It happened at dinner. The trio again decided to have a snack in the kitchen. A pleasant smell filled the rooms. From huge furnaces heat emanated from what.

"Hello, what do you want?" Caramel approached them. A young elf who was adored by all lovers of a secret meal in the kitchen.

"Ham and cheese sandwiches for me, please." Harry, Ron and Hermione sat down at a small table in the very corner so as not to disturb anyone.

"Kidney pie for me."

"Then, please, I want a chocolate biscuit," after the children expressed all their desires, Caramel stepped over to cooking. The magical cooking was just amazing, Hermione especially liked it. She even asked me to teach her how to do it.

"You're doing much better now, Miss Hermione," the elf chirped cheerfully. She loved company and was always ready to help.

"Thank you," the girl smiled, waving her wand carefully. Repeating all movement for Caramel. Now the chocolate biscuit looked much better, last time it just fell apart, and the day before last it was completely raw.

"Incredibly delicious as always," Harry smiled as he took another bite of the pie. Ron nodded in agreement; the food at Hogwarts has always been amazing. Hermione eyed her chocolate biscuit apprehensively. Hoping that this time the dessert finally turned out, the girl broke off a piece and put the fork in her mouth.

"Mmm... It finally worked out," she breathed a sigh of relief, "it's not perfect, but better than it was."

"We can try?"

"Of course," Granger nodded.

"It really got a lot better," Harry smiled.

"Yea. At least this time the pie didn't end up on my head," Ron agreed with his mouth full.

The trio enjoyed dinner in the company of an elf. Slowly the kitchen was empty. Almost everywhere the lights went out and only one single stove continued to work. The guys watched as the fire crackled and with each click they wanted to sleep more and more.

"Looks like we should head back," Ron yawned and looked at his sleepy friends.

"We have to be back before the end of the day."

"Then we should hurry. Hang up in twenty minutes."

The teenagers thanked Caramel for the delicious dinner and good company, and hurried to the Gryffindor Tower. There was no one else in the dimly lit corridors. Moonlight filtered through the windows and danced on the floor, driving away the terrible shadows.

"Ay!" Harry's low scream echoed through the empty hallway. The boy bumped into someone. Grabbing his nose, he jumped back a few centimeters and looked up.

"Good evening, Professor Snape," the teenager replied not very cheerfully. Ron and Hermione stood a little behind and carefully watched the man.

"Potter," the man said through clenched teeth, "what are you and your little friends doing here at this hour?"

"I'm sorry, Professor, but the lights out won't be until fifteen minutes later," Hermione interrupted.

"If you don't delay us, we'll make it back to the bedrooms in time," Harry continued with a sly smile.

"Go," the man hissed like a snake, "but I'll see you tomorrow afternoon in my office, Potter."

Having said these terrible words, he hurried to hide on his dark deeds.

"But why, of all possible people, was it him?" the teenager groaned as he and his friends returned to the Gryffindor Tower.

The day went by faster than Harry wanted. Now he was sitting at the table in the kitchen, chewing on his sandwich and trying to do everything possible to delay the inevitability.

"If you don't hurry, you'll be late and he'll get angry," Hermione reminded her friend.

"I don't want to go at all," the young man groaned, finishing his sandwich, "did he find out about what happened as a friend?"

"If you ignore him, he'll skin you alive," Ron added, snatching a piece of pie from Hermione.

"Of course, you helped a lot."

"We're just telling the truth," the friends shrugged.

"Eh... It doesn't matter..."

"Do you want us to take you?" Ron suggested, Harry hesitated for a long time, but nodded anyway. So it was calmer.

Now Harry was standing in front of the professor's office and couldn't bring himself to knock on the door. Ron and Hermione left a few minutes ago to continue preparing the Polyjuice Potion. They got the last ingredients quite recently. Stolen from Snape. It turned out to be easier than they thought. Besides, the potion master itself gave them a chance. He mixed the pair of Ron and Harry with the pair of Neville and Seamus. This gave the boys a chance to ruin their classmates' potion, stain the cauldrons, put on a real smoke show, and make a lot of noise while Hermione got the right ingredients. It seemed like a good idea because no one would be surprised if something like this happened to Neville and Seamus. Considering their past accomplishments in explosions. That's why Harry was worried. In a friend, the man found out that they had set it all up, and they also surrounded his personal pantry. Moreover, after that incident, they practically did not intersect, and this made it even more difficult to knock on that damned door. Potter was still angry at the man, even more than he had imagined. Suddenly, the door swung open and Severus, as always displeased, stood on the threshold.

"How long will you be standing here, Mr. Potter?" coldly pronounced the potion var.

"I, don't..." Harry tried to say something, but the man interrupted him.

"Come in," Snape turned and walked back into the office. Harry couldn't help but make a face that the twins used to mimic the potion master. The man was simply unbearable.

"What do you want, professor?" the boy asked calmly, standing in front of Snape's desk.

"I'm tired of your cat and mouse games, Mr. Potter. You don't show up for lunch and dinner, you run out of class first, you completely ignore me. I should have talked to you a few days ago, but you didn't give me the opportunity to do so." There was silence, Harry not sure what exactly Snape wanted from him. So he silently watched the man.

"Eh... Damn. Since I am your temporary guardian, Dumbledore has made it my duty to spend a few hours a week with you. I decided to talk to you about what happened." The boy stared at the man in disbelief. Everything seemed somehow wrong.

"Sir, I don't understand..."

"Be quiet," Snape hissed, "I should have done this a few days ago. I shouldn't have reacted like that. I needed to figure out what happened."

"If you're trying to apologize, don't. At least in front of me," Harry looked at the professor indifferently. He didn't need an apology potion of war.

"I've already spoken to Mr. Weasley," Potter was surprised this time, but quickly returned to a cold expression.

Ron walked down the long, empty corridor, muttering softly under his breath.

"I hate working."

Turning a corner, he came face to face with the last person he wanted to see right now. Snape.

"Good evening, sir," Ron sighed under his breath and tried to get away as soon as possible.

"Stop for a second, Mr. Weasley," the young man rolled his eyes, but quickly turned around and made the most inconspicuous expression on his face.

"Did you want something, sir?"

"I wanted to..." there was a heavy silence for a second, "I wanted to say I'm sorr..."

"I don't need your apology, sir. As long as Harry is safe, I will survive your constant nagging. Your hatred for me. And even your arrogant bastard behavior. But if something happens to Harry through your fault, I will do everything possible and impossible to ensure that Harry has another guardian. This time a worthy man. Have a good evening, professor." Without waiting for any reaction, the boy disappeared behind the nearest bend as quickly as possible. Leaving a slightly dazed Snape in thought.

"Your friend spoke quite eloquently about this. He thinks it's your right to decide if you want to forgive me. Therefore, I have an offer for you. You can continue to ignore and avoid me, or we'll try to start over. I promise I won't be a snooty bastard again and you will trust me a little more. What do you think?" Snape held out his hand to Harry, waiting for an answer. There was a heavy silence. The man would be lying if he said he didn't feel guilty at all. Besides, he couldn't see the emotion on the boy's face. Potter lowered his head and his face was hidden by a dark mop of unruly hair. Finally, Severus heard a quiet reply.

"Only if you keep your promise, I'll try, sir," Harry's face flickered with a subtle mockery, but he shook the man's hand anyway.

Notes: I apologize for the large number of possible mistake in the text. This chapter was written in not the best setting