Chapter nine
Denial
After his dive into Dumbledore's memory, Harry had wandered the Hogwarts grounds for what seemed like ages, thinking about what he had seen. Snape, in Godric's Hollow, with Harry's mother ... Was it really possible? Snape – how he hated him. Although Harry had realised during the last couple of months that Snape wasn't actually to blame for Sirius's death, he still loathed him for the way he had treated him and his friends, always taking points from Gryffindor without a proper cause, bullying Neville, favouring the Slytherins and that brat Malfoy in particular, not to mention how he had always behaved towards Harry. But how could it have happened? There was only one person who would know this kind of thing.
Harry tried, desperately, to find Hermione, and eventually did so in the Great Hall, where lunch was being served. Hermione sat opposite Ron, as usual, both of them talking vividly.
'Krum?' he could hear Ron saying, 'What? He's written again?'
'You know perfectly well he writes every fortnight, Ron, there's no need to get upset... again.'
'I just hope you're not telling him anything about the Order – '
'No, of course not!' Hermione said irritably.
'Well, you might, a slip of the quill happens easily... What do you have to write to each other, anyway? Nothing interesting has happened here in the last months... Nothing that would interest Vicky, at least...'
'Just because you can never think of anything to write about in your letters, it doesn't mean that I can't! And stop calling him Vicky – it's Viktor!'
'Hermione,' said Harry, panting slightly, interrupting the steady stream of annoyed comments.
'Harry,' Hermione exclaimed, 'where have you been – you've missed both Charms and Transfiguration!'
'Oh, never mind that now,' Harry said, ignoring the disapproving look on Hermione's face, 'I have to ask you something ...' He paused for a moment, considering where to begin. 'Er... You know, the way I've changed... I mean, I ... kind of look different now, and ... I don't know ... Hermione, what could have caused this? What do you think? I mean, it couldn't have been ...'
Ron interrupted him. 'What do you mean? It's only adolescence, Harry ... Although you have changed quite a lot, but I guess some people change more than others, right, Hermione?'
Hermione looked at Harry, thoughtfully.
'And I mean, you're different in a lot of ways, Harry, so maybe that's why you're changing so much ... It might have something to do with You-Know-Who ...' Ron looked pleased with himself for coming to this conclusion, taking a large bite of roast chicken.
'What were you going to say, Harry?' Hermione asked, still looking at him scrutinisingly.
'Well,' Harry lowered his voice, '... It's my nose ... you don't think it's altered, do you? I mean, it's always been a bit hooked, hasn't it? I just never noticed it before.' He turned his head to show them his profile.
'Yeah, you're right,' Ron said loudly, 'It is hooked, I never noticed that before, either ...'
Hermione looked at Harry, a puzzled expression on her face. 'I don't remember it looking like that before,' she said quietly; then, seeing the expression on Harry's face, added, 'But I suppose it might have...'
Harry stomach churned. It had to be the way he feared. He took a deep breath and asked: 'Look, Hermione, what do you know about Polyjuice Potion?'
'Well, I'd say rather a lot, but you know almost everything I know, Harry... Why?'
'I was wondering about the effects it has if ... if your parents use it.'
'What?' Hermione looked perplexed, glancing at Ron who was munching away at his chicken, about to wash down the last bits with pumpkin juice. 'Why on Earth would you want to know that?' Hermione asked in a whisper.
'Oh, well, it's just that... I was wondering what would happen if, say, someone's mother or father used it,' he was whispering now, 'before they were born...'
'Oh, well, that's extremely rare, of course, but if a child is conceived under the influence of Polyjuice Potion, its effects wear off after about sixteen years...' Hermione gasped, holding her hand over her mouth. 'Harry, no! You don't think ... But who?'
Ron was staring at them, an expression of utter bewilderment on his face. 'What are you two on about? I don't get it, why all this talk about Polyjuice Potion? I mean, it's years since we used it, it couldn't affect Harry now, could it?'
At that moment, Lavender Brown walked past. 'Hey, Ron, you'd better hurry up, or you'll be late for History of Magic! Not that Binns would notice,' she added in an undertone.
Ron rose, draining his goblet of pumpkin juice, then called, 'Lavender, wait – can I copy your notes from last week during this class?' He turned to Harry and Hermione. 'Gotta go ... See you later!'
Harry and Hermione hardly noticed Ron leave, however. They were staring at each other, comprehension dawning on Hermione's face. 'Not – him!' she went on in a barely audible whisper. 'Harry, tell me it isn't ... who I think it is.'
'NO!' Harry paused. 'It can't be. There must be some other explanation ...'
'But Harry,' Hermione said anxiously, 'If this is true...'
'I'm telling you it's NOT! There has to be some... I don't want to talk about it!'
Hermione looked as if she was going to try to convince Harry that he had to face up to things, but then thought better of it and said, 'All right, we'd better get going, it's no good being late for ... Potions.' She gave Harry a worried glance. 'But maybe you shouldn't go, Harry ... You don't look all that well ... Why don't you go to the Hospital Wing instead? You're upset – it might not be a good idea to face ... Snape ... in this condition.'
'I'M NOT UPSET!' Harry shouted. 'I have nothing to be upset about, and there's no reason why I shouldn't face SNAPE!' He got up, taking his bag, striding out of the Great Hall, Hermione following him at a run.
The fact was, however, that the very last thing Harry felt like doing right now was to see Snape, let alone spend an entire Potions class with him. He would much rather go back to Gryffindor Tower, spending the afternoon there on his own, trying to come up with some other explanation for what he had seen in the Pensieve ... There had to be one.
They walked down the steps to the Dungeons, Harry having an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach, whether it was from lack of food or something else, he didn't know. As they approached the Potions Classroom they realised that the rest of the class was already inside and Snape was about to close the door. As they came running towards him, he surveyed them coolly through curtains of greasy hair.
'Potter ... Granger,' he said softly. 'You're late.'
Author's note: Thank you all so much for the reviews, getting feedback is really important to me!!! In the next chapter, CapitalLetters!Harry makes a triumphant return... So keep reading – and keep the reviews coming, please!
Denial
After his dive into Dumbledore's memory, Harry had wandered the Hogwarts grounds for what seemed like ages, thinking about what he had seen. Snape, in Godric's Hollow, with Harry's mother ... Was it really possible? Snape – how he hated him. Although Harry had realised during the last couple of months that Snape wasn't actually to blame for Sirius's death, he still loathed him for the way he had treated him and his friends, always taking points from Gryffindor without a proper cause, bullying Neville, favouring the Slytherins and that brat Malfoy in particular, not to mention how he had always behaved towards Harry. But how could it have happened? There was only one person who would know this kind of thing.
Harry tried, desperately, to find Hermione, and eventually did so in the Great Hall, where lunch was being served. Hermione sat opposite Ron, as usual, both of them talking vividly.
'Krum?' he could hear Ron saying, 'What? He's written again?'
'You know perfectly well he writes every fortnight, Ron, there's no need to get upset... again.'
'I just hope you're not telling him anything about the Order – '
'No, of course not!' Hermione said irritably.
'Well, you might, a slip of the quill happens easily... What do you have to write to each other, anyway? Nothing interesting has happened here in the last months... Nothing that would interest Vicky, at least...'
'Just because you can never think of anything to write about in your letters, it doesn't mean that I can't! And stop calling him Vicky – it's Viktor!'
'Hermione,' said Harry, panting slightly, interrupting the steady stream of annoyed comments.
'Harry,' Hermione exclaimed, 'where have you been – you've missed both Charms and Transfiguration!'
'Oh, never mind that now,' Harry said, ignoring the disapproving look on Hermione's face, 'I have to ask you something ...' He paused for a moment, considering where to begin. 'Er... You know, the way I've changed... I mean, I ... kind of look different now, and ... I don't know ... Hermione, what could have caused this? What do you think? I mean, it couldn't have been ...'
Ron interrupted him. 'What do you mean? It's only adolescence, Harry ... Although you have changed quite a lot, but I guess some people change more than others, right, Hermione?'
Hermione looked at Harry, thoughtfully.
'And I mean, you're different in a lot of ways, Harry, so maybe that's why you're changing so much ... It might have something to do with You-Know-Who ...' Ron looked pleased with himself for coming to this conclusion, taking a large bite of roast chicken.
'What were you going to say, Harry?' Hermione asked, still looking at him scrutinisingly.
'Well,' Harry lowered his voice, '... It's my nose ... you don't think it's altered, do you? I mean, it's always been a bit hooked, hasn't it? I just never noticed it before.' He turned his head to show them his profile.
'Yeah, you're right,' Ron said loudly, 'It is hooked, I never noticed that before, either ...'
Hermione looked at Harry, a puzzled expression on her face. 'I don't remember it looking like that before,' she said quietly; then, seeing the expression on Harry's face, added, 'But I suppose it might have...'
Harry stomach churned. It had to be the way he feared. He took a deep breath and asked: 'Look, Hermione, what do you know about Polyjuice Potion?'
'Well, I'd say rather a lot, but you know almost everything I know, Harry... Why?'
'I was wondering about the effects it has if ... if your parents use it.'
'What?' Hermione looked perplexed, glancing at Ron who was munching away at his chicken, about to wash down the last bits with pumpkin juice. 'Why on Earth would you want to know that?' Hermione asked in a whisper.
'Oh, well, it's just that... I was wondering what would happen if, say, someone's mother or father used it,' he was whispering now, 'before they were born...'
'Oh, well, that's extremely rare, of course, but if a child is conceived under the influence of Polyjuice Potion, its effects wear off after about sixteen years...' Hermione gasped, holding her hand over her mouth. 'Harry, no! You don't think ... But who?'
Ron was staring at them, an expression of utter bewilderment on his face. 'What are you two on about? I don't get it, why all this talk about Polyjuice Potion? I mean, it's years since we used it, it couldn't affect Harry now, could it?'
At that moment, Lavender Brown walked past. 'Hey, Ron, you'd better hurry up, or you'll be late for History of Magic! Not that Binns would notice,' she added in an undertone.
Ron rose, draining his goblet of pumpkin juice, then called, 'Lavender, wait – can I copy your notes from last week during this class?' He turned to Harry and Hermione. 'Gotta go ... See you later!'
Harry and Hermione hardly noticed Ron leave, however. They were staring at each other, comprehension dawning on Hermione's face. 'Not – him!' she went on in a barely audible whisper. 'Harry, tell me it isn't ... who I think it is.'
'NO!' Harry paused. 'It can't be. There must be some other explanation ...'
'But Harry,' Hermione said anxiously, 'If this is true...'
'I'm telling you it's NOT! There has to be some... I don't want to talk about it!'
Hermione looked as if she was going to try to convince Harry that he had to face up to things, but then thought better of it and said, 'All right, we'd better get going, it's no good being late for ... Potions.' She gave Harry a worried glance. 'But maybe you shouldn't go, Harry ... You don't look all that well ... Why don't you go to the Hospital Wing instead? You're upset – it might not be a good idea to face ... Snape ... in this condition.'
'I'M NOT UPSET!' Harry shouted. 'I have nothing to be upset about, and there's no reason why I shouldn't face SNAPE!' He got up, taking his bag, striding out of the Great Hall, Hermione following him at a run.
The fact was, however, that the very last thing Harry felt like doing right now was to see Snape, let alone spend an entire Potions class with him. He would much rather go back to Gryffindor Tower, spending the afternoon there on his own, trying to come up with some other explanation for what he had seen in the Pensieve ... There had to be one.
They walked down the steps to the Dungeons, Harry having an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach, whether it was from lack of food or something else, he didn't know. As they approached the Potions Classroom they realised that the rest of the class was already inside and Snape was about to close the door. As they came running towards him, he surveyed them coolly through curtains of greasy hair.
'Potter ... Granger,' he said softly. 'You're late.'
Author's note: Thank you all so much for the reviews, getting feedback is really important to me!!! In the next chapter, CapitalLetters!Harry makes a triumphant return... So keep reading – and keep the reviews coming, please!