Better Be Slytherin!

'I shall be the judge of that.' Severus sat in the chair by the bed again, and placed the dictaquill on the night table. 'Tell me.'

Potter glared at him for another minute before he sighed again. 'Sometimes, it's just a green light, and someone screaming.' Severus caught his breath, and hoped Potter had not noticed. How could he remember – or dream – about something like that? 'But lately it's been more . . . awful.'

'Explain.'

Potter chewed on his lower lip, and Severus saw him clenching and unclenching his fists. 'Er, it's hard to explain. There's always blood, but not always red. Sometimes, it's silver, and there's . . . I dunno, a weird light, and the smell of dead things.'

Severus processed that briefly. 'And it is after these dreams that your scar hurts worst?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Do you see anything, or feel anything besides this aching, when you are awake and your scar gives you pain?'

'No, sir.' Potter glanced at the dictaquill. 'Can we study now?'

Giving him a long look, Severus nodded. 'But I want to hear about these dreams, the very next time you see me after you have one, Potter. And you will alert me if anything changes in the way your scar feels or reacts. Am I understood?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Very well. You have parchment ready? Good. As a favor to me, Professor Binns has agreed to allow you a make up essay for the abysmal effort you put forth at the end of last week. Thus, you may open your text to Chapter Three, which discusses the Witch burnings of the 14th century, specifically that of Wendelin the Weird. Now. How much of this chapter have you already read?'

'I read it all,' the boy said. 'Sir.'

'Mm. Let's see if you retained anything. Tell me, what were several of the ways in which Muggles attempted to identify Witches at that time? Which of these were true signs of a witch, and which were not?'

Potter sighed a bit, and then tried to answer, and then had to page through the chapter to help himself out. His ears and neck were red with embarrassment by the time it got that far.

'Just read the chapter, Potter,' Severus snapped. 'And stop wasting my time.'

'You don't have to be here,' Potter snapped back. 'I told you I was fine on my own!'

'This is not negotiable,' Severus told him, sneering. 'I will assist you in getting your studies back on track. What did you do all day today? Did you not have any time for studying?'

The red traveled to Potter's face and he ducked his head, mumbling something.

'Speak up, boy!'

'I was sleeping, all right?' The boy's head came up quickly, and there was an odd shine in his eyes. Severus dearly hoped there were not going to be tears; he had very little tolerance for tears. But the boy put his chin up a bit and merely said, 'I was really tired, and I was sleeping. Most of the day.'

Out of the corner of his eye, Severus caught sight of Poppy sticking her head out the door of her office and giving him a baleful glare. He sighed and modulated his tone again. She was right, and he knew it. 'My . . . apologies, Mr. Potter. Please, read this chapter now, and we'll go over the information you need for your essay when you are finished. That is . . . if you are rested enough.'

'Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.'

Something in Potter's tone made Severus say, 'Whatever for?'

'For sleeping when I should have been working. I know that's wrong, sir. I'm awful sorry.'

'No. No, Mr. Potter. Disregard what I said earlier. You should have been resting, on Madam Pomfrey's orders if nothing else. And, at your age, you definitely need more sleep than you have been getting of late. And with nightmares on top of it . . . it's no wonder you've become exhausted.'

Potter frowned a little, and Severus sighed – he seemed to be doing an awful lot of that lately – and continued, 'The blame for that can be laid squarely on my shoulders, I'm afraid. Not yours. I did not realize how much of your time I was monopolizing. Or, I knew, but I chose not to let it influence my decision. I wanted to keep you in my sights, to keep you from being injured again. Unfortunately, the method I selected did not end up aiding you in the long run.'

'Yeah,' Potter agreed quietly, staring at his hands for a moment before turning his bright green gaze on his professor. There was an oddly speculative look in his eyes, and he did not appear so angry now. Perhaps honesty worked best with this boy. Severus would not, however, admit to being worried about him. 'I mean, yes, sir.'

'Let that not deter us now, all right?' Severus said. 'Read the chapter, if you will, and let me know when you are finished.'

Potter nodded and opened his book. 'Yes, sir. Thank you.'

As Severus took a book of his own from one of the pockets of his voluminous robes, and settled back in his chair, he mused that there might be hope for him and the son of James Potter getting along after all.

TBC . . .

A/N: Thank you, everyone, for your wonderful reviews and support on this story!

*Chapter 25*: Chapter 25