HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR

By Geena

Chapter 4: Detectives

"Do you call this BROWN, Potter ?" Harry cringed. He expected the sneer, still, how hard he tried to brace himself, the venomous acid kept burning painful holes in his self esteem. It looked like their Potions teacher was back in the habit, after two weeks of taking it slow. He lowered his head, staring down miserably at the thick orange liquid in his cauldron.

"No sir." He answered, afraid of what was to come.

Nothing.

Harry glanced up. The expression on Snape's face was unreadable, as always, but the usual disdain was missing. Was he a bit off-colour ? By now, Gryffindor should be losing a massive amount of points, but instead, Snape took the wooden spoon out of Harry's hands, stirred the colourful brew and reached for a small jar on the corner of Harry's desk.

"Now, watch closely, all of you, while I show you how to restore this abominable attempt at potion brewing."

All gathered around Harry's desk, the Slytherins snickering, the Gryffindors slightly aghast. Was this going to lead to a new level of humiliation in front of their mortal enemies or was Snape actually … teaching ?

Both groups of students were left stunned when neither of them got what they expected. The lesson simply continued and Snape did explain to them how they could reverse a potion that had gone awry.

However, Harry received an extra assignment on the necessity of exact measurements.

"That was weird." Ron said when they walked to lunch.

"Yeah, I was sure I was going to cop it bad." Harry agreed. "Well, I do have two scrolls to fill with complete nonsense before the end of the week" He added.

"That's not so awful, is it ? It could have been much worse." Hermione intervened.

"Do you reckon he hasn't fully recovered yet ? He's been back for a while now." Ron whispered, careful no one overheard them.

"Oh really Ron, Snape's not that bad. I mean, sure, he's always had it in for us, but lets face it, most of the time we had it coming."

Both Ron and Harry looked astonished at her.

"What?" They exclaimed in one voice.

"Don't get on your high horses just yet, I only meant to say we never consider his point of view and we DO get into a lot of trouble." She shot them a stern look, which gave her a striking resemblance to Professor McGonagall.

"Lets drop it, shall we ? I don't think I want to argue about Snape's right to treat us badly." Harry ended the conversation.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders, mumbling something about immature boys.

As the week progressed, Harry didn't think much about Snape's strange behaviour any more. It wasn't like he had become their best friend or anything, far from it. So Harry just thanked whatever God made Snape think twice about taking points from Gryffindor.

Then, on Friday afternoon, when he went down to the dungeons to deliver his assignment, all thoughts about Snape behaving slightly out of character were banned from his mind.

He was about to knock on the door to Snape's office when he noticed it was ajar.

That was not all. He distinctively could overhear two voices, arguing. One of them had to be Snape and the other one was the soft, soothing whisper that belonged to Dumbledore. Harry leaned back against the wall, not wanting to overhear a private conversation between Snape and the Headmaster. But what could he do ? If he went back they might hear his footsteps, come after him and, knowing Snape, jump to the conclusion that Harry had been eavesdropping. A detention with Filch would be the best case scenario after facing a fuming Snape. No, he should just advance and knock on the door, just like he intended to do. Feeling brave, and strengthened by Dumbledore's presence, Harry stepped closer to the door and already had his knuckles on the wood when he froze to the spot.

"How could you bring her here Albus ? Don't you realise who she is ?"

The desperate tone in Snape's voice was a new one and Harry found himself unable to move, holding his breath.

"Of course I do Severus. You don't have to remind me."

"Then you should know it's insane! The danger." The usually monotonous voice now cracked, breaking into a shriek.

Harry couldn't stop himself. He just had to know why Snape was so terrified of their new DADA-teacher. He was sure they were talking about her. His mind working overtime to process the information, he nearly missed Dumbledore's next words.

"I understand why it frightens you to have Jessica here. But believe me, there was no other way. I hope you won't let this interfere with your work."

Snape must have made some affirmative sign, because Dumbledore continued: "Good. I'll leave you then, but please Severus, don't hesitate to come to me for help. I know you chose to continue your extra-curricular activities and, although I would prefer it if you gave them up, I have to admit it's the only way we can know …"

"Yes Albus, I am well aware of the risks, as I am of your support."

There was a silence. Harry dared to take a peek inside and nearly let his mouth drop. He also had to bite his tongue not to burst out in laughter, for he thought he had never seen such a ludicrous sight as his Headmaster holding his protesting Potions teacher in a firm hug. The expression on Snape's face was one of sheer horror and Harry thought he might have preferred to face a dozen Death Eaters instead of receiving this token of affection from the Headmaster.

Then Harry had to jump away when Dumbledore came out the door, making his way back to his own quarters.

He waited a few minutes before he knocked on the door.

It seemed Professor Snape had had enough time to recover from his chat with Dumbledore and he greeted Harry with his trademark sneer.

"Finally found your way to my office, Potter ?"

"Yes Sir. I'm bringing you my assignment, as you requested."

Harry handed over his essay and prepared himself for another denigrating remark, but Snape accepted it without as much as a grunt. It made him look up to his professor, searching the poker face in front if him for clues. Snape was obviously still upset about his conversation with the Headmaster, but Harry didn't have any idea why. So he blurted out the first thing that came to mind:

"A … Are you alright, Sir ?" Harry asked, concern showing in his eyes.

Snape flinched, as if he snapped out of a trance.

"Alright ? Of course I'm alright, don't be ridiculous. Now. What are you still doing here ? Get out, you foolish boy and let me get back to work."

He sounded slightly annoyed and Harry complied all too willingly, first of all because Snape wasn't the most agreeable company to be in and secondly, and maybe more importantly, because he could hardly wait to inform Ron and Hermione on what he had heard.

*

His friends were impressed with what he had to tell them.

"I told you she was bad news." Ron glowed.

"Huh, you were the one that called her 'an angel'." Hermione mocked his first appraisal of the new teacher.

Ron turned a bright pink, but didn't let it disturb him. "At least this proves she's here to get to Snape and, well; maybe even to you too Harry."

Harry suddenly felt the centre of attention.

"I don't know. It looks that way, but then again, she hasn't exactly done anything wrong up till now."

"Of course not. Dumbledore must be watching her like a hawk, you heard what he said. He probably wants her here to keep an eye on her."

"Maybe."

Harry still wasn't convinced. He couldn't tell why, it was just a feeling he had. Hermione didn't seem to be entirely on Ron's side, but she was getting a bit suspicious as well.

"I still want to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I do think it's best to keep an eye out. Be careful Harry." She said before she went off to bed.

Harry laid awake for a long time that night, unsure of what to think. When he finally fell asleep, he had a most upsetting dream about Professor Palmer being sent to Azkaban for murdering Snape, Dumbledore insisting she was innocent.

They slept in the next day. There never was much to do on a Saturday that wasn't part of a Hogsmeade weekend now the Quidditch season had yet to start.

After a quick visit to Hagrid's place, Hermione dragged the both of them towards the library.

"Nooooooo, no studying on a Saturday. OWL's are miles away!" Ron moaned.

"We're not going there to study." Hermione said, with a mischievous spark in her eyes.

"Ugh ?"

"It occurred to me when we were at Hagrid's. I couldn't stop thinking about it. That's when I realised the answer would be in the library."

"You've lost me there Hermione. What on earth are you talking about ? What is it you can't stop thinking about ? Which answer to what is in the library and what has Hagrid to do with it ?" Ron asked.

"Actually Hagrid hasn't got anything to do with it, I told you I was only thinking. I mean about Professor Palmer of course. I know a way to find out more about her."

"How ?" Harry was interested.

"Ron, having three brothers graduated from Hogwarts, you should know the Yearbooks."

"Oh yeah. But I can't see what …Oh."

"What ?" Harry, who didn't know any Hogwarts graduates was still clueless.

"After you finish seventh year, you receive a Yearbook, containing pictures of your and your housemates' years at Hogwarts. Since Professor Palmer was a student here, she's bound to be in one of them. If the information in the Yearbook doesn't tell us what we want to know, we can always contact someone in her year."

"I didn't know they existed!" Harry exclaimed.

"I had totally forgotten about them, but sitting in Hagrid's hut I thought about how he had been in the same year as You-Know-Who and, well, my mind just wandered."

"Brilliant. Let's go." Ron immediately began to browse the 'Hogwarts' section, anxious to get some answers.

Not knowing her age, they selected a rather large amount of Slytherin Yearbooks.

"She doesn't look younger than Bill, so we might start there." Ron suggested.

"No, I think we better begin with the year of the Marauders, remember Snape seems to know her." Hermione disagreed.

"She's much younger than that slimy git !"

"How would you know ? No, I say we begin with Snape's year and continue to the more recent years until we find her."

"I also think that might be better, Ron." Harry agreed with Hermione, resulting in a disgruntled look from Ron.

"Oh, look ! 'Severus Snape, fourth year student, receiving the International Students' Potions Award'."

A picture of a young Professor Snape, holding a golden vial, had Hermione mesmerised.

"Impressive, but not what we're looking for. Keep going."

They scanned the Yearbooks until they came to the graduates from the year before they had started school themselves.

"She's not in it. Unbelievable !" Ron sighed. "That … that can't be, can it ?"

"It can. But it means she's not a Slytherin."

"That would explain why she didn't take Malfoy's side, but it doesn't add up to her acting as temporary Head of Slytherin."

"Maybe she was a Ravenclaw ?" Hermione suggested, and she replaced the pile of green books for blue ones.

To speed things up, they each browsed a different year. Harry didn't seem to have much luck, neither did Ron, but all of a sudden, Hermione squeaked excitedly.

"What is it ? Have you found her ?"

"No. But I did find something else. Did you know Snape has a sister ? Well, he does and she was a Ravenclaw, six years younger than him."

"That's weird. I always thought Snape came from a dynasty of Slytherins, like Malfoy." Harry mused.

"Who knows what else we're going to find out … maybe Professor Palmer was a Huffelpuf!" Ron added his bit.

"Nah." Harry and Hermione simultaneously discarded that option.

They continued to search the Ravenclaw Yearbooks, but other than yet one more Snape-girl, they didn't find anything of interest.

"Well…"

They shot each other meaningful looks as Harry closed the last blue book.

"This means …"

"She has to be a Gryffindor." Ron whispered, almost in awe.

"Let's not waste time then." Hermione said and set off to work.

Harry took the time to read his parents' Yearbook, his eyes filling with tears upon seeing them so happy and alive.

Ron and Hermione continued in silence, aware of the sentimental value it represented to their friend.

"Typical she has to be in the very last one." Hermione said, picking up the only remaining book on the table in front of her.

"No no, that's the one I started with." Ron intervened, looking a bit guilty for not putting it on the 'finished' pile.

"What do you mean ? We still have to do the year after the Marauders."

Harry looked up and the three of them knew they were on to something.

"So the secrecy continues." Hermione murmured.

"Not necessarily." Harry jumped up. "Sirius has to know her, he was only one year her senior. I'll go write to him right away."

Excited about being so close to the solution of the riddle, they hurried towards the owlery, earning a disapproving 'tuttut-tut' from Professor McGonagall when she saw them scampering through the passages.