Chapter 4

Harry supposed that sounded fair enough. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Snape had been watching. Watching the Dursleys. And Aunt Marge. The whole week.

All that aside, something didn't make sense. "Why would Black come looking for me?" He finally asked.

Snape looked like he didn't know how to answer that. Huh. That was a first. "Your status as The-Boy-Who-Lived attracts a lot of attention, it appears."

He thought about what Snape said. "Something doesn't make sense here. If it's just about attracting attention, why were you on 'guard duty'?"

"Just a precaution. Seeing as you decided to run away in the dark, I'd say it was well warranted."

Harry scowled. Snape was looking at him in the same strange way he did last night, when they'd apparated to the alley.

"Why did you run away?" He finally asked. Harry just narrowed his eyes at him. "Due to a fear of expulsion?"

"I thought you were watching me the whole time? You should know the answer to that then."

"I wasn't shadowing you twenty four hours a day like you seem to think. I was around the vicinity of the property making sure the wards held." Snape explained, instead of snapping at him like he expected. Another first. "I was elsewhere when the wards notified me of your leaving. You were already gone when I got to the house. I also had some damage control that needed to be done before I went looking for you." He said pointedly.

Harry just looked away, mumbling something.

"Pardon?"

"I'd had enough!" He snapped. The Calming Draught had just lowered his annoyance to a simmer, it seemed to be seeping back now.

"Of?" Snape prompted slowly. He looked like he really wanted to know. He also didn't reprimand Harry for snapping at him, just patiently waited for Harry to continue.

"Of her. Of them. She kept insulting mum, Aunt Marge. Then Aunt Petunia said dad was an unemployed drunk. I couldn't take it anymore. Something snapped, next thing I knew she was blowing up. I was too angry to even think. I just left."

Snape muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'foolish impulsive Gryffindors'. "What made you think you were going to be facing expulsion?" He asked after a moment.

"I got a warning from the Ministry that I'd be expelled if I did any more magic outside school, last summer," he said, "after Dobby used a hover charm and dumped pudding on Uncle Vernon's guest," he hurriedly added as an explanation.

"Who's Dobby?"

"The Malfoy house-elf. Not anymore though, I helped free him after the Chamber of Secrets thing happened."

"Why was the Malfoy house-elf hovering puddings in your place of residence?" Snape asked, ignoring the second bit.

Harry turned away from him and let out a long breath. "That's a long story, Professor."

Snape banished the plates to the sink where they started washing themselves. He seemed to be thinking about something. "Ah. Then it calls for tea, don't you think?" He asked abruptly.

Harry groaned and put his head on the table as Snape conjured a pot of tea and started pouring it into two mugs.

Snape wasn't going to let him go without an answer, was he? And why was he being so… nice? That was the only word Harry could come up with.

"So?" he heard Snape prompt as a mug was pushed towards him. He slowly lifted his head and looked at Snape who had a genuinely curious expression on his face.

"You really want to know?" When Snape just gave him a look, he asked, "Why?"

"Perhaps I'm just trying to understand," the man still looked curious as he said that.

Understand what? Harry wanted to ask. He thought it didn't really matter anymore and just settled for his mug of tea and started talking.

He told Snape about how Dobby had intercepted his letters and come to Privet Drive to warn him about not going back to Hogwarts, the sealed off the entrance to Platform 9 and three quarters, the bludger in the quidditch match, and finally how Harry had tricked Lucius Malfoy into freeing him.

Snape just listened without interrupting once. After he'd finished narrating the whole thing, Harry started sipping his tea. Snape finally spoke after a minute.

"Well that explains the flying car, I suppose. Although I still don't understand why you couldn't have waited for someone to realise you weren't on the train."

"We thought if we couldn't get onto the platform, Mr Mrs. Weasley wouldn't be able to come back."

"And that made you decide to take matters into your own hands?" Why did Snape look like he was on the verge of laughing? It wasn't that funny. In fact, it wasn't funny at all.

"It was Ron's idea to fly the car, not mine!" Harry said defensively. He felt a little guilty about throwing Ron under the bus like that. "Not that I had anything better to add anyway, we just wanted to get to school. We didn't think about anything else."

Snape sat in silence for a while, thinking over what Harry had said.

"I noticed your owl isn't with you," he asked with a questioning glance at Harry.

"Oh," that was harmless, Harry thought. "I sent Hedwig off to the Weasleys." He said, and then added "Aunt Marge," as if that was an explanation.

It seemed enough of one for Snape though seeing the man didn't ask to elaborate. Harry wondered just how much Snape had seen while he was warding or whatever it was he was there at Privet Drive for.

Harry finished the tea. Snape absently banished both mugs to the sink. He still looked deep in thought. Harry went back to staring out the window, his thoughts a mess.

"How much of your homework have you managed to complete?" Snape asked after a few minutes.

"Just Charms. I'm halfway through History of Magic, and yet to start on the rest." He replied, turning to face the man again.

"You'd better get started on them in that case." Snape said, as he picked up The Daily Prophet again. "I'll check them over once you're done."

Taking that as his dismissal, he nodded and went back to the bedroom he'd slept in the previous night. He sat at the desk and opened Dumbledore's letter again.

Harry,

I'm relieved to find that you are safe and sound.

Professor Snape tells me you have been worried about The Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry. I assure you that the ministry would not take drastic measures to expel you from Hogwarts for matters of accidental magic.

That said, you need not worry as such about anything else other than coming back this September excited for your third year with all your homework complete.

I do not think you'd take it kindly to send you back to your aunt and uncle. As I cannot make otherwise arrangements for you at the moment, Professor Snape has kindly agreed to let you stay with him for the summer.

I request you to not cause him a lot of trouble during your stay. Have a good holiday.

Yours sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

He really didn't want to go back to Privet Drive, Dumbledore had gotten that right. A whole month with Snape. He sighed and put the letter away, opening his trunk to get out his books.

Harry didn't know what to expect from Snape now. How much about his life with the Dursleys did the man know? How would Harry ask him? What kind of questions would that raise? He exhaled loudly, dropping into the chair.

He supposed Snape had been nice enough to him so far. He'd brought back Harry from Magnolia Crescent, given him potions to help him. He hadn't berated him or snapped at him once, fed Harry Calming Draught when he couldn't control his anger, even offered to check over his homework.

Harry didn't know what he'd felt when Snape had given him those potions last night. Even Aunt Petunia had never done something that thoughtful for him as long as he could remember.

He didn't know what to make of the man anymore. This wasn't the hated Potions Master he'd known for the past two years. He wasn't acting like it. He'd been patient and thoughtful, answered Harry's questions. He'd also said he wanted to understand.

Understand what exactly, Harry didn't know. Or maybe he did, because he had a lot of questions for the man too. Even with the limited interactions with the man, he knew something was changing. Why was he being nice all of a sudden? What was that strange expression on his face when he was looking at Harry before? Pity? Harry hated it when someone showed him pity. He didn't want pity. It set his teeth on edge.

He was tired of all the questions in his head. And frankly he didn't even want to think anymore.

He tried putting all of this out of his mind and picked up his half complete History of Magic essay. Now that he didn't have to hide under his blanket, he finished it with time to go over his Charms assignment too before he had to head down to show them to Snape.

He was almost done with both his essays when Snape knocked on the open door startling Harry who dropped his quill. He reminded himself that it wasn't Uncle Vernon, he wouldn't knock.

"Lunch?" Snape asked, looking bemused by Harry's reaction. "Be down in five minutes."

"Oh, okay. I'm mostly done." He said looking up at the man. He picked up his quill and wrote down one last sentence, rolled up both his parchments and went down to the kitchen.

Snape was waiting for him at the table. He took both the essays and gestured for Harry to sit across him.

"You're to write these again if I don't find them up to standard." Snape warned as he served some spaghetti on both their plates. Harry nodded at the man, picking up a fork.

Harry wasn't really that worried about his essays. He knew they were much better than any of the assignments he'd submitted so far.

Snape looked at him a little curiously, but didn't ask any questions. They had lunch in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

"These are adequate," Snape said, as he read them over after banishing the empty plates. He still suggested a few changes and gave some pointers before handing them back to Harry.

"Thanks," he said.

"There's a lab in the basement. That's where I'll be for the rest of the afternoon if you need me."

"Oh, okay. I think I'll get started on Transfiguration then," he was not looking forward to that particular essay.