Chapter 6: Christmas with Snape and Emily.

As Harry arrived in the hospital wing he spotted Ron and Hermione on hospital beds as well. Hermione's eyes widened at the sight of them.

Harry was just about to wonder why when his head began to feel an intense jarring pain and blackness filled his vision.

The next time he awoke, it was to the pain of a massive headache.

"I see you're finally awake."

He was confused. As far as he was concerned he didn't seem to be injured so why was he in the hospital wing.

If he wasn't mistaken Snape was also looking at him with something akin to concern.

Harry looked around, he didn't appear to be at Hogwarts at all.

"Professor, where am I?" He asked with fake modesty. While what happened prior to this was a tad fuzzy, he did know though that there was more to Snape then what appeared.

"You're at St. Mungos. I had you admitted a week ago."

"What? Why?" Harry asked in genuine confusion.

"You were gravely injured."

Harry was confused by the man's behavior.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked.

Harry was very mystified at the man's concern. It didn't seem to fit the man at all. He imagined from the way that the man had been looking at him on the first day of potion class that he despised him and he was fine with that but now he was slightly spooked at the concern he could see in his eyes.

"How would you like me to look at you?"

"Stop with the niceties. You're creeping me out since when do you feel the need to exert effort to be nice to me."

In fact Harry found himself suspicious at the sudden change of Snape's behavior.

'Did I get a concussion?' Harry thought for as far as he was concerned feeling around his head for a bruise or a lump. There was no memory whatsoever of the injury that had put him in the hospital wing.

Just then Ron pushed past Snape running to meet Harry at his bedside.

Suddenly there was a flash of memory that indicated that Ron was the one that had attacked him while they were confronting Quirrell.

"Go away." Harry said before turning on his other side.

Snape from the corner of his eye turned to leave.

There was a yearning for the man, a desire for him not to leave.

Did the man really think that Harry was referring to him?

"Not you." He told Snape. "You."

Harry angrily pushed Ron away from him.

"What's the matter with you?" Ron asked looking very confused by Harry's cold behavior.

"Don't act so innocent. You tried to kill me."

Snape's eyes widened.

"I didn't." Ron retorted.

"Get away from me." Harry snarled. "I don't want you near me ever again."

Ron left with his head looking downward and his arms sunken with defeat.

Snape's arms folded in his stance of all seriousness.

"What was that all about?"

"How long have I been here?" Harry asked, feeling very disoriented and bewildered.

"You've been in here for approximately a week."

Flashes of what happened a week ago came to mind. There was the troll, the trials and then Snape attacked him. Quirrell said something about him using Harry as a guinea pig to obtain the philosopher's stone. Snape was using him, intending on using him for his own gains.

Harry's eyes narrowed on Snape's.

"What are you really doing here? Don't give me that story that you actually care what happens to me because I don't buy it."

Snape in turn narrowed his eyes glancing his direction with his dissecting gaze trying to piece Harry together as if he were a complicating puzzle.

"Stop looking at me like that."

"Something happened and I intend on finding out what."

"You stay away from me. I won't help you and I don't care if you bring Dumbledore."

The older man was startled by the proclaimation, his eyebrows rose in something akin to surprise much to Harry's bafflement.

"The doctors intend on releasing you today. I hope you're looking forward to your vacation as you've seemed to neglect to remember that you will be staying at my house for the rest of the holiday."

Harry nodded begrudgingly.

"Emily is looking forward to seeing you."

Just then one of the doctors walked in. Harry noted the round man was old and bald with tufts of gray hair on the sides of his head. He had a face that gave off the impression that he could be manically insane his bright blue eyes a fitting contrast.

"I trust you are feeling better?" The man murmured in a creepy high-pitched voice. Harry thought the man might have had a cold if he hadn't been aware there were people with voices like that.

"Yes."

"I am Doctor Moreau." He introduced himself holding out his hand. Harry took it in greeting, shaking it firmly.

"What kind of doctor are you?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh, I mostly deal with patients with more mortal injuries than yourself when I'm not working at my area of expertise. I'm heaps better at my other job, you see I'm a doctor who works at doctoring memory primarily those who find themselves with altered memories and memory blocks."

"Memory blocks?"

"Those are the most dangerous." Doctor Moreau explained. "Sometimes they trigger other spells that have been cast as a defence to those trying to access the memories."

"Mr Moreau here is taking on the position as the History of Magic professor." Snape explained.

"What happened to Professor Binns?"

"Dumbledore insisted he take a permanent sabbatical." Snape replied with a grin.

HPSS

Upon coming home after his stay at St Mungos, Snape took Harry to his home on Spinner's End.

Harry was surprised. Besides the bookshelves lined against the wall and the uncomfortable looking chair in the middle of the room the place was quite barren.

"It's kind of depressing." He said bluntly.

"Not pampered enough to suit you needs?" Snape asked, having the gall of feeling offended at the comment.

"Yes, if you mean the bare minimum." Harry replied cheekily.

Judging by the barren look of the place, Harry gathered that the only possessions that were in the house were necessities.

"Malory is right, your place is really bland."

"I keep what is needed to survive." Snape snarled. Figures Potter wouldn't be able to respect his thrifty behavior.

Harry's ears perked. The next thing he knew, Harry began to erupt in uncontrollable laughter.

"I don't see how you find this so funny."

"You're quite a simple man, aren't you." Harry pointed out, trace of his amusement still present after he managed to sputter that out.

Snape for the life of him couldn't understand the boy at all. He had thought the boy was mocking him yet there was something in his eyes if he didn't know better he would say it was understanding and respect.

Perhaps the boy was more resourceful than he looked.

The evening was Christmas. Emily had managed to persuade Snape in putting up a Christmas tree in the middle of his house.

Harry had received several gifts from Aunt Malory, Uncle Lionel and Professor Dumbledore as well.

Uncle Lionel had given Harry a mirror of truth, Aunt Malory had given him a sketchbook and Dumbledore had given him an invisibility cloak handed down from his father.

Out of all the gifts he had received he was shocked that Snape was the most curious about the sketchbook, Malory had given him. Quite amazing considering Harry was the most curious as to why Dumbledore sent him the invisibility cloak. What purpose did Dumbledore have with keeping his father's invisibility cloak?

"Oh, she's an artist." Harry explained. "I used to draw alot before attending Hogwarts that Malory would have to buy a sketchbook for me every month."

"Really?" Emily cut in with excitement. "Can you draw me?"

"I wouldn't particularly recommend it." Harry said wryly.

"Why?" She asked.

"The things I tend to draw fade away after I draw them."

Snape's ears perked up in curiousity. What exactly did the boy mean by that?

Harry collected his feet.

"I do have some sketches I can show you though."

Snape and Emily waited until Harry came back with his sketchbooks.

Opening his sketchbook he began to show them his drawings.

The first page was a picture of a grey rose however Snape began to sense something very eerie about it.

He could almost feel a presence as if the picture were alive.

Emily seemed to sense the same thing.

"Did you capture it's soul or something? The picture seems very alive."

"That's what I mean." Harry explained. "I always felt as if I captured it's soul in the drawing."

"They're wizards who can do that kind of thing." Snape explained. "Though few possess that ability."

Emily looked up at Snape in disgust.

"Who would want an ability like that? To me, if an artist can't become the work of art there is no point." She said.

It wasn't a very known fact but it had always had been one of her dreams to escape from reality with her mother and father always fighting at the manor.

Something in her words comforted Harry as his hobby didn't seem to creep her out in the slightest. It also helped relieve the anxiety heightened by the shrewd look that Snape had given him.

HPSS

Over the course of the holiday with the threat of Professor Quirrell being out of the way, Harry found himself interested in the animagus magic that Pettigrew had used.

'Perhaps I could ask the professor to teach me.' Harry thought. 'I'll have to be cautious though. He can't do anything when I'm around Emily."

During the holiday, Snape would usually take his time working in his lab while Harry was cooped up in his room. There was a secret door hidden under a couple of floorboards under his favourite chair. Harry knew about this chair one evening from spying on the professor from his room nearby.

One day, Harry walked up to the floorboard dragging Emily along, finally gathering the courage to ask the professor about teaching him to become an animagus.

He removed the floorboards unveiling the door beneath them and proceeded knocking on it diligently.

"Professor?"

There was silence.

"Professor, I know you're down there. I have a question to ask you. Can I come down?"

"Shuddap, can't you see I'm busy."

Emily gave him a look that said 'I told you so'.

Harry ignored them, opening the door and dropping down into Professor Snape's lab.

The man on closer observation seemed to be working on a potion. After a while in which Harry assumed he had finished Snape turned towards him looking particularly vicious.

"Any reason why you happened to drop by my lab on such short notice?" Snape inquired dangerously.

"When you're not too busy I was wondering if you could teach me how to become an animagus?"

Snape's eyes widened in surprise.

"You came down here just for that?"

"So can you teach me?"

"The process requires getting registered at the Ministry of Magic as learning it is illegal."

"Why?"

"An animagus could stay in their animal forms which could be problematic if one tries to search for say a criminal."

"You say that but do you think it's possible to learn it illegally without being caught?"

Snape narrowed his eyes shrewdly.

"You said Peter Pettigrew wasn't an animagus which implies you only know about the legal animagus who've registered at the Ministry." Harry said.

"What makes you certain he's an animagus?"

"I saw him in Professor McGonagall's office."

Snape looked skeptical.

"It doesn't matter anyway, because you said he wasn't an animagus implying that if he was one it would be illegal anyway meaning that he was not only able to become one without registering at the Ministry but he also was never able to get caught for his illegal activity." Harry said.

"Where are you going with this?"

"I'm merely saying that it could be more advantageous to know how to become an illegal animagus rather than a legal one if someone tried to kill me for example."

Snape flinched.

"Not that it will happen as long as you're here."

The man's eyes seemed to stare at Harry with wonder. Harry thought their conversation might have appealed to a part of him that loved to teach.

"We'll see." He mumbled before returning to his potion.

HPSS

Over the last days of the holiday, Harry began to work diligently under Professor Snape's guidance bringing Emily along of course. One day in particular when Harry had dropped by his office to practise his magic, Snape had been acting peculiar. It was strange.

During these past several days Snape had him practising runic magic, an element in mastering shapeshifting magic.

Harry had been particularly frustrated at how difficult it was and had took it out on Snape.

It wasn't something unheard of when concerning Harry. Primarily when something proved too difficult for him to understand, Harry always gave up.

He couldn't remember why though one who knew of these things would know that it was something ingrained from living with the Dursleys. There was one time he had some difficulty with his homework and had asked his aunt and uncle about it.

"You're a genius if even your homework is too difficult." Petunia said.

He remembered feeling angry at the smug look on Vernon's face, still he had begged in the quest for answers.

When they weren't too compliant, Harry had nearly destroyed the house before Vernon had walloped him several times.

Since that point, he was always careful never to ask questions in fear of his uncle's anger. He knew if his relatives had the chance to provoke his anger they would and it just wasn't worth it.

"Mr Potter." Snape said cutting through Harry's thoughts. "Is there any reason for this foolish anger of yours?"

"Foolish?" Harry snapped. "It isn't any more foolish than you are."

Snape's eyes glistened with anger before they instantly vanished behind a mask. The man appeared to be containing himself.

"Foolish? You haven't done a single thing worth merit just sitting here snapping at me in frustration but not once have you asked for my help."

"Why can't I just give up?"

Snape's eyes widened in surprise.

'Why does he give up so quickly?' He thought. 'It's like he lacks ambition.'

"Giving up so quickly? You didn't seem to lack the drive when you rescued me from Quirrell."

The boy was stubbornly silent. What was the difference between then and now?

'Does he not have a reason to be motivated?' Snape thought.

"I refuse to accept your defeat so easily. Try again." He demanded.

Harry looked up startled at the proclaimation.

"Did I stutter? If you give up now then you forget about asking my help about anything."

Much to his satisfaction the boy looked livid.

"That's blackmail." He said with a flustered look on his face.

Snape chuckled.

"Fool, you don't even know a thing about blackmail."

Harry took out the Ancient Rune textbook that Snape had provided.

Certain symbols of runes indicated letters in the roman alphabet and in order to decipher spells there was a requirement of finding the meaning behind the runic letters of the spell in Advanced Transfiguration textbook.

After minutes looking at the text in perplexity, Snape looked over his shoulder.

"Do you need help on something?"

"Do you have to hover over my shoulder like that? It's creepy."

"What do you need help with?" Snape asked with the upmost patience.

"I can't decipher this runic letter."

The letter he was referring to was a combination of a rotated C and a square.

Where as most runic letters had one meaning, there were some with a dual meaning.

"What you're looking for isn't always going to be blatant." Snape said, leaving Harry to bask in his frustration. The boy clearly never got the hidden meaning behind his words.

Something however popped up in Harry's head at his words. The two letter runic symbol could be decrypted as either doomed heart or sealed box. Looking beyond that however he looked at the shape of two letters. It looked like the C was coming out of the square which reminded Harry of a box. Perhaps the whole meaning behind that letter wasn't it's literal meaning but rather it's figurative meaning of thinking outside the box.

During this time, Harry was unaware of the expression on his face of utter concentration of being completely absorbed in something.

Snape looked upon him with something akin to awe. Did the boy get his hint?

"Since school is going to be starting a couple of weeks, you are only to practise this while you're at my house. While the Ministry could possibly care less about someone practising illegal magic, I'd rather not chance the fact that you can get arrested for it."

During the last days of the holiday, Harry began to work diligently under Professor Snape's guidance until school had started again.