Chapter 8
Severus Snape was in a foul, foul mood. Not only did he have to spend time with that damned Potter, once again attempting to teach the boy to guard his mind, it now appeared that the bloody nuisance had come up with something completely unfamiliar in order to block him. Snape scowled. He didn't know what the devil Potter had done, but it had been like trying to find a chink in a brick wall. And then there had been the bizarre twist of Potter managing to invade HIS mind!
Which now meant that he was forced to go to Dumbledore, Snape grumbled mentally. To talk about Potter. Bloody hell, could his day get any worse.
Snape rapped on the office door and heard the old man's voice call cheerfully, "Come in Severus!" He opened the door and saw the Headmaster behind his desk, looking benignly serious and Professor McGonagall perched in an armchair in front. Great, just great. Apparently the day could get worse.
"I can come back, I have no reason to interrupt," Severus began to say smoothly, trying to extricated himself from a bloody three-way teacher's meeting.
Dumbledore stopped him, however, by shaking his head. "No, no, come in," he said. "I suspect you're here about the same thing Minerva is."
Snape couldn't resist getting a dig in. "Your lack of a quiddich team?" he asked silkily.
McGonagall sniffed at him. "I'M not the one who had to replace more than half my team this year," she said.
The Headmaster chuckled and shook his head. "Please, my friends, if we start this debate, it may never end. Severus," he waved at the other chair. "Please, sit. We were just discussing Mr. Potter."
Severus grumbled under his breath. "What gives you the notion that I wish to discuss that annoying boy?" he said, even as he reluctantly sat.
Dumbledore tilted his head. "You had a session with him last night, correct?"
Snape humphed. Bloody annoying old man. Dumbledore merely nodded. "Minerva, you were about to say…" he said, looking back at the other Head of House.
McGonagall sighed. "I believed I was mistaken for several days, but lately I've taken to observing Mr. Potter during class, clandestinely, of course. And it's not my imagination, Albus," she said, spreading her hands, "his spell work has changed dramatically."
Severus narrowed his eyes. This might have something to do with him, after all… "How so?" he asked, leaning forward.
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips. "I have observed that Mr. Potter appears to be, well, deliberately performing the spells incorrectly, until usually about half the students have accomplished whatever it is we are trying. Then he will suddenly have the most perfect example in the class." She looked at Dumbledore again. "Why, yesterday, we were working on cross-gender self-transfiguration, and I promise you, I watched him deliberately make mistake after mistake until suddenly, toward the end of the period, there was a perfect little girl standing where Harry used to be." She frowned. "There were none of the usual mistakes, none. It was better work than I've seen from a student in decades."
Severus contemplated this. Hmm… he thought.
Albus sighed. "Professor Flitwick has been so kind as to mention something similar to me," he said. "He also feels that Harry is holding back, hiding what he can do." Now the old man's eyes turned to Snape. "Severus, what do you think?"
Snape thought quickly. There was something strange going on, here… "Potter doesn't need Occlumency lessons," he said abruptly, making a snap decision. "I couldn't get into his mind and he bloody well had mine laid out for the world to see." He scowled at Dumbledore without thought. "Something is not right," he muttered.
Professor McGonagall made a rather frustrated sound. "But what?" she asked. "What's going on with him, Albus? Has he said anything to you?"
Severus looked to the Headmaster as well, but to his surprise, found the blue eyes of the old man rather dimmed. "I am afraid Harry has not felt the need to confide in me for some time now," he said a little heavily. "Certain… events, and to a large extent, my actions, have left Mr. Potter more than a little angry at me."
"Great Merlin, what?" Snape asked, very surprised, and for that reason forgetting to stay quiet. It had to be something for the boy to loose his near-adoration of Dumbledore. Often he'd watched the trust and respect and yes, affection that would rise in those green eyes when Potter would look to the Headmaster. And it had been perfectly obvious to nearly anyone who looked that Dumbledore in turn had a definite favorite in the boy. Although, now that he thought of it, he hadn't seen such an expression in a while. Quite a while.
Professor Dumbledore looked rather old and sad now, and as someone who looked to him with a great deal of reluctant affection himself, it alarmed Snape. "I have not told you, Severus, of the prophecy," he said. Snape's eyebrows shot up. Prophecy? The one Voldemort had been after? They rose even farther as the Headmaster quietly recited the slow sentences of the prophecy. Dumbledore looked even older. "I related the entire prophecy to Harry after that ill-fated trip to the Department of Mysteries. He did not take the news well, and, I fear, blames me for wielding so much control over his life."
McGonagall sighed. "Albus, please, we've been over this, what else should you have done? Told an eleven year-old to start getting ready to destroy someone who we weren't even sure still existed?"
Snape sat back and pondered as the other woman went on. So that was it, he thought. A power Voldemort knew not… and kill or be killed.
A moment later, Severus stood abruptly. "I will be meeting with Mr. Potter once more tonight," he said, hardly even noticing that he was interrupting the other two's soft conversation. "With your permission, Headmaster, I will dispense with the need to keep doing so, as I feel it is a waste of time on both our parts."
The blue eyes that had so often twinkled at him in the past were serious and sober as they studied him. "If you feel that is the best course of action, Severus, then I trust your judgment," Dumbledore said.
Snape gave a curt nod and then swept from the room, frowning and thinking as he did. What to do with Mr. Potter?
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By unspoken agreement, the three of them had decided not to confront Harry just yet over what they'd figured out. Ginny rather thought it was because none of them wanted to loose that argument. Harry was just too good at waiting them all out and still saying nothing. It was one of his more annoying traits, she reflected. Kind of along with completely pushing her away, despite the fact that there could clearly be something between them…
Bad Ginny, she scolded herself as she headed for Potions. Thank Merlin she still had Professor Snape, the woman, as opposed to Professor Snape, the bat. She was really going to have to think about whether she wanted to take the NEWTS class next year.
Pushing the door open, she made her way to her usual spot next to Colin and set her things down. In front of her, Cara was carefully setting her supplies. That was another benefit of her best friend dating Draco Malfoy, she thought with a grin as she began to do the same. Draco had finally figured out a system that Cara followed like religion in Potions class. It wasn't foolproof, but there were a whole lot fewer exploding cauldrons thanks to it. As someone who was generally in the line of fire, Ginny appreciated that fact.
Cara turned around, setup routine complete and eyed Ginny. "Sooo…" she said, eyes speculative.
Ginny shot her a very confused look even as she shook her bottle of ink. Damn. She'd have to remember to fill it tonight, it was getting pretty low. "What?" she asked.
Cara grinned. "I heard something," she said. And she had that annoying smug tone that said it was something Ginny wasn't going to like.
Ginny narrowed her eyes. "Spill it, McDouglas," she ordered, but before she could browbeat her friend any more, Professor Snape came limping in and cheerfully began to explain the day's lesson.
It wasn't until nearly a full hour later, Cara having made it through her careful order of procedure and now having set her timing charm (another handy idea of Draco's), that her friend turned back to her. By now, Ginny had managed to think of several possibilities for something that Cara would just love to taunt her about, none of them terribly pleasant.
"Well?" Ginny demanded crossly. "What'd you hear?"
Cara grinned like a cheshire cat. "I heard there was going to be a Hogsmead weekend next month," she said.
Ginny raised an eyebrow derisively as she measured out the crushed lacewings. Unlike some people, she could talk and work at the same time. "So?" she answered. "We have those all the time."
Cara grinned bigger. "I also heard that the Head Boy and Girl were going to go together," she said.
Now Ginny frowned. "What, you mean on head business? That sucks," she said.
Cara chuckled. "According to my sources, the 'head business' was cooked up by certain other prefects who have on-going bets regarding the two people in question, so that they'd hopefully start making some progress toward a, ah, conclusion."
Ginny smirked. "Please, this IS my brother were talking about. He won't even admit it yet."
Cara carefully inspected her nails. "Well, I'll just say that you might want to be around the vicinity of Zonko's at about two p.m. on the day in question, because a certain other prefect, a tall and handsome one who shall not yet be named, is going to attempt to jolt your thickskulled brother into waking up."
Now Ginny started to grin. "Ahh… I see. Well, I appreciate the heads up," she said, and nudged Colin next to her, who was listening with a speculative gleam in his eye. "Hear that, Colin? Two p.m., Zonko's."
"Why Ginny, darling, I don't know what I'll do with that information," Colin said virtuously. Ginny grinned bigger, knowing that Colin would be lying in wait with his famous camera for probably an hour before time, just in case.
She chuckled. "Great, now I'm going to be counting the days," she smirked.
"You might be counting them for another reason, as well," Cara said casually.
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why?" Frankly, she was dying to see what else her friend had turned up. Damned if the girl wasn't better than the Daily Prophet.
Cara cleared her throat delicately. "Because as the Head Boy and Girl will be off doing their 'head' things, their best chum will be left… all alone…"
To Ginny's complete and total mortification, she didn't something she hadn't done in so long, and she'd been so proud off: she turned bright red, and then suddenly started to cry. "Oh, crap, I'm sorry, Gin, I'm sorry, please don't cry," Cara immediately exclaimed, looking panicked and wretched. It was all suddenly and totally overwhelming, the last year's worth of repressed feelings washed over her and she just wanted to sink into the floor and melt with her misery.
It was just a few tears, fortunately, but still… Ginny swiped at her eyes and sniffed. "Sorry… must have been dust," she lied pathetically.
Colin wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Yeah, it's pretty dusty back here," he said in a soothing tone. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sniffed. She had wonderful friends.
"Miss Weasley," came Professor Snape's voice from the front of the class, breaking into her moment of affection. "Would you see me for a moment after class, please?"
Oh, crap, Ginny thought. "Yes, ma'am," she said miserably. Damn, damn, double damn.
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As the bell rang and the rest of her class streamed out of the dungeon, Cara and Colin giving her sympathetic glances, Ginny slowly approached the front of the room where Professor Snape sat behind her desk.
Her teacher looked up at her and gave her a gentle smile. "Have a seat, Ginny," she said. Ginny sat. Crap, crap, crap. Crying in class. She did not want to have this conversation.
"I wanted to ask you something," Professor Snape said, sitting forward. Ginny blinked. Okay…
"Yes, ma'am?" she said.
She was studied by a pair of dark eyes that seemed just a bit too knowing. "Tell me what's going on with Harry Potter," the Potion Mistress said.
Ginny's eyes got very big and she swallowed hard. "Ma'am," she managed to croak out after a second, "uh, I don't understand…"
She was treated to a gentle smile. "I watch certain students very carefully, Miss Weasley," Professor Snape said softly. "And one thing I've noticed is that Mr. Potter is not quite… right."
"H-how do you mean?" Ginny asked, praying she could come up with something.
The small, dark woman tilted her head. "I think you know," she said.
Ginny swallowed. "Well, professor, I…" she took a deep breath and couldn't believe she was about to say this to a professor, "I don't really think it's any of your business about Harry. And especially asking me to tell you." And then she waited for something really bad to happen, maybe lightning or a particularly nasty hex.
Instead, Professor Snape just smiled, one that seemed to be a bit smug and quite satisfied. "Quite right, Ginny. Then I'd just like to give you a piece of advice, if I may."
"Yes ma'am," Ginny said, feeling almost dizzy with relief that she wasn't currently chopped up and being boiled in one of the extra-large cauldrons along the wall.
"Sometimes, the strongest men forget that they are not alone," the Potion Mistress said quietly. "They forget that they do not have to face the world without someone at their back, without someone to hold their hand." Those dark eyes were far too keen now. "And sometimes, they have to be shown that fact, over and over until they understand."
Ginny's mouth opened and then closed. "Ma'am?" she said, flabberghasted and more than a little disconcerted. And horrified.
"Frankly, my advice is to get him alone as often as you can and kiss him," Professor Snape said, a dreamy look coming into her eyes. "It certainly worked for me."
Ginny's mouth worked blankly for a moment, before she managed a weak, "May I go, professor?"
She was treated to a dazzling grin, and a waving hand, and then somehow found herself heading into the Great Hall and dropping into the empty seat at Cara's side.
"Well?" her friend asked warily. "How did it go?"
Ginny stared at her, and then shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it," she muttered.
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To all my reviewers: WOW!! Look at all those reviews! I'm feeling positively inspired. In fact, I might try to get another chapter up tomorrow, just because you all pressed that little button…