Thank you to the beta of this chapter- Born-of-Elven-Blood
Chapter Fifteen - Ten Points To Gryffindor
"Professor Snape!"
Snape let out a low groan at the shrill voice echoing down the corridor and turned to face Dolores Umbridge, struggling not to cringe at the alarming shade of pink the woman wore.
"How may I help you?" he asked politely, eager to get this interaction over with. He had finished his classes for the morning and was on his way back to his chambers to check on Harry.
Umbridge scurried to a halt before him and flipped open her clipboard. "I have it here that Mr. Potter hasn't attended classes for the past few days."
"Perhaps he's sick," he replied. "Students are allowed to miss class when they are ill." He turned to escape but was brought up short by the woman's ear-piercing hum.
"Then one wonders why he isn't in the hospital wing."
Snape closed his eyes, gathering his patience before turning back around.
"One wonders why you are asking me rather than his Head of House. But were I to guess, I would suppose that Madam Pomfrey has better things to do than look after a student with a mere case of the sniffles. Mr. Potter is likely in Gryffindor tower resting. If Minerva is unavailable, I'm sure Mr. Weasley or Miss Granger can vouch for him."
"I would, but it appears that neither Mr. Weasley nor Miss Granger attended morning classes."
Snape scolded in annoyance. "A remarkable coincidence," he observed smoothly.
"Isn't it?" A nasty smirk stretched the woman's toad-like face. "As you are aware, student organizations have been disbanded. Any student caught in noncompliance will be summarily expelled."
"I do recall," Snape replied carefully, inclining his head in a conspiratory fashion. "And I can assure you that should I catch wind of any such organizations, you will be the very first to know." He paused, plastering a convincingly devious look on his features. "Oh, and do let me be the one to take care of Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger. I shall see that they get exactly what they deserve for skipping class." Disgusted by the cruel gleam in her eye, Snape backed firmly away. "Now if you don't mind I have another class to prepare for."
Not waiting for a reply, Snape turned and stalked away before his mask of indifference could crack, his black cloak trailing behind him.
...
Hermione let out a loud sigh as she closed her History of Magic textbook, startling Ron out of his haze.
"I'm going to check on Harry," she announced before standing up and heading towards the guest room.
"You've already checked on him five times," Ron said softly, not wanting to wake Harry.
"I know," Hermione replied as she walked down the hall and gently opened the door to find Harry still sleeping.
She was making her way back to the living room when the front door opened.
Snape glared at the two uninvited Gryffindors for a few moments, annoyed but unsurprised. "Funny, I was sure this was my sitting room, not the Gryffindor common room," he said through his teeth. "First allow me to assure you that you will be scrubbing the floors of my dungeon for a week. Now," he continued in a tone that usually made First years wet themselves, "how did you two get in here?"
"S...sir..." Hermione stuttered. "We came to see Harry this morning... a house elf answered the door. Harry was hurt, he broke the mirror in the bathroom and he was bleeding," she explained as fast as she could. "He wouldn't go to Madam Pomfery so I fixed it as best I could… we didn't want to leave him alone so we stayed," she finished, taking a long breath.
Snape considered the two for a moment before walking past them. "You may leave."
"But sir…"
"Leave."
Hermione and Ron quickly packed up their books. But before either of them could reach the door they heard Snape say under his breath as he disappeared down the hall:
"Ten points to Gryffindor...each...for sticking by a friend."
Astonished, Hermione turned to Ron, a small smile spreading across her face as they hurried out the door.
In the guest bedroom, Severus sat down on the edge of the bed and carefully took Harry's hand, pulling up the edge of the bandage to see the damage. Harry suddenly jerked his hand away.
"It's only me," Severus said calmly. "I just want to survey Miss Granger's work," he explained before taking Harry's hand back into his.
"Don't be mad at her," Harry muttered, still half asleep.
"Miss Granger?"
"Cinsy… I told not to bother you."
Severus gave a small nod in understanding. "I need you to be honest with me… did you hurt yourself on purpose?"
Harry looked up at him for a moment before he spoke. "...no… no, I just… I just couldn't stand looking at myself," he admitted. "I didn't even realize I'd done it… I'm sorry about the mirror."
"I don't care about the mirror, the mirror can easily be fixed."
Harry gave a small nod before speaking again. "'I want to see him."
"See who?" Snape asked, confused.
"... Lockhart."
"I don't think that would be a good..."
"Please," Harry cut him off. "Please, I have to see him..."
Severus was quiet for a moment while he wrapped the boy's hand. "...I will see if I can set up an appointment. Now go back to sleep. If you need anything, I will be in my potion lab," he added, deciding to take a page from the Gryffindors and cancel the rest of his classes for the day.
