A Promise to be Better 20

Author: Raven Dancer

disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling except for the Drs. Barnes and Beryl. I receive no monetary compensation for these works.

Summary: Saturday tutoring

Starting the very next morning Snape noted he had an escort. His entire house coordinated their schedules and at least two students were always with him asking innocuous questions about potions class or seeking help with a variety of personal problems. Snape was not dense; he knew the children were watching out for him. Instead of being angry at the intrusion, he was secretly pleased and tolerated the company.

By Thursday afternoon the student entourage included an occasional Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Neville and Hermione were talking with him after class to arrange a tutoring session the following Saturday when several 7th year students came in for "help" on their potions work.

Snape invited the lot into his office for tea while they went over their notes. He noted a little grin between Longbottom and the Ravenclaw prefect as the Gryffindor fifth years left. Shaking his head he ordered up some snacks to round out the tea. Beryl bounced about causing much laughter with his antics.

Dumbledore was glad to see the growing rapport between the Potions Master and the students. Certainly some students did not care for the wizard, but enough had come to accept him and enjoy his company. He also noted Snape did not so much as stumble now that he had his helpers and wondered briefly if Peeves had been tormenting the professor. He made a mental note to ask the Bloody Baron when he had the opportunity.

On Friday Snape was tired. Too many bad dreams, even with a warm bed, plagued him. He managed to get up to the great hall for breakfast, sitting quietly while he sipped hot tea.

"Hey, Severus, up late last night?" Lupin gently inquired.

"Just a little trouble sleeping," he admitted fairly easily to the DADA professor. Glancing across the hall he saw Snuffles walk in, tail wagging.

"Lucky dog. He gets all the choicest bits," Snape sneered as several students offered bits of bacon and sausage fito the animagus.

"You wouldn't believe the half of it!" Lupin laughed. "He has the starving act down to a science."

The dog in question looked up and saw Lupin smiling and talking with the Snape. *Why he insists on being friends with that git* Black grumbled to himself as he took another piece of buttered scone. He moved up to the staff table, skirting McGonagall who seemed to know he wasn't just an ordinary dog.

Lupin petted him, but Snape refrained. The slight lift of the upper lip, exposing several sharp teeth, seemed a little threatening. Lupin swatted the dog playfully and told him to be good. Chuffing, Black moved stiffly away.

"I'm not causing you two any problems am I?" Snape asked uncertain. "I don't have to sit here, if you'd rather."

"Severus!" Lupin chastised, "that dog has to get over his jealousy or whatever he's feeling about you."

"Snuffles is jealous of Severus?" McGonagall asked innocently. "How interesting."

Lupin had a 'caught in the headlights' look. Snape acted a little more quickly.

"I won't share my breakfast with him. I think the dog decides who it likes based on the quality of the table treats," the Potions Master responded. McGonagall just smirked, but she left the topic alone.

With a sneer worthy of Snape, Snuffles walked passed both wizards and headed for the front doors.

Saturday morning Snape looked worse. Lupin sat quietly by him at the table and poured tea out for both of them.

"More nightmares?" he asked quietly. Snape merely nodded and attempted to sip the tea. His exhaustion was quickly noticed by those around him. When Dumbledore came in to eat he hesitated, then stopped. He carefully created more space between Snape and the end of the table, sliding a new chair into place. Glancing at Lupin he sat down.

"Well, Severus, I haven't seen you for a couple days," Dumbledore arranged his napkin and reached for a helping of scrambled eggs. Snape didn't respond.

"Been busy?" the Headmaster continued, spearing some sausage.

"Not really. Tutoring Granger and Longbottom this morning," the wizard replied quietly.

"Tired?" Dumbledore pressed gently.

"Trouble sleeping," was all Snape would say.

"Nightmares both Thursday and last night," Lupin offered, knowing Snape wouldn't elaborated. Dumbledore looked at Snape carefully.

"You could have come up to see me, Severus. I would have helped," the older wizard said. Snape shrugged.

"The bed was warm, I tried some of Barnes' potion. If I had come up then you would be tired from lack of sleep, too," the wizard said, almost indifferent. The Headmaster wondered if it were a residual effect of hitting his head on Monday.

"Tonight you'll come up. After dinner," Dumbledore stated, brooking no negation. "Barnes is stopping by."

"Certainly, Headmaster, I'll come up," Snape agreed, closing his eyes briefly. When he reopened them he noted his two students come in for breakfast. Granger gave a little wave and Longbottom blushed slightly. The Potions Master smiled slightly and reached for his tea.

"Eat something for me," Dumbledore said quietly. Snape stretched a bit and reached for toast. He noted some sausage and fruit move to his plate. With a snort he picked up his fork and began to eat.

Satisfied, the Headmaster returned to his breakfast and chattered with Lupin about the turn in the weather. It was just the beginning of November and it seemed it would snow soon.

"Snuffles is out already?" Snape interjected wondering where the dog was. Normally he did not miss a meal.

"I'm not sure. He was up and gone when I woke. Probably wanted an early go of it before the students were out and about," Lupin said.

"Good thinking. It's cold out, but clear. They'll be out in droves mucking about," Snape commented with some disdain. He never could understand why children liked poking through the dirt and grass. Of course, many would be playing a variety of games, quidditch primary among them, but he didn't put any more thought into their pastimes.

Seeing that Granger was done and ready to go, Snape excused himself. He'd barely touched the food on his plate.

"Lunchtime, Severus," Dumbledore growled, "I expect to see you up here."

"Certainly, Headmaster," he said, stifling a yawn. If he were awake! A nap wrapped up in a warm blanket sounded much better. He moved down the table and was quickly joined by Granger and Longbottom, each carrying their school bags.

"Good morning Professor Snape!" Hermione chirruped happily. She was going to finish off her father's potion this morning. Snape responded rather warmly for him, with a hint of amusement in his eyes. Encouraged, Neville stuttered a good morning and was rewarded with a light pat on the shoulder.

"It will be, Longbottom. It will be," Snape responded as they left the hall and headed down into the bowels of the castle.

Snape had closed up the labs the afternoon before. He had dinner and then kept to his rooms for the entirety of the evening. He expected everything to be as he and the seventh year students had left it.

But when he opened the door and followed the students in Snape was stunned.

The room was in a shambles: cauldrons and workstations turned over, potions stacked in shaky pyramids, toilet paper streamers all over and the place wreaked of dungbombs. Utterly overwhelmed Snape stood still and just gawked.

"Oh my gods," Hermione finally managed, staring at the insanity. It wasn't that the room had been destroyed, it was just in upheaval. Someone had hours of work ahead, even with magic, to clean this up! Snape snapped out of his incredulity.

"I'm sorry, Miss Granger, Mr. Longbottom. I will not be able to tutor you today. Why don't you go join your friends? At least your day won't be a total waste," Snape said quietly.

"We'll help you, sir," Neville said firmly, putting a hand on the wizard's arm. But Snape refused and finally managed to shunt them out the door.

Still staring in disbelief, Snape slid down the wall and pulled his knees up to his chest. What a mess. He idly wondered if Peeves had been at it when he recalled Black had missed breakfast. He quickly quelled that thought. *No, mustn't even think of that! Albus would be so disappointed in me!* he told himself firmly.

He was still seated in the same place, now a bit chilled, when the door opened.

"Professor?" Hermione called softly. Hearing no response she pushed in followed by an assortment of students.

"Oh no!"

"For heaven's sake, this is ridiculous!"

"Who'd pull such a prank?"

"I'd wager those brothers of yours, Weasley."

"Professor Snape?"

Draco came before the seated wizard. He wasn't responding, simply allowing all the conversation to wash over him. Stevens and Brown came next. Glancing at Malfoy, Stevens carefully reached for the Professor's arm.

"Come on, sir, let's find you a warmer spot," he said gently.

"It is rather cold down here, isn't it?" Snape said faintly, allowing the two boys to help him up. The high windows were being opened to air out the smell while Granger righted a large wooden chair, quickly transfiguring it into a more comfortable lounge. Brown conjured up lap robes and soon the Professor was settled into the magicked warmth.

"Goyle, take Weasley and fetch some tea and eats from the kitchens," Draco directed. Without a word the two left the room. Longbottom sat down next to Snape and talked quietly about cleaning up the room and having a nice hot cuppa. His gentle manner brought Snape back and he looked around the room.

"It appears some people had a good time in here," he remarked with a slight smile. This put the collected students at ease.

"Oh, yes professor," Neville responded warmly.

"I want to know how long it took them to turn all the desks upside-down," remarked Patil, looking at the topsy-turvy room. More noise came down the hallway and both the Slytherin and Gryffindor quidditch teams sauntered in and ogled the room.

"Wow!"

"Awesome!"

"This is really wild."

"Well, right," George Weasley sized things up. "We just need to work a bit carefully around the stacked bottles. Granger, you're good at levitating. Why don't you start over there with Potter, Malfoy and Patil while the rest of us tackle the furniture. Morning Professor!"

"Morning," Snape man|aged to respond. There was a flurry of paper as the students started pulling down the streamers. The door opened again and the kitchen crew returned with Dobby and tea. Dobby shrieked in dismay.

"Professor Snape's room is destroyed," he wailed nearly dropping the tray.

"It's ok, Dobby, nothing is broken," Ron quickly pointed out.

"It's just a bad joke," added Goyle taking the tray away and carrying it to the professor. Dobby leapt across the room and settled on Snape's lap.

"Professor Snape is all right? Professor Snape needs help?" the elf chattered. The Potions Master put a hand on either shoulder of the bouncing creature and stilled it.

"Professor Snape is all right, Dobby. The students are taking care of the room for me. Could you get Beryl and bring down something for them to eat and drink? They'll be hungry from all the hard work they're doing," Snape asked. Dobby grinned shaking his head.

"Oh, yes yes yes! Dobby will help! Dobby will be back!" and the elf disappeared with a loud pop.

Neville poured out tea and offered a scone to Snape.

"Safer if I just sit here in any event," the boy chuckled at himself.

"I like your company," Snape said simply, making the child perk up and smile more. They sat and watched the rest of the students clean up the room and restore it to it's nearly original arrangement. With all the helping hands it took less than an hour to straighten up and soon everyone was munching on cheese, crackers, fruit, juice and tea. Conversation wound around quidditch (it being a safe topic).

"Well, we've missed most of our practice time," Angelina stated, looking at her watch.

"No problem," Arileus, a Slytherin chaser said, "We're up next on the field. You can practice with us until lunch."

"Really? That would be great," Fred smiled at his adversary.

"Certainly. Then we can show you how to play right!" teased another Slytherins player. Several people laughed, including Snape.

"Just be sure you show them the legal moves," Snape added.

"Aw, Professor, that's gonna cut down on practice," whined George. Again, a warmth of laughter. Setting down plates and cups for the elves, the two teams moved out with waves and goodbyes.

"Professor Snape? Could I still brew the potion I was working on?" Hermione asked. Snape regarded her somewhat sleepily and struggled to sit more upright.

"Certainly, Miss Granger," he began to get up.

"Oh, I'll move my things back here where you can watch," she said. "Just relax. I can put it together."

"If you'd like, Professor, Brown and I can work with Longbottom," Stevens offered. Snape was hesitant to agree, but when he saw Neville was willing he relented.

"Professor Sprout taught me a new charm, sir," Neville shyly confessed. "Do you want to see it?"

Curious, Snape agreed. The boy pulled out his wand and carefully placed it against the Professor's forehead.

"Duermis" Neville commanded. With some surprise Snape sank back into the lounge and fell asleep. Neville smirked at his companions.

"It only works if you're really exhausted and then it only pushes you over the edge into sleep. He'll wake easily enough if we shake him," Neville explained.

"Don't wake him yet," Stevens said, "he looks really tired. We'll just be quiet and let him rest until we need some help." Agreeing, Cathryn raised the warm blankets higher onto Snape while Stevens and Hermione set up two cauldrons.

They had been working for nearly an hour when the door flew open and the Headmaster moved in quickly. He'd been busy, out with Hagrid and about the grounds when Dobby had finally caught up with him. Granted, house elves were known to be excitable, but Dobby had been able to frighten Dumbledore into believing the worst.

The noise woke Snape who looked over at the startled students first then at the older wizard gazing about the room. Dobby flew in behind him and bounced up and down.

"The students cleaned. The students ate. Dobby will clean up the eats," and he sprang to the table stacking cups, saucers and plates. If it hadn't been for the clean-up Dumbledore would have had his doubts about the destroyed room. But there was enough dishes to suggest more than just these four students had been in the room cleaning and even with the opened windows the stench of the dungbombs clung. Nodding at the students to carry on, he moved over to the Potions Master and sat down next to him.

"I hear your room was rearranged this morning," Dumbledore said quietly, picking up the empty tea cup he filled it and sipped.

"Just a prank," Snape said stretching with a long sigh. He could easily fall back asleep.

"Any idea who did this?" the Headmaster pursued.

"No. I was going to check up on Peeves," Snape replied with a yawn.

"Hmm. And why were you asleep, Professor Snape?" Dumbledore queried with a mischievous grin. Snape pulled himself up into a serious mask.

"It was not my fault, Headmaster. Mr. Longbottom tricked me with a charm he recently learned. Honestly, I should strip him of points for his brazenness," the wizard said as coldly as poâssible.

"Really? Mr. Longbottom?" Dumbledore called to the student in question. "Professor Snape says you had something to do with his being asleep?"

Neville shifted nervously. "Professor Sprout has been teaching me certain spells to help me in my classes."

"Which spell did you use? Show me," the Headmaster smoothed his quivering lip, trying not to laugh. Neville pulled out his wand and held it out. Dumbledore nodded his head toward Snape. With understanding lighting his eyes Neville turned, touched his wand to Snape's forehead and quickly called the spell.

"Duermis!" he commanded.

"Not a..." Snape managed before he fell asleep. Dumbledore had to turn away and cover his mouth snickering.

"That is so rude," Stevens commented from the desk.

"Yeah. Except the Professor needs to sleep," Brown added.

"And now that he's resting I would like to know exactly

what happened this morning," the Headmaster turned to the four students and listened. Hermione started and explained how they found the room.

"Professor Snape sent us away, but Neville and I couldn't

just leave him with all that work. It really was a disaster.

The potions were stacked up 7 and 8 rows high," she explained.

"The stench was horrible," Neville added. "They must

have set off multiple dungbombs."

Stevens went on to describe how Snape had reacted and how they were a bit worried when they first came in. He was quick to say the professor rallied and would have helped with the potions tutoring had Neville not nailed him with the sleeping spell.

"How did you get everything cleaned up so fast?" Dumbledore asked, "You've even completed brewing two potions!"

"Oh, we had help from some of the quidditch players," Hermione said off hand. Dumbledore looked at them quizzically.

"When Neville and I went to find help we ran into Harry.

He was kind of, uh, having a discussion with Draco Malfoy," Hermione glanced at Neville.

"Harry went for the team and Draco went for Stevens.

Both Gryffindor and Slytherins came down to help," Neville told the Headmaster.

"The teams went back up to practice together, " Stevens added. This caused Dumbledore to sit up straighter.

"Slytherins and Gryffindors, on the field, practicing together?" he asked with slight disbelief.

"Yes, together. Although Professor Snape forbade the Slytherins from teaching the Gryffindors any illegal moves," Stevens was quick to point out. Now Dumbledore smiled broadly and shook his head.

"Ah, Severus, always practical," he tugged on the blankets straightening them.

"Go on and finish up. I'll wait until you've cleaned and put things away," the Headmaster tugged a paper out of his robe and settled down to read while the students went back to their tasks.