AN: I don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter 30
He accompanies Potter to the platform. Both of them are under the guise of Polyjuice again, although Potter will be donning his invisibility cloak and taking the antidote right before he boards the train. After the children are on their way, he needs to speak with Mrs. Weasley, because Dumbledore has, of course, delegated that task to him. He's not looking forward to it. It doesn't matter whether he's dealing with a well-meaning middle-aged witch or a sixteen-year-old emotionally-volatile saviour, he does not do emotional scenes. He usually has his Prefects deal with homesick first-years and the like. The only thing he knows in the way of giving comfort is what he remembers receiving from his mother, before she lost the will to do anything that might resemble parenting. Luckily, it seemed to work well enough on Potter, but he will absolutely not be administering the same treatment to Molly Weasley, should she become emotional during the course of their discussion. She's a grown woman and therefore not his problem.
The Weasleys and Granger are already there when they arrive. As far as they know, he is only there for extra security, the same as when they went to Diagon Alley. Before he sends Potter off to join his friends, he pulls the boy aside and puts a muffling charm on them. "Be careful," he warns. "Stay with your friends, and for goodness' sake, don't go looking for trouble."
Potter gives him an odd look. "You're going to see me again in, like, four hours, Snape," he says.
"I am not just referring to the train ride, you imbecile!"
"Okay, okay"—Potter raises his hands in a placating gesture—"I'll be careful."
"You know that there is… trouble brewing," he continues, more calmly. "I would not be surprised if our mutual friend ended up taking a trip this term or perhaps next."
Potter stares at him like he's gone barmy, and Severus stares right back, one eyebrow raised, as he waits for the sickle to drop.
"Ohhhh."
"Indeed."
"That soon?"
He doesn't acknowledge the question, just says, "It will be a difficult year. Should things go pear shaped, I expect you to challenge yourself and act sensibly for once."
"I don't look for trouble, there's just nobody to go to when it shows up. It's not like I have anyone at home to write to for advice, not like other kids."
"Mm. Well, to our mutual misfortune, you now have me, so. Behave accordingly."
"I can't tell if I'm supposed to feel comforted or threatened," Potter grumbles.
He bares his teeth in a grin. "Why not both?" he drawls, and Potter snorts.
"Yeah, great. Thanks."
"Incorrigible brat," he sneers, and then he ends the silencing charm and steers Potter in the direction of the Weasleys.
"How is your knitting coming along?" he asks Mrs. Weasley, who turns and gives him a smile. (The woman smiles at him even when he isn't in disguise. Aside from Dumbledore, she's the only one. It's quite ridiculous.)
"Quite well, Claudius," she says. "Did you manage to de-flea your dog?"
"Eventually."
Potter looks between the two of them with a bemused expression. Some day, Severus thinks, he will have to explain the concept of subtlety to Potter.
"All right, children, you're ready, you've got everything?" asks Mrs. Weasley, turning to Ronald and Granger. Granger has a giant orange furball in her arms. Said furball glares at him, and he glares back for a moment before realizing that he's being goaded by bloody cat.
Mrs. Weasley frowns. "Where is Ginny?"
"Over there, with Dean Thomas," Ronald says, pointing and looking extremely disgruntled.
"It's not polite to point, Ron," she chastises, before calling, "Ginny! Come back over here please!"
Ginevra looks back at her mother, then says something to Thomas, who gives her a peck on the cheek. She comes over to them, blushing, and Ronald makes a gagging noise. She makes a rude gesture at him when Mrs. Weasley isn't looking.
"Right. You're sure you're all set?"
"Yes, Mum," Ronald and Ginny chorus together, in a tone that suggests this is not the first time today that they've been asked.
"And you have everything, Hermione, dear?"
"Yes, Mrs. Weasley," Granger says dutifully.
"Good, good." The matriarch reaches out and adjusts her daughter's collar.
"Anything we forgot is probably just back at Hogwarts anyway," Ronald says.
"Why are you taking the train?" Potter asks. "You could've just stayed at school."
"Appearances," Severus snaps. "Not everybody is aware of the events of the summer. Use your brain for once."
Mrs. Weasley tries to place a hand on his arm, but he brushes her off. "Calm down, Claudius," she says, as though soothing a wild animal, and he scowls at her. She turns back to the children. "All right, then, off you go. Behave yourselves!"
He moves to shield Potter from attention and helps him drape the cloak over himself. The polyjuiced version of the boy disappears, literally, and a moment later, Potter emerges as himself again.
"Bye, Mrs. Weasley, bye, Professor," he says, then follows his friends onto the train.
Mrs. Weasley finally manages to rest her hand on his arm while he's watching Potter retreat. "He'll be fine," she says softly.
"It hardly matters to me one way or another," he scoffs, removing himself from her grasp again.
She gives him a knowing smile that makes him deeply uncomfortable. Before he can tell her that they need to go some place private and have a serious discussion, she exclaims, "Oh! I almost forgot!" She takes a small object from her pocket and shoves it at him.
Accepting it reflexively, he looks down to find himself holding a silver pocket watch. Instead of showing the time, however, it has various locations written around the edges. In the centre of the clock face are the initials HP and an arrow, which is currently pointing at Travelling.
"I had a clock like that at the Burrow," Mrs. Weasley says. She lowers her voice until she is barely audible. "After You-Know-Who came back, all the hands got stuck on 'mortal peril.' It wasn't salvageable after the fire, unfortunately. I want to make a new one, but I haven't performed such complex magic in a while, so I'm a bit rusty. I thought this might be a nice little project to start off with."
He is flabbergasted. "And why do you think I would require such an item?" he asks slowly, still staring at the watch.
"You can pretend all you like, but you don't fool me," says Mrs. Weasley, with humour in her voice. When he doesn't respond, she says, "Just hold on to it. You never know when it might come in handy."
He shakes his head, but pockets the gift. "Thank you," he says, because he feels obligated. Then, he grows serious. "Will you accompany me back to my house for tea? We need to talk."
End of Part 1.
AN: And thus concludes the summer before sixth year. Thank you very much to everyone who has been reading! I am so glad people are enjoying the story. I will probably take a couple weeks off before starting the sequel, which will be titled "Exceeds Expectations: Part 2" simply because I can't think of a better title.
