7

Chapter 17 Forbidden

A/N *Quotes from the book set off*

Harry slept in the dungeons that night. Although he knew that it was part of his punishment for disobeying Snape and McGonagall, he was glad for it. They had lost one hundred and fifty points in one night. Harry could only imagine how his fellow Gryffindors were going to react to that. They had been favorites for the House Cup. Now they would be in last place. It was all his fault.

Little was said that morning as they got ready to go down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Snape said that normally Harry would eat his meals in their quarters on the weekends if he was restricted there. Still, in this case, it was only fair that he faced the fury of his House alongside Hermione and Ron. He hadn't phrased it exactly like that, but that was how Harry took his meaning.

"Harry," Snape said as they walked along the corridor. It was mostly silent. Slytherin House was already at breakfast. "Your classmates will understandably be displeased. As I have told you, I will not allow you to remain in our quarters while Miss Granger and Mr. Longbottom face their wrath alone. That notwithstanding, I will tolerate no fighting from you and no undue abuse from them. Let them rag you as they will this morning, and then it had better be done with."

Harry looked at him in disbelief. He wasn't sure which part of that demand was more unbelievable—that Harry let the other Gryffindors bully him without doing anything about it or that they would only hassle him this morning and then leave him alone. Harry had no fight left in him for Snape, though. He knew he was in a lot of trouble, and the man had hardly lectured him yet. Harry nodded as they entered the Great Hall, Snape walking up to the staff table and Harry steeling himself the barrage of mutiny sure to come his way from the Gryffindors.

He was not disappointed.

*From being one of the most popular and admired people at the school, Harry was suddenly the most hated. Even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turned on him because everyone had been longing to see Slytherin lose the House Cup. Everywhere Harry went, people, pointed and didn't trouble to lower their voices as they insulted him. Slytherins, on the other hand, clapped as he walked past them, whistling and cheering, "Thanks, Potter, we owe you one!"*

When they returned to their quarters, Harry sat on the sofa and stared forlornly at Snape. Lying awake last night, he had realized the man would not accept his explanations for being at the top of the astronomy tower last night. Sneaking out to see Norbert off had seemed important at the time. It had been an adventure. Now it seemed foolish.

"Very well, Mr. Potter," Severus began. "I am sure you are going to dazzle me with explanations."

Sarcasm aside, Harry had to admit that he really didn't have any. He shrugged. Stealing a glance at Snape, he could tell that this behavior was met with the attitude he would expect. Snape was not impressed.

"No, Sir," Harry said. "We just really, really wanted to make sure Norbert was okay."

"Did you doubt my capacity to safely deliver the dragon?" Snape demanded. "And what of Professor McGonagall? Is she likewise incompetent?"

As Snape was talking, Harry had already begun to sadly shake his head. This was coming out all wrong. He had known that Snape and McGonagall would not understand.

"Of course, Sir," Harry said with a scoff. "It's not that."

"Then what is it, young man?" Snape was frustrated. "I fail to see how there can be any reason for three first-years to be out of bed past midnight, especially when you were specifically told to be nowhere near the astronomy tower." His voice went louder at the end of the sentence.

Since there wasn't much to say to that, Harry just looked down at his hands. Snape stood up and set out to pace slowly. That was not a good sign, Harry determined.

"It is not only that you did exactly what you were told not to do. I am beginning to expect that from you," Snape began. "You also involved Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Longbottom, not to mention Miss Granger."

"Hey," Harry protested. "I had nothing to do with Malfoy or Neville being there. Hermione wanted to see Norbert off too."

Stopping the pacing, Snape glared down at Harry. "Why was Mr. Malfoy there, then?"

"I don't know, Sir. He did see Norbert at Hagrid's window once. He never said anything though, honest!" Harry insisted.

"Humph," was all Snape said.

Harry flopped back on the couch and folded his arms in frustration. He didn't see why he should get in trouble for anything Malfoy did. He'd had nothing to do with the Slytherin. As far as was concerned, since Neville had found out about Malfoy trying to get them in trouble and wanted to warn them, that was also Malfoy's fault and not Harry's.

"As I said before," Snape finally scolded, "Harry, you should have told me about this the minute you found out about the dragon."

"I know!" Harry all but shouted, even though he knew it was not a good idea to raise his voice. "But I can't do anything about that now, so what good does it do to keep going on about it?"

"That's enough of your cheek, young man. It's not helping your case!"

Harry slammed his fist against the couch cushion. Snape was being very unfair about all of this. He wasn't listening, and he was just trying to blame Harry for things other people did.

"You shouldn't punish me at all!" Harry declared.

"Is that so?" Snape asked incredulously.

"Professor McGonagall took loads of points, and we have detention," Harry reminded him.

"Detention? House points? You think that is enough punishment for all the infractions you have piled up? You and Miss Granger both now have two parent notifications in the space of less than a week! If you had been in my house, we would be talking probation and possible expulsion for this behavior," Snape roared.

"So what?" Harry jumped up. "Why do you even care? I can tell that you would rather not even deal with me. Now you want to expel me. You don't have to be my guardian. Let Professor McGonagall be my guardian then. She wouldn't keep me prisoner!" Harry threw these words at Snape in a rush of fury and stormed off to his room, slamming the door.

Although he half expected Snape to come barging in to scold him for slamming the door, Harry didn't care. He threw himself down on the bed on his stomach and slammed his fist against the duvet in frustration. It wasn't lost on him that he only had this bedroom—his first real bedroom—because Snape had seen his life for what it was and done something about it.

Staying in his room for over an hour, Harry was beginning to feel terrible about how he had treated his guardian. He was also wondering how long Snape would continue to ignore him. When Harry had first stormed off, he had been sure Snape would come after him. Now he was thinking he was going to have to be the one to come out. That would mean apologizing.

Then again, Harry knew he would have to apologize for his behavior one way or another. He had done many things in the past couple of weeks that he needed to apologize for. The whole dragon incident had been a mess from start to finish. Harry was accustomed to doing things his way. He had always been on his own. The Dursleys had never treated him in any kind of parental manner. They didn't cuddle him when he was sick or soothe him when he was sad. In his entire childhood, Harry could not remember one tender moment. Life with Snape was just confusing. While Harry liked the positive aspects of having a parent, being accountable to someone was something he was still getting used to.

Despite what he had yelled at Snape, Harry did not really think that his guardian had meant he wanted Harry to be expelled. It hadn't been an overreaction on Harry's part, so much as frustration that Snape just didn't understand what it was like to be Harry. Everyone always expected something from him. He knew they always would, and it wasn't fair. His response was to do things in the biggest way possible, apparently, from saving Neville's Rememberall, to fighting the troll on Halloween to rescuing Hagrid's dragon. He would have to explain this to Snape, or there would continue to be friction between them.

With a defeated sigh, Harry stood up and went to slowly open the door. Just as he'd expected, there wasn't a sound in their quarters. Harry was sure Snape was still around somewhere, though, even if he was just in the lab. He had learned that the man often worked with potions when he was irritated or needed to calm down. So that was where Harry went first.

His instincts turned out to be correct. Harry found his guardian hunched over a cauldron adding something drop by drop from a glass eyedropper. Knowing better than to interrupt such a delicate operation, Harry waited. Snape knew he was there. The man had eyes in the back of his head and ears like a bat.

"Mr. Potter," Snape said in an even tone.

"Hi," Harry said softly. "Can I talk to you?"

"Yes," Snape responded. "Let me put this in stasis first."

With a wave of his wand, Snape cast the spell and turned toward Harry. He didn't move beyond that, which meant the discussion would take place in the Potions Lab. This was Snape's turf through and through, but Harry didn't mind. He never had the upper hand with Snape anyway.

"I wanted to apologize for how I acted earlier," Harry began. "I was a prat."

A nod was Snape's only reply. When he did not comment on the language or say anything else, Harry continued.

"I guess I just didn't know how to talk to you," Harry muttered. "I know I'm in trouble." Harry perched himself on a tabletop, careful not to disturb any of the ingredients on the other end. "I get that. I really do—a lot of trouble. I wasn't just up there to defy you. I respect you."

There was a pause as the two of them stared at each other. While Snape seemed to be gauging Harry's sincerity, Harry was trying to determine if his speech fell on deaf ears. After a few minutes, Snape finally spoke.

"Whether or not you were trying to disrespect me, it is disrespectful to deliberately disobey me, Harry," Snape said. "I did not tell you to stay away to be mean to you. It was dangerous for you to be up there, and there was no reason for you to be there either."

"But I needed to be there," Harry insisted.

"Why?" Snape asked. "If you had such an urgent need to be at the top of the astronomy tower after midnight on Saturday, why did you not discuss it with me? Why did you not ask permission to accompany us?"

"You told me not to go," Harry said, trying not to sound frustrated.

"That's right, I did," Snape agreed. "Yet, you went anyway. You did not ask permission because you feared it would not be granted. There was no discussion either. Perhaps if you had told me why it was so important to you, I might have considered it. Did you think of that?"

"No, Sir," Harry admitted. "I didn't. Would you have? Considered it, I mean."

"I honestly do not know, Harry," Snape said. "Possibly. Why was it so important?"

"Hagrid is my friend. Norbert is his dragon. Hagrid couldn't be there. It made him too sad. I was there when the dragon was hatched," Harry was trying to explain. "Someone had to be there, for Norbert. Someone had to tell Hagrid that Norbert was safe."

"Someone other than Professor McGonagall or me?" Snape asked.

"I know you were there, but you're not his friend," Harry said.

"I see. I think I understand your point of view, Harry," Snape came closer, standing in front of Harry. "I am not saying that I would have let you come. I might have. Miss Granger certainly should not have been there. She would have needed a parent's permission. I understand what you were trying to do for Hagrid, Harry. You went about it in entirely the wrong way, though."

Harry sadly nodded. Even though he knew he was still in trouble, it felt good to get his feelings out. Some of the things he was saying were realizations he hadn't even fully known until he said them out loud. It felt like a weight was lifted. Now, he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He had pushed Snape farther this time than ever before. He knew that the man was hurt by his actions, and he had promised Harry more severe consequences.

Snape had turned away from Harry and seemed to be looking off into nowhere, past the potion sitting in stasis in its cauldron. Eventually, he began walking toward the door to their quarters and gestured for Harry to follow.

"Come," was all he said.

Harry came after Snape, wondering if there would be more uncomfortable conversation, lecturing, or just a handing down of his death sentence. He knew that he deserved whatever Snape dished out, but he still couldn't help feeling sorry for himself. To Harry, it still seemed as if he hadn't had a choice. Hagrid was his friend, and he had so few of them.

"I have considered what you told me, "Snape began when Harry had situated himself on the couch again. "That does not mean that I agree. You and I are going to need to develop better communication. You cannot simply do as you please and then argue later than you had to do it."

At this statement, Harry could just nod. Snape had a point. He hadn't come to Snape first. It had never really occurred to him. He wondered belatedly what might have happened if he had done so. He still doubted that the man would have let him come with the dragon. Things might have just ended up worse.

"Yes, Sir," Harry agreed.

"You are restricted to our quarters for the rest of the term," Snape told him. "That means that other than your classes and quidditch practice, you will be here. You will be allowed to eat your meals in the Great Hall during the week because there is no way that I can be absent for that length of time, but other than that, you will be eating here. If I am not here, I will still ensure that you have a meal and eat it. Do you understand?"

Harry couldn't help but gawk at the man. That was a month! It seemed like an extreme punishment. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was being locked up. It was the Dursley's favorite punishment to toss him in his cupboard and throw away the key. At least Snape was going to let him eat. It seemed little comfort at the moment, though. Harry felt like he was staring down a life sentence.

"Are you sure you won't reconsider expelling me?" Harry half-joked.

"This is serious, Mr. Potter," Snape snapped. "You have been behaving in a reckless and foolhardy manner. Moreover, you seem to have no respect whatsoever for my authority. I have to get through to you somehow. I have already restricted you from your room and put you on a shorter restriction. These actions did not seem to make an impression on you. I promised you a harsher punishment. Did you not think I was as good as my word?"

"Well, Yes, Sir," Harry struggled. "But Snape, that's forever! What about …"

"What about what?" Snape asked with a scowl.

"Never mind, Sir," Harry submitted.

If it was possible, Harry wanted to grasp at straws for any other punishment. He knew that he already had detention and all of the points he had lost. Those clearly did not matter to Snape. His guardian had already said those school punishments were not factored into Snape's decision to punish him. As his guardian, it was Snape's job to punish him, and apparently, he wanted to do a thorough job of it.

"Can I go talk to Hagrid first please," Harry said, realizing his tone was close to begging. "I need to let him know Norbert is all right."

He could tell that Snape was close to denying his request, but maybe there was a heart in there after all. Harry knew this was a harsh thought. Snape had been kind enough to him this year. The man nodded.

"I am going with you. You have ten minutes."

It was a miserable trek down to Hagrid's hut. While Harry stuttered out his story, he could barely get the words out. Harry had clearly been drinking half the night and was severely hungover, so he wasn't much listening anyway. When his ten minutes were up, and Snape escorted Harry back, he had the feeling that he wished that he had just written Hagrid a letter.

The next week was miserable. Harry came to be grateful that he didn't have to be in the Great Hall on weekends because he could avoid his classmates' glares and mutters. There was no outright bullying and abuse. It was clear that Snape would not tolerate it. Harry found out later that Snape had given a stern lecture to his house promising severe punishment to anyone who bullied Harry when he had taken him on as guardian. He didn't really believe Malfoy had been that much better. The Slytherin was undoubtedly angry about losing fifty points.

Malfoy's mood did not improve when he discovered himself standing outside after dark with Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Filch. When Harry found out that their detention was to take place in the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid, he was more than a little confused. Hagrid must have been angry at them for making him get rid of Norbert.

Hagrid definitely didn't seem to be in a good mood. When Malfoy complained about going into the forest at night, a sentiment Harry shared, Hagrid told him it was either that or get expelled. That shut them all up. Hagrid then showed them something silvery and shiny and told them it was unicorn blood. They were looking for whatever was hunting unicorns.

Hermione and Malfoy separated from Hagrid and Harry. They continued into the forest. Harry was nervous about Malfoy's worries about werewolves, but the first people they encountered were centaurs. Harry had never met one before. They were large and looked half-human and half-horse. They met two named Bane and Ronan, and they were hardly useful. They seemed to only want to say that Mars was bright.

*"Never," said Hagrid irritably, "try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon."*

They continued until they saw the distress signal that was sent up from Malfoy and Neville. It turned out that Malfoy had been teasing Neville. In disgust, Hagrid paired Malfoy with Harry. Harry was not pleased with this new arrangement but moved on. Then, in a clearing, they came to the dead unicorn. That was not all they found.

*Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. Harry, Malfoy, and Fang stood transfixed. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood.*

Malfoy howled and fled, along with Fang, Hagrid's dog. Harry was still gripped with a strange foreboding about the hooded figure and seemed unable to move. Then, it came at him.

*Then a pain like he'd never felt before pierced his head; it was as though his scar were on fire. Half blinded, he staggered backward. … The pain in Harry's head was so bad he fell to his knees. It took a minute or two to pass. When he looked up, the figure had gone.*

He heard hooves. It was one of the centaurs, who told him his name was Firenze. Scooping him up, Firenze carried him on his back quickly despite the protests of the other centaurs. Harry barely had time to register that they all seemed to know that he has Harry Potter, and that mattered to them enough to let Firenze by. Apparently, he was famous even to centaurs.

Firenze told him that the creature had been drinking the unicorn blood to stay alive but that it was a cursed life. Harry couldn't imagine being so evil as to slay such a beautiful creature. It made him feel cold and sick inside. The entire encounter made him wish he had never gotten in trouble and never gone into the forest. He thought of his scar and the pain in his head. He knew who that was. He was after the Philosopher's Stone.

When Harry got to the edge of the forest, he grabbed ahold of Hermione's hand. Neville was nearly to the school with Hagrid.

*"Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done so. . . . Bane was furious . . . he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen. . . . They must show that Voldemort's coming back. . . . Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me. . . . I suppose that's written in the stars as well."*

Hermione looked at him and squeezed his hand. "Dumbledore's protecting the stone, Harry. And Snape too. You-Know-Who will never get it, or you either."

Up ahead, Harry could see his guardian come out of the doors to meet him. For a moment, he considered running up to tell him everything about what he had just heard and what he knew about the Philosopher's Stone. Then he looked back to Hermione.

"Let's keep this just between us."

Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (p. 263, 273, 275, 279-280). Pottermore Publishing. Kindle Edition.