Chapter 9: Second Detention

Harry was upset that he got a second detention already somehow. And he was in the wrong even though Professor Dumbledore told two houses to go back down in the dungeons where the troll was.

Did no one notice that Slytherins and Hufflepuffs had to go back down?

And then he entered the common room, hearing commotion from everyone.

"Noticed how Dumbledore told us to go into danger?" He heard an older student screaming at another student.

He saw the first years in a specific area of the common room, and then he saw Theodore Nott and Daphne Greengrass, giving him a look. Almost like they wanted him to come to them. He wanted to go to sleep instead.

He didn't like that the older Slytherin students were looking at him as well. And he didn't want anyone to notice that they lost points already. He went up to his room instead of talking to anyone. He was tired. And he did fight a troll.

He knew that everyone found out what happened between him and the troll. Apparently, even though no one else saw it, people were speculating and put two and two together that he and Hermione were elsewhere while everyone went back to the common room. Therefore, seeing some older students getting mad at him during breakfast, he ended up putting food in his pockets, and he went to his class, ignoring everyone.

He didn't hear Gemma scolding the older students or the fact that certain first-years looked concerned when he left. He went through the day in a fog, just preparing himself to go to the next detention. He knew that he might slice potion ingredients and maybe told how he let his house down. He knew to go to Snape's office at seven p.m. sharp.

He knew how this office looked. He stepped in, seeing the potion jars and the different potion ingredients. He saw Professor Snape seated at his desk. He was writing on his desk with his quill scratching against the parchment. He looked up at him and said, "Sit."

Harry sat down. He didn't know what else was going to happen. Where were the potion ingredients he had to cut up?

Professor Snape stared at him. "I assume you expected to clean the cauldrons or scrub the floors."

Harry nodded and continued to stay quiet while staring at Professor Snape.

Professor Snape continued, "I do not want to waste time on meaningless punishments. Instead, you're going to help me with a potion, or you could sit here in silence for two hours and do nothing at all."

Harry was confused; he never expected Professor Snape to do something else for detention, and he asked Professor Snape (almost in a disbelieving voice), "A potion?"

Professor Snape gave him an unimpressed look because he didn't want to repeat himself, "Yes, Potter, a potion. I assume you understood what I said before and are intelligent enough to understand despite your reckless tendencies."

Harry wasn't sure where Professor Snape was going to go with this, but it was better than any cleaning during detention.

Snape flicked his wand to have the ingredients arranged neatly on the desk.

"We will be brewing a basic healing draught. Read the instructions and begin. Do not waste my time."

Harry didn't hesitate to waste a moment; he ended up reading the instructions provided on the parchment on the table, and he noticed that this potion wasn't very complex; it just required more precision in timing. He wasn't confident in this, but he set himself up to do the work, measuring the ingredients and slicing them carefully.

Professor Snape said nothing, but he watched what Harry was doing each time. Harry ignored any tension he felt creeping up his spine.

"You are holding the knife incorrectly," Professor Snape told him, "and your slices will be uneven."

Harry didn't want to say anything, so he adjusted his grip and tried slicing the ingredients. He heard a noise; it sounded like Professor Snape was approving what he did to fix his mistakes.

The silence stretched on while Harry did the work on creating the basic healing draught. Then he heard Professor Snape ask a question he knew he was going to ask him.

"Why were you wandering around in the corridors on Halloween?" Professor Snape asked. His tone wasn't cruel, though.

But still, Harry stiffened, and he felt his hand faltering while he stirred the potion; he wasn't sure how to formulate his thought. "I, umm…"

"Do not lie to me."

"I wasn't wandering around in the corridor; I was looking for someone who didn't hear about the announcement," Harry wanted to be honest with Professor Snape.

Professor Snape's eyes narrowed. "Who were you looking for?"

Harry didn't know if he wanted to tell Professor Snape that he noticed he wasn't going down to the dungeon but going to the third-floor corridor, and he saw Hermione Granger while looking at Professor Snape. He didn't want Professor Snape to come up with a conclusion that he was up to no good.

"I noticed during dinner that Hermione Granger wasn't at the Gryffindor table, so I thought she might be in trouble, and with the troll running around, she probably didn't hear the announcement." He decided to tell the truth, but Professor Snape will never know how much he was looking for him. It wasn't a lie.

Professor Snape studied him, examining him like he was a jellyfish. "Your reckless behaviors will not help you here."

Harry frowned. "I had my wand ready, and I didn't expect the troll there."

Snape's lip curled. "A first-year student against a full-grown mountain troll is foolish and reckless to fight with."

Harry scowled, but he didn't argue with Professor Snape. He had a point about it.

Professor Snape sighed and then punched his own nose bridge, "You insist on throwing yourself into danger without thinking about the consequences."

Harry bristled. He never had an adult care like that, "I do think about the consequences."

"Then prove that, Mr. Potter; use that brain of yours and be the Slytherin you. Act on it," Professor Snape told him.

Harry wasn't sure what else to respond to, and then Professor Snape turned his attention to the potion.

A strange feeling settled in Harry's chest. It seems like an adult cares for him. Even though that has never happened to him before.

Maybe Professor Snape doesn't hate him.

He turned back to the basic healing draught.