Lily's Charm- Severitus fanfiction

Plotting

1996

Even though most would find it very hard to believe, Harry didn't think he had ever felt so jittery in this particular dungeon classroom before. Most of the combined class of Slytherin and Gryffindor were already seated, waiting for Snape.

Harry figured he wouldn't have been so nervous if he had seen just a glimpse of the man last night. Snape, for the first time since Harry had been at Hogwarts, hadn't been at the Welcoming Feast, and Harry felt sure the Potions master had somehow missed the Feast to torture him, though of course, Snape could have no idea that he was feeling so anxious.

It was an anxiety not born entirely of anger, either. Harry had stayed awake most of last night and the night before, fretfully angry at both his mother and James, but mostly at Snape. Harry was furious that the three of them had kept this from him, had lied to everyone about his true parentage, but there was also something else that Harry didn't want to admit to feeling.

And he wouldn't admit it out loud, but the fact was that Harry was hurt. Hurt that Snape, someone as loathsome as Severus Snape, didn't want him for a son. Just how bad could he have been as a baby to make his own father hate him so much?

And then, mingled unevenly with the anger and hurt was a fair amount of disgust as well. Even though known only to three of his friends, the idea that the most hated professor at Hogwarts was his father did generate within Harry a fair amount of repugnance.

Harry shuddered as he heard the classroom door slam shut and then the unmistakable flap of Snape's robes as the professor strode down the narrow aisle toward the front of the classroom. Harry closed his eyes, in a childish effort to avoid dealing with his fears, and hoped fervently that Snape would not notice him. That, of course, was a very foolish wish.

The next thing Harry heard was Snape's icy question, "Bored already, Potter?"

Harry's eyes snapped open and Snape drawled, "You may have been forced unfairly upon me and your more competent classmates, Potter, as your O.W.L. scores were expectedly abysmal, but even you should realize that Potions class is not an appropriate place for a nap."

Harry clenched his fists in front of him on his desk, his eyes snapping in anger. But he wasn't going to start off the first day by getting himself a detention, so he forced down the desire to snap at the man.

Snape narrowed his eyes at Harry, and Harry met the Potions master's glare evenly, because even though he wasn't going to give the man a blatant reason to give him an unfair punishment, he certainly wasn't going to let Snape see him cower, either.

Snape, it seemed, wanted to see Harry (not to mention his fellow Gryffindors) do exactly that. With a flick of his wand, Snape set the instructions for the day's potion on the board and intoned, "For the duration of N.E.W.T. level Potions, we will employ the practice of inter-house pairs. Though most of you are probably capable of choosing your own partners, I believe it would be prudent to make sure those of you less capable have competent partners... don't you agree, Mr. Potter?" Snape paused as though expecting Harry to answer in the affirmative, and when Harry didn't respond, preferring instead to seethe silently, Snape smirked.

"Nothing to say, Potter?" Snape turned toward Malfoy, and with an apologetic look, he said to the Slytherin boy, "I do regret having to burden you, Mr. Malfoy. However, as you are the most competent of our House in Potions, perhaps with your assistance, Potter can at least scrape by with an Acceptable this afternoon."