"NNnh…" Severus ignored the sound and passed a page of his yearly potion master's subscription. Only a handful of these articles where even worth the parchment they were written in. Why did he keep subscribing to them?
"Nnhgghghh!" He narrowed his eyes at the illustrations on the article. "Mhghgh…" Severus slammed the parchment down to look at Potter's scruffy head, which was miserably placed on the edge of Severus' desk.
"May I inquire why you have come to invade my Sunday afternoon with your whining?" He asked, irritated. Why was the boy suddenly comfortable enough to come in unannounced? Why had he allowed him to stay there, forehead against the hardwood desk, and whine incessantly for the last ten minutes?
"Nnh… you-don't-under-stand." Potter said, banging his head between words.
"Watch it Potter, this is a hundred year old Macassar ebony." Potter looked up and glared at him before banging his head one more time.
"It was so awkward. I didn't know what to say, what to do, and I could tell she was waiting for something? Or I don't know! What was I supposed to do?"
"I have absolutely no idea on the inner workings of a woman's mind." Severus said blandly, looking back at his journal.
"One thing's for certain, I'm never doing that again. I will be quite happy avoiding eye contact with Cho for the rest of my life." The brat said decisively. All this muffled as he had yet to lift his head again.
"Good for you…" He said uninterested. The seconds of silence ticked away and he looked at the boy, seeing him resting his head on his crossed arms looking miserably at a pot of spiders that was sitting on the edge of the desk. He scoffed and rolled his eyes annoyed. "Quit your moping. It simply means you do not have that much in common with Miss Chang. Just because you find someone attractive it does not mean you are compatible." He said. "Now go whine to the whomping willow."
Potter sat up and for a split second Severus worried that the brat was actually going to mess around the temperamental tree. Instead he saw the boy's pale face and the skin around his scar turning an angry red.
"Potter! What is it?" It couldn't be the Dark Lord's anger or he would be feeling it over the mark on his arm.
"H-he's… I can feel him trying to get in…" He whispered and groaned closing his eyes, he moved his neck that made Severus cringe as he remembered Nagini. A hiss leaving the boy's lips as he either lost the battle or tried to fight back.
Severus instantly reached for a dreamless sleep potion and stormed over to him, tipping the boy's head back and making him drink it. In seconds the boy relaxed and stopped hissing, lying back limp against the chair.
The potions master stared at the boy as the scar remained irritated but the pallor faded away. He put the empty vial down and turned his back to the boy. Why was his heart racing so fast? Was it seeing the brat about to lose himself? Or was it the fact that the Dark Lord coincidentally chose this time to do so. Did the Dark Lord know Potter was with him? Or was he simply looking to see how Malfoy was progressing in his mission?
"What am I to do with you Potter?" He whispered to himself before turning to look at him. The boy had a peaceful expression that he hadn't seen on him even on the few instances he'd seen him sleep. Still, dreamless sleep was not something to be taken lightly.
With a wave of his wand, a silvery white doe appeared and he sent a message to Dumbledore, telling him what happened. By the time the headmaster entered his study, he'd transfigured the chair Potter was sleeping on to a more comfortable a more comfortable looking lounge chair.
It wasn't to make the brat more comfortable or anything, he just didn't want him dropping and cracking his skull open in his office. It would be too troublesome to clean up.
Dumbledore didn't mention it anyway, his expression sombre as he stared at the steady rise and fall of Potter's chest. "He was hissing, you say?" He asked.
"Yes professor… Potter alerted me as it started. I'm not sure if he was still fighting it when I gave him the potion or if he had already lost." He said simply, his tone cold, uncaring. He did not want the headmaster to think for one second that he was desperate for answers. Nor that he was desperate to see the boy open his eyes and return to normal.
"So we must prepare to him awakening as Nagini." The headmaster said coming closer to the boy. "How strong a dose did you give him, Severus?" The potion master looked at the little vial.
"A medium dose, he should wake up if shaken awake." The headmaster took out his wand and Severus followed his example, though he wasn't sure what to expect. Dumbledore reached for the boy and shook him awake.
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Harry felt the world coming back into focus. Someone was shaking him. His eyes opened. A wand was in his face and he reacted. Before he even registered it he'd grabbed onto the mid-point of the wand and tore it out of its owner's hands, throwing it to the side. He heard it clatter on the ground somewhere when he felt the edge of another wand press against his chest and he looked up.
His heart raced and his body was ready to fight. He tried to glare up but he was also afraid. He felt an animalistic urge to attack, and it had nothing to do with the snake that had slithered into his subconscious just before he fell asleep.
"W-what… Snape?" He asked confused. Snape narrowed his eyes at him, looking at him just as he did when Harry had first spoken to that cobra in Lockhart's duelling class.
He turned to the other wizard and saw Dumbledore standing looking at him quite shocked. "Harry?"
"Yes professor?" He mumbled, suddenly feeling all the energy leave him, his extremities starting to tremble in currents. Snape withdrew his wand, relaxing from his attack stance and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a firm squeeze.
Harry didn't understand what had happened, but the moment the potions master gave him that comforting gesture he felt a warmth spread from his stomach outward which was starting to become familiar when it came to the professor.
The headmaster went to pick up his wand from the ground and Harry gasped. "Sorry professor… I thought… I didn't know it was you." He said and looked at both elders questioningly. Why were they so ready to attack him? "I didn't… do something bad did I?" He managed to say, looking up at Snape with worry. The potions master gave a light shake of his head.
"It seems that the professor's quick thinking stopped Nagini's advance on your mind." Harry felt his stomach churning unpleasantly.
"Is he… trying to possess me?" He asked softly.
"It could be, Potter. His plans seem to be flexible at the moment. Though at present he doesn't seem to be angry about his failed attempt at invading your mind." Snape said. Harry's eyes flickered to Snape's arm, where he'd seen the dark mark last summer. He looked down.
"I'll occlude next time." He promised.
"…It may be-"
"No." Snape hissed, interrupting Dumbledore's response. Harry looked at Snape surprised, as did Dumbledore.
"Come now, Severus."
"No." Snape said coldly, to the point, his tone leaving no room for argument, but just in case the slight narrowing of his eyes reinforcing his decision. Harry felt like there was an entire non-verbal conversation happening between the two professors that he could not decipher with what little he knew of the two adults.
It made Harry feel like he shouldn't even be in the same room, witnessing Snape's unexplained insubordination. Or was it unexplained? Both had explained to him how dangerous it would be for him to occlude. Now that the headmaster was changing his mind on the decision, Snape was adamant in his stance about it.
Dumbledore turned to look down at him. "Harry, why don't you go enjoy the remaining hours of sunlight. You need some fresh air." Harry understood when he was told to leave. He stood and looked at the two of them doubtfully.
"Go, Potter." Snape said, dismissing him. Harry didn't want to go and he head questions, but they remained stuck against his lips and he turned, walking out quietly. The door shut after him. He stood there, trying to listen, but there was a spell stopping him from listening in. He decided to go find something to eat. He would ask Snape later. If he was lucky and he caught him in a good mood, he might get answers.
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Severus watched the boy leave and transfigured the chair back to its original form. Dumbledore looked at him curiously.
"Severus, is there something you wish to say to me?" He asked.
"I have rarely questioned your judgement calls headmaster, but suggesting that he occlude was something I could not stand behind." He said facing his mentor head on.
"I see… and what of next time? When his mind is breached when you're not around Severus?"
"Forgive me headmaster. Forgive me if you expect my reply to be one of concern for the other students, teachers, or any innocent creature between Potter and the Dark Lord. I am not a good person and you know this. I swore to protect Potter. I will not put his safety after anyone else's." Dumbledore blinked in surprise.
"Severus, my boy. Have you truly started to care for him?"
"So what if I have? Someone has to." He challenged.
"Hmm. I suppose it was a good thing to have him open up to you. However, remember that as a spy you cannot promise to always be there for him."
Of course he knew that. He would never make such an irresponsible promise to the brat anyway.
"I am not the enemy Severus. And if you wish to truly protect him, you'll once more distance yourself from him. If you wanted any true part in his life… that time has come and gone a long time ago, my boy."
Severus said nothing, for there was nothing to say. He simply rose his wand for the door to open. Dumbledore stared at his own wand for a brief moment before putting it away and looking at him.
"Is this a plan of his?" He asked.
Severus shook his head. "You know everything I know, headmaster. I have no knowledge on whatever he had been attempting today." Dumbledore seemed content with that response and left.
Severus let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and shook his head. He stood there for a while, trying to process everything that had happened, trying to get his head around it.
The one emotion he couldn't currently push back was the relief he felt that the stupid boy had returned to normal. He needed to keep a closer eye on him. Even though, the headmaster's words did ring with truth. Though at this point, he wondered if it was even possible to distance himself from the boy.
