I'm back! Thank you everyone for all the support regards my exams, it truly meant a lot. Chapters will be updated as they were, once a week on the weekend. This chapter is a bridge between the summer and the new term starting. Enjoy!
After Harry's semi-successful birthday gathering, the rest of the summer progressed with little disturbance. Dumbledore had been mostly absent from the school, but Harry wasn't sure why. The teachers bade him good morning every day, and his friends had finally started responding to his letters (though his replies were often brief, he hadn't completely forgiven them). Sirius was yet to speak to him, however. Harry had sent one letter, a week after his birthday, asking if Sirius was ready to apologise for his behaviour and accept that his godson was happy. He had not yet received a reply.
Harry did not particularly mind. While he missed Sirius' advice and jokey letters, he was perfectly happy at school, with Severus. Hogwarts during the summer months was beautiful, and he had begun taking long strolls around the grounds, practising the natural magic Severus had been slowly teaching him the past few weeks of summer vacation.
Severus had been surprisingly willing to teach him new ways and arts of magic during the summer. The school curriculum did not extend into natural magic so much, only touched on the basis of it in charms and transfiguration, but Severus' knowledge on obscure forms was vast. Apparently he had tried to persuade Dumbledore to add a class on natural magic, but he had been refused. When Harry had found a book on the subject during their latest Diagon Alley visit, his intrigue led him to question his guardian.
"Natural magic is incredibly important in potion making." Severus had told him, while dropping three mint leaves into a bubbling purple potion, "Every master potioneer uses it to check the quality of his ingredients, but personally I prefer the touch it gives to the potion itself. Ingredients infused with natural magic can make a particularly potent potion. That is how I invented veritaserum, and also how many other potions such as Wolfsbane are created."
Severus had showed him the spells to check natural ingredients. Only natural spells could be used on some delicate components, he had told Harry, so as not to harm them and jeopardise the potion they were being used in. This was not necessary to be taught in school, when all the provided ingredients were checked already, and the ones students brought from Diagon Alley checked likewise.
When Harry showed a strong interest and ability, Severus had begun teaching him the basis of air magic, the easiest of the four components to natural magic. Air was easy to bend, and Harry's talent for it had surpassed Severus' idea of what the boy was capable of. He had begun to regret it, though, when Harry began speaking of ways air magic could be used to help the Gryffindor quidditch team.
"No." Severus had told him sternly, "While you are correct in that it could be helpful, it is classed as cheating. All forms of wand, wandless, or non-verbal magic are banned during a quidditch game. Have you not read the rule book? That includes natural magic." He had made Harry promise not to ever use the spells he had taught him to cheat in a quidditch game.
Despite that, when Harry's ability was demonstrated, Severus began to teach him the basics of earth and water magic, which were on par with each other regards difficultly. After learning the basics, and still not being bored, Harry had begged him to share knowledge on how to bend earth and water. Not in great amounts, but just how to move troublesome roots without damaging the tree that held. How to make plants grow just an inch more without straining the stem. How to drain puddles into the ground when they are sitting on the surface. How to form water droplets from the lake, and make them dance.
The things that Severus taught him got increasingly difficult, and Harry's walks became longer as he spent hours daily practising the magic. Severus was impressed by his talent, but even more so by his eagerness to learn this obscure form. Not many people were interested in it, not needing it in their day to day lives. Harry had not tried to skip over the basics, but listened intently to every tiny drop of information Severus had given him, and several times had quietly summoned a notepad while his guardian lectured him, in order to take notes. The pages piled on his desk, and he retouched on them every time he found difficultly in the magic.
As the summer went on, Harry's abilities grew slowly stronger. All natural magic was wandless, but the spells were tricky. Severus could do it fluently, non-verbally as well, but he told Harry he had been practising for fifteen years.
"How long did it take before you do could so easily, from when you started?"
"Just over a year."
"And how long until you could do it all non-verbally?"
"Just over three years."
"That's not too long."
"No, and if you continue practising this much, it will take you an even shorter amount of time. I only spent an hour or so a day on it, to begin with. You are spending between four and five, and your talent for it is remarkable despite that."
"I can't practise as much as I am once school starts again. I won't have the time." Harry stated. The reputation of fifth year work was extraordinarily tough, apparently fourth year work could not compare (though Harry protested this slightly, due to his involvement in the Triwizard Tournament making his fourth year work unimaginably more stressful). His fifth year would be full of assignments and revision for the exams at the end of the year.
Severus made a short noise of agreement, turning the page of the defence journal he had been reading, "I am impressed by your abilities, Harry, and your eagerness to improve them. With the improvement you have also made in your potion making, you could get an outstanding grade in your potion OWL, at the end of the year."
Harry had beamed at him, never having received such acclaim in his life. Of course, Hermione had been asking all sorts of questions in their letters. Unlike Ron, who had brushed off the magic as unimportant, Hermione was as intrigued as Harry was.
How many hours are you spending on it? Does Professor Snape believe you have an ingrained ability, or does it take that many hours to become good? What have you been focusing on this week, Earth or Water? Do you have to keep practising the Air magic in order for it to work? Can you teach me some when school starts?
Harry had readily answered her questions, pleased that he could rely on Hermione's curiosity to spur him on. He had never been one for studying; preferring his day-before-it's-due-in approach just like Ron, but living with Severus had encouraged him on to think of magic in a new way. Severus had said every wizard or witch will find they have a different form of magic or a different subject that will capture their attention, "Like Mr Longbottom with his love of Herbology. Perhaps natural magic is yours."
"But I love defence, too." Harry had objected.
"You are good at defence, as your parents both were." Severus told him, with a distinct tone of correction in his voice, "You do not, however, seem intrigued with the basics, the way it works, as you are with natural magic. Correct?"
"Correct." Harry had conceded. Severus was right. He had always loved defence, his ability for the spell work shone through in that class, but he loved the praise he got for it more than the subject.
So Harry kept on practising, with his guardian's help, and summer progressed as usual. His artwork had kept him busy when he wasn't outside, and he spent the long, warm evenings after dinner in his studio. He still had trouble with many concepts, but he enjoyed it immensely, and it still worked to relax him. The one time he and Severus had fought so far this summer, he had refused to come out for dinner, working all night on a large painting portraying the second task of the Triwizard tournament, all murky colours and mermaid tails.
The fight hadn't been serious. Harry had invited Hermione to Hogwarts without permission, though he had been planning to get it afterwards, and Severus had sternly reminded him of the rules that no student was allowed into their personal quarters.
"There were exceptions to those rules!" Harry had argued.
"Regards studying, not frolicking about with your friends." Severus had reminded him.
"We weren't planning on frolicking." Harry had bit out, "I wanted to show her my artwork, my new rooms, maybe show her some of the magic you've been teaching me. And right now, she isn't a student. School isn't in session."
"I am still her Professor and these are still my quarters, child!" Severus had been close to shouting when he told Harry this. As the summer had progressed, he had called Harry 'child' and 'boy' less and less, but this one time was the exception.
"She is my friend and these are my quarters too!" Harry had yelled, before storming into his room, the door slamming behind him. He left Severus wracking his brains, not used to being around teenagers on such a personal level. He had dealt with the home-sick children before, and those protesting their detentions, but never anything like this. After their third or so year, students tended to go to their prefects with problems, more so than their head of house. Prefects were closer to their age, and could relate to their problems, probably even knew them a lot better than Severus, Minerva, Pomona or Filius could with so many students to look out for.
Harry did not leave his room that evening, and Severus had not seen him until the next morning. The young boy had looked exhausted as he walked to the dining room table for breakfast, awkwardly apologised to Severus, and sat down with a look of defeat. Severus later learned his exhaustion was due to an all-night-long session of painting. Though he had scolded Harry for missing sleep, the painting of the Black Lake (mermaids clustered around the edges of the frame, and a faint glow surrounding four figures in the distance) now hung in Severus' study.
The staff dinners were kept alive with discussion about the new defence against the darks arts teacher. The minister had battled his way into appointing Dolores Umbridge, much to the chagrin of everyone at Hogwarts. The ghastly woman was yet to arrive at the school, apparently having decided to wait days before the summer ended before she would grace them with her presence.
"Tell the Weasley twins to give her all they've got." Professor McGonagall had whispered to Harry one evening, causing him to almost spit out his pumpkin juice, and his face to split into a grin from ear to ear.
"I am completely unconvinced by her qualifications." Madam Pomfrey had said one evening, her nose turned up slightly, cutting into a leg of lamb, "No teaching experience, no experience around children. I worked in an orphanage before here." The teachers had become a lot freer speaking around Harry since his arrival at the school, they no longer felt the need to be silent around him, especially after he had let slip some tales of what the students got up to.
"I think she has the authority to stand her ground against the children, being from the ministry. However, regards her qualifications, I agree." Pomona Sprout said, "I would make sure the hospital wing is stocked up, Poppy. Who knows what kind of accidents will happen with that woman teaching spell work!"
"There is talk of redoing the whole defence curriculum, not as much practical work, more theory. I hope they don't expect that in all subjects." Professor Flitwick added, looking very unhappy, "I hope they don't expect us all to redo our own lessons around hers. I have already sorted out my lessons plans and revision sessions for the year."
Harry hated the sound of less practical work in defence. He hated the sound of Dolores Umbridge. He had kept regular contact with Remus, after the birthday party, since the man had been very concerned about his new living arrangements and needed some reassurance. The werewolf had told him more about the legislation Umbridge had brought in against his kind, and it seemed incredibly demeaning. It decreased werewolf rights astronomically, even those who took Wolfsbane and were in complete control of themselves.
And now she was going to be teaching at Hogwarts, where she could influence young children. Severus was even less happy about it than most of the other teachers. He knew that his Slytherin's were at risk of being taken in by her, some may even be looking for a new leader now that his deference from the Death Eaters would be well known. He could not let that be her. He had been talking to Dumbledore quite a lot about the situation, ways to promote house unity so that Umbridge did not drive Slytherin's and the rest of school further apart.
"It is critical." He had argued, with Dumbledore nodding to his words, "Umbridge has hateful opinions –"
"Careful, Severus, she is still your new colleague and my employee."
"A colleague who has such hateful opinions is not one worthy of my silence on the matter. She should not be teaching at Hogwarts, or any other school. She poses a risk of influencing the students in an uncannily destructive way."
Dumbledore's face was grave, as he popped a sherbet lemon into his mouth, "I agree Severus, you know I agree, but there is little we can do. Dolores Umbridge is expected to arrive at Hogwarts any day now, and will begin teaching here on September 3rd, in just over a week, with all other teachers. There is no way to prevent that."
"I have a few poisons in my cupboards that may do the trick." Severus replied, vehemently, but upon Dumbledore's serious look he retracted the statement, "Fine. A simple suggestion. We need more ways to promote unity."
"House unity has been a target for teachers for many, many years. No idea or invention has worked in the past. With the upcoming war driving Slytherin's further away from the rest of the school, I do not see any new ways that would work now."
Severus ground his teeth, "Please do not be so loose with your tongue when talking about my Slytherin's. They are not all bad people. Some, yes, but many I have high hopes for – hopes that lie outside of the Death Eaters and the ranks of the Dark Lord."
"Understood." Dumbledore held up his hands, then placed then carefully back down on his desk.
"Furthermore," Severus began, "We need to use the war as a way to bring people together, not drive them apart. The war should unify people, in a shared cause. Many of the Slytherin students share that belief too. They are not all the sons and daughters of Death Eaters."
"And how would you suggest we do that?"
"I don't know!" Severus said, frustrated with the man's questioning attitude, "Perhaps we should retry the system where all students are paired with another from a different house. We can link them by their best and worst subjects, for second through seventh year, and the first years can be assigned relatable to their knowledge of the magical word. Muggleborns with half-bloods or purebloods, so they can be adequately introduced to Hogwarts and to magic. We would have to identify those with stronger pureblood ideals where we can and keep them away from more vulnerable students."
Dumbledore stroked his beard, in a cliché' thinking fashion, "This system has failed to do any good before, but perhaps it would prove useful now, in times of war. Very well, Severus, you have your way. We have a teachers meeting later today, we will discuss it and if it is approved, we will begin pairing students."
Some teachers were wary of the idea, but with war so close on the horizon they were willing to try anything, and the idea was approved. They spent several hours identifying the worst students in their subjects, and suggesting others in a different house that would be appropriate to pair them with.
"Dare I bring up Harry?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"What would you say are his worse subjects?" Professor Dumbledore replied.
"I would say potions, but his work has improved greatly over the summer with practice." Professor Snape told them, "He has improved greatly in all of his subjects, with a push. Herbology is not his best, and perhaps history of magic."
"Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom are the best in those subjects in his year, but they are both Gryffindor's along with him. Perhaps we should focus on pairing him with someone not so well equipped in defence who he could help?"
Everyone was silent for a second, before Severus said, "I have a suggestion."
"Who do you propose, Severus?"
"I believe it would be apt for the so-called 'Gryffindor Golden Boy' to be paired with a Slytherin. It would set an example for the school. There is a fifth year girl in my house by the name of Jane Harper. She seems to be a kind girl, a half-blood with no ideals of joining you-know-who and resilient against those in Slytherin who are more inclined." The teachers seemed pleased by the idea.
"What of her work?" Professor Dumbledore asked.
"Her defence grades haven't been very good since the work load increased in third year, and her charms could use work. She is a part of a large friend group; perhaps we could pair some of Harry's friends with Jane's."
"Excellent idea." Professor Dumbledore approved, and then they went on to pair most of the second, third, fourth and fifth years. At the end of the day, they still had the rest of those years to pair, plus the whole of first, sixth and seventh years.
Severus went back to his chambers tired, and Harry greeted him, "Hello. You took a long time. How was the teacher meeting? Did you talk about Umbridge?"
"Very little." Severus told him, "We set up a new system to try and help encourage house unity. It is not optional and it will apply to all students across Hogwarts."
Harry's eye's crossed slightly, his brow furrowed, "What is it?"
"Every student will be paired with another from a different house." Severus reported, "The headmaster referred to it as a 'buddy' system. You will be expected to study together and help each other with your differences in talents and abilities regard your classes."
Harry's lips pursed, he clearly did not think well of the idea, "Has it been decided who I am paired with? Are they a Slytherin?"
"Do not make the mistake of thinking all Slytherin's are bad, Harry, remember I am their head of house and I care for many of them deeply." Severus said sternly.
"Well since I've just had the best experience with Slytherin's –" Harry started to say sarcastically.
"Harry." Severus snapped, and his ward looked up at him, and sighed.
"Sorry," He said, "Who am I paired with? If you know."
"A girl named Jane Harper; we hope that you will help her with her defence."
"What house is she in?"
"Slytherin."
"You're making an example of me." Harry stated.
"Yes." Severus agreed.
"I don't like people doing that. Dumbledore has been doing it for years."
"I am sorry, but it is an excellent way to promote house unity."
"I don't like being used." Harry said, just as sternly as Severus had told him off moments before.
Severus sighed, "I am sorry Harry, it has been a long day, and I do not have the energy to argue with you."
"Fine." Harry angrily placed his book down on the side of the sofa and left the room.
Severus groaned, running a hand down his face and leaning against the counter. He poured himself a drink, downed it in one and made towards Harry's bedroom door. He knocked on the door, lightly at first, and then harder, annoyed at the lack of response. He called his ward's name, to no response again. He opened the door a crack, and then the whole way when he noticed Harry wasn't in his room.
"Are you sulking?" He said loudly, so Harry would hear from his art studio. He watched as Harry aggressively dipped his brush into some golden paint, and then steadied himself before more delicately swirling it onto a small place on a large canvas, "What are you painting?"
"The first task of the Triwizard Tournament." Harry replied monotonously, "I really enjoyed painting the second one, so I am going to do this and then the third task afterwards." Severus stayed silent for a moment as Harry continued to paint, "Did you want something Severus?"
"I wanted to apologise." Severus was still new to apologising; he had never gotten close enough to anyone to warrant such a circumstance, so he still found the situation quite awkward.
Harry nodded, "I'm listening."
"Harry there is a war coming." Severus decided to try and appeal to the hero attitude he knew Harry had in him, no matter how much the Gryffindor denied it, "We must use every available method we can to try and win. That includes house unity at Hogwarts. It is essential, you should know that."
Harry sighed, putting his paintbrush down and turning to face his guardian, "I don't like being used." He stated, "However, if it is for the war effort, no matter how much I don't like it…" He smiled, ever so slightly, at his guardian.
Severus attempted a smile back; it was another thing he was working on, "Am I forgiven?"
"You are." Harry grinned, turning back to his painting, "Before you leave, have you thought anymore about my plans for the first of September?"
Severus made a noise of disapproval, "While I do not see the point in you travelling to King's Cross Station, just to make the tiresome journey all the way back to Hogwarts, I will not stop you. On the first of September you may use the floo network to join your friends on the train. Your luggage, of course, will not need transportation."
Harry's smile grew slightly disappointed and confused, "How can you not understand why? We use the time on the Hogwarts Express to catch up with each other after the summer. Did you not do the same thing? When you were a student?"
Severus remembered the times he rode to Hogwarts on the train. The first five September 1st's were wonderful, spent with Lily and many a chocolate frog. They had usually spent the summer together anyway, so the train was not as much catching up as revelling in the ability to practise magic again. The last two summers, before sixth and seventh years, were spent with fellow Slytherin's, dark thinkers. But the first five…
"I suppose so."