Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

'And there you have it,' said Harry. 'Not that I've ever been through high school myself, but my books give me to understand that there's a certain kind of teenage girl who'll be outraged by a single insult if the boy is plain or poor, yet who can somehow find room in her heart to forgive a rich and handsome boy his bullying. She was shallow, in other words. Tell whoever it was that she wasn't worthy of him and he needs to get over it and move on and next time date girls who are deep instead of pretty.'

Severus stared at Harry in silence, his eyes glittering. The smile had faded, and though Severus's face twitched, it did not return.

Harry was starting to feel a bit nervous. 'Um, not that I've got any experience in the area myself, obviously, but I think that's what a wise adviser from my books would say.'

There was more silence and more glittering.

It was probably a good time to change the subject.

'So,' Harry said. 'Did I pass your test, whatever it was?'

'I think,' Severus said, 'that there should be no more conversations between us, Potter, and you would be exceedingly wise never to speak of this one.'

Harry blinked. 'Would you mind telling me what I did wrong?'

'You offended me,' said Severus. 'And I no longer trust your cunning.'

Harry stared at Severus, taken rather aback.

'But you have given me well-meant advice,' said Severus Snape, 'and so I will give you true advice in return.' His voice was almost perfectly steady. Like a string stretched almost perfectly horizontal, despite the massive weight hanging from its middle, by a million tons of tension pulling at either end. 'You almost died today, Potter. In the future, never share your wisdom with anyone unless you know exactly what you are both talking about.'

Harry's mind finally made the connection.

'You were that -'

Harry's mouth snapped shut as the almost died part sank in, two seconds too late.

'Yes,' said Severus, 'I was.'

And the terrible tension flooded back into the room like water pressurized at the bottom of the ocean.

Harry couldn't breathe.

Lose. Now.

'I didn't know,' Harry whispered. 'I'm s-'

'No,' said Severus. Just that one word.

Harry stood there in silence, his mind frantically searching for options. Severus stood between him and the window, which was a real pity, because a fall from that height wouldn't kill a wizard.

'Your books betrayed you, Potter,' said Severus, still in that voice stretched tight by a million tons of pull. 'They did not tell you the one thing you needed to know. You cannot learn from stories what it is like to lose the one you love. That is something you could never understand without feeling it yourself.'

'My father,' Harry whispered. It was his best guess, the one thing that might save him. 'My father tried to protect you from the bullies.'

A ghastly smile stretched across Severus's face, and the man moved toward Harry.

And past him.

'Goodbye, Potter,' said Severus, not looking back on his way out. 'We shall have little to say to each other from today on.'

And at the corner, the man stopped, and without turning, spoke one final time.

'Your father was the bully,' said Severus Snape, 'and what your mother saw in him was something I never did understand until this day.'

He left.

Harry turned and walked toward the window. His shaking hands went onto the ledge.

Never give anyone wise advice unless you know exactly what you're both talking about. Got it.

Harry stared out at the clouds and the light drizzle for a while. The window looked out on the east grounds, and it was afternoon, so if the sun was visible through the clouds at all, Harry couldn't see it.

His hands had stopped shaking, but there was a tight feeling in Harry's chest, like it was being compressed by metal bands.

So his father had been a bully.

And his mother had been shallow.

Maybe they'd grown up later. Good people like Professor McGonagall did seem to think the world of them, and it might not be only because they were heroic martyrs.

Of course, that was scant consolation when you were eleven and about to turn into a teenager, and wondering what sort of teenager you might become.

So very terrible.

So very sad.