Project Management for Beginners

by snuffly22

Harry had never really properly planned anything before. The fact that his first ever plan was risky and filled with assorted dangers was not actually deterring him as much as it should. (This story explores how Harry's third year at Hogwarts might have played out differently if a little project management and an ambitious plan had been thrown into the mix.)

15. Back to the drawing board

All rights to the Harry Potter universe belong to JK Rowling. I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N: Hi there. I hope you are still enjoying this story, thanks for reading it.

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

Chapter 15 – Back to the drawing board

No matter how well organised a project is, unexpected events can occur which lead to a requirement to revise the project team's priorities.

The whole school was shocked by the fact that Sirius Black had managed to break in. Harry felt this as much as anyone. He had taken it for granted that Black wouldn't be able to get anywhere near him, and that he was safe in Hogwarts. His safety, however, was clearly not as assured as he thought.

In the immediate aftermath of Sirius Black's desperate attempt to get at him, Harry soon found that he wasn't allowed to go anywhere alone. If it wasn't the Professors or the prefects showing up to keep him company in his travels around the castle then it was Percy, who was acting like a mother hen whose chick was being targeted by the local fox. Neville also made it his priority to stick with him as much as possible, which he could do even more successfully than Percy since they were both in many of the same classes. Harry found all of this annoying, even though he knew it was well meant so he tried to be patient about it. He felt rather bitterly that the Dementors weren't exactly worth having around if they couldn't even do the job they were supposedly there for and keep Black out. But what did it say about the man, that he could elude even them? Harry didn't like to think of it. Clearly he was a formidable wizard, despite all of his years in Azkaban.

The Headmaster announced the next day that Professor Snape had volunteered to lead a group of Professors who would rapidly review the castle's defences and put in place whatever extra measures were needed to improve security. Rumour also had it that the Headmaster insisted that Professor Lupin be part of this group, despite Snape's objections. In any case, many classes - including Defence, Charms, Transfiguration and Potions - were cancelled for the Monday and Tuesday of the next week while the review was carried out. Harry approved of this approach, but he was wondering if it went far enough. He'd just decided that it might be a good idea to speak to Professor McGonagall about it when she made this easy for him to do on Monday afternoon by summoning him to her office.

Their discussion started off tamely enough. Professor McGonagall wanted to let him know about the threat which Black posed to him. Once she found out that he already knew that, her idea for pulling him out of quidditch training on safety grounds was rejected by an indignant Harry, who pointed out that their first match of the year was only a week away and he needed to train. Fortunately she agreed to allow training to continue, with a Professor supervising.

"There is one more thing," Professor McGonagall said, "with regard to the unused room which Mr. Weasley asked me about the other day. I'm afraid I will have to temporarily withdraw my permission for you to use it."

He stared at her. "But why?"

"Why do you think?" she asked him tartly. "It isn't safe, now that we know Black can get into the school. That room is in a part of the castle which isn't used very much when lessons aren't being carried out. I can't permit you to go there at the moment, for your own sake. I've sealed the room and protected it with a password. When all of this is over, you may use it as you intended."

Harry seethed inside. He hated Black for what the man was doing to his life. It had been a really good term up to now, but because of Black it felt like everything he liked was being taken away from him. Still, he knew Professor McGonagall well enough to guess that she couldn't be persuaded to change her mind. "Alright. I'm glad you asked to see me, Professor. I wanted to talk to you anyway, about Black. I have some questions about him."

"Yes, I can understand that you might. What would you like to know, Mr. Potter?"

"Well, is there anything more you can tell me about what you're all doing – the staff, I mean – about the situation?"

She nodded. "We are currently carrying out a very thorough review of the school's magical and non-magical protections. Several changes have already been made and more will follow within the next day. Professor Snape has proposed a number of really rather innovative ideas for enhancing our existing security arrangements."

"Have you worked out how Black gained access to the castle yet?"

"We believe it must have been through one of the secret passages. Their defences are all being thoroughly reinforced as we speak."

"Will anything else be done about him, though?"

"I don't think there's anything more we can do," Professor McGonagall said ruefully. "The Aurors are concentrating their search in the area around the school, and we have the Dementors here in sizeable numbers. Our job now is to secure the castle as best we can and wait for the Ministry to catch Black."

"Did you teach him, when he was at Hogwarts? Was he a dark wizard then?"

She nodded sadly. "I taught him, yes, and at the time he seemed the absolute opposite of dark. I was deeply shocked when I found out that Sirius Black was a Death Eater. He certainly hid his true views well."

"If he could break out of Azkaban, why didn't he do it sooner?"

"Well, we can only conjecture but given its high level of security, I personally think he must have spotted a momentary lapse in the prison's defences and taken advantage of it."

"Is there anything else that you can tell me about him, Professor? I mean really, why is he coming after me after all this time? I've never met him so he can't have anything against me personally."

Professor McGonagall looked evasive. "Mr. Potter, I think it would be as well for you not to concern yourself with the reasons why. After all, the man can hardly be in full possession of his senses after so many years in Azkaban."

Harry frowned. Professor McGonagall had answered his questions willingly so far, but now he could tell that she was anxious to keep something from him. "I want to understand the situation, Professor. Please, will you tell me everything you know?"

She looked at him sternly. "I think we should draw this discussion to a close, Mr. Potter. Try not to think about Black and focus on quidditch and other school pursuits instead; that is my advice to you."

He shook his head firmly. "No, Professor. I need to know everything. I'm not a little kid; I can cope with bad news. If you won't tell me then I'll find someone who will."

"And what good will knowing do you?" she asked him. "It's a distressing story, and it'll be even harder for you to hear it."

"I'd rather know than be ignorant," he said.

She looked at him, and he stared back at her in silence, waiting. "Very well," she said eventually. "Perhaps you're right. I will tell you the whole story of Sirius Black."

And that was how Harry learned that Sirius Black had betrayed his parents and sold them out to Voldemort.

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

Late on Monday evening, Severus Snape was in his quarters, brewing. He stirred the mixture with care, adding the ingredients deftly as he worked. This was the potion which the Volens Melius spell had possibly showed him the way to perfect. He had been working on this particular product for a long time, off and on; ever since his own student days, in fact. He would try and try and get nowhere with it, then he'd give up in exasperation, only to return to it six months or a year later when another thought occurred to him for how maybe, perhaps, it might be made to work. But no, it had always been a failure – though he came so close at times, dancing around the solution without ever quite putting his finger on it. Sometimes it felt as if the dratted thing was mocking him, and he hated being mocked. But now, well… perhaps now would be different.

He patiently completed the final steps, watching with interest as the mixture thickened and turned a light blue colour. There was a pleasing scent, something like lemongrass although that wasn't one of the ingredients. It looked and smelled right, at least. He decanted the mixture into a small bowl and put it aside to cool. In an hour or so, he would be able to try it - and finally see if in fact he could create the perfect shampoo after all.

He'd been just seven years old when it had happened. His mother had sent him by floo to purchase potions ingredients from an unpleasant old witch who ran a small-scale apothecary from her rundown cottage. Mrs. Snape bought from her because the prices were cheaper than in the Diagon Alley shops, but Severus hated seeing the old woman; she was bad tempered and he was frightened of her, dreading each occasion when he was sent there. On this particular day, the witch had been upstairs when he'd arrived. Though he was highly nervous, he had a child's curiosity and there were some artifacts in the cottage that he'd seen before and wanted to get a closer look at. He gave into temptation and started to look around, but the witch returned silently as he was examining a glass sculpture of a dragon. Startled by her screech of rage, he'd dropped the dragon and it shattered into dozens of pieces. With a roar of anger, she had yelled "I'll teach you, boy!", and then she'd pulled out a phial of liquid from her pocket and thrown it at his head. As it sunk in, his shiny, wavy black hair - which was the one physical feature that he'd really liked about himself back then - seemed to shrivel and change into a greasy, lank mess. It had been the same ever since.

He didn't know what was in the liquid that the witch had dumped on his head. He'd begged her to reverse the spell but she'd kept yelling and he'd quickly flooed home to get away. When he told his parents the story, they were indifferent to his distress. His father said he was making the whole thing up, and his mother complained that she'd have to go elsewhere for ingredients now, which would cost more, because if they went back there then what if the witch wanted paying back for the cost of the dragon statue? He only had himself to blame, she'd said. It was that day when Severus finally accepted a fact which up until then he'd been trying to deny to himself - that his parents didn't care about him very much, if at all.

Later on at school, when people like Sirius Black made fun of his hair, he'd allowed them to do so without setting them straight. He let them think he didn't wash it so that they didn't find out the truth, although it didn't seem to matter at all now - but as a child he had seen if differently. Telling the whole story could easily lead to awkward questions: people might ask why his parents didn't confront the old woman or complain to the Ministry. The other Slytherins in his dorm had seen that he cleaned himself as often and as carefully as they did, so they accepted it when he told them he just had naturally greasy hair. But he'd never given up hope of reversing the witch's spell. He'd gone back to the cottage when he was older, but by then she had died and a family of strangers were living there. So it was down to him to find a way to remove the curse – and he'd often tried, without success. On a couple of occasions, he'd changed the colour of his hair accidentally as a result and had to stay in his quarters until the effects wore off; burnt orange was not a good look for him, though he'd thought olive green wasn't so bad.

Once the shampoo was cooled, he carefully carried it to the shower and washed his hair thoroughly with it. After finishing his shower and changing into nightwear, he watched eagerly with a hand mirror as his hair gradually dried… and looked as greasy as ever.

"So much for Volens Melius and the power of elevated thinking," Severus said to himself sourly. He threw the mirror aside and went to bed.

Two more days passed. On the third morning, Severus awoke to find that his hair was shiny, thick, glossy and twice the length it had been when he went to bed. He took one look at himself and laughed and laughed.

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

It was a couple of days before Harry could bring himself to tell Hermione and Ron about Sirius Black. He relayed the story in jagged chunks, stopping several times to compose himself. They were as shocked as he had been when they learned that Black was supposedly his father's best friend, and all the time he had been a Death Eater who'd basically brought about their murders. Towards the end of the conversation, Hermione had asked him whether he was sorry that he'd insisted on learning the truth.

Harry laughed, a little bitterly. "You mean, do I wish I'd said nothing to McGonagall and gone on living in blissful ignorance? No. It's better to know the truth; I'm going to need it."

"What do you mean?" she asked nervously.

"He's out there, Hermione," Harry said, gesturing towards the window. "Just waiting for the opportunity to attack me – and if anyone else gets in the way, I don't think much of their chances either. Your dad must know about all this, Ron. That's why he told me before the start of term that I mustn't try to go after Black. When he said that, I couldn't think of a single reason why I would even want to. I wish that was still true!"

"Harry, Mr. Weasley was right!" Hermione said with alarm. "You can't try to find Black – promise me that you won't!"

"I promise," Harry said steadily.

Hermione stared at him. "That was a lot easier than I expected," she said.

Ron snorted with laughter, and then looked at Harry guiltily. "Sorry, mate."

Harry smiled. "It's okay. Look, I'm being realistic here. I've been at Hogwarts just over two years and I've learned some useful spells, but I'm not exactly ready to go up against a wizard like Black yet. I'd fight back if I saw him, of course I would - but I'm not planning some kind of reckless attack, so don't worry."

"What are you planning, then?" Ron asked. "I can see you've got something in mind."

"You remember the conversation we had the other day, when I said that it was far too soon for me to start a new quest?"

"Yeah, sure. What about it?"

"I was wrong."

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

Harry remembered the early days of September, which felt like two years ago rather than just two months, when he'd struggled to work out what his first quest would be about. However, the aim of his second quest was clear from the start; to find some way of capturing Sirius Black - and if the man ended up being injured or even killed in the process then Harry didn't think he would mind very much. Still, it wouldn't be easy; it seemed that all the combined powers of the Ministry couldn't hold Black, or find him after he escaped.

The Aurors and other Ministry officials were looking for Black, he supposed. Doubtless they had all sorts of methods for tracking people down. However, he'd been out of prison for a few months now and even though they knew the area that he was probably in, the man still evaded capture. Harry had grown up with a lack of wise, helpful adults to turn to in times of trouble. As a result, now that he knew the truth about Black, he struggled with the idea of leaving the whole situation to the Ministry to resolve. Adults weren't perfect, and sometimes they missed things that people his own age could see. Why else were they unable to deal with the basilisk last year, or Quirrell the year before that?

Still, Harry knew he would need the adults. His plan was to come up with a clever method for capturing Black which he would then give to Dumbledore or the Ministry to implement. But to do that, he needed to know what they'd already tried so that he could think of something different. He knew they'd told the muggles about Black and that the Dementors were involved with the search, but he had no real idea what the Aurors themselves were doing. The question was, who could - and would - tell him?

Harry didn't know the names of any Aurors, and most of the statements in the Daily Prophet about Black were issued directly by Minister Fudge. In the end, he went to the library on Wednesday afternoon and accessed back issues of the Prophet, looking for any statement made by a member of the Auror Department in relation to dark wizards. This was a slow search, and it took him a couple of hours before he found an article referring to a Mr. Moody, who was described as one of the most committed and successful dark wizard catchers the Department had ever employed. There was a photograph of him, unsmiling and staring ahead fiercely, which Harry looked at with fascination. Clearly a man like that with scars and a false eye had been in all sorts of battles – so yes, this might be the right person to ask. He took out a piece of parchment and started to write.

To: Mr. Moody, Auror Department, Ministry of Magic

From: Harry Potter, Hogwarts school

Dear Mr. Moody,

I hope you won't mind me writing to you – I realise you must be very busy. However, I have recently been made aware of the truth concerning Sirius Black's betrayal of my parents. As a man whose career is all about battling against dark wizards, I hope you will understand why I'd like to know more about the situation. Black's recent attack on my school has shown me that I can't just sit and wait until he's caught. Please don't worry that I intend to go after him or anything like that. I am only a third-year student with much still to learn, and I think I'd be doing exactly what Black wants if I tried to track him down on my own. However, if I can do something to assist the Ministry to find him then I'd really like to.

So, what I am asking is whether you can tell me anything about the actions which the Auror Department are taking to try and catch Black? I know that the details will be a secret, but anything you could explain to me in general would be good. I would ask though that you keep this just between us; I think the Professors here might worry if they knew I'd written to you about this stuff.

With thanks,

Harry Potter

He went to the Owlery (trailed by two over-protective prefects) and sent the letter off immediately, hoping that Mr. Moody wouldn't tell Professor McGonagall or the Headmaster about it. He could explain if necessary, he supposed, but he didn't want the bother of doing so. There was a bit too much fussing in his life at the moment.

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

By the following day, students across the school were starting to talk less about Sirius Black and more about the first quidditch match of the season, which was on Saturday. Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor team were training hard, despite the horrendous weather. Harry hadn't told anyone about his letter to Mr. Moody; that way, if the whole thing blew up in his face and the Professors found out, then he could honestly tell them that Ron and Hermione knew nothing about it.

Still, Thursday started off on a positive note for Harry when he received his Hogsmeade permission slip back, signed by Aunt Petunia. There was a brief note included with it which said: "Don't you dare come back for Christmas. Here's your slip. See you in the summer and not before."

"Isn't it nice to be wanted?" Harry said casually as he showed the letter and the permission slip to Ron and Hermione. "Still, it worked so that's fine. I'll hand this in to McGonagall at the end of Transfiguration class later."

"I'm glad you'll be with us when we next visit Hogsmeade, but that's a horrible note for your aunt to send to her own nephew," Hermione said, looking upset.

"You know how she feels about me. I gave up hoping for more a long time ago, Hermione."

Ron looked like he wanted to say something comforting but didn't know what. "I'll buy you a butterbeer, when we go to Hogsmeade next. You'll really like it Harry, there are loads of interesting things to see!"

"Thanks Ron," he said with a smile. "I'm looking forward to it."

Thursday was also the day that they had Potions class back again. Harry still wasn't sure whether Professor Snape had accepted the new order of events or not, though Blaise had told him that Snape did intend to stay on at the school. That meant there would be changes in Potions lessons next term, which interested Harry – although as it turned out, the changes were to be sooner rather than later.

Harry's jaw dropped as the door to the Potions classroom opened and Professor Snape directed them to enter. Snape's normally greasy hair had been improved beyond recognition. Now looking well-washed and in excellent condition, it had also somehow become much longer overnight and was neatly tied back with a thin grey ribbon. His skin, too, looked less sallow and seemed healthier than before. Harry remembered the time that his own hair had grown back during the night after Aunt Petunia had cut it off once, but he was still astonished to see the same sort of thing happening to someone else. Glancing round, he saw that everyone was reacting similarly, even the Slytherins. Blaise was quite unable to maintain his normal air of nonchalant indifference to his surroundings, Draco and Theo looked shocked while Crabbe made a pig-like grunt of surprise. Snape looked at them as they all gazed wordlessly back at him, and a slight look of amusement registered on his face. "Enter," he said once more, and they did so, still staring.

Another interesting thing, Harry noticed as he took his place at their normal bench, was that Snape was dressed in robes which were very dark blue rather than his normal black. Not much of a change perhaps, but it was another sign that something unexpected had happened with Snape – and Harry, like the rest of the class, wanted very much to know what it was.

"In this lesson we will begin a Levitating potion which is brewed in two stages, with at least a day between each stage for the potion to rest," Snape told them. "This being so, we will spend the first half of the lesson discussing the Teaching Charter and the changes which I intend to make as a result of it."

There was an immediate feeling of tension, especially with the Gryffindors, and they all waited a little nervously to see what would happen next. Harry knew that many of his housemates did have concerns that Snape would find a way somehow to punish them for creating the Charter. However, at least he looked calm enough at the moment.

"So, as to the specifics," Snape said. "As Head of House for Slytherin, I already hold regular conversations with the Slytherin students about their work on a one to one basis. I will now also conduct interviews with Gryffindor students in all years to discuss Potions. These will be arranged over the coming weeks, with the aim of completing them by the end of term and annually thereafter. I am beginning with years 5 and 7 since they have OWL and NEWT examinations this year, and then I will work from year 6 downwards. During these discussions, I will be talking to you about your work to date, how you can best reach your potential in Potions and any difficulties which you may have with regard to this subject. Gryffindor students, please give some thought to these matters over the next couple of weeks, and also bring your class schedule with you to your next Potions lesson so that I can issue you with an appointment. Should you be nervous of seeing me alone, you may attend in pairs."

Neville nudged Harry in the elbow at this point. Harry glanced across at him and nodded, after which Neville looked much relieved. Hermione, who was the only Gryffindor to look excited rather than nervous at the idea of a personalised talk with Snape about Potions, put up her hand.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Would it be possible for me to have an early appointment, Professor?" she burst out excitedly. "I do have quite a few questions that I'd like to ask about Potions lessons, and the work over the next couple of years. I mean, our OWLs will be here before we know it!"

Ron rolled his eyes at this and a couple of the other students giggled but Snape showed no visible reaction. "Very well. At the end of the lesson I will assign you a time slot. Anyone else who also wishes to speak with me sooner rather than later, remain behind as well."

"Thank you, Professor!" Hermione said brightly. He nodded briefly at her.

"Now, so that you are clear as to the standards expected of you, I have compiled a short guidance note detailing the expectations for achieving each grade which will be applied to all third-year work from now on." Snape flicked his wand and a parchment flew towards each person. "Take a few moments to read it, and then I will explain further."

Harry looked at the parchment. Snape had provided clear and detailed explanations of the standards applicable for essays and other written work, and examples for various markings from high to low. Below that, there were similar notes on scores for practical work in the classroom. He felt a trickle of excitement; with the marking approach so clearly specified, surely it would be possible to improve his grades from now on.

"As you know, the Teaching Charter officially takes effect from next term," Snape said. "However, it seems only logical to use the same set of standards for the entire school year, in order to maintain consistency. I will therefore be revisiting the marks which I have given each of you this term for practical and written work, using these standards. If you were undermarked then your grades will be raised. If you were overmarked then your grade will not be dropped, but I will explain to you where you were falling short and give you practical tips on how to improve."

Harry raised his hand, feeling rather daring. "Sir, will that be the case for all of our work in future? It would be useful for us all to have more feedback on where we've gone wrong."

Snape looked at him, and Harry couldn't for the life of him read the expression in those eyes – but there was no visible anger, which was a first in all of the time he'd known Snape. "In that case, you will be pleased to hear that commentary notes will be provided on all work as standard from now on, Mr Potter. Now, let us touch on safety during lessons. In the future, I expect there to be no clashes between the Gryffindor and Slytherin students in this class. You will all co-exist harmoniously while in my classroom," Snape said, casting a sweeping look across the room. "Each of you will keep your focus on your work and do nothing which might damage anyone else's potion. From now on also, I expect you in your pairs to talk to each other as you work – but only about the potion that you are brewing, not any gossiping. This should help with potion safety, as you should check with each other before carrying out important steps. If you are uncertain about any point, you should ask me immediately. Also, at the end of each lesson I will be informing you which potion you will be preparing in the following lesson. I expect each of you to read the instructions for it before the lesson and make notes of any questions you have. Try to find the answers yourself if you can, otherwise I will take questions before brewing commences."

Pansy Parkinson raised a hand. "Professor, there is something else that I find quite difficult during Potions lessons. There are certain Gryffindors," she said with a scathing look at Neville, "who seem to explode their potions all of the time, and I was just wondering if it might be possible to stop them, somehow? It's distracting, and a danger to everyone else." The Gryffindors were all glaring at her, and she smiled smugly in response.

"Gryffindor students are not the only ones to ruin their potions, Miss Parkinson," he told her crisply. "However, you have brought up an interesting point. I will be seeking to substantially reduce the number of exploding potions in future. I will be providing more detailed explanations as to the most dangerous steps for each potion in advance. I have also started working with Professors Babbling, Vector and Flitwick to try and develop a shield which can contain the contents of cauldrons if they do explode – but that will probably be a project which will take at least a month to finish. In the meantime, careful work and applying simple observation skills are our best assistants where potion safety is concerned. I will be carrying out regular inspections of each pair's work during the lessons, as usual."

Snape paused and looked at them all for a moment. "Now, I have a question for the Gryffindors in the room. All of you have recently petitioned for changes in teaching standards. Are you, as a result of such changes, hoping to improve your Potions grades?" Each of the Gryffindors looked at him hesitantly; they were sure it had to be a trick question, but they couldn't see where the trick was. "Is anyone able to answer me?" Snape asked calmly.

"Yes sir," Harry said hesitantly. "I mean, the answer is yes, we would like to improve our grades."

"Then know this, all of you," Snape said, looking at each of them in turn fiercely, "I believe that all of you are capable of achieving improved grades, but this is not something that I will simply give to you. High scores have to be worked for and earned, so please do not take them for granted. I will assist you, but if you do not put in as much effort as you can and work hard then you won't reach anything like your potential. Do your best, each of you - because from now on, I will settle for nothing less. Any other questions?"

Dean Thomas put up his hand. "Professor, there are a few lessons I missed last term because I was ill, so there are some Potions that I haven't done which the others have. I sometimes get a bit worried that they might come up on the OWLs. I was wondering if there might be chance to work on them at some point in the future?"

Snape considered this. "I am planning, from next term, to arrange for smaller tuition sessions for students who need additional training, for whatever reason. I should be able to add the potions you missed to those sessions."

"Great, thanks Professor," Dean said with relief.

Neville, who'd been watching Professor Snape with increasing interest, did something he'd never tried before in this classroom and raised his hand. "Professor, erm… I was just thinking that, well, er, Harry and I go to Potions club and we've been trying out a lot of the potions that have given us trouble there. It's been really good," he said, with a defiant glance at Pansy Parkinson, who pulled a face. "So I was thinking that, well, if there were open lessons that people could come to if they wanted to work on a problem potion and have a second go at it. Erm, optional practice lessons I mean…" His voice trailed off as the effort of keeping on talking under the weight of Snape's intense stare became too much for him.

"An interesting suggestion," Snape replied, looking thoughtful. "Yes, that could be useful. I will consider whether it can be fitted into next term's schedules. Ten points to Gryffindor for showing initiative, Mr. Longbottom." Neville's eyes opened wide in shock, Ron gaped and most of the other Gryffindors stared in astonishment. "You'll get used to it," Snape said drily. "Now, let us begin the practical part of the lesson."

Harry grinned at Neville and whispered "Well done!" as they went to collect the ingredients they needed. Neville smiled back.

For the remainder of the lesson, they all worked hard. Harry was immensely cheered up at seeing his Charter in action for the first time. Snape was still stern, and still definitely intimidating. However, there were no verbal attacks and sarcasm. When he explained things – and this time, he really explained them – they made much more sense. A number of the pairs were quiet as they worked at first, but Harry decided to set the example by verbalising practically everything with Neville and others quickly followed. He was very pleased when the first stage of their potion went quite well; it was almost the exact shade of purple that they were aiming for. Snape inspected it and nodded.

"Stir it counter-clockwise at least ten times next lesson before beginning the second phase and the required colour should appear. Five points for a successful first stage."

"Thank you, Sir," he said politely. Snape looked at him, again with that unfathomable gaze, before moving away. "Clear down your benches, everyone, and you may then leave. There will be no homework until next lesson. Miss Granger, come up to my desk and we will schedule your appointment."

"That was amazing," Neville said when they'd all left the room a few minutes later. "I got actual points in Potions class! We both did!"

Harry patted him on the back. "Congratulations, Neville. I bet you never thought that would happen!"

"And he gave Hermione five points for effective knife skills, and Seamus and Lavender got five points each for their potion being pretty much perfect," Ron said. "Honestly, if he goes on like that then with that hundred points we already got, the House Cup's as good as ours this year!"

"He must hate having to give us points," Dean said. "Though I have to say, he hid it well."

"Yeah, he did," Ron agreed, smirking. "It's a good start but do you think he can keep it up? Being not a monster, I mean."

"He did well at it today, so I don't see why not," Harry said hopefully. "That Potions lesson was so much easier than usual! When we get our next homework essay, I'm going to try and get a good mark. Also, I think Snape's under-marked a lot of my essays so I'm hoping he'll up quite a few of my grades when they're reviewed."

"I'm just glad that none of the grades are going to be put down," Ron said. "Mind you, I'm not looking forward to going to see Snape for that interview. Why you wanted to talk to him before you had to Hermione, I can't imagine!"

"You should have gone for a joint interview with Hermione, then," Harry said with a grin. "She would have hogged all of the conversation and you wouldn't have needed to say a thing."

Ron groaned. "You're right! What a wasted opportunity!"

"I'm sure I wouldn't have been that bad," Hermione said with a smile. "But you'll never know, will you Ron?"

"Yeah, thanks for that. Well anyway, it won't be for weeks so I'm not going to think about it. Come on, let's go and tell everyone about Snape's hair!"

The news about Professor Snape's improved personal appearance travelled around the school faster than a quidditch player on a firebolt. Everyone was talking about it – including the staff, who were as surprised and intrigued as everyone else. Why, if Snape was actually capable of making himself look perfectly un-greasy, had he never done so before? The twins, who had also had Potions with Snape that day, were fascinated by this deep philosophical question. Harry found out about this later that same day, when they intercepted him as he headed back to the common room.

"Got a minute, Harry?" George asked him casually. "We wanted to talk to you about something."

Harry stopped. "I'll be okay now, thanks," he said to the Ravenclaw prefect who'd walked him back. He didn't particularly want to talk to the twins, but he knew it was more than time he did. The prefect smiled and headed off.

"There's a classroom down there," Fred said. "Nice and quiet." They sat down in the classroom and Harry waited, a little nervously, for what the twins had to say to him.

"So Harry," George began, "there's something we want to ask you. We've got a project in mind which could be fairly lucrative for the three of us. However, we'll have to act fast if we want to cash in - very fast."

Harry blinked. "Erm, well…"

"Before we get to that though, we did want to say sorry for coming into your dorm the other day. You're right, we were out of line," Fred said.

"We're not just saying that because we'd like your assistance with our new project," George assured him. "We do feel bad about what happened. We know we just took it for granted that you'd say yes to the brother thing. It was stupid of us."

"Yeah, we were a bit conceited there, I reckon," Fred added. "And we will treat Ron better in future."

Harry looked at them both and decided that they were being sincere. "I feel bad too," he said. "I was a bit tough on you both. I lost my temper. I wished afterwards that I'd thought of a nicer way to say what I was thinking. Can we put it behind us?"

"An excellent idea," Fred declared, smiling. He held out his hand to Harry. "No hard feelings?"

"None," he said, feeling much better. He shook hands with Fred, and then with George. "So, tell me about your great financial plan."

The twins grinned. "Well Harry, it's very simple," George told him. "As you know, our favourite Potions Professor has decided to give himself a makeover. We thought that since people have noticed this and been talking about it, we might cash in by setting up a betting pool on the subject."

Harry laughed. "How on earth would that work?"

"Glad you ask!" Fred said. "We decided a simple format would work best. Two sickles per guess, and we'll offer people some options or they can put in their own ideas. The winners share half the prize pot between them and the three of us share the other half. We have to run this tomorrow though, while interest is sky-high, to get the most customers. Look, this is what we've come up with."

He pulled a piece of parchment out of his bag and unrolled it. Harry read it and started to laugh.

WEASLEY'S WONDERFUL SNAPE SWEEPSTAKES!

He's gone from greasy to gorgeous, but why?

We know the answer!

Choose one of our suggestions below or come up with your own! Two sickles per guess!

Win a lot of money if you get it right (maybe)!

~ The Headmaster made him do it! ~

~ He got fed up with the other teachers complaining about his looks (or locks)! ~

~ Someone gave him a fake version of the Teaching Charter with an appearance section in! ~

~ He's finally met that special someone and wants to impress them! ~

~ He's using shampoo as a forfeit because he lost a bet with someone! ~

~ His hair-do broke the camera when his picture was taken by the Daily Prophet's photographer! ~

Take part in this wonderful opportunity which will never come again! Have fun! Win cash!

Today only! Answer revealed this evening! You will be amazed!

A Fred and George Weasley enterprise!

Harry giggled. "This is funny. Snape and that special someone – yuk! But where do I come in to this?"

"Ah well, there's just one problem Harry," George said. "Despite what we've written there, we don't know the answer. Nobody does, that's why it's such a hot topic of conversation. We've tried to find out all afternoon but we couldn't. And we can't pay out the winner if we don't know what the real reason is. But we thought, well… you have some Slytherin friends who could possibly enlighten us if you asked them to?"

"They'll never tell me!" Harry protested. "They don't let me know any Slytherin secrets."

"Just check with them and see what they say, that's all we ask," Fred told him. "Any chance of talking to one of them tonight? I know you can send them messages, Ron mentioned it."

"Maybe, yes," Harry replied reluctantly. "I'll ask them and let you know the answer in the morning - but no promises, okay?" They nodded eagerly.

Harry mulled this over once he was back in the dorm. The sweepstakes seemed like a fun idea and he wanted it to happen, though not if it might damage the progress made in his quest. It would help people to keep cheerful as well, instead of worrying about Black - but Blaise was notoriously unwilling to share any secrets from the snakes' den with him. So, should he go for the open and honest approach to getting what the twins wanted or try something sneaky and devious? In the end, Harry chose to be relatively open and honest. This was mostly because Blaise had once told him that he had all the natural sneakiness of a soggy biscuit. As an insult it made no sense at all, but Harry thought it had still got the point across.

Evening Blaise, and Theo if you're there too.

Hey Harry. Theo's not back yet. Good day? I assume that Potions would have been a highlight.

Yeah, it was great. I liked the changes. And Neville and I got points!

True. I was pleased for you both.

And also, another good thing, I've just sorted everything out with Fred and George. They said sorry, I said sorry, we're all ok now.

A wise move. Those two are not good to have as enemies. I am very glad not to be in the same year as them!

Well, it was them who made the first move. I'd been putting it off. Thing is, they wanted my help with something so we had to get past the argument first. They were really sorry though, not just saying it.

Right. And what did they want your help with?

Okay, so you might not like this…

You're correct, I don't.

I haven't explained yet, even!

I'm listening, but consider me at twelve on the one to ten scale of suspicion and unwillingness to get involved.

I thought you'd see it like that. I don't blame you.

Moving to thirteen. Are you ever going to explain what the terrors want?

They'd like to run a sweepstakes tomorrow for people to guess the reason why Snape's de-greased his hair. Two sickles a guess, build up a prize fund. It won't work though unless they know the reason why so that they can pay out the winner. Do you know anything about it? And if you do, will you tell me? (Or would that break the secrets rule?)

Well, I do know the reason why... one of our prefects explained it to me earlier. There was a Slytherin prefects' meeting tonight and Professor Snape told them the whole story.

Did the prefect tell you to keep it secret?

No, but that was implicit.

I understand. I don't care either way, I'm just asking for the twins. If it's a no then not a problem.

Would they be willing to pay for the information?

The plan is to share out the prize pot. Half goes to the winner or winners, the rest we split between us. I don't see any reason why we shouldn't include you in that, thought it might not add up to very much. You can have my share as well if you'd like.

I don't want money. I'm a Zabini, we're filthy rich. I'd want the twins to do something for me. Look, wait there – I'll go and check with the prefect and come back to you. Might be a little while.

Okay.

Harry read a book until Blaise returned, feeling himself getting sleepier as he did so. It was half an hour later when he got another message.

Still there?

Yup.

Right then. There's a rather quiet Slytherin first-year, Shawn Morris, who's being pushed around by a couple of nasty sixth-year Ravenclaws – Randolf Burrow and Felix Brunt. Those two are cousins as well as close friends. The Burrow and Morris families are business competitors, so the Ravenclaws have decided to bully the son of their family's rival and make his life miserable. Morris is quiet as I said, so he hasn't gone to Professor Snape about it or told anyone; he's just trying to keep his head down and hoping it stops, but of course it hasn't.

It never does with bullies. Something has to be done to make them stop.

I couldn't agree more. Morris's mother is acquainted with mine, so Mother wrote to me recently and asked me to check on him. Mrs. Morris doesn't know about the bullying – she can just tell from her son's letters home that he's really unhappy at school for some reason. I cornered Morris yesterday and got the whole story out of him, but he begged me not to tell any other Slytherins. I promised I wouldn't to calm him down, though I didn't like it. Of course he wouldn't want me telling you either - but if it'll help him then I think it's worth it. I know how you feel about bullies, so I imagine you'd be fine with asking the twins to deal with the problem for me? It needs to be a lesson that those Ravenclaws won't forget in a hurry.

Sounds like a job that the twins were made for. Do we have an agreement then?

Yes. The prefect signed off on it, though I couldn't tell him any of the finer details. He wouldn't have approved it except that he knows it'll help a Slytherin, and apparently Professor Snape isn't that concerned about keeping the whole thing a secret anyway. You'll have to make sure the twins hold up their end of the bargain. Tell them that there needs to be results within the week, please. They have to keep the stuff about Morris a secret and make sure he doesn't suffer as a result of their actions. And if people ask how they know about Snape's hair, they should say that they overheard a conversation that they weren't meant to between two of the teachers. They can blame it on Hagrid if they have to name names. Understood? The prefect and I will keep quiet about the sweepstakes and we won't tell anyone here, but in return we don't want our involvement in it to become public knowledge.

Got it. So what's the answer, then?

Professor Snape was cursed by a witch as a child and this affected his appearance. He only recently managed to come up with a way to remove the curse.

What, really? That's what actually happened?

On my honour as a Zabini, yes.

Bizarre! Well I suppose you've saved me wasting two sickles because I'd never have guessed that for my sweepstakes entry if I was able to take part. Thanks for helping out, Blaise. You're a good friend.

Nice of you to say so but believe me, if anything you've done me a favour. I've been pondering potential solutions to this issue all day so it's a good result for me. I look forward to seeing what the Weasleys come up with. By the way, what will they do if nobody gets the right answer in the sweepstakes?

Don't know - good point, I'll ask them that tomorrow.

Harry took the twins to a quiet corner of the common room before breakfast, made them promise to keep the conversation a secret and told them that there was a deal on the table. They looked very excited. Harry then shared with them the whole story of the attacks on Shawn Morris and exactly what Blaise wanted them to do about it. The twins were grinning widely by the end, and they laughed heartily when Harry led on to the hair-raising conclusion.

"Cursed?!" George said, after he finally calmed down. "I'm almost tempted to feel sorry for the guy. Imagine if it happened to us – we'd probably get everyone calling us Frightful Fred and Greasy George!"

"And if it was me then I'd be Horrible Harry," he said, laughing. "So, you're happy with Blaise's terms then?"

"Absolutely," Fred replied with a predatory grin. "It'll be a genuine pleasure. We've had trouble with Burrow and Blunt a couple of times ourselves. When we were new firsties, they tried to ambush us the day after George tripped over Blunt's chair in the library by accident and knocked some of his books off the table. We apologised at the time as well, but they were still right nasty about it."

George smiled reminiscently. "They thought that we'd be easy prey because it was our first term. We soon showed them that they were mistaken."

"I'll bet you did," Harry said. "What do you have in mind for dealing with them?"

Fred looked smug. "Not sure yet, but don't worry – we'll make sure the punishment fits the crime. We'll do the sweepstakes today and start planning for it tomorrow at the latest. It'll happen quickly; just give us a few days."

Harry grinned. "And there won't be any consequences for Morris?"

"None at all," Fred confirmed, "for him or the others."

"What others?" Harry asked.

George gave him a knowing look. "If you're a nasty piece of work who thinks it's a good idea to bully younger students then you never stop at just the one, Harry. There'll be others, you wait and see."

Harry thought of his cousin Dudley, who would pick on younger kids whenever he had chance, and nodded. "Yeah, I expect so."

"Right then, we'd better get to work," Fred said. "Those sweepstakes tickets won't sell themselves, you know!"

"Oh, that reminds me – Blaise asked what you'll do if nobody guesses the right answer?"

"We thought of that," George said. "We'll either award the prize to whoever gets closest, or if nobody does then we'll pull names out of a hat. I reckon someone'll get it though."

"Do me a favour," Harry said. "Offer Ron some of the prize money if he sells tickets as well? Don't tell him it was my idea. He can have my share, so a third each for the three of you. After all, you've got a lot of ground to cover if you want this sorted out today. Don't forget, the Slytherins probably all know the answer already, so you'll have to be careful to run this thing without any of them finding out you're doing it. They could easily sabotage it by telling everyone the reason, then the whole thing would be ruined."

"Fair enough," George said cheerfully. "Pity we can't sell the Slytherins any tickets then - that rules out a quarter of our potential market, but there you are. See you later, Harry."

"Bye," he said smiling as he watched Fred and George walk away. He chuckled to himself. "As if any Slytherin would buy something off those two…"

He took out his memo and sent a quick note to Blaise before heading down to breakfast.

Twins are on board and very happy to do what you asked. Results to be expected in a few days. Speak later.

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

That same morning, Harry received a letter back from Mr. Moody. He read it when he had a few minutes alone before lunch.

Mr Potter,

Interesting letter you sent me. I'll take you at your word when you say that you won't try to find Black. Wise of you. I know you'll want to get him; you're looking for justice or revenge, or both. That's why you contacted me, isn't it? I'd feel the same in your place so I understand. But remember, Black's as cunning and ruthless as any Dark Wizard ever can be. You could easily under-estimate someone like that, and it'd be the last mistake you ever made.

I'll tell you something of what we're doing; I'd say that given everything, you have a right to know. But this goes no further, you understand? I'd get in trouble if it was found out that I'd told you all of this, though it's not so long till I retire and they can't do much to me, thankfully. I won't tell anyone you wrote to me, so don't you tell anyone that I wrote back. Destroy this letter after you've read it. I've charmed it so that only you can see what I've written, but you can't be too careful.

Well then, you'll have read in the paper that we're working with the muggles. They've put his picture in the muggle papers and on the news. They're also on the lookout for Black at the big train stations, ferry ports and so on. He's shown no signs of wanting to flee the country, as you know all too well, but that might change. Mind you, if he wanted to run that far he could just go to a quiet harbour, find some muggle with a small boat and use the Imperius to make the muggle take him anywhere he wanted. You might not like it, but personally I'm glad he's obsessed with killing you because it means he won't leave Britain. Hunting dark wizards gets a lot harder when they hide in other parts of the world.

Anyway, we're keeping the old Black family house in London under constant watch – covert stuff, we're being careful about that, he won't know we're there. We're not trying to force our way in because the old place probably has dark curses crawling all over it, and besides we want it to stay undisturbed in case Black attempts to sneak in. There are a couple of old friends of his from school that we're talking to. None of them have seen him, as far as we can tell. Apart from that, we've increased coverage in the Ministry, Hogsmeade and the surrounding countryside, and also Diagon Alley – and we've asked all of the residents to watch out for any sign of Black as well. We'd keep a permanent Auror presence in Hogwarts as well if Dumbledore would allow it, which he won't. I'll leave you to decide if that's right or wrong, but I expect you can guess what I think.

You seem like a smart enough lad, so I think you'll take me seriously when I tell you this – constant vigilance! That's my way of working, and it's what I tell all of my trainees. Don't drop your guard, not ever. Take every precaution to ensure your own safety, especially while Black's free. Don't wander around alone. Don't go anywhere isolated. Stay in well-populated parts of the school and keep people you trust around you. Watch out for odd behaviour though, even with your best friends – you never know when a dark wizard can attack them and take control, then they'll make people do things they don't want to. Stay alert at all times. If you need anything, write to me again.

AM

After reading Mr. Moody's letter, Harry felt an absurd urge to laugh. He wasn't sure why because the letter wasn't exactly a fun read, and the last paragraph brought to mind uncomfortable memories of Ginny being possessed by Voldemort's diary the year before. Maybe it was just the fact that Moody was so very delighted at him being Black's target. Still, he'd got the information he wanted. He couldn't see any obvious gap in the Auror Department's strategy for apprehending Black, but he was determined to think of something else to try. Not just yet though – tomorrow was Saturday and he would be playing quidditch. Harry decided that he'd start making plans very soon for dealing with Black – later in the weekend perhaps, once the game was finished. For now he destroyed the letter as requested and tried to put Black out of his mind.

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

Friday's Snape Sweepstakes was an immediate hit. The mood of the school was much improved as a result of the imminent quidditch match anyway, and the twins' latest scheme happened at just the right time to be popular. After the scare that Black had given everyone, people wanted to be cheered up and have a laugh. Ron, Fred and George sold sweepstakes tickets almost non-stop the entire day when they weren't in lessons. They were able to keep the Slytherins in ignorance of their operation, although it was a close thing at times and they only just managed to avoid getting caught by a Slytherin prefect on a couple of occasions. The great result was to be announced at 9pm, with Ron and George going to the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff common rooms respectively to deliver the news while Fred told the Gryffindors at the same time. Ron was thrilled at the opportunity to make extra cash, which he planned to use on buying Christmas presents when he next went to Hogsmeade. Hermione didn't buy a ticket as she thought it would look bad if she got the correct answer, but she agreed to help supervise the process of selecting the winner or winners.

"You won't believe some of the guesses I've been given!" Ron told Hermione and Harry that evening in the common room when he got back after he'd finished selling tickets. He had so much money with him that his bag clinked as he moved. "People are paying two sickles a go for this thing and they've come up with the strangest ideas!"

"Such as?" Hermione said with a giggle.

Ron grinned. "Tamsin Applebee said Snape's got a secret love child and they've told him that he's an embarrassing Dad and he has to sort himself out or they won't speak to him. Lisa Turpin thinks Snape inherited a shampoo-making company recently so he has to model the company's products. Asish Patel believes he's got a wedding to go to soon and the bride's worried he'll spoil the wedding photos by looking a mess. Oh, and Jason Samuels swears Snape's had a crippling fear of hair washing for years which he's just cured by going to see a mind healer."

Harry laughed. "Has anyone gone with Fred and George's selections?"

"Nah, most people thought that those are just jokes and they'd never put the real answer on the notice. A couple of Ravenclaws picked them – they said it might be a massive double bluff. Nobody who bought tickets from me got the right answer," Ron said, lowering his voice. "Don't know if Fred and George had any correct guesses."

The three of them met the twins by appointment at 8.30pm in an empty classroom. Percy was with them, having taken it upon himself to keep an eye on things and ensure fair play. Fred and George were in extremely high spirits because they too had enjoyed a very successful day selling tickets to the sweepstakes. They put the lists of student names and guesses on the table along with the money and counted up the number of entries.

"Three hundred and forty-three guesses!" George exclaimed in triumph. "Of course, some people had more than one try."

"Did anyone get it right?" Percy asked.

George grinned. "Yeah, two people guessed it. One was a Hufflepuff first-year as well, would you believe? Gillian Ossette, it was. And a Ravenclaw fourth-year was the other one - Eddie Carmichael. Well, at least nobody can accuse us of favouring our own House."

Fred was busy scribbling calculations on a piece of paper. "So, two sickles times three hundred and forty-three entries, then divide by seventeen to change to galleons… okay, so that's forty galleons and six sickles. The winners share half of the prize pot, that makes it – yeah, so how about if we give Gillian and Eddie ten galleons and three sickles each, then we'll share out the other twenty galleons. So me and George and Ron, we each get… six galleons and eleven sickles, with one sickle left over, which I can have because this sum was really hard so I deserve it. Hermione, check my adding up, will you?"

"It's correct," she said after looking over his calculations.

"Not bad for a day's work!" Ron said excitedly. "I'll have loads of fun at Hogsmeade next time. And me and George get to hand over the prizes which should be interesting. You've got the tough job, Fred, since none of the Gryffindors won anything…"

"I hope they won't get rowdy," Fred said, looking slightly concerned. "I don't like being man-handled. It's bad for my sense of inner dignity."

"I'll stay in the common room and make sure they don't cause any fuss," Percy said, self-importantly. "As an impartial witness, I can confirm that everything was done fairly. In fact, perhaps we ought to do that for the other Houses as well, just in case. Hermione, will you go with Ron - and Harry, you go with George?"

"Fine," Harry said, and Hermione agreed as well. "Let's get started then, it's nearly nine."

Harry accompanied George to the Hufflepuff common room, which he was amused to think would be his second visit there in just a few days. They were playing to a packed crowd of badgers as George, with the exuberant air of a natural showman, announced the winner with great pomp and pizazz. The Hufflepuffs roared with laughter when he told them what had actually happened to Snape's hair – which perhaps was a little cruel, but it was Snape after all – and clapped with great generosity when an embarrassed but thrilled Gillian Ossette came up to collect her prize.

"Thanks for your help with our little scheme, Harry," George said as they walked back to the Gryffindor common room. "We couldn't have done it without you, and you didn't see a single knut!"

"I don't mind," Harry said. "It cheered the day up so I'm happy."

"And about that other matter," George said meaningfully, "it's coming along nicely. Let's just say we're putting a couple of items from our wardrobe to very good use."

"What items? And what use, exactly?"

George winked. "Best you not know, then you'll look as surprised as everyone else. We've decided to give up our anonymity for this one. It's one of our best efforts, if I do say so myself, so we want to sign our names to it, even if it does mean detention. They'd guess it was us anyway – nobody else in the school is clever enough to pull this off. I'm glad your pal Zabini asked for our help in dealing with those two Ravenclaws. Who knew that cross-house cooperation could be so very satisfying?"

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

A/N: This chapter contains the first signs of how Snape's actions are changing as a result of the Volens Melius spell, compared to canon events. He's still the Snape we know and love/hate in most ways, but he can put his own feelings aside and make more rational decisions. In canon, Snape teaches the werewolf lesson while covering for Lupin in third-year Defence class during this week. This doesn't happen in my story because although Snape still mistrusts Lupin, he's got other priorities now and isn't focused on making the students realise that their Defence Professor is a werewolf. (Lupin would still have been absent after the full moon, I've just assumed that another Professor covered for him). I do intend as part of this story to make Snape face up to the mistakes he's made, that will be covered in upcoming chapters.

And also, that sweepstakes calculation took me over fifteen minutes on Excel and even with a spreadsheet to help, it was a bit tricky! I am so glad that muggle Britain has decimal currency…