Chapter 9: Chats with Slytherins
Observing the boy with obsidian eyes, Professor Snape took in his overly distressed appearance and thoroughly chewed lip. He wondered what could possibly have the boy in such a state. He had seemed to be adjusting well to being at Hogwarts surrounded by others. What had the 'dog men' asked of the boy?
"Well, sit down, boy. I haven't all day." Barking out at the youth, Severus watched as he flinched and quickly complied before turning wide, fearful green eyes on him.
Sighing, he ran a hand through his lanky black locks. "What exactly do these 'dog men' expect of you, Potter?"
Gnawing on his lip again, Harry got a thoughtful look on his face before speaking. "They wish me to stay with them over the summer. They don't want me to return to the forest, but stay with them. The black-haired one says he is my Godfather. They say they care." Looking away from the man, Harry sighed. "I don't know. I-I'm not so sure. They didn't try very hard to find me, and my last dealings of living with adults wasn't too good."
Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, Severus surveyed the young man. "How so? You were living with your muggle aunt, her husband, and their son, right?"
Nodding, Harry exhaled again, refusing to meet his teachers eyes. "They weren't too...fond of me. They didn't like having me around. I was a nuisance, a bother. A complete and utter waste of space." Looking up to judge his teacher's expression, Harry was slightly put off when he saw that his face was blank. "I could never do anything good enough, fast enough, or right. Nothing was to their liking. Not my cooking, my manners, my hair, or my second hand clothes from Dudley."
Second hand clothes? Surely this isn't going where my instincts tell me it is going. No one would abuse a child that young. I mean, he's been missing since he was five. Turning his inscrutable black eyes back on the child, he looked at his rather small frame. He had always assumed it was due to his years spent living like an animal in the forest, but now new possibilities were opening up to him. What if he was right?
"Tell me, boy, did they ever hurt you?"
Cringing involuntarily again at that name, Harry turned his face away again. He wasn't sure that he wanted to look at him. Why should it matter anyway? It's not like he cared for him. Besides, it didn't matter it was all in the past.
"No sir, they didn't." He still didn't look at Severus, never once looking him in the face.
"And for some strange reason, I find myself not believing you. Why would that be?"
Still keeping his head down, Harry shrugged listlessly. He really didn't want to be having this conversation. "Sir, I've really got to be going... I'll be late for my classes if I don't leave now." Standing, he slowly started inching his way to the door, keeping his eyes on the floor and hoping that he wouldn't be bothered.
"You will sit yourself back in that chair, Mr. Potter, or you shall find yourself unable to move from that spot." Sending a scathing glare at the boy, he watched as he sighed in defeat and sat back down, looking meekly through his raggedy bangs at him. "Now you will tell me why it is that I don't believe you."
Harry glared up at the man, getting over his own shyness about communicating with adults. How dare he demand answers! He had absolutely no right to know anything that Harry didn't deem worthy of telling him. Sneering in a likeness very reminiscent of Professor Snape, he huffed and rolled his eyes.
"I have to tell you nothing of the sort. You are of no importance to me, and it really is not any of your concern."
Fuming, Severus Snape was flabbergasted. When had a student, an insolent student at that, ever dared to question him? To tell him no? It was simply unheard of.
"You will tell me or else."
Rolling his eyes, Harry stood, quickly stalking to the door and pulling it open as Professor Snape drew his wand. "I think not. You have no right." Leaving quickly as the teacher was too preoccupied by being shocked, Harry started on his path out of the school again.
Crossing the grounds, he broke out into a run as he passed Hagrid's hut. He didn't bother glancing back and seeing the bewildered look of the Gamekeeper. Nor did he glance back and see the rather large, grim like dog that had given chase to him. So it came as quite a shock to Harry as he was knocked to the ground, striking his head on a rock, by that very dog. He only got a glimpse of black fur and heard a faint shout of his name before his world went black.
Quickly transforming back to human once he had pounced on the boy, he called his name, rolling him over to cringe when his vision met with blood that was starting to coat the side of the young boy's face. He had a gash that ran from his temple to his hair line. Standing, he gathered the slight form in his arms and took him back into the school, heading for the Infirmary.
Once there, he called to Poppy, stepping back to let her do her work. He paced as he waited, not even noticing as Professor Snape, Headmaster Dumbledore and Remus entered the room.
"What happened, Padfoot?"
Jumping, he whirled around, staring wide eyed at the group. "I-I didn't mean to. I was just trying to stop him... But he was so intent on where he was going. And I... I pounced... He hit his head on a rock."
His own eyes widening, Remus' mouth dropped open in shock. "What were you thinking?! There had to have been another way! Harry's already very small, and your large frame probably did other damage to him! Wh-"
"Remus, I'm sure that is quite enough. I'm positive that Sirius already feels bad enough." Looking slightly sternly at the concerned werewolf, he turned twinkling eyes on the pacing animagus. Smiling and chuckling jovially at his frantic nodding. Turning his smiling face to the bed, he was about to address Poppy when he saw a pair of cold green eyes staring at him. "My, Mr. Potter, how grand it is to see that you are awake!"
Surveying those in the room, he narrowed his eyes, sneering slightly at each and everyone. "I think I preferred being unconscious. And if you don't mind, I will just go back to it now." Rolling the other way, he snuggled into the blankets around him, burrowing deeply and covering his head completely, utterly intent on ignoring the adults in the room.
"I'm afraid, Harry, that I simply can't allow you to do that." Drawing his wand, Dumbledore summoned the blankets from the boy, smiling gently at him as he snarled. "We must have a very important discussion. A discussion about where you will stay during the holidays, and where you were supposed to have been up until you started attending Hogwarts. We need to know about your muggle relatives."
Remus and Sirius shared slightly confused looks, wondering what the Headmaster was going at. Why would they care anything about his muggle relatives? It wasn't like they were going to send Harry back to them anytime soon.
Glancing at Severus, Remus was shocked to see not a confused look, but an interested. Evidently he already knew more then he did or Sirius did. Turning his attention back to the task at hand, he swung his eyes onto the boy, focusing on him.
Sighing at the indignation of it all, he sat up, deciding to play the confused, innocent boy who had no clue as to what he was getting at. But before he could even open his mouth, Professor Snape piped up, never one to just sit back when he knew someone was about to lie through their teeth.
"And it's no use in trying to pretend you don't know what the Headmaster is getting at, Mr. Potter. I know that you do."
Sending a scathing glare at the man, he pulled his lips back, baring his teeth and growling. Huffing, he crossed his arms over his chest, intent on not saying a word.
He sat like that for about ten minutes before he realized that they weren't going to be leaving. He'd have to tell them something. Swinging his legs around, he sat with them dangling over the edge, toes barely touching.
"If you want information, you are simply going to have to be more specific."
"All right, Harry, I'll play along. How exactly, in details, did the Dursleys treat you? How did they view you? What did they do for you? What did they give you?"
TBC
It's been forever, I know. But I've run into a bit of a snag. So much is going on with my family, and I think I've hit a rather permanent form of writer's block as it doesn't seem to want to leave. I had wanted this to be a nice long chapter, but it wouldn't cooperate.
Any and all suggestions would be great. Any comments at all would be great. Please, please, please review. I could really use some encouragement.