Chapter Twenty-One
A bit of Snape and Harry moment in this one...
---
The next day was our first of the semester. I awoke as the sunlight streamed through the window, thinking perhaps I had indeed returned to my own world and had woken up from a bitter-sweet dream. However, as I turned over and found myself face-to-face with Draco, I sighed quietly and got up to dress.
"G'morning, Harry," Draco slurred sleepily as he sat up in his own bed, rubbing his eyes and running a hand through his long strands of hair. "Why're you up so early? It's not even eight yet."
"I wanted to take a shower before breakfast," I lied, tying my scarlet and gold tie around my neck. "I'll meet you down in the Great Hall for breakfast in a half hour."
I left before Draco could ask me any more questions, descending down the winding staircase into the Common Room that was so familiar, yet so very different. Without a second glance, I made my way through the portrait and into the halls of the just-waking castle.
As I walked through the nearly deserted halls, I looked around with utter amazement. While I had been an orphaned student, the halls seemed so damp and dark. Now that my mother and father were alive, whether I was dreaming or unconscious, the bricks seemed to shimmer with magic from the very core of the stones.
I stopped on a landing of a staircase on the second floor, sitting in a wide stone windowsill to watch the sun rise gracefully over the Forbidden Forest. I sat there for what must have been at least a quarter of an hour before I felt a hand on my shoulder, making me jump at least three inches in the air.
"What are you doing here, Harry?" a deep, warm voice asked me. I slowly turned around, my eyes wide with surprise.
"Just watching the sun rise," I replied quietly, looking into the—into the unbitter eyes of Professor Snape. No matter how many times I spoke with him, the change in his demeanor still surprised me quite a bit. It simply wasn't something I was used to as of yet.
"A worthy pastime," he nodded in appreciation. "I was just coming down from seeing your mother. We talked about you quite a bit, and she was worried you weren't going to be able to get along with your friends as well as you had before. Have you experienced any sort of troubles in that area?"
I shook my head slowly, almost unwilling to release the information to my once most hated professor. "I get along with everyone just as I did before, although some of their situations are a bit different."
"Oh?" Professor Snape questioned me, raising his eyebrow in an almost amused and tolerating manner. "Such as?"
"Neville Longbottom," I answered cautiously. "His parents aren't insane."
Snape blinked in poorly masked surprise. "Why, pray tell, would they be insane?"
"The Crucio Curse," I shrugged. "In the… in the world I remember, I suppose, his parents were tortured by Voldemort and went insane. Neville lived with his grandmother for almost his entire life, and was almost deemed a Squib—is he as awful in potions as he was before?"
"Well, I'm not altogether sure how awful he was before, but I can assure you, he is worse." Snape smiled, a rare look of humor—or perhaps not so rare—gracing his pale, but not unhealthily so, features. "He is adequate in each of his other subjects, however, and excels greatly in Herbology."
"Good," I nodded firmly. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear."
We were silent for a moment as the Sun rose steadily through the trees, making the leaves look as if they were on fire. I shuddered as an early-morning cool breeze ran through the window, bringing a draft onto the landing.
"Shall I suggest, Harry, that you and I escort each other into the Great Hall for breakfast? It's nearly half-past, and if you wish to eat something before your first lesson of the day…"
I nodded mutely and hopped off of my perch, following the tall dark man down the staircase and through various halls until we reached the large foyer, where many students were gathered, greeting friends in high, happy voices as they slowly streamed in to eat their first of what was to be many breakfasts at Hogwarts that year.
A bit of Snape and Harry moment in this one...
---
The next day was our first of the semester. I awoke as the sunlight streamed through the window, thinking perhaps I had indeed returned to my own world and had woken up from a bitter-sweet dream. However, as I turned over and found myself face-to-face with Draco, I sighed quietly and got up to dress.
"G'morning, Harry," Draco slurred sleepily as he sat up in his own bed, rubbing his eyes and running a hand through his long strands of hair. "Why're you up so early? It's not even eight yet."
"I wanted to take a shower before breakfast," I lied, tying my scarlet and gold tie around my neck. "I'll meet you down in the Great Hall for breakfast in a half hour."
I left before Draco could ask me any more questions, descending down the winding staircase into the Common Room that was so familiar, yet so very different. Without a second glance, I made my way through the portrait and into the halls of the just-waking castle.
As I walked through the nearly deserted halls, I looked around with utter amazement. While I had been an orphaned student, the halls seemed so damp and dark. Now that my mother and father were alive, whether I was dreaming or unconscious, the bricks seemed to shimmer with magic from the very core of the stones.
I stopped on a landing of a staircase on the second floor, sitting in a wide stone windowsill to watch the sun rise gracefully over the Forbidden Forest. I sat there for what must have been at least a quarter of an hour before I felt a hand on my shoulder, making me jump at least three inches in the air.
"What are you doing here, Harry?" a deep, warm voice asked me. I slowly turned around, my eyes wide with surprise.
"Just watching the sun rise," I replied quietly, looking into the—into the unbitter eyes of Professor Snape. No matter how many times I spoke with him, the change in his demeanor still surprised me quite a bit. It simply wasn't something I was used to as of yet.
"A worthy pastime," he nodded in appreciation. "I was just coming down from seeing your mother. We talked about you quite a bit, and she was worried you weren't going to be able to get along with your friends as well as you had before. Have you experienced any sort of troubles in that area?"
I shook my head slowly, almost unwilling to release the information to my once most hated professor. "I get along with everyone just as I did before, although some of their situations are a bit different."
"Oh?" Professor Snape questioned me, raising his eyebrow in an almost amused and tolerating manner. "Such as?"
"Neville Longbottom," I answered cautiously. "His parents aren't insane."
Snape blinked in poorly masked surprise. "Why, pray tell, would they be insane?"
"The Crucio Curse," I shrugged. "In the… in the world I remember, I suppose, his parents were tortured by Voldemort and went insane. Neville lived with his grandmother for almost his entire life, and was almost deemed a Squib—is he as awful in potions as he was before?"
"Well, I'm not altogether sure how awful he was before, but I can assure you, he is worse." Snape smiled, a rare look of humor—or perhaps not so rare—gracing his pale, but not unhealthily so, features. "He is adequate in each of his other subjects, however, and excels greatly in Herbology."
"Good," I nodded firmly. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear."
We were silent for a moment as the Sun rose steadily through the trees, making the leaves look as if they were on fire. I shuddered as an early-morning cool breeze ran through the window, bringing a draft onto the landing.
"Shall I suggest, Harry, that you and I escort each other into the Great Hall for breakfast? It's nearly half-past, and if you wish to eat something before your first lesson of the day…"
I nodded mutely and hopped off of my perch, following the tall dark man down the staircase and through various halls until we reached the large foyer, where many students were gathered, greeting friends in high, happy voices as they slowly streamed in to eat their first of what was to be many breakfasts at Hogwarts that year.