Hey guys! I managed to write the 8th chapter in one day! I worked super hard on it so please R&R. Some interesting Quidditch match is coming up…and we have a traitor in the school. Stay tuned!
Chapter 8
Typical Lesson with Snape
Harry woke up the next morning and saw that Hagrid had brought him all his books; on top of this pile was a piece of parchment with his homework written on it.
He ate the breakfast Madame Pomfrey left for him and immediately started to work. What happened last night shook him, and he was eager to work diligently in order to keep his mind off of Sirius.
He first tackled transfiguration and found that they only reviewed O.W.L material, so he was able to finish that in no time. He then wrote his Herbology essay about the effects of gillyweed, which he could describe quite well having taken it himself in his fourth year.
His Defense Against the Dark Arts homework, though long, was very easy. Somehow all the homework questions he had to answer were about things he taught in the D.A he wondered if Dumbledore had anything to do with that or if it was really N.E.W.T material.
After about 4 hours of work he finally finished all of his homework—everything but Potions. He decided to start Potions after lunch, partly because he was hungry and partly because of procrastination.
His plate from breakfast suddenly disappeared and a new, clean plate soon reappeared. Seconds afterwards food appeared on his plate and he started eating. Hermione and Ron came in right then and they decided to have lunch together.
"Dobby?" Harry said out loud.
A 'pop' was heard and Dobby appeared in front of them.
"Yes, Harry Potter sir?"
"How have you been, Dobby?" he smiled at the elf.
"Dobby has been well, sir, how is Harry Potter? Feeling better, Dobby hopes?"
"Much better, thanks Dobby. I'm sorry to bother you, but I was wondering whether you could fix some lunch for Ron and Hermione?"
"Of course, Harry Potter sir, anything for Harry Potter!" he said excitedly. He snapped his fingers and two plates full of food appeared in front of them. He then clapped and three glasses of pumpkin juice appeared, along with three pieces of chocolate fudge cake.
Hermione, of course, insisted of paying Dobby for his services, and after much bargaining Dobby accepted a Knut instead of the Galleon she offered him.
"Let Dobby know if there's anything else Dobby can do!" Dobby smiled at them, and with a snap of his fingers, disappeared.
The three ate their lunches while discussing the goings on at school.
"Dumbledore is brilliant! He is the coolest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we ever had, aside from Lupin, of course," said Ron.
"Yes, I really like having him as a teacher…he's quite unique," Hermione agreed.
Then an awkward silence broke between the three. Ron and Hermione didn't really know how to ask Harry if anything was going on with Dumbledore and McGonagall. They noticed that McGonagall was acting strangely overprotective of Harry…and they always knew that Harry was Dumbledore's favorite student, but they seemed much closer than a student and a headmaster nowadays…something wasn't right, but they couldn't point their finger at it.
"Harry…is there something going on between you and Dumbledore and McGonagall? Is everything all right?" Hermione asked, trying to sound casual, yet very blunt.
"What do you mean?" Harry responded innocently.
Hermione and Ron exchanged nervous looks. "Well, they're just acting a bit…odd, when they're around you," she said cautiously.
"Hermione's right mate, they keep looking at you in a weird way, and they even talk about constantly after class…yesterday after Defense Against the Dark Arts class McGonagall came into Dumbledore's classroom when Hermione and I were packing up; we heard your name and she looked very worried…oddly worried…if I didn't know any better I would suspect she's like your mum or something like that, the way she was talking about you."
"Oh, that is odd…what exactly did she say?" Harry asked nervously.
"Some stuff about how she can't lose you and that she doesn't trust Snape to give you private lessons. Said that he will treat you as if you were your dad and he would just use your weakness against you," Ron explained, eager for information.
"And what did Dumbledore say about that?" Harry asked curiously.
"He said that one or both of them will always be present at your private lessons, but he trusts Snape and he is sure Snape wouldn't do anything stupid that would jeopardize his trust in him. Luckily they didn't realize we could hear them…but they were still a bit strange if you ask me," Hermione concluded.
Harry tried his best to look perplexed, sand said, "Well, I'll just have to find out tonight, won't I? I don't see any reason why they should be acting that way."
"All right…" Hermione succumbed, but she did not look convinced. "We better get going, we have Potions next…good luck with Snape tonight," Ron said gravely.
"We'll come and have meals with you every day…we'll just say we eat in the Dormitory because of all the homework we get. Hardly believable about Ronald, but he's with me so it should be fine," said Hermione, trying to lighten up the mood.
Ron and Hermione left, leaving Harry to do his Potions essay. Surprisingly, it wasn't difficult for Harry to do Potions homework knowing that other teachers will be present during his lesson. Snape can't decide to fail him on a whim now…
Harry worked diligently to complete his homework. When he was finally done, he decided to read his Potions book in order to get ahead of his lesson.
At precisely six o'clock Dumbledore and McGonagall came in the infirmary. McGonagall looked irritated at first, but when she looked at Harry her expression softened.
"Harry, how are you doing?" Dumbledore asked him cheerfully.
"Much better, thanks. I can stand up without any help now…how were lessons today?"
"They were fine, same old material from last year...the way students forget spells, honestly, you'd think they never learned any of them…summer break is too long, I tell you," McGonagall said playfully.
"It's even longer at the Dursleys," Harry said sadly.
Dumbledore and McGonagall exchanged grave, worried looks and McGonagall asked, "Harry…what exactly did the Dursleys do to you?"
Harry didn't answer.
"Harry, don't worry…you can tell us," Dumbledore said gently.
And just as Harry began to talk, the door burst open and Severus Snape came walking into the infirmary, already crabby and irascible. Dumbledore sighed. He would have to wait a little longer to hear Harry's story.
"Good evening Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall. Potter," he finally acknowledged Harry.
"Good evening, Professor Snape. I hope you are well," McGonagall said politely.
"I would be better if I didn't have to be here," Snape responded rudely. "Now, Potter, if you would please tell me what the Draught of the Living Death potion will do to the drinker."
"The potion will put the dreamer into an extremely powerful sleep," Harry answered, having read this just an hour prior to the lesson.
Snape's lip curled, expressing his extreme dislike to the fact that Harry actually knew what he was talking about. "Very well…what are the ingredients, Potter?"
"Wormwood, Asphodel, Sopophorus Bean and Valerian Roots," Harry responded, hoping to God that he was right.
"Yes, it's a shame you didn't know the answer to this in your first year."
Harry's temper was rising. He finally got an answer right in potions and Snape was still unsatisfied?
"Now, really! What do you want him to do, recite the whole chapter? He answered correctly!" protested McGonagall.
Dumbledore said nothing, but nodded politely to Snape to continue.
"Well Potter, this is what you will be making today. To see if it works, you will try it on yourself in the end. I have the antidote in case your potion is actually brewed correctly," Snape smirked.
Dumbledore and McGonagall looked at Harry worriedly, but said nothing. Harry got out everything he needed and began his work. Knowing that his grandparents are there with him made him feel so much better about his potion-making; he was much more relaxed and managed to brew a decent potion.
Dumbledore and McGonagall watched silently as Snape observed Harry's every move. After an hour, Harry put his potion into a bottle and handed it to Snape.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Drink up!" Snape ordered him quite nastily.
"Erm, is that really necessary? I mean, it looks like it's done correctly…doesn't it?"
"Potter, you will do as I say, even if other teachers are present!" Snape raged.
Dumbledore and McGonagall gave him a "there's-nothing-we-can-do" type of look, and he drank the potion unwillingly. At first he thought he did something wrong—nothing happened. A minute later, though, he started shaking uncontrollably; Dumbledore and McGonagall ran forward and McGonagall asked Snape, "What's going on? Why is this happening?"
"He must have added too much of the Sopophorus Bean! Excess amount of Sopophorus Bean can cause the drinker to experience mild headaches when he wakes up…and it also weakens the mind to external invasion…there's nothing we can do but wait until he wakes up, the antidote doesn't work if the potion isn't done correctly," Snape said, having seen Harry drop to the floor, not shaking anymore, eyes closed.
McGonagall looked at Snape suspiciously, but did not want to say anything because she knew Dumbledore trusts him. Dumbledore carried Harry to his bed and McGonagall kissed him on the forehead when Snape wasn't looking.
They all left the infirmary, Snape leading the way and looking quite satisfied. McGonagall decided that from that day on, she does not trust Severus Snape. Whatever Dumbledore said, she had a feeling that Snape was changing…he might be loyal to Dumbledore and the Order, but his hatred for the Potters remains as solid as ever. She wasn't sure whether he knew what would happen to Harry if he drank the potion, but she was sure that he knew Harry's potion wasn't perfect and he did not look surprised to see Harry react the way he did.
Dumbledore seemed deep in his own thoughts, so she did not bother him; they each went to bed silently, pondering everything and anything about Harry James Potter.
Harry did not wake up until the next evening. He felt as if he had been sleeping for the past year. Dumbledore and McGonagall, having checked in every so often to see if Harry had awaken yet, were called into the infirmary right after dinner.
"Harry! Are you all right? How are you feeling?" McGonagall asked worriedly.
"I'm fine…I slept really well last night," he grinned at them.
"Do you remember anything that happened yesterday?" Dumbledore asked him.
"Yeah…I remember drinking the potion that I made…I'm guessing it worked?"
"Yes, it did…apparently, only Professor Snape himself can appreciate the exact art of potion making," winked McGonagall.
"Harry…if you get better over the course of the next few weeks, I was thinking of making you Quidditch captain," McGonagall smiled at him.
"Really? I get to play Quidditch again? Soon? And I'm captain?"
"Yes…as long as you are recovering. If Madame Pomfrey suspects anything is wrong, we might have to delay your return to the Quidditch team," explained Dumbledore.
Harry grinned at them, and decided that he will drink whatever nasty potion Madame Pomfrey gives him as long as it will help him get better.
