kbinnz - Harry's New Home

Snape eyed her with admiration. He hadn't realized McGonagall could be so evil. "Impressive."

She gave him a catlike smirk. "Thank you. I shall assign her the same restriction and essay as the boys, but I'm not sure what activity to withhold. After all, her favorite pastimes are hardly activities I wish to discourage. Should I bar her from the library? Prevent her from attending classes?"

Harry murmured in his sleep and grabbed onto Snape's robe. McGonagall's eyes gleamed as she saw Severus reach down and soothe the boy, but she managed to prevent herself from commenting. "Any suggestions?"

Snape thought for a moment, then recalled a conversation from a few weeks previous. "What about instead of withholding an activity, you force her to participate in one?" At Minerva's uncomprehending look, he amplified, "Doesn't Miss Granger consider Quidditch a useless waste of time, much to her friends' annoyance? Assign her a four foot essay on the game, complete with mandatory attendance at all games and practices for the next week."

Minerva burst into laughter. "Oh, Severus, you are a wicked man! Miss Granger will hate every second of it, especially when she will be forced to ask Mr Weasley for his assistance." Snape preened at the praise. "And once she understands the game, she will be better able to participate in House activities, conversations with other studentsтАж This is a brilliant idea! Now, as for tomorrow's game," she glanced at Harry, "I assume he will not be allowed to participate?"

"Correct," Snape said guardedly, expecting a huge fight from Gryffindor's Head of House.

To his surprise, Minerva merely sighed and nodded. "It would have placed him in an awkward position anyway. Perhaps it's just as well, and he'll still be able to play against Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw," she said, consoling herself. "Would you then permit Harry to attend the game so as to explain it to Miss Granger? If she doesn't have one of the boys with her, her mere attendance at the game won't accomplish much, and Ron was given special permission to spend the game on the Gryffindor bench with his brothers."

Snape frowned down at the small boy, wondering when his hand had started to stroke the tousled hair. "He is being punished, Minerva," he began sternly.

"Which is why he's not able to play in the match," she agreed. "But surely he could attend the game by special dispensation? All the faculty will be there so it's an official school function with supervision."

Snape huffed, but the memory of Harry's dejection when he had learned he was banned from flying for a week nagged at him. "Oh, all right," he said grudgingly. "But only because he will be assisting with Granger's punishment."

"Excellent!" Minerva got to her feet and headed to the floo. "Oh, and Severus тАУ do you have any idea what a 'permanent record' is, or why mention of it should so terrify Miss Granger?"

TBCтАж

*Chapter 25*: Chapter 25

Not unreasonably, Harry slept late the next morning. When Ron rolled out of bed and presented himself, dressed but yawning, to the living room, Snape gave him a cool greeting, still annoyed that he had been saddled with the care of a Weasley and not looking forward to Albus' knowing twinkles upon learning of Snape's errand to Ollivander's.

Insensible to the man's frosty tone, Ron gave his usual cheerful hail. "G'morning, Professor!"

Merlin тАУ another one! Snape gritted his teeth and wondered if being an annoying morning person was a prerequisite for admission to Gryffindor House. "Good morning, Mr Weasley. I assume you would prefer to eat breakfast with your peers in the Great Hall?"

Ron stretched lazily. "Yeah, okay. Erm тАУ I mean, yes, sir," he amended, catching sight of Snape's narrowing eyes.

"Then I would appreciate your notifying Mr Wood that he will need to employ his backup Seeker in today's match, as well as alerting your Head of House that you and I will be making a brief visit to Ollivander's this morning."

Ron's face, which had briefly fallen at the mention of Harry's grounding, lit up anew. "Yes, sir!"

"You will then return back here so that I need not waste time looking for you when it is time for us to go. While you wait, you may begin on your punishment essay."

"Yes, sir," Ron said obediently, too excited about the wand-buying trip to object to anything that Professor Snape might say. He hurried out, eager to share his big news with his siblings.

By the time he returned, having eaten his fill, made his brothers intensely envious, and delivered the professor's messages, Harry was awake, though still in pyjamas, and eating breakfast in the professor's small kitchen.

"Hey, Ron!" he exclaimed happily around a mouthful of omelet.

"Oi, Harry!" Ron slid into the seat next to him. "Hi, Professor!" he added politely, turning to the man who was sipping coffee and glancing over a potions journal.

"Hello again, Mr Weasley," Snape grumbled, gloomily anticipating all too many of these breakfast scenes in coming years.

"Blimey, was everyone excited to hear about the troll!" Ron said to Harry. "I had to tell the story like twelve times! Hermione's still in the infirmary an' with you down here, no one had heard much of what had happened."

"Is she okay?" Harry asked anxiously.

"Yeah, I talked to Professor McGonagall, and she's going to fetch her after breakfast. She just figured we all could use a bit of a lie-in this morning." Ron grinned. "You should have seen Percy!"

"Why?" Harry asked, mopping up the last of his eggs with a bit of toast.

"Well, when he saw me, he was all set to haul off and whack me for last night, but then I reminded him that Professor Snape had punished me, and I pointed out that if he were to punish me too, it would be like saying he didn't think that Professor Snape had done a good job."

The quietly eavesdropping Snape was impressed despite himself. Who would have thought that such a devious mind lurked behind that freckled exterior?

Harry chortled. "I bet that made him stop!"

"Yeah, but тАУ" Ron sneaked a look at the apparently-oblivious Snape and lowered his voice, "- then he was all worried that Snape had really been awful to us an' like - I dunno - beat us with sticks or something. I had to spend ten minutes calming him down! Sheesh тАУ he's as big of a worry wart as Mum. Who'd've thought it?"

"Perhaps that's why he is so mindful of the rules, Mr Weasley," Snape rumbled, startling them. "Because he fears the kind of outcomes that could so easily have happened last night."

Ron considered that. "Yeah, maybeтАж But I think he also goes on about the rules 'cause he just likes bein' a prat!"

Harry snickered as Snape rolled his eyes.

"Mr Potter, if you are finished, you may hand over your broom to me, then go to your common room while I take Mr Weasley to get a new wand."

Harry wiped his mouth on his napkin. "I'll have to give you the broom tonight, Pr'fessor," he said cheerfully. "We've got a Quidditch match today, 'member?"

Ron's jaw dropped and his eyes darted from Snape to Harry and back again. He hunkered down in his seat, anticipating an impressive display of fireworks.

Snape laid down his journal very deliberately and turned his full attention to the still-smiling Harry. No wonder the brat was so chipper this morning. "No, Mr Potter. You will relinquish your broom to me now. You wi-"

Harry interrupted, his voice beginning to betray agitation. "But, Pr'fessor, I need my broom for the match. Those old school brooms aren't anywhere near as good as the one you gave me."

Even as a small part of him registered Harry's comment with a pleased glow, Snape kept his expression and voice calm but firm. "No, Mr Potter. You will not be playing in the match. Your punishment was no flying for a week. That includes today's Quidditch match."