9 Chapter 9: A Secret Care

Harry hurried to see Professor McGonagall in the transfiguration class to ask the question that haunted him all over the night. When he reached the class, he saw the Professor working on some documents.

As Harry knocked the door, she rolled the parchment and stuffed inside the desk's drawer.

"I want to ask you something Professor"

"Go on Harry. Any doubts in yesterday class? I've seen that you changed the match box perfectly but it took some time to change huh? "Professor asked him.

"No. I don't want to talk about studies. I've seen you in privet drive"

"Why should I come there Harry?" Professor asked Harry avoiding eye contact with him.

"I have seen the cat that looks exactly like you as a cat" Harry looked Professor curiously for her reply.

"Look Harry. It is kinda dangerous to come there in the form of cat. But I wanted to know how you both are living. I wanted to protect you" Professor McGonagall told Harry.

"Protect from what?" Harry asked.

"Noth- Nothing Harry" Professor stammered.

"You were there seeing me suffering but you didn't do anything?" Harry asked.

"If you really cared to check our lives, you would have done something for me. You would have helped me to escape from that hell" Harry almost shouted.

"But that would be more dangerous. That muggle world is safe for you than magical world"

"Dangerous for who?"

"You and Larry" Professor McGonagall blurted out.

"Now we're here that means we are in danger? Who is such a threatening to us?" Harry vexed.

"Enough Harry. Go and take your seat now. Class is going to start. It would be better if we never talk about this later. I want you to know that you're safe, everyone is safe with Professor Dumbledore in this school" she changed into cat and sat at her desk.

"Harry why would you come early for class?" Hermoine asked.

"I had some doubts on yesterday class that I want to clarify" Harry adjusted his round glasses avoiding eye contact.

"Oh. Come on. We have our own Professor hanging with us all the time. You should have asked her" Ron teased Hermoine.

"You got your doubts clarified?" Hermione asked Harry ignoring Ron.

"Actually, my doubts multiplied now" Harry pouted.

"Let me clarify after the class,if I know" Hermoine told in her bossy voice.

"Ha! I'm damn sure you will know it. You know everything Moine" Larry dragged Hermione to sit with her.

The class went with as usual explosions of Larry and Hermoine's perfection.

Larry skipped the charms class to meet Professor Snape in his office. When she approached his office, she heard Professor talking to someone.

"Why would you do this to me?" She heard Professor Snape's voice.

When she knocked on the open door, he hid something that he was seeing under the parchments in his desk. Larry searched for someone in the room who Professor was talking with. But she didn't found anyone.

"What you want?" he asked sternly.

"Um… Actually, I want to ask you something Professor"

"Related to studies?" Snape asked in cold voice.

"No Sir"

"Then leave" he replied as soon as she finished.

Larry paused to gain her braveness to talk.

"I need you to teach me control this" she pulled her wand out and pointed at the desk. Then she saw the nervousness in Snape's face and waved her wand pointing the chandelier. The chandelier exploded and fell on floor.

But Snape was indulged in his memories when he heard those words from Larry.

-Snape's Memory-

-In a grass field-

He was standing before a girl who looked similar to Larry.

The girl smiled at Snape and asked "Could you please teach me to control this"

The girl showed her palms where a flower bloomed.

"You don't want to control it. You should embrace it Lily. I'll teach you that"

-Back in Snape's Room-

"What did you called me, Sir?" Larry asked.

"Ah. Nothing. You shouldn't have come here to my room to ask this. You could have asked this in Potions class"

"I thought I could ask you secretly, so that no one will know that you help me"

"I don't like secretly caring to someone. Anyway, this is not a care or love. I'm just going to teach you"

"So you are going to teach me?" Larry wondered who expected no from him.

"I'll teach to control, if you learnt to be a discipline student"

"But I heard you saying that I should embrace instead of controlling it"

Snape glared at her.

"I'm already a discipline student why should I learn it, if I already have that quality in me" Larry crossed her hands over her chest.

"I say you are in lack of discipline with this behavior. Get out of my office now. Never come back to me until you learn discipline" Snape shouted at her.

"Really? I should have asked some other Professor" Larry whispered and hurried back to dungeons before Snape could reply her.

-In Gryffindor's common room-

The gang of four was writing their assignments.

Hermoine and Ron involved in a fight when Ron told he'll not do assignments.

"What's your problem in that Hermoine? Mind your own business" Ron told when she compelled him to do assignments.

Hermoine picked up her notebooks and left.

"Haaaaa… I feel sleepy guys. I should go. You two carry on with your home works without getting into any fight" Ron left when he didn't get any reply from the twins.

Both of them wrote their assignments in silent. Larry finished and picking up her books to leave.

"Larry… I want to tell you something" Harry said in low voice.

"What?" Larry asked irritated to talk with him.

"I've seen Professor McGonagall in privet drive"

Larry looked narrowed her eyebrows at him.

"Not in human form. I've seen her as a cat. You remember anything. That cat used to watch us"

"What are you blabbering Harry?"

"The cat I saw in privet drive is Professor McGonagall, Larry"

"Why would she come there? Why should she watch us? You idiot"

"That is exactly what I'm thinking about. Why should she secretly care about us?" Harry told Larry, the conversation with McGonagall at Transfiguration class.

"What dangerous she was talking about?" Larry thought.

"Maybe the dangerous that killed our parents..." Harry suggested.

"Accident?"

"They would have died because of something else Larry"

Larry remembered Malfoy said in train 'Maybe Voldemort sucked all the powers from the Potters that day' and how his friends feared hearing that name.

"I've never seen any cats in Privet Drive. Don't think and talk unnecessarily. Go to sleep stupid" Larry left.

But she couldn't sleep that night. She was already confused in the thought of what Professor Snape called her today. She heard him calling her Lily-her mother's name.

Is he called accidentally? Of course, he is seeing lot of students daily. So, he would have called her mistakenly by that name. But why her mother's name particularly!!!

She remembered Professor Snape hid something when she entered. She found that was something important. She saw the nervousness in his face while she pointed out her wand at the desk. What it would be? With whom he was talking?

Now, She was disturbed with what Harry said. 'Cause she also saw the cat staring at her near her bedroom window. When she tried magic and it doesn't work on Harry, she used to see that cat. Whenever the cat was near to her, she was never able to do magic. So, she believed in what Harry told.

Harry couldn't sleep not because he was thinking about the cat. In fact, He was relieved after he talked with Larry about everything. Maybe as she told, he was over-thinking. He couldn't sleep 'cause he knew that Larry is hiding something from him. He was guessing what that would be. In all his possibilities, he never guessed what really happened. 

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Now you know some stone hearted and stern people do care secretly. Let see the reason for their protection in upcoming chapters.

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