Norbert-part1
Albus sat in his chair, waiting patiently for Severus to speak. His eyes followed his pacing colleague as the dark man moved from restlessly from the heavy desk to the window, pausing every now and then to look out at the grounds below.
The headmaster had never seen Severus so upset. It was uncommon for the Potions Master to enter Albus' office without saying a single word. Normally he stormed in and snarled out the facts, but not this time. All Albus could do was wait for a hint.
"Harry." Severus finally spoke up.
Albus' face grew serious. It was not only the fact that it involved Harry Potter that concerned him; it was the way Severus said the single word that was concerning. The headmaster watched his pacing colleague once more, but then he remembered what had previously angered the man.
"Did you find out something about the Dursleys?" Albus asked gently.
Severus just growled in disgust, but his emotions were clear to Albus.
"How serious is it?" the headmaster wanted to know.
Severus sighed and finally dropped down on the chair in front of Albus' desk. The headmaster's alarm grew. This lack of verbal answers was getting under his skin; Severus Snape was not a man who suffered in silence. Severus' body language was positively alarming.
Severus stroked his hand over his face and looked straight at Albus. "He cannot go back to his relatives."
Again Albus waited until Severus gathered his thoughts and explained what he had learned from Harry. Once Severus had finished, Albus rather wished his colleague hadn't told him anything, because the situation was more complicated than Severus or Harry could know.
It would have been easier if Vernon Dursley were the one beating Harry. The case would then be clear and the response unquestioned. The hearing would proceed quickly, and few questions would be raised. But verbal or emotional abuse would be a lot harder to prove, as would physical abuse by proxy. It would likely become a long drawn-out battle, which would be impossible to hide from the press.
And that was the problem. If the matter reached the public ear, then it would become problematic not only for Harry but also for Albus. The Ministry of Magic would get involved, and that was the last thing Albus wanted.
It had been hard enough to convince the Minister of Magic that it would be best for Harry to grow up with his Muggle relatives, but eventually Albus had been made responsible for Harry's welfare. If the Minister were to find out now what a huge mistake Albus had made, then his guardianship of Harry would come to an abrupt end.
The headmaster hid his face in his hands. It had never crossed his mind that the Dursleys might not provide the best home for Harry. He had thought it would be the safest place for Harry because of Lily's blood protection. Who would have thought that the danger was living under the same roof as Harry?
"What shall I do?" Albus asked sadly.
Severus was lost in thoughts of his own. He knew it was a lot easier to talk about taking Harry away from his relatives than to put it into action. At Albus' question Severus looked up again and found a very old and tired-looking man before him.
"We must find a solution," Severus said flatly.
"What exactly did you promise Harry?" Albus asked.
"I promised him that I will do everything in my power to get him out of there."
Albus nodded pensively. "I will try my best to come up with a suitable solution."
Severus wasn't happy with the statement. Something sounded strange. But there wasn't anything he could do but trust the headmaster. And the headmaster had saved him from Azkaban.
While Albus was once again lost in thought, Severus stood up to leave. He was at the door when he heard Albus' voice.
"Wait!"
Severus turned around.
Albus stroked his beard and looked at his colleague, considering. Finally he looked deep into Severus' eyes and said, "I will talk to Minerva. It is clear that Harry has begun to confide in you. I'm confident you won't abuse your power if I give you guardianship of Harry during the school year. The boy should know that there is someone he can rely on."
Severus eyes widened, but he recovered quickly and finally nodded. "Thank you for your trust. I won't disappoint you."
As Severus left, he wondered why he was glad about the guardianship. Why he was glad to be responsible for the biggest troublemaker in the school. But he knew that deep down he welcomed the chance to show Harry what parents are supposed to do.
-ooo-
Harry looked abashed as Professor Snape entered the hospital wing. He no longer knew how to act in front of the man.
"I assume you are feeling better?" Severus asked in a neutral voice. He didn't want to confuse the boy any further.
"Yes, Sir," Harry answered, twisting the end of the blanket in his fingers.
"Did Professor Dumbledore inform you of his decision regarding us?" Severus asked, already knowing the answer.
Harry just nodded, gripping the blanket even harder. Severus waited as he noticed that the boy was struggling to find the right words.
"What exactly does it mean for me?" Harry finally asked.
"It means that you can come to me whenever you need to talk. But it also means that you should come to me first, before you get yourself and your friends in trouble. If you are concerned or confused about something you should come to me. I can't promise to answer every question – there are some things which, like it or not, you are too young to know – but I will be as frank as possible with you."
Harry nodded but remained silent.
"It also means that I'm responsible for you if you misbehave. And if necessary I will punish you."
"Will you… " the boy's voice trailed off, then he gulped and continued in a much lower voice "…beat me?"
"No!"
Harry blushed. "But you said…"
Severus frowned. "You will find out that there is a difference between a spanking, which smarts for a short time, and a brutal hiding like the ones you received at the hands of those brainless Muggles. And I will only spank you if you needlessly place yourself in life-threatening situations."
"Like in the Forbidden Forest?" Harry asked in a small voice.
"Yes, or the incident with the three-headed dog or the one with the troll. I'm sure even you can describe how you could have handled these situations better, if you had used your brain. As a consequence for your carelessness, I want you to write me an essay about these incidents and how you could have avoided mortal danger."
Harry looked down once more and nodded. He was still clutching the blanket and twisting it in his hands. It was obvious something was troubling the boy.
"What is it?" Severus asked as gently as possible.
The boy shut his eyes for a moment, but finally he asked: "Why were you so mean to Quirrell in the forest?"
Severus sighed. Harry shouldn't have seen him like that. He knew how terrifying he could be when he chose, and obviously he had frightened Harry even though his anger hadn't been directed at the boy.
"I cannot tell you. But I ask you to trust me and to not tell anyone what you saw in the Forest, is that clear?"
Harry nodded, but then he looked at Professor Snape and asked, "Was it him?"
Severus raised an eyebrow.
"Who cursed my broom at the Quidditch match?" Harry elaborated.
The professor was surprised by Harry's deductive reasoning. "Why do you think that?" he asked.
Harry rubbed his forehead. "Because of my scar. I feel it tingle in Defence Against the Dark Arts more often now. It's confusing. I mean Quirrell is nice and all - I can't imagine that he would harm me. But it is kind of… strange."
Severus nodded. "You are right, that there is something strange about the professor. I still don't know what it is, but I don't want you concerning yourself about that. I will find out what it is, and if you are in any danger I will let you know. Until then, do not worry about it. I will ask you, however, to stay away from dark corridors and not to wander around alone. You are aware of the consequences if you disobey me."
Harry nodded.
"And do not try to find out yourself what may be wrong with Professor Quirrell. Your task is to learn and behave."
Harry nodded again, but as it grew silent in the room and Harry looked up, he found a stern-looking Snape glaring down at him, clearly awaiting a verbal response.
"Yes, Sir," the boy said quickly. "I promise, I won't."
After another long look which clearly said you'd better, Snape changed the subject.
"Madam Pomfrey said you are free to go, but you will need to pay her another visit at the end of term so that she can inoculate you against some wizard's illnesses."
"Inoculate me?" Harry asked shocked, remembering his last inoculation at his Muggle school. The doctor hadn't been very careful and Harry had gotten a bruise on his arm from the injection.
"Yes. I'm sure you wouldn't like to get Dragon pox or any other nasty illnesses."
"Dragon pox? Is it like Chicken pox? 'Cause I already had Chicken pox. I won't get -"
"No, Harry." Snape interrupted "Dragon pox is not the same as Chicken pox. There are similar symptoms, but your skin doesn't get just pockmarked. Dragon pox also may cause a lasting greenish tinge. Even if the color isn't that bad you will also get a green-and-purple rash between the toes and sparks will come out of your nostrils when you sneeze."*
Harry got green in the face just thinking about it. "Okay. So it's not the same," he gulped.
Snape grinned. Then he patted Harry's head once and turned to leave.
-xOx-
Images of sneezing sparks and green-faced monsters were fast forgotten as the stresses of school took over. Easter holiday was nearing and the teachers gave a lot of homework to prepare the students for the coming exams. Every day Hermione, Ron and Harry could be found sitting in the library and studying until their heads were spinning.
That's why the trio was there the day Hagrid entered the library. The half-giant seemed uncharacteristically bashful as he greeted the three Gryffindors then quickly vanished behind some shelves.
Harry frowned and stood up. It was unusual for Hagrid to be so stand-offish. He followed his big friend.
"Hi, Hagrid. What are you doing here? Can I help you?"
"Harry! ...Well… erm… no, not really. Better you go back to yer studying!"
It was obvious that Hagrid wanted to be alone. Feeling hurt, Harry lowered his chin and turned to head back to Hermione and Ron.
"Maybe… you and your friends might want to come and visit me later, provided you don't have other things to do?" Hagrid suggested, trying to cheer Harry up again.
And it worked. Harry's face lit up immediately and he answered, "Yes, of course we'll come!"
-xOx-
After dinner, the three Gryffindors scurried over Hogwarts' grounds to Hagrid's hut near the Forbidden Forest. As Hagrid opened the door, warmth engulfed them.
"Wow, Hagrid. It's as hot as an oven in here." Ron said as he quickly pulled off his cloak.
Hagrid scratched his beard but didn't respond.
For some time they talked about trivial school things, but finally Harry told Hagrid that they knew about the Sorcerer's Stone and asked if Hagrid knew about the other safety precautions besides Fluffy.
Hagrid grumbled uncomfortably. "Listen! You shouldn't know anything about the stone. Don't go talkin' about it."
Before Harry could try again to get more information, a strange sound rang out through the hut.
"What was that?" Hermione asked anxiously.
"Nothing. It's late. You better go back to the castle," Hagrid answered quickly. He stood up and walked to a cauldron over the fireplace.
Frowning, the children stood up.
"Hagrid, what's wrong?" Harry asked confused.
"Nothing. It's nothing," Hagrid tried to reassure the kids, but then something in the cauldron started to rattle.
Mystified, Ron and Harry stepped next to their big friend to get a look in the cauldron. Suddenly Ron's eyes grew large.
"Hagrid…" He gulped, clearly taken aback.
Hagrid pulled something out of the cauldron and held it up so everybody could see the gigantic egg in his hands.
"That's not what I think it is, is it?" Ron asked.
"Only another day or two now!" Hagrid said, bright-eyed. He turned the egg gently over to look at it more closely.
"But, Hagrid, where did you get that?" Ron continued to ask.
"What is it?" Harry asked.
"A dragon's egg!" Ron explained, "But it's illegal to raise dragons or even have a dragon's egg in Britain!"
"I won it," Hagrid told them proudly. "In a card game last week in Hogsmeade."
"You aren't going to keep it, are you?" Hermione asked anxiously.
"Why not? Dragons aren't as bad as people say. They're harmless if you raise 'em properly."
"But at Hogwarts? It's a school! You can't raise a dragon on school grounds without endangering the students," Hermione protested.
"How big do they get?" Harry asked.
"Pretty big," Hagrid mumbled evasively, putting the egg back into the cauldron.
Harry followed the egg with his eyes. A dragon? A dragon in this school? This will mean trouble for sure. He couldn't imagine it would be allowed, not even for someone like Hagrid.
"Does Dumbledore know about your egg?" he asked.
Hagrid looked a bit nervous. "Well… erm… I thought I would wait until the dragon hatches. No need to mention it before then."
"But you will tell him, won't you?"
Hagrid squirmed. "Erm… yes… I won't be able to hide a dragon… from the headmaster at least. But can I ask you to keep silent about it until I tell him?"
The children nodded.
*) source: harry potter wiki