kbinnz - Harry's New Home

Harry had glared at the witch тАУ how dare she speak to his professor like he was a little kid! тАУ but she had mistaken his anger for pain and given him an extra analgesic potion. Harry sighed; he needed to work harder on his scowl if he hoped to ever be as intimidating with it as his guardian was.

Snape glanced down at the small boy beside him and frowned. Why was the little brat sighing and looking so glum? Was he fretting over his popularity as a target? Worrying about who would be the next to ambush him?

Harry sneaked another look at Snape. Oooh, the professor looked grim. Was he still mad at the medi-witch, or was he going to scold Harry for his cheekiness in asking to eat dinner before going to the Infirmary? Harry bit his lip. He hadn't meant to argue with his guardian in public like that, but he just hadn't wanted to look like a crybaby in front of the others and he had been awfully hungryтАж He had just blurted it out without thinking and then before he could take it back and apologize, Ron had sounded off and then Professor Dumbledore had overruled Professor Snape right there in front of everybody.

Harry squirmed. He hadn't exactly been disobedient, but he certainly hadn't been well-behaved, either. If he'd ever talked back to the Dursleys like that (in public, no less!), he'd have been given at least a week of double chores, as well as getting his uncle's belt across his bum. He was confident that Professor Snape wouldn't treat him like that, but it wasn't the threat of punishment that made him feel so awful; it was knowing that he had let the professor down and made him look bad in front of the other teachers.

Snape's frown intensified as the brat's countenance grew ever more miserable. He'd been right тАУ the boy was near a breakdown. No sooner had the door to their quarters closed behind them than Harry turned to Snape with a choked cry. "I'm sorry!" he blurted out, tears already starting down his cheeks. "Please don't be very mad!"

Snape blinked, taken aback. "What on earth are you apologizing for, you foolish child?" he demanded, dragging Harry into the boy's bedroom and pulling out his pyjamas.

Harry sniffled and hung his head. "I'm sorry I was bad."

Snape gnashed his teeth and seated himself on the bed, pulling the sniveling boy to stand in front of him. Did the boy honestly think that he had brought the attack upon himself? Or that he had been wrong to fight back? At this rate, he'd never be able to withstand Voldemort. The Dark Lord would only have to fake a yelp in their first encounter and Harry would rush over, awash in alarm and remorse. I'm so sorry! Did that hurt? I knew I shouldn't have used such a mean spell! It's all my fault! "You were not bad. It was those four Ravenclaws whose actions were reprehensible."

Now it was Harry's turn to blink in confusion. "What?"

"What?" Snape demanded. How could Harry have misunderstood that statement? Oh, maybe "reprehensible" was too big a word to use with a Gryffindor. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "You were not bad," he repeated slowly, hoping that four one-syllable words would be clear enough. If not, what else could he do? Draw pictures?

"Yes, I was," Harry argued, frowning.

"No, you weren't!" Typical abused child тАУ always thinking he deserved the treatment he received.

"Yes, I was!" Harry was getting a little tired of the professor always overlooking his behavior, especially when it reflected badly on him. Professor Snape needed to stop being so nice to everyone! He let the Headmaster and medi-witch and yes, even Harry, get away with treating him with too little respect. He needed to stand up for himself more.

"Potter," Snape ground out, "it was not your fault that those boys attacked you."

"Oh, I know that!" Harry rolled his eyes. Then he brightened. "Did you see how I fought them? Just like you said, right? Even Marcus said I did really well! And I used that new spell and everything!"

"Er, yes." Snape was now very confused. Were trauma survivors supposed to experience such dramatic mood swings?

Heartened by his guardian's obvious approval, Harry climbed onto the man's lap. "You should've seen me!" he said enthusiastically, preparing to relive the battle for his professor's benefit. "Jeffreys went like this, an' I went like pow! An' you should've seen his nose bleed! An' then I went all 'Accio!' an' the other boy's wand was, like, wiggling everywhere, an' then the other one went thump an' then when they tried to grab me, I was like this тАУ " And Harry began to squirm so much that Snape worried he was having a seizure. He grabbed the boy before he vibrated himself off his lap and onto the floor. "- an' they couldn't hold me! An' then I went like hiya!" Harry gave a very good impression of a karate yell and kick, driving himself against his guardian's chest. "An' then тАУ"

"Yes, yes, Mr Potter. I quite understand," Snape interrupted hastily. "You obviously did as you were told. тАжWell done." He managed to choke out the unaccustomed praise, and Harry glowed with pride.

"But then what are you apologizing for, you foolish child?" he demanded.

"Oh." Harry's expression clouded. "For when I was rude."

Snape frowned, trying to deduce what the child was bleating about.

Harry gulped at the scowl that came over his professor's countenance. He was right; the man was annoyed. "I didn't mean to be cheeky," he pleaded. "I was just hungry, and I didn't thinkтАж"

"A common failing of yours, Potter. You must think before you act," Snape snapped automatically, even as he tried to figure out to what the boy was referring.

"Y's'r," Harry mumbled woefully, peering up at the man through his fringe. "I won't argue with you in public ever again. I didn't mean to make you look bad. Please don't be too angry."

Snape blinked. The boy was ambushed by upper years at four to one odds, several hundred kilos of weight advantage, and many years more magical experience. He escaped serious injury, if not death, by the skin of his teeth, and only because of a completely unexpected alliance between rival Houses. He suffered enough lumps and bruises to make the average eleven year old take to his bed in tears, and the only thing that troubled him was that he was a bit cheeky to his guardian in the post-fight adrenaline high?

Snape frowned. Obviously the boy was in denial, repressing his true emotions, and transferring them to this nonsensical worry that he had made Snape look bad. As if a Potter would ever care about such a thing!

"Please, Pr'fessor!" Harry's anxiety rose as he saw the professor's frown. Had he convinced the man to get rid of him? Harry could understand why the professor might not want such a disrespectful ward. "I'm sorry! I'll apologize in front of everyone tomorrow if you want or тАУ"

"Hush, Potter," Snape scolded. Yes, the boy was obviously sublimating his feelings. Better to bundle him into bed and let him rest. He tugged off Harry's robe, grimacing at how dusty it had become in the fight.

"Do you want to whack me?" Harry offered, surprised but not unwilling. If the Professor was taking off his robes to swat him, maybe that meant he'd still keep him.

"Don't be ridiculous, Potter!" Snape glared, furious at this further evidence that the boy thought that he deserved to be assaulted and beaten. "You know my rules about corporal punishment perfectly well. You have done nothing to earn yourself a smacking."

"But тАУ but тАУ I said тАУ" Harry's words were muffled as Snape tugged off his jumper. "Ouch!" he yipped as the collar tugged over a sore spot on his scalp.

"Hmf." Snape felt тАУ with surprisingly gentle fingers тАУ the residual lump on the back of Harry's head. "I'll have to get you another potion for that. Mr Potter, you obviously suffered a head injury in the fight. As a result, you can hardly be held accountable for being a trifle impulsive in your speech afterwards."