I own nothing, nothing. It's all JKR's.

Chapter Fifteen: Then Why the Heck Are You Arguing With Yourself?

Dorian decided to wait until Spring break to confront Severus. He wanted Severus to have time to digest what he told him, as well as soften his attitude toward Harry before the summer break. He knew it wouldn't happen overnight, but it had begun for him before the end of Harry's sixth year.

Once the students were gone, even Harry, Dorian approached Severus.

"With all the students gone, it's quiet around here. Would you be interested in sharing a cup of tea, or something a little stronger?"

After a brief hesitation, Severus responded affirmatively. The two men made their way to Dorian's quarters. After settling into two armchairs on either side of the fire, Dorian summoned the tea tray. He made a pot of tea, and poured out, adding a little extra "something" to the tea. Severus raised his brow in appreciation, and took a sip.

"So, how are you holding up this year?" Severus opened the conversation.

"Quite well. I almost regret that I will not be staying. However, my family is waiting for me, and I am getting anxious to return to my wife."

Severus was slightly surprised. "I didn't realize you were married. So, you are part of our one-year DADA curse."

"Not quite. I never intended to be here longer than a year, and Albus knew this from the beginning. Most of the others intended to stay, with the possible exception of Umbridge, but circumstances forced them to leave."

"True."

"If you don't mind, Severus, I have a question."

"You may ask, I don't guarantee an answer."

"I have been around these students for almost a year. I don't understand your attitude, especially toward the seventh-year Gryffindors. They are not idiots, even Ron Weasley has some intelligence, although he doesn't always make full use of it. Hermione Granger is one of the most intelligent witches I have ever encountered. Harry Potter has been through more than any one person should have to go through in their lives, much less only 16 years of it. Neville Longbottom is quiet, but his confidence is growing, as is his competency as a wizard. The others are equally capable. Why do you resent them so much?"

Severus became defensive. "My teaching methods are necessary due to the volatile nature of some of the ingredients. If the students are insufficiently attentive, they get the discipline they deserve."

"Severus, there is a difference in the way you discipline the other houses and Gryffindor, and you know it."

Severus got up out of his chair quickly. He moved toward the door of Dorian's quarters. "I did not come here to be castigated. That is only the province of the Headmaster. You do not have the authority, or the right, to question my teaching methods."

Dorian threw a wandless locking charm at the door. Severus was unable to open it. He turned angrily back toward Dorian. "Open this door immediately. You cannot keep me here against my will."

"We are not done with this conversation. This conversation is the main reason I am here."

That caught Severus' attention. "What do you mean? You came to teach DADA."

"No. I came to convince you to resume Occlumency lessons with Harry Potter, and to change your attitude toward him."

"Harry Potter! That arrogant, spoiled, troublemaking Gryffindor! It all comes down to Mr. Potter. The world does not revolved around Mr. Potter. I have better things to do than pamper and humor Mr. Potter!" By this time, Snape's face was red, and he was almost incoherent with anger. Each repetition of the name was spat out, as if it was something sour.

"No, you do not have something more important to do. You need to make sure that Harry Potter is prepared to face Voldemort. That is the most important thing for you to do this year."

"What gives you the right to say that!"

"This right." With that, Dorian removed the charms that made him look different.

As Severus watched Dorian's appearance change, he was dumbstruck. "You look like me, only older."

"I am you, only older. I am Severus Snape, from 25 years in the future. I came back to work with Harry Potter, to change his attitude and work with him on his Occlumency. But, I am going home at the end of the term. You need to continue to work with him, and you need to train him in defense techniques beyond what we teach in DADA. In order to teach him properly, you need to change your attitude towards him. With the way things currently are between the two of you, Harry will not be able to achieve the level of trust he needs to have to learn from you."

Severus was shaken. The idea that he had left his life in the future and come back in time to change things was mind-boggling. It was no easy thing to do, so for it to be done was a very good indication that it was important indeed.

"But, Harry Potter is a spoiled brat." Even to his own ears, his protest was weak.

"No, he's not. His aunt and uncle hate magic, and by extension, hate him. They use him as their personal house-elf. They make him do most of the cleaning, most of the yard work, and a lot of the cooking. Until he came to Hogwarts, he slept in a broom cupboard under the stairs of the house. His current bedroom is full of his cousin's broken toys. He must do his summer school work in secret. His most important keepsakes are kept under a loose floorboard beneath his bed, so they cannot be confiscated or destroyed. He didn't know he was a wizard until Hagrid came to get him. His uncle kept his Hogwarts letter from him, and took the whole family away to a little island to try to keep Harry away from Hogwarts."

Severus was thunderstruck. "Did Albus know all this? Why is Harry left there if he is treated so badly?"

"Albus knows some of it, but it truly does come down to the blood protection his aunt provides. As long as there is no physical abuse, which there isn't, Harry needs to stay. In some ways it has helped him. It has made him self-reliant, and independent. He is not spoiled or arrogant, which he could easily have become if he'd been raised in the wizarding world. It is not an ideal situation, but it could be worse."

Severus sat and thought. His preconceptions of Harry Potter based on his father's personality were wrong. His attitude toward Harry, based on those preconceptions, was wrong. Severus was a proud man, and prided himself on his accurate readings of people. To find out that he'd based his opinion of Harry on his own prejudices was very humbling for him. "I need to apologize to Mr. Potter." The realization was hard to swallow.

"Yes, you do, and he needs to apologize to you. His looking in your pensieve was done out of ignorance of the true gravity of the offense, and his own curiosity. He has not mentioned it to anyone else besides Sirius and Remus, and he took them both to task for the way they treated you. All that aside, it was a very grave violation, and I made that quite clear to him."

"Thank you. If you will unlock your door, I have some thinking to do."

Dorian unlocked the door, and watched Severus leave. Afterwards, he relocked the door, and sat back down in the chair. Staring at the fire, he thought about the scene that had just played out in his rooms. He believed it was enough. Thinking back, it seemed like it was the way things had gone 25 years ago. He could only hope that it was enough, again.