12
Chapter 12: Wisdom
Hermione woke up late that Saturday to the sound of an owl tapping at her bedroom window. She opened it for the bird, which had a letter attached to its feet – a letter from Nathan.
She had been expecting anxiously to hear from him since the day she had left Hogwarts after their night in the infirmary. She took the parchment and sat on the corner of the bed to read it. It said:
Dear Mum,
I'm perfectly fine. I know you must be thinking about me since the day you went back home. I'm feeling perfectly healthy and I'm eating all the vegetables, I swear.
That was a relief. She had been worried about Nathan's recovery, and hearing he was fine was exactly what she needed.
I'm attending a month of detentions with Professor Snape for entering the Forbidden Forest. He also took fifty points from me. I guess it's only fair.
"A month alone with Severus!" she said to herself, using a hand to cover her open mouth, while the other held the letter. "Oh my God!"
She rose from the bed and started pacing beside it, forgetting the letter she was holding. It was highly improbable that her secret would survive a month of such intense daily contact, she was certain of it. What am I going to do? she thought. He'll find out, and he'll kill me!
She went to the kitchen; she needed some water to calm herself. Her hands were shaking when she lifted the glass to her mouth. He'll never understand, she admitted mentally. She sat in a chair by the kitchen table, put an elbow on the top of it and held her forehead in her hand. She sighed. What am I going to do? she thought again, not having an answer. What is Severus going to do? she thought then.
The thought of what he could do if he found out was concerning. Would he look for her right away? Would he tell Nathan? She didn't know. If he tells Nathan before talking with me, he'll regret it! she silently promised.
She took several breaths to calm herself. It didn't help to feel this way right now. All she knew was that they would spend a month together in detention. This month could end without them discovering anything. Another deep breath, and she went back to her room and retrieved the forgotten letter.
How was Halloween? Did you distribute a lot of candy? I didn't get any this year, as you already know. There was a feast in the Great Hall and it was just like you, Uncle Ron, and Uncle Harry had said. All the live bats were awesome!
She smiled then.
There was also Uncle Harry's duel with Professor Snape...
"What?" she exclaimed and kept reading to find out what was this duel all about.
…I didn't even know there were so many hexes. Did you know Uncle Harry has never won? Yes, that surprised me, too, when he told me. But he said he'll win next year, when they duel again; they do it every year.
"Harry duels Severus every year?" she said in astonishment, shaking her head in disbelief. That's unbelievable. When will they grow up? she though then, trying not to be mad with Harry for never telling her this.
Next weekend there will be the first Quidditch match of the year. Gryffindor will play against Slytherin, that's all people are talking about since the feast yesterday. Andy says our team is much better than theirs, but I don't know enough about Quidditch yet to be sure.
I miss you very much. I can't wait for the Christmas break so we can be together again.
Love,
Nathan
She finished reading the letter with a sigh. She was looking forward Christmas, too. Would her secret survive until then? There was nothing she could do now but wait. Well, maybe she could do more than that. She left for her study and started to write a letter to her son.
The last detention left Nathan with a lot to think about. He was now sure Professor Snape knew more about his father than he had predicted, and since his departure from the dungeons the day before, he was trying to find a way to get to this knowledge. He had missed breakfast, preferring to lay thinking in the quiet dormitory and had done so by dismissing his best friends, who had called him several times before giving up.
By dinner time, Nathan had a plan outlined. He would indulge in Professor Snape's little game. He would stick with what the older wizard said, regardless of its lack of sense. If his train of thoughts was right, it would make sense eventually, and he would find out whatever Professor Snape knew.
So, with that in mind, Nathan entered the Potions classroom that evening and headed straight to Professor Snape's desk, where the man sat. "Good evening, Professor Snape," he said, not waiting for an answer he knew wasn't coming. "I have the answer to your question."
That statement took the Potions master's attention from the book he was pretending to read. He narrowed his eyes and looked at his son speculatively. The boy couldn't be referring to what he had asked the day before, could he? Severus had chastised himself for what remained of the previous evening for his weakness in even bringing up that subject during their last detention - asking if Nathan would like Potter to be his father.
And Severus was now convinced of his mistake. Did he say he has an answer? he thought, trying to raise a doubt he knew was unfounded. That was exactly what the boy had said, that he had an answer to his question. His thoughts were interrupted by Nathan.
"I would like it if Uncle Harry were my father, but we both know he isn't," Nathan said evenly, "so I think what you meant to ask was whether I would want my father to be like Harry Potter." He paused, searching those narrowed black eyes for a confirmation and, taking the Potions master's lack of reaction as an affirmation, he continued, "and the answer is yes.
"Who wouldn't want his father to be an honorable and powerful wizard like him? He is courageous and intelligent," he said. Then, with a touch of humor, he added, "although I doubt that sometimes."
Severus relaxed his eyes with that last statement.
"Does that answer your question, sir?" Nathan asked.
The Potions master gave a short nod in response, not having anything safe to say in response. He proceeded to a safer subject and said, "I have some frogs that need to be prepared. They are in the box." He gestured to the object and saw Nathan follow his move with his head. "You'll separate every useful part on the different recipients. Legs, eyes, brain and skin," he detailed.
Nathan looked back at him, smiling lightly. Is he… happy with the assignment? Severus asked himself, trying to understand what that odd reaction to dissecting frogs was. His doubts were emended by the boy's next words.
"How do I do it properly? I would love to learn how to extract all those ingredients from a single frog!" Nathan said enthusiastically.
Severus rolled his eyes. The boy was just like his mother where new knowledge was concerned, and like myself, he added mentally. He stood from his desk and went to the workbench, with Nathan right behind him. He took a sharp knife and a dead frog from the box and lectured to the boy, who was attentively watching his every move. "First, you cut the legs on their joints like this," he said, demonstrating. "The next step is opening the frog and taking its insides out, leaving only the head untouched. The skin must be intact." He showed every move with precision. Nathan watched fascinated. "You must then remove its eyes without perforating them, and only then you may remove the brain," he added, finishing the first frog ever so cautiously.
"My turn," offered Nathan with enthusiasm, stretching his hands to take the knife from Professor Snape, who flicked his eyes to the boy's hand and arched an eyebrow. Taking only a moment to disguise his amusement, he delivered the sharp tool. He was turning to leave the boy to the task when he heard, "Watch to see if I'm doing it right, sir."
He turned back and watched his son handle the knife just as he had done, and cut off the frog's legs with amazing steadiness. Nathan had cleaned the amphibious' body and was starting with the extraction of the first eye when he hesitated for the first time, trying to find the right angle for the knife. When he had finally decided on the wrong one, Severus said, "You'll damage the eye. Angle the knife more." Nathan did just that and looked up to his professor for confirmation. Severus moved his right hand over Nathan's and repositioned it to the right angle. Nathan finished the first frog without further difficulties.
"How was that?" Nathan asked, anticipation in his shiny black eyes.
"Acceptable," Severus answered. "Do the same with the remaining frogs."
Nathan nodded, still smiling madly.
More than an hour passed while Nathan went about his work. Severus read a book at his desk, but after every other paragraph his mind got lost in an uproar of thoughts. He had enjoyed showing his son how to perform the task properly; he had been… proud of the boy's skill and rapid learning, and he had been stunned by the boy's behavior when he had first addressed him today. He hadn't been expecting an answer to the question he had let slip, of all things. He had been expecting a brooding boy with hatred for him written in his eyes, and not this smiling, enthusiastic version now preparing ingredients.
Damn the boy! he cursed mentally. Nathan was unpredictable, and it was not a good thing. He didn't know what was on the boy's mind and it was killing him. Tired of that mental torture he closed the book and addressed his son, "You can finish the task tomorrow. You're dismissed."
Nathan stopped in his motion, startled by the sound of Professor Snape's voice. "I'll finish this one before I go," he said.
"I said you can finish tomorrow. Now, go!" the Potions master said, more forcefully.
Nathan raised his eyebrows at that and slowly released the knife and the half mutilated frog on the workbench. It was impossible to understand Professor Snape's behavior. One moment, he was teaching him how to extract frog's eyes, the next, he was shooing him from his classroom without room for questioning.
Remembering his plan to play along, Nathan didn't complain and left the classroom with a muttered, "Good night."
The following day, Sunday, an owl dropped a letter on Nathan's plate of eggs. He smiled, seeing it was from his mother.
Dear Nathan,
I'm glad to hear you're completely recovered. Keep eating your vegetables and don't go to sleep very late; you need to rest full nights.
You deserved the points you lost and also the detentions. Why is Professor Snape supervising them? He is the Head of Slytherin, not Gryffindor. You should go to the Headmistress and ask if Professor Lupin couldn't take over now that he's back.
Why is everybody trying to get Professor Snape from supervising my detentions? Nathan thought, remembering what Andy had said when he had found out about it, too. Even Professor Snape had tried to get rid of him. But Nathan wasn't interested on changing his supervisor, not now that he knew Professor Snape had important information about his father.
Halloween wasn't the same without you. I went to a party but there weren't real bats there, only fake skeletons and cauldrons, and it wouldn't do to Conjure any, right?
No, Nathan thought, smiling.
I should have known that Harry would do something as stupid as dueling Professor Snape; they never got along very well. It doesn't surprise me that Harry had never won, either. Professor Snape is a very powerful wizard, and I don't think he'll lose anytime soon. In fact, if it depends on me, there won't be another time.
"Oops!" Nathan exclaimed.
"What is it?" Kevin asked.
"I think Uncle Harry is in trouble. I told my mum about the annual duel and she said she'll stop them. If I know my mum, she won't rest until Uncle Harry promises her he'll never duel Professor Snape again," Nathan explained.
"And do you think he'll listen to her?" Kevin asked then.
"I don't know. He normally does, but he seemed really determined to win the next duel."
"I hope he won't listen. I want to see another duel like that!" Andy said.
Nathan continued to read the letter, after taking a sip of pumpkin juice.
Are you excited for the Quidditch match, then? You'd make Ron proud. I miss you so much. I'm looking forward to the Christmas break, too. I'll start to make the arrangements for a great holiday.
Love,
Mum
Nathan smiled. Christmas was his favorite holiday and he was looking forward to what his mother would be preparing this year.
The day passed without any unusual events. Nathan worked on his homework, and played with his friends in the common room, since the rain wasn't encouraging any outdoor activity.
When evening arrived, the detention resumed as if nothing had happened. Nathan went back to the box of frogs and Professor Snape to his potions texts. Nathan worked like the day before, in silence, although he had many questions he'd like to ask the man reading at the desk across the room from him. He narrowed his eyes, trying to read the title of Professor Snape's book, but couldn't decipher it from that distance.
Nathan prepared some more frogs, but he was getting bored with the task. Once the newness of the knowledge learned had worn off, dissecting frogs wasn't that fascinating anymore. There were a few more to go, though. He sighed.
Taking a rest from the task, Nathan thought it was a good time to start a conversation with the Potions master. Another part of his big plan was to make Professor Snape talk, no matter the subject. He had admitted that he would never get anything from his professor if he couldn't make the man speak to him.
"What are you reading, sir?" Nathan asked.
Snape looked from over the top of his book, watching the boy intently. "Go back to work, Mr. Granger."
"Yes, sir," Nathan said, disappointed with his failure to engage his professor in conversation.
Not wanting to give up yet, Nathan tried again a couple of frogs later, "Do you read other books, sir? I mean, not related to potions?"
"Why, Mr. Granger? The frogs are not interesting anymore?" Snape asked, showing his annoyance with the questions.
Nathan could sense the annoyance in the Potions master's tone, but he didn't care. He had achieved what he had intended; Professor Snape was talking. "Not really," he answered then, keeping to his plan.
Professor Snape lowered the book, keeping a finger marking the page he had been reading, and looked at Nathan. "That's why this is a task for a detention, Mr. Granger," he said simply, and kept staring at the boy, defying him to say something else.
"Right," Nathan said.
"We can always go back to lines, if that's what you want?" Snape offered, smirking.
"No, I'm fine with the frogs, sir," Nathan answered, quickly. "I was just curious to what you're always reading, sir, that's all."
"Keep your curiosity to yourself, Mr. Granger, and go back to work," Snape snarled.
But Nathan wasn't ready to end up the conversation yet. "I like reading all kinds of books," he said, after some silence.
Snape was back pretending to read and didn't acknowledge Nathan's words.
The boy persisted. "The potions books are among my favorites. There are so many in the library… I'd like to read them all," Nathan said in a dreamy voice.
The tone on his son's voice caught Severus' attention, and he looked up from his book again. The boy had an expression of longing that lasted only a moment before it changed back to one of concentration as Nathan went back to work. Severus felt his lips curving at the edges of his mouth at this demonstration of passion for books; the moment was short-lived, as he twisted his mouth in disgust at himself when he realized what was happening.
He didn't care if the boy was intelligent. He didn't care if the boy was talented in Potions. He didn't care if the boy was intriguing. He didn't care if this boy was his son. He didn't want to care. He couldn't care less, right?
Wrong.
He cared and he knew it. He cared and that was paining him. He cared, but he didn't want to care, and he wouldn't. That was it! These detentions had to end. He would have to end them!
He rose abruptly, startling Nathan. He went to where the boy was standing and addressed him. "That's enough for today, Mr. Granger."
Nathan was surprised by Professor Snape's reaction. He couldn't understand what was wrong now, and there were still a few frogs to prepare. "But there are-"
"The ingredients you prepared are sufficient for the school needs. You can leave now," Professor Snape anticipated.
Nathan just looked at Professor Snape, searching for the motivations behind such behavior, but found none. Believing in his plan, he kept his questions to himself and prepared to leave, while the Potions master observed him from near the edge of the workbench.
He took his things and headed for the door with Professor Snape on his heels. He thought it odd, but tried to keep in mind that he would understand everything sooner or later. The Potions master left the classroom with him, but didn't follow him after that, leaving Nathan behind with his long strides. The boy narrowed his eyes in confusion, then shrugged and made his way to Gryffindor Tower.
Severus strode quickly through the corridors, ignoring the students ducking out of his way. He was going straight to the Headmistress' office to end these disturbing detentions.
He gave the password to the gargoyle and climbed the rotating stairs. He knocked and waited to be admitted by Minerva. As soon as she acknowledged his presence, Severus entered the circular room and walked directly to stand in front of the Headmistress' desk, where she sat.
Professor McGonagall abandoned her quill and intercrossed her fingers, resting them on the desktop, and looked at the man towering over her. "Have a seat, Severus," she said. "Would you like some tea?"
Severus lowered his slim body into one of the armchairs facing the desk. "Minerva, I'm here to discuss Mr. Granger's detention arrangements. I can't supervise them any longer, and now that Lupin is back, I'm sure he'll comply with his duty and discipline his Gryffindors."
Professor McGonagall sighed. "I can't understand you, Severus. I can't remember a single detention you've declined to supervise, and yet it's the second time you've tried to refuse to supervise Mr. Granger's," she said, observing the Potions master with narrowed eyes. "What is going on between the two of you?"
"There is nothing going on between myself and any student," he retorted in annoyance. "I have other things I'd rather be doing instead of supervising a Gryffindor's detentions. It's Lupin's job," he stated.
McGonagall wasn't convinced. "Give me a good reason to transfer his detentions to another professor."
He had many reasons for wanting to get rid of those detentions. The boy's annoying presence was one; his impertinent questions and comments were another; Nathan's resemblance of his mother was a good reason, too; but mainly because his son was bringing about strange feelings which Severus didn't want to deal with. He couldn't say any of those things, though; "I have my reasons," he said instead.
"I'm sure you have," said an annoyed Minerva. "I want to know what they might be."
"Minerva, I-" he started to answer when the door opened and admitted a seventh-year – the Head Girl.
"Headmistress," the girl said, breathing frantically as if she had run all the way up there. "Peeves has inundated the sixth floor corridor with that bluish liquid again, and he was heading to the stairs with another bucket of it when I left!"
"Oh, I would kill him if he wasn't already dead," McGonagall muttered under her breath. She crossed the room and left with her students, totally forgetting about the Potions master for the moment.
Severus didn't follow the Headmistress. He was tired of Peeves' pranks, and could use the time to think of a reason to end his suffering, a reason he could tell Minerva without exposing his position as the boy's father.
Ten minutes had passed in the silence of the round office, and McGonagall hadn't come back yet; another ten minutes and there was still no sign that the Headmistress was returning. Snape was getting tired of waiting and thinking. He hadn't come up with a single, plausible excuse to end the detentions. The snoring of the snoozing portraits was irritating him further. He stood from the armchair and walked to the door, when he heard a voice from behind him.
"Severus."
Snape hesitated just a second before ignoring the call, and he continued his way out of the office, until he heard that well known voice again.
"Don't push your son away."
Frozen in place, Severus closed his eyes. He turned to meet the blue ones of the figure in the portrait – Albus Dumbledore. "I don't know what you're talking about. I have no son and I don't listen to portraits," Severus said quietly.
"He reminds me remarkably of you when you were his age," the late Headmaster said, ignoring Severus' comments. "But I've noticed that he's a Gryffindor, unlike you. Must be his mother's doing, then," the portrait added in amusement, eyes twinkling.
"I don't have to keep listening to a Confunded old portrait," Snape muttered, but couldn't bring himself to walk out the cylindrical room.
"If he's anything like his parents, he must be an extraordinary boy. The combination of his parents could only result in a great wizard, I'm sure," the picture hanging behind the desk continued. "He must be an excellent student. Is he talented in Potions?"
Severus sighed. "He's very talented and intelligent," he admitted, his voice only slightly higher than a whisper as he averted his eyes from the figure squared by the gold frames.
The portrait smiled at his friend's shy admission, and then sobered. "Why are you pushing him away, Severus?"
There was silence in the circular office. Severus was feeling very uncomfortable with the conversation. He rarely talked with Albus' portrait, and this wasn't a subject he would pick.
"I don't think that is any concern for a portrait," Severus said.
"It's the second time you've tried to pass off his detentions. If I'm right, based on my observations, he doesn't know you're his father… am I right?" Albus said, ignoring Severus rude comments.
"I'm not his father!" Severus snarled.
"Severus, you can't deny it forever. You have a son and you should be using the time you spend with him in detentions to get to know him better," portrait-Dumbledore said. "Have you talked with Hermione about it?"
Severus returned to the armchair he had sat in whilst talking to the Headmistress. "I don't want to kill her after all the trouble I had to save her," he said then, his sarcastic tone not enough to disguise his real anger, shown by his fisting hands.
"Then don't."
Severus looked to the portrait. "I can't ignore what she did! She betrayed me and hid him from me. She shouldn't have done that!" he snarled.
"Ah, so that's the problem," Albus said. "Hermione must have had her reasons to act the way she did, and you'll only find out what they were when you talk to her. But it still doesn't explain why you're pushing your boy away, Severus."
"He's not my boy!" Severus said in disgust. "I don't want a son, I never did. If she thought she could have one without my consent, that's her problem. I. Don't. Want. A. Son," he emphasized, word by word.
"You're losing the fight, aren't you?" the portrait said, his eyes twinkling. Severus gave him a look of contempt at these words. "That's why you're trying to push him away."
"Let me tell you something, Severus; it won't work. You'll still want to know what he likes, who his friends are, what he does when he's not in classes, what books he reads, even if you're not supervising his detentions."
"It'll work. It has to work because I don't want anything to do with him. I don't want a son."
"That is not an option anymore, my boy. You already have a son," Albus said and smiled.
Severus was showing his disgust for portrait-Albus words. The damned drawing was right, proving it was an accurate copy of his long lost mentor. He sighed. "I can't be the father he deserves Albus," he said, shaking his head in denial. "He dreams of a different father."
"How do you know what kind of father he wants?"
"Because he told me," Severus pointed out.
"What exactly did he say?" Dumbledore asked.
"That he would like to have Potter as his father," Severus spat the name of his son's godfather. "He dreams of a hero, Albus, not a criminal murderer like me. I know what I am, and he's better off without me."
"You're not a criminal murderer, Severus," Albus said in reprimand.
"That's why I don't talk to you!" Severus said in exasperation. "You're only a shadow of the man you were created to represent. The real Albus would know who I really am – a man who did too much and is beyond redemption. That's not how I picture a father!"
The figure in the portrait shook his head. "So many years have passed, my boy, and you still don't believe you're worthy of being respected and loved.
"I don't know the nature of your relationship with Hermione, but I believe that if she had a son of yours, she must have had good reason."
"There is no relationship," Severus snarled, "and she's the only one to be blamed for her wrong choices. She ruined her life and now she is ruining mine, too. Stupid witch!" he cursed.
"Now, Severus, it can't be that bad!" Albus chastised. "I'm sure Hermione made the right choice. Your boy, Nathan, doesn't seem a mistake to me."
"You don't know what you're talking about. You're just a meddling old portrait who should keep your opinions to yourself," Severus said, raising himself from the armchair and heading for the door. This time he didn't look back as he left the room, almost knocking back a surprised Minerva, who was on the verge of opening the door from the outside.
Nathan approached the table where his friends were gathered in the common room, after being shooed from his detention. As they noticed his presence, they stopped talking abruptly. That didn't past unnoticed by Nathan, but he said nothing.
He sat in the free armchair. There was silence between them for an awkward moment until he decided to break the ice. "What were you talking about?" he asked.
The two boys looked at each other. Andy said, "We were discussing the Quidditch match."
Nathan looked from Andy to Kevin. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't tell what it was. "What about it?" he asked then.
"Oh, the same things we were discussing earlier, you know," Andy said, waving a hand dismissively. "I don't think the Slytherins have a chance against us!"
"Exactly!" agreed Kevin.
Nathan looked at them once again before letting it go. "I hope we win," he said. He wasn't sure, but he could have sworn he heard Kevin sigh.
They talked more about Quidditch, then a little about homework – a subject extremely annoying in Andy's opinion. Nathan was getting sleepy in spite of the animated conversation. After his third consecutive yawn, he announced, "I'm a little tired. I think I'm going to sleep." He stood up. "Good night."
His friends answered with their good-nights and Nathan climbed the stairs. From the top step he turned back to the common room and saw Andy and Kevin muttering something to each other. He narrowed his eyes. Odd, he thought. His friends were hiding something from him; he could feel it. But he wasn't going to discover anything right now; he was too tired for that. He would find out tomorrow. He'd keep an eye on them.
In the morning, they acted as if nothing was going on. They went to breakfast together, and then to the dungeons for their Potions class. Half of the students were already in the classroom when they arrived. They walked to their usual seats, waiting for Professor Snape.
They didn't have to wait too long. The Potions master stormed the room, already taking points from Gryffindor because Josie wasn't in her seat at that exactly moment. That left everyone quiet for the remainder of the class.
Nathan was taken aback by Professor Snape's behavior. What's wrong with him? he thought, observing the brooding man working on essays by his desk in the front of the room. Nathan had finished his potion earlier than his classmates, as usual, and was using the remainder of the class to observe the Potions master.
Andy looked up from his cauldron and noticed Nathan observing Snape. He elbowed Kevin, who was working by his side, and almost made him drop a whole piece of daisy root on his cauldron instead of the required slice. "What's wrong with you?" Kevin asked in a hissed mutter, annoyed with the interruption. Andy only pointed at Nathan with a jerk of his head, and Kevin followed his gaze and nodded.
The class finished with a total loss of twenty points from Gryffindor. Nathan commented on it while he headed to the Defense classroom with his friends. "What was Professor Snape so annoyed about?"
Kevin and Andy looked at each other in that weird way again.
"I don't know," Andy answered.
"If you don't know, how would we?" said Kevin with a shrug.
What was that supposed to mean? Nathan thought. His friends were getting weirder and weirder, and he still didn't know why. He ignored the odd response and entered Professor Lupin's classroom.
That class went smoothly. Now, with Professor Lupin teaching again, the class was back to its normal pace. At the end of the lesson, Nathan heard his professor say, "Nathan, a word if you please."
Nathan looked at his friends. They nodded that they would wait for him in the corridor and left the room with the others. Nathan approached Professor Lupin's desk. "Yes, sir?"
"I've heard you got yourself into trouble while I was away," Lupin said.
Nathan lowered his head. "I went to the Forest when I wasn't supposed to. I'm having detentions with Professor Snape, sir."
"So I've heard," the werewolf said. "I also heard you went to the Forest in search of unicorns, and that you did so just to impress Professor Snape and get some house points from him, is that right?"
"Yes, sir. Kind of," Nathan admitted. "Are you mad at me?"
"No, I'm not mad at you. A little disappointed, maybe, but not mad. We talked about Professor Snape before and I thought you understood that he didn't recognize hard work the same way other teachers do."
"I understood. I've learned the lesson, sir," Nathan said. "I'm not doing anything that stupid again."
"I'm glad to hear that." Lupin nodded in satisfaction. "That was all I wanted to hear from you. I think your friends are waiting outside." He gripped Nathan's shoulder in a show of affection and accompanied him to the door. "If there's anything bothering you, I want you to come to me. And try to keep out of trouble during the full moon," he added with a smile.
Nathan nodded and left the classroom. He met with his friends at the end of the corridor. They were again muttering at each other and stopped as soon as they saw Nathan approaching. They went to lunch and Nathan didn't press the matter.
During the afternoon classes, the three of them were distracted by the practical work required for Herbology, but that distraction was gone when they entered the History of Magic classroom. It was impossible to not get bored during that class, and while most of the students slept, Nathan wondered about everything that was going on, specifically, his friends' and Professor Snape's odd behavior.
The classes were finished for the day. Dinner was good, and at the end of the meal, the trio separated by the Entrance Hall. Kevin and Andy went up to the library, while Nathan went down the stairs leading to the dungeons for yet another detention.
"Scrub those cauldrons," Professor Snape said as soon as Nathan entered his classroom.
Nathan sighed at the retrocession of the detention's task. He was looking forward to more ingredient preparation or something of the sorts, but was back to cleaning filthy cauldrons instead.
He tried to engage Professor Snape in conversation later in the evening, but decided against it after a couple of very nasty remarks from his teacher. The Potions master wasn't in one of his best moods, as Nathan had suspected since the Potions class that morning.
As it was, he left the dungeon after a couple of hours of hard work and headed for Gryffindor Tower where he met his friends. They didn't ask about his detention; maybe it was because of the amount of homework they had due tomorrow.
The next day, everything seemed normal. Breakfast, Charms, flying lessons – which was turning out to be a fun class – lunch, Transfiguration, homework, dinner, and detention with Professor Snape.
That evening, Professor Snape had assigned him to work in the storage room, alone. He had spent only the necessary time to explain the task and then had left for the classroom.
Nathan had managed to make the inventory of half of the Potions ingredients by the time he had heard Professor Snape's voice call his detention off for the night from where he was sitting at his desk in the Potions classroom.
He walked back into the classroom with his many parchments of notes in hand and stood by the Potions master desk. "I'm in the middle of the inventory. I guess I'll finish it tomorrow," he said, handing the professor his notes.
Professor Snape read through the notes and was impressed by the amount of detailed information it contained, although his countenance showed no emotion. "Yes," he said simply.
Nathan turned to leave, but hesitated. "Would you mind if I ask you something, sir?"
"Didn't you just ask anyway?" Professor Snape retorted.
Nathan smirked. "I guess I did," he admitted. "What's that greenish unlabeled potion that's inside that wooden box on the highest shelf in the storage room?" he asked then.
The Potions master expression darkened as he stood up and came around the desk to stand in front of Nathan. "Have you touched it?" he asked.
His professor's urgency startled Nathan. "I touched the vial. It was sticky," he answered.
"Give me your hands," Snape urged, and as Nathan extended his hands towards his professor, he grabbed them and examined his palms.
That motion surprised Nathan even more. "What's in the vial?" he asked.
"Did you open it?" Professor Snape asked, ignoring Nathan's inquiry.
"Yes," the boy answered simply.
Snape looked up the moment he heard the affirmative answer. He released the hand occupying his right one and held his son's chin between two fingers, tilting Nathan's head up to examine his eyes. "Did you inhale it?"
"Not directly," Nathan said.
Professor Snape narrowed his eyes. Letting go of the other hand he was still holding, he used his now free fingers to rub the skin under the boy's eyes, looking for signs of irritation, but found none. "You shouldn't open vials if you don't know what they contain!" he snarled then, freeing Nathan from his grip rather rudely and turning away from the boy in visible irritation.
His change from concerned to tempestuous left Nathan not knowing what to say. "I… I didn't…" he faltered.
"Five points from Gryffindor Mr. Granger, for your lack of common sense and caution when dealing with unknown substances!" the Potions master snapped. "You could have poisoned yourself!"
Nathan was gapping at Professor Snape. What the… he thought, frowning. "It wasn't my fault! It was unlabeled and I was making an inventory. What was I supposed to do?" he asked in exasperation, now irritated with his professor for the loss of house points.
"Leave it, show me, or ask me," Snape said, turning to face his son, "but never open it! Never open a vial of potion if you don't know its content! Do you understand me?"
The intensity in Professor Snape's eyes was unsettling. "Yes, sir," Nathan answered quietly and then averted his eyes from his professor's.
Severus turned his back to Nathan. "Go back to Gryffindor Tower, Mr. Granger," he said quietly. When he heard the door click shut, he closed his eyes raised his fingers to rub at his temple.
A/N: Sorry it took me forever to put this chapter up. I had to attend a conference last week, and the week before that I was busy preparing a presentation for this conference, so… no time for Harry Potter.
I hope this huge chapter had compensated for my lack of updates. :0) Let me know what you thought of it. Leave me a review:0) The answers can be found on my LJ (which link is on my profile).
FerPotter
Coming next… The Quidditch match and… detentions?
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