kbinnz - Harry's New Home

"You mean it? You would have transferred me?"

Snape stopped and looked down at him. "Mr Potter, what are my two most important rules? I will give you a hint; their violation results in a sore backside for you."

"N-not putting myself in danger and not disobeying," Harry gulped.

"Exactly. Keeping you safe and healthy and тАУ" Snape grimaced, but he said it "- happy is my responsibility as your guardian. I will not tolerate any threats to your wellbeing, whether they are your own doing or those of someone else. Do you understand, you silly child?"

Wide eyed, Harry nodded. Wow. Snape really took this seriously. He must like Harry, at least a little, to want to keep him safe. Though right now he looked like he had bitten into a lemon. Harry knew that Snape didn't like having to come out and admit to all the mushy stuff, but that was okay with Harry, because Snape showed how he felt all the time, whether it was by making sure he got good grades or giving him a back rub when he was too excited to go to sleep or making the Headmaster get rid of the boys who attacked him.

"Pr'fessor?" Harry asked in a very small voice.

"What is it now, Potter?" the man demanded grumpily.

"I lтАУ " Harry broke off. He couldn't say it. He'd feel like such a wally and the professor would be just as mortified. "Um, thanks."

Snape fidgeted awkwardly. "You're welcome," he said gruffly, dropping one hand onto the boy's shoulder and giving him a little squeeze. There. More positive reinforcement for the little fiend.

By then they were at the Great Hall, and Harry headed for the student tables while Severus made his way to the staff table.

"How is Harry this morning?" McGonagall asked anxiously before he had even had the chance to seat himself.

"As annoying as ever," he replied, ignoring her scowl.

"Really, Severus!" she huffed. "He has just been through a terrifying experience. I should think even you could summon up some compassion!"

Snape merely looked over to where Harry was now amusing himself and his table mates by using slices of melon to give himself a mustache. McGonagall followed his gaze and blinked. "Yes, he's quite the fragile flower," he commented acidly. He wasn't about to spread rumors that his ward was a delicate, emotionally unstable child. Of course he was, but having such weakness made public would hardly be in the boy's best interests. Why did McGonagall think he had insisted the boy return to his quarters last night? He shook his head тАУ old or young, Gryffindors had the subtlety of a brick.

Oh, great Merlin. Now Malfoy was following the lead of the youngest Weasley and seeing how many grapes he could stuff in his mouth at one time. Snape pinched the bridge of his nose. He had known that permitting the old House by House seating arrangements to lapse last night had been a dangerous precedent, and sure enough now the entire school was mingling, with appalling results.

Dear Lord Voldemort, Snape wrote in his mind, When you branded the Weasleys as blood traitors, was it due to their opposition to your rule or their truly appalling table manners? Further, can you please advise why тАУ if pureblood heritage is by far the superior - children of said background appear infinitely easier to corrupt than half-bloods or Muggleborns?

Having speedily abandoned eleven years of rigid etiquette training, Malfoy тАУ aped as always by Crabbe and Goyle тАУ was now demonstrating how toast soldiers could be used as vampire fangs while Weasley tried to stick one in each nostril for some incoherent reason. Now Granger was scolding all of them for playing with their food and the boys were taking it much more respectfully than Snape would have anticipated. Perhaps Jones' nearby proximity had been noted? And of course, his prefect was seated next to Percy Weasley, who appeared alternately delighted beyond measure and terrified beyond words. Even as Snape watched, Jones scooted a little closer and whispered something in his ear that made the boy blush to the tips of his ears.

The rest of his Snakes were scattered around the Great Hall, and he overheard Teddy Nott and Millicent Bulstrode тАУ both scions of proud pureblood families тАУ begging a Hufflepuff Half Blood to show them some Muggle artifact called a "gameboy". Apparently the Hufflepuff's older cousin, an Unspeakable, had managed to charm the object into working at Hogwarts, and his snakes were agog to play it. Of course, the Hufflepuff was agreeing to it, so now he would doubtless have Badgers wandering through his Tower's common rooms.

Marvelous. Oh, and now Malfoy, Potter, and Weasley were in a shouting match with Granger and Longbottom about the high social value of Quidditch. Of course, the know-it-all was carrying most of the argument, but Longbottom was showing an unexpected tenacity in suggesting that maybe, just maybe, coursework was slightly more important than Quidditch standings. The other three boys were hooting him down, showing alarming amounts of half-masticated food in the process, while Crabbe and Goyle stolidly ate everything that remained in their vicinity - regardless of whose plate it was on.

Snape's mood plummeted at the realization that he was going to have to side with the know-it-all and Longbottom when тАУ as seemed inevitable тАУ he had to intervene in the rapidly escalating argument. Now some of the upper years were beginning to pay attention as well.

"Hmmmm. I'm afraid Miss Granger isn't learning to fit in well," Minerva commented disapprovingly.

Snape scowled at her. "Because she hasn't become a Quidditch-obsessed lunatic like her Head of House?" he asked nastily.

McGonagall scowled right back. "Quidditch is the most noble of sports! Its unique heritage is тАУ"

" - Irrelevant at an institution of higher learning!" Snape snapped. "Why you and the Headmaster insist upon permitting such a distraction тАУ"

McGonagall smirked. "You're simply jealous because you were never a very good player."

While Snape choked in fury, Pomfrey sailed into battle. "Severus' point is well taken, and you know it! The number of injuries that your stupid game causes every year тАУ"

"Stupid game!?!" Hooch screeched. "I'll тАУ"

"Now, now," the Headmaster tried, belatedly, to intervene.

The students' arguments halted and all eyes turned to the staff table to see if the brewing riot there would come to pass. As a result, it was several moments before anyone realized that the doors to the Great Hall had been thrown open.

TBCтАж

*Chapter 19*: Chapter 19

The students' arguments halted and all eyes turned to the staff table to see if the brewing riot there would come to pass. As a result, it was several moments before anyone realized that the doors to the Great Hall had been thrown open.

"Enough!" Dumbledore at last pronounced in tones of finality, his magic reinforcing the order. Hooch sulkily put down the bowl of porridge she had been about to throw at Pomfrey, while the rest of the faculty rather guiltily composed themselves. Snape and McGonagall exchanged a final glare, but then a shout from the end of the Hall made all Quidditch-related hostility evaporate.

"Headmaster! Is this the kind of behavior our children are expected to emulate?" Harry, along with the other students, craned his neck to see who had spoken. A tall, aristocratic man with white-blond hair strode down the aisle, a silver headed cane gripped in one hand. At Harry's side, Draco gasped and hastily straightened his robes.

"Hey, he looks like you," Harry whispered. "Is that тАУ"

"My father," Draco agreed tersely. He swallowed hard and watched apprehensively as Lucius marched up to the staff table.

"Good morning, Lucius," Albus said pleasantly, twinkling at the elder Malfoy. "I find that a brisk debate is an excellent way to start the morning. Would you care to join us for breakfast?"