AN: I'm quite happy with how this chapter turned out. It was going to be longer, but I cut off at least 1000 words and decided to use it for the next chapter instead. I thought that if I kept it in this chapter, there would have been too much happening at once. That being said, I think I have an idea of where this story will end up going. I don't have a finalized outline, but I do have a vague idea of how I want this story to end.
You'll be happy to know tension will be rising in the next couple of chapters ;)
I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Please R&R
"Mr. Potter, a word if you will," McGonagall stopped him before breakfast on Friday, something quite severe in her expression that made Harry falter. He made the familiar trek to her office, waiting until she took a seat behind her desk. "Please sit down. You're surprisingly not in trouble for once," Harry took a breath and sat down, nervously playing with the sleeves of his jumper.
"What did you want to discuss, Professor?" Harry asked, more than a little worried that Dumbledore had put her up to this. She was his right-hand woman, wasn't she?
"Two things. The first being about Ronald Weasley." Harry swallowed hard and looked into her eyes, wondering what she was going to bring up. "Now, I don't make it a habit to get involved with the drama that students find themselves into, I do when students of my house leave Hogwarts with no intention of returning." The young wizard sighed, shaking his head.
"Nothing like that happened, Professor. If you're worried that we got into a fight, then I can assure you nothing like that happened." Harry promised her, knowing he couldn't give away the complete truth.
"Then what did happen, Mr. Potter?" She asked softly, making Harry almost wince. He wanted to desperately trust her, but there was no way of knowing if she was on Dumbledore's side.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you." He admitted, almost shyly. "It's not my place." He added, observing the way McGonagall considered that, nodding. "The only thing I'm at liberty to say is that he's dealing with a lot of family issues right now, and school was only making things worse." The transfigurations professor sighed.
"Yes, I know quite a bit about what the Weasley family is sadly going through." She sighed and Harry felt a twinge of pity go through his chest. His professor looked years older, dark bags under her eyes and wrinkles that looked to be from stress alone. "In that case, I shall talk to the Weasley family about this. You'll have to forgive my bluntness, Mr. Potter. You and Ronald have been at odds all term and I was worried something drastic happened." Harry offered her a small smile.
"It's alright, Professor. You had reason to be concerned, after all. My relationship with Ron was at an all-time low this year." He hated that now, but there was nothing that could change it now. "What was the other thing you wished to discuss?"
"Your career path," She was pulling a sheet from her desk, laying it on the table. "I know we've already had this discussion before, but I wish to know what it is that you truly want. The Headmaster is insistent that you wish to be an Auror, but," She looked at him from the top of her glasses, a knowing smirk. "I believe that is him trying to control your life again," Harry practically snorted, a little surprised.
"Well, you're not wrong. I have no desire to be an Auror." Harry admitted with an embarrassed grin, looking away. "And I suppose this is where you want to know what it is that I truly want to do?" His professor gave him a look.
"This is the point of this meeting, Mr. Potter," She responded, growing confused when her student started to fidget again. Why in Merlin's name was this causing such an unease for him? Unless the younger had no idea. She sighed. "Harry, it's quite understandable to be unsure. It's rare to find the job for you right after Hogwarts,"
"It's not that." He sighed, worrying his bottom lip. "I do know what I want to do, but it's something I'm not going to be able to for a while." That caught his professor's attention as he clasped her hands together, inclining her head for him to continue. "Hogwarts would need to go through some changes before it could happen," He clarified, watching as a spark ignited in her eyes.
"This school has required changes for a very long time. What would you want to do?" Surprised that she wasn't arguing yet, he started to build a little more courage, the unease of Dumbledore finding out slowly ebbing away.
"I think it could benefit from a permanent dueling class. Dueling club isn't enough to sustain everyone, and I think some life lessons could be learned. Defense is a great class and all, but there's a difference between being able to cast a spell and being able to hold your own in a battle," He looked to see her reaction, surprised when he found the approving look. "There are people everywhere that can cause someone harm. A dueling class would at least provide more than simply knowing how to cast a spell,"
"Very good, Mr. Potter. Ten points to Gryffindor for knowing defense isn't enough." She smirked at the look of awe. "I can only do so much. Between my headmistress duties, being head of Gryffindor, and being a transfigurations professor, there isn't much time for me to do these things on my own. If it were up to me, I would have brought back dueling class years ago."
"My only issue is Dumbledore. I don't see him allowing that class to return." It wasn't directly stated, but it was clear to McGonagall that with Dumbledore as Headmaster, Harry wouldn't be willing to teach at the school.
"Don't worry, Mr. Potter. Things change, and with how things are going," She paused, giving the younger another knowing look. "Some people won't be around to stop it," The seventeen-year-old nearly choked at what she was implying. Instead of mentioning it, he spoke back up.
"There was one more class that I wouldn't mind teaching one day. It's a little more…dangerous though," Harry admitted with a grin that made McGonagall raise an eyebrow. "I'm interested in spell crafting. It could be an elective class for only sixth and seventh years," His professor was looking at him as if she had never met him before.
"Spell crafting? Have you created spells before, Mr. Potter?" She asked, eyes wide but fascinated.
"It's a hobby, but I have a few spells that I've created," He smiled a bit at her, watching as she looked deep into his eyes. "It comes naturally to me. I also wouldn't mind doing more research on it in the future. Maybe even create my own book and sell it, that way I can at least earn some money for all the spells I've created." He explained.
"As surprised as I am, you have always been an invested student. Your parents were very much the same way, full of bright ideas and potential. Although, your father and Sirius Black often used their gifts to prank people." Harry snorted at that, nodding along. He knew the Marauders were pranksters, but he also knew the darker parts of their story. Severus had lived through it in his time as a student, and while they were brilliant, they had all bullied many people. At least they had grown up towards the end.
Now, when he thought of pranksters, he thought of a pair of red-haired devils that owned a profitable joke shop. Those two weren't just brilliant, but they were true pranksters too.
"Are you sure you're not talking about Fred and George?" He asked the witch innocently. A small, but genuine smile formed on his professor's face.
"You have no idea how often I thank Merlin himself that I didn't have to teach those boys at the same time,"
With his last class of the day coming up, Harry smiled to himself as he walked with Hermione. Potions had become one of his favorite subjects and thanks to all the time he spent in Severus' company, he had picked up many of the man's tricks.
"What did Professor McGonagall want to talk to you about?" Hermione asked as they walked through the dungeons, both at least thirty minutes early for class. With how busy the pair had been, neither had been able to sit down and talk to each other like they wanted.=
"The main thing she wanted to talk about was Ron. I know her heart was in the right place, but I couldn't tell her everything. She assumed something happened between us that made him leave," Hermione frowned at that, nodding sadly. "I told her the reason he left was because of family issues,"
"I still can barely wrap my head around it," Hermione sighed softly, disappointment radiating off of her. "It's such a shame that a mother would do that to their child,"
"I know. I didn't want to be surprised, but I still was in the end. I hate that it went on for so long unnoticed," Harry felt horrible about what Ron was going through, but when he thought of the promise he made, it did give him some sort of vindictive energy. "I can't remember, but did I tell you the promise I made to Ron?"
"No, I don't think you did," Curious eyes met emerald as Harry smirked.
"We plan on getting revenge somehow. Ron was the one who suggested we make them pay for all of this," Hermione grinned at that, nodding in approval.
"I don't see why not. It's something that's been a long time coming," The witch responded as they entered the vacant potions classroom, claiming their designated table. "The only obstacle is deciding when to attack,"
"Originally I had planned it around Yule. I don't think Dumbledore or anyone else in the Order has attempted to enter Grimmauld place. I've claimed it and there are only a few people that the warding will allow inside the house,"
"When did you do that?" Hermione asked as she gave him a stern look. Harry grinned innocently and shrugged.
"A few days ago, actually. I snuck out early in the morning to make a few changes to the wards," He admitted. "The only people allowed in are you, Luna, Neville, the Weasley's, Severus, Remus and me, of course." Hermione giggled as Harry listed off the people allowed in. "I can always change that to let Viktor in," He gave the flushing witch a wink, earning a gentle slap to the arm.
"How long did that take? With all the people you added, it must have taken more than an hour to create, and you were on time for breakfast."
"It didn't take too long. What took the longest was finding the best spot to adjust the wards. They were strong, but I could tell they needed a lot of work. Because I'm officially a Lord of the Black family, the wards were quite easy to manipulate. It's why I can apparate on Hogwarts grounds.
"What?! You didn't tell me that!" Hermione was gaping at him, excitement in her eyes. "I thought the Headmaster was the only one with the ability to do that?" Harry smirked a bit, knowing he hadn't told anyone else about this.
"While you're partially right about that, you need to remember that I'm related to one of the founders. I have Gryffindor blood in me, so maybe the castle considers that? Not to mention the Slytherin in here," He pointed to his scar. "I assumed the wards might bend a little for me in that case,"
"Of course," Hermione practically face palmed herself in frustration. "I can't believe that I forgot about that fact. I remember reading about the founder's descendants being able to enter and leave the castle as they pleased. It all adds up,"
"I haven't even told Severus about it. I wouldn't mind surprising him with it one day. Maybe if I apparate to detention," Harry snickered as his friend huffed fondly.
"Or maybe you could apparate to his bed?" She spoke innocently, ignoring her sputtering friend who was doing a great imitation of a tomato. "That would certainly surprise him," He hid his face into his hands, groaning.
"Merlin. When did you become so…crude?" He chuckled despite himself, face still on fire.
"I've no idea what you mean," Hermione said while flipping through her potions book, stopping at the dreamless sleep page.
"Sure you don't," He teased her, doing as she had done. "I have a feeling we'll be brewing this today. Snape assigned us quite a few essays about it earlier this week." He had studied the potion and the brewing process the other night with Hermione, both making sure they had it memorized.
"I figured we would be," She admitted, glancing to where Justin usually sat. "I hope Justin paid attention. His last potion was bad enough, but this one can be more…volatile if prepared incorrectly." Harry grimaced at the reminder, also looking to where Justin usually sat.
"Something tells me him and a few other's won't be here for much longer," At the questioning look, the young wizard nodded towards the board. "He only accepts O's. With Yule break coming up next month, we'll have our first midterms. He might make an exception if he believes the student has potential, but I doubt he'll continue to teach people who earn anything bellow and Exceeds Expectations."
"I hadn't thought of that," Looking ahead, she sighed. "You're probably right though. He has been drilling the fact that this exam will be based around the NEWT one. If people can't pass it, then they'll be kicked out. Do you think he's going to tell them in advance, or right before the test?"
"I honestly don't know," There was a thoughtful look on his face as he pondered, tapping his book in thought. "As easy as it would be for him to tell them before the test, he does want us to succeed. I think he'll tell us soon," After getting to know Severus well, there were certain things Harry understood more now.
"As much as I hate to admit it, I want Justin out of this class," She halfheartedly glared as Harry laughed outright at the words. "What? I have reason to want him out. He's a danger-"
"I'm not laughing at you, Mione. I share that sentiment, as does Severus," Harry slipped again, flushing a little. "Justin is a nice guy, but with all his mistakes, he could send us all to the infirmary. It's a surprise that Se-Snape hasn't kicked him out yet," This time, Harry made sure to not slip up his name.
They continued to talk back and forth, quieting down when Severus came in, followed by a few others. There were still another ten minutes before class began, so they talked quietly amongst themselves.
"Oh, Merlin…" Hermione mumbled quietly, spotting Justin coming in with a rose. "Looks like Justin's going to give you a rose after class," She whispered, causing Harry to nervously glance in Justin's direction.
"Fuck," He cursed quietly as he flushed darkly, shielding his eyes as he sighed. Unknown to him, onyx eyes were watching him closely, eyeing the flush that stained his cheeks. "I pray to Merlin he does that once everyone else is gone," Harry huffed, not looking pleased.
"It'll be okay. Just today and tomorrow. You can tell him tomorrow," Hermione made sure no one could hear what they were saying. "Besides, this might end up being useful." Harry nearly pouted at that, looking at her in mock betrayal.
"I'm glad my suffering is entertaining for you," He teased, earning an eye-roll.
"Honestly, Harry. I'm surprised you haven't noticed." Lost at what his friend was trying to comment on, he furrowed his brows in clear confusion.
"Noticed what?" He asked, chewing on his bottom lip.
"Nothing," Hermione shook her head, turning her attention to the front of the class. Sighing, Harry dropped it and followed her example.
Not long after that, Severus was at the front of the class with a blank look on his face.
"Today you will be brewing the dreamless sleep potion, which I will be expecting to be brewed exceptionally." Staring the students down, he spoke in a stern tone. "You have been given multiple assignments and essays on this particular potion in the last week. Failure to brew it will result in a two-hour detention, which you will be grounded to your common rooms and required to study." Harry could sense Justin's unease from where he was. "Begin,"
"For those of you that are done, bottle your potions and start cleaning your workstations," Severus met Harry's eye, giving a small nod in approval as he went around to those who were still struggling. Unlike last time, most students had completed the potion. There were only two groups that struggled to complete the potion and Harry was thankful for that. Hermione was correct when she mentioned how volatile the potion was. Knowing only two groups were having a hard time had him less apprehensive overall.
Harry was placing their bottled potion at Snape's desk when Malfoy came up beside him, turning in his potion as well.
"How long until Severus kicks him out of the class?" Malfoy started up a conversation quietly, surprising Harry for a moment.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. My guess is Yule," Harry responded, watching Justin's potion as well. "Kinda surprised that Pansy isn't doing so well," He commented quietly, making the blonde snort.
"She's shite at potions. I have no idea how she managed to get into the class." His arms were crossed, clearly displeased. "It makes me feel bad for Daphne. She's quite brilliant at potions." Harry hummed, turning to where Ernie and Justin were, trying to complete their potion.
"Same with Ernie. He's stuck with Justin," Harry commented, keeping an eye on the Hufflepuff pair. "I've been keeping an eye on his potion so far. Their timer is almost up, so he should be adding the standard ingredient soon," Draco nodded at the assessment, who had also been keeping an eye on the Hufflepuffs.
"Snape's busy making sure Pansy doesn't blow us all up. The least we could do is make sure Finch-Fletchley doesn't." The blonde stated, making Harry's lips turn up in slight amusement. After their timer was up, Justin immediately went to grab the Valerian sprigs, making Harry and Draco share a look as they rushed to stop him.
"If you add that right now, your cauldron will explode," Harry spoke in a calm voice, pointing to the standard ingredient. Severus quickly turned away from Pansy, looking to where Draco and Harry were stopping an accident. "You need to add the standard ingredient first, then let it sit for a minute before adding the sprigs,"
"Oh, uh," Justin fumbled, hurriedly doing as Harry said. "Thanks," He flushed in slight embarrassment setting another timer. Draco rolled his eyes from where he was, keeping an eye on Justin and groaning when the other began to stir.
"Clockwise. Otherwise, you risk the potion turning into poison," Draco snapped, making Justin tense and correct his mistake. "Seven times," Draco added, pinching the bridge of his nose when Justin stopped at five. Once that was done, Ernie waved his wand to complete the potion. He glared at Justin as he bottled the potion, standing up.
"I'm sorry about that. We agreed to share the workload, and if I had known he was that inept, I would have done the whole thing myself," Ernie, who was generally patient as could be, had given up on his potion's partner.
"Ten points to Slytherin and Gryffindor for stopping an accident before it could occur," Severus drawled out, watching as the rest of the students finished cleaning their areas. "Dismissed. Mr. Potter stay after class," Surprised, Harry did as he was told. Hermione hugged him and said she would see him later.
Most of the students were now gone, all but a Ravenclaw and Justin, who was frowning as he started to pack up his bag. Harry went up to him, growing concerned as he gently touched his friend's arm. The Hufflepuff tensed for a moment, making Harry frown.
"Justin?" He asked quietly, relaxing a little when the Hufflepuff sighed and looked up at him, a smile quickly replacing the frown.
"Hey, Harry. Thank you so much for helping me with my potion. It would have been a disaster if you and Draco hadn't shown up to stop me from making that mistake," He smiled more, moving closer to his friend. "It seems like you always have a way of saving me," Harry flushed at what his friend was implying, swallowing when he felt eyes burning into his head.
"It's no problem. I just did what I needed to," He flushed more when Justin gave him a soft smile, handing him the rose he saw from earlier. "This is for you, by the way. I'm looking forward to tomorrow,"
"Uh, tha-thank you," The Gryffindor stuttered as he took the flower, face matching the rose.
"I'll see you later, Harry," Justin mumbled softly, letting his hand linger as he walked off, leaving a flushed Gryffindor and an irate Slytherin.
"At least it wasn't in front of the entire class this time," Harry mumbled, still flushing darkly as he placed the flower in his bag. "What was it you wanted to talk about, Severus?" Said man was reigning his control in, trying to calm the fire burning in his chest.
"Your potions," The man responded, watching as Harry frowned, looking nervous.
"Is there something wrong with them? Am I-" Raising a hand for him to stop, Severus shook his head.
"Your potions are fine. In fact, I have to admit that I'm impressed with your abilities," Harry found himself flushing at that, running a hand through his hair.
"What do you mean by that? My abilities are no different than Hermione's,"
"That's where you're wrong, Harry. While Mr. Granger is exceptionally bright, her knowledge is simply recited from textbooks that she relies too heavily on," Severus was looking at the other wizard, obviously in thought. "Because of your ability to be creative, I think you could also earn a mastery in potions, if you wish to," Neatly gapping at him, the green-eyed wizard cleared his throat.
"Are you being serious? Do you think I could actually do that?" Severus nodded, standing up.
"You and Draco are both highly skilled in potions, as you both demonstrated effortlessly today," Severus watched Harry, smirking slightly. "And I would be failing in my duties if I were to ignore your potential," Harry snorted at that. "While I wouldn't recommend earning the potions mastery until you're finished with your defense one, I wanted to inform you of your potential option." Harry nodded at that, smiling more.
"Thank you for informing me," Harry felt a small amount of pride in his chest that warmed him up. "It means a lot to me that you consider my potions to be adequate enough for a mastery,"
"They're more than adequate, Harry," There was amusement in those dark eyes as the man gathered his papers. "I'll meet you outside my quarters after dinner," Harry nodded at the dismissal, turning around and heading out the classroom. His bag was partly open, causing the red rose to partially peek out.
The Gryffindor was oblivious to the dark eyes glaring at the flower, the onyx eyes burning with an emotion so strong that it caused Harry to shiver on his way to dinner.
Smirking from where he was, Harry decided to go ahead and make good on his comment from earlier. He closed his eyes and apparated outside of the potion master's rooms, reopening them to find an elegant eyebrow raised in amusement.
"Another one of your…unique abilities," Severus commented, opening the door and leading Harry into the potions lab. "How long have you been able to do that?"
"Not sure. I hadn't tried until this year." Harry admitted as he went to his usual spot, placing his books on the table. While he and Hermione had finished their assignments and were a week ahead, Harry was focusing on Ancient runes and arithmancy.
"I don't believe you're in either of those classes," Severus commented, noticing the books Harry was reading.
"Nope, but I am taking the NEWTs. I've been self-studying these two subjects since my fifth year." Harry informed.
"How many NEWTs are you taking?" Harry paused at the question, clearly running the numbers in his head.
"Nine, I think. Defense, Potions, transfigurations, charms, herbology, care, runes, arithmancy, and history of magic," Harry listed off. "I'm also self-studying the history of magic. Merlin knows Binns is a horrible teacher. I have no idea why they haven't replaced him yet." Snorting, Severus could only nod in agreement.
"I remember feeling that way when I was in his class as well," Severus agreed. "Most students elect to self-study. I wasn't aware you were one of them," He looked to be mildly impressed by it as Harry grinned at him.
"I found the class to be helpful. It goes into detail about the Goblins, and since not enough people pay them respect, I learned to use the material as a way to understand their culture more. I dropped divination to focus more on the class,"
"A smart choice, in my opinion," Harry chuckled softly.
"Yeah. I got tired of her predicting my death every class. Some of them were ridiculous," Harry chuckled as he found the page he needed. "Hermione was the first one to call her bluff and leave the class. I followed her example not long after," Severus was about to say something else when he noticed the flower again from the corner of his eye. It was still peeking out of the bag. Harry reached inside his bag for a quill, sighing when his hand hit the flower.
"Not a fan of roses?" Severus smirked as the younger huffed, pulling the flower out of the bag and laying it on the table.
"Not when I did not indicate wanting to date," Fetching his quill and ink, Harry let his gaze linger on the rose, sighing. "He is a good person. Just not someone I can picture myself with," He found himself admitting to Severus, not meeting his gaze. "And not my type,"
"What is your type, then?" Severus smirked as Harry paused, chuckling to himself.
"Honestly, I have no idea. I never really gave it much thought growing up," He chewed on his bottom lip as he thought. "I at least need someone to match my sarcasm, and that's one thing Justin definitely can't do. He's also not Slytherin enough,"
"Slytherin enough?" Severus asked with a raised eyebrow, lips turned upwards in amusement.
"Yeah. Cunning, ambitious. Not afraid to break the rules and get away with it," Harry added with a small smirk. "And, as much as I hate saying this, I like someone who uses their mind and is creative. He doesn't fall into that category either,"
"An understatement," Harry snorted as Severus said that.
"He's not an idiot, but I would prefer an intellectual equal for the most part. Also, someone who wouldn't judge me for my abilities," At the silence, Harry sighed. "I know it was a long time ago, but he thought I was evil just because I could speak to snakes. If he knew half of what I could do or had done, he wouldn't want anything to do with me. It's part of the reason I never gave him a chance,"
"Was there another reason you didn't give him a chance?" Harry flushed at that and shrugged.
"I also had the feeling he only ever saw me as the boy who lived, and not as myself. Until this year, I only let certain people see the real Harry Potter, not the image I conjured for Dumbledore. From what Hermione told me, he's been watching me since my fifth or sixth year, so I have reason to believe he ended up falling for that Harry."
"I see," Severus allowed himself to watch the younger for a moment. "I am thankful that you don't have to hide as much now. I've enjoyed getting to know the real you, as you put it." Harry smiled at the kind words, his smile and bright green eyes taking Severus' breath away.
"Thank you. I always look forward to our time together," Harry responded in kind as Severus tore his gaze away, focusing back on grading papers before he lost himself in those emerald eyes.