average human’s Reviews > Sectumsempra > Status Update

“They weren’t special, they weren’t like us. They couldn’t hurt me, not really.” He lowered his head back to his knees, “It wasn’t self-defense. I’m a monster.”

Severus continued his exceedingly slow scoot towards Potter until he was seated beside him. He discreetly pointed his wand at the door and warded it to ensure no student would arrive while Potter was in here. Had he not been so distracted by Potter’s confession of murder he would have done it prior to entering his mind.

“Quit pulling your hair child,” he said softly, looking down at Potter’s head where his hands were still pulling harshly on his hair.

Severus slowly reached out and placed his open hand on Potter’s fist.

“Let go,” he whispered.

And Potter did.

He turned towards Severus and buried his face in his chest and absolutely let go.

Severus wrapped his arms around him, holding him firmly, as Potter sobbed into his chest.

For a time Potter simply sobbed. He wailed and Severus felt his chest become wet from tears. While Severus was murmuring soothing nothings to the child he began to speak around his cries.

“I-I don’t w-wanna be like him,” he cried.

“Like who?”

“V-V-Voldemort. I don’t w-want to be a m-monster.”

Severus wondered how many times this young boy is going to break his heart.

“Shh,” Severus whispered back, stroking the child’s hair. “You are no monster.”

Potter continued to tremble and sniffle until eventually it seemed as if he had no tears left to shed. Severus continued stroking his hair and holding him against him.

“Please let go.”

Severus immediately released Potter and allowed him to scoot away from him. He conjured a handkerchief and silently handed it to him.

“Thanks,” Potter mumbled, accepting the cloth.

Severus hummed in response and leaned his head back against the stone wall. He politely did not look at Potter as he cleaned himself up, sure the fiercely independent child would not like an audience, and instead cleared his own mind.

“I’m sorry for getting you wet,” Potter said softly. “I can fix it now.”

Severus waved off his concern, his robes were well accustomed to messes. Although admittedly tears of pre-pubescent boys was a new one for him. Potter apparently decided to ignore his wave because Severus felt a warmth spread across his chest and glanced down to see he was now clean and dry.

“You’d be an excellent house elf,” Severus told him drily.

Potter snorted, so Severus risked a glance at him. His face was red and puffy but his shoulders seemed more relaxed. It had seemed to be quite a cathartic cry.

“The Dursley’s thought I was a house elf, but I wouldn’t ever make Mavis live in a cupboard,” Potter said, as if that were not a horrifying statement.

Severus’ lips twitched involuntarily at Potter’s sardonic tone. “Petunia always was an insufferable moron,” he said.

Potter carefully leaned against the wall, mimicking Severus’ pose, and inched willingly towards him until they were an arms length apart.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

Severus had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

“What needless apology are you offering me now?”

“It’s not needless,” Potter said defensively. “I shouldn’t have been mad at you before I gave you a chance to explain. You’ve been really good to me and I was- I was just...”

“Hurt? Furious? Betrayed?” Severus offered, with a single brow raised. “I believe you were well within your rights to feel all those emotions and more. I would have quite deserved it had you struck me with lightening.”

Potter chuckled, “Did I tell you about shooting lightening bolts at Quirrell’s head?”

Severus tried to remain stoic, he truly did. But the image of the Dark Lords face being stung by lightening shot by the boy with the lightening scar would have been a sight to see.

“You did not, though if you’d like to show me I do happen to own a pensieve.”

“C-can I use it?” Severus looked over and saw Potter was fidgeting slightly. “If not it’s okay...”

“Care to make a deal?” he offered the child, utilizing the boy’s own economy system.

“I don’t want to talk about it ever again,” Potter said stoutly. “Please.”

Severus hummed, not pretending to misunderstand him.

“I will allow you to use my pensieve under two conditions; one, I would like to hear the full prophecy with you. As I’m sure you are no doubt aware, I only heard part of it.”

Potter nodded, “And?”

“And I would like to tell you a story and I would appreciate you listening before deciding whether you believe I am a worthwhile friend and ally to you.”

Potter squinted suspiciously at him.

“That’s all you want?” he asked incredulously. “Just to listen to the prophecy and me to listen to your story?”

“It is,” Severus responded simply.

Potter scooted a little closer to him, their legs were nearly touching.

“Okaaay,” he said, drawing the word out slowly. “I’m listening.”

Severus took a deep breath, closed his own eyes, and began his tale;

“My father was a Muggle, and my mother an accomplished witch...”

And Severus spoke. He told Potter of his own abusive childhood, his friendship with Lily, his rivalry with James Potter. He spared no detail; not his own Marking Ceremony with the Death Eaters nor why he owed James Potter a life debt.

As he sat on the floor of the owlery and shared his soul with Potter the child scooted over and carefully rested his head on Severus’ shoulder and listened.

25%

Harry had a painful memory of being in primary school and having nobody to talk to. Dudley always told the kids what a freak he was and nobody wanted to hang out with the punching bag of Surrey Primary.

“I’m going to talk to her,” he decided, holding open the heavy entrance door at the hall for Hermione. “I bet she’s perfectly fine.”

“Hello Harry Potter.”

“JESUS FUCK!” Harry yelled, jumping about a foot in the air. The blonde girl, Luna, was waiting just on the other side of the entrance.

“Mister Potter! Language! Three points from Slytherin!” Professor McGonagall yelled from the Head Table, shaking her finger in his direction.

Harry shot her an apologetic nod, he wasn’t really sorry though, and turned to Luna.

“Were you waiting for me?” he asked.

“No,” she said in the same airy tone she’s used every time he’s spoken to her. “You were looking for me.”

Harry glanced at Hermione, who mouthed ‘told you so’, and shrugged one shoulder.

“How’d you know that?”

Luna smiled at him softly and leaned in closer to him. “The nargles told me,” she said quietly, as if confessing a secret. “They also said don’t worry about the three points, you’ll make them back soon.”

Harry gave her a wary look, “What are nargles?”

Luna looked around the room, her eyes drifting from place to place. “Most people can’t see them. They’re very small and they tell me things about people. That’s why they like mistletoe, you know.”

Hermione cleared her throat lightly, “Nargles aren’t real Harry.”

Luna fixed her gaze on Hermione for a moment and shrugged, “That’s why they don’t talk to you.”

Harry looked blankly at Luna’s serene face, then Hermione’s irritated one, and promptly started laughing.

“You’re alright Luna,” he said with a grin. “Wanna go fishing with us?”

Luna was already stepping away lightly towards the exit, “No thank you, Hermione doesn’t like me.”

Hermione huffed from beside him and Harry was still laughing at her look of indignation when Susan and Neville arrived.

“What’s so funny?” Susan asked, already grinning in anticipation.

“Nothing,” Harry said, interrupting Hermione who had started to speak. “You guys ready to go catch a mermaid?”

“I’m aiming for the Giant Squid,” Neville said with a serious tone. “If I don’t catch the Squid then I’m going to drown Hermione.”

Susan and Harry laughed while Hermione tried, and failed, to glare at him.

“I hope you catch nothing Neville Frank Longbottom,” she said with a teasing curl to her lips.

“If we don’t catch anything is it our fault for being bad at fishing or yours for being bad at teaching us?” Susan asked.

Hermione faltered in her step for a moment before decided declaring that everyone was going to catch at least something... or else.

***

At dinner that night Harry was listening as Susan excitedly explained fishing to the Slytherins sitting with them. None of the pureblood boys understood why it would be a hobby for Muggles.

“Why not just grab the fish?” Ron asked with his nose scrunched.

“Because they can swim away,” Hermione explained (again) to him.

“Why didn’t you guys just summon them?” Blaise asked.

“Because then it would have been pointless to be fishing.”

Nobody had anything to say to that, which basically explained the boys’ opinions on fishing. Privately Harry agreed with them. Fishing by yourself would be boring. But fishing while your friends splashed each other and laughed at the confused Hogwarts students and staff had been fun.

“Oh hey, I’ll meet you guys in dorm...” Harry said, abruptly excusing himself. He saw Professor Snape leaving the Head Table and wanted a chance to ask him about the disc player.

“Professor!” he called, waving Snape down in the corridor. “Wait please!”

Snape stopped where he was and turned to face Harry with a small smile in place.

“Mister Potter,” he greeted him. “How are you?”

“Fine, thanks, hey I’ve got the disc player! Can we still fix it together?” Harry asked quickly.

“Of course, I told you we would,” Snape replied easily. “How were you able to procure the player? I did not believe Muggle stores accept owl orders.”

Harry grinned, “Hermione. She wrote to her parents and asked them for one.”

“Aah, simple yet elegant. Excellent, do you have plans Friday afternoon?”

Harry was about to tell him that he had Quidditch practice when Professor Flitwick walked up to them.

“Mister Potter! There you are!” he said in his squeaky voice. “I’ve been looking for you all afternoon!”

Harry took a small step away from Flitwick, towards Snape. “Why, sir?” He glanced up at Snape, who looked bemused, “I haven’t done anything...”

Flitwick chuckled and gave him an amused look. “So it was not this Harry Potter who threatened a group of my students this morning?”

I definitely should have cursed Cho. Snitch.

Harry cleared his face, hoping he wasn’t about to be expelled or something horrible for it.

“I don’t know sir, I’ve had a busy day,” he said evasively. Flitwick didn’t look angry, but why would he be chuckling?

Flitwick leaned closer to Harry and grinned. Harry had never been more aware of the Professors Goblin ancestry. His sharp smile resembled Griphooks very closely.

“Busy day defending first years from bullying?”

Harry shrugged one shoulder, his neck feeling suddenly hot.

“I’m sorry sir,” he said. Apologies were a good way to go if you didn’t know what someone wanted from you.

Flitwick straightened himself back up and looked up at Snape. “If Mister Potter ever tires of you I will convince the Sorting Hat to place him in my house. Fair warning.”

Harry gaped as the short Professor walked away.

“Oh, Mister Potter,” he called back suddenly. “10 points to Slytherin.”

“I-I have no idea what just happened,” Harry confessed to Snape. “Did I just get points for threatening a student?” At Snape’s silently raised brow Harry hastily added, “Not that I’m saying I did that.”

“Hmm,” Snape furrowed his brows slightly as he thought. “I imagine that if you had threatened a student in defense of another, especially in an incidence such as bullying, Filius would feel inclined to reward you.”

“Huh,” Harry said. “Oh wow, okay. Brill.” He thought of Luna and remembered how the nargles had told her Harry would earn back the points McGonagall took.

“Hey sir?” he asked Snape. “Are there creatures that are invisible and can see the future?”

Snape snorted, effectively answering his question.

“If there are I would kindly request you not to bring them in to the castle,” he said drily. “I shudder to think of the chaos you would sow.”

Harry gave him a wicked grin, mentally planning on finding Luna to ask her about nargles his next free day.

Snape grinned back for a moment before abruptly turning serious. “Where are you headed?”

Harry rolled his eyes, knowing where this was going. “Common room, sir.”

“Come along then,” Snape said, gesturing towards the dungeons. “Walk and talk with me Potter.”

Harry huffed but followed behind obediently. Snape had done this at least three times a week and Harry had no further idea of what he was doing. He would just find Harry in the halls, ask him to walk with him, and then ask him about his day. It was weird. Especially since Snape would walk with Harry in directions that he knew the man hadn’t previously been headed- like the Quidditch pitch one morning.

“How was your ‘busy day’?” Snape asked, predictably.

“Fine, I went fishing.”

Snape paused in his step, turning his head and giving Harry a curious look. “Oh? Why did you go fishing?”

Harry huffed at Snape’s other new weird thing. ‘Why’ questions constantly.

‘Why didn’t you eat much at supper?’, ‘Why is your shirt untucked?’ ‘Why did you sit beside Nott instead of Bones this morning?’

Bloody weird.

“Because Mione wanted to go,” he said a little more shortly than he usually would. “So we went.”

Snape hummed as they walked down towards the Slytherin dorms.

“Was it just you and Miss Granger?”

“Nope. Neville and Susan came too.”

“Where were your other friends?” Snape asked as they descended the back stairs. Harry didn’t mind so much following behind Snape, the man knew a lot of private staircases and corridors.

“I dunno. Mione said she missed me so I said I’d go with just her and the other non Slytherin kids.”

“Aah, an admirable sentiment from a friend,” Snape said casually.

“I guess so,” Harry mumbled.

Snape gave him a puzzled look. “Was it not a nice sentiment?”

Harry shrugged, “It was,” he said slowly. “It was just weird to hear, you know?”

Snape paused by one of the large windows that looked out level with the grounds.

“I imagine you haven’t heard that much before,” he mused aloud.

Harry leaned against the wall, looking out the window, in no rush to return to the still empty dorm.

“There wasn’t really anyone to miss me before,” he said with an ironic quirk to his lips. “So it’s just weird to hear.”

Snape lent against the wall as well, following Harry’s gaze out the window.

“How did it make you feel to hear it from Miss Granger?”

“W-what?” Harry sputtered looking at Snape quickly. “What does that even mean?”

He was surprised to see Snape’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. Was he... blushing? He certainly looked uncomfortable as he cleared his throat and looked away from Harry.

“What is going on with you?” Harry asked, exasperated. “You’re being fucking weird lately, sir.”

Snape looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “Potter you cannot add a title of respect to the end of a disrespectful statement and expect me not to admonish you for it.”

“Okaaaay,” Harry said, drawing the word out slowly. “But will you answer my question after you admonish me?”

Snape sighed again, still looking upwards. “How am I ‘being fucking weird’ Potter?”

Harry thought that Snape knew what he meant but had no problem spelling it out for him either.

“Talking to me so much and asking about my day all the time,” he said with a scowl. “Now you want to know about my feelings?”

“This! This is exactly why Potter!” Snape said, looking down at Harry now. “It should not be ‘weird’ for someone to routinely ask you how your day is or what you are feeling.”

“I mean, that’s nice of you... I suppose? But-“

“But nothing!” Snape cried, clearly warming up to the subject. “You should not think that I am ‘nice’ because I am treating you the way you should have always been treated- with basic care and respect.”

Harry edged away from him and glanced warily down the corridor ensuring they were still alone.

“This- this isn’t about... about... what I showed you, right? Because I told you I don’t wanna talk about that...” Harry muttered, avoiding looking at the Professor. “I just wanted to be friends.”

Harry looked down at his trainers and scuffed the floor with the toe of them.