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Harry sat in the furthest corner of the classroom, only attending DADA because his dad had made such a fuss about him missing a few classes and forced him to promise that he wouldn't cut class anymore. He hadn't told his dad why he had cut class but wondered if maybe he should have?

DADA was a class that Harry should have been excelling in but the little man who taught the class never gave him the chance to perform any spells or allowed him to duel with the other students. When the students were broken up into pairs, Harry was always the odd man out and the teacher used him to keep track of the other student's progress. When he asked Professor Alexander why he couldn't practice, he was told that there was no one strong enough to counteract his spells. Even though that was true, he'd never throw any spells at students that were harmful or overly strong. He certainly didn't want to scare the students more than they already were of him.

The students at Hogwarts had been mostly good about leaving him alone but he was always being watched… everywhere he went. The only reprieve he got was when his father allowed him to eat in the dungeon. Lately though, Severus had been forcing him to spend more time in the Great Hall and even made him sleep upstairs most nights. He didn't understand why and Severus never really gave him an answer.

Harry sat at his desk as he watched Neville and Hermione throw hexes and blocks at each other. He could see that Hermione wasn't holding her wand right and knew she was about to get hit with the jelly legs jinx before it even hit her. He shook his head when she began to fall to the ground and sent a cushioning spell her way. She looked up at him and mouthed 'Thanks'.

He nodded, then sighed with boredom wishing for something more. He'd always enjoyed DADA but now it was just boring. He asked Professor Alexander if he could go to the restroom just so he could stretch his legs. The man seemed more than happy to see him go.

He wandered the hallways for a bit, not even realizing he was heading down to the dungeons until he found himself in front of the potions classroom door. On a whim he opened the door to see if his dad was available to talk. He missed their long talks since he'd been forced to hang out in Gryffindor Tower so much lately.

He stood at the threshold suddenly thinking this was a bad idea when he saw that his dad was in the middle of class. He stepped back to leave but Severus saw him and called him back into the room. All eyes were on him now and he realized just how stupid he was for coming in here.

"Harry come here," Severus said, eyes narrowed. The Professor then asked the class to begin brewing and to follow the assignment on the chalkboard.

Harry sighed deeply, as he walked to the front of the class. He gave Ginny a nod as he passed her desk.

"Is everything alright?' Severus asked. "Do you need my assistance?"

Harry shook his head, "No, sir. Sorry I thought you had free period."

Severus narrowed his eyes further, "If I'm not mistaken, you have DADA right now."

Harry shrugged. "It's a waste of time."

Severus eyebrows raised. "Really? I happen to know for a fact that Professor Alexander is quite astute at the subject, besides didn't we already have a discussion on you not missing anymore classes?"

Harry looked down at the floor, unsure if he wanted to tell his dad about his experience in that class. It seemed petty and rather immature to complain.

"Explain yourself," Severus commanded in a stern tone.

"Dad, it's no big deal," Harry whispered out, eyes scanning the room. He felt a flush creep up his neck when he saw Ginny staring at them along with most of the other kids in the classroom. He rubbed his neck and looked down with a grimace.

Severus stepped around the desk and stood before Harry. He reached out and pulled Harry's chin up until they looked each other in the eyes.

"Tell me."Severus instructed in his firm teacher voice.

Harry stepped back, pulling his chin out of his dad's grasp. "It's nothing, it's just that… I'm bored."

Severus blinked a few times, as if he were trying to comprehend what Harry had just said. "You're bored?" Severus repeated in an incredulous tone.

"I mean … it's just that, I'm not allowed to do anything in class. I think Professor Alexander is afraid I'm going to hurt someone or something," Harry shamefully admitted as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

Severus looked angry as his eyebrows dipped. "I see," He said in a dark tone.

"It's okay," Harry said, wishing he had done this in private. "I'll just go back up to class."

"Just a minute," Severus said, then spelled forth a Patronus. The deer shot out of his wand, then ran towards the closed door and disappeared right through it. "I'll go with you. Perhaps Professor Alexander doesn't realize that you are not a threat."

Harry flushed with embarrassment. He already knew that most everyone thought he was dangerous so this just cemented that idea. If a professor of the Dark Arts thought he was too dangerous to duel … well then how could he blame everyone else for thinking the same thing.

"I don't know," Harry said,"Let's just wait til later."

Just then, the floo turned green and Professor Dumbledore came through. Severus went to him for a private conversation.

Harry took that moment to say hi to Ginny. She pulled him closer and gave him a hug. "You want to help me?" She asked, turning to pick up a knife and handing it to him. "I hate cutting those tentacles. They're so gross."

"Sure," Harry said, taking the knife. He lined up the Murtlap tentacles and then methodically began to chop them, ignoring the yellow slim oozing out of them and just concentrating on cutting them precisely. He lost himself in the job until a dark robe appeared in front of him. He looked up into his dad's dark eyes. "Hey, dad," he said but then continued with his task.

Severus had a hand to his chin. "Do continue. Don't mind me," he said in a sarcastic tone.

Harry continued, giving Ginny a quick smile when he saw that she looked to be alarmed. He lined up his perfectly cut tentacles in a perfect line. "Pretty good, right?" He asked, looking up at his dad. "Maybe better than you?" He said in a challenging tone.

Severus huffed out. "Hardly," he said, pointing at the difference in sizes in a few of the chopped tentacles.

"Hah!" Harry said, "I'd like to see you do any better."

Severus stepped around the desk and put his hand out for the knife. The whole class was watching now, all wearing big smiles including Professor Dumbledore who was standing at the front of the class.

"Wait!" Harry said, "We need to bet on this. If my tentacles are better then I get to have Ginny, Ron and Hermione, come with us this weekend."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "That does not seem like it will be much of a break for me. The trouble the four of you get into…well, let's just say that I won't be resting much."

"Okayyy then, so you're afraid and don't think you can win," Harry said, both palms up as if the challenge was over.

"Hah!" Severus said, reaching for the tentacles. He lined them up perfectly. He began to cut with an exact precision that clearly showed who the winner was going to be. Harry was still standing next to him. He pushed his dad's arm right when he was slicing, causing his dad to cut in a crooked manner.

Severus stopped slicing and gave Harry a glare. "So now you're resorting to cheating?"

"We didn't establish any rules," Harry said in an airy tone.

Severus pushed him until he was on the other side of Ginny and then turned back and continued slicing.

Harry took his wand out and made the table begin to shake. The whole class was giggling now.

Severus continued slicing, ignoring the vibrating table. He quickly finished and then placed his knife down on the table with a click. He stood back as some of the kids crowded around the table to see how he did. He spelled his hands clean before straightening his robes.

Harry leaned in from the other side of Ginny. His dad had clearly won. He couldn't believe how precise those blasted tentacles looked.

Professor Dumbledore came forward and officially declared Severus as the winner.

"Beautifully done, Severus."

Harry leaned in and whispered in Ginny's ear, "That's one way to make sure you get those tentacles chopped."

Ginny hid her smile behind her hand when the professor looked their way.

X

Harry and Severus made their way up to the DADA classroom. Harry was feeling nervous about confronting the teacher. He knew how Severus could come across when it came to him and he really didn't want to make Professor Alexander anymore apprehensive than he already was regarding Harry's magic. When they entered the classroom the students were watching Draco and Neville go at it on the dueling podium.

Harry could see how both boys had grown in power since the last time he'd dueled with them and thought they could give him a run for his money.

When Draco spelled out three spells in quick succession, he was finally able to break through Neville's block and everyone watched as Neville flew back off the podium and crashed into the desks behind him. The Gryffindor picked himself up quickly as the Slytherins in the class cheered Draco.

It was at that point that Professor Alexander finally spotted Harry and Severus still standing by the door. The little man waited while they made their way to the front of the class.

"How may I help you, Severus?" Professor Alexander asked, while his eyes darted to Harry.

"When class is over may I have a private conversation with you?" Severus asked just as the bell rang indicating that class was over.

The students began to disperse and the two teachers went into the office attached to the classroom.

"Harry, what's going on?" Hermione asked. "Is your dad going to make the professor allow you to duel?"

"It's not like you're going to hurt us," Ron said.

Draco came to join Hermione, Ron and Neville.

"It's ridiculous that you can't duel one of us. I'm not afraid of you hurting me," Draco divulged, adding in, "I mean as long as you're not mad at me when we duel." Everyone laughed but Harry could see a bit of nervousness coming from them at the idea.

"I wouldn't hurt any of you, you all know that, right?" They all nodded and assured him that they weren't afraid of dueling with him.

The door to the office opened and Severus came out first with a bit of a scowl on his face. "Harry get up here," he barked out impatiently.

The little professor ran out after him. "It's not necessary to prove it, professor. I believe you," he called out, standing clear of the podium. "Really, you don't have to prove anything to me."

Harry walked up to meet his father on the podium. "What's going on?" he asked.

Severus had his wand out. "Take out your wand. We're going to duel."

Harry looked to his friends, now all with wide eyes as they stepped back away from the podium. He was a bit nervous to duel his dad while he was clearly angry. He pulled his wand out and stood in a dueling position.

"Your not mad, are you?" Harry asked, having to know first.

"Yes," Severus said with growl.

"At me?" Harry asked in a tone of voice that sounded high even to him.

"Prepare," was all that Severus said before he threw out his first silent hex.

Harry wasn't prepared, and the hex hit him right on the chest, knocking him back and right off the podium. He picked himself up, much like he'd seen Neville do not five minutes before. He stepped back up onto the podium, nervous now as he stared into his dad's disappointment glare.

"I wasn't ready," Harry said, before getting knocked back again by another silent spell. "Shit dad, hold on, give me a minute!" Harry shouted as he rubbed his elbow.

He simultaneously held out a block as he climbed back up onto the podium, knowing now that his dad was going to put him through his paces, just as he used to do back at the house in the woods.

This time when the hex came at Harry, there was a loud booming sound as it bounced off his shield. Harry sent his own spells towards his father, in rapid succession hoping to catch him off guard. The professor's shield held strong as Harry's spells ricocheted off and hit the walls with loud shudders reverberating throughout the room. His friends cheered him on but Harry could see all of them holding up their own shields on the off chance a spell hit them. Smart move, he thought.

Severus threw back his own rapid succession of spells but Harry was ready and nothing got through. He was in full dueling mode, wishing now that they were outside so he could really let spells fly. When they were back at the cabin, there wasn't any fear of hitting anyone else so they would send spells strong enough to split trees. It had been great fun!

They continued dueling for ten minutes before Severus finally called a halt. They both had sweat pouring from their brows and were huffing out to catch their breaths. Harry wore a giant smile as he was wrapped in a one arm hug from his dad.

"Slow start, but you ended well," Severus said, with a squeeze to his son's shoulder.

The little professor stood watching with a look of awe on his face.

"As you just witnessed, my son has been fully trained to keep his power in check," Severus stated to the professor. "There is no danger of his magic becoming too strong for him to control."

"I see, yes I see," professor Alexander uttered, clearly anxious. "I suppose we will see how he does with the other students but you must take full responsibility should he harm anyone."

Severus nodded, "I will take full responsibility of Harry's actions. In turn, I do hope that he will be treated just as all the other students are treated."

Harry picked up his rucksack and then went to join his friends. They all argued who would be first to duel Harry in the next class. Harry was now looking forward to the next DADA class.

Readers/friends - it has been years since I've posted but now that my county has restricted everything and we are in full lockdown - I find myself bored and ready for some fun writing. I want to work on my other story, "The Second Prophecy" but would love to see if anyone is reading that. Please drop me a review and let me know. Thanks! Stay Safe