The wolf paced the office . . . panting and growling . . . back and forth . . . claws scraped the hard floor with a chill-sending screech . . . back and forth . . . Harry was trapped under the desk, listening to every snarl and snuff from the beast hunting him . . . the rustle of paper falling from the desk as the wolf brushed too close to it made Harry's heart jump to his throat . . . he needed to run . . . he crawled out from under the desk . . . canines flashed before his eyes as a howl cut through the night . . .

Harry gasped and sat up in his bed. He grasped the warm sheets around him desperately as he looked around the room wildly, his eyes wide and his breaths heavy. Starlight that managed to reach through the window offered little to reveal the dark dorm room where his roommates shifted in their beds or snored softly against their pillows, but there was no shadow or movement of any wolves looking to attack him. It had just been a dream. Nothing more.

Harry collapsed into his pillow as he continued to catch his breath. It had been over a month and half now since the attack, and for some reason, his dreams were not letting him forget what had happened. The past couple weeks had been nothing but nightmares every night, and he could never fall back to sleep afterwards, so he stared at the ceiling in defeat for a few minutes before he grabbed his wand and cast a gentle illuminating spell and pulled a textbook off his nearby nightstand and opened it to a marked page. Pulling out some parchment, he decided he might as well as work on his Charms homework while he waited for the morning light.

When it was time for breakfast, Harry joined his dormmates at their table, and he nibbled on toast while he contemplated what he would do for the day. Everyone would be leaving the castle for a Hogsmeade trip, and he would be stuck in the castle again. The first time he had snuck out to Hogsmeade had nearly ended in a close call, and the second time had nearly landed him in hot water with Severus, and he was quite glad that the professor had not been his guardian then. Perhaps it would not be wise to attempt sneaking out again.

Speaking of Severus, Harry glanced over at the head table, and he was not surprised that his new guardian was watching him, and their eyes met briefly. Severus inclined his head slightly, his eyes moving off Harry and to the goblet full of nutrient potion slop waiting for him to drink. Harry got the message and picked up the goblet, taking a sip of the slightly bitter and tart drink. Only twice had he nearly forgotten to take the potion in the last couple of weeks—and each time, when he tried to leave the table, he found himself stuck to his seat with a sticking charm. He had glared daggers at the head table as he chugged the potion down, and Severus had only glared back until the potion was gone, then he lifted the charm.

At least he had been better about remembering to take his potion. Harry set the goblet down and returned to nibbling his toast absently, watching his friends bicker about their stupid pets. Scabbers was absent again and Crookshanks was being blamed once more. Harry nearly rolled his eyes at their petty behavior, but he was quickly distracted by movement on his own plate.

He paused in eating the slice of toast and watched a bit dumbfounded as a bowl settled itself on his plate. The serving dish of porridge hovered close and the ladle scooped out a hearty serving before settling back down on the table. Strawberries and blueberries flew off the fruit tray and arranged themselves in the center of the porridge while a spoonful of honey drizzled over the dish. Finally, a spoon hopped up to the bowl and everything finally stopped moving.

Harry's head snapped back to the head table, and Severus arched a brow at him. Harry gestured to the toast in his hand, pointedly taking a large bite of it. Severus narrowed his eyes at Harry and shook his head.

With a sudden realization, Harry casually tried adjusting himself in his seat, and he was not surprised to find himself once again stuck to it with that damn sticking charm. He glared at Severus once more, only for his professor to quirk a brow at him once more.

Defeated, Harry set down his half-eaten toast and took a spoonful of the porridge, glad that it had a nice, sweet flavor and the fruit offered texture. His goblet inched closer to his plate as well, and Harry had to resist the temptation to throw the cup at his persnickety guardian. He held his tongue and picked up the goblet to sip the potion once more, trying to work down as much as he could in one swig before the bitterness made him put it back down. He took another bite of the porridge to drown out the taste before risking a glance at the head table.

He was rewarded with a small nod from Severus, and a warm feeling flooded his chest, and Harry gave the man a small smile in return before he took another bite of his porridge. He wasn't entirely sure why the small acknowledgement made him feel . . . happy, for lack of better words, but it felt good to have earned Severus's approval even in the small things as what he ate for breakfast. His appetite had certainly improved with his transformation into a werewolf, but the items he chose to eat were not always approved by Severus. The Dursleys had never cared if he ate at all, and this insistence on eating something healthy and complete was entirely new to Harry, and very annoying some days, but it felt nice to have at the same time.

His friends had missed the entire silent conversation Harry had just had due to their arguments, and Harry gave them annoyed looks while he continued eating. He didn't realize how much he would enjoy the porridge, and he was practically shoveling food into his mouth.

"Eww, Harry, please," Hermione nagged when she finally looked at him, her face morphing into one of disgust at the food all over his mouth. "You're eating like Ron."

"Hey!" Ron snapped.

"Sorry," Harry said, picking up a napkin and wiping his mouth. "I didn't think I would like the porridge this much. I'm still getting used to my . . . hunger too, I guess."

"Well," Hermione started to say, the disgust fading off her face, "at least put the napkin in your lap. Or maybe even tucked in your shirt. That might be better in your case."

"I can't be that bad," Harry said with a chuckle.

"No complaints over here," Ron said. "I think this is the best you've ever eaten. You could use it anyway. "Why the porridge though? There's all this better food, like eggs, bacon, and sausage, and . . . honestly, I thought you'd fill your plate up with a lot of meat. Cause . . . you know."

"Maybe a slice or two," Harry said, reaching across the table to grab a couple strips of bacon to add to his plate. "But the porridge looked good."

Harry chanced a glance at the head table, but Severus was in deep conversation with Minerva, and he forced the disappointment down and returned to eating his food. Of course, Severus wasn't going to watch him all the time.

Hermione had caught what he had done, and she smiled softly at Harry before eating her own porridge.

"Have you tried talking to Snape about letting you come to Hogsmeade?" Ron asked in a whisper. "Now that he's your . . . you know, maybe you can get your form signed."

"Are you mental?" Harry asked in a quiet tone himself. "He's not going to sign it."

"Why not? Don't tell me it's because of Black? You'll be with us and surrounded by professors. And Dementors swarm the outside of the town, why would Black stick around there?"

"I doubt he would," Harry said. "But I can tell you for sure Snape isn't signing my permission form."

Harry heard footsteps walking his way, and he could sense the presence behind him before it had even fully stopped walking, so he was not surprised when a deep voice spoke behind him, though Ron did jump a bit in his seat.

"You'd be correct, Mr. Potter," Severus said.

Harry turned in his seat to face the professor. Severus was standing behind him with his arms crossed and a small sneer on his face.

"And of course," Severus continued, "There will be no shenanigans of any kind while your friends are off on their Hogsmeade trip."

"No, sir," Harry said.

"Well, perhaps we should give our hero some tasks to perform while his friends are away, shall we? Let's say, reorganizing the supply closet in the potions classroom? Merlin knows the first years make a mess of it."

Harry frowned at that. He wasn't serious was he? That was practically a detention. Harry suddenly realized that this was in fact a detention—one to keep him occupied and in Severus's sight while all the other students went on the trip. This was because Severus still knew that he had successfully snuck out the last time, and he had not actually been punished for it.

"What do you say, Potter? My classroom, eleven-thirty?"

"Like I have choice?" Harry sniped.

"I will see you then," Severus said.

Severus stalked out of the Great Hall, and to Harry's relief, the sticking charm had lifted. He adjusted himself on his seat slightly before he glared at the rest of his food and the stupid goblet. He had managed to eat the majority of the porridge, but there was still a small portion of the potion in the cup, and he rebelliously picked up the goblet and dumped out its contents into the porridge, then he shoved the food away. While Severus had not seen the action, Harry felt slightly better at his own retaliation.

"Blimey, you've got it rough, mate," Ron said, wincing in sympathy. "I'll bring back some extra chocolate frogs for you."

"Thanks," Harry said.

Later that morning, after waving goodbye to his friends, Hary headed down to the potions classroom where he found Severus working at his desk grading essays. Harry slowly approached the desk and waited patiently for instruction.

"This is not a detention," Severus said after a few minutes of scribbling red ink all over an essay. "So it will not appear on your record."

"Oh good," Harry said, "I was afraid my unblemished record would be forever tarnished."

"Mind your cheek," Severus said with a glare. "As I was saying, while it is not an official detention, I expect you to treat the supplies in that closet with the utmost care and consideration. Everything is labeled in alphabetical order; all you have to do is remove any ingredients that are not where they are supposed to be and place them back where they belong. Sound easy enough for you?"

"If this isn't a detention, why do I have to do this?" Harry asked.

"Because I said so," Severus said. "And it keeps you busy and out of trouble, and more importantly, from sneaking off to Hogsmeade. You may have fooled the other professors with your stunt last time, but you have not fooled me. And you were not punished for that escapade, and you can consider this a long overdue detention for your willful disobedience and lies."

"I didn't—"

"Do not finish that sentence," Severus growled. "You and I both know you were at Hogsmeade that day. This consequence is more than fair."

"But it's not, I wasn't—"

"Can you honestly look me in the eyes and tell me truthfully that you have not stepped foot in Hogsmeade once since you arrived at school in September?"

Harry met Severus's eyes, but any argument he had died on his tongue as he stared into the stern dark eyes that dared him to contradict the truth. After a minute, Harry swallowed dryly and shook his head.

"Now we are getting somewhere," Severus said with a nod. "Go reorganize the supply closet. You will do so until you are dismissed."

Severus reached across his desk and grabbed a pair of dragonhide gloves.

"You will need these."

Harry huffed as accepted the gloves, throwing them on as he walked over to the supply closet, then paused in the entryway as he saw the chaos that awaited him. He knew he could sometimes be careless when he rushed into the room to grab the supplies he needed for the day, but he didn't think he was this careless. But Severus did say the first years were the worst, so perhaps this mess was created by several classes through the day.

He shuffled through the first tray on the top shelf that was just eye level with him. He recognized the plant as aconite, and he shuffled through it to make sure there were no strange plants mixed in with it. While he could recognize some of the ingredients, he wasn't sure he would be able to identify all of them, and he hesitated as he lifted a few long stems of a very similar-looking plant that he would have called aconite if not for the slightly different shape of the flowers. He set them aside for now, hoping to come across the plant in his work.

He moved slowly through the supply closet, pulling out obvious plants or horns or stones that clearly did not belong in certain places. Some he knew right away and placed those ingredients in the correct tray or holding bin, while others he set off to the side as he could not place what they were exactly, nor could he find a matching tray for some. Once he took care of the supplies he recognized for sure, he hesitated as he tried to decide what the best course of action would be. He didn't want to guess and have something end up in an incorrect location. Severus would notice for sure, then he would probably get a real detention.

Harry bit his lip as he debated whether or not he should ask Severus for assistance. Would the professor even help him? Would he expect Harry to know what everything was by now? He was in his third year of potions, that probably meant he should know at least what everything was, right?

Harry tried in vain to guess what some of the ingredients were, but when all he could do was draw a blank on many of them (he did match one item with other tray items), he picked up the flowers he had first found and walked out of the closet.

Severus was still grading at his desk, though he seemed a bit weary of it as he had his eyes closed and was rubbing the back of his neck rather roughly. Harry hesitated, then walked up to the desk and held the flowers up.

"Sir, can you tell me what these are? I don't see any others like them, and they don't really look like aconite."

Severus opened his eyes and stared at the plants for a moment.

"That's where those delphiniums disappeared to," he muttered.

"Delphiniums?" Harry repeated.

"Indeed." Severus gestured for Harry to step around the desk to come closer, and when Harry was standing next to Severus, the professor gently touched one of the flowers, lifting the petals up slightly. "Delphiniums tend to have a lighter color to them then aconite, more of a violet or a deep blue rather than aconites deep purple. See the petals? Open and more pointed at the end where aconite has more of an arching hood."

"I knew they looked different from the aconite."

"Yes, I can't imagine many other students would have been able to pull this particular species of delphinium out of a pile of aconite. That's very observant of you. I had just had these shipped in yesterday and like that, they vanished from where I left them in the closet. I believe I will hold on to these for now."

"What do you need them for?"

"It makes a very powerful wrackspurt insecticide." Severus took the plants from Harry and set them down on his desk, waving his wand over them to reapply a freshening charm on them. He glanced at Harry. "Was that all you needed? Are you finished with the closet?"

"No. Actually, there's a couple other things I didn't really know the difference between, and some I don't know at all."

"I'm not surprised. There are many things in there you will not use until your sixth year." Severus stood up from his desk. "I could use a break from grading anyway. Let's see what you've got."

Harry led the way to the closet and pointed at the small collection he had made on an unused shelf opposite where most of the ingredients were lined up against the wall. He had pulled a couple trays out as well and had them on the shelf, and he pulled out the items in them first.

"I thought the ginger would be easy, but I didn't realize you also had something called ginseng in here. Is that just another word for ginger?"

"It is not," Severus said, accepting the different ginger roots he was handed. He stepped closer to the tray, digging through it briefly before pulling out a ginseng. "You see the ginger has a rather knobby, bolbous appearance, with a smooth surface."

Harry ran his hand over the ginger as Severus was doing, then did the same with the ginseng, feeling the rougher texture.

"Ginseng has a more irregular, forked shape with a rougher exterior than ginger."

"They look really similar," Harry observed, "even though they have different names. What do you use them for?"

"Ginger is well known for its anti-inflammatory properties. It is a crucial addition in many healing potions. The ginseng is better known for enhancing the immune system and improving overall energy and mood. It is useful in calming draughts. While the two are similar in many ways, even in their components, the slight differences in the makeup of those components make all the difference in what we use the ginger or the ginseng for. You will be differentiating those components in your fourth year."

Harry was very intrigued by the new information on the two very similar roots he held in each hand. For the first time in his three years at Hogwarts, potions was something he actually liked to learn about. This Snape was very different from the one even just a few months ago. Even in class, Severus had backed off on calling Harry out or making snide comments about his fame or worse, his father. Sometimes, it looked like Severus wanted to say something snarky, but the professor managed to hold his tongue. And now, he was actually teaching him something kind of cool without degrading his intellect. It was truly fascinating.

"Now that you know the difference, divide the ginger and ginseng into their appropriate trays while I tend to what else you have out on this shelf."

"Okay, sir."

Harry made sure he touched each root to make sure he was grabbing a ginseng or a ginger and placed them in the appropriate tray. There was so many of them, it took a while to split up the two, and then he placed the lid over them. He looked up at Severus, who had managed to home all the other ingredients that were left out, and he was currently checking all the other trays. Harry almost set the two trays back in their alphabetical locations when he paused and stared at the two empty spaces side by side.

"Sir?" he asked.

Severus looked at Harry and arched a brow.

"Do you think if you kept these two trays apart from each other, then no one would mix them up so much?"

Severus snorted at that, and for a moment, Harry thought he was being derisive, but then Severus actually chuckled, a surprising sound coming from the usually petulant potions master.

"You know, in all the years I've worked here, not once have I considered that."

Harry couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.

"However," Severus added, "the students must learn the differences regardless, and if you all slowed down and paid more attention to what you were grabbing, it would not be a problem. Go ahead and put those back where they belong."

Harry slid the trays into their allotted spots.

"Very good. You did well, Potter. I am impressed."

Harry beamed at his professor. Praise was really a rare thing to hear. Honestly, Severus wasn't so bad underneath that gruff exterior.

"I think I've kept you busy long enough. You should head to the Great Hall for lunch, where you will be served the missing half of your nutrient potion you gracefully dumped this morning."

"How did you know about that?" Harry asked, his eyes wide.

"I have my ways," Severus said. "And stay in the castle. If I find out from anyone that your head, foot, arm, ear, or any part of you was spotted in Hogsmeade, you will be reorganizing every closet that exists in this castle for the rest of the year. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said with a nod.

"You are dismissed."

Harry left the classroom with another strange feeling bubbling in his chest, but it was not an unwelcomed warmth. It was that feeling that allowed him to have a good night of sleep later that night, one free of nightmares filled with attacking wolves.