Chapter 53- Boy and Man
*****Severus*****
Severus had taught Harry's class in back to back periods, first in potions and then in defense, and what he saw did not please him.
The course work was fine. The class was adequate at potions and even defense. Mister Thomas was able to name numerous traits that differentiate vampires from humans, and Miss Granger, when asked, went on for some time about how vampires can best insert themselves in society without being noticed. No one in the class even made the joke that he wa vampire himself.
But the fact that Miss Granger was sitting between Parvati Patil and Neville Lonbottom bothered Severus more than it should have.
This was enough, Severus thought as he asked Ronald Weasley to see him after class, and braced himself for meddling in the lives of teenagers whom he wasn't even related to. And it would doubtless make him late to his next lesson in the dungeons. Why could a fourteen-year-old student get a time turner and he couldn't?
"Mister Weasley, do you know why I asked to speak with you today?" Severus asked.
"Because I'm fighting with Hermione because her cat ate Scabbers, and Harry's upset about it," the boy answered sullenly, looking at the desk, "And now you're going to somehow fix it, but my rat, my pet, Scabbers, is dead!"
"And what makes you think I can fix this situation, Mister Weasley?"
The boy looked at him unhappily but answered, "Because you're a parent, and you want Harry to be happy. So you're at least going to try. And er- I want Harry to be happy too, but Hermione won't even admit that she's the one that's wrong this time!"
"If- Mister Longbottom had a- live insect collection, ants or some such, and your rat had eaten them, would you dispose of the rat? Kill it? Throw it out?"
"No! But they're- just bugs… and I never said I wanted her to kill the cat. I'd never say that," the boy huffed a bit.
"How old was your rat, Mister Weasley? I believe you had him even in your first year? Rats do not typically live very long."
"He was Percy's before Percy got an owl. He's been in the family for- I can't even remember when we got him. I was really little, and I don't think he was a young rat then."
"Then perhaps twelve, thirteen years, is exceptionally long-lived even for a magical rat. Ten is a more than full life for the creatures."
"Scabbers wasn't magical, just a normal rat."
Severus tried not to frown, "You must be mistaken, Mister Weasley. I have had all manner of rodents before, and non-magical rats live two or three years at the most, even with excellent care." Severus wished he hadn't said even that. It was more than likely that the Weasley parents merely replaced the rat whenever it died, but this time it was away at school with the boy. "Regardless, you should be proud of how well and healthy you kept your pet. You are aware that cats naturally eat rats, as do owls, snakes, and any number of other pets that your friends and classmates might keep? I would find it surprising if Miss Granger was the only cat owner in Gryffindor Tower, along with the numerous owls. And Harry has his snake."
"Yeah, but owls stay in the owlery, and Harry keeps his snake in your rooms down here," Ron protested.
"And Miss Granger does not have another home in the castle to keep her pet in. Did you keep Scabbers in a cage, Mister Weasley?" Severus asked, feeling like he was being rather hard on the boy who had just lost a pet, but he wanted an end to this nonsense.
"No, sir. But her cat isn't supposed to be in the boy's dorm anyway. I've talked to her about it before."
"I imagine that the cat cannot open the door, but perhaps it was left open one day by mistake, or the rat crawled out on his own," Severus suggested.
"It happened in our room. There was blood and orange cat hairs and everything," the child protested. Severus frowned, the setup uncomfortably damning for the cat, if the child was indeed certain they were cat hairs and not from his own orange head.
Severus sighed, a different tactic then. "Mister Weasley, I am inclined to understand that you feel that Miss Granger has the larger part of blame," perhaps he should have been speaking to them both, or to Miss Granger, "But do you intend to throw away years of friendship and make other friendships uncomfortably strained? You are, of course aware that Harry has spent the last nights in his room in the dungeons?"
"I know. I'm- sorry about that. I didn't want to put Harry in the middle, sir. He knows he can sit with Hermione if she wants, but she just avoids everyone but Neville, and Neville's even told me he's sorry, and I think he really agrees with me more."
"Then I suggest that you offer the girl an apology. I would hope that she would offer one in return. Miss Granger does not have many friends, and I believe she values both you and Harry more than she lets show." And now he was psychoanalyzing a teenage girl, perfect, he grumbled to himself.
"I know she does," the boy acknowledged. "And you think me apologizing is the only way to fix it, Professor? Even if her pet ate mine?"
"I'm afraid so, Mister Weasley," Severus said. It wasn't necessarily true. If this didn't work, he would find himself speaking to Miss Granger and reversing his arguments.
"You know, just because he wasn't cool like an owl or even a cat, and just because he was… old and unfriendly, didn't mean I didn't care about him. But I will… apologize," Ron Weasley said, looking up at him before turning to the door. "Thank you, Professor."
Severus Snape was a bleeding-heart Hufflepuff.
"Mr. Weasley? I have been informed that you no longer possess your wand?" Severus asked, though he knew the answer. It was just as well that Harry wanted to sleep in his room in the dungeons after his friends' falling out, because Severus was not comfortable with whatever wand snatching was taking place in Harry's dorm room, though he would have to allow Harry to return eventually. He was actually considering magically barring animals from the room. He would have to make exceptions for the boys' remaining pets- he knew the Longbottom boy had a toad. Why did he know that?
"Yeah… er, but I'll have another soon. Harry let me borrow Hedwig to write to Mum and Dad, and they're going to get Uncle Bilius's wand. It'll probably be a good fit, because people always tell me how much I'm like him," the child said, standing a little straighter. Perhaps the boy liked this relative.
"My son, on occasion, has found himself in dangerous situations," Severus stated.
"I- Harry doesn't mean to, sir," the boy said earnestly. Loyal.
"Yes, but the fact remains that he would be better served if his closest companions were well equipped. Understood?"
"Er- not really, sir," the boy said, though Severus was sure he did. The boy was looking at his shoes, face tinged Weasley red.
"Tomorrow one hour before dinner you will come here and we will make a trip to Ollivander's so that you can find a wand more fitted to you."
"I really couldn't afford… I mean, Uncle Bilius's will be fine, sir."
"I believe I stated that it was for my son's betterment, so of course I will shoulder the small financial burden," Severus spun the words.
The child was shocked, "I- couldn't accept anything so nice, sir," the boy was blushing fully crimson now and still averting his eyes, but Severus had seen that happy smile. It was no more than an obligatory objection.
"I am afraid I must insist as necessity of being my son's companion. Consider it an early Christmas present if you wish." The boy's smile grew as Severus spoke. Should he have been giving gifts to Harry's little friends? That was one more task that he did not wish. But the Weasleys always sent Harry something, for his birthday and Christmas. Severus didn't even know when Granger or Weasley's birthdays were. He vaguely thought he knew that Miss Granger was one of the oldest in Harry's year, and Weasley's was in the spring.
"Thank you, sir," The boy squeaked and attacked Severus for a hug. Made more ridiculous by the oversized youth being very nearly Severus's own height.
"As I said, simply a necessity," Severus maintained. "Now I believe you were intending to have a discussion with Miss Granger?"
"Yes sir, of course!" the boy called as he ran for the door.
*****Harry*****
"Hey," Ron said, standing next to Hermione in the common room for the first time in ages- well, in two days anyway. Harry looked up from where he had been working with next to Neville. "I reckon I should have kept Scabbers in a cage. He probably wouldn't have even minded since he only seemed to eat and sleep anyway. And he was old besides, and starting to waste away. He'd been sick ever since going to Egypt, so maybe it was a better way to go- quicker like. I- don't really like your cat, but I guess it's not fair of me to be mad at it or especially at you for it just doing what a cat does. Can we be alright again, Hermione?"
Harry was almost as surprised as Ron looked when Hermione Granger let a book fall from her lap to the floor and hugged Ron Weasley.
The girl was crying now, "I'm so sorry, Ron, that Scabbers is gone. I'd be devastated if anything happened to Crookshanks, and I know you've had Scabbers for longer, so I should have been more understanding. I was just so… so defensive of Crookshanks because I really love him, and I was afraid the school might not let me keep him if he really- did that. And I just didn't believe it at first because he's never done something like that before. He'll find Neville's toad, Trevor, when it's run off, and bring him back without hurting him a bit," the girl said through tears, loudly into Ron's shoulder.
"S'Alright," Ron said, awkwardly patting Hermione on the back and making eye contact with Harry, wide eyes clearly at a loss of what to do. Harry just smiled, relieved that his two best friends were speaking again.
*****Harry*****
Easter holiday wasn't much like Christmas holiday. Students could go home and see their families if they wished, but almost no one did. Mostly just homesick first years who couldn't wait until the end of term. Maybe if his dad didn't already work at Hogwarts… maybe that would be nice. Also, the holiday was different because professors loved giving loads of homework.
Ron was still reveling over his new wand. The three found some time to sneak off to keep practicing their defense every day during the break. Harry still met extra times with his dad, sort of replacing the metamorphmagus lessons he used to have with Tonks before she was on the special Sirius Black hunting group. Harry wished that they'd just catch the man so his life could go back… well, to being more normal than it was now.
"That's really great, Hermione!" Harry said, as Hermione stared, open mouthed at the otter seeming to swim through the air before vanishing.
"Well, I had a new, very good memory to use," Hermione said.
"Oh?" Harry didn't want to ask but…
"Real progress for S.P.E.W. huge progress, really. Inspired by… a friend." Harry and Ron looked at each other. They hadn't heard about SPEW in a while.
"What happened?" Harry asked.
"Dumbledore signed an official document that I drafted saying that Hogwarts would be a haven for any mistreated house elf that wants to flee their family. They can enter into a traditional house elf binding like the other elves in the school, or, they can take fair pay and vacation time. And Hogwarts has always taken care of their sick and old house elves, but now it is in writing, a health and flexible retirement plan for all the house elves of the school. And any Hogwarts house elf can ask for the wages and vacation time if they want. They haven't yet, but it's still new and… sometimes change take time."
"That's great, Hermione," Ron said.
"Really great," Harry agreed.
"I sent copies to the Ministry, of course, and I hope that Professor Dumbledore's name will carry enough weight to make this well known. And Ginny has introduced me to a girl whose father is an editor of a magazine. The periodical seems… a bit questionable to be honest, but getting the word out is most important, regardless of the method.
Ron produced a corporeal patronus the very next day, a surprisingly threatening Jack Russel terrier. Ron was thrilled, not liking to be behind- not that Hermione had tried to make him feel that way. Similarly, when they actually threw spells at each other, Ron would never have mentioned that he was faster at it. It was just because Hermione hesitated, and Harry hoped she could get past it. Maybe if she was throwing spells at someone she didn't care about.
*****Harry*****
"Oh, hello, Harry," Professor Lupin said when Harry nearly ran into him but stopped just short.
"Sorry, Professor Lupin," Harry said. He had been thinking over defense books, wondering what spells they should try out soon, and if they added more students, who should they be? Neville was who he thought of first, and maybe Colin Creevey, possibly some other younger students. Ginny, probaby. But it was probably a silly idea, really. Just because he had some extra practices with his dad and had read a few more books about Defense Against the Dark Arts didn't make him qualified for people to listen to him. Hermione had read a lot more books.
"Not at all, Harry. Tell me-" Professor Lupin hesitated. "Are you enjoying your week off of classes? I- just made some tea. I find myself having several cups every day. If you would- like to join me?" he asked.
It was part of living at the castle all the time that he ran into teachers outside of class more often than most students. Teachers came in and out of the castle during the summer and winter holidays, and Harry figured that most or all of them had houses outside of Hogwarts like his dad did, but didn't really use them much. None of them seemed to have families or kids except his dad, but Harry had also never asked such a personal question, so he wasn't sure. Usually they just said hello and kept walking.
"Thank you, sir," Harry agreed instead and followed Lupin into his office. It seemed nice, warm. If he was honest, it was a lot more welcoming than his dad's office, which had several preserved dead things in it, whereas the creepiest thing Lupin's office had was the tank with the grindylow in it, and Harry had already seen that in class ages ago.
Professor Lupin offered him a mug, which Harry accepted.
"I must say, I have been impressed with you, Harry. From our practical lesson on boggarts to your course work, it has all been… very impressive."
"Thank you," Harry said awkwardly. "My dad works with me on spells sometimes, and I practice a lot." He didn't feel like mentioning working with Ron and Hermione, because since he was a little bit like a teacher sometimes with them, it felt like bragging. Or maybe it would imply that he thought Lupin wasn't a good enough teacher, which wasn't true at all. Though Harry was more concerned about an attacker that he might want to stun and tie up than he was a grindylow, because he didn't intend to go several meters below the lake's surface, even if he could swim decently enough now, if he could somehow breathe that long.
"Oh, really? Yes, Severus was always very good with Defense Against the Dark Arts. May I ask what you have been learning?"
His dad hadn't said that their sessions were private, and he was good about clarifying when Harry shouldn't say anything. "We started with protego, and then stupefy. And rennervate right after that. And episkey. And then incarcerus. And I've practiced accio a lot," Harry said, thought that had started outside of their sessions, Harry had shown his father, "And we do a lot of practice with speed and strategy. This spell where you know how many people are around was a cool one. And a locating spells where your wand's like a compass. I'm still working on those. And impedimenta, but it seems like stunning is usually better."
Harry didn't think he would mention blasting, cutting, and lighting things on fire, just in case those were private. He'd also learned a really cool spell, muffliato, which his dad had invented himself, and Harry hadn't even shown Ron and Hermione yet. And the spell his dad showed him to make a snake appear was definitely private, since Harry could talk to them. Harry didn't think he'd be using that one again though. Just because he could talk to snakes, didn't mean they would all listen to him. It did seem like a lot of spells now that he was listing them all and even leaving some out.
"And the patronus charm, since I was having problems with the dementors," Harry added.
"Oh. Harry that is all very advanced. May I ask if you have made any progress on the Patronus Charm? That one is a favourite of mine."
"Yeah, I can make a corporeal patronus even with a boggart dementor every time," Harry said. He hadn't heard his mother's or James Potter's dying scream since the first practice with the boggart, and for that Harry was grateful. That wasn't what he wanted to remember of her, and thanks to his dad, he had always had lots of good things to remember of her. They had even worked just on other spell in their last couple of lessons, because Harry was feeling confident with the patronus. He still really wanted to catch a boggart himself so he could use it to test Ron and Hermione, but he didn't really want to ask his dad or Lupin for help finding and moving one though. "I haven't gotten to test against a lot of dementors, like at the first quidditch game, because I couldn't cast the spell back then, but if it's not many of them, I think I'd be okay," Harry said.
"That's… very impressive, Harry. May I- see?" he asked. Harry wasn't sure if the older wizard was impressed or disbelieving.
Either way, Harry agreed easily. Briefly thinking of the day before when Ron cast his first real patronus, Harry said, "Expecto Patronum," and his snake came forth, briefly inspected Professor Lupin, looked back at Harry, and then vanished.
"That was… remarkable, Harry," Lupin said, clearly surprised. His patronus was pretty surprising, he knew, especially for people who didn't know he was a Parselmouth.
"Is that the same as your father's patronus, Harry?" the man asked.
"No," Harry said, wondering if his father's patronus was private.
"May I ask, is Severus's… a doe?"
"A girl deer?" Harry asked surprised. That didn't seem like his father at all. A scared sort of animal that people hunted, right? "No, his is a badger."
"Oh, then the same as… Miss Tonks?" he asked.
"No, hers is a duck," Harry said. "Do people usually have the same patronus as someone else?" Harry asked.
"Sometimes, but not… Understand, Harry, that there are many, many adult wizard and witches who cannot perform such a spell at all," his teacher said instead. Harry wondered if Lupin was going to say something more, and so Harry waited quietly for a moment. It was something he learned from his dad. If you are quiet, the other person will usually say something to fill the space. Sometimes a worthwhile something.
"Your mother's patronus was a doe. I… don't know if you knew."
So that was why the man guessed that for his fathers. That was certainly interesting. A doe seemed motherly, Harry guessed, and he'd felt bad for not liking them immediately.
"What was James Potter's? If he could do one," Harry asked. He didn't know much about James Potter, but the man had loved and raised him for at least a while after all. And it was a good opportunity to ask Lupin, since James Potter was one person that Harry didn't really like to ask his father more about.
"He was a very powerful wizard, though I daresay that none of us could have mastered the Patronus Charm at your age," the man said. "His was a stag, counterpart to your mother's doe."
That was pretty cool, he thought, especially if its antlers were really big. "Thank you for telling me," Harry said. From what he understood, that time must have been really awful for Professor Lupin. To lose so many friends in a couple of days- James Potter, Harry's mother, and Peter Pettigrew dead, and Sirius Black to blame, so sort of worse than dead.
"You're a bit like… the best parts of them as children."
"My mum and dad?" Harry asked. "Or my mum and James?"
"I didn't really know your father at that age. But anyone can see that he's proud of you now," he said. And even though Harry knew this, it was good to hear. "And Lily and James are as well."
"But- wouldn't he be mad?" Harry asked, emptying his tea. He had hardly noticed that he had been drinking it, but it did have a warm, comforting feel as Harry asked a question that he thought about sometimes, especially at first. "Wouldn't James be mad that I wasn't really his son?"
"Oh, he would be, I'm sure. Furious. For some length of time. But never at you, Harry. He loved you more than anyone in the world, and he would never regret being your father," his teacher said sincerely.
"Thank you," Harry said, handing back the mug, throat feeling tight. It was nice to hear someone say that, nice to think about.
"Of course."
A/N: Please review! I hated leaving the trio fighting last chapter, but that was how the convenient chapter breaks fell, and I really like some of the scenes in this chapter, so I hope you did too.
