Day 27: Library
Libraries, he'd found, were rarely as dull as people made them out to be. Though he felt no magic in these tomes, they were still full of useful information. Maybe some of them could tell him a little bit more about this world he'd landed himself in.
For that matter, why hadn't he run into any of the others yet? They'd all been fairly close ( Read more... )
For that matter, why hadn't he run into any of the others yet? They'd all been fairly close ( Read more... )
"If you're really Severus Snape..." Harry began, thinking wildly. The trick was supposed to be to ask a question that only the real person would know, at least that's what the Order had done. He got a slightly victorious expression, thinking that he had come up with a question that was sure to trick a fake. "Then tell me what the first potion is we worked on in my Remedial Potions class." It was trick question, of course, because Snape hadn't been teaching him potions at all those times. If this was the real Snape, bringing up the place where Harry had spotted his 'worst memory' would probably not be the best idea, but the real Snape had given Harry far many more memories than just that one.
He wasn't thinking that the Occlumency lessons might be in the 'books' that everyone was talking about. The thought of them couldn't even enter his mind while he was so angry.
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"I never taught you Remedial Potions you dolt," he whispered furiously. "What I tried to teach you was Occlumency, but you never studied, never listened, looked into my pensieve and failed!"
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He stared at the man in front of him. Harry realized that he managed to seem imposing even as he wore the uniform of the hospital instead of his dark cloak. Harry frowned, it was the right answer of course.
"Alright," he said. "You ask me something then," he said, crossing his arms. He had to think of this rationally, the question that Snape asked him, or if he even did at all, might tell Harry a bit more about if this was the real man or not.
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Severus leaned in close. "But if I find, come this next academic year, that you have spread your father's" - he made the word sound almost like a curse - "unfortunate nickname for a certain Slytherin, I will personally turn you into potions ingredients."
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For a second he seemed stunned by Snape's words, then his anger caught up with him. "I wouldn't do that," he said indignantly.
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He looked around, studying, if not truly seeing, the people around him. He thought about this place he was trapped in. With its oddball mix of muggles, wizards, and...other things. It was like a large cauldron filled with the leftovers of a hundred different potions. Was it really so difficult to believe that a somewhat older Harry Potter could also be trapped here?
But the prospect brought up a whole other series of problem.
"Only a Gryffindor would be to noble to use such information against his enemies," Severus conceded. He continued in a gruff voice, as if reluctant to consider that what was happening was even real. "Unfortunately, our memories and experiences seem to be... unaligned." He paused then glared down at his charge - for Harry Potter may be many things, but he would always be Severus' responsibility (whether he liked that fact or not).
"Just what inanely Gryffindorish, foolhardy thing did you do now to land yourself here, Potter?"
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"I defeated Voldemort," Harry said simply, thinking about the events that (to him) had happened just the night before. That seemed rather 'inanely Gryffindorish' to him, though admittedly his hadn't been the only House to fight the Battle of Hogwarts. "Though I can't see how that brought me here," he added thoughtfully.
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Lucky for him, he was saved from having to come up with a response by the intercom. A feeling of growing horror swept over him at the realization that Lily's son - as long as he referred to Harry Potter as such, he would be better equipped to keep his temper in check - would have to face the night here soon.
Leaning down he grabbed Harry's shoulder in a firm grip and looked him straight in the eye.
"I am in room M9. If you can, begin making your way to me when the night begins. What room are you in, Potter? Tell me now as it is of the utmost importance!"
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"Professor..." he said carefully, quietly so that only Snape could hear. "I... I don't have a wand. I woke up without one."
Saying it aloud made Harry feel much more vulnerable.
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"That is...." he struggled to find words that would describe his complete dismay. "Unfortunate," was the term he finally gritted out. "Mine will have to do for the both of us."
"Are you sure these people you are meeting are trustworthy...nevermind." He sniffed in the appearance of disdain. "You Gryffindors are willing to believe in anyone. I will find your meeting place."
He paused again then turned his fiercest glare to the boy. "Wait for me there and do not do anything foolish. If you have defeated the Dark Lord as you say, then you may not be a hopeless case after all, but Merlin knows you have a knack for following trouble around like no one else I've known. Save for maybe your dogfather." The last bit was said in a snide tone, though quieter as if said more to himself than to the boy in front of him.
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"I'll be there. I'll go ahead and let who I'm meeting that you'll join us too," he said. "I'll let them know you're trustworthy."
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Severus still could not understand why the blasted boy was smiling at him like he had found an old friend he had not seen in a long while. It was disconcerting, to say the least, especially since he knew the boy blamed him for the mutt's death. So he did what he normally did under such circumstances that made him uncomfortable. He glared.
"See that you do, Potter," he growled out. "And for Merlin's sake, keep yourself alive." With that he spun on his heal, sending a glare at the nurse who had come to usher them to their respective rooms.
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