PM8

Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own the HP universe, I just enjoy borrowing them from time to time.

'Hatred is gained as much by good works, as by evil' ~ Machiavelli.

Severus saw the title of the article and mentally grimaced. This was most assuredly not what had been agreed upon. He did read it, mostly to avoid the outright incredulous stares being levelled at him by the entire staff table. There were no details of the abuse, thank the elements, and it focused more on neglect and their outright loathing of magic. He put the paper down and stood, ignoring the people calling his name, and headed right to the Gryffindor table. "Mr. Potter…a word." He said smoothly, not missing the very grateful look on his charge's face.

Harry nodded and stood, going with his Professor and ignoring his house mates. The questions had been firing nonstop since the first copy of the Prophet hit the table. He didn't know what to say…to any of it. He let Snape guide him out of the Great Hall and down a hallway. "Thank you Professor." He took a shaky breath.

"Are you all right?" He asked, not entirely used to this but aware that it was an expected question.

"Why did they print that? It wasn't supposed to tell about….everything." Harry said, closing his eyes.

"It doesn't go into detail. The headline was mostly to sensationalize the story. That is all you need say when the others ask." He said, wanting to forestall the panic he could see building in the boy. "Though some warning would have been nice." He said a little drily.

"Yeah." Harry swallowed and leaned back against the stone walls. The stone was comforting, stable, and unmoving. Right now he felt like the whole world was spinning out of control, but at least for now this wall was still.

Severus watched Harry as he steadied himself, giving him a few moments of quiet to do it. "Come, you should eat something before classes. Let's sneak into the kitchen, hopefully we can avoid anyone else until later." Severus said and walked with him to the kitchen entrance and tickled the pear to gain entry.

"The Headmaster looked…worried." Harry finally settled on that word. He'd taken a moment just before the chaos truly broke out to search out a few key faces. Professor McGonagall had been shocked, but the Headmaster's face had been grave.

"I imagine that he is. We upset his plans and also exposed them to the scrutiny of our entire world. He should be very worried." Severus said, glad that Harry wasn't having a full out panic attack. The boy more than deserved one, but as usual was surprising him more and more with his maturity. He took a vial out of his robes. "This may be helpful today, it's a calming draught." He explained. "Take half now, and the other half this evening. It will help you handle everything that is going to be thrown at you." He knew that it would not be an easy day for either of them.

Harry unstoppered the vial and took a sip, surprised at the pleasant taste. As it went down his throat he felt a strange kind of relaxation chasing it and smiled. "Thank you."

The house elves brought them both a plate piled high with eggs, bacon and waffles. Severus rarely ate much in the mornings but considered that he might well end up missing lunch and dinner and decided that he deserved at least one good meal today. He wondered if tonight would see him leaving the castle, however.

Harry managed to eat a little and then sighed. "I should get going…I have Transfigurations first thing today." He said.

Severus nodded. "I'm not hard to find if you need me. We both knew this would be difficult, but it is preferable to the alternative."

"I know, Sir." Harry said and shouldered his book bag. "I'll get through it." He said.

"Try and have a good day." Severus said, knowing his own would likely be anything but.

"You too Sir." Harry said and headed out of the kitchen.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

Harry managed to avoid running into anyone and just made it to Transfigurations on time. Professor McGonagall just nodded to him and began the lesson. It was a lecture session, so Harry was able avoid talking to anyone, though it felt like everyone was looking at him. Still, it wasn't a hostile kind of looking, not like it had been last year. As the class finished he stood to gather his books.

"Mr. Potter, a word please." Professor McGonagall said, and called him to the front as everyone else filed out to head to their next class.

"You wanted to speak to me Professor?" Harry said politely, though he knew what she likely wanted to know.

"Yes, have a seat. I've already sent a note to Professor Binns that you'll be missing his lecture today, but as I'm sure you've heard about the goblins wars at least twelve times before today…you can afford to miss it." She said, her opinion of the ghost teacher more than evident. "I wanted to talk to you about what was written in the Prophet today. Is there any truth to it?"

He sighed. "I haven't read the articles yet, but in general…yes." He said and sat down in the chair she'd indicated. "Professor Snape is my new guardian and it *is* by my choice."

"Why did you never come to me Potter?" She asked gently. "I knew that your relatives were not fond of magic but not that it had escalated in such a manner." She'd *known* it had been a mistake to leave the boy there, and here was the proof.

"I told the Headmaster." He looked down. "He just smiled, told me it wasn't that bad and that I *had* to go back there. That it was all for the best." He said, trying to not sound as bitter as he felt.

"In future…I'd like it very much if you came to me with your problems Mr. Potter. I'm glad that your home situation has been improved, and I know that Professor Snape will be more than suitable as your guardian." She smiled fondly. "I can think of no one better." Despite the rivalry that could exist between their students, Minerva had always been fond of Severus. He'd been a sharp-tongued, quick-witted student but she had appreciated his ambition to be the very best wizard he could. As a colleague, Severus was unmatched in his management of his snakes and seemed far more in touch with the day to day issues that concerned his students. It was something Minerva envied, and at times like this she wished she had his gift.

"Is it true that Professor Snape and my mother were friends in school?" He asked her, needing some outside verification. He wanted to believe Snape, Morwenna, and the Malfoy's but it all seemed rather one sided.

"It is Potter. Until their fifth year, your mother and Severus Snape were the very best of friends, despite pressure from both their houses to discontinue the association. They were very like-minded, and competed for top awards in all their classes until the day they graduated." She said. "I am sure that Professor Snape would be happy to share some stories about her, if you ask him." She knew the poor lad had precious little in the way of memories about his parents, and any source of information had to be a welcome one. "I will need a new Hogsmeade form signed by Professor Snape before the next weekend trip." She did say.

"Yes Professor." He said and looked down then. "Is the Headmaster angry with me?"

Minerva's eyebrows rose. "What would make you think that?" She asked, wondering just WHAT ideas Albus had been putting into the boy's head.

"He was the one that overturned my parent's will…he put me at the Dursely's." Harry said quietly.

"I'm sure at the time he thought it was best for you, but even great wizards make mistakes." She said, trying to put him at ease. "It will sort itself out in the end, and you are not to waste any time worrying about it." She said firmly. "Now, if you need anything at all please come and speak to me." She said.

Harry looked up and nodded. "Thank you Professor." He let out a sigh of relief and hoped that this would just blow over.

"All right then, off you go. I would suggest maybe heading to the Common room and reading the required chapter from your history text, it's likely of more use to you than sitting through whatever is left of Professor Binn's lecture." She snorted.

Harry grinned. "Yes Professor." He stood and got his book bag.

HSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHS

"Do you trust me so little, my boy?" Albus said quietly as he entered Severus' classroom. He knew the other wizard had a spare period now. His tone was full of disappointment, knowing that was usually the best tact to take with Severus. He would play off his guilt and get him to put an end to this foolishness.

"Do you have so little regard for my life?" Severus answered, anger filling his features. "I swore an UNBREAKABLE vow to protect that boy to best of my ability. The moment I learned of what had happened to him under that roof I had no choice but to act or I would forfeit my magic, or my life." He slammed a heavy book on the desk. "The papers were kind enough to spare the details but you are no fool Albus…you know what was done to him. You knew all along." He said accusingly.

"I knew the boy would have a difficult life, yes…but he would be protected by his mother's blood while living there. Keeping him alive, was more important than keeping him happy." Albus said. "I cannot allow you to remove him from that home Severus."

"It is already done, and I will not allow you to put him back there." Severus said quietly. "I swore my oath to Lilly, not you, and not your damned Order. I am more than capable of protecting him, from anything that comes his way. If the Dark Lord returns, I will do what I must to ensure his survival, never doubt that. But you have no say in anything to do with him, not anymore." His jaw was set.

"I could fire you, have you banned from the grounds." Albus said, though it lacked heat. He had never imagined Severus would side against him, not over Potter. His hatred of James was legendary, and had seemed to transfer perfectly over to the boy as soon as he'd come to Hogwarts. This sudden shift had been completely unanticipated.

"Certainly you *could* but you would have to explain to the other Professors, the Board of Governors, and the whole wizarding world why you had sacked me for rescuing the son of a dear childhood friend from an abusive home." Severus said smoothly. "For the moment your mistakes appear to be those of ignorance, but should people come to see that it was done knowingly, and maliciously to the 'Saviour of the Wizarding World'…" He trailed off. He was a Slytherin by Merlin and he would remind the Headmaster of that. He could never defeat Albus in a duel, he was no fool, but he could destroy the man in other ways, if he was forced.

Albus narrowed his eyes, seeing the younger wizard in front of him clearly, perhaps for the first time. He had been outplayed, this time. "Very well….that is the end of it. For now."

"No, it's just the start." Severus said. "Do I trust you so little?" He sneered. "You have never had my trust, nor I yours. I know *exactly* what you think of me, and my House. You have never kept a promise made to me, you never protected me as a student, and you only protected me after Voldemort's fall because you thought you could blackmail me into being your spy. I will remain, because someone needs to protect the Slytherins and try to show them that the whole world is not out to get them. But let me be clear, unless it is for official school business you will not be welcome in my quarters, and you will, under no circumstances talk to Harry without me present. If I discover that you have, I will do what I must to protect him." Severus gathered his books and papers. He had not planned on being so…aggressive but he was tired of being the man's puppet. Forgiveness was not one of Severus' virtues, it never had been. He knew he was a bitter, vindictive man with a much shorter temper than was good for him. Today, the Headmaster had gotten the full force of it. He walked past the speechless Headmaster without a word, robes billowing behind him as he stormed through the corridors.

HSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHS

"Harry, you can't avoid us all day." Ron said, catching Harry after Charms. "Are you ok?" He asked, wondering if this was why Harry had been acting so strange since the start of school. He'd be short tempered too if he was being forced to have Snape as his guardian.

"Yeah it's ok, you know I just hate everyone whispering about me." Harry sighed and leaned against the wall, Hermione and Neville joining them. "It's a good thing, I just don't like everyone knowing my personal business."

"A good thing?" Ron started to say and then winced as Hermione elbowed him in the ribs. "What was that for?"

"Harry needs our support." She said and fixed him with a look. "If he thinks that Professor Snape is a good guardian…then we need to respect that."

"I don't know if he will or not, but he's been different this year and today he was really…decent about all the fuss. He was my mum's friend Ron, and I need to give this a chance. Anything's better than going back to the Dursley's again." He said with feeling.

"I think it's a good thing Harry." Neville said. "You should be with wizards, my gran always thought it odd they sent you to the Muggle world, especially with everyone that's been after you. At least with Professor Snape you should be safe." He said.

Harry nodded. "I hope so." He said and shouldered his bag. "I need to get to Runes, coming Hermione?" He asked her.

She nodded, "We'll see you guys later in the Common room." She said to Neville and Ron as they headed to their class. "How are you really doing?" She asked quietly as they walked. Runes was not an overly popular class, only about fifteen students had chosen the elective.

"I think I'm ok, I had a talk with Professor McGonagall. She was disappointed I never came to her about things with the Dursley's but seemed supportive." He said. "It'll be all right in the end, I guess."

Hermione gave him a smile. "At least it's over with." She said and together they went and sat down. Draco came to join their table, with Theodore Nott in tow. Almost all the Ravenclaws had taken Runes, as well as a couple of the 'Puffs.

Draco was stopped from saying anything to Harry as Professor Babbling entered and jumped right into her lecture. This first year of Runes was all theory and a lot of memorization. They were given regular short quizzes to make sure they were staying on top of the material. Today was a quiz day.

Harry was glad he'd done his reviewing last night during his hours of insomnia as he'd been worrying over the announcement. He finished quickly and turned his sheet over. The Professor smiled and collected it promptly, giving him a smile.

Bathsheba had heard from the other instructors that Mr. Potter was an average student at best, and tended to skate by with minimal effort. She just didn't see it, so far this year he had been attentive and handed in everything promptly. This first essay had been turned in last week and while his penmanship was atrocious, they really needed to do something about that, the ideas had been well thought out. He needed help fleshing them out, but all in all she felt he would do very well in her class and hoped he would consider pursuing the NEWT.

"And that is time. Quills down everyone." She said and with a scooping motion of her wand, all the outstanding papers were collected. "Now I've finished grading your first Runes essays and overall I am quite pleased. On the backs of your scrolls you will find my remarks and suggestions for improving your work. I am available every Tuesday and Thursday evening in this class room for anyone that requires extra help. Other times can be made available by appointment." She said kindly. "Look over your essays and finish reading chapter four by next class as we will have an open discussion about the concepts outlined there. There are supplemental texts on warding in the Library and Ms. Price will be more than happy to assist you with locating them." She handed back all the scrolls and sat down at her desk to grade some of the independent study proposals from her sixth year NEWT students.

Harry took his and opened it, he had received an 'E' and was surprised. He turned it over to read the Professor's remarks.

Mr. Potter, an excellent first effort. Most deserving of an 'Exceeds Expectation'. In order to improve your mark I would suggest reading some of the supplemental texts in the library so you can reference them in your essays as needed to support your ideas. In future I expect more effort from your penmanship, as it was quite difficult to read. I will assign lower grades in future if I can see no attempt has been made to improve. ~ Professor B. Babbling.

Harry smiled and looked over to see that Hermione had of course received an 'O' and was agonizing over the remarks on the back of her paper, which seemed nearly as long as what she had turned it. He looked to Draco, who also had an 'O'. Theodore Nott had gotten an 'A' and was frowning darkly at the remarks on the back.

He put his away in his bag and pulled out his text to start reading the assigned chapter. He should be able to put at least a dent in it before the end of class. When the bell rang he packed his things up and sighed, he had survived the day.

"How'd you make out on your essay?" Draco asked Harry, as he too packed away his things.

"Managed to get an Exceeds Expectation, better than I thought." He said. "She said I need to fix my writing though, as she'll take marks off it it's that messy again." He winced a bit. "I'm rubbish with a quill."

Draco nodded. "I could help you with it, if you like." He offered. "Might be you just need to be shown a better way to trim your quills or something."

Harry chuckled. "We can hope right?" He said and shouldered his bag. "Well, guess I can't avoid the Great Hall forever, see you guys at dinner."

"Potter." Nott nodded absently, still frowning over his essay a bit. As Potter and his mudblood friend left Theodore fixed Malfoy with a look. "Did you know about the guardianship things with Snape?" He asked as they walked, trying to figure out Malfoy's angle.

"No, but I knew something was up." Malfoy said. "Changes things, doesn't it." He grinned.

Theodore nodded. His father might have been a Deatheater but Theo was no fool. The wind was changing and if he was to be head of his family one day, he couldn't afford to cling to old, damaging associations. "It might." He agreed. "I suppose it hurts nothing to be polite to the little Mudblood."

"And could gain us much." Draco grinned as the two boys sauntered off to the dungeons to put their books away.

TBC