Ok, this has not been beta'd yet so excuse any errors, I wanted to hurry up and post so here it is. I hope you all enjoy. Please remember to review!
Disclaimer: Who? me? ah yes I'm brilliant I own all of this..Wha?...sighs...ok you caught me. I own nothing and JK Rowling owns it all :(
A New Surprise
After Sirius had left, Harry excused himself from dinner and made his way back to his room in the dungeons. He was a little depressed that his godfather had to leave but understood that he was still supposed to be hiding. Not to mention, if here were to be honest with himself, he was a little uneasy about going back to the Potions Master's quarters. He was sure thats where the man had gone himself, and was sure the man was still more than a little sour about Sirius' prank.
Even though Harry knew that he himself had nothing to do with the prank, not really at least, he was sure that Severus didn't believe it. He wished that the Headmaster had already had chance to speak to the man, and convey Sirius' message that Harry himself had not been involved in any way.
Snape was in his private potions lab in his quarters. He was seething mad. He couldn't believe what the flea bitten mutt had just put him through. Oh the embarrassment! And the first had to be the Deputy Headmistress! Then the nerve of that feline to comment how she did!
He knew that Minerva was just going along and was not actually upset. However the implication that he had touched any of the female staff in an inappropriate way, and in front of the others, was thoroughly embarrassing for him. He would get that mutt back, and when he least expected it! Not to mention the boy! He knew that it was odd for Harry to come and read for an hour for no reason. Not to mention the fact it was during the time he was sure to be still visiting with his dogfather.
At the time Severus didn't even think about it. However now, he should have known. He was slipping, he couldn't believe that he hadn't noticed something was going on. The boy would pay.
Just as Severus exited his private lab, after beginning one of his potions, the drought of peace – it always relaxed him when he was worked up - he heard the door to his quarters open. He walked into his sitting room and saw the boy coming in with his head down, he obviously knew that he would be in trouble.
"Just what do you have to say for yourself and this little prank Potter!" He practically shouted at the boy. He almost regretted it the instant the boy flinched at his tone. In a voice not quite as loud but every bit as harsh and firm he continued "I should have known something was up when you asked if you could borrow a book! Well what do you have to say for yourself!?" he was almost yelling again.
Harry flinched again. This was not fair, he had already told the man at dinner that he had nothing to do with it. Then again so did Sirius. Anger began to boil inside Harry. "I already told you...Professor...that I had nothing to do with this!" he proclaimed through clinched teeth. "I have no control over what my Godfather does and to who he does it to!" he almost yelled back.
"So you mean to tell me that you had no clue what was going on? I hardly believe you are that naive Potter!"
"Well...sir...I admit that I knew he had something planned. However I do have a brain. I also realized knowing my Godfather it had to have been a prank." Harry began "Also, I realized that the only people here were professors, who I do have the unfortunate pleasure of residing with this summer and attending classes under when term begins!" Harry was now shouting as his anger got the best of him. "So therefore I did not wish to be involved and in trouble so I came down here to stay out of the way"
"You'd best not use that tone with me Potter!" Snape countered. "How do you expect me to believe that you had no idea what that Mutt was going to pull and that it was I that he was going to involve?" Snape sneered.
"I don't believe you!! We told you at dinner that I had nothing to do with anything! If that's not good enough though, why don't you go ask Dumbledore?! Sirius left specific instructions for the other professors make sure you knew that I was not involved in anyway with any of this!! He knew you would try to blame me! He was right you know? You are a mean old git with no sense of humor!" Harry ranted and yelled.
Snape was shocked, never in his life had anyone talked to him in that way, especially a student. Harry was standing there breathing heavily with his face flushed glaring at him...until..
Harry was so mad, he felt all his anger building up. He thought he would explode. He wished he could just fly, he wanted to take off out of a window somewhere and fly until his heart was content and he was no longer angry. He knew Snape would act like this. At this point he didn't care if he was sent back to the Dursley's. He wasn't going to stand around all summer and let Snape blame him for every little bitty thing.
All of a sudden he felt his magic. It felt odd, something was consuming him. He stood there a moment and then everything started feeling odd. His magic coursed through his whole body. Radiating through his every bone in an odd warm and tingly feeling. His vision suddenly distorted and he felt his body shifting. Harry between curiosity at what was happening, anger at Snape, annoyance at himself, and slight irritation towards Sirius and his prank, had no room to be scared.
He felt his body shifting, an odd feeling that. It felt like something was growing from his back. He suddenly felt himself fall forward on all fours. He then felt something growing from the base of his spine, like maybe his spine had elongated. Suddenly the shifting stopped. His vision was very odd. It was like he was looking in two or more like three, directions at once! He could see everything in front of him as well as to both sides. He could now hear exceptionally well too.
He looked down and almost had a heart attack. He was no longer human! What was going on?? He arms were no longer arms but some sort of scarlet fur covered legs with paws. He turned his head and tried to get a good look at the rest of himself. 'Bloody Hell!! I have wings!' He thought. The wings he noticed were gold in color and were folded back against his body. He looked to have the body of a giant scarlet cat of some sort, maybe a lion? Was he a lion?! No he couldn't be, lions weren't scarlet, didn't have wings, and surely didn't have a... a dragons tail!
Harry looked over to look back at Severus. The man was pale and his eyes were the size of a house elf's. Harry was a good foot or more taller than the man now. "H..Harry?" Snape stuttered. 'Uh oh' Harry thought as he became a little worried and now scared. If Severus was stuttering and looking like that this couldn't be good.
Harry tried to respond but all that came out was a noise that sounded like a cross between a screech and a roar. "It's ok Harry, I'm going to fire call the Headmaster, just stay there I'll be right back."
Severus Snape was shocked to say the least. It seemed as if Harry Potter just transformed as an animagus would. The boy was simply too young though. He hadn't even had any training! He threw some floo powder into the fire "Headmaster Dumbledore's Office" he stated as he stuck his head into the fire.
"Albus, I need for you to floo through to my quarters immediately!" he told them man sitting at the desk filling out some papers, more than likely for the ministry. With that he withdrew from the fire.
A moment later Dumbledore stepped through the fire. He immediately turned to Harry, eyes wide with awe. "Oh my, Severus! Where did you get such a beautiful Golden Fire Griffin? They are said to be extremely rare. I have only read of them myself!"
"Well Headmaster it appears the name that we gave, of 'Golden Gryffindor' was not merely a jibe. This here you see...is somehow, none other than your golden boy Harry Potter." To say that the headmaster was shocked would be an understatement, he was just down right floored. He knew that Harry was powerful, but to be able to change into an animagus form without even the mildest bit of practice was astounding to say the least.
"Ok, Harry we need you to change back but would you like to see yourself first?" The old man asked.
Harry, in griffin form, nodded his head. Albus conjured a large mirror that stood just far enough off to where he couldn't knock it over if he moved.
The first thing Harry noticed was that he was right, he was NOT a lion of some sort. Dumbledore had said he was a griffin...and not just any griffin, but a Golden Fire Griffin. He looked sideways into the mirror and saw that he had the head of a bird, covered in brilliant golden feathers, that appeared to almost glow . His body was that of a lion, but however was a bright scarlet. His tail was indeed that of a small dragon. He had bright golden wings that were erupting from his back, looking like a flowing golden waterfall. He was beautiful!
"Now Harry, I need you to completely relax and allow your magic to drain and return you to human form. Then we can discuss what happened and how this came about. With practice you could do this with ease." Dumbledore stated.
Harry nodded his head and closed his eyes. He felt the magic pulsing through him. He relaxed his body and willed his magic to return to his core to await later use. It was then when he was totally relaxed that he started to feel the change. He started feeling a tingling feeling in the tips of his paws that eventually enveloped his whole body to the tips of his ears. He then felt his back legs, his front legs and tail shortening. He felt the wings disappear as well as his neck growing shorter, and his ears and eyes moving.
Within just a moment Harry was once again a 14 year old boy. He was elated! He couldn't believe it. He was an animagus! And not just any animagus, but a Golden Fire Griffin!
"Wonderful my boy, just wonderful!" Dumbledore praised. "However, I am not aware that you have practiced transforming, so there are a few spells I would like to use to test your powers and such with. This is a powerful feat for someone so young Harry" He explained.
The magic had taken his toll on Harry, and between the events and his forgotten anger, he was now rather tired. In spite of his tiredness though he was equally curious about what happened. "Thank you sir, and you are right, I haven't practiced. I'm not sure what happened, I was angry and wishing I could just fly, then all of a sudden I felt my magic and felt my body changing, it felt odd. What kinds of tests sir?" He cautiously inquired.
"Nothing uncomfortable my boy, most will just give us some readings, the only one that will affect you is the animagus revealing spell for those who are training to be animaguses. You will just close your eyes and go into a trance like state to see which form or forms you will assume. You see my boy, most people do have the ability to turn into a non magical animal. Very seldom will someone turn into magical creature. Some extremely powerful people also have the ability to transform into both a magical and non magical form. I would like to check and see what forms are available to you. Although you may not have any more, this will let us know. I would like to run the other test spells first however." Dumbledore said to the excited yet worried green eyed boy.
"Yes sir. Um..do you mind if I sit for a moment? This is a lot to take in." Harry told the two men as he sat in the arm chair.
"Not at all, please relax. I can actually preform the spells from where you sit actually if that is ok with you? Ah yes, also we would like to use a heritage potion as well. All we will need for that is a single strand of you hair." Albus stated.
"Thats fine sir, but what will the potion do?" Harry asked.
"It will tell us all of your ancestors starting with your parents, we would like to know possibly where you acquired your strong magic from. Now just sit still for a moment and I will run a few minor tests." He waited for Harry to relax in his chair and started speaking an incantation in a language Harry didn't recognize. A confused look crossed his face and he started incanting another spell.
After a moment a bright blinding white light, with a slight blue tinge, encompassed Harry. Dumbledore's eyes grew larger and lit up. His twinkle even brighter than before, if that was possible. "Take a look Severus. The first spell, the readings were so high they would not register. This is a very old bit of light magic that tells the power by the aura color. The lighter the color the more powerful the person. It seems we may have been correct my boy. He is indeed extremely powerful. I myself have a light blue aura. Mr. Potter is proving even more powerful than myself, and as yet to even come into his full powers. " He turned to address Harry. "We will need to work with you on controlling your magic. It seems you are extremely powerful Harry. Possibly the most powerful person currently at Hogwarts. It seems your magic is still developing and will continue to grow. We need to help you control that so that no harm shall come to you or others. Now would you like to continue with the animagus spell?"
"Um yes sir, I guess that would be good" He replied sheepishly.
"Now, all you need to do is lie back and close your eyes. I will say the spell and you just need to relax and let the images take into your mind. After a few minutes the spell will end and you will know what other animal you are able to transform into, if any." Dumbledore illustrated.
Harry leaned back into the arm chair he was resting in and closed his eyes. He felt the headmaster come over and he made sure his body was relaxed. He heard him mumbling something but Harry couldn't make out what it was. He felt a spell warm his body. His mind suddenly went blank. All he could see was black everywhere. He started to see golden lights off in the distance. It seemed they were coming closer. He stood there in his own mind waiting and watching.
The first golden light was rather large. It brightened and turned red and then suddenly where the light previously was, resided a Golden Fire Griffin with green eyes. Just as Harry had seen himself in the mirror Dumbledore conjured. It was beautiful. The griffin looked at Harry, and gave him a slight nod and walked over to the side near Harry.
There was still another golden light a little ways off. Harry watched as it slowly drew nearer. This one, he saw as soon as it was close enough, was not nearly as big as the last light. So he assumed this animal would be smaller. When the light appeared in about the same spot as the previous, it started changing. Harry watched with eager anticipation. The light turned red and the shape of a large bird started to appear. Harry watched in awe as it slowly evolved into a Fire Phoenix, like Fawkes. This one though, was red with gold wings, a gold tail and green eyes.
Harry stood and studied the phoenix for a moment. He couldn't believe it, he was going to be a Fire Phoenix too! The phoenix looked over and nodded at Harry, let out a trill, and joined the griffin over by his side.
Harry saw that there was one more light. He watched as it grew closer. This light was smaller than the griffin, yet bigger than the phoenix. When the light grew closer it turned a bright silvery white color and before long he was looking at the image of a pure silver wolf with green eyes.
Harry was beside himself with astonishment. He couldn't believe it, He had two flying magical animagus forms and that of a non magical wolf. Now he could join Remus and Sirius at the full moons. The wolf, as the others had, nodded to Harry and walked over with the rest. They stood there for a moment before a gold light enveloped them all and then they were gone. Harry felt himself starting to come around.
Harry opened his eyes to find the for once dull blue ones of Albus Dumbledore staring at him from by his side. "Thank goodness! We were beginning to worry about you my boy. This spell usually only takes five to ten minutes. Fifteen at most. You however have been under it's influences for almost an hour. Did we accomplish our goal?" the headmaster asked.
"Yes sir, I know my animagus forms" Harry replied.
"Yes my boy, well then, what did you see?"
"Well I saw a Fire Phoenix, a lot like Fawkes, but this one had a gold tail and wings and green eyes like mine." Harry explained to the headmaster.
"Yes well that is odd, it is very rare that a person has only magical animals" thought Dumbledore.
"There was another sir." Stated Harry
"Yes Harry, we already know of your griffin form." Dumbledore replied distractedly.
"No sir, I mean I saw another form besides the griffin and the phoenix." He stated uneasily, he just remembered the old man saying earlier that it was normal but not often that people have two animagus forms; usually one magical and one non magical when it happens. Harry suddenly felt his face growing hot. He just always had to open his mouth. Couldn't he ever be normal for once?
"You saw three animals Potter?" Inserted Snape this time.
"Yes sir, the third was a silver wolf. The first form that came was a Golden Fire Griffin, the second was a Fire Phoenix, and the third was a silver Wolf. All of them had green eyes like mine." Harry tried to clear up.
"My, my... even I did not expect this..." Dumbledore thought aloud. He had his hand resting under his chin, as he often did when he was thinking.
"Is it even possible for someone to have more than two forms sir?" Harry asked hopefully. He hated not being normal. It seemed that every time he turned around there was something else that was going on to keep him from being normal. All Harry had ever dreamed of in life, was being a normal boy, with a family that loved him. A life where he was not 'The Boy Who Lived', but just Harry, Harry Potter, normal boy who was loved by a normal family. However at the same time, he was very excited.
"It is possible but extremely rare, even more rare than having two magical forms alone. I believe the last person to have three animagus forms in Britain was none other than Godric Gryffindor himself. He obtained the forms of a golden griffin, a red fox, and red tail hawk." Dumbledore finished.
"I just can't be normal for anything can I?" Harry sighed as he dropped his head into his hands.
"Ah, well my boy, normal is not always a good thing. Look at your friend Mr. Weasley. Has he not been jealous of you? You see, he seems to be over shadowed just a bit. With all of his brothers ahead of him, with their accomplishments, what does that leave for him? So you see Harry, in the eyes of others, these abilities are a gift." Intoned Albus before he turned to Severus.. "Now, Severus do you have any of the heritage potion ready, or do you need to brew it?"
"I do not have any on hand, it is not an often used potion. It takes about a week to brew. I could have it for you then." he replied solemnly.
"Yes, I would appreciate that, thank you. Now Harry, what we've discovered tonight is very critical information my boy. I must ask you not to tell anyone as of yet. I know you probably don't understand but there is a minimal amount I can tell you at this time. After we find out more, I will be able to inform you better. For now however I must ask you to refrain from using your animagus abilities and speaking of what we've learned." The headmaster rationalized.
"Yes sir, I understand. Um...do you think that maybe you could help me with the animagus stuff though? That was the first time I've changed, and it was by accident, I don't know if I could do it again. I don't even know how, never the less how to change into three different animals." Harry requested.
"Yes my boy, I would be proud to help you with that. I do believe though that for this week we need to work on controlling your emotions, and your magic. Professor Snape will have to help you with that. He is currently available and already knows of the situation. After the heritage potion in a week, I will guide you through the animagus forms. Fawkes will be thrilled to have some company for once!" Dumbledore exclaimed as his eyes twinkled merrily.
"Thank you sir."
Severus sighed. How in the world was he supposed to teach the boy something as difficult as controlling his emotions and magic, when the brat could not seem to brew even the simplest potion even with the instructions written out step by step? He knew that the headmaster was right however, and that there was no use arguing. He was not going to be completely busy, and he and Albus were the only two currently aware of the powers the boy was showing.
The process was not entirely difficult really. It just required a lot of self discipline, and that was the one thing he was sure the boy didn't have much of. Then again on the other hand, the boy had taught himself to deal with pain, both physical and emotional. Severus was sure that the boy had been abused his whole life, yet he had never showed signs of it really, and never asked for help or told anyone, not even his closest friends. So maybe it would be difficult yes it definitely would but maybe not impossible.
Harry looked over at his potions master. He immediately begun to dread the coming week. He knew he was in for a rough time. The man thought him to be a complete imbecile. Then again how could he not? Harry was rather well at potions, when Malfoy wasn't throwing unneeded ingredients in his cauldron. Snape himself didn't help any either, by always yelling insults in Harry's face, and standing over him just waiting for him to mess up. With these events it was rare that any of his potions turned out reasonable.
With his deal with the man about not insulting him, and Malfoy being no where around, he thought maybe he could do better. Yes that's it! He would do better, he would prove to Severus that he was not an imbecile, and that he could follow directions and do a good job!
Dumbledore was absolutely delighted as he looked back and forth between the two dark haired people. He knew that these two needed each other. They both needed someone to love and someone to love them. Albus loved them both, but he could not provide them with the love they needed from each other. It saddened his heart to think he was missing out, and that he had caused both of them so much pain. He was finally going to rectify that mistake though. He would not rest until he did. They were his student and colleague, but above all, they were his boys. His wonderful, strong, intelligent, admirable - yet stubborn - boys.
Albus chuckled as he looked from one to the other with these thoughts going through his head. Everything was going to turn out just fine. He knew it would.
Over the next week Harry was truly miserable. He had thought that Severus would work him to death on trying to control his emotions and magic. Finally on the last day of the week, he accomplished something.
"Pot..Harry!" Snape began. "You are not concentrating hard enough! Your spells are still too powerful! This is just the beginning. Your magic is still growing and if you do not learn to control it now then you will not be able to later, and you will end up bringing harm to yourself and possibly others. Lets try this another way" Severus admonished.
"Think of your wand as a measuring device. When you go to cast a spell, do you feel the warmth growing in your wand?"
"Yes sir, it's like a warm tingling sensation I feel inside." Harry replied without having to think about it. That was one of the reasons he loved his wand. Every time he began to cast any kind of spell with his wand he felt a warm tingling sensation start in his hand and course throughout his body.
"Good, then you have a strong bond with your wand. That will work perfectly. As I was saying, look at your wand as a measuring device. Imagine it filling with your magic. The more magic that enters your wand, the more pronounced that sensation, and the more power you are using. When you feel the adequate amount of power to use, depending on the situation, force that amount of magic out of your wand. It may take a several tries at first, but you will eventually be able to achieve it. Now I will walk you through it. Try another Lumos and try to make it only the brightness of a candle."
Harry was ready, the first several tries he had so much power in his lumos that he didn't expect. It was almost blinding. "I'm ready sir."
Harry closed his eyes. "Ok, now Harry, Imagine your wand as a measuring device and slowly imagine it filling with magical energy." Severus instructed. Harry imagined his wand filling slowly with white light. He felt the slight tingling sensation as always, and knew it was working.
"Ok when it is just about five centimeters full, stop the flow and release the spell" He directed the boy.
Harry waited until his magic filled his wand to the length of about five centimeters and then he stopped it. He felt a light tingling warmth in his body, mostly in his hand and arm. He then quietly but firmly incanted "lumos!" and opened his eyes to see a very faint glow at the tip of his wand. He was ecstatic. He had done it!
Snape was amazed, and for some reason, he had this very happy, proud feeling rise up in his chest. Out of no where he reached over and pulled the boy to him, arms firmly around the boy's shoulders.
Harry not realizing what he was doing exclaimed "Did you see that?! I did it!", and hugged the man back.
Both suddenly realized what they were doing and quickly pulled away, Harry blushed and Severus turned away clearly fighting a blush himself. Harry looked down at his shoes, and Severus looked anywhere but at the boy. Both currently harboring the same thought. 'What was that?' and 'Why did I just do that?'. Harry trying desperately trying to escape the tense situation quickly replied "Um, if that is all sir I think I'll go to my room now."
"Yes, yes we are done, you may go." The Potions Master replied. Harry quickly fled the room an Snape dropped down heavily onto the settee. Why in the world had he just hugged the boy. It came out of nowhere. He didn't even realize what he was doing until he had already done it.
Severus had to admit though. Something inside of him stirred when the boy hugged him back. It was an odd feeling. Almost like someone had just lit a fire deep within him. He wasn't sure what was going on. One minute he was annoyed with the brat, and cursing Dumbledore for placing him as the boy's guardian. The next minute he was feeling close to the boy and hugging him. What confused him the most was the fact that Harry had hugged him back.
Harry was in the same mood in his own room. Severus had just hugged him. Harry noticed the look in the professor's eyes when he had gotten the amount of power right. He looked, well...proud. Harry felt all warm inside at the thought. He had made someone proud. Even if it was the Potions Professor, it felt good. The way the man hugged him when he had gotten the spell right was a feeling he wouldn't forget. What he wondered was if Severus really meant it when he hugged him or if he regretted it.
Both of them went to bed that night thinking of the days events, and both with warm feelings of the other in their hearts.
The next morning Harry woke early and joined Severus in the dining area for breakfast. "I would like for you to work on controlling the amount of power you put into your spells for a little while again this afternoon. I should have the heritage potion ready by after dinner this evening." Severus stated all the while looking Harry straight in the eye.
"Yes sir." Harry replied. He sat eating his breakfast in silence for a little while. He had received a letter from Ron last night before he went to bed. Ron had asked Harry to come to the Quidditch World Cup match with them in a few weeks. He even said that his dad had an extra ticket so that one of the professor's could come as Harry's escort well. Harry wanted to go and knew he needed to ask Severus since he was his guardian, however he wasn't sure how to go about that. He decided that a direct approach would probably be the best.
"Um..Severus?" He asked and only continued when the man looked up at him. "Ron wants me to go to the Quidditch World Cup with him in a few weeks. He said his dad already has all of the tickets, and even an extra for someone to come with me. I was wondering if I could go and if so, would you mind being the one to come with me? You are my guardian after all." he asked hurriedly. He looked up to see a thoughtful look on his guardians face.
"I shall speak with the Headmaster about this. Do not get your hopes up. I do not care one way or another if he allows you to go, so I will not argue in your favor. Understood?" Severus made clear.
"Yes sir." Harry knew that he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up already but he couldn't help it. He had never really been to a wizarding event. He had never been to a muggle one either for that matter. He couldn't help but feel a little saddened at the man's response.
They each finished their breakfast and went about their own business. Harry went to his room and decided to finish up the last bit of his homework for the summer, which happened to be transfiguration. Severus went into his lab to preform the next to the last step in his brewing. All he had left to do was to allow it to simmer for 8 hours, and then add a single strand of Harry's hair later when they were ready.
After lunch they met back in Severus' quarters. He had Harry try several different calming techniques. He had introduced one to Harry a few days before that seemed to work best for the boy, but it never hurt to check a few others. Now all Harry had to do when he started feeling angry or upset, was to close his eyes and imagine that he was riding his broom in an open meadow. He pictured flowers and soft grass underneath, a few trees off to one side and a peaceful stream that ran along the edge. He imagined he felt the wind blowing through his hair and on his face as he flew.
Each spell that Severus tested him in only took up to two, sometimes three, tries to adjust the power. Harry was surprised at how much better a teacher Snape was during these times than in class. He knew that his teacher had a roll to play he had seen his mark last year during the incident with Sirius. He had asked Remus why Dumbledore trusted Severus knowing he had the dark mark. Remus explained to Harry that even though he took the mark it was not exactly willingly and that Severus, shortly there after, realized his mistake in not refusing. He explained about how Severus had come to Dumbledore and that the headmaster had accepted Severus. Also the fact that Severus actually spied for the light side during the last war, at a great risk to himself.
Harry wished that the professor would, and could, act like that in class. Harry knew after these lessons that it was pride that caused the look in the man's eyes the night before. He saw it again each time he adjusted his spells today. He was actually beginning to enjoy his time with Severus.
After a few hours of practicing Severus told Harry "That is enough for today, you progressed well over the past week. I must go speak with the headmaster before dinner. Please meet us in the Great Hall on time for dinner and we will return here with the headmaster afterwards for the heritage potion."
"Thank you Severus, you know when you're not trying to put on a show for the Slytherins you really are a good teacher. I'm sorry I didn't see that before." Harry apologized.
"That is quite alright Harry. It is hard to notice with the way I have been with you. I apologize myself for it having to be that way" 'What in the world am I doing? I don't need to apologize to him. It's none of his business what I do in my classroom!' Severus thought. "You seem to do well yourself when judged fairly, not deliberately sabotaged, and calm." 'Oh great!' Severus thought 'I'm going soft, why don't I just put a diaper on the boy and a bottle in his mouth.' he dryly finished his thoughts. "I must be going now. Do not be late or I will come looking for you, and I will not be happy."
With that the, 'oh so feared' professor, and head of Slytherin house left the quarters. Harry returned to his room and decided to put some of his things away. His room was not really that messy, maybe because it was so big. He didn't really have a whole lot or stuff anyways. He had just recently began acquiring things. He put his things away and decided to read through the book that the Granger's had given him for his birthday entitled 'Great Auror's of the 20th Century'.
Meanwhile, Severus Snape made his way up to the headmaster's office. He gave the password at the stone gargoyle "cotton candy" and rode the stairs up to the door of the office. He knocked on the door and was immediately asked to enter by his old mentor.
"Ah Severus, how wonderful. Please have a seat! Lemon Sherbet?" he greeted.
"No thank you Albus. I guess you could say I have come to give you a report on how Potter is fairing and to give a request on the boy's behalf." Severus sneered.
"Ah yes my boy, tell me how is Harry's training going? Tea?" he offered.
"Yes please. He is doing rather well, much better than I expected I must admit. After we found techniques that worked for him he succeeded fairly easily. He still needs work on controlling his emotions, but is slowly progressing in that as well. I think that if he can control his mind as far as his memories, much like occulmency, then he should do rather well in that area also." Severus admitted.
"Good, good, very good my boy. I am glad to hear it. So what is the request you have on behalf of Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore prompted.
"It seems that Mr. Weasley, the younger, has invited Mr. Potter to the Quidditch World Cup in a couple of weeks. He would like to attend. Arthur also acquired another ticket for Mr. Potter, I assume for some sort of escort for added safety. Mr. Potter has asked that I accompany him. He is aware that your decision is final and that I will not argue on his behalf." Severus finished, hoping in a way that the headmaster would deny the request. On the other hand, he and the boy could both use some time out of the castle
"Yes, well. I believe that if you would be willing to be Mr. Potter's chaperon I could arrange for the two of you to portkey in to meet the Weasley's that morning and then take a returning port key after the match. I must warn you though, if you go, to be on your guard at all times. We have been hearing things lately that do not sound very good for our side." he accepted the request.
"I will speak to Mr. Potter tomorrow about it" he answered. "The heritage potion is currently ready and cooling. If you would join us after dinner I believe it would be a good chance to get to the bottom of Mr. Potter's ancestry."
"Yes that sounds like a plan. Now what do you say we go to dinner? I wonder what lovely meal the elves have prepared for tonight..." He dazedly wondered.
Severus shook his head at the old man's antics. Dumbledore was truly an intelligent man, however he still sometimes acted like a barmy old fool. They made their way to the Great Hall and entered right behind Harry. They enjoyed a peaceful dinner with the rest of the staff, having quiet conversations.
After dinner, Harry, Severus, and Albus Dumbledore made their way to the Potions Master's quarters. "Now Harry, this will be very simple. All we will need to do is gather a strand of your hair, mix it into the potion and cast a simple spell. We then take three sheets of parchment and place one on top of the other. The potion is spread out onto the top piece of parchment. The magic mixed with the potion then causes the names of your ancestors, starting with your parents going back thousands of years to appear on the bottom sheets, your mother's line on one, and your father's on the other. Do you have any questions?"
"No sir, I understand. So this will tell me all my relatives starting with my parents, grandparents and so on for...well, how far exactly?" Harry asked.
"We are not sure Harry, we are hoping for at least the time before the founders. Hopefully further." Severus answered for the headmaster. He turned to Albus who's eyes suddenly lit up as bright as Harry's over powered lumos earlier in the week. He looked at Severus and smiled like the Cheshire Cat. Severus didn't understand why at first. Then it dawned on him. He had just called the boy 'Harry' not 'Potter' in front of the meddling old coot. Just wonderful, now he would think they were getting along perfectly which was not a lie, but not exactly true either, but Dumbledore didn't need to know that. He simply sneered at the man he thought of as a father, he would deal with that slip up later.
The reached the quarters and Albus spoke with the portrait of his great-grandfather. They were having a pleasant conversation until impatiently interrupted by Severus saying "Sorry to interrupt this little family reunion but I believe we do have other important matters to attend to."
Lord Kinston replied "Ah yes Severus, ever so diligent. An asset to my grandson's staff you are! Well good day then, do come back to chat sometime Albus." Harry and the headmaster bid Lord Kinston goodnight and the three entered the quarters.
As soon as they entered Severus retrieved the heritage potion and three sheets of parchment. "Now all we need is a strand of your hair Potter." He firmly requested of the boy.
Harry reached up and pulled a single hair from his head. 'Why does it always hurt worse to pull one than a handful?' He wondered to himself. He then handed the hair to Severus who placed it into the vial with the potion. Severus then replaced the stopper and swirled the potion around until it turned a shade lighter of the red it already was.
Severus then laid the two parchments down picked up the vial of potion, pointed his wand at it and said "Revealio Heritigas." He then poured a generous amount of the potion onto the top parchment and spread it out with a small spatula he pulled from one of his robe pockets. He then tapped the parchment with his wand once the potion had soaked through.
A sudden white glow encompassed the parchments and then faded. Albus picked up the parchments, sitting the top on aside. His eyes twinkled madly and Snape gasped as he read over the Headmaster's shoulder. Snape, who was always so well composed, had to pick his jaw up off the floor. He could not believe what he read...
Don't ya just hate cliffys?
Hides OK I''M SORRY!! I'll post soon I promise. I don't want to do this often but a little suspense is fine right? Please review!!