Come the Maëlstrom
Chapter Eleven
With an exhausted sigh, Harry flopped down in the chair, staring up at the ceiling.
Valencia's arrival at Hogwarts seemed to herald a purely chaotic week. That Monday morning, everyone had been clamouring to see who had arrived in the infirmary and he could barely teach a DA lesson with out someone asking him a question. When he'd finally snapped and yelled at a sixth-year, he had no more trouble for awhile. After the DA lesson, he barely had time for dinner before he had yet another training session with Moody, on top of the one he had after breakfast. Hermione and Ron had come to him with an issue that had been raised once and that he settled quite firmly. Terry Boot had ended up teaching a DA class that Draco Malfoy was attending. Hermione was unsure. Ron wanted to kick him out on his arse. Harry told them, in no uncertain terms, that Draco was staying in the class; what was the point in raising house rivalries again when they were obviously doing something to save their lives? This was much bigger.
The next day, what was supposed to be a quiet relaxing breakfast had been interrupted by Hermione charging into his rooms to drop the morning edition of the Daily Prophet right on his lap. The glaring words of, 'Ministry of Magic goes after suspected Death Eaters' was enough to send his stomach into a sharp lurch of worry and make him lose his appetite. He read the article thoroughly and there had been no mention of Lucius at all. There were some names but Harry knew they certainly weren't Death Eaters. Or, at the very least, part of Voldemort's Inner Circle. But he still couldn't stop the worry that if they hadn't gotten Lucius yet, it was only a matter of time. That day had been filled with whiny second-years in DA class, three training lessons from Moody, and surprise inspections from all teachers to ensure his skills were up to par. For once in his life, everything but Potions seemed like a disaster. By the time he collapsed into bed, he was completely frazzled and skipped dinner in favour of sleep.
Wednesday held one nasty shock. He'd actually gone down to the Great Hall for breakfast to chat with the other Gryffindors only to receive the announcement that Dolores Umbridge was back in the school while the town of Hogsmeade and the grounds of Hogwarts would be under very heavy Auror guard. It was not the kind of start Harry had wanted to his day at all. He had to go through revision work with his teachers and Moody seemed to be keeping him at three, two hour training sessions a day; one after breakfast, one after lunch and one after dinner. Add in teaching two DA classes with some third-years that had some very sloppy Patronus charms, and Harry counted himself lucky to have something of a temper left by the end of the day.
Thursday' was very similar to Wednesday and Friday's Daily Prophet seemed to set off the powder keg that must have been slowly smouldering in Hogwarts since his disappearance. A pale faced Ron had brought him a paper with the headline of, 'Death Eater attack on Muggle and Wizarding London'. It caused an explosion. Rumours were flying thick and fast, and it seemed that everyone turned up for DA lessons. Harry, Ron and Hermione had to press virtually everyone who had been in the club from its start in fifth year to handle the sheer amount of people as well as some professors who volunteered their time. He'd managed to satisfy his professors as to his work and only had to contend with managing to eat meals, teaching the many DA classes at different levels and Moody's training sessions that had been upped to four.
The headline on the Saturday Daily Prophet was no small surprise. Hermione had read the words of, 'Fudge declares a state of emergency' with a scathing expression in her eyes and she stared down at the picture of Fudge delivering a fiery speech from a podium. Harry had managed a scowl and said, "Too little, too late'. Ron had nodded his head with a 'Hear, hear' and then they all had to run to get to their classes on time. He didn't even want to think about the gruelling training that Moody had put him through on.
"There's only been one good thing to this week," Harry mumbled as he let his eyes close. "I didn't see Umbridge once and Snape's been gone this entire time."
He wasn't sure how long he sat there but he must have dozed off because someone shook him on the shoulder gently with a very familiar touch.
- Come on Harry, let's get you to bed. You're exhausted. If you're not careful you'll wear yourself down to the bone. -
- No, no, it's all right, I was just resting my eyes, - he protested, sitting up groggily. He froze in surprise when he realised who it was. - Valencia?! -
She nodded her head. - Come on Harry, bed. I'm sure you have plenty of questions and I'll answer them. Once you get some sleep. - She said firmly.
Harry let his shoulders sag as she helped him up and guided him to his bedroom. - He got you out, right? -
- He did. At great risk to himself as I've come to understand it. - She helped him out of his robe. - Now, no more questions. Just get some sleep, all right? -
He nodded dumbly as he toed his shoes off and fell on top of his bed, far too tired to move any more. Valencia clucked her tongue as she tucked him in and removed his glasses for him. Harry was fast asleep by the time she closed the bedroom door.
The air was a bit chilly and, at the moment, Harry was standing in front of his bedroom window, wrapped up in the blanket he had pulled from his bed. He'd woken up a couple of minutes ago, completely confused and momentarily wondering just how late he was for his early evening DADA class. That was before he saw the blurry note resting on the bedside table beside his glasses. It was from Remus, telling him that his classes had been covered and Moody had given up on training him for the day, as he couldn't even get a response out of him. He'd apparently slept soundly through the poking, prodding and yelling and a furious Valencia had dragged out Moody before he could get the idea of using a spell to get a desired response.
So maybe he had overextended himself just a little bit. He'd have to make sure that didn't happen again.
At the moment, his gaze was still staring at the sky, taking in the dark black-indigo with streaky splotches of crimson in it. When he'd woken up, the sky had been a blaze of crimson and before he knew it, he found himself standing here, watching the sunset. Of course, only half of his mind was turning over the sunset. The other half was dwelling on the convoluted and…odd dream he'd had and trying to come to grips with the intense, and overwhelming, feeling that he was utterly alone. The dream had plagued his sleep, but when he woke up he had no time to pay any mind to it. This was actually the first bit of time he had to himself in a week. When his stomach grumbled, he shook his head a little bit, pulled the blanket in closer around him and shuffled out of his bedroom. When he walked into the parlour, there was a crackling fire in the hearth, the only light in the room, and Ernesto was sitting on the couch beside Valencia.
Harry stood there silently, watching her for a moment in the flickering lights and shadows. She didn't look quite right, as if she were missing something he couldn't quite place his finger on. The moments ticked on by before he sighed and walked out to the couch. They both looked up at him, but didn't say anything as he plunked himself down, still bundled up in blankets, staring into the heart of the fire.
- Look Valencita! - Ernesto gasped in mock shock. - He's… emerges from his lair! He's… alive! -
Valencia looked over at Harry and smiled faintly. - Did you sleep well? -
- It was all right… - Harry said slowly still looking at her curiously.
- Is something wrong Harry? - her brow furrowed a bit.
Harry opened his mouth to speak but found the words vanishing from his tongue immediately. He watched her, realising just what it was that wasn't right. She was too quiet, too subdued, as if something had been torn away from her. That normally bright, cheerful effervesce about her was gone, snuffed out. He tried to speak again but simply ended up blinking rapidly, deciding to stare down at the blanket.
- You don't have to tell me anything. - Ernesto told me, Valencia murmured as she patted him gently on the shoulder. - Everything about… this world, about… Harry? -
All he did was move in closer, resting his head on her shoulder. - I'm so sorry. If I had known before, I could I have done something, I could have… - he whispered.
Valencia gave a weary sounding sigh as she wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder and started stroking his hair slowly. - Don't start blaming yourself. How could you possibly know with that old man keeping information from you? -
- But I should have - -
- I see what you were talking about Ernesto, - she said a bit grimly. There was a faraway steely expression in her eyes before she looked back at Harry and it softened. - You have far too many expectations placed on you. These people are expecting far too much of you. And you feel as if you have to meet those expectations, hm? -
- It's not like I can just tell them to get lost, - he whispered. - It's hard; it's like… -
- Like you were the only one who's pushed out there. You don't know what to do, you don't know where to turn to and the last thing you want to do is to fail miserably and have everyone leave you. - Valencia said, with that faraway expression again. - I know it's hard Harry, I know. But you had no idea that something like that would have occurred, much less prevented it. I suppose you only found out when Ernesto showed up, right? - she continued to stroke his hair gently.
He nodded his head. - It's almost like I'm alone, - he murmured. - Even though he's not here… and he's supposed to be…but he's not…and - - the words were tangling again, his face flushed with embarrassment and he suddenly found himself fighting the urge to cry.
- You're surrounded by people who don't truly know or understand; and even though he's not here, you know that he does. -He nodded dumbly. Valencia sighed heavily and gave a faint smile, looking at Ernesto. - I know you came to see me that night. -
Harry stiffened. - I'm sorry that - -
- Don't. - Ernesto said gruffly. - We know you've been running around this school like mad taking care of your… responsibilities, - his lip curled a bit at that. - Valencita understands that too. - He paused for a long moment. - We also want you to know that you have our full support, whatever you decide. Not what that crazy coot decides, what you decide Harry. -he scowled heartily at the fire.
- Is there something I'm missing? - Valencia asked mildly.
- Ernesto had a few words with Dumbledore, the school's headmaster. -
- Headmaster! Ha, not if that's how he looks after your welfare! - Ernesto bristled. - Good lord, I wouldn't give him a dog to look after! How he's headmaster… I think he, - he looked at Harry pointedly. - Would make a better headmaster than Dumbledore! -
Harry stiffened and swallowed thickly at that; in a sad way that sentence was literally true. Dumbledore had kept Sirius locked away inside. And he had gone rushing out, thinking Sirius was in danger when Sirius was rushing after him because he was the one in danger… and then the fight and Bellatrix… then Sirius fell through The Veil and…
- Harry? - Valencia asked with a tinge of worry in her voice. She looked between Harry and Ernesto. - What did he say? What's wrong? -
- Did I say something to upset you? - Ernesto asked, a furrow in his brow.
- No, no, - Harry said after taking a deep and somewhat shaky breath. - It's all right, you didn't know. - he looked at Valencia. - Just how did you get away from Voldemort? - he cursed as she stiffened, her hand stilling. - Sorry, um…the Dark Lord. -
- No, don't be sorry, - Valencia said hastily. - It's just… he… Voldemort was so… - the words hung heavy in the air before Valencia spoke again. - Well, let's say I'd rather not meet him again, hm? -
Harry gave a slight chuckle and gave a deep sigh. - Just how long were you there? How did you get out? -
- I don't know… there was no way to tell time; I'd guess about two weeks… maybe a week and a half, a week, a few days. I can't be sure, the light was always on and I slept so little. - She paused. - You know, he is a very curious man. A sadistic streak, a vicious tongue, and he can crush someone completely. It's not a pleasant thing to see in him. Yet you wouldn't think he would have the capacity to be gentle and caring. I feel very privileged to know that side of him. You should especially Harry; don't trifle with something like that. -
He nodded his head again. - Why should I when he's one of the very few that understand. -
Valencia smiled slightly. - I didn't recognise him at first. He brought me my dinner a few times before I recognised his eyes. And then one day he slipped me a spoon. Said to not let anyone else see it and to always keep hold of it, - she shook her head. - Seemed rather odd to me. I mean, it was just a battered spoon that had obviously seen better days… and better places. When he came next, he said I would be gone from that place in two days and I didn't see him again after that. Still made no sense. So I simply stayed quietly in my cell and pretended to sulk. I never let go of that spoon. - She lapsed into silence.
- And the Voldemort came… didn't he? - Harry said quietly.
- Voldemort came. Called me names. I just scowled at him. Then he just smirked and watched me… with those horrible red eyes of his in that pale, pale face… - she shivered. - And then all of a sudden, it was like he was in my head, trying to see things, find things. I didn't want him to see anything at all. It hurt so much…it felt like… -
- Like your head was about to split open, - Harry said quietly. - Like it was swelling in an instant and about to explode from sheer pressure. -
Valencia nodded her head. - Voldemort came back twice. Each time, all he did was look at me and made my head hurt. But he left each time in a bad mood… - she paused before speaking a bit shakily. - He came back two more times and left. But when he came back the third time, I knew he was going to kill me; I just knew it. I could see it in his eyes, the way he stroked his wand and the way he… he grinned at me, - she closed her eyes with a hard swallow. - He looked at me again it hurt. It hurt so much more than before. At that point I would have wanted someone to kill me to put me out of my misery. The next thing I knew… the whole world was moving and I ended up in that office and I passed out. -
- But you're all right? -
- I don't think I will ever be all right after that. It was like he was attempting to rape my mind. And I say attempt because he left in such bad moods. Foul is more the word; I don't know if he found what he was looking for… - her hand resumed stroking Harry's hair again. - But that's all done and over with. There's no point in dwelling on the matter. I'm here, I'm safe, and I owe a particular someone a very large debt; he saved my life.-
Harry didn't say anything for a minute, content to simply sit there. - Do you realise that - -
- We know we can't go back to our farm, - Ernesto said a bit sadly. - We won't be able to until this Voldemort is gone and the rest of his loyal Death Eaters have been captured. We've been discussing it all week. -
- And? - Harry asked after a moment.
- Well, we can't exactly stay in a school, - Ernesto said. - But I also get the feeling that Dumbledore may not let us leave. Two Muggles that barely speak English won't last very long here. And would stick out like sore thumbs. -
- Look like you're stuck with me again, huh? - Harry said managing a smile.
- Brat, - Valencia admonished in an amused tone. She smiled a bit as she fingered a lock of his hair. - When was the last time you had a decent haircut? -
- I don't know, - Harry shrugged. - I figure I'll get one eventually. -
- When you do, only get an inch or so cut off. Get rid of dead ends, - Valencia gave a smile that had the ghost of a smirk in it. - I daresay you growing it out has solved your problem of multiple cowlicks. -
Harry blinked and grabbed at his hair. It was indeed long enough for him to pull forward and inspect. At this length, it had to be around his neck somewhere. He released it. - Wow… I didn't even notice it got that long. -
- Just don't let her play Barbie with you. That's the last thing you'll ever want, trust me! - Ernesto said vehemently.
- I am not that bad! - Valencia protested.
Ernesto leaned in conspiratorially. - She had me get dressed for a wedding… spend all day in Madrid suffering her and her endless comments not to mention store and change rooms. -
Harry chuckled as Valencia swatted Ernesto and he drew back with a mock sound of anger and indignation. As the conversation turned to more light-hearted things, Harry got a distinct feeling that everything would turn out fine and he wasn't so alone.
"All right that's it for today!" Harry called out with a Sonorus charm. "You can all shove off for dinner!"
A collective sigh of relief rose from the room and the students trudged out one by one. Harry smiled slightly, seeing them chatter on about the lesson. While it was rather intense, there had been a very good point to him abandoning the lesson plan for today. He had a class of rather fresh students who had stayed in the castle during the first battle rather than sneak out to fight. So he had divided the class up into small groups with the stipulation that they had to look out for themselves and one another. Then he'd started a melee style free-for-all. He'd stopped them a few minutes in with the warning that they would not be stopping until twenty minutes before class ended so he could remove various curses, jinxes and hexes.
Class had been a frenzy of running, ducking, and managing to save his skin, while the general noise would have brought down a flock of harpies.
"Everyone who is still cursed, hexed, jinxed or whatever, line up by that wall over there so I can come and help you!"
He sighed as he ended the Sonorous charm, seeing what appeared to be a goodly number of people make their way to the wall while he swished his wand to clear away the bits of crushed quill and parchment. He was certainly going to be late for dinner. Thankfully, he' d put aside the lesson plan and would review it to include what he had seen in the actual free-for-all. Then they could learn from the mistakes and –
"Um, excuse me."
Harry looked over to see a student frantically attempting to scratch something in the middle of their back. "Yeah?"
"Could you fix this now? It's killing me!"
A loud chorus of agreement came from the wall. Harry hurried his way over to find a large boil that had obviously been hexed with an enlargement charm and itching curse. Quite inventive. He quickly shrunk it down and ended the itching, while apologising to everyone in general for drifting off. He got some murmured acknowledgements from the students who were rapidly moving up the line and relieved of their various afflictions. Once he sent the last student through the door, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the lesson plan. He enlarged it to normal size and applied a stiffening charm to it, while pulling a fountain quill out from inside his robe.
A cursory look around the room proved that it was spotless and he walked out, already chewing on the end with his eyes fixed on the parchment. They were supposed to review basic defensive charms, offensive and defensive hexes and jinxes while curses were to be left at the end and reviewed with Patronuses. He knew they were covering some curses that could stimulate reactions to Dementors, so it was perfect to teach along with the Patronus charm. Granted these students had rather filmy Patronuses, but a carefully controlled, stimulated situation would undoubtedly –
His thoughts were broken as he collided into someone and fell to the ground, an unsightly splotch of ink covering his parchment. He drew his wand and hastily cleaned it up before unstiffening and rolling up the parchment quickly. He was picking up his fountain quill when he looked up a bit and froze. Flat toadish feet in strained velvet slippers greeted his view, barely visible beneath the hem of the dress. The dress it self was a simple velvet black, but Harry knew this kind all too well. Merlin knew he saw enough of it in fifth year. Still, clinging to one small shred of hope, he rose even though he knew exactly whom he was going to see. The squat round body had a fluffy pink cardigan and when he finally stood up, even though it was a couple inches over her, he found himself looking down into the face of Dolores Umbridge.
He couldn't quite suppress the urge to vomit and when his shoulders and throat convulsed, she tilted her head and blinked in a thoroughly froggish way that set his skin crawling. Her pasty face was as wide as ever, her eyes seemed to gleam with a sordid sort of delight and sitting right on top of her head was a large velvet bow.
"Why, hello Harry," Umbridge said, her face splitting into a smile.
Harry simply stood there for a moment, undecided on what he should do. One impulse was to run away screaming bloody murder. The other was to simply walk by her and pretend that she didn't exist. A childish part of him wanted to grab whatever was in his pocket, hoping there was something from the Weasley twins in it, fling it at her and bolt. The last urge was the most powerful and he was doing his best to not follow through on it. He wanted to rip that bow from her head, stretch it out and wrap it tightly around her throat and choke her until she couldn't breathe any more. He simply brushed the dirt off from his robes and inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement.
That had a greater effect that Harry had hoped for. Umbridge scowled for a moment before her smile became ever wider.
"I said, hello Harry."
He went from faintly pleased to angry in under one second. His lips thinned and pulled back into a snarl. "Don't push your luck you stupid bint."
Umbridge looked utterly shocked for a moment before she gave a satisfied little smile. "Tell me, how is Quidditch?"
Unfortunately that lifetime ban she had placed on him was still in effect and had prevented him from playing on the house team. He certainly didn't need another reprimand from the Ministry and get his wand destroyed. That was it; she'd gone too far. Harry's jaw tightened and he stepped forward with a black look on his face. The hand that had suffered her black quill curled tightly into a fist. "Look, you disgusting little hag," he was pleased to see her take a small step back. "I should do what the centaurs didn't do and kill you. I should do everyone a favour by taking that filthy ribbon of yours from your head and strangling you with it until you're good and –"
"Harry? Harry Potter?"
He looked around sharply to find a man standing so close he must have heard every word uttered. His eyes raked over the lean frame, taking in the open navy blue robes, black slacks and crisp white shirt. Blue-green eyes smiled down from behind glasses and a few bangs of wavy honey coloured hair escaped the ponytail. This certainly wasn't a student.
"Who the fuck are you?" he demanded tersely.
Amazingly, the man's face crinkled even more with a smile. "If I may, it's quite a pleasure to meet you." He offered his hand.
That hadn't been the reaction Harry was expecting and he felt the anger drain from him. "Er…likewise Mr…" he trailed off as he shook the man's hand. He was wondering what someone would be wearing gloves for when the man spoke again.
"Nihilare. Valerian Slean Nihilare. Barrister." He produced a business card from his robe that he gave to Harry. "I find the card helps from time to time."
"I don't know you…do I?" he asked hesitantly.
"Oh gracious no!" Valerian chuckled. "You may have heard of some of my clients though. The Boneses, Malfoys, Longbottoms, Blacks, and, I daresay, Weasleys."
"Twins?"
"Two and the same," Valerian said wryly. "They certainly talk about the great aid you gave to them."
"But why are you their barrister?"
"I'm one of the best. It's Gred and Forge. Need I say any more?"
"No actually," Harry laughed. "That says it all."
"Indeed. Appearances aren't always what they seem, are they?"
Harry's brow furrowed momentarily as Valerian looked meaningfully at the business card before looking back up at Harry. A distinctly offended, "Hem, hem" drew their attention back to the foul witch. Well, his attention anyway. Valerian looked over her completely, puzzled before he looked down and curled his lip in obvious distaste.
"I believe I was talking to Mr. Potter." She said, swelling a bit.
"No," Valerian said slowly. "I believe he was describing in graphic detail the reasons why you shouldn't antagonise him."
Umbridge glared nastily at him. "I don't know why you're still kicking." She said nastily.
Valerian snorted before he leaned in slightly towards Harry. "She's just mad at me because she tried to have a werewolf killed. Quite a nice lady actually. Has three children. Or rather had before the Ministry took them away to live with the father." He eyed Umbridge nastily.
"She was a danger to the children." Umbridge spat venomously
"Now really, we live in such modern times, yet we have antiquated mouldering hags like this one here around," he gestured vaguely to Umbridge. "In case you forget, lycanthrophy only occurs during the full moon. She was taking her Wolfsbane potion and it certainly wouldn't have been any trouble to send the children away for the night. The aunt was quite willing. More than willing in fact."
Harry made a mental note to talk to Remus about Valerian soon.
"She should have died!" Umbridge practically shrieked with her eyes bugging out.
Valerian's eyes flickered over her in disgust before he looked back at Harry. His eyes rested on Harry's hand for a moment before he spoke. "Should you ever wish to sue this vile bag of a woman, simply firecall or drop by my office. Ask the card and it will give you explicit instructions on how to get there via the Floo network. Did I give you one?" he handed Harry another one.
"Sue her?" Harry asked eagerly, taking the new card and placing it politely in his pocket; he now understood what some people meant when Christmas came early. "You mean I can sue her and get that dumb ban she made removed so I can play Quidditch again?!"
Valerian chuckled. "If you wish, but I was thinking along some other lines. May I?"
Harry nodded in puzzlement as Valerian took his right hand and tapped it gently with his wand. His eyes widened as the words of, 'I must not tell lies' appeared on his hand in red, shining letters, as if they were written in blood.
"How did…" Harry's words trailed off in shock.
Valerian gave a wistful smile as he removed his left glove and tapped his left hand. Harry noticed that he was wincing as the words of, 'I am a filthy liar' appeared there.
"We both know of that nasty black quill of hers," Valerian said as he tapped Harry's hand to make the words vanish. "If you catch it in a certain light you can see it easily. It uses a permanent, and probably illegal, sort of charm to etch in the words and they stay there until the day you die. A healer botched my treatment and…"
"Your own blood?" Harry looked a bit sickened at that.
Valerian nodded as he muttered an unfamiliar spell and stuffed his hand back into his glove. "My other hand says that I am but a slut. She caught me in the broom closet with Bertha Jorkins when we were young interns at the Ministry. This hag is the reason why I left and became a barrister."
At this point, Harry swung his gaze back to Umbridge who had stuck her nose in the air. She walked past the two of them haughtily and Harry couldn't resist the urge to stick his leg out. She went down spectacularly in a flurry of stubby arms and legs and indignant shrieks. It brought out a few students as well as some teachers, who decided that watching and laughing were the best things to do.
"Very nicely done Mr. Potter," Valerian murmured. "Although, I shall admit, I was planning the very same thing."
"Harry, what's going on?"
He turned around to see Ron pop through the crowd, looking at the lawyer. "Look for yourself." He pointed to Umbridge.
Ron snickered before covering it up with a cough. "And who's this?" he asked, scrutinising the man carefully.
"Barrister. Your twin brothers hired me. Valerian Slean Nihilare."
"Oh, no wonder you look familiar! I've met you before."
"The great FwooTaffy Incident as I recall," Valerian mused. "Oh well. My business here is done and I must be on my way. Good day to you both gentlemen."
And with that he bowed and made his way, stepping over Umbridge gracefully but managing to step on her stubby fingers and make it look like an accident. The resulting howling and overdone sarcastic apologies made everyone laugh even harder. When Harry managed to wipe the tears from his eyes, he found Ron pegging the business card with an odd glare. Before he could open his mouth to say anything, Ron dragged him away from the crowd.
"Harry, who gave you that?"
"What? This?" he held up the business card.
"Yes, that!" Ron hissed.
"Why, is something wrong with it?" he peered at it and turned it over. He even sniffed it and he couldn't find anything wrong with it.
"Is something-" Ron spluttered. "Yes, there's something wrong with it! It's not a business card at all!"
Harry looked down at the simple white rectangle. "Must be transfigured."
"There's a weird crest on it with some language. Looks like French."
"Maybe it from Sirius," he looked up at Ron. "I mean from his estate or something. I'm guessing he had a will and the lawyer wanted to deliver it to me this way just in case someone else was around."
Ron seemed to relax a bit at that. "Yeah, that must be it. It looks like a bloody thick letter though."
Harry looked at the card again and frowned. "I'll just untransfigure it when I get back to my rooms. Oh, don't tell 'Mione about it, would you?" he stuffed it in his pants pocket along with the other one.
"Can do. Oh! Speaking of 'Mione, she sent me to get you. She's on the warpath, mate." Ron clucked before he singsonged, "You didn't follow the lesson plan."
"Well, it worked. They –
"Harry!"
The loud, indignant yell made both boys cringe and turn around to see Hermione storming up to them, bringing everyone's attention in her wake as Umbridge had managed to pick herself up and stalk off.
"What's this I hear?" she demanded. "You didn't follow the lesson plan! You had them all fighting! Fighting! Fighting with one another at such an inexperienced level! Just what were you thinking!" she paused to take a breath. "They could have –"
"They could have taken it more seriously than they were," he replied, cutting her off easily. "They weren't buckling down, so I threw them in the deep end. Sink or swim, Hermione. I bet I won't have as many problems next class."
Hermione's mouth opened and closed rapidly, as she was formulating a reply to that. At that point in time, Harry had never been happier to see Snape appear as the students parted for him.
"Causing a scene yet again?" his eyes scanned the three of them slowly before resting on Harry. "And apparently you forgot our daily… appointment."
Ron looked at him. "You have detention again?" he hissed.
Harry's face went red.
"Would you care to join him, Mr. Weasley?" Snape asked archly.
Ron remained silent. Snape watched them for a moment longer before he motioned his head imperiously at Harry and started walking. Harry scowled and clutched his fountain quill and parchment in his hand before stalking after Snape. The loud whispers grew fainter and fainter as they made their way down to the dungeons. When Snape opened a door, he slunk in unsure of what was going to happen. He hadn't even done anything to earn a detention this time. He steeled himself to open his mouth and say just that to Snape when he spied a tea set resting on a table between two overstuffed leather chairs. He gawked at it in disbelief before looking back at Snape.
"Would you run the risk of Dumbledore's alternate plan for us?" Snape sneered as he shut the door and took his seat. "I know I don't want that."
"Yes, ha ha, very funny." Harry said a bit peevishly as he shrunk down the parchment and tucked it away with the quill. "You didn't have to humiliate me like that."
Snape simply arched an eyebrow at him while he fixed a cup of tea.
"All right, all right," Harry groused. "So you did in order to get me here. You didn't need to pick on Ron though."
"Superfluous, but entirely enjoyable." Snape replied easily, pushing Harry's cup of tea forward.
With a scowl Harry took it and gulped down a scalding mouthful. "I think you enjoy it all too much."
"It's advisable to find something enjoyable about one's employment."
Harry scowled down into his mug. He'd already had a go at Umbridge, he didn't feel like a round with Snape. "I should have strangled that stupid bint with that velvet ribbon like I said. Never let it be said that toads are hard to kill." He snorted.
A slight coughing sound came from Snape's direction and when Harry looked up, he found the sallow man contemplating the depths of his own mug with the tiniest of smirks on his face. Harry sipped at his own tea now, enjoying the rather companionable, and amused, atmosphere in the air.
"Sir?" he asked awhile later.
A grunt came in reply.
"If I may, just where did you vanish to last week?"
"That," Snape said curtly. "Is none of your business."
Harry nodded his head in reply, not wanting to start up a row with Snape. Besides, he had his own problems to worry about at the moment at well. His training session with Moody and Remus had been cut back to three a week. And the critical light in Remus' eyes that had vanished before was back in full force. Remus hadn't said anything yet, but Harry could see it. He was till too short and scrawny for his age and considering both of his parents had been of decent height and he was barely 5'8' something had to be done.
"What on Earth are you frowning about?"
Harry looked up at Snape's harsh words. "Do you honestly want to know Sir?"
"I believe I don't, but humour me." Snape said sardonically.
Nothing was said for a bit longer as Harry took a few more sips of tea before talking. "I'm only asking you because I honestly don't have the time. In between the classes, my training schedule and other things, I barely have time to eat much less go to the library."
"Is there a intent to this so far pointless tale?" Snape demanded.
Steeling himself, Harry took a deep breath. "I need your help."
There was a silence in which Snape was clearly too shocked to say much of anything really. "Go see the werewolf." He finally replied.
"He can't help me," Harry said. He took another deep breath. "I need your help with a potion."
Snape didn't say anything again for a long moment. "My, my… this is an unexpected event; a Potter swallowing his pride, not to mention a sizeable ego, to ask for help from me."
"Don't rub it in any more. I'm aware of those facts." Harry said scathingly.
Harry watched as Snape settled back in his seat, smirking and watching from just over his mug. He gripped his mug a bit tighter in his hands.
"And just what type of potion could you need my… help with?"
Obviously, Snape was going to get as much enjoyment out of this as he could. Though it seemed like he was pouring a good amount of salt on the wound and rubbing it in briskly. Harry pursed his lips and took another sip.
"Can't answer a simple question?"
"A corrective restorative draught, Sir."
There came a heavy moment of silence. When Harry looked up, he found Snape looking at him with mild surprise. Those black hawkish eyes swept over his form with analytical light.
"For?" Snape asked a moment later before taking a drink of tea.
"Damage, Sir." Harry said quietly. He suddenly found his own tea mug very interesting. Maybe he could read the leaves and foretell his death by teapot and sugar cubes somehow.
Snape gave a disgusted sigh. "Must someone always explain everything to you? I meant for the damage done. I can already see signs of it."
"I didn't know that." Harry flushed a bright red.
"Obviously," Snape's lip curled. "Well?"
Nothing was said for a moment. Harry wished he could have escaped from Snape's intent and curious gaze. It struck him as a twisted sort of irony that he would have to hint at the occurrences that happened to him; the same ones that pushed him to master Occlumency.
"Well?" Snape demanded once more.
"To correct developmental damage, Sir." He said simply, still not looking up.
Snape didn't say anything for a long moment. "You'll have to very specific as to what caused the damage, Potter."
"What?! Why?!" Harry demanded with a touch of defensiveness evident in his voice.
"The potion's parameters are deliberately vague so it may be tailored to individuals, what damage occurred and it takes what caused the damage into account. As such, unless you tell me, you won't get the potion at all."
"Great, just bloody great." Harry muttered as he slumped in his seat
Snape snorted. "Always so melodramatic," he paused. Have you forgotten the one thing that would prevent me from telling anyone else, save the Headmaster?"
"Student-teacher confidentiality." Harry replied.
"Exactly," Snape began. "So why don't you –"
"That's not my problem. Well, that's not one of them."
"Then what is it?"
This is where Harry knew he had gone off the deep end. "I need you to not tell the Headmaster that I asked you for this."
"Not tell him? I can't, if it's serious enough, I'm bound by –"
"I don't think you're bound to tell him something he already knows."
That stopped Snape for a moment. "Already knows? What are you –"
"Will you?"
"No, but –"
Harry's sigh of relief escaped before he could stop it. "Then please don't tell him that I asked you for this."
"Potter," Snape said slowly after a long protracted silence. "Is there a particular reason why you're placing an inordinate amount of trust in me at the moment?"
"Who else could I ask? I don't want Ron or Hermione to know. And you're the only one who could probably brew it. Besides, the teas we normally had to suffer were horrid enough without the yelling. I thought something to discuss would be useful. Plus student-teacher confidentiality would ensure it wasn't leaked," he paused for a minute and smirked. "Besides, between you and Dumbledore, I think I picked the lesser of two evils."
Snape didn't say anything for a long moment and the light in his eyes said that he was floored. "I didn't think it possible for a Potter to actually use logic to convince someone."
Harry's smirk grew even smugger. "Am I still the dunce?"
"Marginally less," Snape replied. "Start listing."
Harry didn't say anything for a moment. "Nutritional deficiency from... poor diet."
"Explains your stunted growth and slightly sickly appearance."
He chose not to comment on Snape's greasy locks. "Stunted?! Sickly?!"
"Still evident but only if you know what to look for. You hide it well with that tan and longer hair. Continue."
"Skeletal damage. Improperly healed bones that broke from application of excessive force."
"Skeletal damage? Poppy –"
"I do go somewhere two months of the year when Hogwarts ends." Harry said a bit icily.
"You walk fine." Snape said with a frown.
Harry didn't say anything for a moment. "Skeletal damage." He repeated again.
"Anything else?"
"Damage due to chronic illness," Harry said after a moment's thought. "And I believe that's it."
"Hm, what illnesses? Muggle, I presume?"
Harry nodded. "Mumps, chicken pox, measles, pneumonia, winter colds… that's it. The colds were yearly for eleven years and I only caught pneumonia four times."
"During your childhood?" Snape demanded sharply.
"Yes. Basically I need a draught to correct eleven years of those damages," Harry paused for a moment. "Will this change me all at once."
"Once brewed and ingested, yes."
"Is there anyway to do it a bit at a time? I don't want questions all at once."
Snape didn't say anything before an amused expression came to his face. "For once, you made my job easier."
"You'll brew it for me?" Harry was barely able to suppress the eager relief in his voice.
"I would think that's rather obvious by now." Snape said dryly.