Author's Note: Hey everyone! Okay, a few things: first of all, once again, Remus is OOC in this fic. Just as Harry jumped to blame Snape for Sirius's death to escape his guilt in OOtP, in this fic, Remus is blaming Harry. It's irrational, yes, but he's consumed with grief. Look what happened after James and Lily died, he left without looking back at Harry even once. But I know it's over the top and a lot of you don't like it, and I'm sorry, but Remus is not an imposter under Polyjuice or anything like that. If you don't like OOC Remus, stick to my other fics (though I'd argue he's OOC in those, just in a different way). Second, I should let you all know that this fic is pretty much already written (it's 5 chapters long, approx. 50 pages). I wrote it over the summer with no intention of posting, but my friend and beta for this fic, ckat44, convinced me to. So I probably won't be able to accommodate any requests, though I do love hearing your guesses as to what will happen. And I should warn you that this doesn't have the same plot twists and turns as my other fics, it's pretty straight forward and predictable actually, I just wanted to examine the characters in this way. Thank you for all your reviews! I hope you continue to enjoy the chapter! And thank you to ckat44 for betaing and being awesome.
Family Night
Part 2/5
A week later, Snape opened his office door to reveal a sheepish looking Harry Potter. Snape did nothing but stand aside to let his student enter.
"Professor, I want to apologize for what I said last week. I shouldn't have made those accusations that I did."
"But you still believe them," Snape said, surprisingly not in an accusatory manner. Harry opened his mouth to retort, but Snape silenced him with a hand. "Take a seat," he instructed, once again conjuring up some tea and taking his own seat behind his desk. "I haven't been seeing you at meals since we last spoke."
Harry stared into his tea. "Well, final projects, you know." He paused. "As long as I do well on them, I should be set. I got top marks in Care of Magical Creatures and Charms."
"And Defense Against the Dark Arts," Snape reminded him.
Harry nodded distractedly. "Yeah, but I got that last quarter too…"
Snape heard the silent, 'and it wasn't good enough.'
"I was so close in Transfiguration, but I'm just…I'm just bad at actually Transfiguring things," Harry said with a sigh.
"If you nearly earned the top grade in the class, I doubt your abilities in the subject are lacking," Snape reasoned, pouring himself some more tea.
Harry shook his head. "There are people who are better than me. It just comes naturally to them. They just do it on their first try and I have to spend hours practicing to get the same effect."
"Potter, I know you think you are some sort of superhuman hero, but save yourself the trouble and realize that you can't be the best at everything," Snape said seriously.
Harry shrugged, swirling his tea around distractedly. "Divination's been a disaster. I don't even think I have an A in that class," he said with a sigh. "But Remus doesn't really like Divination, so hopefully it'll be okay."
"Divination is a terrible subject that should not be taught to impressionable children who may be foolish enough to occupy their time with making moronic predictions about their future," Snape said vehemently. "If you had received too high a grade in that class, I would have lost all hope for you."
For the first time in a long time, Harry actually smiled a true smile.
"So, I am assuming you did not come down here for the sole purpose of having a chat with me," Snape said knowingly.
"I was wondering if you could look over my project plan," Harry admitted, pulling out a few scraps of paper from his pocket and unfolding them upon Snape's nod. "It's nothing spectacular, but I thought instead of making or researching a known potion I'd try to tweak one a bit. So, I took the basic pain relieving potion that's used most often in the hospital wing and am seeing if I could improve the flavor."
Snape smirked as he took the proffered paper, filled with notes and ideas. "I see this has a self-serving purpose as I believe you are the most frequently injured student Hogwarts has seen in quite a long time. You're thinking about using lime, then?"
"Yeah, I thought if I added extra newt eyes it would balance out the acidity and of course the newt eyes are one thing that effects the absorption rate, so I was curious if you thought it would improve the potion or make it dangerous," Harry ventured.
"And other flavors would require adding new ingredients…I see," Snape said thoughtfully, looking over Harry's notes. "Your theory is sound and it looks like you put an excessive amount of effort into it. Make the potion and I can test it to see if it will be harmful with some test strips."
"And if it isn't?" Harry asked worriedly.
"Then it isn't. I'll add extra credit if it is correct, but if it is not, I will not dock points. This is what potions making is all about, theorizing, testing and often failing," Snape said reasonably. He would be hypocritical if he punished Harry for being wrong when he had created disastrous potions with sound theories, but most of all, he just couldn't bring himself to add any extra stress to the boy's shoulders.
Harry nodded, biting his lip as he scanned his notes once again. "Er, sir? If it doesn't work, would you mind not mentioning it to Remus?"
"I personally think you should not put so much stock in what that man thinks of you. You must realize he is reacting badly to his friend's death and taking it out unfairly upon you. I don't think you should count on him coming to this Family Night," Snape said realistically.
Harry's expression turned into a haunted one and he put his notes back into his pocket. "If he does come, will you please not mention the potion failing, sir?" he requested once again, in a slightly shaky tone. Snape could tell if Lupin didn't show, Harry would be absolutely crushed. He nodded sharply and Harry smiled in relief. "Thanks Professor, I'll be in the lab tomorrow working on it," he said as he stood.
"Take a day off Potter, you have plenty of time to brew the potion," Snape instructed. "No excuses."
Harry nodded and slipped out the door before Snape could tell him not to work on any of his other projects instead.
The Potions master sat back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn't help but pray that Lupin show up to Family Night.
Harry bit his lip nervously as he searched the sea of parents and siblings filing in through the door, clutching Remus's letter in his hand. This time he had been sure not to interpret it incorrectly, not that it left much room for questioning after Harry had sent a letter to clarify whether Remus's "I'll be there" meant for Family Night. The letter in his hand, which he had read dozens of times, simply stated that he would indeed be there specifically for Family Night.
The Grangers arrived first, greeting their daughter joyously and shaking hands with Harry and Ron, before the small family made their way off to the Great Hall, Harry and Ron assuring Hermione they'd meet her in there.
The Weasleys came soon after, and Mrs. Weasley fawned over Harry perhaps even more than Ron. Harry blushed, knowing it must have been obvious that he'd had no one at the past two nights, making it painfully clear how alone he was.
As Harry chatted with the Weasleys, he made sure to keep one eye surveying the families entering.
"You guys can go on ahead," Harry said finally, as the hall became nearly deserted and the feast opening was approaching. Mrs. Weasley looked like she was going to protest again, but Harry insisted. "I'll meet you in there when Remus shows. He said he might be a little late," he lied.
"Why don't you come sit with us, dear? If…When Remus comes, he'll be sure to find you there," Mrs. Weasley insisted. Harry tried not to notice her slip. Remus was just late; surely Harry had proved himself. He smiled reassuringly at Mrs. Weasley.
"No, really, I'll meet you in there. Remus is on his way and I wanted to get some air anyway so I'm going to wait for him outside," Harry said with more confidence than he felt.
Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips, looking almost pained. Ron looked at his friend sympathetically. Harry was thankful that at least Ginny and the twins were wrapped up in talking to their father so he didn't have to witness their obvious opinions as well.
"Alright dear, well, if something happens, you come and spend the night with us. I, for one, would love to see your projects and see how you're doing in your classes," Mrs. Weasley said a bit sadly, hugging Harry fiercely before the group of redheads disappeared with the last group of stragglers behind the massive doors that led to the Great Hall.
"He's just running late," Harry muttered to himself as he walked out the front doors and sat down on the top step, looking out over the road leading to Hogwarts, now completely bare for as far as he could see.
He shivered as a sharp breeze rustled his clothes, the air growing chillier as the sun began to set. Blocking out the sounds of laughter and upbeat chatter in the Great Hall, Harry settled on imagining the proud look on Remus's face as he showed his old teacher how much he had accomplished in the last quarter. He imagined Remus's forgiveness; it would be like nothing had ever been wrong. They would never even have to talk about it, just move on and be happy. And then, Remus would ask Harry to come and live with him since Sirius was not there to fulfill his promise. In fact, maybe he would tell Remus exactly how the Dursleys treated him. He would tell him about the cupboard, the chores, the starvation, the incidences that bordered on physical abuse, and he'd even tell him all the vitriolic verbal abuse he'd suffered through all his life. Then Remus would be enraged at the Dursleys and assure Harry nothing they said was true, that he was indeed worth something, not just an annoyance or a burden.
Harry swallowed against a stinging sensation in his throat and blinked his eyes rapidly, scanning the road desperately for any sign of life. He crossed his fingers and hid them between his knees, not wanting to even acknowledge to himself how desperately he was praying for Remus to show up.
When he heard the definite sounds of people beginning to leave the feast, Harry felt something inside him break. He furiously tore apart the letter in his hand and threw the pieces toward the ground, though the wind caught them and sent them flying every which way. He couldn't bring himself to face the Weasleys, didn't want them to look at his projects out of pity, feigning excitement if they didn't even care.
So, he ran. He tore passed the doors to the Great Hall just before people started exiting them. Without slowing and trying desperately to maintain control of his emotions until he got somewhere safe, he raced to his dorm to grab his invisibility cloak. Then, at a slower, but not less determined pace, he set out toward the statue that hid the secret passage he knew would lead him toward Hogsmeade.
He scrambled through the entrance quickly, not even noticing there was someone else in there until he smacked right into him, knocking off his cloak.
Malfoy managed not to look too shocked that his rival had appeared right out of thin air.
"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Harry asked incredulously.
The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Must you sound so accusatory, Potter? You're not the only one who has rights to this castle's many secrets." He looked at Harry oddly. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing," Harry ground out, picking up his cloak.
"I thought you were supposed to have family of some sort showing up for once," Malfoy drawled.
"Yeah, well, where's your family?" Harry challenged. "I don't see them slinking around here with you."
Malfoy took a swig from a small flask in his hand. "They had to leave. Some charity auction or ball or something else much more important than supporting their only son at this miserable affair," Malfoy said bitterly. Harry felt his anger dissipate, and almost felt sympathetic toward the Slytherin.
"Yeah, well, at least someone's showed up for you for the last two. Dumbledore has some really bad ideas, but I personally think this one takes the cake. And as two of his teachers have tried to kill me and one tried to spell me into insanity, that's saying something," Harry said angrily, eyeing the flask Malfoy was drinking from. "Is that alcohol?" he asked incredulously.
Malfoy chuckled and shook his head incredulously. "Potter, when you're not infuriating me, which granted, isn't very often, you are quite a riot. Were you raised by nuns? You look so scandalized that a teenager might be drinking alcohol."
"No," Harry lied defensively. "I don't care that you're drinking…"
"Vodka," Malfoy filled in with a smirk. "You don't care that I'm drinking vodka."
Harry couldn't stop his eyebrows from shooting up.
Malfoy smirked mischievously. "Do you know what effect alcohol has, Potter?"
"Yes, it makes arseholes even bigger arseholes," he said, thinking of his uncle.
Malfoy chuckled. "True, but I'm talking about some more personal effects. I'm assuming you haven't tried alcohol before, because let's face it, you're you. Let me enlighten you, Potter. Alcohol isn't permanent, but during that time when it's flowing through you, it can numb any pain you're feeling. It provides an escape, which, by the way you're running around trying to be invisible, you seem to be seeking. So what do you say?" he asked, holding up the flask enticingly. "Does the Golden Boy want to escape?"
It didn't take any effort for Harry to decide; he just wanted to escape the situation before its implication really settled into his mind. He nodded with almost no hesitancy.
Malfoy smirked and slipped his flask away. "Forget that, if I'm going to taint the Golden Boy's innocence with a bit of booze, we're going to Hogsmeade to get you hammered."
Harry followed him along the dark tunnel, feeling nervous, exhilarated, and miserable all at the same time. "But we're not eighteen," Harry protested.
Malfoy actually laughed and swung an arm over Harry's shoulder. "Potter, why don't you let me do the talking tonight? You just sit back, enjoy yourself, and try not to look too guilty."
!
A few hours later, the two were slowly making their way down the passage back to Hogwarts. Harry was stumbling, leaning heavily on Draco, who was supporting Harry the best he could while being fairly intoxicated himself.
"You know what! You know what!" Harry said excitedly, giggling and nearly tripping. "I've never been drunk before!"
Draco laughed at that, nearly leading them both into a wall. "You don't say, Potter."
"I feel…heavy," Harry said in a tone of finality as if he'd solved a very difficult problem. "Are you going to leave me here? You could 'cause you hate me and I would have deserved it 'cause I let you down."
"How have you let me down, Potter?" Draco asked, urging Harry forward.
Harry shook his head and waved his hand around, nearly smacking Draco in the face. "I dunno, that's what I do. I let people down. I should…I should make…whadyacall'em…business cards." He giggled. "'Harry Potter….Disappointment.' That's what they'll say. I'll give you one, okay? For helping me tonight, I will. I'll give you one just for you," he said, all of a sudden quite serious as if he was promising Draco something very important. Draco raised an eyebrow.
"Give me what exactly, Potter?" he asked in amusement.
Harry shook his head and started giggling again. "Whatever I said. Quidditch. I'm giving you Quidditch…or Transmigufinoration."
Draco had to stop so he could crack up drunkenly. "You're giving me Quidditch? And…and…what!"
Harry laughed so hard he fell down and Draco had to pull him back to his feet.
"We've got a problem, Potter. The families are touring around the castle, including the dorms you are piss-arse smashed. I'd let you roam around, but I don't exactly want to be implicated in this and I don't think you're too good at keeping secrets right now. Do you know anywhere I can leave you where you won't run across any roommates or their families?" he asked.
Harry thought about that question hard before hitting Draco on the arm excitedly. "I know! I know! The Room of Requi-somethin'. I dunno. DA meetings."
"Do you know where that is?" Draco asked hopefully.
"Yes. Yes I do," Harry said with a firm nod. "Are you going to stay?"
"Doubt it, Potter. I did my duty of getting you pissed and now that duty is done. Now all I have to worry about is getting you to that room without any embarrassing run-ins," Draco said tiredly.
"We have my cloak," Harry said simply.
"Yes, but it's not going to hide sound and you can't seem to shut up."
"You shut up," Harry said, without much feeling.
Soon they had the cloak draped over them and were making their way through the halls filled with families, trying to choose the paths with the least amounts of population.
They were doing fine until Fred and George appeared in front of them from around a corner and they smacked right into them before both falling backward onto their bums, bursting into peals of drunken laughter.
"Harry?" Fred asked worriedly, seeing two pairs of feet and recognizing the type of laughter they were hearing.
"Shh…shhh….they can't see us if you don't talk," someone under the cloak was whispering.
George leaned forward and threw off the cloak, his eyebrows shooting up to not only see Harry obviously inebriated, but with a drunk Draco Malfoy to boot.
"Harry! What happened to Remus?" Fred asked in concern as George checked around the corner to make sure the rest of his family was still wrapped up in talking with Professor Flitwick.
The two boys unsteadily got to their feet. Harry moved to put a hand on Fred's shoulder but missed and stumbled forward. Fred steadied him but Harry didn't seem to notice anything amiss and patted Fred's shoulder.
"Fred, Fred, Fred," he said, shaking his head as if talking to a naïve fool, "he had more important things to do than this." He waved a hand around drunkenly. "Because I failed him. I'm a…a…failure and I fail everyone. Like Ron. And your family. I need to apologizize," he said, moving to turn the corner but Fred grabbed him and kept him out of sight, looking helplessly at his twin.
"Well, my job here is done," Draco declared, setting off, wobbling only slightly, toward the Slytherin dormitory.
"Shit, Fred, we can't let anyone see him like this," George said, stating the obvious.
Of course, that was when someone seemingly worse than the whole Weasley family came along.
"What's going on here?" Snape asked, arms crossed. He eyed Harry in surprise as the boy wobbled on the spot. He couldn't believe it; the Gryffindor Golden Boy was smashed.
"Er, nothing, Professor," George tried.
"If you were still students here, I'd take away house points for lying," he said menacingly. "Where's Lupin?"
Fred sighed. "He didn't show."
Snape's lips pursed in anger toward the werewolf. "And this is how Potter chose to deal with the situation?" he asked derisively.
"Well, a certain Draco Malfoy played a key role in…Harry, shhh," Fred ordered quickly after Harry tried to call out to Ron.
Snape sighed and shook his head. "Give him to me."
The twins looked horrified at the idea. "Professor," George started, "I don't think…"
"You don't have much of a choice, as he has broken the rules and I am his professor. Beside, I believe your family is headed this way," Snape said as he heard voices slowly getting closer.
"Please don't embarrass him, sir," Fred pleaded with a sigh as he reluctantly nudged Harry toward the Potions master.
Snape took Harry's arm and pulled him forward toward the secret passage that would lead to the dungeons as the Weasley twins tried to stall their family's approach.
As soon as they were out of sight and struggling to get down the steps, with Harry giggling each time he stumbled, Snape shook his head.
"Potter, you are a complete moron."
By the time they reached Snape's private chambers, Harry's mood had changed into the one Snape assumed had led him to drinking in the first place. Snape didn't know what to do, so went with his first instinct to start scolding him for his foolish behavior.
"Potter, I hope you realize what an idiot you made in front of the Weasley twins and probably in front of Mr. Malfoy as well. You should be thanking the deities I didn't march you straight up to the headmaster's office, or better, let you wander around in a drunken stupor. I'm sure Molly and Arthur Weasley would have loved to see that. But no, I get to be the one to deal with you instead. What joy," he spat sarcastically. He moved to continue with his tirade, but Harry had slapped a hand to his mouth and looking a sickly shade of green, raced to the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.
Snape winced as he heard the sounds of retching.
"Oh, lucky me," he muttered bitterly.
When the retching turned into muffled sobs, Snape couldn't feel as annoyed with the boy. After a few minute's indecision, he gently knocked on the bathroom door, not waiting for an answer before announcing he was coming in.
Harry was sitting against the wall, knees pulled to his chest and smearing tears across his face with his hand in a failing attempt to wipe them away. He looked up at Snape sorrowfully, looking extremely vulnerable. Snape was sure he was still drunk, even if it was in a different way than before.
"He didn't come," he whimpered as Snape cautiously kneeled beside him. "He didn't come."
Snape felt a pang of sympathy as Harry hugged his knees closer to him as if trying to protect himself from the harsh world. He kept shooting Snape desperate looks, silently begging for something Snape didn't know how to give.
"Come on Potter, you'll sleep here tonight," he said, taking Harry by the arm and carefully pulling him to his feet. Harry wiped his face on his sleeve and hung his head as he stumbled with Snape to the living room. With a wave of his wand, summoning blankets and a pillow, he had the couch set up decently enough for Harry to use.
Harry sat down on the couch and stared at the coffee table blankly, the occasional tear slipping down his cheek. Snape didn't know what to do and didn't want to have to figure it out with the situation. He had no idea how to deal with the emotions of depressed teenagers. He had to get out.
"Well, Potter, just try to get some sleep and stay here. I need to attend to the parents milling about my classroom. I will be back in a while. No snooping around and go to bed," he concluded unsurely, hoping that sounded like a stern authority figure as he left his chambers as quickly as he could manage.
When he returned after a few hours of explaining to angry parents why he believed their children were inept at potion-making, he quietly entered his chambers, his eyes immediately landed on Harry. The boy was curled up on the couch, shivering slightly from the dungeon cold, as the blanket had slipped off onto the floor.
Snape picked up the blanket and draped it over the sleeping teenager. He sighed and leaned back over to tuck the blanket in around him to make sure it wouldn't fall off again.
He took a moment to observe the boy who had been the bane of his existence. While asleep, or passed out more like, he didn't seem half as annoying. In fact, the teenager seemed a lot younger and more innocent, actually looking more vulnerable than the most homesick first year.
Snape felt a pang of protectiveness and it unsettled him so badly he practically fled to his own bedroom to put a closed door between him and the lost boy.
The next morning, Snape marched fearlessly into his living room. He faltered when he saw that Harry was still asleep on his couch. He circled the couch and stared at the boy warily. In his sleep, Harry looked defenseless, not like an arrogant savior of the wizarding world. Snape frowned to see that even an alcohol induced sleep had not been sufficient to eradicate the signs of anxiety on the teenager's face, his eyebrows slightly knitted and his arms wrapped around himself protectively.
Snape decided not to be so cowardly as to slip out of the chambers before the boy woke just to avoid the awkwardness. Besides, somebody had to lecture the teen about alcohol usage and he obviously didn't have any parental figures stepping up to bat, or at least any parental figures that didn't have their hands full with a dozen of their own children. Yet, he didn't know the proper way of waking someone up, and decided to simply make a lot of noise in the kitchen and hope that did the trick.
He heard a groan from the couch as he banged the coffee pot and glasses around and loudly ordered breakfast through the floo.
As he was setting silverware on the table, he found Harry standing in the entryway, looking anxious and quite sick at the same time.
"I imagine you probably have a bit of a hangover," Snape said with no particular emotion to his voice. He was not deluded to think that no student ever drank, and the whole situation would have actually amused him quite greatly had the circumstances that led to the drinking not been so horrible. At Harry's awkward look, Snape decided to take pity on the boy and waved to a seat. "Sit down, Potter."
Harry eased himself into a chair and stared at the banquet of food in front of him. The slightly green look to his face announced that he was not in much condition to be consuming said food. Only because he knew Harry was in desperate need of a real meal did Snape pull down a hangover remedy potion from his cupboard and empty some into a glass, setting it down in front of Harry with a bang that made Harry wince.
"Drink it, Potter," he instructed, taking the seat opposite to him.
Harry felt positively nauseous at the thought of downing the glass of greenish goop in front of him. He wondered if this was some sort of punishment. He tried putting the glass to his lips and felt his stomach roil. "I don't think I can," he admitted weakly.
"Just down it in one gulp," Snape advised, skimming the headlines on the Daily Prophet. "I'd rather not have you getting sick on my table, so drink."
Harry plugged his nose, scrunched up his eyes and drank the thing as fast as he could. For one dangerous moment, he thought he'd be sick all over his professor's table, but his nausea suddenly passed, taking with it his pounding headache.
"Thank you, Professor," he said, knowing his voice was filled with shame. He looked down at the empty plate in front of him. "Thank you for everything really. For not letting the rest of the Weasleys see me and for letting me stay here and everything. I'm sorry you had to deal with me last night. I really was planning on sleeping in the Room of Requirement or somewhere else out of the way…"
"Yes, Potter, that's a much better idea. Consume a large amount of alcohol and crawl up some place where nobody can find you if it turned out you had alcohol poisoning, yes, you really did seem to have had the night planned out quite well," Snape snapped sarcastically.
Harry swallowed hard and nodded, acknowledging his own lack of judgment.
"I do not enjoy seeing any student wandering the hall intoxicated, and even less enjoy having to personally keep that student from embarrassing himself, his house and his school…"
"…in front of everyone's families," Harry filled in miserably. He was no doubt reminding himself that he had not had a family of his own to be included in that. He set his elbows on the table and buried his head in his hands. "What Fred and George must be thinking…"
At that Snape couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Please, Potter, the Weasley twins were infamous for all sorts of mischief, including alcohol consumption. Seeing a friend smashed out of their mind is not a new occurrence for them. However, I'm sure they each have a brain cell and if they rubbed those together they could probably conclude the reason behind your choice of behavior and may be rather concerned for you."
Harry looked even more shamed. It was pretty obvious he didn't understand, and was uncomfortable with, people being truly concerned for his well-being.
"Sir?" Harry asked cautiously. "I don't suppose you know if Remus was given a last minute assignment for the Order last night, do you? I know he probably didn't, but I was just wondering if you knew." He looked at Snape pleadingly.
Snape sighed and decided the truth was the best course of action, and hopefully it would knock some sense into the teen. "No, the headmaster specifically made sure he would be free for Family Night."
Harry nodded jerkily and fiddled with the edge of his shirt. "Yeah, yeah, I figured that…I just…I just hoped…" He cleared his throat and smoothed down his shirt decisively. "So, what is my punishment going to be?" Suddenly, Harry paled and his gaze shot up to meet Snape's. "I'm not going to be expelled, am I?" he blurted out fearfully.
"Potter, if Hogwarts students were expelled for such activities, I doubt half the school would graduate," he answered. Harry visually sagged in relief. "I'd say, as this is your first offence, and one of my own students was obviously involved, we can arrange something without getting the headmaster or your head of house involved."
Harry stared at him incredulously. "Really?" he asked with barely restrained hopefulness.
"If you hold up your side of the bargain," Snape said firmly.
Harry looked at him apprehensively. "And what bargain would that be, sir?"
"For starters, there is a ton of food here. Put some on your plate and begin eating. You have been skipping far too many meals," he said passively, trying to use his nonchalant tone to dissuade Harry from thinking he actually cared.
Harry hesitantly followed orders, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
As Harry ate, Snape began outlining Harry's punishment.
"First of all, no more skipping meals in the Great Hall; I don't care if you're supposedly eating outside of it. If either of your friends has their meal in the Great Hall, you will join them, and no persuading them out of meals. If neither of your friends are eating there, you will join them in meals however they do get them." Snape figured the boy's friends could keep an eye on his eating habits this way and if Harry was forced to join them for meals, perhaps it could revive their friendship a bit, as Snape noticed it had been strained as of late.
"But sir," Harry protested weakly, "um, Hermione and Ron are sort of doing their own thing now a day; you know, dating and everything. I'm sort of like the third wheel. It would be really awkward if I started coming to meals because then I have to sit with them or not and that would either be awkward or a bad statement and…"
"And yet, it's part of the deal. Unless you want me to owl Lupin for advice on the situation," Snape threatened lightly. If he had to exploit the boy's weakness to make sure the kid didn't run himself into the ground, then he would.
Harry's eyes widened and he shook his head frantically.
"Alright then. You will also start getting more sleep. I think being in bed without books of any sort by eleven on school nights, one in the morning on weekends is more than fair."
Harry gaped at him. "You're giving me a bedtime?"
Snape raised a challenging eyebrow at him.
"But what if I have a lot of homework? I don't think my professors would buy the whole 'sorry, I really would have finished but I had to obey my bedtime' thing," Harry argued.
"You'll be fine as long as you do your homework before any extra studying," Snape said confidently.
"But my grades…" Harry started desperately.
"It won't kill you if you're not at the top of every class, Potter, but it just might kill you to continue clawing at those spots," Snape said with a tone of finality, hoping Harry wouldn't start to think about the nature of these "punishments". The last thing he needed was for anyone to think he was getting soft and being concerned for anyone, especially Harry Potter. The very thought made him feel as if he needed a drink.
Harry nodded miserably.
"And to make sure you hold up your end of the bargain, I will be having a brief conference with Granger and Weasley on the matter," Snape added.
Harry looked at him furiously. "You're going to have Hermione and Ron spy on me?"
"It's not spying if you are aware of what they are doing," Snape said calmly.
"But you can't. We're not as close as we used to be. It would be so awkward. Don't you think they have their own lives to worry about without babysitting me!"
"I doubt they'd see it in that light. They seem to be quite concerned for your well being."
Harry snorted bitterly. "Fine, talk to them. Hermione will be pleased that someone's trying to make sure I don't beat her in classes anymore, and whatever makes Hermione happy will make Ron happy," he ground out.
"Remember, Potter, what this punishment is for. If you don't like the terms, I can easily pass the duty of punishment into other hands," Snape said darkly.
"No," Harry said quickly. He sighed. "I'll do it."
"Good, now finish your food," he instructed, turning back to his paper.
"I'm not hungry," Harry said distractedly.
Snape raised an eyebrow at him. "You've barely touched your plate. I frankly do not care if you're feeling hungry, you will eat more of that food. It was the first term in your…end of the bargain," he said carefully, not wanting to use the word "punishment" in regards to Harry eating normal meals.
Harry grudgingly ate a bit more, and Snape watched him struggle to get the food down with a frown. The boy must not have been eating much if his stomach was having such a difficult time accepting the small amount of nutrients.
Snape only hoped Harry would now get on the right track.