Chapter 9: The Beginnings of a Friendship

For the two weeks following their trip to Diagon Alley, Snape and Harry returned to the cottage and continued to ignore each other for the most part. Harry started wandering around the house a bit more, only because it was excruciatingly boring sitting on his trunk all day and night when he had already finished his homework at the Dursely's.

While exploring, Harry overheard more conversations between Snape and Brevland (who was a frequent visitor) about the perpexling topic of the "Of" and "To." Though Harry heard these words mentioned at least ten times, he could not decipher anything of their meaning; only that To ruled over Of, but in Harry's case, Of would eventually rule over To.

Snape did give him couple short and aggravated spiels on potions. In Snape's words, Harry was doing "so painfully poor" in his subject that he would benefit greatly from the help of a professional. Snape briefly summarized some of the odd ingredients that he had bought Harry and set him to work on an extra skin-thickening potion and the potion assigned for homework (since the one that Harry had tried to make earlier was, of course, definitely not suitable).

One late summer day, as Harry leaned on his trunk under the tepid sunlight, Snape burst in to his room.

"Are your things packed? We're going to Hogwarts. I want you out in five minutes," he said sourly, and shut the door behind him.

Harry, who was always packed (since he didn't dare unpack and settle in to the green snakey room) immediately groaned up and lugged his trunk to the door. He poked his head out and called after Snape, "Is it September first already?"

Shaking his greasy hair slowly, Snape muttered, "What do you think, Potter? Ever wonder why professors don't come on the Hogwarts Express with the students?"

Realizing that Snape was leaving early for Hogwarts with him, Harry said, "Oh," and sluggishly dragged his case outside after him.

When Snape took out an old pair of earmuffs, Harry swore and said, "Not another portkey again!"

Snape scowled at him. "10 points fr- I mean, watch your language, Potter! And be respectful! No, we are not going by floo. Slytherins don't go by floo."

Reaching out to touch the portkey, Harry sniggered and rolled his eyes (thankfully, Snape didn't notice). That was about the hundredth time Snape had tried to take points off of Gryffindor. The portkey activated and pulled the two toward the ground.

Harry blinked and got up from the hardwood floor, finding himself on the floor of the headmaster's office. He got up and brushed his pitch black robes (Snape had insited that he wear his uniform in his cottage) to see Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall standing by the desk, looking over some papers.

"Ah! Severus! Welcome."

Dumbledore flashed his half-moon spectacles up at Snape, who replied, "Greetings, Professor."

Dumbledore then looked at Harry, his eyes twinkling. "And Harry," he said, smiling. "I heard the news." Dumbledore looked back to Snape, and then at Harry. "I'm sure you'll tire of hearing this, but you do look extraordinarily like your father." (a/n… I meant for that to be exactly the same as something Dumbledore said in book 1 or 2 or something! I only hope it's the same… don't have my book, so I can't check it…)

Harry surpressed a scowl out of respect for the elder wizard, who continued, "One never would have guessed, the way you looked uncanningly like James… But, no bother, Of and To are becoming quite equal- Am I right, Severus?"

Snape sighed and answered, "I suppose so. I have a book on it…"

"Well then, that's good! You should be able to find everything you need in it. Now then, Harry, I see you have your trunk. You may stay in your dorm in Gryffindor Tower, or any other suitable room that you would like."

"Erm- I'll stick with Gryffindor Tower, Professor."

Dumbledore beamed at Harry, while Snape made an odd coughing sound. "I don't think you'll want to carry that trunk all the way up to your dorm, do you?" Before Harry had answered, Dumbledore tossed a pinch of powder into the fire and called, "Dobby?"

Almost immediately, a little house-elf with wrinkled ears popped out of the fire. "Yes, sir?" Dobby said in response, but promptly squealed in delight when he saw Harry. "Harry Potter, sir! Master Harry Potter, Dobby is so happy to see you!" Harry found the teetering elf wrapped around his legs in a small hug-like gesture.

"Hello, Dobby," Harry replied. "Happy to see you, too." At this, Dobby became very excited indeed.

"Could you take Harry's trunk to his dorm? That would be greatly appreciated," Dumbledore said.

A huge grin spread across the elf's face. "Of course, sir! Dobby is loving to, sir! Anything for Harry Potter!" Dobby lifted the trunk with his magic and herded it out the door. Harry started to follow him.

Snape rolled his eyes and smirked. "Before you go, Potter. Please come by my office at eight o'clock to finish the potion we were working on. Do not be tardy."

Looking back, Harry called, "Alright, professor."

As Harry skipped down the spiraling steps two at a time, he heard Snape's voice again. "I'm expecting you tonight-"

"Alright, professor!" Harry yelled, running to get out of his father's prescence as quickly as possible. Snape did not have so much time as to chastise him before Harry ran out the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

Harry made his way back, wondering why Snape would have him come to finish the potion so early in the morning. He made it to Gryffindor Tower, persuaded the Fat Lady to let him in, and rushed up to his dormitory.

The rest of the day, nothing much else passed; Harry settled into his dorm once again, and wandered around the castle, thinking about his situation.

The next morning (at the early hour of 7:00 so that he would have time to go see Snape at eight), Harry trudged down from the Gryffindor tower to the Great Hall for breakfast. It was odd not being beside his friends as he had countless mornings before. He finally got to the Great Hall- it seemed longer when alone.

Harry automatically walked to his normal seat at the Gryffindor table and paused, remembering that he was the only Gryffindor there. Just as he paused he heard a voice call to him from the front.

"Harry! You can come up here!" Harry lookd over to see Dumbledore standing up, waving him to come, with a few professors seated around him. Harry walked over, and tenatively stood at a place by Flitwick. "It's okay, you can sit here," Dumbledore said again. "Surely you don't want to sit by yourself." Flitwick, McGonagall, and Binns nodded in agreement (Snape showed no emotion at all).

"No, I don't, sir. Thank you." Harry sat down, a smile playing on his lips; knowing from the placetag, this was Professor Trelawney's seat. Either she hadn't already come to Hogwarts or, yet again, had no inspiration to join them.

From his place two seats away, Snape looked Harry's way and narrowed his eyes. "I see you did not see it fit to do what I asked you, Potter," he snarled, putting emphasis on "Potter."

Harry returned the look and said, "What do you mean?"

"Don't give me that, boy. You know very well what I mean. Detention tonight, we will finish the potion and-"

Professor McGonagall turned to Snape in utter surprise. "Severus! The schoolyear hasn't even started! You really shouldn't-"

"Yes I should! It's-"

"Not allowed!"

"How do you know?"

Dumbledore looked up from his breakfast and turned sternly at the bickering teachers, who froze under his directing gaze. "Pray tell me, what is the matter?"

Snape scowled deeply. "Minerva doesn't find it necessary that I should give a detention to Potter for not showing up at my office last night when I kindly asked him to." He shot a look of venom towards Harry's direction.

Chuckling sternly, McGonagall replied, "I do not believe in detentions before the term starts, Severus, and he is in my house."

"Why did you not go to Severus's office, Harry? And what was the occasion?"

Harry sneered and said, "I didn't know I had to go last night. I was going to come at eight this morning."

"Eight last night, not this morning!" Snape bellowed.

Harry glared at his father. "I'm sooo sorry, that was extremely apparent," Harry said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well then, why don't you go this morning and finish up whatever you need to do? And stay a little longer, too- I think you two should spend as much time as possible together." Dumbledore beamed at the two and continued eating.

Harry held in a groan and muttered, "Alright, professor."

As he silently drank up his pumpkin juice, appearing to not be listening to anyone at all, he heard McGonagall say, "So the rumours are true, Albus, about Harry and Severus? They certainly look similar, although you'd never guess by the way they treat each other."

"Yes, yes. It is truly peculiar how two such closely related people can show such animosity," Replied Dumbledore, sighing a bit.

"But one would think- that is, perhaps this is why Harry looked so much like James before- but would he not have a closer relationship with James than with Severus?"

"One would think so, Minerva. I'm sure that it is accountable for Harry's previous appearance. But magic is so random, so unexpected, that some supernatural flaw in our science could be turning the tables. To is not that much stronger than Of. I suppose that they're about equal, now, especially since Harry spent his summer with Severus."

"That must be very hard on Severus. He and James were like archenemies- no wonder they're so bitter."

"I hope, by having them spend more time together, that they will come to realize how much they have in common and learn to respect their differences."

"Do you think that we could do something about that?"

But at this point, Harry's eavesdropping was broken when Professor Flitwick asked him, "How was your holiday, Harry?"

Harry snapped out of his listenening-state and looked at his tiny teacher. "Um- it was alright, thanks."

"Did you get a chance to write your composition on a theoretical charm?" He squeaked.

"Yes, I did, professor." Harry's annoyed tone cleary indicated that he wanted to be left alone, and so Flitwick gave up on trying to start a conversation.

After breakfast, Harry left the Great Hall trailing behind the group of Professors. He was quite surprised when Dumbledore himself came to walk right next to him, but didn't say anything.

Finally, Harry got the guts to speak up about what was bothering him. "Er- Professor?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"I was just wondering- everyone seems to think that both James and Snape are my father, and it's getting me all confused- you were talking to Snape about some sort of "To" and "Of," which he has been talking about all summer, and-well, do you know at all what is going on?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Ah, yes. The multiple relationships… Did you know that there are many, many kinds of fathers, Harry?"

"No, sir," Replied Harry.

"Take, for example, Sirius. He is your father."

"He is?" Harry asked skeptically.

"Why, yes, most certainly! I'm sure you knew that he was your godfather. That is a type of father."

"But- not really- what do you mean by 'father,' sir?"

Dumbledore smiled. "In the magical world, 'father' is a generic term for all these different types. Born To, Born Of, and Born For are the three major ones- the only three on the top of my head, also. A godfather is one's Born For father- do you follow me?"

"Yes, I think."

"Usually the Born To father and the Born Of father are one in the same. Born Of is a biological father; in your case, Severus."

"Alright…"

"And Born To is, literally, the father that you were born to; the father who loves you and cares for you when you are first born. That is James. You looked so much like James for so long because every person has a little bit of each father in him. Every magical father passes down qualities to his son as if they were hereditary. You have traits and characteristics of James, Sirius, and Severus. I strongly speculate that you have one more magical father, one whose bond with you is one of the rarest relationships there is."

"Who is that, Professor?"

"I think that that is best left alone for now- at least until you and Severus come to accept each other. I am not even sure that the bond is there, anyhow. As I said, it is one of the rarest and most ancient relationships, and there is very little information on it." Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, but he thought he saw Dumbledore's dancing blue eyes flick up to his scar.

Harry had a strong urge to persist furthur and to find out who his fourth father was, but he knew that Dumbledore would not give in.

"One more thing, Professor- I keep hearing people say that To rules over Of, but I don't really see why that is. It seems like Born Of would be a stronger relationship."

"Yes, it does seem like that. But, as I said, To is the father who receives his son into his care when the son is born; he is the first to openly love and accept. You will find a recurring theme in magic as you learn about its theories and expierience its force. That is that love overpowers all, and love is what fuels everything. After all, love is what saved your life and traded death for a faded scar." Dumbledore motioned to Harry's forehead.

They stopped walking, and Harry was shocked to find that they were standing before Snape's dungeon doorway to his office. Harry took a hint and started to open the creaking door. Just as he stepped in, Dumbledore added, "I hope that we can all learn to love each other, despite our pasts, and use our bonds to work such strong proctective magic as your mother had." Dumbledore smiled, eyes twinkling, and dissappeared behind a turn in the passageway.

Harry stepped in, and looked to Snape's desk. He expected to be filled with the same dread that he always had had when he came anywhere near Snape, but, for some reason, it was gone. Harry looked at his father in a whole different light when he turned around from his desk.

As Snape led Harry to the potions classroom to finish the potion, Harry surprised himself even furthur when he called Snape, "Dad." He didn't even realize that he was smiling slightly.

As for Snape, he felt an odd softening in his heart, softening just under the crinkled news photo in his shirt pocket, that he hadn't felt in many years…

Extra tidbit of the day: 6 Facial Expressions and Verbalizations Commonly Found In Slytherins

Scowl

Smirk

Sneer

Scoff

Sniff

aaaaannnnnnddddd…

Snarl!