Disclaimer:

Listen all as I disclaim.

I own no person, place, or name.

There is nothing I write that I can claim.

I make no money, so please don't flame!

I'm back. The poem above is dedicated to Pazed whose poem about my poem brought forth much laughter when I read it. Thanks Pazed!

Also, I would like to dedicate this chapter to Momo Da Homo, my very first reviewer and who has also reviewed every chapter I have written so far. I really appreciate it. Thanks!

Anyway, on with the story!

Chapter 5

Sticks and stones may break your bones

When there's anger to impart

Spiteful words may hurt your feelings

But silence breaks your heart.

It was nearing noon and Harry felt as if he had made very little progress on the long path. He felt hot, hungry, and magically exhausted. Harry was well used to gardening because of his chores at the Dursley's, but when dealing with magical vegetation it was tiring to attempt to keep working at the same pace that he was used to.

The Dursleys would have expected him to have the entire walkway bordered with plant life by the time the day was over, but he had never had to scavenge for his own seeds before. He never had to point his wand into the ground to regulate the temperature so that it would fit best with that particular variety of plant, nor did he have to provide water from his own spelling power after the seeds were finally planted. And finally, he had never had to cast an impenetrable charm around each of the seeds to insure that the land would remain weed free until the earth was re-tilled.

The last one though would definitely make caring for the garden that much easier, but still it was a lot to keep up with all at once.

The entire path done today? Ha! He would be lucky if he finished a quarter of it before dark.

Harry sighed, slipped off his knees into a crossed-legged position, and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand taking his first breather of the day. You lazy ungrateful boy! His aunt's voice echoed in his head. Harry sighed, flicked his wand to spell himself a glass of water, and quickly drank it all down. After banishing the glass with another flick, the young man redoubled his efforts on the garden.

It was not really a bad day outside, although Harry had his theories on that. He wondered if it was ever a bad day in Snape's courtyard. Most of the fauna really belonged in greenhouses so that it would avoid being torn apart in a battle with the elements, but everything was growing beautifully right here under the clear blue sky.

The ground temperature charm that Harry had been adding was only the first step in making it possible for the vegetation to grow in a place it was not native to. What was done about the air temperature, individual watering needs, and specific humidity requirements? It was hard enough to accomplish within a contained environment, but to have an outdoor display like this was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

It was this also that made Harry's job all the more difficult. Even though the young man was enjoying the thought of the little joke he was playing on Snape, he had to work with plants that had all the same atmospheric requirements that the weather he was currently enjoying would provide. That, unfortunately left out a lot of interesting flora that Harry would have very much wanted to include.

Actually Harry was amused by the fact that he was even playing a joke on someone, he usually left the pranking to the Weasley twins. It struck Harry as rather ironic that the man who hated his father for playing jokes on him was the very person to drive Harry to do the same thing. Yet Harry knew that his own humor was vastly different from what he saw of his father's. Even irate, Harry would never condone the actions the marauders had performed. He would stick with a more intelligent way of venting his anger, and it seemed as if he had some more learning to do in order to pull this off this gardening stunt well.

Maybe he could owl Neville and ask him if he could pass on any spells that would allow Harry to address the three issues that he was having a problem with. That is, if Hedwig would ever return.

Harry paused and scanned the skies wondering if his owl would be able to find him here. For all he knew this place had owl repelling charms on it.

Harry sighed, and then stiffened as a shadow fell over him. With a reaction speed that could only be learned from years of fighting, he was on his feet and facing his could-be-attacker with his wand raised.

When the wizard saw who he was facing, he found himself not at all surprised as to why he had never heard the man coming. Harry never could hear Snape when he walked.

For a few seconds neither of the men moved. Snape stood staring coolly at the younger man as if he could really not be bothered by such theatrics while Harry narrowed his eyes as he assessed his elder for any sign of a threat.

For the most part it appeared as if the long battles with the dark lord had never truly scarred the boy, but there were small signs...and his reaction to being startled was one of them. Finally Harry let himself fractionally relax and lower his wand. He did not holster it for the man as he once would have, putting one's wand away signified trust and Harry no longer saw any reason to trust the wizard facing him.

Snape raised his eyebrow signaling to Harry that the older wizard did not miss the gesture and had caught the implications of Harry's action. Harry just watched him, waiting for the man to speak what he had come to say.

"You seemed to have completed a satisfactory quantity of labor for the extent of time you have applied." Snape spoke offhandedly.

Oh joy! Harry thought sarcastically. He was seething inside from Snape's casual tone and couldn't wait for the man to leave him in peace. Harry kept his face free from emotions, a trick he had learned from the wizard facing him, and waited stiffly for the man to continue. Harry saw no reason to speak to the man, in fact Harry's silence was necessary. Aside from it being safer not to talk and therefore not to blow up at the man, it was also his payback for the silent treatment in Dumbledore's office. Harry had never before thought the man a coward, but his little act was nothing short of cowardice in Harry's eyes.

Snape narrowed his eyes and appeared to stare right through Harry as he waited for a reaction to his statement, when none was forthcoming his gaze hardened and he pulled a small package wrapped in cloth out of one of the pockets of his voluminous black robe. The man then pulled out his wand and enlarged the package before handing it to Harry.

"You would do well to have these read by the end of the week." Snape commented pointedly.

Harry peeled the cloth off the top of the package to find three thick books each looking to be well over fifty years old yet still in perfect condition.

"Do endeavor to return them in the same immaculate state that you have received them in." Snape glanced down at Harry's soiled hands and narrowed his eyes.

The young man covered the books back up with the cloth and casually shrugged at his former professor while smothering a desire to snidely ask when the test would be, or how many rolls of parchment he would be required to write out on the subjects.

"It is growing warm, you should return to your room for lunch. Then, it would not be remiss to begin your reading." Snape snapped around, his robes fanning out behind him as he made his way back into his manor.

After muttering a quick cleaning charm Harry headed back to his room, the bundle of books he had received were clutched in his hands.

When Harry stepped into his room, the first thing that caught his eye was the state of his bed. From his years at Hogwarts he was rather used to leaving his covers in their disheveled state and coming back to a perfectly made bed, here however it appeared that the house elves were not concerned with his cleanliness. He bet that Snape would be though. Harry had not forgotten the few words Snape had spoken to him only last night. Treat his belongings with the utmost of respect…and all that rubbish.

Harry knew, though, that he would obey that particular order. He had no desire for Snape to have him empty out his vault only to fix some inappropriately expensive bobble. Not that there were actually bobbles around here, Harry thought as he looked around.

Now, as for lunch, it seemed as if the silver tray was back on the desk just as if it had never left. Harry sighed and took his place at the desk opening the tray to reveal a healthy portion of sandwiches, fresh fruit, and juice.

Hunger sedated, Harry washed up and brought the package of books over to his bed. The young wizard had not had the time to really look at the books while under Snape's icy glare, and Harry now found himself most curious about what the greasy git wanted him to study. Sitting on his bed, Harry unwrapped the package and lay the books down on his lap as the cloth that had been covering them dropped to the floor.

Harry sighed at the size of the tomes before even looking at the titles. Snape wanted these read by the end of the week? Either the man wanted just another excuse to tell Harry off, or he had more faith in Harry's abilities than he had ever bothered to show. Or, Harry thought with a snicker, the war had addled the professor's brains and had him confusing Harry with Hermione.

Harry brought his attention to the covers of the three books and read the titles.

Valuable Vegetation: A complete listing of known plants and their uses.

Practical Productivity: Spells for all occasions.

Wizarding Welfare: Rituals and traditions every wizard should know.

The first two Harry could understand. They could both be combined in a single book called: So You Want to be a House Elf. The third book is what threw the boy for a loop. What in the world would make Snape give…no, lend him a book on wizarding culture? It really made no sense. What in Merlin's name would a servant…Harry shivered at the thought…need to know about culture? It actually hurt his head to think about it.

Since his first job dealt with plants, Harry figured that he should start on the first book. Decision made he set the remaining two books down beside his bed on top of the cloth that had fallen to the floor and scooted back against the pillows at the head of his bed.

As Harry leaned against the pillows set up against the headboard he felt something hard and pointed dig into his lower back. Grumbling to himself he reached back and removed the offending item from under the pillows. His occlumency book. Harry sighed, he really needed to get reacquainted with that particular art while he was here, but it seemed the odds were against him at the moment. Harry shoved the book back under the pillows and into a more comfortable location. He would read it for a few minutes before bed every night, it would at least be a start.

Harry opened the borrowed book and began to read.

The book was rather interesting which aggravated the young man to no end, he was not used to enjoying any material his former professor handed him. Then again, this was not the usual potions texts that the man assigned his class. It was actually quite informative and would be rather helpful with what Harry desired to do with the plot of land he had been assigned. In fact, if the information in the future chapters were as informative as the beginning ones…well Harry might not need to owl Neville for help after all.

At precisely four o'clock a familiar knock sounded from Harry's door. Deciding to show slightly better manners than he had before, Harry set the book aside, rolled off his bed, and went to answer the door. It was Gobby, just as Harry had expected from the light tapping quality that the knock had.

Harry raised his eyebrow in an unconscious imitation of the potions master to ask wordlessly what the elf had called upon him for.

"You is needing to be planting again sir." The elf stated.

Harry sighed. "Is there an actual schedule that I can follow, or are you going to be appearing at odd times to assign me tasks?"

The elf blinked in surprise, but seemed to think over Harry's question. "I is not knowing, sir, but I could be asking Master Severus."

"No, don't bother, it's not that important." Harry really did not want any more contact with Snape than he had to have, even if it was through a middle man…err, elf.

Gobby stood there a moment just looking at Harry before he spoke up again. "You is to be being back here by the time the sun is setting. Master Snape is not liking to have people be wandering around after it is being dark." The elf said before disappearing from the room with a small pop.

For a moment Harry debated with himself the pros and cons of just ignoring his orders, but it really was too early to know what to expect from disobeying the man under the terms of a life-debt. Harry shook his thoughts away and walked down the hall towards the garden. He really needed to talk to Hermione.

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AN: I know, not too much action. The next chapter should be fun though. Again, it should be out by next week.

I am not going to answer why Severus is doing this. Sorry:) But it should become slightly clearer by the time the next chapter is out. And just to be clear, as I still have people asking me if this is going to be slash. No, sorry. This is not a story that is centered on any pairings, although RWHG is hinted at.

And last, but certainly not least, thanks to all who took time to review. It really does help keep my mind working when I know people appreciate what I write.