HOME | DD

Description
Harry had little trouble convincing Ron and Hermione that Snape had given him detention for no good reason. While it did hurt to lie to them, he was determined they never know the truth. Harry had played that night's events over and over in his mind, looking for something to confirm or deny what he desperately wanted to know: had he gained any trust from Snape? He had told him the truth about many things Snape had accused him of. Snape now knew for a fact that Harry did not steal from his personal stores or put his name in the goblet, and that he isn't a pampered prince, loved by doting relatives. It turned out this should work in his favour, with Snape vowing not to allow his things to be locked away anymore whenever he went 'home' to the Dursleys. But none of this proved he was trusted, and it did not guarantee he would be trusted in the future. Harry was struggling to understand why having Snape's trust was so important, other than the fact it was very difficult to live with a person who does not trust you.

Harry thought he'd keep his mind busy until he had to face Snape again. He flew with Ron, and then they played chess for an hour. Hermione had them all study (for hours), they did Charms, Herbology, and History homework, and Harry was grateful that she went over it with them. They had fun in Hogsmeade, and went to the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer. It was great, and Harry was successfully distracted from Snape and all his other problems.

But the next day had to come: and it did. What Harry didn't count on was that it was his Head of House he would have to answer to. Just before her class, she pulled him aside.

"I would like a word with you, Mr Potter." It was not a request.

Harry followed her to her classroom and was led to her desk.

"Sit down, Mr Potter. We need to talk. Professor Snape has informed me that your relatives have been withholding your school supplies—hindering your homework—and that they have ignored you, and your cousins bullying ways." This was very direct, and expected from the professor, but that didn't make it easier to hear.

"Yes, Professor, they do."

"All of it is true, Mr Potter?"

"Yes, Professor. It is."

Her lips thinned and her expression soured, "Mr Potter, why did you not come to me with these problems? Or anyone else, sooner? Professor Snape says that he was going over your homework with you, and when pressed, you admitted that your relatives don't allow you to do your homework; that you have to do it at night, in secret. Potter, that is ridiculous of them to do that, and for you to allow it." Her voice was cold and angry, her eyes watching him closely.

"I thought I was handling it okay, I didn't want to bother anyone," Harry muttered, eyes avert.

"That is the most— First, Mr Potter; do not mumble, and sit up straight. Second; you are not a bother if you would have just said something sooner. To think you have been putting up with this for years, and was prepared to for the rest of your school life. Professor Snape also tells me that they do not let your owl out at night—that she lives in her cage most of the time. Mr Potter, I understand you have fought for her, but she must be allowed out of her cage whenever possible, she is an owl, not a canary. Professor Snape and I have written to your family, and your owl is not to leave until we are given an answer. If they do lock your things away again; you are to write. If you cannot write, you tell me immediately when you return to school. Do you understand, Mr Potter?"

"Yes, Professor, I understand." Harry's voice was not loud, but clear. He could look into her eyes.

"Very good, Mr Potter. Now take a seat; class is about to begin."

The room filled with Gryffindor and Slytherin students as the bell rang and class began. It was a review day; they went over everything from turning nails into nettles, and turtles into teapots. Harry found he could do everything from his first year without effort, and almost everything from his second year without any problems. Hermione, of course, made everything look easy, and flawlessly transfigured everything she tried. Ron could do most things, but his teapot still had scales, and Harry's pincushion still had a few porcupine quills.

"Stupid turtle moved at the last second," Ron complained.

"Well, it's not moving now. Try again," Harry encouraged.

Ron did, and the transformation was complete.

"Well done, Ron! Oh, Harry, your pincushion is changing back." Hermione pointed to Harry's 'pincushion'.

And indeed, it was more porcupine than pincushion. It had itself in a ball, curled tight. Harry tried the spell again and had the same results as last time—a partially transformed porcupine.

"Well maybe you can—" Hermione was going to suggest trying again, but the bell rang.

"Alright, clean up. And twenty points to both houses for all your excellent work."

They had charms next, and as they walked to their classroom, Hermione and Ron were curious.

"What did McGonagall want, Harry?" Ron asked.

"Oh, about not getting any more detentions with Snape, and doing better on homework," Harry said.

"Oh, that's nice," Hermione said.

Ron and Harry gave her strange looks.

"Well, it is nice that she cares about Harry. It's good to see concern from our Head of House," Hermione explained.

"Well, at any rate, I'm just glad you're not in trouble, Harry."

"Yeah, everything's fine. Nothing to worry about," Harry said, but he did not believe himself.

"We have to hurry if we want to sit next to each other," Hermione said.

Her worries were for nothing when they were seated next to each other as always. Professor Flitwick had lectured (what felt like endlessly) about Banishing Charms, and the proper way to hold your wand, the proper incantation, and the importance of correct pronunciation—all very boring. It wasn't until the last twenty minutes that they were allowed to practice.

Everyone found it difficult—even Hermione couldn't get things to do as she wanted. The bell rang with no real progress.

"Good work everyone, well done," Professor Flitwick said in his tiny voice. At least he was pleased.

"Potions next, Snape's gonna be a real git today."

"Ron! Don't say that!"

"Well, he is Hermione, you know he is!"

Ron and Hermione argued, but quietened down when they reached the dungeons. Harry was grateful, he was sure when they turned the corner that Draco Malfoy would be there, and he did not need to deal with Malfoy right now. But the corner was Malfoy-free today, and they entered the dungeons without hassle.

It turned out Malfoy was already in class; he, Crabbe, and Goyle glared as they entered and sat in their seats, but they said nothing.

"So good of you three to join us," Snape glowered. "Take you seats and turn to page 507."

The whole class grabbed their books and turned to page 507, the potion was called Anticoagulant; as the name suggested, it was a blood thinner.

"This potion is very difficult and requires the utmost concentration. Get into pairs—and only pairs. Choose wisely. This is a test and it will be worth a large portion of your grade," Snape instructed.

Some students (Hermione included) gasped at this unannounced test, they felt they should have been allowed to study, or practice this new potion first. It did not seem fair to any of them. But it was very Snape to be unfair, many of them thought.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other.

"What should we do?" Ron asked the question they all were asking themselves.

"Hermione, you will be fine with whoever you're paired up with. I think Ron and I should work together," Harry suggested.

"Okay, I'll find a partner."

It was easy for Hermione to find a partner, as the best in her year she was sought after. She paired with Dean Thomas and they got to work immediately, both gathering the needed ingredients from the student cupboard.

Harry and Ron also got straight to work; Harry assembled the scales, cauldron, and knives, while Ron gathered the ingredients. When Harry was done he got the remaining ingredients and they got to work. Harry and Ron read the directions three times before they did anything.

"I can do the garlic and the Dill seeds, unless you want to," Ron offered.

"Okay, I'll get the ginger juice and grind the tail of the Cockatrice," Harry said.

"Why would anyone want to thin their blood? Seems daft to me."

"Check the book, it should tell you," Harry said, trying to focus on the ginger.

Ron desisted, if he really cared he could read the medical benefits later, instead he turned his attention to the Dill plant. He read the directions which demanded 50 seeds in total. He decided to collect all 50 now, rather than taking time mid-potion to get more. The boys worked diligently and worked well together.

The potion was doing well, it turned the colours it was supposed to: from orange to lavender to blue. The potion bubbled (as the instructions said it should) and it looked correct when they turned in a sample to Snape.

"I think we passed," Ron looked so excited, he was practically bouncing.

"I think we did too," Harry was hopeful as well.

Hermione came out a moment later looking sullen.

"Ah," said Ron.

"Er," said Harry.

"That idiot ruined everything!" Hermione snapped at them, as if it were their fault.

"What happened?" Ron asked, curious as to what got Hermione so furious.

"He knocked over things, the Dill seeds, and the put newt eyes in instead of frog eyes! And he blames me! I did nothing wrong, I was very careful! And now my grade will suffer and there's nothing I can do!" Hermione actually seemed close to tears.

"Did you explain that to Snape?" Harry asked.

Ron and Hermione looked at him as if he were speaking Parseltounge again.

"What? Everybody knows Hermione is the best in class—best in all the classes, so..." Harry could not finish, they were staring so hard it was uncomfortable. "Stop looking at me like that."

"You really think Snape will understand, be reasonable, and help out?" Ron asked with every ounce of disbelief possible.

"Do you really think so?" Hermione asked with hope.

"Ah well, yes, Hermione never makes a mistake, she should get a retry." Harry did think it would be fair, but could not really put his faith in Snape being fair.

"I'll ask him now, I'll be right back," Hermione all but flew into the dungeon to talk to Snape.

"We should wait here," Harry said.

"Yeah, she might need cheering up soon," Ron was never one to have faith in Snape either, so the boys sat down just outside the door, waiting for Hermione to come back with news.

Description
Harry had little trouble convincing Ron and Hermione that Snape had given him detention for no good reason. While it did hurt to lie to them, he was determined they never know the truth. Harry had played that night's events over and over in his mind, looking for something to confirm or deny what he desperately wanted to know: had he gained any trust from Snape? He had told him the truth about many things Snape had accused him of. Snape now knew for a fact that Harry did not steal from his personal stores or put his name in the goblet, and that he isn't a pampered prince, loved by doting relatives. It turned out this should work in his favour, with Snape vowing not to allow his things to be locked away anymore whenever he went 'home' to the Dursleys. But none of this proved he was trusted, and it did not guarantee he would be trusted in the future. Harry was struggling to understand why having Snape's trust was so important, other than the fact it was very difficult to live with a person who does not trust you.

Harry thought he'd keep his mind busy until he had to face Snape again. He flew with Ron, and then they played chess for an hour. Hermione had them all study (for hours), they did Charms, Herbology, and History homework, and Harry was grateful that she went over it with them. They had fun in Hogsmeade, and went to the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer. It was great, and Harry was successfully distracted from Snape and all his other problems.

But the next day had to come: and it did. What Harry didn't count on was that it was his Head of House he would have to answer to. Just before her class, she pulled him aside.

"I would like a word with you, Mr Potter." It was not a request.

Harry followed her to her classroom and was led to her desk.

"Sit down, Mr Potter. We need to talk. Professor Snape has informed me that your relatives have been withholding your school supplies—hindering your homework—and that they have ignored you, and your cousins bullying ways." This was very direct, and expected from the professor, but that didn't make it easier to hear.

"Yes, Professor, they do."

"All of it is true, Mr Potter?"

"Yes, Professor. It is."

Her lips thinned and her expression soured, "Mr Potter, why did you not come to me with these problems? Or anyone else, sooner? Professor Snape says that he was going over your homework with you, and when pressed, you admitted that your relatives don't allow you to do your homework; that you have to do it at night, in secret. Potter, that is ridiculous of them to do that, and for you to allow it." Her voice was cold and angry, her eyes watching him closely.

"I thought I was handling it okay, I didn't want to bother anyone," Harry muttered, eyes avert.

"That is the most— First, Mr Potter; do not mumble, and sit up straight. Second; you are not a bother if you would have just said something sooner. To think you have been putting up with this for years, and was prepared to for the rest of your school life. Professor Snape also tells me that they do not let your owl out at night—that she lives in her cage most of the time. Mr Potter, I understand you have fought for her, but she must be allowed out of her cage whenever possible, she is an owl, not a canary. Professor Snape and I have written to your family, and your owl is not to leave until we are given an answer. If they do lock your things away again; you are to write. If you cannot write, you tell me immediately when you return to school. Do you understand, Mr Potter?"

"Yes, Professor, I understand." Harry's voice was not loud, but clear. He could look into her eyes.

"Very good, Mr Potter. Now take a seat; class is about to begin."

The room filled with Gryffindor and Slytherin students as the bell rang and class began. It was a review day; they went over everything from turning nails into nettles, and turtles into teapots. Harry found he could do everything from his first year without effort, and almost everything from his second year without any problems. Hermione, of course, made everything look easy, and flawlessly transfigured everything she tried. Ron could do most things, but his teapot still had scales, and Harry's pincushion still had a few porcupine quills.

"Stupid turtle moved at the last second," Ron complained.

"Well, it's not moving now. Try again," Harry encouraged.

Ron did, and the transformation was complete.

"Well done, Ron! Oh, Harry, your pincushion is changing back." Hermione pointed to Harry's 'pincushion'.

And indeed, it was more porcupine than pincushion. It had itself in a ball, curled tight. Harry tried the spell again and had the same results as last time—a partially transformed porcupine.

"Well maybe you can—" Hermione was going to suggest trying again, but the bell rang.

"Alright, clean up. And twenty points to both houses for all your excellent work."

They had charms next, and as they walked to their classroom, Hermione and Ron were curious.

"What did McGonagall want, Harry?" Ron asked.

"Oh, about not getting any more detentions with Snape, and doing better on homework," Harry said.

"Oh, that's nice," Hermione said.

Ron and Harry gave her strange looks.

"Well, it is nice that she cares about Harry. It's good to see concern from our Head of House," Hermione explained.

"Well, at any rate, I'm just glad you're not in trouble, Harry."

"Yeah, everything's fine. Nothing to worry about," Harry said, but he did not believe himself.

"We have to hurry if we want to sit next to each other," Hermione said.

Her worries were for nothing when they were seated next to each other as always. Professor Flitwick had lectured (what felt like endlessly) about Banishing Charms, and the proper way to hold your wand, the proper incantation, and the importance of correct pronunciation—all very boring. It wasn't until the last twenty minutes that they were allowed to practice.

Everyone found it difficult—even Hermione couldn't get things to do as she wanted. The bell rang with no real progress.

"Good work everyone, well done," Professor Flitwick said in his tiny voice. At least he was pleased.

"Potions next, Snape's gonna be a real git today."

"Ron! Don't say that!"

"Well, he is Hermione, you know he is!"

Ron and Hermione argued, but quietened down when they reached the dungeons. Harry was grateful, he was sure when they turned the corner that Draco Malfoy would be there, and he did not need to deal with Malfoy right now. But the corner was Malfoy-free today, and they entered the dungeons without hassle.

It turned out Malfoy was already in class; he, Crabbe, and Goyle glared as they entered and sat in their seats, but they said nothing.

"So good of you three to join us," Snape glowered. "Take you seats and turn to page 507."

The whole class grabbed their books and turned to page 507, the potion was called Anticoagulant; as the name suggested, it was a blood thinner.

"This potion is very difficult and requires the utmost concentration. Get into pairs—and only pairs. Choose wisely. This is a test and it will be worth a large portion of your grade," Snape instructed.

Some students (Hermione included) gasped at this unannounced test, they felt they should have been allowed to study, or practice this new potion first. It did not seem fair to any of them. But it was very Snape to be unfair, many of them thought.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other.

"What should we do?" Ron asked the question they all were asking themselves.

"Hermione, you will be fine with whoever you're paired up with. I think Ron and I should work together," Harry suggested.

"Okay, I'll find a partner."

It was easy for Hermione to find a partner, as the best in her year she was sought after. She paired with Dean Thomas and they got to work immediately, both gathering the needed ingredients from the student cupboard.

Harry and Ron also got straight to work; Harry assembled the scales, cauldron, and knives, while Ron gathered the ingredients. When Harry was done he got the remaining ingredients and they got to work. Harry and Ron read the directions three times before they did anything.

"I can do the garlic and the Dill seeds, unless you want to," Ron offered.

"Okay, I'll get the ginger juice and grind the tail of the Cockatrice," Harry said.

"Why would anyone want to thin their blood? Seems daft to me."

"Check the book, it should tell you," Harry said, trying to focus on the ginger.

Ron desisted, if he really cared he could read the medical benefits later, instead he turned his attention to the Dill plant. He read the directions which demanded 50 seeds in total. He decided to collect all 50 now, rather than taking time mid-potion to get more. The boys worked diligently and worked well together.

The potion was doing well, it turned the colours it was supposed to: from orange to lavender to blue. The potion bubbled (as the instructions said it should) and it looked correct when they turned in a sample to Snape.

"I think we passed," Ron looked so excited, he was practically bouncing.

"I think we did too," Harry was hopeful as well.

Hermione came out a moment later looking sullen.

"Ah," said Ron.

"Er," said Harry.

"That idiot ruined everything!" Hermione snapped at them, as if it were their fault.

"What happened?" Ron asked, curious as to what got Hermione so furious.

"He knocked over things, the Dill seeds, and the put newt eyes in instead of frog eyes! And he blames me! I did nothing wrong, I was very careful! And now my grade will suffer and there's nothing I can do!" Hermione actually seemed close to tears.

"Did you explain that to Snape?" Harry asked.

Ron and Hermione looked at him as if he were speaking Parseltounge again.

"What? Everybody knows Hermione is the best in class—best in all the classes, so..." Harry could not finish, they were staring so hard it was uncomfortable. "Stop looking at me like that."

"You really think Snape will understand, be reasonable, and help out?" Ron asked with every ounce of disbelief possible.

"Do you really think so?" Hermione asked with hope.

"Ah well, yes, Hermione never makes a mistake, she should get a retry." Harry did think it would be fair, but could not really put his faith in Snape being fair.

"I'll ask him now, I'll be right back," Hermione all but flew into the dungeon to talk to Snape.

"We should wait here," Harry said.

"Yeah, she might need cheering up soon," Ron was never one to have faith in Snape either, so the boys sat down just outside the door, waiting for Hermione to come back with news.