Chapter 16
If Harry hated potions class before, he loathed it now. Snape had done his best to make Harry feel as uncomfortable as possible. He stalked the room as they worked, never taking his eyes off of Harry.
Harry was sure the hair on his arms and the back of his neck were now permanently raised.
Every time he even thought of making the wrong move, Snape would call him out on it. Making him feel like an idiot. And maybe he was. No smart person would lie to Snape.
Harry sighed and added the crocodile tears to his potion, idly wondering who thought it would be a good idea to use crocodile tears for a potion ingredient.
At least Ron and Hermione were on Snape's shit list also. All three of them received Trolls on their essays, to Hermione's ultimate shame. Harry felt bad, it looked like she was going to cry, but a small part of him was happy he wasn't going through this alone.
On the other side of the lab, every single Slytherin was staring at him. Harry thought it made Snape hate him even more. He knew Harry was the reason the class as a whole was distracted.
Harry and Neville's potion turned green as Harry adjusted the heat and Neville added the boomslang that he just diced. Harry wondered if it was an unspoken rule not to let him touch any knifes.
He grabbed a piece of coal to start shaving and reached for the knife when his suspicions were granted.
"Potter, what do you think you are doing?" Snape yelled from the corner of the room.
Harry froze, "Um... Shaving the coal?"
Snape stalked towards them and Neville gulped.
"Is that a statement or question?"
Harry looked to Neville for help.
"Do not look at Mr. Longbottom."
Harry's eyes snapped back to the potion master's.
"A statement, sir."
Snape sneered. "And why would you do that?"
Harry was too afraid to look anywhere else.
"To detoxify the potion sir."
Snape's glare stayed where it was.
"Are you trying to be a know-it-all?"
"No sir."
"Do you think your partner is incapable?"
Harry looked bewildered, unsure where this was going.
"N-No."
Snape's face got closer.
"Then why don't you let your potions partner do his job and stop trying to hog the glory."
And with that Snape stalked back to his corner.
Harry handed Neville the coal, looking confused.
"Did Snape just call me capable?" Neville whispered to him.
Harry shrugged. "I think so."
"Stop talking and focus!" Snape barked from the corner. "And Ms. Granger stop crying! Detention Potter!"
Harry just sighed.
The potion class ended and practically everybody ran out.
"Alright, Hermione?" He asked quietly as they made their way towards the common room.
Hermione quickly wiped her eyes and nodded.
"Yea- sorry. I'm not normally this emotional, it's just a bad time of the month, everything just hits me a bit harder than normal."
Harry and Ron froze. Both looking at each other with embarrassed flushes across their faces, not sure what to say.
Hermione rolled her eyes and laughed.
"Honestly you two. I am a girl! I don't know how you forget that!"
Harry didn't know either, but he often did forget that Hermione was a young woman. She was honestly just Hermione. He looked at Ron, whose ears were bright red. Harry doubted that Ron forgot that Hermione was a girl.
"So you're alright then? I'm sorry about you getting a troll, you never deserved that," Harry said guiltily.
She sniffed, "Of course I'm alright. Both Snape and I know that that essay was worth an O, let it rest on his conscious."
Harry could tell that it bothered Hermione, but before he could say anything else she continued.
"And honestly Harry. You need to stop with this 'its all my fault thing'! I decided to go with you. Ron decided to go with you. We made independent decisions and are now paying the consequences just like you are."
Harry swallowed.
"Still-"
"She's right mate," Ron chimed in.
Harry stopped talking and then nodded shortly.
"Tell you what though," Hermione said with a mischievous smile. "I am going to cry in every one of Snape's classes and send notes every day of why I didn't deserve a Troll. Teach him to give me a Troll again!"
Ron and Harry looked at Hermione in awe.
"Did the sorting hat ever say anything about Slytherin?" Ron asked jokingly.
Hermione looked at him blankly, "Yea just a little bit."
Harry smiled, "Hey you too!"
Ron looked at both of them in horror causing them to break into laughter.
The rest of the day went pretty well after that, well if one could forget that all the professors were peeved at them. Apparently, they all spent hours looking for them.
It was after supper that Harry slowly trudged his way down to the dungeons.
Detention was going to be miserable, Harry could just feel it.
The classroom was gloomy just like Harry's mood. Standing awkwardly in the entrance Snape looked up from his desk and motioned for him to sit.
Harry hesitantly sat, there was a piece of parchment, a quill, and some ink in front of him.
Harry picked up the quill and dipped it in ink.
"What do you want me to write sir?" He asked quietly.
Snape didn't look up from the paper he was marking.
"I want you to list everything you have ever stole from me."
Harry's hand immediately started writing on its own accord, listing every potion and ingredient one by one.
"What is this!" He shouted, trying to will his hand to stop.
Snape got up from his chair and walked towards the boy.
"Its a quill dosed in truth serum that writes your thoughts," He said simply.
Harry was outraged. "Isn't this against the law or something!"
Snape rolled his eyes. "Giving a minor Veritaserum injected through the mouth is. I simply doused the pen which rubbed off on your skin, it's commonly used in trials."
"Trial?" Harry yelled. "What am I on trial for?"
Apparently, Harry's hand knew as it wrote Thievery, Breaking and Entering, and Assault down. Harry snapped his mouth shut and glared.
"Calm down Mister Potter, I am only going to question you on what you have stolen from me. I would advise you not to ask any more incriminating questions."
Harry's hand finally stilled and Snape looked over the paper, his face taking on a more defeated expression. He probably noticed all the ingredients were for healing potions.
There was a moment of silence.
"Why didn't you ever tell a professor about your home life?" He asked quietly.
His hand wrote in elegant script: "Knowledge is Power."
Harry looked up betrayed. "That was not related to this."
Snape almost winced at his bright betrayed green eyes.
"I apologize, I just had to know."
Harry glared. "Let me ask you a question, sir. Why do you care?"
Snape watched as Harry's hand wrote, "He relates."
Harry's expression never changed, he, after all, knew the answer to his own question.
But Snape's eyes widened. He took a step back.
Harry snorted. "Oh come on Professor." He mocked. "You think I can't see the signs. I'm surprised you didn't notice right away. A troubled kid can always recognize a troubled kid."
Snape's face returned to its usual non-expression self, "You are dismissed, Mr. Potter. Come back at the same time for your second detention."
Harry sighed. "What about the quill sir?" He asked.
"It should wear off about 10 minutes after you set the quill down."
Harry immediately set the quill down.
Snape rolled his eyes. "Keep the quill Potter."
Harry looked at the quill, "What am I suppose to do with it? Don't you need it?"
Snape snorted. "I have another one right here." He held up the quill he was marking papers with. "As for what you do with it, that's your problem."
Harry looked at him in disbelief.
"Wait, so you mark the papers with your honest thoughts?"
Snape looked almost amused. "Do you think I lie about how horrible yours are?"
Harry shrugged, he always thought it was because he hated Harry.
"So you're saying that you believe that Hermione deserved a troll!"
Snape sighed. "Potter use your head. The quill writes down what my honest beliefs are. It is not the absolute truth but **my** absolute truth."
Harry guessed that made sense, but still thought it was unfair.
He carefully put the quill in his bag and left, wondering if he should tell Hermione and Ron, or secretly just burn it.
It was later that night he decided he would keep it. Snape never did anything without a purpose.
In truth Snape himself was wondering why he had given the quill to the boy. His mind wiring on the phrase, "Knowledge is power." Trying to figure out how it related to Harry Potter not sharing anything with a staff that wouldn't hurt him.