kbinnz - Harry's New Home

Harry squirmed. "It wasn't that bad," he argued unconvincingly. "I mean, mostly it was just a slap or two, like if they thought I was cheeky."

Snape glared at him. "Do you need another set of lines?"

"No, sir!" Harry assured him quickly.

Snape eyed him thoughtfully. "If I were to treat your friend Mr Weasley as the Dursleys treated you, giving him 'just a slap or two' when I find him to be impertinent, would you say I was justified in my behavior?"

"You wouldn't do that!" Harry protested.

Snape shrugged. "Why not, if it's not 'that bad'?" he taunted. "After all, Weasley can be extremely annoying."

"All right!" Harry snapped, feeling embarrassed and angry though he was unsure why. "All right, I understand!" His professor didn't have to be so snarky about it. It was just that Harry didn't like to think that he'd been treated so badly. It made his head hurt. Better to pretend it hadn't been so awful, except that Professor Snape wouldn't let him get away with doing that.

"Good," Snape replied sternly. "Do not let me hear you exonerating those disgusting creatures for their actions, or mitigating their crimes in any way. You did not deserve that treatment. You are a very special child whose self-esteem is sorely lacking." Snape glared at the brat awfully as he said that; he didn't want the little fiend to think he was getting soft.

Harry squirmed, his irritation slowly being replaced by a tingling of pleasure at his professor's words. Very special child. He really liked it when his professor said stuff like that, especially since he didn't use a drippy, squishy sweet voice that would have horribly embarrassed Harry. When Auntie Molly called him "love" or "dear", it was okay, because that was what mums were supposed to say. But if his professor had gotten all mushy on him, Harry would have wanted to sink through the floor. This way, it wasn't that Harry was a babyish idiot who desperately longed for a mummy and daddy, it was that he now had a guardian who was strong and strict and forced him to accept affection. That was much better for Harry's ego.

"All right, Potter, now that you have satisfied your appetite and I have satisfied your insatiable curiosity, you may rejoin your class," Snape ordered.

"Okay," Harry said agreeably, standing and gathering his things. "An' I can still help with potion ingredients tonight, right?"

"If your homework has been done to my satisfaction," Snape warned.

Harry rolled his eyes. " 'Kay. Oh, an' Hermione's going to come too," he called out as he slipped through the door, oblivious to his professor's horrified expression.

TBCтАж

*Chapter 21*: Chapter 21

It was now two months since Harry's life had changed completely, and he was finally beginning to feel like he belonged at Hogwarts. It had been weird to realize that an entire magical world existed alongside everything he'd always known, but that was an easy adjustment compared to getting used to having people care about him. The novelty still hadn't worn off having people smile at him and greet him pleasantly as he went about his day, so when Halloween approached, and all the teachers and students were excitedly talking about the great feast, Harry knew it would be both ungrateful and rude to tell people he didn't want to go. He didn't want to spoil the night for Professor Snape and the rest of the Slytherins, nor for his friends in Gryffindor, so he decided the best thing to do was to keep his problems to himself.

Of course, that was easier said than done when you have not one but two best friends. Ever since the Great Battle, Harry had considered Hermione Granger a close friend. At first, Ron had been a little uncertain about her; after all, she was both a girl and a bookworm. But after the revelations about her family, he was too scared to tell her to shove off, and within a week her willingness to help with homework as well as her clever ideas for pranking back the twins had cemented her place in Ron's heart as well as Harry's.

"What's the matter, Harry?" she asked over lunch. "You seem distracted."

"Yeah, mate," Ron echoed, pausing from where he was shoveling in more food. "Aren't you looking forward to the Feast tonight?"

"No," Harry admitted. "I don't really want to go."

Ron stared at him as if he had grown another head. "What! Why not?"

Harry looked away. "I just don't."

"Have you told Professor Snape or Professor McGonagall?" Hermione asked, ever-practical. "Maybe you could be excused."

Harry wrinkled his nose. "I don't want to have to explain everything. I mean, what difference does it make if I'm not there?"

"Just more for the rest of us!" Ron agreed happily, then sobered at Hermione's expression. "I mean, if you don't want to go, mate, I don't see why it'd be such a bad thing. It's not like you're skipping class or something."

"Exactly!" Harry agreed. "So you think I can just skive off?"

Hermione frowned. "I think you should ask permission. What's so hard about that?"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Blimey, Hermione. I think you'd get permission if you went to the lav to pee and then decided you needed to тАУ OW!"

"Don't you be vulgar, Ronald Weasley!" Hermione said fiercely. "And just because I don't try to get into trouble is no reason to make fun of me."

"Okay, okay," Ron said hurriedly. "Calm down."

"I think I'll just go to the library instead of the Feast," Harry told them. "No one else will be there, and it's easy to hide in the stacks so Madame Pince doesn't see you."

"I'll go with you, Harry," Hermione offered. "I wasn't really looking forward to the Feast either, to tell you the truth. After all, it will all be sweets and lollies and my folks would kill me if they knew I was eating all that sugar."

Ron paled. Like the other purebloods, he now was terrified by the thought of dentists in general and Hermione's parents in particular. "Don't get them mad at you!" he urged, panicked. "Go to the library like Harry wants." He paused. "Erm, I guess I could come too," he added unhappily, poking at his food.

Harry exchanged a hidden grin with Hermione. They both knew how much their friend, the "bottomless pit", had been looking forward to the feast. "Gee, mate, I was kind of counting on you to go to the feast and cover for us," Harry said in disappointed tones. "I mean, I know it's not really fair of us to expect you to go by yourself тАУ"

"No, no!" Ron said hastily. "It's okay. I'll go. You're right. It would look suspicious if we were all missing, but this way, I can make it look like you're there too."

And so, that evening, Harry and Hermione were ensconced in a hidden corner of the library, working on their homework тАУ and making extra notes for Ron тАУ while their friend merrily stuffed himself with their fellow Gryffindors.

Snape frowned as he looked around the packed Hall. It was even more insane than usual, with many of the children in fancy dress and everyone continuing to sit willy nilly around the Hall rather than in neat tables by House. He was trying to ensure that his first year snakes didn't eat themselves into food comas тАУ which usually ended with midnight stomach aches and tearful visits to the infirmary тАУ and that the Potter brat didn't take advantage of the holiday to ingest an entire colony of chocolate frogs.

Where was the little bugger? Surely that messy mop of hair should be easy to spot in any crowd? Where тАУ ah, well, at least there was a Weasley, and the right one, no less. Snape swooped down upon Ron and regarded the sticky faced brat with disapproval.

"Have you lost your napkin, Mr Weasley?" he demanded.

"Sorry, Professor," Ron swallowed hastily and scrubbed at his face, removing most of the smeared icing.

"We will have to address your atrocious table manners soon," Snape promised awfully, then glanced around the table. "Where is Mr Potter?"