to see how their first day went?"
Dumbledore didn't answer right away but instead seemed to be staring directly into Harry's eyes. Harry saw one eye twitch slightly and his smile seemed to falter for a second before he answered. "No Harry, I don't. In truth I asked you here because I knew your parents, James and Lilly very well. Both in school and after they graduated." He replied. "And while I can't show favoritism to any student, I wanted to make sure that their son wasn't having any problems getting settled in."
"Thank you for being honest Sir. I do appreciate it, and no. So far everything has gone well."
Dumbledore smiled, but to Harry, the smile seemed forced somehow. "Good then. That's really all I wanted to speak to you about, so I'll let you get back to class." And then turning to address Flitwick added. "Filius would you accompany Mr. Potter to his class and tell please Severus where he was so that he doesn't lose any points for being late?"
"Of course Albus. Come Mr. Potter."
Dumbledore watched them leave, and then put his head in his hands as soon as the door closed. No doubt about it, he thought. The boy is a natural Occlumens. It's just lucky I just brushed the outer edge of his thoughts. Now, where is that headache potion? He thought to himself as he looked through a desk drawer.
As Dumbledore looked for the potion, all thoughts of warning his Potions Master not to try to read Harry's mind again were pushed aside. By the time he remembered, it would be too late.
ooo000ooo
Potions Classroom, Dungeons.
Hermione was already sitting in her seat with her books out when Snape entered the class, his black robes billowing out behind him. He walked to the front of the room and after sitting down, pulled out a ledger and started to take attendance. When he called out the name "Potter" and got no response, he said "Does anyone know where Mr. Potter is and why he's not in class?"
Hermione raised her hand.
"Yes?" he said to her.
"Harry had to go to a meeting with the Headmaster before class Sir." She said.
"Of course he did." Snape drawled sarcastically. "Well we wouldn't want to interrupt the Headmaster's private audience with Mr. Potter would we?" and then continued on with the roll call without for an answer.
Hermione wanted to say something to the snarky man, but decided not to because not only would it do no good, but she'd likely only end up in detention. Instead, she took out parchment and started taking notes as Snape outlined the goals of the first term, and then what he expected them to do for they're first attempt at brewing a potion.
It was nearly 20 minutes before she heard a knock at the classroom door and Harry walked in. She saw that the Professor Snape was about to say something, but stopped when she saw Harry accompanied by Professor Flitwick.
"Sorry to interrupt your class Severus, but the Headmaster asked me to accompany Mr. Potter to class and let you know that he'd asked to see him before class started."
"Not at all. It's perfectly, alright. Thank you." He said coldly, the look on his face clearly saying that it was not perfectly alright. "Take your seat Mr. Potter."
"Well," Flitwick continued. He seemed unsure what else to say. "I'll let you get back to it then." and with a slight bow added, "Severus." And then left, closing the door behind him.
Snape walked back to his desk and took the ledger out again, marked something in it, and then flipped it closed with an irritated snap.
"Now, as I was saying…" He began, looking straight at Harry, "before I was interrupted, you are here to learn the art of potion making. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of a simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, or the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind and ensnaring the senses ... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even how to put a in stopper death itself – that is if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."
Silence followed this little speech. Harry and Hermione looks with raised eyebrows. "Potter!" Snape said without warning. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
"That would give you the beginnings of the Draught of Living Death Sir." Harry replied without hesitation.
Snape blinked, but quickly asked, "and where would you look if I told you to find me a Beazor?"
Again, without hesitation, Harry answered, "In the stomach of a goat Sir."
"What is the difference, Potter, between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?"
"Nothing Sir. They're different names for the same plant." Harry answered, and then added, "It's also known as Aconite in older parts of Europe."
Harry saw a red color starting to build up in Snape's face. "And where did you get this information Mr. Potter. Those last two aren't in the first year syllabus."
"I bought a few extra books when I got my textbooks Sir," Harry said almost sheepishly, looking down at his desk. "One of them was on potions."
"Potter!" Snape said staring at him. Harry looked up at the Professor and the two locked eyes. Suddenly Snape screamed out and grabbed the sides of his head. It was like what he did in the Great Hall, only this time it seemed much worse, and when he fell to the floor, he lay there twitching, blood flowing out his nose and ears.
Nobody moved, and the only sound was Snape's foot spasmodically hitting the side of his desk. Suddenly the classroom door banged open, and everyone saw Argus Filch, the caretaker standing in the door. "What happened? I heard someone scream. Where's Professor Snape gone? What ha…"
"Mr. Filch," Hermione said, "Professor Snape collapsed by the side of his desk. It was him you heard scream. Please go get help."
"Collapsed? What…where…" and then he saw the man lying on the floor.
"Mr. Filch!" Hermione said more forcefully. "Get help now!"
Filch seemed to come back to himself, and then taking a last look at Snape lying by his desk, ran.
Everyone started talking at once as Harry and Hermione went over to Snape. "Is…is he alive?" she asked Harry.
Harry placed his fingers on the side of Snape's neck and felt for a heartbeat. "Yeah, he's alive. He just seems to be out cold." Harry told her.
"Do you think we should try to move him or something?" she asked shakily.
"No." Harry said. "We don't know what's wrong with him. It could do more harm if we move him. Let's just wait for a teacher."
Hermione nodded.
They didn't wait long before they heard people running towards the classroom. Both looked up to see Professor Mcgonagall and another witch who they had both seen at the heads table come rushing into the classroom and up to where Snape lay.
"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, what happened?"
"Professor Snape was talking about potion ingredients, when he grabbed his head, screamed, and then dropped to the floor." Hermione told the woman, who they found out later was Poppy Pomfrey, the school's healer. "He isn't doing it now, but he was twitching after he fell." Harry added.
Poppy Pomfrey pulled out her wand and started to wave it over Snape, muttering under her breath. When she finished, she turned to Mcgonagall and said. "We have to get him to the hospital wing Minerva, quickly. He's suffered some kind of massive seizure."
Between the two of them they got Snape onto a conjured stretcher and started to float him out of the classroom. When they got out into the hall, Poppy said "Minerva, what about the students?"
McGonagall stopped and then turned back to the class. "Class is dismissed. Everyone return to your home rooms, or you may go to the library if you wish." She then hurried after Poppy.
ooo000ooo
Harry2 watched from the corner as Snape was floated out of his class and off to the hospital wing. I knew the miserable bastard would try again, he thought to himself. At least he'll be out of Harry's hair for a few weeks. It's just too bad he didn't pull out his wand and try it full power. THAT would have been something to see. He felt a slight rumble as he thought this. I'm sorry if you don't like what I was thinking Hogwarts. But you know better than anyone else what the man is like, and it's not like I did it to him. He did it to himself. He got no answer, but he felt the castle rumble again, although this time it was softer.
ooo000ooo
Hospital Wing
Dumbledore had rushed to the Hospital Wing as soon as he heard what had happened to his Potions Master, knowing somehow what had happened. When he arrived, he found Madam Pomfrey doing a scan of Severus Snape. "What happened to him Poppy?"
Pomfrey finished her scan and then turned to the Headmaster. "He seems to have suffered a severe mental attack Headmaster. It's caused his mind to shut down completely."
"Shut down? Will he be alright? I mean, will he recover?" Dumbledore asked her, hoping for the best.
"I believe so, but I won't know till he wakes up, and then it will likely be a few weeks before he is able to return to teaching."
"Do you have any idea how it happened?" he asked.
"None at all. I was alerted by Mr. Filch who said that he heard a scream in the Potions classroom as he was passing by, and the students told him that Severus had grabbed the sides of his head and collapsed." She shook her head. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he was blasted by an extremely powerful Occlumens, but he was in a first year class, so no one there could have done it."
"No, of course not." Dumbledore said. Deciding not to mention Harry as it would bring up questions about why his Potions teacher was illegally trying to read a students mind. "Do whatever you can for him Poppy, and please, keep me informed of any changes, day or night"
"Of course Headmaster."
Dumbledore looked at Snape again and then turned and left to go back to his office. All the while muttering to himself about how foolish Severus had been.
ooo000ooo
Harry and Hermione decided to spend the rest of their Potions period in the library before heading down to the Great Hall for lunch. They talked about what happened to Snape, and what could have caused his collapse. Hermione had suggested that it might have been a brain aneurism as that would have caused the pain and other symptoms he showed. But Harry thought back to what his older self had told him about Snape likely trying to break into his head, and the way his shields would react. He decided not to mention this to her, at least not yet.
After they're lunch they headed out to the Greenhouse 1 where they were having their first Herbology lesson with Madam Sprout. Sprout! Harry thought. What a perfect name for someone who teaches about plants.
The class was more interesting than he thought it would be. They learned all about some of the strangest plants and fungi he had every seen, and found out what they were used for. Of course these ones weren't anywhere near as dangerous as some of the ones in the other greenhouses, two of which were kept locked at all times when there wasn't a class in them.
After class, and after they had gotten cleaned up, the rest of the day was theirs, well at least till that night when they had Astronomy…at 11:30 at night till 1 in the morning! They decided to go for a walk around the Hogwarts grounds. They started out by walking down to the Black Lake. Hermione had read that the lake was over 800 feet deep in places, and was one of the many lochs that were scattered in and around Scotland, but to Harry, it just looked like any other lake, that is till they saw the giant squid stick it's head up above the surface and splash them with water from one of it's many tentacles.
They were about to take off running when they heard a loud booming laugh. They both turned to see Hagrid sitting on the steps of his hut, laughing at them. He motioned to both of them to come over. "Do you think we should Harry?" Hermione. "We don't even know who he is after all."
"Oh he's alright." He told his friend. "That's Hagrid. He's the game and groundskeeper here, and yeah, he's big, but he's harmless. In fact he's the one who brought me my Hogwarts letter."
"Oh, Hagrid brought it to you, not one of the Professors?" she asked.
"Yup. Scared the Dursleys out of a few years of their lives too." He added with a slightly evil grin. "Didn't he deliver your letter too?"
"No, it was Professor Mcgonagall that came to out house. She also had to convince my parents about the whole magic thing being real too." And at this point she started to laugh.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Well, she wasn't too convincing, ah, at least not until she turned our coffee table into an ostrich." She started laughing again. "Dad's jaw almost hit the floor, and I'm pretty sure my mother wet her pants." It's the first time I've ever seen them completely speechless. That is until the ostrich started pecking at Dad's tie." Now Harry was laughing as well.
"Did Hagrid have to do anything like that to convince your family?"
Harry's face darkened a bit, but he was also smiling. "Well, he gave my cousin a pig tail."
"A pig tail?" she asked. "How would that convince them?"
"No, you don't understand. He made a pigs tail grow out of Dudley's backside."
"Oh…..OH! Harry, he shouldn't have done that. He could get into a lot of trouble for doing something like that."
Harry smirked, "Well it's not like he wasn't mostly a pig to start with…which is probably why the spell didn't work fully."
Hermione looked confused. "What do you mean the spell didn't work? You said he gave your cousin a pig tail. The spell seems to have worked fine."
"No, no. You don't understand Hermione. " Harry said trying not to laugh out loud. "Hagrid tried turning him into a pig, but all he got was the tail." And as he said this he lost control and started laughing.
Hermione smiled as she now understood fully. But she didn't think it was that funny and told him so.
"It's not that…" Harry managed to say, "It's just that I remembered what happened after. Dudley grabbed his backside and started running around the room screaming. He looked like someone had just run a red hot poker up his arse!" Harry said, now laughing harder.
Hermione started thinking about this and then despite he best efforts, she also started laughing, but got herself under control after a few minutes. "Alright it was funny, but he could still get into trouble for doing it you know."
"I know he could, but only if I tell on him, which I won't do, and besides, it's not like he did something that hurt Dudley is it?" This of course made Harry start thinking about his obese cousin running around screaming again. which of course made him start laughing again.
"So," Hermione began, trying to change the subject, "what do you want to do for the rest of the day? Go back to the library, or explore the grounds some more?" she asked him.
Harry's breath hitched as he managed to regain control of his laughing again and finally asked "Why not do both? We have over 8 hours before Astronomy class starts, so we can spend some more time in the library and then head out and look around some more. I hear there's an old graveyard on the castle grounds that dates back to nearly the time of the founders. If we time it right, we can be there just after dark, and maybe we'll be able to see some more ghosts."
"Graveyard? After dark?" Hermione nearly squeaked. "I don't think so Harry…at least not after dark. Maybe we could go there first while the sun is still up though."
"Okay, we'll go out there first. Maybe that would be better now that I think about it. We'll see a lot of names we won't recognize out there. Names we'll be able to look up when we come back."
"Deal." Hermione agreed holding out her hand.
Harry took her hand and shook it. "Let's go." And they headed out of the Common Room and then down towards the main gate.