Better Be Slytherin!

Who Lived to Give Him Grief would not have openly disdained him for no good reason. And betrayal, or the appearance of it, that would be the greatest reason of all for disdain from this boy, who had lived every day for the last ten years feeling betrayed by his 'family,' who did not care for him. And who had spent the last few months feeling betrayed by the wizarding world for not taking an active interest in his welfare excepting as far as he could do things for them. Never caring about Harry for himself.

Now he was in a quandary. How to let the boy know he was mistaken about his Potions Professor's motives without getting into the history of his own involvement with the Dark Lord? That was nothing he wanted to shed light on. How could he do it without having the boy find out the worst about him: what he had done years ago that had gotten Lily and James Potter killed. Then Harry would be shunning him for a different reason, a valid reason. He needed . . . he wanted to protect the boy and take him out of his relatives' care, but to do that, Harry needed to trust him. It would take a certain amount of finesse . . .

'Er, Professor?' The girl in front of him coughed politely. 'You aren't really trying to steal the Stone, are you, sir?'

Severus stared at her with cold, expressionless eyes, and let her own flushing skin advise her of his innocence. He did not bother to ask the two of them how they knew -- now -- what the hidden treasure was which Potter had confessed to knowing about months ago. He would put money on Hagrid's loose lips every time. It didn't matter, in the end.

'Are we done, sir?' the boy had the temerity to ask.

'Almost,' he snapped. He held up one finger to caution them. 'You must tell me -- I want your word -- if Mister Potter gets it into his head to do anything about the Sorcerer's Stone. I know all about your little night time mission to the tower with a crate full of Norwegian Ridgeback,' he kept in a sour smile as both sets of eyes widened at his words, 'so don't try to deny he's capable of harebrained schemes. I want your oath as Slytherins that you will inform me immediately if Potter tries anything foolish.' He had seen too much Gryffindor courage (read: stupidity) in the boy's Slytherin green eyes to ever assume Harry would just let the Stone get stolen out from under him. 'Promise me.'

'Yes, sir,' Nott said promptly, and Snape immediately wrote him off.

Bulstrode, on the other hand, hesitated before agreeing, and he was almost convinced she would hold to her word.

'Excellent. That is all.'

The children escaped his office with alacrity and Severus went back to his deliberation as to how he could reconcile with Harry without making it obvious the boy's friends had informed on him. A tricky puzzle at best, but he comforted himself with the knowledge that he had several weeks left till the end of the school year. Exams were starting in a couple days, so he could wait until they were done before approaching Harry -- no sense in making final exams more nerve wracking than normal for the boy.

--HPSSHPSSHPSSHPSS--

On the last day of exams, Severus was coming down the central staircase, thinking about Harry Potter, when who should nearly crash into him but this same boy.

'Good afternoon,' Snape said smoothly. The boy stared at him as if seeing an Inferius. He seemed agitated, wringing his hands together. 'You shouldn't be inside on a day like this,' he said, smiling a little to put the boy at ease.

'I was --' Harry began, then trailed off as if he had no idea what to say.

Severus was struck by a sudden realization. Harry's behavior was far too anxious for a boy who had just finished his exams. He was near panic; it was in his eyes, and Severus had an inkling as to why. On his way to the staff room to meet with Minerva because Albus had been called away to London suddenly, Severus knew, somehow, that Harry knew about Albus, too. 'You want to be more careful,' he said in warning. 'Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something.'

Harry flushed, but turned to go outside.

Snape called him back. He needed to make sure that Harry didn't do anything as foolish as try to stop a thief who was likely working for the Dark Lord. The boy could be killed, or worse if he got involved, and Severus could not allow that under any circumstances. He needed to stay within the safety of Slytherin's walls tonight, and every night, until Quirrell's connection to the Dark Lord was exposed and he was safely locked away. The only way Severus could think of at the moment to keep Harry from getting in trouble was to say, 'Be warned, Potter -- any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure your last days here are quite miserable. Good day to you.'

He strode off in the direction of the staff room, not looking to see where Harry went. He did catch a glimpse of the Bloody Baron, far enough away from the boy that he did not seem to be hovering -- and perhaps Harry did not even realize he was still being trailed -- but still close enough to protect him, if it came to that. Good. That was one less worry. At least the Baron would let him know if Harry tried to be some Gryffindor hero.

--HPSSHPSSHPSSHPSS--

A chime sounded in Severus' sitting room in his private quarters late that evening, alerting him to someone at the entrance from the dungeons, which was odd for several reasons. First, other Professors and -- especially -- the Headmaster invariably approached his rooms via the Floo. Secondly, no students should be out at this time of night, and besides, none of them were made aware of where his personal quarters were, except a select few, including Harry Potter, but they had always been shown to them via his office. What it meant, then, was a student was likely in trouble and Filch had caught them and, rather than wait till morning to present the miscreant, he had decided the middle of the night was best.

Frowning, Severus approached the 'front' entrance of his rooms and cast a simple 'Reveleo' to see who stood on the other side. The door (from his perspective only) went transparent, showing Theodore Nott in the dungeon corridor. Alone. Curiouser and curiouser.

After donning a spare black teaching robe hanging on a hook by the door, he cancelled the spell and opened the door, openly scowling. 'Do you know what time it is, Mr. Nott? Well after curfew, I dare say--'

'Professor,' the boy broke in, 'I need to tell you something about Harry.'

Severus' heart immediately picked up speed. His hand clenched around his wand, and he used it to gesture the boy inside. He checked the corridor, but no one seemed to be lurking about, before he closed the door. 'Where is he? Is he hurt?' It would be just like that little demon! After everything he had done to try and keep him safe, too!