Snape placed a nauseatingly large number of sugar lumps into the cup of tea before handing it to Harry. "I am surprised that, as you were seated with Mr. Finnegan, the classroom was not treated to pyrotechnics."

"Nah, I'm skilled enough in potions not to cause an accidental explosion." He grinned after taking a swallow. "It's much more fun to make things blow up on purpose, especially if they are nonlethal."

He had turned to his lab station partner and warned, "Seamus, you might want to take a couple paces back unless you have a set of clean robes in your trunk."

Puzzled, the Irish boy had done so, raising his eyebrows (or what was left of them after their previous class). Recognizing a slight smell of spirits when the other emptied the contents of a bottle into his cauldron, he burst out in excitement, "Harry, did you figure out where I went wrong with me rum spell?"

The raven-haired boy shook his head and opened a tube of mints. "Now, let the fun begin," he whispered with a mischievous smirk.

"Do you mind explaining what exactly you did to cause that abundance of foam? I believe it will take several days to get the smell of butterbeer from that corner of the room. And how did you even come across it? The house elves scan all the trunks when they retrieve them from the Express."

"Well," Harry grinned, "I brought it in last Saturday, not on the train. The other three and I have weekend lessons in the village: some advanced classes and then practical application on estate management. As for what caused the reaction...here," he tossed over a plastic bag of flattened spheres. "Mentos®, muggle candy. I got rid of the wrapper because I can never twist it tight enough after opening to keep the rest from spilling. Go ahead, taste one."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "This will not cause me to resemble a hydrophobic canine, will it?" After the negative head shake, he tossed one in his mouth and bit down. "Salazar!" he blinked, "that's pretty potent." He let out a minty huff of breath. "Almost as good as Pepper-Up Potion for awakening oneself. I assume adding this to the liquid ignited the cascade?"

"Yeah. We've checked these out under high magnification, and, even though the candy appears smooth, it is actually rather pitted. When you drop it in, it breaks the surface tension and causes bubbles of carbon dioxide to form." He frowned. "We get better results from soft drinks, actually. I wonder what sort of variable the small amount of alcohol makes?"

"When you say 'we', do you include Miss Granger?"

Harry scratched the back of his neck. "Well, after the first couple of times, she decided to work on the theory and leave the practical stuff to us. But once Draco drenched her, it was war! She's the one who discovered that if you leave the soda in the bottle and don't pour it into a glass, you can aim much better."

The professor could not remember when he had last laughed so heartily. "So," he began once he recovered, "I have heard from the other professors that you are all doing well. Even Madam Hooch compliments your flying skills, which makes me suspect early training." At Harry's nod, he asked, "Are any of you interested in playing Quidditch?"

He shrugged. "We'll decide next summer. I enjoy pick-up games enough that it won't matter if I don't make the team, especially since I have to take into account insane captains."

"You've taken the measure of Wood already?"

"The Weasley twins shared that news with all, and I'm staying far away from him for the time being." He rolled his eyes. "Speaking of the gingers, with all of us being only children, it boggles our minds how different brothers can be."

Snape agreed. "I am still unaware of what Mr. Ron Weasley did to turn a boil cure potion to sludge. The Doppelganger Duo, however, are a menace of another kind."

Harry snickered. "Great nickname. Yeah, in Gryffindor they are impossible to ignore." Shrugging, he added, "They're all right, if a little immature in their pranking. Now ickle Ronniekin's a different story; he's been a bit of a git in the dorms, trying to be all buddy-buddy with me starting the first night. The other boys seem to have taken his measure, and even with the new responsibilities of the earldom, it's nothing I can't handle. But, seriously, what's with the ridiculous nickname? Can you get any triter than 'The-Boy-Who-Lived'?"

"I myself was raised in the muggle world and find that most wizarding folk paint with broad strokes and ignore small yet important details. I, however, have not succumbed to that infirmity. Speaking of which, young Mr. Malfoy suggested that you know more than you have so far conveyed about the disappearance of the Dark Lord."

"It is more accurately described as his 'demise', and you deserve to know the full story and not the official one which we will share with the students."

"So he is truly gone?"

"Yes, although with his horcruxes, I believe you called them, he didn't die right away." He gave a sly grin. "You might say he was only 'mostly dead'."

"Which means there was no opportunity to go through his pockets for loose change," the Potions master commented with a straight face.

Harry let out a quick laugh. "So nice to meet an adult wizard who gets the joke." He sobered. "Getting back to the story… After his almost-death, I was placed in a poor home situation and left there for several years. Due to a fortuitous case of accidental magic–not mine–I was moved to a location where my health was examined with a fine-toothed comb. The scar you mentioned from the books was real and is where that fragment of Voldemort was attached to me."

"Merlin!"

"Thanks to a combination of wizarding and muggle medicine, it was dissolved? disintegrated? Well, vibrated to pieces by sonic waves. That diary from Draco's father had belonged to His Darkness, and its foul stench was destroyed at the same time. Based on the researchers' calculations, any others, including a noncorporeal portion, would have met the same end."

"And also the dark marks of his followers. Mr. Potter, please convey my sincerest thanks to those responsible for your treatment. I lived in bitterness and regret for many years once I realized what that hateful tattoo meant. When his destruction felled me, I felt a great release in my soul and realized that I had been spreading my vile ill humour to unsuspecting students. I have since amended my, shall we say, pedagogical technique, and it is amazing how well the dunderheads can absorb information now."

"Glad to be of help. But, sir, you probably wouldn't have even fallen for his lies if you hadn't been backed into a corner by those bullying Marauders." He took a deep breath. "If I can believe my mother's diary, James Potter finally grew out of that behaviour. However, I'm certain that he never tried to make amends. Repulsive as I find his actions, I would like to offer an apology on his behalf."

Snape was touched. "Mr. Potter–Harry–all the fault did not lie with him; I gave as good as I got."

"They never should have started in on you just because you were in a different house and were Mum's friend. Oh, yeah!" he opened the extendable bag which had been gifted him by Diana and the boys, "that reminds me." He handed over a stack of soft bound books tied together with gold and red ribbons. "You can borrow them or make a copy, whatever you like."

The potions master appeared to have lost the ability to speak, and his dark eyes glistened as he opened one at random. "This," he managed to choke out, "is a gift far greater than I deserve. Ah," he turned a page, "I remember when Lily and I developed this charm. Seventeen tries it took us until it was perfected."

"Sir," Harry's voice showed hesitation, "her writings are okay, but you actually knew my mother. Do you think you could tell me about her when she was younger? "

Snape cleared his throat. "Indeed I can, but not, I think, this evening." He laid the diary aside with a wistful expression before facing the boy. "The curfew is upon us. Do you prefer me to escort you back or will a written pass suffice?"

He choked back a laugh when Harry replied, "Whichever will rile up the old goat the most if he finds out!"

After Harry left, Snape shook his head. Sonic waves. Who knew that Harry Potter, by basically shouting at him, could destroy the Dark Lord?