He's Makin' A
Harry sighed as he plopped down onto the overstuffed chair by the fire. He absent-mindedly pulled out a roll of parchment and two quills from one of the drawers in the small table in front of him. He was still getting used to the stupid feathery things. Pens were so much easier to use.
He'd buy some when they went to London.
He gave a little mental start and scribbled that down on the piece of paper. No, on the roll of parchment. Stupid wizarding vocabulary.
He thought for a moment more, and then started expanding on his list of things to be bought on their shopping trip. He felt a wide grin stretch over his face and didn't make any effort to stop it. He was going shopping. He, Harry 'that freak' Potter, was going to be able to buy. . . anything. Anything he wanted. It was so cool.
His furious scribbling was interrupted by-
"The way you write never ceases to amaze me."
-Sev's voice. And wouldn't Severus just kill him if the man knew that he had shortened Severus' name in his mind, even if he hadn't yet voiced the abbreviation. He was planning on using it sometime when he was really angry. The shock factor, if nothing else, would shut Sev up for a few minutes. Then, of course, the fury would set in. How dare he shorten Severus' precious name!
Harry suppressed a smirk.
He couldn't wait.
Provoking Sev was sort of like walking on the edge of a cliff. You know, if there was a really, really big cushion at the bottom of it. Fun.
He couldn't imagine doing the same to anyone else, though. It was kind of disappointing. Scratch that, it was disappointing. He had grown a lot more comfortable with Severus over the past two weeks, and had hoped that some of that comfort would run over into the way he felt about others. Strangers.
It hadn't.
Severus was just.safe. In a way that other adults weren't. Even children were threatening. Especially wizarding children. At the Dursley's, he knew that he was faster and more resourceful than anyone else in the school, and that was without his magic. Sometimes even then his magic had been the only thing that got him out of serious situations.
Now he would be with wizarding children. Magical children. Children who had been around magic and working with magic since the day they were born. Children who were probably as smart as he was. His intelligence had been the one thing he was proud of, back at his own school. But from what he had reasoned out, he should be just one among many at the new school, Hogwarts. Less, even, because he didn't have the basic knowledge they had been learning all their lives. He had memorized his textbooks-the ones needed for school. He had found them in Sev's library during one of his many searches. The Professor's library was fascinating. It had so many books to read and learn from and just generally drool over.
Um, right. Well, all that still wouldn't be enough. From what he had gathered, Hogwarts was the best wizarding school in England. Only the brightest and most talented were accepted. Harry frankly couldn't believe that he had gotten an invitation. Probably the only reason he had was because of his fame. He hated that. Why did something he did as a baby-- that he couldn't even remember--matter? He didn't do anything! He couldn't have. What could someone as useless as him do against a wizard as powerful as Voldemort? Nothing, that's what.
Severus was a Hogwarts graduate. He was the most brilliant person the boy knew. Harry was no where near his league. He just knew that he would be the most stupid person at Hogwarts.
He had told this to Sev once, and the man had dryly replied that no, he wouldn't. The most stupid person at Hogwarts was going to be someone called Gargoyle. Or something. Maybe Gary Goyle? He knew there was a goyle in there somewhere.
He would never be able to defend himself from the children at Hogwarts.
"What are you writing?"
Harry looked down at his hands, which had paused while he was thinking. He resumed scratching down what he would need. "My list for Diagon Alley."
"I see." There was a faint trace of amusement in Snape's voice as he contemplated Harry's hands.
Harry followed his gaze downwards.
He knew that it could seem strange, and often did. Every year when he got a new teacher, it took them a while to get accustomed to his way of writing. Same with the students. He'd actually had a teacher that had asked him to stop doing it, in one class. Apparently, it was distracting.
He'd kept at it. It was useful, and it meant that he got his work done much more quickly than everyone else. That gave him time to pull his book out and read a few pages while the rest of the class was occupied.
When he was seven, his Uncle Vernon had broken his writing hand. In multiple places. Now, that was not fun. He still hadn't got the hang of his freakishn-magic, damnit! He hadn't gotten the hang of his magic yet. It had taken a long time for that to heal, especially since the Dursley's hadn't taken him to the doctor. She had been getting suspicious. Everyone had been getting suspicious. During that short period of time when Uncle Vernon had been out of a job, he had been visiting a hospital about once every two weeks. With more than one injury.
Had he mentioned how much he hated hospitals? Well, he did. They were yicky.
He had to use his left hand to do everything. Chores, cooking, homework. everything. His writing had been horribly messy at first. His main teacher had been very understanding, but his math teacher-
She hadn't been nice. She kept calling Harry in for lectures about how yes, she knew it was hard to believe, but neatness did affect his grade. Harry had responded equally politely with the fact that, yes, he understood that, and agreed that it was completely reasonable, but he had recently BROKEN HIS BLOODY HAND! and maybe she could understand that he wouldn't be able to turn in a perfectly neat paper until it was healed.
She had coughed and stuttered and then given him a detention. He hadn't really liked her.
Thankfully, before too long, he began writing neatly enough with his left hand. Not as well as with his right, but it was enough.
When his hand had healed, he started writing using both. It was a bit of a trick to write two things at the same time, but not more of a challenge that he imagined playing the piano would be. It was useful. And kinda fun.
"Do you write lists for everything?" Severus' smooth voice interrupted his thoughts.
Harry blushed. Just because he had written a few lists-about what he wanted to learn, and what books he had read and what he wanted to bring to Hogwarts, stuff like that-Severus was making fun of him? It wasn't like Snape had never. . .
Oh. Right. Harry looked at the floor s that Sev wouldn't see his mischevious smile. He quickly put on the most innocent face he could fine.
He looked at Severus with wide, wide eyes. "It's not like you've never written a list before."
He watched in amusement as the Professor's face turned white and then red in quick succession.
"I thought we agreed never to talk about that little. . . incident." Snape's voice was vaguely threatening.
If Harry hadn't known that Sev wouldn't hurt him, he would have been scared. Okay, so maybe he was a little scared anyway. When had he let something like that stop him?
Okay, maybe lots of times, but. . .
Harry smiled evilly.
Not this time.
He had found the list the week before.
When Harry had confronted him with it, Severus' expression had been priceless. Completely. Priceless.
//He'd been exploring the Manor, trying to find hidden passages and stuff, when he'd come across a locked door. Now, normally that wouldn't intrigue him, since he had found plenty of locked doors before that, but this one wouldn't open with an alohamora.
Of course, that just made him that much more determined to open it.
So, he'd gone through every unlocking spell he'd learned so far from his books, and finally found one that worked. But it wasn't as easy as that.
He'd searched the room, trying to figure out what made it so special. There was nothing.
An hour of searching later, he'd heard an exasperated sigh, and a "pssst- over here, boy!" And Harry had jerked his head up to find a portrait hanging on the door.
"He put it behind me!" The man had exclaimed. "Look here."
Harry had been very suspicious. First-he automatically disliked anyone that called him boy (or freak) or anything else that his Uncle had called him. Second-why would one of Sev's portraits be telling an unknown person where something that Severus obviously wanted hidden was? Third-how could you hide a secret vault or hideaway or passage in a door? There would be no place to put anything!
Harry had stared at the portrait contemplatively.
"Oh, for god's sake, kid, do you think I like the guy? I guarded the family jewels before he moved me to guarding this-this worthless piece of paper! I mean, he moved me. Me! Like I was some common third-cousin and not his Great-Uncle. Don't know what this family's coming to. Why, back in my day-"
Harry tuned out the man's words. He did not need to listen to a painting reminiscing on past times. He'd heard enough lectures about how the world was a much better place twenty years ago to last him a lifetime. And those were just the ones from Mrs. Figg.
He sighed, waiting patiently for the portrait's words to taper off. They didn't.
He sighed again.
Decided to sit down.
Started tapping his foot on the floor.
Examined his hands. Isn't it amazing how they move just like you want them to?
Attempted to straighten his hair.
Sighed.
Glanced at his watch.
Sighed.
Glanced at his watch. Had it really only been five minutes since he last checked the time? Wow, time does fly when you're having fun.
Finally got up, shoving his chair half way across the room.
"Okay, that's enough. I have been sitting here for fourty-five minutes, and you never once stopped talking! Don't you need to breathe?"
The man gave him a look. "Portrait."
"Oh. Right. Well, be quiet anyway, kay? I think I've got a headache."
Portrait made an offended sound and said haughtily, "Just for that, I'm not going to tell you how to open the vault."
Stupid portrait. "Fine."
"Fine."
"Well, now that we've got that settled and we're all fine and everything. . ." He took the portrait off the wall and placed him on the table.
And frowned. There was nothing behind it. "What. . . ?"
"Magic, you idiot! What did you think, that it would just be out in the open?" Came the muffled shout form the man/portrait lying facedown on the table.
Yeah. Right. Why didn't he think of that?
He had started casting all the spells that he had used to try to open the door. He was able to eventually see what he was trying to open, but he couldn't get in. It had been very frustrating.
He had been willing to bet that he could have found a way in with one of his books, but he didn't want to skip ahead. From what he had read so far, it was dangerous to try a spell you weren't ready for. Harry really didn't like danger. So, that would be a last resort.
He had ended up going to the library, looking for something that wouldn't blow up in his face if he screwed the casting up. He found what he was looking for.
He tried the spell.
It worked. The secret compartment in the door popped open, to reveal a single scroll. Harry carefully removed it.
He hesitated before unrolling it. What if Severus got mad at him? Wouldn't this be a breach of privacy?
But, really, he was just too damn curious to leave the thing alone. So he looked. And he looked.
And then he laughed for a very long time.//
Harry stifled a laugh as he remembered. He had found a scroll of paper in three neat columns. The first had names. The second had what he could only imagine were 'crimes.' The third had contained several very scarily inventive methods of torture. He had shown it to Severus, of course. The man had been. . . embarassed. Well, after he was done with the yelling. Now that was scary.
"Harry?"
"Yes, Severus?"
"We agreed never to talk about that. Remember?" Sev sounded anxious.
Harry covered his wide grin with one hand.
"You told me to never bring it up again. I don't recall ever agreeing to anything." Harry imitated the Professor's drawl perfectly.
"Harry--"
"Yes, Severus?"
Snape made a disgruntled sound. "You tell anyone about it, and I swear I will flunk you out of potions."
The boy dropped his pen, and sat up straight in his chair. "But-no, you can't-I could be good in that class, Sev! You wouldn't--"
And Harry was getting very tired of his sudden mood swings and trust issues, and just because he knew they were there didn't mean they were going to go away. It sucked. Was it possible for men to be pregnant in the wizarding world? 'Cause he'd never actually lived with a pregnant woman, but he'd heard--
He flinched as he heard the sound of a chair moving. "Of course I wouldn't. I was teasing, Harry. It was an idle threat. I didn't mean it."
Severus came around to kneel in front of Harry. "I didn't mean it."
He clutched at the Professor's hands like a lifeline. "Do you promise?"
"I promise."
"Thank you." The whispered words were tearful, and Harry almost angrily let go of Sev's hands to wipe away a few spare droplets. He hated crying. It made his face all red and blotchy, and then his throat felt tight and he had to swallow or he wouldn't be able to breathe, and then his stomach started hurting and his nose got all stuffy and he really, really needed a tissue like, right now---
"Sev'rus?" Still whispered, "You got 'ny tishoos?"
Snape was startled into a slight laugh. "Here."
"Tanks." He blew his nose. Much better.
Severus started to get up and head back to his chair. He froze. "Did you call me Sev?"
The sound Harry made could only be described as a squeak. "No?"
End Chapter 18
Oh, my god, I am so sorry this took so long to post. My computer completely crashed, and it took me a while to find another one and rewrite the chapter and try to get back the things I lost-which, unfortunately, included this entire fic. That'll teach me not to use a back-up disk.
So, yeah. Very sorry.
Anyone who is still reading this after all this time is owed lots of chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. Forgive me?
Next chapter we've got the trip to Diagon Alley! *squeals* I am so excited!
And, if anyone can remember, seeing as it was a long time ago when this was mentioned, I left the whole parseltongue issue out deliberately. So we've still got that to do. Should be fun. *g*
I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing. *hugs* You guys are the best!
To: Xirleb70-*sighs in relief* Oh, good. That's good. Thanks. I'm glad you like the story. :)
To: Mella deRanged-Thanks, good to know I can do the filler stuff. *g*
To: Baby Sphinx-Cutness is good. ;) / I haven't really decided on what I'm gonna do with Peeves yet, so. . . maybe?
To: Rachel A. Prongs-Thank you. I was hoping that it didn't seem too. . . flippant? Is that the right word? / And, don't worry, I won't forget about Hermione.
To: john-I know, I can't wait either. *giggles insanely*
To: twinkly-starr-Yeah, several people have mentioned that the chapters are kinda short, but. . . well, I try, y'know? :) / If you think about it, people who were abused have to be brave, in order to face their fears and just-interact with other people. But yeah, Harry's gonna be a Slytherin. Pretty much the whole point of the story. *g*
To: Illucia-Glad you liked it. / How bout I try for a combo of the three for Draco. I mean, it sounds easy. / Slytherin friends-definitely Draco, maybe Pansy, I don't think I'll involve Blaise that much-he/she's too much of an original character for me to be confident about writing him/her well. I don't even know if he/she/ is a girl or a boy. He'll probably have a few acquaintances, like a Dean or something. I dunno. / Yup. We're going to cover all those things. Well, most. Unless I change my mind. ;)
To: shadow (Shadow Adams)-Lol. Yeah, I was thinking about that, and Mrs. Norris might be doable, while Filch could take some serious work. Do you think it would be too much? / Ouch. While driving. Sound like fun. / Love your fic, btw.
To: insanechildfanfic-I'm glad you like it. I spent a while thinking up that revenge.
To: Bellatrix-lol. Thanks a lot. The realness thing is a huge compliment. And, Dumbledore's not evil or bad or anything, he's just kind of clueless about certain things and Harry doesn't like him. :)
To: Kianna Rose-Thanks. Compliments are good. *g* I'm glad you don't think the plot's too implausible.
To: Harry's Muggle Sister-Thanks. I don't think Harry will be adopted, but I could change my mind later on, I guess. Hmm, that's a thought, actually. I could probably fit in a lot more screaming yelling people that way. Hmm. . . *goes off muttering to self*
To: reanne080-Thanks, I love the reactions too. Sometimes I find myself reading fics with completely awful grammar (and spelling, etc.) just to see what will happen when so-and-so discovers this about that person. :)
To: The Dark Vella-Thanks, and I will continue writing this until it is finished. You can find a few fics I like in my favorites. If you want more you're gonna have to be more specific. I've got a pretty wide range of types of fics I like. *g*
To: The angelic vampire-Thanks, I hope this one lives up to your expectations!
To: tobytdk-Yeah, um, sorry about the delay. *blushes* Explanation's up at the top. Hope you're still reading. :)
To: Serpent of Light-lol. Glad you liked it.
To: Myst4Drgn, KHT, maggie, MarsMoonStar, Stayblue, crazyfanfictionfanatic, and npetrenko-I'm really glad you guys liked it. Hope you like this chapter, too. :)
Harry sighed as he plopped down onto the overstuffed chair by the fire. He absent-mindedly pulled out a roll of parchment and two quills from one of the drawers in the small table in front of him. He was still getting used to the stupid feathery things. Pens were so much easier to use.
He'd buy some when they went to London.
He gave a little mental start and scribbled that down on the piece of paper. No, on the roll of parchment. Stupid wizarding vocabulary.
He thought for a moment more, and then started expanding on his list of things to be bought on their shopping trip. He felt a wide grin stretch over his face and didn't make any effort to stop it. He was going shopping. He, Harry 'that freak' Potter, was going to be able to buy. . . anything. Anything he wanted. It was so cool.
His furious scribbling was interrupted by-
"The way you write never ceases to amaze me."
-Sev's voice. And wouldn't Severus just kill him if the man knew that he had shortened Severus' name in his mind, even if he hadn't yet voiced the abbreviation. He was planning on using it sometime when he was really angry. The shock factor, if nothing else, would shut Sev up for a few minutes. Then, of course, the fury would set in. How dare he shorten Severus' precious name!
Harry suppressed a smirk.
He couldn't wait.
Provoking Sev was sort of like walking on the edge of a cliff. You know, if there was a really, really big cushion at the bottom of it. Fun.
He couldn't imagine doing the same to anyone else, though. It was kind of disappointing. Scratch that, it was disappointing. He had grown a lot more comfortable with Severus over the past two weeks, and had hoped that some of that comfort would run over into the way he felt about others. Strangers.
It hadn't.
Severus was just.safe. In a way that other adults weren't. Even children were threatening. Especially wizarding children. At the Dursley's, he knew that he was faster and more resourceful than anyone else in the school, and that was without his magic. Sometimes even then his magic had been the only thing that got him out of serious situations.
Now he would be with wizarding children. Magical children. Children who had been around magic and working with magic since the day they were born. Children who were probably as smart as he was. His intelligence had been the one thing he was proud of, back at his own school. But from what he had reasoned out, he should be just one among many at the new school, Hogwarts. Less, even, because he didn't have the basic knowledge they had been learning all their lives. He had memorized his textbooks-the ones needed for school. He had found them in Sev's library during one of his many searches. The Professor's library was fascinating. It had so many books to read and learn from and just generally drool over.
Um, right. Well, all that still wouldn't be enough. From what he had gathered, Hogwarts was the best wizarding school in England. Only the brightest and most talented were accepted. Harry frankly couldn't believe that he had gotten an invitation. Probably the only reason he had was because of his fame. He hated that. Why did something he did as a baby-- that he couldn't even remember--matter? He didn't do anything! He couldn't have. What could someone as useless as him do against a wizard as powerful as Voldemort? Nothing, that's what.
Severus was a Hogwarts graduate. He was the most brilliant person the boy knew. Harry was no where near his league. He just knew that he would be the most stupid person at Hogwarts.
He had told this to Sev once, and the man had dryly replied that no, he wouldn't. The most stupid person at Hogwarts was going to be someone called Gargoyle. Or something. Maybe Gary Goyle? He knew there was a goyle in there somewhere.
He would never be able to defend himself from the children at Hogwarts.
"What are you writing?"
Harry looked down at his hands, which had paused while he was thinking. He resumed scratching down what he would need. "My list for Diagon Alley."
"I see." There was a faint trace of amusement in Snape's voice as he contemplated Harry's hands.
Harry followed his gaze downwards.
He knew that it could seem strange, and often did. Every year when he got a new teacher, it took them a while to get accustomed to his way of writing. Same with the students. He'd actually had a teacher that had asked him to stop doing it, in one class. Apparently, it was distracting.
He'd kept at it. It was useful, and it meant that he got his work done much more quickly than everyone else. That gave him time to pull his book out and read a few pages while the rest of the class was occupied.
When he was seven, his Uncle Vernon had broken his writing hand. In multiple places. Now, that was not fun. He still hadn't got the hang of his freakishn-magic, damnit! He hadn't gotten the hang of his magic yet. It had taken a long time for that to heal, especially since the Dursley's hadn't taken him to the doctor. She had been getting suspicious. Everyone had been getting suspicious. During that short period of time when Uncle Vernon had been out of a job, he had been visiting a hospital about once every two weeks. With more than one injury.
Had he mentioned how much he hated hospitals? Well, he did. They were yicky.
He had to use his left hand to do everything. Chores, cooking, homework. everything. His writing had been horribly messy at first. His main teacher had been very understanding, but his math teacher-
She hadn't been nice. She kept calling Harry in for lectures about how yes, she knew it was hard to believe, but neatness did affect his grade. Harry had responded equally politely with the fact that, yes, he understood that, and agreed that it was completely reasonable, but he had recently BROKEN HIS BLOODY HAND! and maybe she could understand that he wouldn't be able to turn in a perfectly neat paper until it was healed.
She had coughed and stuttered and then given him a detention. He hadn't really liked her.
Thankfully, before too long, he began writing neatly enough with his left hand. Not as well as with his right, but it was enough.
When his hand had healed, he started writing using both. It was a bit of a trick to write two things at the same time, but not more of a challenge that he imagined playing the piano would be. It was useful. And kinda fun.
"Do you write lists for everything?" Severus' smooth voice interrupted his thoughts.
Harry blushed. Just because he had written a few lists-about what he wanted to learn, and what books he had read and what he wanted to bring to Hogwarts, stuff like that-Severus was making fun of him? It wasn't like Snape had never. . .
Oh. Right. Harry looked at the floor s that Sev wouldn't see his mischevious smile. He quickly put on the most innocent face he could fine.
He looked at Severus with wide, wide eyes. "It's not like you've never written a list before."
He watched in amusement as the Professor's face turned white and then red in quick succession.
"I thought we agreed never to talk about that little. . . incident." Snape's voice was vaguely threatening.
If Harry hadn't known that Sev wouldn't hurt him, he would have been scared. Okay, so maybe he was a little scared anyway. When had he let something like that stop him?
Okay, maybe lots of times, but. . .
Harry smiled evilly.
Not this time.
He had found the list the week before.
When Harry had confronted him with it, Severus' expression had been priceless. Completely. Priceless.
//He'd been exploring the Manor, trying to find hidden passages and stuff, when he'd come across a locked door. Now, normally that wouldn't intrigue him, since he had found plenty of locked doors before that, but this one wouldn't open with an alohamora.
Of course, that just made him that much more determined to open it.
So, he'd gone through every unlocking spell he'd learned so far from his books, and finally found one that worked. But it wasn't as easy as that.
He'd searched the room, trying to figure out what made it so special. There was nothing.
An hour of searching later, he'd heard an exasperated sigh, and a "pssst- over here, boy!" And Harry had jerked his head up to find a portrait hanging on the door.
"He put it behind me!" The man had exclaimed. "Look here."
Harry had been very suspicious. First-he automatically disliked anyone that called him boy (or freak) or anything else that his Uncle had called him. Second-why would one of Sev's portraits be telling an unknown person where something that Severus obviously wanted hidden was? Third-how could you hide a secret vault or hideaway or passage in a door? There would be no place to put anything!
Harry had stared at the portrait contemplatively.
"Oh, for god's sake, kid, do you think I like the guy? I guarded the family jewels before he moved me to guarding this-this worthless piece of paper! I mean, he moved me. Me! Like I was some common third-cousin and not his Great-Uncle. Don't know what this family's coming to. Why, back in my day-"
Harry tuned out the man's words. He did not need to listen to a painting reminiscing on past times. He'd heard enough lectures about how the world was a much better place twenty years ago to last him a lifetime. And those were just the ones from Mrs. Figg.
He sighed, waiting patiently for the portrait's words to taper off. They didn't.
He sighed again.
Decided to sit down.
Started tapping his foot on the floor.
Examined his hands. Isn't it amazing how they move just like you want them to?
Attempted to straighten his hair.
Sighed.
Glanced at his watch.
Sighed.
Glanced at his watch. Had it really only been five minutes since he last checked the time? Wow, time does fly when you're having fun.
Finally got up, shoving his chair half way across the room.
"Okay, that's enough. I have been sitting here for fourty-five minutes, and you never once stopped talking! Don't you need to breathe?"
The man gave him a look. "Portrait."
"Oh. Right. Well, be quiet anyway, kay? I think I've got a headache."
Portrait made an offended sound and said haughtily, "Just for that, I'm not going to tell you how to open the vault."
Stupid portrait. "Fine."
"Fine."
"Well, now that we've got that settled and we're all fine and everything. . ." He took the portrait off the wall and placed him on the table.
And frowned. There was nothing behind it. "What. . . ?"
"Magic, you idiot! What did you think, that it would just be out in the open?" Came the muffled shout form the man/portrait lying facedown on the table.
Yeah. Right. Why didn't he think of that?
He had started casting all the spells that he had used to try to open the door. He was able to eventually see what he was trying to open, but he couldn't get in. It had been very frustrating.
He had been willing to bet that he could have found a way in with one of his books, but he didn't want to skip ahead. From what he had read so far, it was dangerous to try a spell you weren't ready for. Harry really didn't like danger. So, that would be a last resort.
He had ended up going to the library, looking for something that wouldn't blow up in his face if he screwed the casting up. He found what he was looking for.
He tried the spell.
It worked. The secret compartment in the door popped open, to reveal a single scroll. Harry carefully removed it.
He hesitated before unrolling it. What if Severus got mad at him? Wouldn't this be a breach of privacy?
But, really, he was just too damn curious to leave the thing alone. So he looked. And he looked.
And then he laughed for a very long time.//
Harry stifled a laugh as he remembered. He had found a scroll of paper in three neat columns. The first had names. The second had what he could only imagine were 'crimes.' The third had contained several very scarily inventive methods of torture. He had shown it to Severus, of course. The man had been. . . embarassed. Well, after he was done with the yelling. Now that was scary.
"Harry?"
"Yes, Severus?"
"We agreed never to talk about that. Remember?" Sev sounded anxious.
Harry covered his wide grin with one hand.
"You told me to never bring it up again. I don't recall ever agreeing to anything." Harry imitated the Professor's drawl perfectly.
"Harry--"
"Yes, Severus?"
Snape made a disgruntled sound. "You tell anyone about it, and I swear I will flunk you out of potions."
The boy dropped his pen, and sat up straight in his chair. "But-no, you can't-I could be good in that class, Sev! You wouldn't--"
And Harry was getting very tired of his sudden mood swings and trust issues, and just because he knew they were there didn't mean they were going to go away. It sucked. Was it possible for men to be pregnant in the wizarding world? 'Cause he'd never actually lived with a pregnant woman, but he'd heard--
He flinched as he heard the sound of a chair moving. "Of course I wouldn't. I was teasing, Harry. It was an idle threat. I didn't mean it."
Severus came around to kneel in front of Harry. "I didn't mean it."
He clutched at the Professor's hands like a lifeline. "Do you promise?"
"I promise."
"Thank you." The whispered words were tearful, and Harry almost angrily let go of Sev's hands to wipe away a few spare droplets. He hated crying. It made his face all red and blotchy, and then his throat felt tight and he had to swallow or he wouldn't be able to breathe, and then his stomach started hurting and his nose got all stuffy and he really, really needed a tissue like, right now---
"Sev'rus?" Still whispered, "You got 'ny tishoos?"
Snape was startled into a slight laugh. "Here."
"Tanks." He blew his nose. Much better.
Severus started to get up and head back to his chair. He froze. "Did you call me Sev?"
The sound Harry made could only be described as a squeak. "No?"
End Chapter 18
Oh, my god, I am so sorry this took so long to post. My computer completely crashed, and it took me a while to find another one and rewrite the chapter and try to get back the things I lost-which, unfortunately, included this entire fic. That'll teach me not to use a back-up disk.
So, yeah. Very sorry.
Anyone who is still reading this after all this time is owed lots of chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. Forgive me?
Next chapter we've got the trip to Diagon Alley! *squeals* I am so excited!
And, if anyone can remember, seeing as it was a long time ago when this was mentioned, I left the whole parseltongue issue out deliberately. So we've still got that to do. Should be fun. *g*
I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing. *hugs* You guys are the best!
To: Xirleb70-*sighs in relief* Oh, good. That's good. Thanks. I'm glad you like the story. :)
To: Mella deRanged-Thanks, good to know I can do the filler stuff. *g*
To: Baby Sphinx-Cutness is good. ;) / I haven't really decided on what I'm gonna do with Peeves yet, so. . . maybe?
To: Rachel A. Prongs-Thank you. I was hoping that it didn't seem too. . . flippant? Is that the right word? / And, don't worry, I won't forget about Hermione.
To: john-I know, I can't wait either. *giggles insanely*
To: twinkly-starr-Yeah, several people have mentioned that the chapters are kinda short, but. . . well, I try, y'know? :) / If you think about it, people who were abused have to be brave, in order to face their fears and just-interact with other people. But yeah, Harry's gonna be a Slytherin. Pretty much the whole point of the story. *g*
To: Illucia-Glad you liked it. / How bout I try for a combo of the three for Draco. I mean, it sounds easy. / Slytherin friends-definitely Draco, maybe Pansy, I don't think I'll involve Blaise that much-he/she's too much of an original character for me to be confident about writing him/her well. I don't even know if he/she/ is a girl or a boy. He'll probably have a few acquaintances, like a Dean or something. I dunno. / Yup. We're going to cover all those things. Well, most. Unless I change my mind. ;)
To: shadow (Shadow Adams)-Lol. Yeah, I was thinking about that, and Mrs. Norris might be doable, while Filch could take some serious work. Do you think it would be too much? / Ouch. While driving. Sound like fun. / Love your fic, btw.
To: insanechildfanfic-I'm glad you like it. I spent a while thinking up that revenge.
To: Bellatrix-lol. Thanks a lot. The realness thing is a huge compliment. And, Dumbledore's not evil or bad or anything, he's just kind of clueless about certain things and Harry doesn't like him. :)
To: Kianna Rose-Thanks. Compliments are good. *g* I'm glad you don't think the plot's too implausible.
To: Harry's Muggle Sister-Thanks. I don't think Harry will be adopted, but I could change my mind later on, I guess. Hmm, that's a thought, actually. I could probably fit in a lot more screaming yelling people that way. Hmm. . . *goes off muttering to self*
To: reanne080-Thanks, I love the reactions too. Sometimes I find myself reading fics with completely awful grammar (and spelling, etc.) just to see what will happen when so-and-so discovers this about that person. :)
To: The Dark Vella-Thanks, and I will continue writing this until it is finished. You can find a few fics I like in my favorites. If you want more you're gonna have to be more specific. I've got a pretty wide range of types of fics I like. *g*
To: The angelic vampire-Thanks, I hope this one lives up to your expectations!
To: tobytdk-Yeah, um, sorry about the delay. *blushes* Explanation's up at the top. Hope you're still reading. :)
To: Serpent of Light-lol. Glad you liked it.
To: Myst4Drgn, KHT, maggie, MarsMoonStar, Stayblue, crazyfanfictionfanatic, and npetrenko-I'm really glad you guys liked it. Hope you like this chapter, too. :)