The Spirit of Christmas
By Phoenix Angel
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything else recognizable.
Part Four
*Snape turned to Harry. "Now, we shall begin with something you will find useful…the dreamless sleep potion."
***
Harry froze on the spot. "It's doesn't…I mean, never mind," Harry said quickly. What Snape didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
Severus watched the boy's reaction carefully. He had started to say that something doesn't, but he had stopped. Could he mean that the dreamless sleep potion didn't work on his nightmares? Curious… He would have to watch the boy more closely from now on.
Harry watched as Snape showed him how to make the potion. He didn't need to show him, for Harry already knew how to make this potion, but he didn't want Snape to know that, because that would bring questions into light on why he knew how to make it, and, eventually, what was the cause of his nightmares. It was better for some thingHaHHHHHHHs to stay unknown.
Severus kept a close eye on Harry throughout the potion lesson. He seemed to know what he was doing, as if he had already known how to make this potion. Yet, why would he need to? Were his nightmares that bad?
The lesson soon ended. Harry was about to leave the workroom when Snape spoke up. "Today you have shown me that you are capable of making a potion properly. Why don't you do that in class? Your marks could be much higher."
"No offence, professor, but it's kind of hard to make a potion when someone's practically breathing down your neck, and knowing that if you make one wrong move, 50 points will be deducted from Gryffindor. Good night, professor." Harry left and returned to his room.
Severus stood there, thinking about what Harry had said. Perhaps he had gone a bit too far with his threats, but they were supposed to motivate the students, not discourage them. He sighed, wishing once more that his life would be as simple as it used to be. It was all Potter's fault!
***
In the middle of the night, Harry awoke screaming once more. He sat in his bed, panting harshly, until he slowly calmed down. He was muttering to himself, words that were hardly loud enough to hear. 'I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to. Cedric…' He took a deep breathe and tried to go back to sleep. It was a long while before he finally slipped back into the world of dreams. Still, he slept restlessly for the remainder of the night.
In the corner of the room, a figure stood, watching Harry. As Harry fell asleep, the figure slipped out of the room. He was pondering about what Harry had said. Was Harry sinking into guilt, believing that he had sent the Diggory boy to his death? It certainly made sense… Severus decided to confront the boy in the morning. For now, he would try to get a couple of hours of sleep before daylight.
***
The following morning, Harry awoke to the loud chatter of the birds. He slipped out of bed, and headed to the bathroom. Soon after, he walked out of his room and down to the dining room.
He found Snape already seated at the table. He sat down cautiously across from him, and looked around the room until the food arrived. What Harry didn't notice was that Snape was watching him carefully.
Once the food arrived, there was complete silence, besides the occasional clatter of the plates. Harry found Snape's gaze burning into him, and squirmed uncomfortably. He ate as quickly as possible, and was about to slip back to his room when a hand on his arm stopped him. He turned back to see Snape staring at him once more. "Potter, sit."
Harry slowly lowered himself so he was seated, and waited for Snape to continue. He didn't have to wait long.
"Albus has asked me to…" his lip curled in disgust, "take you Christmas shopping," he stated rather reluctantly. "I have agreed to take you to a muggle shopping mall near here," again his lip curled as he spat out those words, "so go get ready. We leave in twenty minutes." He swept out of the room, with a sneer on his face.
Harry headed back to his room to change into some warmer clothes. Last summer, he had gotten a job, and had bought new clothes for himself, clothes that actually fit. He arrived at his room and opened his wardrobe. He decided to wear a pair of jeans and a silk shirt, casual wear. After all, they were going to a muggle mall.
As he headed back to the front hall, he wondered how Professor Dumbledore had managed to convince Snape to take him shopping, to a muggle mall too! He decided that Dumbledore must have blackmailed him or something, for Harry couldn't imagine Snape agreeing voluntarily to take him shopping! Well, at least he could get the rest of his Christmas shopping done. Christmas was only three days away!
A.N. So how do you like the chapter? Kinda crappy, eh? And short, I know. Sry, I'll try to get a longer one out soon. Plz review!
Next chapter: Severus and Harry go Christmas shopping! And Severus finds out what haunts Harry at night.