Kindred Spirits
by Tailkinker
This is a work of fan fiction based on the Harry Potter series and the Sailor Moon franchise created respectively by J.K. Rowling and Naoko Takeuchi. The characters and settings belong to their respective owners and no copyright infringement is intended. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes and should not be considered as part of the official canon of either series.
Private Lessons
"At this stage," said Snape, "your potion should have turned a pale pink. Has anybody's potion not done so?"
Neville cautiously raised his hand, and Snape stalked over to his cauldron. He frowned.
"You haven't brought the temperature up quite high enough," he said. "Raise your burner to the fifth notch, not the fourth."
"Sorry, Sir." Neville quickly adjusted his flame.
"Pay closer attention in the future," snapped the Potions Master.
"Snape's being almost human," whispered Ron. "What's gotten into him?"
"I think the Headmaster's had a word with him," said Harry quietly. "Makes me almost feel bad about doing this to him...almost."
Harry carefully added a handful of porcupine quills to his potion, skipping one entire step. He'd spent the better part of four hours researching this reaction, making sure that it was safe...
The surface of his potion began bubbling madly, and Snape turned to face him.
"What have you done, Potter?"
His voice took a sharp up-turn in pitch on Harry's name, and he paused, frowning.
"Did you add the porcupine quills too early?"
The entire sentence came out at a ludicrously high pitch, and many in the class began to snicker. Snape whirled and glowered at them, then turned back to Harry.
"Did it not occur to you—" Snape broke off, scowling, as his voice continued to squeak. The snickers in the classroom changed to all-out laughter, all in the same high-pitched register. Snape glowered at Harry, and pointed his wand into Harry's cauldron.
"Evansesco!"
The potion vanished.
"Detention, Potter." His voice was still squeaky. "For a month of Sundays! Now get out of my classroom!"
"Worth it," whispered Harry as he packed up his bag.
"There was a small risk of asphyxiation with that prank, Mr Potter." Snape glared at Harry. "I do believe we agreed that no students may come to harm?"
"The risk was effectively zero so long as I used no more than ten quills," said Harry. "I used only five for that reason. I spent a lot of time making sure that this was safe."
"Well." Snape stood up. "It seems that you managed something that your father never did. An actually amusing prank on myself, with no risk of harm."
"I've heard about some of my father's so-called pranks," said Harry darkly. "It's one thing that Sirius and I don't see eye to eye on. I have no use for bullies."
"So I've noticed," said Snape quietly. "If I could have reined in Mr Malfoy, I would have done so. However, it seems that you succeeded where I had failed." He turned to face Harry directly. "So. Have you been keeping up with your Occlumency practice?"
"Er..." Harry looked abashed. "I'll be honest, Sir. I didn't really see the need, so no, I haven't."
"At least we will not have to start from the beginning again," said Snape. "I shall be spared at least a few nights of your...company." He slowly drew his wand. "Are you prepared?"
Harry winced. "Yes, Sir."
"Legilimens!"
As it turned out, he was not ready. Snape burst into his mind with all the subtlety of a battering ram. Harry saw the stitches in Arthur Weasley's wounds, re-lived his detentions with Dolores Umbridge, saw the first meeting of Dumbledore's Soldiers—
"There is no justice in this world," growled Snape as he lowered his wand. "A Potter is teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts at this school, and I am not."
Harry winced, and rubbed his forehead. "Sorry, Sir."
"Your defences have eroded to a laughable state," said Snape acerbically. "The foundations are still there, and so you will need only work to restore them to full strength. Every night going forward, I expect you to work on your mental defences."
"Yes, Sir," said Harry.
"Legilimens!"
Memories flooded back into Harry's mind once again. He saw Rita Skeeter at the Hog's Head Tavern, he saw the private car on the Hogwarts Express, he saw himself tutoring Dudley in maths. He managed to throw Snape out of his mind before the Professor could draw any more memories to the forefront.
"You didn't warn me," he gasped.
"Do you expect Voldemort to give you any warning?" asked Snape. "That was tolerably well done, by the way."
Very high praise, coming from Snape, Harry mused. "Why does this give me a headache?" he complained.
"Occlumency requires considerable mental effort," Snape reminded him. "You clearly haven't lost everything that you have learned. Your defences are laughable, but they are still present. Of course, they are almost worse than no defence at all. The strain of maintaining these defences against an attack can cause you pain."
"So as I improve them, the pain will be less?" asked Harry.
"Exactly." Snape smirked. "I think that that might be an excellent way to motivate you, don't you think?"
"Why do you hate me so much, Snape?"
It slipped out before he could stop himself, and he winced. But luckily, Snape didn't seem to take offence.
"I do not hate you," he admitted, though it sounded like it cost him some pain of his own to do so. "I certainly don't like you, but it's not hate. Oh, I might have," he continued, turning away from Harry. "Once, long ago. Before your second year, I'd say." His voice quieted. "But I've seen too much to properly hate you any more. You might look just like your dolt of a father...but you act more like your mother."
"It was you," said Harry in surprise. "You knew my mother, before she married Dad."
Snape slowly turned to look at Harry. "What do you mean, 'it was you'?"
"When I finally got my Hogwarts letter," said Harry carefully, "Aunt Petunia went off on Mum going to Hogwarts. 'And then she met that horrid boy," she said. But Professor Lupin told me that Mum and Dad never really got along until sixth year. But a couple of times, you've hinted that you knew her." He leaned forward. "You and Mum were friends while she was at school. And I think, from something Aunt Petunia's said, that you were friends with her before Hogwarts."
"We grew up in Cokeworth," said Snape quietly. He turned away again. "I met her when I was ten. I saw her performing accidental magic. I told her what it was, that she was a witch." His face twisted. "Petunia was a miserable girl, even then. Always jealous of her sister's talent, her intelligence...her beauty."
"I wish I could say that she got better," said Harry. "But she's only just started to. Only after she needed Wizarding help."
Snape turned back to face Harry. "Don't think that your mother made things easier on her," he said. "She had a fiery temper, and a sense of justice that would not be out of place on your friend Ms Granger." He smirked. "She even argued for freeing the House Elves."
"Hermione's getting better," pointed out Harry. "Well...on that front, anyway."
"She would not tolerate Petunia's attitude towards me," continued Snape, "and would call her out for it regularly. You also have her intellect. It bothered me to see you wasting it, but Ms Tomoe seems to have cured you of that." He snorted. "She also cured what little arrogance you were showing. A pity that Lily could never do that for James."
The bitterness in Snape's voice rose to caustic levels when he mentioned Harry's father.
"What did he do to make you hate him so much?" asked Harry. "I've heard stories, but even seven years of bullying—"
"Would you like to see?" Snape smirked, an ugly look in his eyes. "Perhaps put to rest, once and for all, the myth of your heroic father?"
"I—"
"Legilimens!"
This time, rather than summoning memories from Harry's mind, Snape pushed his own into Harry's head. He saw the aftermath of Snape's OWL tests, saw James tossing him around like a rag doll, saw Sirius and Remus, and the rat, grinning behind him. Even Remus, who had grown to be the kindly man that Harry now knew, had looked on with a sort of vicious glee.
Then Harry saw his mother rushing forward to defend Snape, saw her yelling at James. Saw her turn to help Snape to his feet, saw James taunting him for needing her help.
"I don't need help from filthy little mudbloods like her!"
Harry's jaw dropped as the connection broke.
"You said that...to her? Your best friend."
"And she never forgave me," said Snape quietly. "Of course, by that time, I was deeply involved with Travers and Mulciber. I should have realized..." He shook his head. "It destroyed our friendship. And the next year, she took up with Potter, and never spoke to me again."