Thank you to all my reviewers. You are very lovely people!
wwwendy: You aren't the only person who wants a Snape mentors Harry fic so that's how it'll probably end up. Never written one of them before so I may need a few helpful hints along the way… Thank you!
hailmags: Thank you for reviewing. I'm glad you liked it.
Opal: Yep you got it right; although you're gonna find that out this chapter anyway.
Anon: Thank you
Phoenix 5: I hope this is up quick enough for you? Thanks for encouragement.
Jayne: Thank you for reviewing.
UnderOathPunk: Harry called him Sev because a) he was excited by the offer and b) they have spent time together whilst he was training for the war so he would feel a bit more comfortable calling him Sev. Although you will find out later that he used to call him Severus rather than Sev in these times. Thank you for reviewing. I hope they get less OOC for you.
I actually wrote this story about 3 years ago on a whim and haven't really edited it much so the writing style may change a bit now. I hope my writing has matured over the past few years! Thank you again to all the reviewers and I hope you enjoy this chapter too. I'm giving up an essay on Marxism to do this!
The next morning dawned bright and it looked to be a very warm day. However, for the inhabitants of the dungeon this fact was irrelevant. The older man was too busy packing some very dangerous and rare ingredients away ready for the move back to his ancestral home for him to notice the weather. The younger man was still asleep in the bed he had borrowed over night, although, even if he was awake he would have been unable to see because, during the climatic end to the spread of evil, this young man who had valiantly defeated the one being no one else could, had also lost his eyesight.
Of course, they wouldn't stay ignorant for too long. Before half an hour had passed both men were ready and dressed. The only thing left was to eat breakfast and this meant going to the Great Hall. The older man found this highly distasteful. The noise was overpowering to him. The younger man wasn't too fond of the experience either. He had never been comfortable with his fame and now it had got worse he was even less comfortable with the though to go to the Hall.
Nevertheless, soon they were there and thankfully, the younger man's friends formed a safety ring around him to stop the adoring masses from gaining access. Although, this had no affect later on when the Gryffindors were given a reminder by their stern Head of House that they did need to have their bags packed for the train which most had yet to do… So, it was here that the older man felt the need to step in.
"If you miscreants are all finished doting over Mr Potter? Good. Mr Potter we must leave now. Say goodbye to your friends," came a sarcastic and rather, to the Hogwarts students crowding around Harry, cold voice. Of course to Harry, it sounded like Angels singing. He had always hated being a celebrity and that had not changed just because the Dark Lord was vanquished. Ron and Hermione had opened their mouths to ask where Harry was going but a fierce glare from Snape quickly shut them up. "If any of you have managed over the past 16 years to learn how to owl then I'm sure whatever obviously highly important matters you must tell him can be easily conveyed. Mr Potter we are leaving. Now,"
As soon as they were out of sight and earshot, Harry turned to Severus. "Was the dramatic ness really necessary?" Although inwardly he was amused at how no one had said a word but just kept their mouths shut. Even as they approached adulthood, everyone was still petrified of the Potions Professor.
"You're vocabulary still astounds me. ' Dramaticness' is not a word. Nevertheless, yes, it was required. Or did you really want to be crushed under that disgusting display of 'affection'?" The word affection was sneered rather sarcastically. Although Harry and Severus had got closer, Severus' personality was not just bitter and twisted around Hogwarts. It was bitter and twisted all the time. Harry had got used to this over the time Severus had spent training him for his final battle and Severus had started to respect Harry for his will to fight and live so was no longer venomous and malicious as he had been before. Of course, no one else had been present for this and so to anyone passing it would seem that Snape was verbally abusing Harry. However, once they were in private it was a different matter.
"I suppose you're right. As always."
"I'm just amazing. What did you expect?"
"Ha ha Severus. Thanks for rescuing me,"
"Not a problem Harry. When will they grow a backbone though? I'm not terrifying am I? Don't answer that! And don't snicker either Brat. Dumbledore wants me to teach you what you've missed over the past year with training and then being unconscious…"
"Wasn't like I did it on purpose," Harry interrupted.
"May I finish?" Severus asked.
"Be my guest. I'm just amused that Dumbledore gave you the task. I though he was over his whole 'you have to bond and get over your differences' thing ages ago," Harry mused.
"I'm the only member of staff who can help you with your blindness. My younger sister, Elsie, is blind. At that is where my teaching will have to start. There are spells to read out owls for you and make an ordinary quill into a dictaquill. No don't worry these actually write what you say unlike Ms Skeeters. You also have to get used to moving around with a stick. Or we could get a you a dog. Just not your godmutt. You will have to stay out of the way when I'm working with Potions though. Albus didn't get quite how, shall we say tempestuous, some of the potions I make get. Especially the experimental ones…" Severus trailed off. An idea had just come to him. He had been working on a cure for his sister's blindness for many years and now he had another test subject. This could help him with his progress as he wouldn't have to get his sister to stay overnight to test the new batch of potion.
This took me ages to write as it was only a padding chapter. I now have a plot though for this so the next chapters shouldn't be so hard to write.