Trust In Me
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
A/N: Firstly, can I apologise for the massive gap between this chapter and the last, I really struggled with this chapter and making sure Harry and Severus were not too OOC, and then real life just ran away with me. I've now finished college and am in my second year at university, I'm training to be a primary school teacher so that has ruled my life lately. However, having finished my first year at uni, I have gotten much better at managing my time so I can finally give this fic the attention it deserves. :) Thank you so much to the response to the last chapter! It makes me happy that everyone seems to be enjoying Trust In Me. Also, thank you so much to everyone who has left reviews or added this story to their favourites or alerts! Trust In Me has been added to 3 more communities, Silvanu5, HP simply and The Vault, so thank you! Here's the next chapter of Trust in Me :)
Chapter 6
Ron and Hermione watched anxiously as Harry followed Professor Snape out of the Great Hall.
"Do you think he'll be okay Hermione?" Ron asked, his eyes remaining on Harry until he was no longer in sight.
"Whatever Professor Snape has planned for him, it can't be as bad as what Umbridge was making him do." Hermione answered, ignoring the incredulous look Ron shot her way. Sighing, Ron's gaze softened and he offered her a smile.
"I hope you're right Hermione," he sighed.
"I normally am," she joked, trying to lighten the mood. Ron gratefully squeezed her hand, before turning his attention back to his food, and it wasn't long before the pair continued eating their meal. Despite their attempts at conversation, they could not stop their thoughts from returning to Harry, as they wondered what was happening to their friend at that precise moment.
Following Snape into his office, Harry could not help feeling nervous, as he wondered what exactly this detention would involve. He knew nothing Snape threw at him could possibly be as bad as what Umbridge had him doing, but he still felt tense. Up until a few days ago, the man standing before him had hated his guts and wasn't shy in showing it. Harry knew Umbridge's punishment had angered the Potions Professor, but he wasn't sure if that would be enough to begin to thaw Snape's hatred towards him.
"Have a seat, Mr Potter," Snape commanded, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. Not wanting to anger the Professor so soon into the detention, Harry did as he was told. Taking a seat himself, Severus Snape surveyed Harry thoughtfully, his black eyes meeting Harry's curious emerald ones. So much like Lily, Severus thought sadly. Stopping himself from dwelling further on the past and the loss that was still felt, Severus transferred his gaze to the scars on the back of Potter's hand.
"How is your hand, Mr Potter?" Severus asked, slightly amused by the confusion that darted briefly across Harry's face.
"Erm, fine. I mean, its fine Professor." Harry replied, confused by the, dare he say it, polite tone his once hated professor was using. "The Murtlap Essence has helped," Harry hesitated, before adding a quick "Thank you." Trying not to show the surprise he felt, Severus Snape nodded his head in acknowledgement.
"Good. Now, Mr Potter, rather than have you waste both of our time with pointless lines or incorrectly prepared potion ingredients, I thought I would give you the opportunity to fix your abysmal attempt at brewing the Draught of Peace," Severus Snape stated, noticing Potter's obvious relief at having a relatively harmless detention. "If, by some miracle, you manage to brew this correctly, you may use the rest of your detentions this week to complete your homework, and reattempt the previous disasters you have dared to hand in. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir," Harry replied, feeling both relieved and embarrassed to be given the chance to correct his failed efforts. With a wave of his wand, Severus's carefully prepared instructions appeared on the blackboard.
"You may begin."
Carefully gathering all the equipment and ingredients he would need, Harry set to work, eager to show his Professor that he had learnt from his previous attempts.
Elsewhere in the castle, furious words were being exchanged between the Headmaster and the Deputy Headmistress.
"How could you let that woman get away with this Albus?!" Minerva McGonagall shouted furiously, her wand pointed dangerously close to the Headmaster's face. Despite his outwardly calm façade, Albus Dumbledore could not quite hide the nervous sweat that appeared on his brow. If he did not handle this situation carefully, he had no doubts that Minerva would hex him into next Tuesday.
"Now, Minerva, why don't you just calm do-"
"Don't you dare tell me to calm down Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore! Severus told me what that woman has been doing to Harry Potter, how could you just sit there and no nothing?" Minerva yelled, angrily considering how many times she could curse Albus before he disarmed her.
"Minerva I-"
"Albus, Harry is still a child. I know he has been through things that have forced him to grow up far too quickly but he is still a child, one of my Lions. How can you sit back and do nothing?! How long before she starts doing this to the other students? Does she have to use it on the whole school before you do something about it?" Minerva shouted.
"Enough." Albus said softly, rising to his feet. Minerva slowly lowered her wand, knowing that, in her anger, she had gone too far. "Do you think that this has not angered and upset me? Do you think that I enjoy having Dolores here in this castle, spreading her poison and alienating Harry from his peers?
"I'm not saying that you don't care Albus, I just can't understand how you are not doing everything in your power to stop this woman and remove her from the castle."
"As much as I want to, there is nothing I can do to remove Dolores from her position. By denying Tom's return and discrediting Harry and I at every chance he gets, Cornelius has taken the way I am viewed in our world and twisted it beyond belief; anything I attempt to do to Dolores will only result in her receiving further support from the Minister. The last thing we need is for Dolores to be given more control over Hogwarts." Albus stated regretfully, returning to his seat, defeated. Minerva regarded him for a minute, before sighing.
"I don't like it."
"Neither do I Minerva. Neither do I."
"Is there anything we can do to help Harry?"
"Try to get him to control his anger Minerva, the more he lashes out, the more Dolores is going to delight in trying to break him."
"He's been through so much Albus." Minerva whispered, wiping away a stray tear.
"I know Minerva." Albus replied sorrowfully, a sombre silence falling that even the eavesdropping portraits did not have the heart to break.
"I've finished Professor." Harry said quietly, drawing Professor Snape's attention from the potions essays he was marking. As Snape surveyed the potion he had just finished brewing, Harry couldn't help but feel nervous; he was sure he had followed all of the instructions properly, and he was sure that his potion was the colour it was supposed to be, but he felt nervous all the same. It was odd, but after all the trouble Snape had gone to in order to keep Harry away from Umbridge and her medieval ideas of punishment, Harry found that he did not want to disappoint the Potions Professor.
Surveying the potion that Potter had been diligently working on for the last hour and a half, Severus Snape was pleasantly surprised to find that he could not fault it; unlike his previous attempt, Potter had managed to brew the potion perfectly, right down to the light silver vapour that was rising from the potion. It was a potion Lily would have been proud of, he thought, remembering the love of potions the pair had shared when they were still on speaking terms.
"Well done Potter. This potion is much better than your previous mess. You may return to Gryffindor tower."
"Thank you Professor." Harry said gratefully, before exiting Snape's office.
"Password?" The Fat Lady asked, looking at Harry expectantly.
"Mimbulus mimbletonia!" Harry answered. Giving him a smile, the Fat Lady swung open, and allowed Harry to climb into Gryffindor tower. Spying Ron and Hermione working on some homework in their spot, Harry hurriedly made his way over to them.
"Hey." He said to get their attention, knowing they would be eager to hear how his detention with Snape had gone.
"Harry! You're back early, how was it?" Hermione asked, moving over so that there was room for Harry to sit with her and Ron.
"Yeah, was it alright mate? Hope Snape wasn't too much of a git." Ron said.
"Snape was alright actually. It went much better than I thought it would, he gave me the chance to fix my Draught of Peace potion." Harry replied, his anxieties from before forgotten.
"I'm glad it went well Harry." Hermione said sincerely, choosing to ignore Ron's look of disbelief. "Do you know what you're doing in the rest of your detentions?"
"Yeah, Snape said I'd be able to work on my homework, and redo some of the poorer pieces of work I've already handed in."
"That's great Harry! Ron and I were just working on our Charms, did you want to join us?"
"Hermione, he's just come from detention! The last thing he wants to do is homework, Harry, mate, do you want to play a game of Wizard's Chess?"
"Sure."
Harry and Ron spent the rest of the evening playing chess, as Hermione worked on her Charms essay. For the first time since coming back to Hogwarts, Harry finally felt at home.