Trickster: Chapter Two
-
Harry glanced up from his charms book to see Snape there. His eyes widened. He hadn't seen Snape since that one time in his shop, and the man had never come back. He was more handsome than he remembered. It looked like Knockturne's affects had never left the man, who was still pale, and a certain air of darkness about him…
"Boy, get me my package."
Harry went to the back, frowning slightly as he saw Henry bent over the counter, asleep. The cauldron was too close by…
He got the package, absentmindedly giving it to Snape before going back to Henry.
"Henry…wake up…Henry?" Harry shook the man's shoulder, and then touched his face. It was cold. He snapped his hand back, his eyes wide.
He rushed out of the back, face pale. Snape looked up from his book. "I remember you now…hey, what's wrong?"
"He's dead…I think he's dead…I…" Snape frowned, and walked around the counter to the back. Harry followed the man's long strides.
Snape bent over Henry, checking him over. "This man is a werewolf."
"So?"
"The last full moon didn't work very well with him…did he have wolfsbane?"
"Yes sir. He said he had a bit of trouble procuring ingredients last time, we had to get them from somewhere else…" Harry trailed off, staring into Henry's blank eyes.
He felt his eyes burn. Oh Merlin…Henry was dead…what was he going to do? Snape closed the man's eyes, and turned to him.
"Are you infected?"
Harry looked up at the man in surprise. "No…I…" He looked back down.
The man frowned, staring at him. "Look at me."
Harry met his eyes, seeing the man look at his face carefully. "Do you have anywhere else to go?"
"I'll…find some place…I'm sure some of the other shop keepers need help, they all know me…"
The man frowned. "I'll be back."
Harry's heart thudded for a moment. What did that mean? He looked out the window, to see Snape striding across the street to the bookstore. Why was he going over there? He sat down at the stool and started to cry, burying his face in his arms.
The door opened, and he looked up to see Matilda and Snape in the doorway. Matilda clucked. "Oh child, come here darling." Harry went over and she hugged him tightly.
Harry sobbed into her robes, she holding him tightly. Harry pulled away, sniffling a bit as he saw Snape looking down at his feet uncomfortably. Matilda ran a hand through his long hair. "I'll find a place for you child, don't you worry. A friend of mine needs help in his apothecary, and you can work for him. His shop is in Diagon Alley, so you'll meet a lot of new people…"
Harry stared at her. "But…I like Knockturne Alley…it's my home…"
She gave him a soft laugh. "Oh child, you can always come and visit, we're not that far off. Go pack your things, and I will send you there."
Harry nodded, running up the stairs.
Matilda turned to the Professor, eyeing him carefully. "That boy's been through a lot. He was left here you know? His Aunt just dropped him off at the Leaky Cauldron one day…terrible, just terrible. She was most likely a squib you know, how else could she know about the place…"
Snape frowned, crossing his arms.
Matilda went on. "He's such a sweet boy, a hard worker too, terribly smart. I think Diagon Alley would be good for him."
"How old is the boy?"
"He'll be ten in a month."
Snape nodded, looking thoughtful as Harry came down the stairs with a battered looking suitcase. "What about the shop?"
"The ingredients will be sold to the apothecaries around here, the shop will be put up for sale. Come along, we should get going…"
Harry followed the two of them to Diagon Alley. He sighed. He'd been there before, but only at night. During the day it was…just was. Much more children. Everyone seemed happier. It couldn't be too bad. He stared at the huge bookstore as they went past. Matilda chuckled. "You can look later boy."
Harry grinned sheepishly at her as they went into the apothecary. As Matilda and Snape talked to the owner, he looked around the store. It was a mess. But Harry would clean it right up, just like he did Henry's place.
--
He didn't like the man. Mr. Jiggers. He was slimy looking, old, but not very nice like Henry was. He slept in the cellar with the spiders. He didn't mind, he was used to spiders. The difference between this place and his old job was that he was paid a bit more. He figured it was set up by Matilda and Snape.
He hardly saw the man, but he visited Matilda every weekend. Mr. Jiggers didn't let him deal with the customers that often, mostly putting him in the back preparing ingredients. He worked longer hours, but that meant more money.
His birthday was coming soon. He had about 200 galleons saved up from working all these years, and he was going to open an account on his birthday. He dressed in his best black robes, the ones that only had a little stain on the hem, and brushed his hair out.
He went upstairs to the shop just as dawn hit, planning on opening his account before he opened the shop up. He jumped as he saw Snape at the window. He raised his hood in the cold air, going outside and locking the door behind him.
"Sir."
The man tilted his head slightly. "Here." He handed Harry a letter, the parchment thick and a cream color, with green ink. Harry stared at it, and started to open it.
Hogwarts Apprenticeship
You have been offered this apprenticeship for a Hogwart's Scholarship. The Student must be tested for academic prowess, and upon entering the program, will assist all professors and students in classes and other needs. Tuition for Hogwarts will be paid for, and the student will be given a stipend each month.
Harry's jaw dropped. "This is for me? I…thank you." Harry whispered.
"I'm afraid I don't know what your name is."
Harry stared at the man in surprise, and laughed. "I'm sorry…I…"
The man frowned.
Harry held out his hand. "Usually everyone calls me Kid, but you can call me Harry. Harry Potter."
Snape's eyes widened minutely as Harry shook his hand.
"You're Harry Potter."
Harry nodded, lifting his bangs.
The man stared at it, then stared into his eyes. "Why did you never tell anyone?"
"Terribly dangerous. Couldn't tell people, especially in Knockturne…" Harry shrugged.
"Knockturne…" Snape murmured, looking down with a frown.
Harry sighed. "I've got to go to Gringott's…" He held out his money pouch.
Snape just nodded absentmindedly as Harry made his way to the bank, but Snape followed him there. Harry gave him a curious look, but shrugged. He went into the bank with wide eyes. He'd never been inside before, and it looked…amazing. The lobby was empty, as they just opened. Harry put his money bag on the counter and waited for the Goblin to notice him.
"Can I help you?"
"I'd like to open an account please…"
"Mr. Potter, you have an account here." The Goblin said with a slight frown.
Harry remembered reading that his father was a pureblood, but he didn't really know anything about money. And how on earth did the goblin know his name?
"I didn't know..."
"Do you have your key?"
Harry shook his head, but Snape spoke up. "Dumbledore has your key, Mr. Potter."
Harry frowned. "Why? And how do you know?"
"Another Professor was supposed to retrieve you tomorrow from the Durselys…"
Harry clenched his jaw. "Good luck finding them, my Aunt told me that they were moving years ago. Why does he have my key?"
Snape shrugged.
The Goblin frowned, flicking his wrist, a key appearing in his hand.
"Here is your key. Dumbledore no longer has it, wherever it is."
Harry blinked. "Was that Goblin magic? That was so cool…"
The Goblin chuckled softly. "Griphook. Escort Mr. Potter to his trust vault."
--
A little later, Harry grabbed an extra 150 galleons in addition to keeping his 200 that he was going to deposit, because Snape told him he would need the money to buy his supplies, as the stipend only covered extras during the school year.
"I think we should go to Hogwarts. I was going to take you there anyways, so we can set up a testing schedule for you, but I think we will need a meeting with Dumbledore."
They flooed to Dumbledore's office. Harry blinked in surprise at the brightly lit office, filled with portraits of half asleep rich looking people, and a red and gold phoenix in the corner. He stared at it in awe, jumping as Dumbledore (he assumed it was Dumbledore), spoke.
"Hello there…Professor Snape. And this is the boy you told me about…"
Harry stared at the man warily. The twinkle in his eyes were bright, and he just knew the man was dangerous, but at the same time…he could be very kind…
"Hello sir."
"Sit down, my boy. And Severus." The both sat down.
"So, Severus told me you were an assistant for years in an apothecary, then moved to another in Diagon Alley."
"Yes sir."
"And he told me he's talked to some people you knew growing up, they were apparently quite taken with you…"
Harry shrugged.
"We will arrange-"
Snape cleared his throat, motioning to the side. Both men stood, and Snape raised a very powerful silencing spell around them, and Harry blinked in surprise. He could see them talking to each other, and he fidgeted as Dumbledore looked to him in surprise. They talked a bit more, and Harry looked to the phoenix. He smiled at it, and the bird twittered.
He looked over as Snape ended the silencing spell and both men sat down again.
"Tell me how you came to be at Knockturne Alley, Mr. Potter."
The blue eyes had dimmed slightly, and the man's voice sounded slightly defeated. Harry looked down. "I went to London for the first time on my sixth birthday. I thought it was…a treat, you know? It was just me and my Aunt…anyhow, we went on this street, and she… said not to look for them, that they were moving…not to come back. I went into the Leaky Cauldron. I wandered around a bit in Diagon Alley…I had never seen so magic before, I was terribly excited. I got a bit lost, I suppose, and wandered into Knockturne. Henry found me, and took me in."
"Henry? Henry who?"
Harry frowned. "He didn't have a last name. A lot of people there didn't. He was a werewolf. He owned an apothecary there, and taught me. I read a lot, a lot of the bookstore owners there know me, I never bought anything, but they let me borrow books, as I always helped them out if they needed to order something from the store. Anyhow, Henry died, and Snape helped me get set up in an apothecary in Diagon Alley."
Harry glanced at Snape, the man was frowning at the floor. "I never told anyone who I really was, everyone usually just referred to me as the kid…only a few people even knew my first name. Apparently I look different than what everyone thinks Harry Potter should look like." He shrugged.
Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "What type of books did you read?"
Harry blinked in surprise. That's what the man asked? After all that? "Pretty much everything I could get my hands on…I love to read. I prefer Charms and Ancient Runes, besides Potions of course…"
Dumbledore got out a tin. "Lemon drop?"
Harry shook his head. "Not much for sweets. Sorry." He glanced to the tin, he could smell the calming draughts from here…
He glanced to Snape, and the man was trying to keep from smiling, but failing as the corners of his lips turned up slightly.
Dumbledore shrugged, popping one into his mouth. "More for me, I suppose. So, Mr. Potter, have you gotten your wand yet?"
Harry shook his head. "I wouldn't have been able to yet anyhow, as I just turned eleven today."
"Oh, that's right. Happy birthday, Mr. Potter."
Harry gave the old man a small smile. "Thank you sir."
"Now, I think we shall arrange for your tests to be…next Monday, how does that sound? You have the rest of the week to get your supplies and make your arrangements with Mr. Jigger."
Harry blinked in surprise. "Arrangements? Wait, I'm going back to work, aren't I?"
Dumbledore blinked, his face calm before he gave Harry a smile. "Of course, you can work during the summers, but you have much to prepare for before term starts…"
Harry nodded, looking down. Snape spoke up. "You can keep in contact with your friends by owl, if that's what you're worried about, Mr. Potter."
--
Exams were easy. They just took forever, it seemed. Exam after exam…and it was all theory! They said they would test the practical bits later. These exams would place him in the right classes. From what he gathered though, it was most likely he'd just be with the first years.
Harry really liked Flitwick. The man was funny, Harry could tell he had a bit of goblin in him, but it wouldn't be polite to say so. He knew he did extremely well in History of Magic, but that ghost professor was so boring…
Harry's Potion's practical was overseen by Snape, and Harry was very nervous. Extremely. But he thought he did alright, as far as the practical went. He made four different potions, three of them he recognized, one of them he didn't.
The transfiguration and charms practicals were a pleasant surprise, he did quite well in both of those, he thought, even if he only had his wand for a week, and some of the spells he cast for the first time, but had read about for ages. Defense went extremely well, especially Harry's paper. Harry did quite well, he thought, in Herbology and COMC, especially with items that were commonly used as potions ingredients.
He did okay, he thought in Ancient Runes and Arithmicancy, although they were surprised he wanted to be tested in those. He had, after all, been reading about them both for some time, and both of those relied heavily on theory.
Two days after his exams were over, Harry was sat down in Dumbledore's office, along with all of the Heads of Houses. All of them were grinning widely, and their eyes were happy, except for Snape, who's face was carefully blank. Like usual.
Harry fidgeted in his seat as he sat down, giving a small smile to Hagrid.
"So, Harry, how do you think you did on your exams?" Dumbledore said, taking out a folder. Harry shrugged.
"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"
The Professors chuckled, grinning.
Dumbledore smiled, eyes twinkling. "You did quite good, actually. We're to be placing you in Herbology, Transfiguration, and Charms with the third years, independent study in History of Magic, Care of Magical Creatures, and Defense Against the Dark Arts, as well as Potions of course, oh, and you will be in Arithmicancy and Ancient Runes with the fifth years, which is OWL level."
Harry's jaw dropped. "No way."
"Yes. Now, for your independent study courses, you will be working with each respective Professor, but in exchange for the time you will be working with them, you will assist them in their classes and for any projects around the school."
"Um…I live with my housemates, right?"
"Yes, and you will be in classes with them as well. Now, if there are any problems with your classes, let us know."
Harry looked down. "So…once I've tested for my OWL's in Arithmicancy and Ancient Runes…"
"You will go on to NEWT level, if you wish. Now…what do you want to accomplish here at Hogwarts?"
Harry bit his lip, looking down. "I want to do the best that I can, so I may open my own apothecary one day." He said shyly. It was a dream of his, and it could very well come true if he worked hard enough.
He looked back up, to see everyone's faces. A lot of them look somewhat surprised. "Really? Your Father's family tended to be Auror's or work for the Ministry…"
Harry blinked. "Well, I'm not my father. I never met him."
He saw several of the Professors flinch. He went on. "And I don't think I'd like to work for the Ministry, with what Umbrige has been doing lately…" He murmured.
Dumbledore chuckled softly. "There you have it. Well, Mr. Potter, welcome to Hogwarts. We will see you September First." Dumbledore shook his hand with his eyes twinkling full blast. Harry just grinned, terribly excited. He was going to Hogwarts!
--