A Promise to Be Better 23
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: Thickenings and potions
Harry Potter woke early. He was going to meet his godfather in an hour in Professor Lupin's rooms. They were going to breakfast together and then spend the day talking. But first he needed to go see the Headmaster.
Quietly he dressed, not wanting to have to explain himself to his room mates, especially Ron. He was out the door and in the common room without disturbing anyone. He would have made it if it hadn't been for Hermione.
"Harry? Where are you off to? Early breakfast?" the witch asked, closing an impossibly large tome.
"I, uh, well," he took a deep breath, "I'm just popping up to see Professor Dumbledore." Hermione looked at him curiously.
"I need to talk to him about a private matter," he tried, not wanting to get into a lengthy discussion. "I want to see him before I report to Professor Lupin at 9 am," he concluded. Realization dawned on her face then; she knew he was spending the day with Black. She just didn't know why he needed to see the Headmaster.
"Well, then, you best be off. You only have a bit more than thirty minutes," she said giving him a graceful way out. With a grin Harry went out into the hall. He dashed along the hallways and up several stairs until he came to the hunchbacked witch.
"Lion Bars," he announced and waited for the wall to open. Then it was an easy matter of riding the stairs up to the top. He hoped Dumbledore was awake! As he raised his hand to knock the door opened of its own volition.
"I'll be back this evening, Headmaster," the doctor was saying. "If there's any problem, ANY PROBLEM at all, you will send a message. Don't leave him alone." Barnes turned and saw Harry.
"Well, good morning, Mr. Potter," he said with a tired smile. He held the door and ushered the young man in. Harry stood just inside the door as it closed and looked about the office. Professor Dumbledore was just tucking a blanket around a sleeping Professor Snape.
"Hullo Harry," the older man said quietly, smoothing hair out of the sleeping wizards face and whispering a sleeping charm. He waited a moment listening to the rhythm of breathing before affectionately stroking Snape's cheek. Standing upright he turned and walked over to his desk indicating Harry should follow.
Harry was all eyes looking at Snape. He looked rather awful, even for Snape. Dark circles under dark eyelids; it almost looked as if he had two black eyes he was so exhausted. For the first time the young man noticed how thin, almost frail, the Potions Master looked.
"Is he all right, sir? I mean, he looks sick," Harry said quietly as he sat down in a chair. Dumbledore weighed his words carefully.
"He is very tired, Harry. Voldemort has been very rough on Severus," he said.
"Plus the pranks. Someone is certainly having a good laugh pulling such mean tricks," Harry commented. He saw the Headmaster almost flinch and knew he was right.
"That's actually why I'm here, Professor. I, I have a small problem that I need to tell you about," Harry shifted uneasily.
"What can I help you with?" Dumbledore asked with concern.
"Well, it's about the pranks, sort of," Harry inched towards confession. "And my invisibility cloak." Dumbledore's eyebrow raised slightly.
"I discovered it missing on two occasions. It showed up hours later," he managed to get out quickly.
"How does that pertain to the pranks?" the Headmaster asked.
"I first noticed it missing last Monday, when Professor Snape took that bad fall, sir. It was back after dinner. Then Friday night I was looking through my things and discovered it missing again. It turned up yesterday when I came up after dinner," Harry looked at Dumbledore. The Headmaster was definitely concerned. It could have been used
during both incidents Saturday.
"I asked Ron, I thought that maybe he'd used it," Harry didn't mention the times he'd used it of late." "He said absolutely not and seemed as surprised as I was that it had gone missing."
"Did you ask anyone else?" Dumbledore tried not to look apprehensive.
"I asked Sirius yesterday. He denied it," Harry moved uncomfortably. Actually, he'd denied he'd hurt Snape, come to think of it, but Harry didn't mention this. "He was also rather upset I'd practiced quidditch with the Slytherins team. He watches me sometimes, likes to talk about my flying," Harry finished.
"Of course he'd be interested in your flying, Harry. Your father played, too. It must bring back some good memories," Dumbledore said gently.
"I suppose so. Although he's very interested in other memories as well," Harry recalled Black trying to convince him and his friends they should play a couple tricks on Snape. They'd all refused but it was still a favorite topic when they got together. Harry hoped his godfather wasn't responsible for Snape's problems. He hoped, but he had a small, nagging doubt.
Dumbledore mused over what had been said and not been said. Here again were doubts about Black. But Black had promised he'd not harass Snape! The wizard idly wondered if Ron or his brothers were behind the problems. It did seem like something the twins might do. He shook the thought away.
"You need to secure your cloak, Harry. Be sure to put it away and tell no one where it's at," Dumbledore cautioned. "If it comes up missing you must tell me at once!"
"Yes sir," he responded sharply. Harry glanced over at Snape, curled up around a pillow now, black hair spilling over his face. The Headmaster followed his gaze.
"I would appreciate it, Harry, if you don't speak about Professor Snape's taking ill with anyone. Somebody, or some people, are harassing him. He's been very sick this fall," Dumbledore explained. He knew the boy was trustworthy, but he still needed to impress on him the importance of keeping this quiet.
"Of course, sir," he promised.
"Then you should be off to breakfast?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes, I'm meeting Sirius in Professor Lupin's quarters. We're going to spend the day together," the boy added with a happy smile.
"That's good. Go along, enjoy your family," the Headmaster waved towards the door and waited while the youth stood and left quietly.
Snape woke slowly. Barnes must have given him some sort of potion. He stretched, eyes closed again as he pulled the pillow closer. It was warm here. Quiet.
Eyes opened again as he looked about. He had been in the Headmaster's bed earlier. But he'd moved. Snape vaguely recalled Barnes bringing him out, helping him take care of some personal needs, then tucking him under the soft blankets. He was on the couch in the Headmaster's sitting room. He could see the big desk and part of the fireplace.
As he came up through the fuzzy layers of thought he once more began to feel uneasy. The Potions Master wished he could be back in his own room hidden away from everyone. He knew Dumbledore trusted him, cared for him, but he still had a nagging feeling he'd disappointed his mentor.
Sitting up was a challenge. The fuzziness was lessening, but the heavy folds of exhaustion still covered him. From his new vantage point he looked around, not seeing anyone. Maybe he could just go downstairs to his rooms. It wasn't as if someone would miss him. With incredible concentration Snape stood up into the cool air, blankets were tossed over the back of the couch.
*Now, walk to the door!* he commanded his legs. The wizard was so shaky it was amazing he made it as far as the door. With a small smile of victory Snape reached out and tried the handle.
It turned, but the door wouldn't open. He tried again, but again, it remained closed. Patting his sleep clothes he searched for his wand. It wasn't there.
"Severus?" a voice filled with concern called to him. Snape turned slightly and saw Dumbledore coming out of the loo.
"Yes, Headmaster?" he managed courteously, struggling against gravity.
"Child, where are you going?" the older man asked gently, crossing the room to his friend.
"Just to my rooms. I've been bothering you," Snape said in a very small voice.
"Who told you that?" Dumbledore took hold of his elbow and began to nudge him back into the sitting area. Snape stumbled but managed to walk towards the lounge.
He couldn't answer that! How could he tell Dumbledore about the voice? It was bad enough he was going crazy, but Snape certainly didn't want to broadcast it.
"Is this the same voice that's been calling you names?" the Headmaster sat back on the lounge pulling the tired wizard after him. Distracted, Snape curled up alongside his mentor resting his head on Dumbledore's chest.
"Y, yes, Albus. I think so," Snape finally replied. He sighed as the blankets covered him with warmth. He was still so tired. Yawning, he nuzzled into the comforting warmth.
Dumbledore watched Snape slip back into sleep. He ran a soothing hand up and down the wizard's arm and shoulder. The potion should have kept him asleep for several more hours. Snape's control was fairly amazing. Well, he'd just finished with the morning mail, light since it was Sunday. He hadn't slept too well the night before, either, and a nap sounded like a very good thing.
Monday morning found a veryĆ subdued Potions Master back in the dungeon labs teaching first year potions. Cathyrn Brown worked with him during the first class period; Fred Weasley had been tapped to come for the second first year class. He stopped to talk with the Ravenclaw 7th year Prefect.
"So, how did it go?" Fred asked in a very quiet voice.
"Fine. Well, except he seemed to have forgotten part of the ingredients. He'd left them in the students' cupboard. Other than that, it went well," Cathyrn reported picking up her book bag. Snape noticed the Weasley twin and raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, joy! I am so pleased to see the Headmaster has retained his sense of humor," Snape said haughtily. Fred gave him a lopsided grin.
"I lost the toss, sir. Where shall I begin?" the young man returned. Snape directed him to the ingredients.
"The list is on the board, Mr. Weasley. Replenish any items that are low and be sure they're in the proper order," Snape said. The Potions Master turned to the witch.
"Thank you, Ms. Brown. You have been a delightful baby-sitter," the wizard sneered. But there was enough warmth in the voice itself they knew he was not displeased. For Snape that was as good as enthusiastic recognition.
Fred read through the board before turning to the table. An easy enough potion to keep out rats and mice. He remembered with almost fondness making this his first summer home to help his mother in the kitchen. George and he had been so proud when it worked!
With a bemused chuckle, a good memory associated with the evil Potions Master, Fred moved to the cupboard and took out more cattails and orange bark. This was arranged on the table. He looked back at the board.
That was strange. Part of the board must have been tampered with because the list was not quite right. The writing was nearly Snape's, but it didn't look exactly the same as the rest of the board. If powdered almond was put in instead of anise not only would it smell too sweet, it would attract water bugs. Fred moved up to the board.
The hair on the back of his neck rose as he stood there. As if someone was right behind him. He turned quickly, but no one was there!
"Professor? I think the formula isn't correct," Fred called over to Snape. The older man glared briefly then read the board quickly. When he came to the powdered almond his eyebrow raised perceptibly.
"Strange. I could have sworn I wrote minced anise ," Snape mused as he erased the line and wrote the correct item onto the board.
"Thank you , Mr. Weasley. It wouldn't do to teach the potion incorrectly," Snape nodded slightly before moving back to the class. The students were in place and he wanted to begin his short lecture.
The rest of class was fine. Fred helped as needed and began to appreciate how difficult it was to work with younger students. He had to demonstrate several times how to slit open the rose hips without spoiling the seeds inside. Then the number of plasters! At least none of the cuts were bad enough to go to Madame Pomfrey.
By the end of class he had a better appreciation for the Potions Master. Not much, but Fred had a feeling by the time he'd served his detention (as dictated by Professor McGonagall for being caught out of bounds yet again) he would definitely not be volunteering for tutoring!
Except, it was kind of neat to have these kids look to him for help. He liked being needed. Looking up he met Snape's eyes. They were sparkling with amusement and understanding.
"Not quite what you expected, Mr. Weasley? Especially working with the nasty old Potions Master?" the warmth and the very small smile surprised the Gryffindor and he found himself blushing and grinning.
"Not quite. Although I can't imagine how you manage to keep enough plasters on hand," Fred joked.
"I don't often let this group handle the knives. The grater is dangerous enough," the wizard responded in kind. Fred had to chuckle.
"I don't want to think about that!" he said. Together they put ingredients away and cleaned off the chalk board. A scuffling at the door caught their attention.
"Oy, Fred! You ready for lunch?" George slipped in quickly. He had worried about his brother the entire period. Draco came in immediately behind him.
"Professor Snape?" he looked over at his head of house.
"Looks like we both have escorts, Mr. Weasley," Snape said primly.
"I'll be back Wednesday morning for second period, Professor Snape," Fred responded as he went to pick up his book bag. Snape just looked coldly down his nose at the student for a moment before allowing a smile.
"That will be most appreciated, Mr. Weasley. Thank you for your help this morning," Snape said, causing George's mouth to drop open. Fred pushed up on his twin's chin and pulled him out of the room.
"Should you really thank them, sir?" Draco sighed.
"Who will believe them?" Snape sneered a wicked smile at his student. Draco, surprised, began to laugh.
"You are soo evil, sir. Points would leave a trail!" Draco giggled. Snape's sneer dropped and he relaxed. Yes, points would be duly registered in the house totals and although they were anonymous most of the time the students could work out who earned them. Actually, Snape didn't give Fred points because he was serving a detention. He didn't tell Malfoy that!
"I do appreciate Weasley's help this morning, Draco. And Ms. Brown's as well. I have been over tired of late and I want someone checking over my preparations," Snape went to the sinks and thoroughly washed his hands before joining Draco.
"I believe you mentioned lunch?" the professor asked. The student smiled and together they walked up the halls to eat.
