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Fic: No Hiding Place book Two: The Great Hall (12/14)
Author: Rimau Sua Lay
Rating: overall NC-17, Angst, Drama, Action/Adventure, First Time
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairings: Harry/Snape, Ron/Draco, (Sirius/Remus)
Date: December 2002 - ?
Disclaimers: Not mine, borrowed without permission, am not making any money. Please don't sue. Sherbet Lemon?
Summary for Book Two: -Voldemort has a plan. To make it work, he needs his most loyal Death Eaters and their progeny. After a vicious attack, two Slytherins must decide if blood is thicker than potions.
Hermione's reaction the next morning was quite predictable.
Seeing Ron and Harry come down the stairs together, talking and laughing made her grin broadly. "I was wondering how long it would take for you two to come to your senses."
And that was it.
She did reserve the right to make snide comments later on if she felt like it though. It made Ron look a bit worried. He knew exactly how devious she could be, and was sure she'd say something if she felt he deserved it.
Divinations that morning was strange. The near-tragedy of these past few days was apparently enough for professor Trelawney. She didn't make any morbid remarks about anybody's mortality. Actually, she seemed unnaturally cheery.
A fact that was far scarier than any predictions of doom.
When the class ended, the seventh year Gryffindors padded to the Great Hall for lunch. Harry didn't really have much of an appetite after spending hours breathing in the scent of incense. The fumes usually made him drowsy, and even the thought of eating was enough to make him nauseous.
Skipping lunch was never a good idea. Even more so on a day when you had double Potions right after lunch.
Harry nibbled his lunch, listening absentmindedly as Ron and Seamus argued about the Cannons. The Quidditch World Cup would be held in Bolivia this year, and apparently one of Ron's favorite Cannons would be joining the English national team. It was a perfect venue for some teasing and Seamus embraced it wholeheartedly. Comments about the English team being inferior to the Irish team were once again making the redhead look like a beet all over.
Staying clear of the argument, Harry concentrated on the mood in the vast room. People seemed to be doing fine, with a few exceptions. The Slytherins looked strange. Some of them were wearing expressions of anticipation, most merely glaring and brooding.
Eyes squinting with suspicion, Harry glanced at Malfoy. He looked too calm, too peaceful. Probably scheming something as always.
Some Gryffindors were acting strangely as well. On the other side of the table, second years were trying to hide reddened eyes and wobbly lower lips by concentrating on their lunch. Alarmed by such odd behavior, Harry made a mental note to talk to Hermione about it, so that she could investigate. Then he remembered the second years had just had Potions class before lunch. No wonder they were all shaken.
He wasn't exactly looking forward to the classes this afternoon. Not because he hated Potions -- which he kind of did -- but because of the utter humiliation that was waiting for his classmates. He'd seen Lavender and Parvati whisper and cast suspiciously soft glances at Snape during the breakfast. They'd had the Daily Prophet open in front of them. He never read the paper anymore, but he could guess from experience what the main article had been about. Dean and Seamus weren't making choking noises whenever the double class was mentioned. The only one acting like he always did was Neville.
Nothing would probably convince him Snape wasn't a total monster.
After finishing breakfast, Harry took his time collecting his books and cauldron. Dragging his feet along, he followed Ron and Hermione, feeling the drumroll of upcoming doom with every step he took.
"You look like you're going toward your execution." Glancing back over his shoulder, Ron grinned at his friend. "What's the matter Harry? You afraid that you're gonna lose us more points?" With the last words the grin faded, replaced by a worried look.
Harry shook his head. "No. But I'm afraid someone else will."
"But it's Snape we're talking about." Hermione had stopped as well. "Isn't he a good guy now?" It was still a weird notion after all these years, but she couldn't deny the facts. Dumbledore had said it himself. Snape was one of them.
"No. Snape is definitely not a good guy." At least not in this context. Harry wasn't sure about the rest of time. "I mean, he's okay, and definitely not one of Voldemort's people, but he's..."
Ron caught on with it. "You mean he's not been hiding behind the mask of an utter bastard? Like Parvati and Lavender think. They say it's all been a sham. That he's really a sweet man, who's been playing a nasty Potions master all these years."
A snort of laughter escaped Harry. Sometimes his housemates couldn't really see what was right in front of them. "Nope. Snape is exactly the guy we know. Sarcastic and evil." He wasn't going to add all the nicer stuff here. It wasn't like Ron or Hermione would ever see that side of the man anyway.
"Oh good grief!" Ron was starting to look really worried now. "He's going to kill us all."
Harry nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. "I'd say we'll definitely be on the minus side when this day is over. Not even winning all the Quidditch matches will help us now with the House Cup." Not that there was any danger of that. With the studying and angsting over life, he hadn't been practicing as hard as he should have.
They walked to the dungeons feeling really anxious.
All the Slytherins were already inside the classroom. They were a subdued lot, sitting quietly at their usual places. No one looked up as the Gryffindor trio walked in.
It was easy to guess why. The smell of roses was overwhelming in the closed space. Harry stared with his mouth open at Snape's desk that was literally covered with the long stemmed flowers. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This was idiotic.
"Don't just stand there! Take your seats!" Parvati hissed. "We want the dear man to be surprised when he comes in, and he can't bloody well be surprised with you three standing there like that!"
Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged looks, and then simply went to their places. None of them wanted to be standing in the way when Snape finally arrived. They might be brave and corageous, but not suicidal.
They had barely made it to their seats as the door banged open again.
Robes billowing behind him, Severus Snape stepped into his beloved classroom. He looked as annoyed as ever, gaze burning as he walked straight towards his desk, not pausing to see if the door swung shut behind him. The motion with which he entered the room was honed into perfection, succeeding every time.
Even the Slytherins looked up to gauge his reactions to the off place decoration on his desk. The expressions on the students varied from disgusted and scared to blithely happy.
A few steps from his desk, Snape twirled around, his gaze going immediately to the Gryffindors sitting on the left side of the room. He didn't even bother looking at Harry, knowing the boy wasn't stupid enough to do something like this. Instead, he fixed his attention on the two blushing girls in the back row.
The expressions greeting him made Snape want to groan. Was idiocy a requirement for the Gryffindor House? How many times would he have to go through this before these children learned he didn't give a damn?
Suppressing the urge to growl out something nasty, he continued to his desk. These idiots weren't even worth his ire.
Snape didn't say anything. He simply grabbed the roses and tossed them into the wastebasket. As the flowers came so obviously from a magical greenhouse, they weren't even worth cutting into potion ingredients.
"But sir..." From the tone of Lavender's voice, it was obvious she was shocked by the professor's actions. She stood up and stared at the man, her mouth still working. No sound came out.
Gaze completely empty, Snape sneered. "Ten points from Gryffindor for unspeakable stupidity. You know I don't tolerate any outbursts in my class."
"But... We just wanted to..." Lower lip wobbling, Lavender tried to explain that they just wanted to thank him for what he'd done for McGonagall. All the things she and Parvati had talked with some of the sixth years had disappeared from her head.
"Twenty points. Now sit down." Snape's voice wasn't even raised.
It was like a dé-jà vu, reminding everyone of the first year. There had been no real commotion in the Potions class since then.
People around Snape learned things really quickly; not necessarily about the potions he taught, but the way to survive the class. To obey and be quiet.
Keeping his head bowed down, Harry hoped the others would not continue trying to treat Snape like a person. He wasn't, not in the classroom. Harry knew Snape didn't want anyone to think of him as a human being and did everything to discourage such illusions.
Lavender seemed to realize she was way out of line, and she sat in her seat silently. Under the table, Parvati grabbed her hand for support. She'd been convinced that their professor was really not as bad as he let everyone think, and it was quite a disappointment to see him act like he always did.
"Now, if you're all done with childish displays of cretinism, you may select partners and then work on the muting potion you 'll find on page 378." Not bothering to stay and watch everyone rush to obey, Snape walked to the blackboard to scribble additional notes there.
"Hermione. Would you?" Before anyone could say anything, Harry was already pushing Ron aside and stood there next to her.
Sighing, Ron stepped next to Neville. "That means we'll have to work extra hard at trying not to blow up anything." He smiled while saying that, even though they both knew he wasn't exactly joking.
The look in Hermione's eyes was inquisitive. Unfortunately, Snape chose that moment to turn to glare at the class, so she decided not to say anything. She simply selected the ingredients needed while Harry stood by the cauldron looking like he was lost in thoughts.
As everyone started working, Harry kept his head down, casting sideways glances at the Slytherins. He'd seen the resentful looks some of them were aiming at their professor.
He didn't really believe anyone would be stupid enough to actually attack Snape, but didn't want to risk it. Even Crabbe and Goyle who would be the ones capable of such total lack of judgement seemed to be busying themselves with the potion.
The look on Goyle's face wasn't full of anger. He seemed completely lost.
Harry let Hermione do all the real work, chopping ingredients for her. It was strange. He couldn't concentrate on the assignment. Before the class, he hadn't really thought of worrying because of the Slytherins.
Now, however, he couldn't help thinking about the way some looked at Snape. About the hatred shining in Pansy Parkinson's gaze. About the completely blank expression on Draco Malfoy's face which was clearly a mask used to hide everything.
It was enough to make Harry's skin crawl. So instead of working on the potion, he kept his gaze on the Slytherins, his hand never far from his wand.
The Potions class seemed to last forever. Fortunately the potion was a complex one, occupying everyone for the duration of the whole class. Snape made his usual comments about Neville's incompetence, his glare making Ron shiver as well.
Gryffindor lost ten points because of the pinkish slime those two managed to produce. Then ten more because Dean couldn't stop staring at their professor.
At that point no one felt like Snape should be cuddled and hugged and thanked for being such a nice man anymore.
Lavender was the first person to rush out of the classroom when they were finally finished. She was followed by the Slytherins. None of them looked like they wanted to stay in the Potions classroom for a second longer than they had to.
"Let's get something to eat." Hand on Neville's shoulder, Ron muttered the words out loud enough for Harry and Hermione to hear.
Harry nodded absentmindedly. He was hungry, but going to the Great Hall wasn't all that appealing. He wished he could skip dinner and stay in the dungeons.
Staying behind would be noticed, though, and he didn't want to make things any worse than they already were. Snape would probably want to make his presence known in the Great Hall as well, sitting there next to the other teachers, looking like everything was perfectly fine in the world.
During dinner, everyone at the Gryffindor table was talking about Snape. Hermione listened to everything, nodding sagely as the second years reported about their class that morning. Apparently it hadn't gone as well as theirs had. Snape had actually snarled. Made some of the girls -- and a few boys, even though they flat out denied it when asked -- cry. Reduced fifty House points from Gryffindor.
Neville looked a bit relieved at that. After all, it was more than they had managed to lose.
It was generally agreed that no one should try to do anything nice for their Potions master again. None of the efforts were appreciated anyway, so why bother?
Harry smiled at that, hiding the expression behind his spoon. At least his friends had got the message rather easily, and no one was hurt. Except for Lavender, and even with her, it was her feelings, nothing worse.
Everything was going to be all right.
There were vacant seats at the Head Table, both McGonagall and Hooch still staying in the infirmary. Dumbledore was looking his normal self again, talking with the DADA professor while eating, casting knowing looks around the room every once in a while.
Not paying any attention to the Slytherins, Harry finished with his dinner. He looked at Ron as he collected his stuff, wondering what to say to him. Their relationship was still a bit shaky after all the lies of omission he'd been forced to tell.
Ron caught the look and smiled. "See you later then." He was burning with curiosity, but knew asking wouldn't really help. He could deal with this.
Feeling really proud of the way he was treating the situation, he turned back to Seamus, determined not to let him mock the Cannons again.
Harry walked out of the Great Hall, not even bothering to go and take his bag to the dormitory. Better to carry his books with him. At least that way he had a good excuse to visit Snape again.
It wasn't like he needed to go to the dungeons again. But he was a bit worried.
So he headed downstairs.
At the end of the stairs his path was blocked. A big black dog was sitting there, looking like he was waiting for something. He looked intimidating, the glint in his eyes almost menacing.
"Hi Snuffles." Harry managed a casual tone. He was actually amazed he'd been able to postpone the talk this long. "Are you sitting here in hopes of getting your ears scratched by some nice Slytherin, or are you waiting for me?"
A row of yellow teeth were revealed as the dog growled, his lip curling up as a warning.
Sobering up, Harry nodded. "All right. I think we should go to the dormitory for this." He cast a longing look at the dark corridor opening in front of him, and then turned around, going up the stairs. The dog padded right behind him.
There were a few Gryffindors in the common room. They didn't really pay attention to the familiar sight of Harry being followed by professor Lupin's dog. A couple of first years tried to call for Snuffles to be scratched, but he ignored them completely.
"Okay. Here we are." Harry walked to his bed, slipping his bag on the floor, and then sat down.
Snuffles tilted his head, listening for a moment. Satisfied that no one was approaching, he blurred into Sirius again. Instead of looking angry like Harry had assumed, he looked worried. Even a bit hesitant.
He walked to the bed as well, sitting down next to Harry. Both sat in silence for a moment.
"Are you feeling all right, Harry?"
It was a familiar question. Harry smiled and nodded. "Never better."
"Good. Good to hear." There was a brief pause as Sirius obviously wondered what to say next. "Just wondered. Because with all the things that have happened lately I wouldn't be surprised if you were upset."
"Not upset, really. Just annoyed. I really wish this was all over." Harry's gaze was serious. He'd been afraid of the future for so long, but now he just wanted it to be over. Didn't want any more killing.
"So... I talked with Ron earlier, and he said you haven't been around lately. You've been seeing Snape then." Voice a bit too casual, Sirius glanced at his godson. "I mean... You were there yesterday, weren't you? At his place."
Harry wondered why that sounded so strange. As if he was doing something insane. "Yes." He steeled himself against the sermon.
There was none. Sirius looked down at his hands. "Order business?" Now his tone was hopeful.
"Yeah. I needed to talk to him about something... And since he used to be... well, you know, he knows stuff. That I needed to hear. You know?" Harry wasn't sure he got the point of his words either. He didn't want to explain this to Sirius.
Because the truth would be painful, for both of them, and it would open doors neither wanted to be opened. Would reveal things that were best to be left alone. Harry didn't want to burden Sirius with his dark thoughts any more than Sirius wanted to talk about his own pain and suffering.
Sirius pondered about Harry's words for a moment. Then he asked, "Are you sure you can trust him?"
"Yes." The answer came too quickly, and Harry flinched at the way he sounded. It was the truth, but he didn't mean to make it sound like it was something he had spent hours thinking of.
"All right."
They sat there in silence. It was painfully obvious this conversation wasn't over yet. Harry fidgeted as the silence seemed to weigh on him. This was worse than the reaction he'd feared. His godfather usually ranted and raved when angry.
"You... You know you can tell me everything. Right?" Sirius wondered if that was true. "If you ever need to talk about something. You know you can come to me. Or Remus. We're here for you."
Harry nodded, not looking up. He did know that. Knew Sirius would never send him away, would always be there for him. That was why he couldn't tell him about everything; because the man wouldn't shield himself from things that would hurt. He'd take all Harry's pain and try to make things better when nothing ever could.
Maybe if he hadn't spent over a decade losing himself in the darkness, if he was not hiding from the world himself; then Harry could have gone to him. Would have gone to him.
"Harry?"
Looking up, he met Sirius' gaze with a real smile on his face. "I know it, Sirius. I really do." It was funny, but just the fact that he did know that made him feel better. Sirius' concern and love were unconditional. Something that was rare in his world.
Sirius felt relieved to see the smile. His arm went around Harry's shoulder again in a familiar move. As familiar as the way Harry leaned into his half embrace. "You thought I'd be angry because you're..." Realizing that phrase made it sound like his godson was doing something incredibly stupid, he said instead, "Working with Snape."
Even though it wasn't a real question, Harry nodded. "It's pretty obvious what you think of him." After all, he'd never kept his thoughts about this matter secret.
"Yep. I think he's an annoying, vindictive man. He was like that as a boy and I don't think he's changed. At all. He's also nasty, evil, and yes, I know it has nothing to do with his mind, but he's also a disgusting greasy git." Now there was real emotion in Sirius' voice. No, it was definitely not a secret that he didn't like Snape.
Harry didn't interrupt him. None of the things he said was actually wrong. But they weren't all Snape was. He knew he'd never have Sirius or anyone else see what he saw, mainly because no one else would want to see it.
"Still, he did save old Naggy's life." Realizing he'd let the age old nickname slip out, Sirius grinned. "I mean our dear professor McGonagall of course."
It felt good to laugh again. Harry wiped off tears of laughter as he collapsed against his godfather. "I never heard that one before." Ron would love that, though it was best not to mention it to Hermione.
Sirius decided he would tell his godson every single joke about the professors if it made him laugh like that again. It didn't matter Remus would probably kill him when he got to the raunchier ones. Seeing Harry laugh was worth anything.
"That was bad, Sirius." Harry smiled against the man's shoulder. "But I love you anyway."
Funny how easy it had become to say it like that. Casually. As if Sirius wasn't the first living person ever to hear the words from Harry's mouth.
"I love you too, Harry." A bit raspier than he'd intended, but Sirius didn't really mind his voice.
They sat there in silence until sounds of footsteps forced Snuffles to emerge again. Harry could see a question in the dog's eyes, and decided to follow him downstairs to look for Remus Lupin. He didn't want to lose this moment, feeling peaceful and at ease with his godfather.
He could go to the dungeons tomorrow. It wasn't like Snape was going to disappear anywhere.
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I can't wait to see more. :)
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Well, if that isn't a sign of undying love from Snape I don't know what is... ;P
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