Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone: Take Two
by MysticSong1978
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot switch and any original characters I may add in as I deem necessary. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling. Should any other literary references be used, they will be so noted at that point.
Dialogue is in double quotes ("") and Thoughts are in single quotes ('').
After apparating back to Privet Drive, Severus handed Harry his ticket for the Hogwarts Express. "Be sure you name your owl soon; that will help you bond with her. I put some things you'll need for her in your trunk. Send her to . . . send her to me or to Headmaster Dumbledore if those muggles give you any trouble. I wish to speak to your aunt and uncle before I leave."
Harry nodded, and after carefully and silently opening the front door, he waved Snape in ahead of him. He was not surprised to find his cousin and uncle sprawled in front of the television watching some mindless show. His aunt caught sight of him before realizing that Severus was there as well. "You!" She shrieked! "Get in here and start on dinner! And there'll be no..." her shrieking trailed off when she caught sight of a very severe Severus behind her nephew.
"Vernon!"
He lumbered into the hall. "YOU! What are you doing here? You are not welcome in this house. We put up with the boy but his kind are not welcome in this house."
"I merely wished to speak with you and your wife before returning to Hogwarts. You need to bring Harry to King's Cross Station on the morning of September 1st. The train leaves promptly at eleven o'clock in the morning. There is no other train. Do not be late. There will be consequences if Mr. Potter is not on board with all of his belongings. And I shall deliver those consequences. Is that understood?"
Vernon nodded, his pasty face at odds with his still red neck and more or less loosely clenched fists.
"The train leaves promptly at eleven o'clock on the morning of September 1st. Do not be late. Now, away with you. I need a brief moment with your nephew before I depart."
Vernon and Petunia made haste into the living room.
Severus paused, making sure they were out of hearing distance, and regarded Harry. "Do not lose that ticket, Mr. Potter."
"Yes, sir, thank you sir," said Harry, pocketing the ticket carefully. "Thank you again for all your help, and for my owl."
Snape looked down his hooked nose at Harry. "Think nothing of it."
"I can't help it," the boy rambled on, apparently not recognizing Snape's glare for what it was; an unspoken plea for the boy to shut up as Snape did not really care for an abundance of emotion, "no one's ever helped me before, or stood up for me before, or talked to me in, you know, a normal conversation, or well, really done much of anything for me before. And then suddenly knowing a little bit of truth about my folks after all this time. It's quite a bit to take in."
Snape patted Harry's shoulder awkwardly. "Yes, well . . . look, now, remember what I said about how I may or may not have to treat you in public at school. But you can always come talk to me if you need to; well, if you're in my House."
"What are the Houses anyway? You've mentioned them, but I don't really understand."
"The Houses are how our students are primarily divided. Gryffindor, full of foolish bravery. Slytherin – my house, cunning and very intelligent. Hufflepuff – full of emotion but . . . also very loyal, and Ravenclaw – have cool logic, intellect, and wit. The Sorting Hat will know best where to put you, Harry." Harry would learn later that although not completely wrong, Snape's description of the Houses was slightly biased.
Harry hugged a stunned Potions Master fiercely for only a moment, but it . . . touched something in the man that had been broken for a very long time. He drew his ticket back out to examine it and discovered it read 'Platform 9 ¾'! "What the?" He looked up and around suddenly, startling his poor owl, calling out, "Profess . . ." but Snape was gone.
Updated 5 January 2017
Reminder: Short chapters, like this one, have been expanded as much as possible during revisions.
They cannot be combined with longer chapters or all their reviews will be lost.
