Chapter 91 – Roses
Harry's good humor was not impaired as the day went on, and he was surprised how well things went that first day back after the week of extraordinary events.
In the back of his mind, he'd been concerned about how he'd be able to balance a full school schedule with the translation work that he still needed to finish. He was only about a quarter of the way through Salazar Slytherin's books of Light, and not much more than that through the volumes that Lucius Malfoy had lent them. While Mr. Malfoy had not said anything about wanting them back, Harry felt pressure to get those done quickly lest access be cut off with minimal warning. Harry saw those books, the ones that Voldemort himself had studied, as the ones most likely to contain clues about his thoughts and plans; even though Harry had rather thoroughly scuttled Voldemort's original plans, any insight into the mind of his nemesis could yield an important advantage.
And he'd been trying to make progress with the research notes on vampirism, although the complexity of the potions work was daunting. He was very glad that Severus had offered to work through that with him. His translations of such technical material with minimal technical knowledge himself were not likely to capture the important nuances; it was only after he and Severus discussed the points thoroughly and went carefully over the words in the Parseltongue text that they agreed on the English translation to use. He felt that his input contributed far less than half of the work behind that translation, although he could not just translate words into English and turn the work over to Severus for polishing – there was too much discussion at every point. He'd never really appreciated the subtlety in Parseltongue before this.
He noticed a slight shift in the kind of work some of his teachers were giving some of the students. A new level of sophistication was introduced into a few courses – Professors McGonagall and Flitwick offered some instruction on wandless magic in class, for example. Most students had no real chance of ever achieving that, but Harry was not the only one to express interest. It was clearly going to take work and practice, but it was an exciting deviation from the usual syllabus.
Harry was a bit embarrassed to be singled out with a requirement that his homework essays be shorter than his classmates. Professor McGonagall was particularly specific about the fact that his work on translating certain ancient texts was much more critical than developing the fullest understanding of certain principles of Transfiguration. She sagely deflected jealousy and criticism by reminding everyone that he'd have to be tutored later on the points that they were learning now through their homework.
"Mr. Potter, for the time being, the time you spend on the translations of those texts is the best use of your time. When those are completed, your professors will work with you individually on the principles that you will not be learning as well as your classmates because of reduced homework assignments. I'm sure with some concerted efforts before exam time, we will be able to cover all that you need to learn."
At lunch, Dean Thomas asked Harry about what he was translating, inadvertently giving Harry the opportunity to assure that no one felt he was getting off lightly. "We've got a number of notebooks written in Parseltongue. Some we believe were consulted by Voldemort himself in creating some of the spells he's used, so we want to understand as much as we can about what he knew when he was working, and some of the texts are very ancient notebooks, created at about the same time. And then we've got the notes on vampirism that were made by Silvius Ventus about 400 years ago, that I promised to translate. Those are the toughest – Ventus was a potions master, and all of his theories relate to very complicated potions work. I've been working on those with Severus, because there are so many nuances, and we have to go over everything so carefully to be sure we capture the right meaning in English."
A few of Harry's classmates still flinched when he said Voldemort's name, although Harry had long ago stopped being too accommodating of that silly superstition among people he felt ought to know better. He noted, and smiled to himself, that even fewer of his classmates reacted at all to his use of Professor Snape's first name. The looks of sympathy for someone having to read such technical potions work and then discuss it with Snape, of all people, were sincerely offered by virtually all who heard (or overheard) that story, but it was pretty much accepted now that the man was Harry's bondmate and a certain familiarity was to be expected. Harry noticed the look of abject horror that came from Neville. Harry decided to end this conversation now and deflect the attention to his friend.
"So, Neville, how are things coming along with your grandmother's class?"
"She's been developing a syllabus, with lots of input from 'Mione," he replied, nodding over to Hermione, who was listening with interest. "Gram was planning for two classes, one for general students and one more advanced, by invitation only. The articles for the Prophet will start running this week, and Gram commented that maybe the material for the general class should just be put into the articles. You'll be writing most of those, won't you, 'Mione?"
"We got a stack of letters from the Prophet that supposedly represent questions witches and wizards are asking about how to stay safe and defend against attacks from dark forces." Raising her eyebrows, she added "These presumably are the same witches and wizards who ran for cover and did absolutely nothing when you were attacked in Hogsmeade earlier this year. What use they will make of instructions on how to defend themselves against demons or banshees, when they were totally unable or unwilling to do anything when confronted with armed wizards, is open to conjecture. Mrs. Longbottom's responses to the letters were, shall we say, very unvarnished."
Harry chuckled. Severus had shared his assessment of the old woman's bluntness; even among those very familiar with blunt, unforgiving speech, hers stood out, even years later. "You've edited those responses, I gather?"
"The editors were pleased with the first column we submitted. As Mrs. Longbottom and I discussed the letters and she reviewed my proposed articles, she's suggested that it might be more appropriate to just conduct periodic open forums for members of the public on general defensive approaches, and only run a real class for people with some actual aptitude. As I've been looking over the questions, though, I've added a few other subjects to be covered in the articles, and a few that should go into the advanced course."
Neville nodded, and looked very uncomfortable. "Gram is going to start working with me in the afternoons on how she wants to handle demonstrating spells and things. I knew we'd be working on demon banishing, but she's covering things like repelling inferi, and silencing banshees, and controlling Nundus. I don't know if I can keep all that straight, as I gather you use really different approaches to each of them."
"Who will be invited to participate in the advanced class?" Seamus wanted to know.
Hermione looked at Neville for an answer, who looked at Harry. Harry was silent, so Neville offered what he knew. "I'm not sure. Gram said Aurors will be invited – she had to offer that to calm the Ministry down a bit. She mentioned foreign witches and wizards, but I haven't heard anything detailed; I'm not sure if the Ministry is inviting them, or how that's being handled. And I think some students and faculty here, and maybe some other people that Professor Dumbledore wants to include, will be invited."
"Well, if there's a sign-up sheet, be sure to point it out to me. I'd love to be in that class!" Seamus offered, to nods from Dean and Ron, and others down the table. Hermione seemed pleased with that expression of interest, even if Neville seemed rather mystified that others would actually WANT to do this.
X X X X X X X X X X
Harry's time with Severus that evening was devoted to making progress on the Ventus notes. Harry was sprawled on the couch with Severus seated in his chair by the fire, as they went over each line.
"Harry, repeat that last sentence again, the specific words, as best you can, in English."
For what felt like the tenth time, Harry complied, but with a whine in his voice. They had been working for hours on this one section and Harry was frustrated. He did not see how the words he kept saying were connected, and he did not see in the material anything that worked as an explanation of the connection. Severus lifted his eyebrows in response to the whine, but mentally kept his focus on the words, intent on finding a clue that would unlock this puzzle. He finally zeroed in on one word that might be pivotal to the potion being discussed here, and to a much larger issue of the direction of the work in general.
"Is there anything about the use of that word that differs here from use elsewhere in the notes? You've mentioned that word before, but the context right here seems to be a bit different."
At least having some explanation for this excruciatingly tedious process helped. Maybe there was something unique about the use of that word here as opposed to the other times it had come up. Harry flipped through pages of the text that they'd already translated, and found where it appeared before. He also paged ahead a few pages, to see if the word appeared. Having found several such instances, he started working his way through each, teasing out any nuance in presentation and difference, and discussing them with Severus.
It was nearly the end of their work that evening when Severus finally thought he saw the elusive concept of the passages to which so much time had been devoted.
"Harry, I see the issue here. I believe that some little-known properties of a very rare plant captured Ventus' attention. I'd like to take a break here to work out the material to this point. I see the direction he was heading, and the potion he was theorizing. I'll do some work with this myself in my lab, and give you a break from this for a while."
Harry was glad to put that material aside for a few days, and resume work on the other texts. At least there, the concepts themselves made some sense to him.
For his part, Severus was intrigued. He'd recognized some of the references as he now understood them in this old document. His mother's research notes had some startling parallels to Ventus' work. He needed to consult those notes, which he'd stored away in his private lab years ago. It was possible that she was even working with one of the same very rare plants, although apparently not as aware as she should have been of those little-known properties. It was very possible that her lack of awareness of those properties led to her death.
Harry had fallen asleep long before a tired, but excited, Severus joined him in bed that night.
X X X X X X X X X X
Severus took the first opportunity he had on Tuesday to go down to the greenhouses to speak with Professor Sprout. He found her repotting some mewling Mandrakes, fortunately behind a strong silencing spell. He gestured to get her attention.
The little witch got the Mandrake into the new pot and covered with soil before canceling the silencing spell with a flourish of her wand. She directed Severus over to her desk, where she brushed some soil and plant debris from a chair and gestured for him to take a seat. Taking care that he not sit on something that would soil or stain his robes, he cautiously did so. "What brings you to the greenhouses this morning, Severus?"
"I am starting some research, and believe I will need some rather rare plants."
"Of course. Always happy to help. What do you need?"
He pulled a small piece of parchment from his robes. "I've found references to these plants – I have not been able to determine if these are different names for the same plant, or different plants altogether. One is carnifex rosa, and the other is rosa avaeritas."
Pomona studied the paper for a few moments, scratching her chin with a dirt-encrusted finger. "Hmmm. Never heard of these, but I'm not all that familiar with roses. Their names in particular get altered over the years." She spotted Neville Longbottom working in the greenhouse outside her office, and called to him, waving him in to join her.
Neville was always happy to talk to Professor Sprout, although he paled as he entered the office and found his least favorite professor sitting there with her. For his part, Severus enjoyed the small gulp he saw Neville make when he noticed him.
"Neville, Professor Snape has asked for our assistance in securing some special plants for some potions work. Any thoughts?" She passed the slip of paper along to her student, who read over the plant names in thoughtful silence.
"These aren't the names of any roses we've cataloged, but rose names do tend to change over time. I'll check the older texts for references to these names, and see if I can find out what they are called today, and where we might be able to secure some plants for you, sir." Neville hoped that he was able to contain the look of relief that passed over his features until after he'd turned his back to leave Professor Sprout's office.
Neville was fast becoming the busiest student at Hogwarts, nudging both Harry and Hermione from that status. His grandmother kept him hopping. She wanted him to work with her for at least two hours each day, and to keep his commitments to Professor Sprout in the greenhouses in the afternoon, he was forced to give up his evenings to work with his Gram. She brooked no nonsense, but to Neville's amazement, he was actually learning some spells, and to his even greater amazement, he was getting pretty good at some of them. The first class conducted by Mrs. Longbottom would be a general open forum, and it was being scheduled for the next Saturday, and the advanced classes would begin the week after that. Mrs. Longbottom and Hermione were refining the syllabus' for each while she and her grandson were preparing demonstrations and explanations. It was in the process of breaking things down into smaller pieces that Neville was learning the most; he could never keep track of all the small components of big spells when they were taught as big spells, and he produced predictably poor result, but when each element was explained individually, he was surprisingly competent.
His work in the greenhouses was far from routine. The Winter Land warriors were preparing to plant their farms for the first time in years, now that they were no longer overrun by Dementors, and they were constantly soliciting his advice as to techniques and appropriate plants. He'd already traveled there by port key twice to assist someone with a problem. He'd gotten the schedule for the Squib Squad organized and turned that over to Professor Sprout, and was now tending to some of the more temperamental and unusual plants. This assignment from Professor Snape fit right into his new role. Neville quickly found the references to these roses in a very old book that Professor Sprout kept in her private library. He learned what he could of their traits and appearance, noting with some concern that these were far from hothouse blooms. They were fragrant, but highly poisonous and potentially dangerous, with large, thick and aggressive thorns. He found some sketches and descriptions of the blooms and the plants, which he copied carefully, and then began the real detective work, finding out what those plants were called today, and where he might find them.
Under normal circumstances, Neville was not an inspired student, but in the area of magic that he loved, herbology, he was more than proficient. He hurried through his chores with the plants that he tended so he could get back to Professor Sprout's private library before dinner, and was fairly confident, by the time he headed off to dinner, that he knew the names of the plants that Professor Snape needed. A bit more research, and he expected to have some potential sources lined up by the next morning.
Dinner at the Gryffindor table on Tuesday evening was more energetic than usual. Word had come out during the afternoon that a small group of sixth and seventh year Hogwarts students would be allowed to participate in Mrs. Longbottom's advanced class. There was an application process, including an interview, and even Professor McGonagall was amazed at the excitement and enthusiasm of her Gryffindors at the chance to get into a difficult class being taught by one of the student's grandmothers. Harry looked up from the hubbub around him to see Severus smirking at the group at the table, while obviously speaking with Professor McGonagall about her students.
"We're really going to learn about Nundus, and how to control them? And we'll really learn about spells to banish demons?" Ron wanted to know. Seamus and Dean wanted to confirm that there would be advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts work. Ginny Weasley had heard that there might be some work with dragons, and hoped that her brother Charlie might be a part of the group instructing the class.
Neville was mostly nodding, while shoveling food into his mouth. The information that had been shared with students was as complete as was available right now, and he had nothing to add. Hermione was the one working most closely with his Gram on the coursework, not him.
Hermione had an exciting day of her own, but realized this was not the crowd to share her enthusiasm. She'd found more ancient spells, and had spent some time that afternoon reviewing her notes and discussing the relevancy of some of those old approaches with Mrs. Longbottom. The older woman was impressed with Hermione's research and insights, and agreed that the material should be added to the advanced course.
After dinner, Harry went back to the dungeons. At the door, he exchanged his usual pleasantries with the portrait of Salazar Slytherin and his snake, who both relished the chance to communicate with a living wizard in Parseltongue. For his part, Harry appreciated the opportunity to practice speaking the arcane language, especially with someone who wasn't a snake. Once he gained admittance, Harry waved his wand to set a small fire in the grate to take away the evening chill, and settled himself on the couch. He curled up there in his usual place to work on one of the Parseltongue texts that he'd been able to remove from his offices and translate in the comfort of his rooms.
Severus and Professor Dumbledore arrived a short while later, and Albus was quick to wave Harry back to his seat when he started to stand to greet him. He sat in one of the chairs near the fire, and Severus took the chair opposite him. Severus did not look happy, so Harry was immediately wary.
"Ah, my boy, I'm sorry to disturb your evening. I heard from Remus Lupin this afternoon, after we provided information to the Ministry about Mrs. Longbottom's advanced defensive magic course." Harry could tell that the Headmaster was irritated, but he did not seem unduly upset, to Harry's relief. "We had discussed early in the current situation that the international magical community was very worried about defending against the kind of things we anticipate Voldemort doing as he wages war against us. Many wanted you to agree to reside in their countries, I'm sure you recall."
Harry nodded. He'd not fully appreciated that they were serious about it at the time, but he'd come to realize how little the average wizard knew of defensive magic. Many in the world truly believed that they couldn't do this themselves. "Weren't you going to invite representatives from those countries to join Mrs. Longbottom's class, so there would be people in those other countries who knew the basics and could teach others?" he asked.
Severus rolled his eyes as the Headmaster nodded. "I contacted Minister Bones' office today to advise them of our plans for the class to begin next week. They wasted no time in confirming that there will be several dozen members of the Auror corps attending, and a few others from the Ministry. You, of course, know that I'm inviting some people on my own initiative, mostly people you'll know from the Order, and I image that you've heard we invited sixth and seventh year students interested in participating to apply. I specifically asked the Ministry to extend invitations to their counterparts at the foreign ministries that had asked to be included in this program. I'd broached this with Minister Bones yesterday, and she seemed amenable, but her advisors opposed it. I asked Remus to approach her again today, with news of the schedule, to see if she might be persuaded, but he firecalled this evening to tell me that the Ministry refuses to do this. Apparently Minister Bones ultimately accepted her advisors input. National security, or somesuch."
Harry was now leaning forward, with his elbows on his knees and a frown on his face. "We can't allow them to do that. Those others are scared because they've never faced anything like this. If we have someone with the background and skills, who's faced something like this before, and she's willing to step up and share her knowledge, the Ministry has no right to block us from doing this!"
Albus smiled with pride at Harry. "I expected that's how you'd feel, Harry, and I told Amelia yesterday that we regarded this as a private class. I was hoping that she'd see beyond the narrow vision of those she's chosen to advise her, but alas, that was not to be. I would like you to extend the invitations, Harry. I do have a role in the Wizengamot, after all, so my outright defiance of a Ministry decision might not go over well in some circles. You, in your unique capacity, are in a better position to do this."
Harry's eyes sought out Severus to see his reaction, but Severus was looking steadily at him, giving nothing away. "I'd be glad to extend invitations. I'll need your guidance, of course, I don't know the protocol or the people."
Albus was already getting to his feet. "Not to worry, dear boy! I'll get all the paperwork completed tonight, and if you would stop by my office tomorrow before classes, we can get everything signed and dispatched."
"Will they make trouble for us for doing this, Albus?" Severus asked with concern.
"No, I suspect that Minister Bones would have agreed, as might Auror Darmot, but she's got other advisors, at least one of whom I believe just lacks her breadth of vision and understanding. She appreciates that this is what must be done, and while she's choosing not to extend invitations from the Ministry, I don't expect trouble from them about it. I hope she realizes the limitations of those with whom she surrounds herself soon, and considers others who might more capably advise her, but that's for another day."
After Albus had departed through the floo back to his quarters, Severus took a seat on the couch, rather than in his usual chair, and Harry scooted over to him.
"How's your work on that potion from Ventus' notes coming along?"
"I made some progress. There were some references to flowers in there that I did not recognize, although part of the approach you translated reminded me of some notes my mother left, regarding her work. I found those old notes, and verified my recollection."
Harry's eyebrows went up at that. Severus had never shared any details of that work with him (and he would not have understood it if he had), but it clearly had not ended well, if the woman died in childbirth as a consequence.
"Mother used some magical roses in her potions, and some very unusual techniques in brewing that seem to be standard when working with magical roses. I noticed a reference to a similar technique in Ventus' notes. I asked Pomona Sprout for assistance in identifying the flowers, as I suspect the names used in his notes are not the names by which those roses are known today, and she's asked your friend, Mr. Longbottom, to research this for me."
Harry remembered some of their conversations about Neville, and Severus' rather firm belief that the young man had little to offer the wizarding world. He felt that a little enthusiasm for his friend's abilities was in order. "Neville's brilliant at Herbology, the exact opposite of how he does in Potions. He knows his plants. I'm sure he'll find them, and know how to tend them for you. Really, he's good with plants."
Severus did not look entirely persuaded by that praise, given his track record with Longbottom. He took a deep breath, and handed Harry his notebook while taking a pile of essays to grade from the side table for himself.
X X X X X X X X X X
Wednesday morning, Neville had some free time and made quick work of identifying Professor Snape's roses. He discussed his findings with Professor Sprout, who warmly praised his skills at unraveling the mystery so quickly. Knowing the name of the flowers was not exactly the same as knowing where he might get plants, however, and these were not plants likely to be readily available. They were very magical, and highly toxic. Neville researched the offerings from the major magical plant nurseries, and no reputable firm had these on offer. He had some contacts associated with less reputable establishments, who he thought might be willing to get him access to material like this, but they might not – these were nasty plants. He was not even sure that Professor Sprout would be able to get a supplier to make them available.
He finally concluded that he had no choice – he needed to tell Professor Snape what he'd found, and possibly he'd know of the kind of places one could procure these things.
Neville found out at lunch from Harry when Professor Snape had office hours and was there waiting in the hall when the professor opened his office door. He managed not to flinch when invited into the office, but was still quaking in his shoes when he sat down with the professor to discuss his request.
"Professor, the plants you identified haven't gone by those names for several hundred years, but I believe that they are still grown today, and it's unlikely that they've been hybridized or altered over the years. The first, carnifex rosa, is called rosa caedes now. I'm quite sure that rosa avaeritas is now known as floris sempiternitas. I went through the catalogs we have for all the reputable nurseries, and none of these plants is listed, under any name. Given their highly dangerous properties, that doesn't surprise me. But I don't have contacts in any other kind of establishment, so I was hoping that you might have some suggestions as to alternative sources."
Severus looked at Neville with shock. He'd cut through centuries of obscure references, likely made more obscure by jealous rosarians intent on making it difficult for others to follow in their footsteps, and was here in remarkably short time with answers. Severus had really not expected this. And even more shocking – Severus had an immediate source for floris sempiternitas. He recognized immediately the name of one of the flowers in the rose maze at Briarwood Hall.
"Thank you, Mr. Longbottom. I appreciate the speed with which you addressed my request. I met a young man here the other day, Eustace Landon, whose family is in the business of sourcing rare potions ingredients. I think he might still be in the castle, or I can owl him, and he might be able to help me secure the rosa caedes. As for the floris sempiternitas, I believe some grows on property that my family owns."
It was now Neville's chance to look shocked. "I'll speak to Professor Sprout about the best way to move a plant like that. I'm sure she'll have some ideas on how best to do that. Will you be transporting it, or would you like my assistance?"
"Please speak to Professor Sprout about any concerns in transplanting it. If you are free before dinner, you and I could take a portkey there and back. Let me know."
It turned out that Professor Sprout had all sorts of concerns about transporting a floris sempiternitas. "They are among the most vicious roses in the world, Neville. The thorns are huge, and aggressive. If you don't handle them exactly right, they can literally tear the flesh from your bones! If one was being shipped here by a grower, it would be stunned before it was transferred to a pot, packed in a warded crate, and kept in a stunned state until it arrived here, and we would not apply the counterspell until we'd gotten it settled into its new space. One that's never been in a greenhouse might not be susceptible to a stunning spell, or might require a much stronger spell than would ordinarily be used. It would be too dangerous to even approach that plant with a shovel if it isn't properly sedated."
Neville took a deep breath. How did he get involved in these things? "Would you mind discussing this with Professor Snape? If he needs to have the plant right here on the grounds, perhaps you and he could decide how best to move it. Or maybe you could persuade him to leave it where it is, and harvest what he needs as he goes?" With an absentminded nod of her head, Professor Sprout patted Neville's arm. "Of course, my boy. I'll talk to him."
The outcome of that conversation was the two professors heading off with portkeys to Briarwood Hall later that afternoon. Severus had firecalled ahead and spoken with the house elves, who were instructed to have an appropriate pot and crate in which to transport a floris sempiternitas plant waiting at the entrance to the maze. Upon arrival at the street in front of the house, Severus immediately swept around the side of the house to the maze, not sparing a glance at the house, although Pomona was agog at the huge home, and the elegant surroundings. She'd never seen anything like this herself, although from the newspaper articles that had appeared since his marriage to Harry Potter, she'd learned that Severus' family did have quite a bit of money. But not warmth and happiness, it appeared; she noticed several faces appear in the windows with dour expressions, and no effort was made by Severus or those in the house to greet their family member.
Severus located the pot and crate, and levitated them before him as he strode slowly into the maze, reducing his stride so his much shorter companion could keep up.
"Pomona, over here. I believe this one, and that one, and the red one over there, are the floris sempiternitas."
"They are indeed! I never knew that these were available for private gardens, Severus, given how dangerous they are."
"They've been in my family for years. I can't vouch for their provenance, but imagine this maze has been here for several generations. Maybe they were easier to come by years ago."
They selected a modest-sized, very healthy-looking specimen with bright red flowers, and Pomona hit it with a strong stunning spell, and then needed to cast the stunning spell again before it stopped quivering and shaking its thorny stems at them. At that point, Severus flicked his wand and the soil separated from the roots as the plant levitated out of the dirt and into the waiting pot. Pomona used her wand to urge some soil out of the ground and into the pot to accompany the plant on its journey, and they finally directed the whole thing into the crate, which Severus sealed and warded for transport. They retraced their steps out of the maze, which Severus was pleased to note was no longer charmed to trap unwary guests, and activated their port keys back to Hogwarts as soon as they were free of the maze.
Neville was waiting for them in the greenhouses, having cleared a space toward the back that he thought offered excellent light and drainage for the temperamental plant. He was amazed that the whole process had taken the professors less than half an hour, but he learned later that Snape had no interaction at all with his family, and just went about the business of choosing the plant and getting on with moving it here.
"I've cleared a place for the new arrival in the back there, you can see the hole." He went to assist in the planting, but Professor Snape waved him off.
"It's been stunned, and I'm not sure about how it will react when Professor Sprout administers the counterspell. I'll use magic to get it into the hole. Just stay over there."
It was a very lovely plant, all things considered. Neville admired it once its crate was unwarded and opened, and then the plant levitated out of its pot and into the hole. Finally, soil was spread around it, with a nice dose of dragon dung for fertilizer, and then a large watering can arrived to soak the rich soil and settle the plant. Only then did Professor Sprout utter the counterspell, at which time the plant shook its limbs violently for a moment before settling itself more comfortably into its new home. After a few active minutes, it seemed content, and it went quiet.
"It looks happy there, Professors. Any special care for this one?"
"Just be careful when you water it, Neville," Professor Sprout advised, as she led the two wizards out of the greenhouse. "I'll come by tomorrow to discuss what parts of the plant I'll need for my potions and we can determine how best to harvest them," Professor Snape added.
X X X X X X X X X X
The outcome of Harry's activities that day was a bit more dramatic.
As requested, he'd gone to the Headmaster's office right after breakfast to sign a number of letters inviting witches and wizards from all over the world to come to Hogwarts the next week, and stay for a period of two weeks, to participate in Mrs. Longbottom's class. He went through the letters as he signed them, noticing that some were directed to people he'd met at the Calling, like Pharaoh Nicrotis from Egypt, and others seemed to be more official, maybe even other countries' equivalent to Aurors.
Professor Dumbledore confirmed his observation. "Many of the strongest witches and wizards are not part of their governments, Harry. I would say that the young Egyptian Pharaoh is actually quite an anomaly, being both a ruler and the most powerful witch in her country. We have a mix here. We do need magically strong witches and wizards, but we also need those who are able to actually use whatever magical strength they have in defensive ways. This is a good group. I'm sure they will all be able to master the material, and be able to use it themselves should the need arise, and teach others of similar temperament to use it. It's a good start at preparing the world for what I fear is coming."
Harry never expected the explosion that came later that afternoon from the Ministry. Some officious member of Minister Bones' staff had sent a howler – a HOWLER – to Harry protesting his invitations to witches and wizards who were not citizens of Great Britain to participate in the advanced class at Hogwarts. Anyone who'd ever overheard one of Molly Weasley's howlers to one of her errant children knew what a real howler sounded like. This one sounded more like Percy's imitation of his mother's howler, very officious and self-important. In fact, when it arrived (and interrupted the Charms class), the entire class listened and everyone was laughing by the time it ended in an explosion of red paper.
Harry reported the howler to the Headmaster as soon as class ended. When Albus heard of it, he was furious, stepping through the floo immediately to meet with Minister Bones herself about the matter. Harry waited for the professor to return in his own office, getting back to his translations of the Dark notebooks that were kept there. When Albus returned, significantly calmer than when he left, he checked in on Harry and reported that Minister Bones was going to reassign one of her advisors to a position where his incompetence was less visible to those outside the Ministry.
It made for a great story over dinner that night, as did Neville's story about the arrival of a murderous plant from Snape's family home.
Harry and Severus enjoyed a quiet evening in their rooms, after a surprisingly more interesting day than either had expected. As Harry was putting away his notes and Severus was piling up red-inked essays for distribution to the class of dunderheads that produced the awful things, Harry arched his back with his hands over his head, as if to work out tension. He thought out loud that it would be lovely to soak in a great big bathtub. He'd never actually had the experience of a nice, long soak in a steamy, soapy tub, but it did seem like a perfect way to ease the tension from his body. Severus allowed a small smile to play across his lips, and he preceded Harry into the bedroom. It took just a few minutes to transfigure a small cup into a large porcelain tub, and then to cause it to fill with steamy water and fragrant bubbles. He returned to the sitting room to spell out the fire and sconces, and lead Harry by the hand into the bedroom.
"How on earth . . . "
"You're a wizard, too, Mr. Potter. It's called transfiguration. I believe you've studied it?"
"It's brilliant! And perfect! We'll both fit, too. Hurry up, then."
Harry was peeling his clothes off as he spoke, and hopped into the water, waiting for Severus, who took the time to fold things over the chair rather than leave them on the floor, to join him. Severus maneuvered Harry to sit between his legs, leaning back on his chest, as the older man leant against the tub. Harry practically melted when Severus began to massage his shoulders and neck, and a bit later, Severus had to levitate his sleeping, and now water-wrinkled bondmate, out of the water and into the bed. While Severus had a few memories of particularly exciting encounters in large bath tubs, those sort of experiences were still in Harry's future. The young man had simply wanted to experience a relaxing soak in a large tub. How sad it was that he'd reached his teenage years without having had that chance, but at least Severus assured he'd had that opportunity now. A little bit of frustration on his part was not such a big price to pay.