The Chamber
Severus rummaged through a box containing jewelry his mother had left him. Locating the necklace he sought, he closed the box and returned it to its shelf in his wardrobe. The charms needed to alert him of any danger Potter might encounter were complicated but he finished the task in under an hour. To keep busy while he waited, Severus sat before the fire, grading essays; he intended to catch Potter the moment he returned from his lesson with Luc.
Thirty minutes later, Harry fell out of the fireplace onto his knees. "Well, at least it wasn't my face this time," he muttered to himself.
"Really, Potter, one would think a wizard of your caliber could exit the Floo with a small amount of grace." The silky drawl alerted Harry to Snape's presence.
Harry stood and dusted the Floo powder from his clothes. Glaring at Snape, he dropped onto the couch. "That's what you and Luc say every time I fall on my face out of the damned fireplace. But I don't see either one of you arses showing me the proper way to do it."
"Have Luc show you. That falls under wizarding traditions." Severus reached into his pocket for the necklace and tossed it to Potter before commanding, "You are to wear that at all times."
Harry examined the necklace. It was a simple silver chain and a pendant in the shape of a silver P with a snake coiled around it. "Why?"
"It will alert me if you find yourself in danger. I do not wish to discover you missing some day and have to rescue you. This will ensure I'm aware when you require assistance, immediately." Severus lifted his quill and returned to marking essays.
"So it has a tracking charm on it?"
"Yes, Potter, otherwise it would be of little value." Severus never looked up from his grading.
"Ok, I'll wear it. If it'll make you feel better," Harry added tongue-in-cheek.
Lifting his eyes from the parchment he was marking, Severus glared. "Do not be flippant. I promised you my protection. I keep my promises."
Harry rolled his eyes. "I get it. I appreciate your concern over what happens to me. I was teasing you." He carefully put the necklace on and performed a locking charm on the clasp.
Severus returned to his grading; several minutes passed before he said stiffly, "I am simply keeping my promise."
Harry laughed inwardly; Snape would probably never admit he cared what happened to Harry. That was all right. The man showed it often enough. Recalling the reason he now had a necklace, Harry asked, "What happened to Nott?"
Severus scratched several more scathing remarks on the essay before answering, "The headmaster left his punishment in my hands."
"What are you going to do to him?" Harry laughed. Poor Nott, he thought. If Snape's tone is anything to go by, the idiot will wish he was dead by the time his punishment is finished.
"I believe two months of assisting Filch with his duties will be sufficient to convince Mr. Nott to find better ways to use his time." Severus never stopped his writing, but the corners of his mouth turned up at the thought of Nott's misery.
Harry saw the half-smile and laughed again. "Well, I'm off to do my homework for Luc. I have to research Dark Arts rituals involving human bones."
Severus pointed out an overburdened bookshelf along the wall with his quill. "Hogwarts library does not run to Dark Arts books; you are welcome to use any text you find here in your research."
Harry was already scanning titles and only offered a murmured and distracted, "Thanks."
Two days later Harry sprawled on the floor of the sitting room before the fire with books all around him. Scribbling something, he would turn to a book, read for a moment and nod and scribble some more. He was so enthralled with his reading it took him a couple of minutes to realize someone was knocking on the door.
He headed for the door, carefully avoiding the scattered books and parchment. Wonder who it is? Never had a visitor down here before. He opened the door to reveal Headmaster Dumbledore smiling down at him. Resisting the urge to shield his eyes from the violently clashing red and purple robes, Harry said, "Professor Snape is in his office, sir."
"It was you I wished to speak with, Harry. May I come in?" Dumbledore asked softly.
Harry glanced around at the mess behind him and shrugged. "Yeah, come in. Just give me a minute to pick my books up."
He could feel the headmaster's eyes following his movements as he cleared the floor and made room for them to sit. Harry stacked the books on the coffee table while Dumbledore seated himself on the couch and spoke, "Animagus transformation? Is that part of your studies? It is well beyond N.E.W.T level."
Reluctantly, Harry sat in the arm chair facing Dumbledore. "No, Devlin said if I did all the research by myself he would free up some time to help me with the actual transformation."
Dumbledore peered over the tops of his half-moon glasses. "I'm certain Professor McGonagall would be happy to offer her assistance."
"I know. That's where I got all the books," Harry said, waving a hand at the books in question. "She said Devlin was right to make me do all the research by myself. Said it would be good for me."
"I see. She does have an extensive library on Transfigurations," Dumbledore said.
Knowing the headmaster hadn't come to talk about his homework, Harry decided to cut to the chase. "What did you want to see me about, sir?"
Dumbledore sighed sadly. "I owe you yet another apology, Harry. In my haste to ensure your safety and wellbeing, I neglected to treat you with the respect you deserve. For that I am truly sorry."
Harry shifted uncomfortably in the chair; he didn't know how to respond. Dumbledore seemed to sense his discomfort in the eerie way of his and added, "I give you my assurance that from now on I will attempt to regard you as the mature young man you have grown to be."
Feeling horribly conflicted, Harry thought quickly, I don't know if I'm ready to forgive him yet, but I hate being at odds with Dumbledore. I guess it won't hurt to talk to him at any rate. "You won't keep important information from me to spare my feelings? You accept that I have the right to make my own decisions?" Harry kept his gaze locked on the headmaster, waiting for his response. He refused to back down on this point; he would not tolerate being treated as child any longer. Not by Dumbledore or anyone else.
"You have my word on it," Dumbledore stated solemnly, meeting Harry's gaze with apparent sincerity.
"Why didn't you inform me about my parent's estate and the Potter seat on the Wizengamot?" Harry's eyes blazed with anger; he was surprised to realize the issue still hurt him. "I had to find out about my heritage from strangers and the goblins. Why would you keep that from me?"
Dumbledore sighed. His eyes flitted away briefly, then returned to meet Harry's gaze. "I'm sorry, my boy, I was trying to spare you the pressure that comes with such things. I fear I did not see my actions as keeping your heritage away from you."
"How could you think that? You know how little I have of my parents," Harry demanded hotly.
The headmaster clasped his hands tightly in his lap. "I'm afraid I did not think at all. I simply wished for your life to be as trouble free as possible."
"Then why did you leave me with the Dursleys? You had to know how they treated me." Harry leaned forward in his chair, never letting go of his hold on Dumbledore's eyes. He wondered if the old man would tell him more this time, but doubted it.
"We have discussed this before. You know my reasons," Dumbledore said softly as he shifted slightly in his seat.
"I know why you placed me with them. What I mean is why you left me there for ten years in a cupboard. Bloody hell, my Hogwarts letter was addressed to the Cupboard Under the Stairs. You had Mrs. Figg a few houses down giving you reports." Harry's green eyes flashed with long suppressed resentment. "Surely there were other arrangements that could have been made."
"My only defense is my concern for your safety. I had hoped to make up for your bleak home life once you were safely in Hogwarts. I see now that I was wrong," Dumbledore offered.
Harry noticed Dumbledore never tried to deny what he'd accused him of. The old man simply sat and let Harry rail at him. He finally lowered his gaze and stared at the rug, lost in thought. Well, at least he admitted he was wrong. I do believe that he tried to keep me safe. I don't want to be angry with him any longer. But just because I'm willing to forgive him doesn't mean I have to trust him. He looked back at Dumbledore to find the older man stroking his beard and staring into the fire.
"I'll accept your apology. I know you were trying to do what's right. But, Professor, I won't trust you again. Not with anything regarding decisions for my life." Harry paused a moment before adding, "I'll listen to your advise about the Horcruxes, and things of that nature, but I'll be making my own decisions from here on." Harry spoke softly, not wanting to hurt Dumbledore but determined to make his feelings known.
Dumbledore smoothed a fold in his robes, the twinkle beginning to shine in his eyes once again. "I understand I lost your trust, Harry, and I will do anything in my power to earn it back. I'm grateful that you are willing to forgive an old man and work with me," Dumbledore said in a resigned voice. He sounded so contrite Harry felt most of his anger drain away.
Wanting to break the tension the last half-hour brought, Harry gave a tentative smile. "I hate not being on good terms with you. I'm willing to give you a second chance. I'll work on my temper; I don't think you're office can survive many more of my tantrums."
Dumbledore laughed with obvious relief. "Do not fear, my dear boy, that office has seen much worse. At least when you lose your temper the roof is still intact."
"Who blew the roof off your office?" Harry asked curiously.
The headmaster settled himself more comfortably on the couch. "Oh, it was not my office at the time. In Hogwarts: A History, there is a story about a young apprentice to Gryffindor himself who lost control of his power and caused the roof to collapse. You really should read the book sometime, it is very informative."
"Yeah, so Hermione keeps telling me," Harry said. Getting to his feet, he asked, "I was going to make some tea, would you like some?"
"That would be delightful. Severus always keeps very high quality tea for his personal use," Dumbledore informed Harry.
Harry shrugged; tea was tea to him. He quickly prepared the tea tray, adding the biscuits Dobby had baked yesterday, and brought it to the coffee table. It took careful balancing to avoid the piles of books but he managed without catastrophe. Pouring two cups, Harry handed one to the headmaster and took his own. The two men sat chatting about nothing important and eating biscuits for some time.
Eventually, Dumbledore returned his cup to the tray and turned to Harry, his expression serious. "Harry, I know that I have made it difficult for you to feel you could come to me with your problems. Please believe me when I say that you can come to me at any time. I honestly want to assist you in whatever way I can. Even if all I can offer is a sympathetic ear."
Harry twisted the tea cup in his hands. Sighing, he placed it on the table. "I would like that. I think maybe we both need to try a little harder. I'll try to remember I'm not alone."
"I'm afraid I will always see you as a child, Harry. I feel as if you are my child. I will always be there for you. I simply was not ready for you to 'leave the nest', as they say." Dumbledore leaned back, stroking his beard thoughtfully for a moment, and then said, "I will endeavor to remember that you can fly on your own now." The headmaster opened his arms to the young man before him.
Harry never hesitated; he left his seat and let Dumbledore take him in his arms. He'd had too few hugs in his life to turn away from one sincerely offered. Gently pushing the beard away from his mouth, he murmured, "Thanks, Headmaster, it means a lot to me that you came here today."
Dumbledore patted his back softly when Harry pulled away. "I think you should call me Albus. You are no longer my student, and I would like it if you did."
Harry smiled as he sat back in his chair. "I'll try. I still have trouble with Severus. Not sure how long it will take me to stop calling you Headmaster."
"I'm sure you will manage. I must be off; there is a mountain of paperwork on my desk that must be attended to. I enjoyed our tea." Dumbledore stood and shook out his robes as he said, "Come see an old man when you can take a break from your studies." Dumbledore patted Harry's shoulder and walked to the door.
Harry said goodbye and sat replaying the conversation. Shaking his head, he cleared the tea things and grabbed his broom. A nice hard flight would clear his head.
Severus finished the last of the seventh year essays and looked at the clock. He had four hours till dinner and was determined to track down Potter. Severus had a question he had not found the time to ask; with his work finished and nothing else pressing to attend to, now was finally the time.
After checking his chambers, the library and the Gryffindor common room he eventually located the brat on the Quidditch pitch. Severus gasped when he saw Potter heading for the ground in a nose dive. Quickly pulling out his wand, he prepared to cushion the inevitable fall. When the brat pulled up less than a foot from the ground to trail his trainers through the grass, Severus yelled, "Potter, get your arse over here, now!"
Harry executed a sharp turn and flew in the direction of the yell. Leaping from his broom before it fully stopped, he landed in front of an irate Snape. "Why are you yelling at me? I was just goofing around."
"You foolish brat, you could have broken your neck. If you wish to kill yourself there are less painful methods. I would be happy to supply you with a poison should you continue with such foolish stunts," Severus ranted.
The brat was simply too reckless for his peace of mind. The brat will drive me insane. It's not enough that he can't walk the halls without being attacked; no, Potter has to risk his foolish neck performing outlandish tricks on that overpriced stick of wood.
Snape looked ready to throttle him. Smothering an inappropriate chuckle at Snape's overreaction, Harry tried to appease the man. "Sorry, I'll be careful. Why are you out here anyway?"
Accepting the clear attempt to change the subject, Severus said, "You mentioned last month that you encountered the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets…"
"What about it?" Harry interrupted.
Severus rolled his eyes and huffed, "If you would let me finish. I would like to see if I can salvage any parts from the corpse. There is also the allure of seeing Slytherin's Chamber."
"Yeah, it'd be nice to see it again without running for my life," Harry said dryly. "I guess you want to do it now."
"Yes, if you are free, there is nothing requiring my attention at the moment." Severus turned on his heel and started striding back to the castle.
Harry hurried to catch up. "Let me drop off my broom and I'll take you down there."
Severus stopped abruptly. "Potter, you're a wizard. Simply banish it to your room."
Ducking his head to hide his blush, Harry grumbled, "Forgot about that." Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and waved his hand over the broom while visualizing the spot beside his desk. He felt the broom disappear from his hand and his eyes sprang open. Grinning widely, he turned to Snape and said excitedly, "All right, it worked. I've been having problems with that spell."
Severus gave an aggrieved sigh and resumed the walk to the castle. He gave Potter an overview of the theory behind the banishing spell on the way to the second floor girl's bathroom.
Harry pushed open the door to Myrtle's bathroom; nothing had changed since he'd last been here. The sinks were still chipped and the mirror cracked; it was still the most depressing bathroom he'd ever seen. Harry walked towards the sink when a voice called out petulantly, "Who's there?"
Snape grabbed his arm in a painful grip and turned them both to face the door. "I thought you said it would be unoccupied, Potter," Snape hissed, voice full of mortification and back rigid.
Harry shrugged off the hand on his arm. "It's just Myrtle." Hearing her name, Moaning Myrtle floated through a closed stall door.
"Oh, it's just you, Harry. Have you come to visit me?" Seeing Snape, she squealed, "I've never seen a male teacher in here before."
"We're just going down to the Chamber, Myrtle. Professor Snape hasn't seen it yet." Harry drew the ghost's attention back to him.
Myrtle whined. "Why don't you visit me anymore, Harry? You did promise to."
Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Sorry, I've been busy trying to deal with Voldemort. Don't you remember he's the one that set the Basilisk on you?"
"You didn't have to remind me that I'm dead," the ghost cried. She sailed back through the stall door and, with a splash, was gone.
"Interesting friends you have, Potter," Severus drawled once the obnoxious wailing creature had left.
Harry ignored Snape's remark and approached the middle sink. Spying the tiny snake engraved in the tap, he leaned closer and hissed, "Open up." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Snape stiffen when he spoke in Parseltongue, but ignored the movement.
The sink slowly lowered into the floor, revealing a large open pipe. Harry turned to Snape. "It's quite a drop down to the Chamber and it's really disgusting on the slide. You might want to take off your robes." Suiting word to deed, Harry peeled off his robes, revealing his jeans and tee shirt underneath.
Severus sneered at Potter. "You need to remember that you are a wizard, brat. Have you considered simply sending cleaning charms down before you go?"
Harry ducked his head, abashed. "I didn't think of that, though it would take a really strong cleaning charm to clear that mess."
"I wonder if there are any powerful wizards around to accomplish such a task." Severus looked at Potter with one eyebrow arched in question.
"All right, I get it. I keep forgetting how much power I have," Harry said before turning to the dark pipe. He concentrated, wanting to assure that the Black magic was powered with his desire not to slide in the slime coating the pipe, and sent the strongest cleaning charm he knew down the open pipe.
Severus lit his wand with a softly spoken 'Lumos' and gestured for Potter to precede him. "You first, Potter."
Harry nodded and took a deep breath before jumping into the dark hole before him. Snape followed soon after. The two men slid down the twisting pipes for several minutes before Harry landed with a thud at the bottom. Seeing Snape somehow land on his feet, he growled, "I really need to learn how you do that."
Severus rolled his eyes as the brat got to his feet. Looking around him, Severus sneered disgustedly at the piles of bones and slime on the walls as he cast a cleaning charm on Potter. "Surely this is not the Chamber of Slytherin."
"No, it's a little further in. There was a collapse last time I was here; we might have to clear a few rocks."
They walked silently for several minutes before coming upon a huge snake skin. Severus felt his eyes grow wide at the sight. "Sweet Merlin, Potter, you were not exaggerating the size of the beast."
Harry snorted his amusement and kept walking. They soon reached the rock pile where Ron's wand had backfired. There was still a small gap in the top but it would not be large enough for Harry now, not to mention Severus who had several inches on him. The two men quickly expanded the hole until they could squeeze through it. After a twenty minute walk, they finally reached the inner door. It was closed and once again Harry hissed, "Open up."
The snake locks parted and the door slowly slid open. The stench of decomposing snake filled the air; the Chamber itself was unchanged. The huge pillars of intertwined snakes and the mammoth statue of Slytherin stood in the gloomy light, with the corpse of the Basilisk lying on the floor.
Severus had a hard time deciding what to focus his attention on first. Finally the Basilisk corpse proved the strongest lure. He approached it slowly, taking in the mammoth snake and inwardly cringing at the thought of a twelve year old student being put in the position to fight off such a creature. The closer he got to the corpse, the more he marveled that Potter had emerged victorious from the battle. "It appears that the venom sacks are still intact. Pity that the skin is so badly decomposed, it is quite valuable," he said aloud.
"Yeah, well, sorry I didn't think to collect ingredients after I killed it, but it's all yours now," Harry snapped.
Severus rolled his eyes. "It was not a criticism, Potter, merely an observation. I am pleased to have any of the snake's parts. The teeth in particular will be most useful in my experiments."
Harry snorted at Snape's obsession with his potions and wandered the perimeter of the Chamber while the Potions master harvested his prize. As Harry strolled aimlessly around the statue of Salazar Slytherin, he spied an unusual crack in the wall to the left of the statue. Walking closer, he wondered what had caused it; the crack was too straight to have occurred naturally. Curious, he ran his fingers along it, surprised when he felt the tingle of wards run though his hand. "Severus, come here," he called out urgently.
Hearing the excitement in the brat's voice, Severus quickly placed the venom sack he'd just removed in a container he'd brought for that purpose and hurried to join Potter. The brat pointed out the crack he'd been studying and Severus too felt the crackle of warding.
The mystery of the crack intrigued him. Now determined to discover what was behind the wall, Severus tried for several minutes to break the wards but they were not anything he'd come up against before. Taking a step back, Severus put his brilliant and highly logical brain to the task of finding a way to gain entrance to whatever was hidden in the wall. What could be hidden behind there? I would wager that it is something valuable if Slytherin went to this much trouble to secure it, but how to gain access? Hmmm, this is Slytherin's Chamber after all… perhaps it requires Slytherin's gift.
Turning to Potter, Severus suggested, "Why don't you try gaining admittance with Parseltongue."
Harry nodded. "Should have thought of that." Turning to the wall, he hissed out, "Let us enter." For a moment he thought nothing would happen, and then slowly the wall slid back with the groans of stone on stone, revealing a plain wooden door. Harry grabbed the door handle and twisted it, expecting it to be locked. To his surprise, it opened easily. The hinges squeaked a little as Harry pushed the door open and looked into the opening behind the door.
Severus crowded behind Potter's shoulder. He sucked in an astonished breath. "This must be Slytherin's personal study." The room was lined in bookshelves all overflowing with books. There was a fireplace in one wall and a small loveseat and arm chair before the fire, set on a green and silver rug. The room looked as if Slytherin had simply stepped out moments before, the shelves were dust free and the fire lay waiting to be brought to life.
Severus immediately headed for the bookshelves. Running his fingers along the spines as he read the titles, he was slightly disappointed to find that while the books were in pristine condition, they were not the rare manuscripts he had hoped for. Severus had many in his own collection, and had seen many others in other collections. He was mentally chiding himself for being such an optimist when he heard Potter give an excited shout from behind him.
"Hey, Severus, this one was written by Slytherin. It's got potion instructions in it." Harry pored over the tome bound in black leather. "I've never even heard of some of these."
He quickly approached Potter, placing a hand on the brat's shoulder as he looked at the book. Severus noted absently that Potter seemed to be gaining some muscle. Trying to read the book in Potter's hand he growled, "What are you going on about, Potter? I see nothing but indecipherable scribbles."
Harry never lifted his head from his reading. "Huh? It says right here, two pinches of bicorn horn to be mixed with one ounce of sage in a base of…"
Severus stopped listening; Potter could truly read the mess on the pages. He snatched the book from the brat's hands, ignoring the spluttered protests as he flipped rapidly through the pages. They were all covered in the same hand-scrawled wiggles. Severus ventured a guess. "I do believe that it is written in Parseltongue."
Harry had turned around as soon as the book left his hands. Hearing Snape's statement he sighed; this was yet another inexplicable thing he could do that others couldn't. Harry watched in growing amusement as Snape's eyes darted from the book to Harry. It was an unusual occurrence that Harry could read Snape's intentions.
Severus loathed to ask Potter's assistance, but he was desperately curious about what was written in Slytherin's book. He took several moments before yielding to the inevitable. "Potter…"
Harry knew what Snape was going to ask and felt no urge to make the proud man humble himself by asking. Snape had given up his free time, introduced him to his friends and helped Harry a great deal. There was very little the man could ask of him Harry wouldn't do. "I'd be happy to translate that for you. You might want to have a look around; there could be more books in Parseltongue," he said easily.
Holding Potter's eyes for a long moment, Severus inclined his head gracefully. "Thank you, Potter. I do admit to a large amount of interest in what Slytherin has written. It is very gracious of you to offer your translation services."
Shrugging off the stiff formal thanks, Harry wandered the room, taking in very little. He was lost in thought. Why does Snape always get so formal when he's uncomfortable? Well, it doesn't matter. At least I have a way to judge his emotions, it's not like he normally gives anything away. Did he really think I wouldn't translate that for him? Harry gave up his thoughts, he'd never understand Snape.
Turning to walk along the opposite wall, Harry groaned when he saw the five books Snape had collected. Knowing they'd all be in Parseltongue, he resigned himself to some intense reading for the next few weeks. He'd ended up in front of the fireplace; Harry noticed a small urn on the mantle. Unable to resist, he picked it up and glanced inside, surprised to discover Floo powder. He shared his discovery with Snape. "I think this place used to be on the Floo network. I found a container of Floo powder."
Severus had found all the books that appeared to be in Parseltongue so he joined Potter at the fireplace. Handing the books to Potter, he examined the glittery powder. "Yes, you are correct," he began, but Potter interrupted with, "Do you think you can hook it back up?"
Snape rolled his eyes. The brat had the most distressing habit of interrupting him before he could finish. "Yes, Potter, I should be capable of connecting it to my quarters," he drawled.
Harry knew he'd been rude, but Snape took too long before getting to the important part of the conversation. "Well, do it. I'm getting hungry and I don't fancy walking back through the miles of tunnels on an empty stomach."
Severus glared at the presumptuous brat, but did the necessary work to connect this fireplace to the one in his sitting room. Assuring himself that Potter had a firm grip on the precious manuscripts, he Flooed himself back to his quarters. Stepping aside, he watched with ill-disguised amusement as the brat exited the fireplace moments later. Potter nearly tumbled to his knees before righting himself at the last moment.
Harry laughed; he'd gone through the Floo and come out on his feet. Grinning his triumph, he said, "Finally. I thought I'd never mange to do that."
"At least you didn't damage the books," Severus sneered dismissively.
Seeing all the books in Slytherin's study reminded Harry of the one he'd been reading when he'd taken over Snape's fourth year class. After carefully setting down the precious books, Harry headed out the door, calling over his shoulder, "Be right back, got to get something."
Severus rolled his eyes at Potter's retreating back; the brat was always rushing off, leaving Severus to wait for him.
Harry jogged quickly through the halls to the Potions classroom; he scooped up the battered book and set off back to Snape's quarters. In less than five minutes, he was back. Panting lightly, he dropped onto the couch and faced Snape. "I was reading this that day I took your fourth year class, and saw the name, was it yours? Some of the directions make sense and the spells are wicked."
Severus took the book from Potter and flipped through the pages. "Yes, it was mine, and my mother's before me. I unearthed it to demonstrate to you the process of creating a spell."
"But about the Half-Blood Prince inscription, was that you?" Harry asked inquisitively.
"No one actually called me the Half-Blood Prince, if that's what you're asking. The only place I used the title was in that book; I invented that name in a vain attempt to make myself sound more imposing. But I never had the courage to tell anyone what I'd done." Severus joined Potter on the couch, long fingers tracing his boyish words fondly. "I had hoped that if I excelled at Hogwarts my grandparents would look more favorably upon me," Severus said bleakly.
Intensely curious about Snape's past but wary of offending him, Harry carefully asked, "But I thought you didn't like your grandparents?"
"Potter, I was a child when I went to live with them, and for far longer than was wise I sought their approval," Severus spat bitterly; he snapped the book closed and tossed it on the coffee table. "Indeed, my joining the Dark Lord was the final attempt I made at gaining their approval."
Wanting to understand the dour man, Harry felt compelled to ask, "Then you decided their approval wasn't important anymore?"
Snape's black eyes were lit with an unrepentant fire when they locked with Harry's. Harry listened with sympathy when Snape said in a hollow voice, "No, I decided the price of their approval was more than I was willing to pay. I wanted my self-respect more than the well-wishes of such sanctimonious zealots."
The next evening at dinner Harry was sitting with his friends at the Gryffindor table, laughing and enjoying their company, when the headmaster stood and cleared his throat. When everyone in the hall turned their attention to the headmaster, he spoke, "I have an announcement. This year Hogwarts is pleased to offer a Halloween ball to all students fourth year and above."
This announcement drew waves of chatter from the girls and several moans from boys remembering the Yule Ball, including Harry. But the headmaster was not yet finished. Once the noise died back down, he continued, "We have much to celebrate. With Voldemort behind us we can look towards a bright future. The ball will be formal dress, costumes are optional. The event will take place on the night of October the 31st and last until midnight. There will be members of the Ministry and press present, so I ask that you all show them only appropriate behavior that we expect from Hogwarts students."
Harry resisted the urge to beat his head on the table; however, he could not resist glaring daggers at the barmy old coot. Looking around the staff table, he noticed more than one professor doing the same. Indeed, the glare from Snape could have melted glaciers. Harry caught the Potions master's eye, and they shared a moment of silent communion on the state of mind of the senile older wizard before Harry was drawn into the excited chatter of his friends.
Severus could not believe that Albus would subject them to the farce of a Halloween ball. He glared at the old man until he finally gained his attention. Sparing a thought to the students, he made sure to keep his voice to a low malevolent hiss when he said, "What in the sodding hell are you thinking, you crazy old man? A Halloween ball? The very thought of such a catastrophe makes me want to use all of the Unforgivable Curses, preferably on you." His caustic remarks caught the attention of the surrounding professors; Minerva seemed to be silently cheering him on.
Albus smiled out over the students as he popped a lemon drop in his mouth. He turned that same smile on Severus, answering, "I felt Harry needed a distraction from his studies. This is my way of showing him how sorry I am that I violated his trust. What young man would not like the opportunity to dance with pretty young ladies and spend a relaxing evening with his friends?"
Shaking his head in disgust at the thought of such activities, Severus marveled at how little Albus appeared to know Potter. The look they'd shared had let him know the brat's utter loathing for the event matched Severus' own. "Do not expect me to attend such a noxious event, Albus."
"I'm sorry, my boy, but I'm afraid attendance is mandatory for all staff." At Albus' firm statement, Severus pushed away from the table angrily. He strode from the Great Hall with his robes billowing behind him, all the while muttering about senile old coots determined to be the death of him.
Harry eventually escaped from his friends' chatter about potential costumes and dates, and quickly headed to Snape's chambers. In the sitting room he discovered Snape in his chair, glaring angrily into the fire and smoking a cigarette. Harry dropped into the arm chair opposite Snape and snitched a cigarette from the open pack on the table. He lit his smoke and drew a deep drag before speaking. "What did Dumbledore say that made you storm out in the middle of dinner?"
"The old fool decreed it mandatory for all staff members to attend his fiasco disguised as a ball," Severus snapped out.
Harry laughed at Snape's obvious displeasure. "Well, have fun. I don't plan on being there."
Severus turned to Potter with an unholy gleam in his eyes. Voice dripping with ill-disguised amusement, he said silkily, "Oh but, Potter, you will be attending. Albus has dreamed up this little masquerade for your benefit."
Harry shivered down to his toes; the man looked positively evil. Reluctantly, Harry asked, "How is it for my benefit? I hate that shite."
"Our esteemed headmaster has decided that you need a distraction from your studies. In his misguided mind this ball is his way of offering you a further apology. And trust me, Potter, if I must suffer the indignity of attending this event, you will most certainly be present as well," Severus drawled softly.
Harry slumped his shoulders in defeat. There was no arguing with that tone, he'd either go to the bloody ball or Snape would make his life a living hell. He tossed his cigarette into the fire. "Why me? I accepted his apology, why is Dumbledore torturing me like this? Are you sure that he's not an evil dark lord behind those twinkling eyes?"
Snape simply laughed at him.