Under the Sea

Chapter Seven

When Severus had stated that it would take a few weeks to make the potion to return Harry to his human state, he was being conservative. As Albus found out, the duties assigned to his staff had forced them to push the potion to the back burner.

"I'm sorry Albus," Severus said when he asked about it one week in October. "It's not as if I can stop assigning essays and overseeing detentions. Not to mention, the Black Lake is still causing cracks to appear in the ceiling of the Slytherin Common Room."

"You could always award extra credit to the sixth and seventh years to grade your papers," Albus suggested. The longer Harry stayed like this, the more likely it was that he would be discovered—and wouldn't the Ministry have a field day with this?

"Those dunderheads would just give their friends O's, even if they didn't deserve it," Severus sneered. "It's going to take longer than we thought, though it should be done by the end of term."

Severus turned to leave and then stopped for a minute, his hand on the doorknob. It appeared as if he was going to ask something and then changed his mind, storming out of the room. Harry, who had seen the whole thing, couldn't help but wonder what life would be like with Severus as a teacher.

He's not very nice, Harry thought. What sort of teacher referred to his students as 'dunderheads'? Sighing, he sank back against the wall of his tank, subtly glaring at Albus. It would be nice to stretch his fins every once in a while!

 000

A month passed and Albus knew that Harry would have to be turned soon. The constant thunderstorms had frightened the owls to the extent that they refused to go out to deliver the mail. Hagrid had to build a shed for the Thestrals after a lighting bolt almost caught the Forbidden Forest on fire and the Black Lake was still misbehaving.

"Albus, have you ever thought that maybe it's actually safer for Harry back in the water?" Minerva asked.

"He's safe with his aunt and uncle," Albus responded, looking up from a report from the Board of Governors. "If we were able to find him, then what's to stop the Death Eaters from finding him? They won't be simply trying to turn him back to a human Minerva."

"You keep saying that, but you don't realize that it was pure luck that we found Potter at all!" Minerva argued back. "Not to mention, we know where Potter is in the Muggle World—and Lily did not keep the fact that she had a sister secret. How do we know Black didn't say something to one of the Death Eaters who managed to stay out of Azkaban?"

"We would have heard if the Death Eaters had attacked before," Albus told her, getting up from his desk. "This is the only way to keep Harry safe."

"Is it?" Minerva asked. "Because we can hardly keep our students safe right now. Madam Hooch told me two kids got knocked off their brooms because of this weather, and Poppy has been treating more students for burns than ever before."

Minerva sighed, longing for the days when all that mattered was teaching her students. None of this interfering in the lives of them—and despite the fact that Harry was not yet a student, she was beginning to see him as such.

"How far is Severus with the potion?" she asked, hoping the matter would be put to bed soon. Hopefully, if Harry never returned to the ocean, the attacks would stop.

"Severus said it would be finished by the end of term." Albus stated and blinked as Minerva turned and stalked out of his office without a word. Maybe it was time that he looked into hiring another Potions brewer? No, no. The fewer people who knew about this, the better.

 000

The windows rattled as the storm raged on outside his office but Albus smiled. After weeks of preparations and delays, Severus had finally finished the potion that would turn Harry back to his human state.