Dunderhead - A Harry Potter story: Snape becomes Harry's mentor

Chapter 21: DISCUSSION

Ron and Hermione looked through the book together. Their foreheads kept colliding as they leant over the pages, trying to read the same sections. Harry waited patiently for them to reach the photo album. He knew now that he had made the right decision in telling his friends about the book's contents. Hermione's face was a picture of interest while Ron looked frequently mesmerised, and Harry knew that he was looking at the ink drawings of magical creatures. Ron laughed aloud at the damning comments the owner had made about Slytherin students, and he looked up gleefully at Harry to share his mirth. Harry smiled weakly, becoming anxious for his friends to get to the main element of the book.

Hermione turned the page and glanced at the title written neatly in Mint's thin handwriting.

  'Photos - from Batty.' 

Ron leaned over her to read too. "Who's Batty?" He wondered.

"No idea." Harry replied. He was stood over his friends who were sat on a stone step. They had found a private, concealed staircase behind a tapestry on the third floor of the school and it was at times like this that Harry was grateful for the creativity of Hogwarts' layout. "It's the next page." Harry said pointedly, trying to hurry them along.

"What the?" Ron murmured.

Hermione gave her most prominent frown yet as she looked at the photograph of Harry's parents. She looked up at Harry. "Why does this girl have a photo of your parents, Harry?" She asked unnecessarily.

"That's why Harry's showing us, Hermione. Because its weird as hell and he doesn't know." Ron said in exasperation, his eyes still glued to the book's pages. Hermione did not snap back at Ron as Harry would have expected. She merely sniffed and continued to study the photograph. "There's a child under the table." She noticed. 

"Yeah, I saw that too." Harry nodded. "It must be me." He added.

"It's gotta be you." Ron agreed, but he wasn't grinning anymore. Harry thought that he must be putting himself in Harry's shoes and recognising how disturbing and odd this must have been for Harry to find.

"I thought that maybe this... Batty knew my parents, she must be related to Mint." Harry suggested.

Hermione nodded vacantly. She had the expression on her face that warned of deep, analytical thought to Harry and Ron. "Harry," She said slowly, "You need to ask her about this."

Harry looked uncomfortably down at his shoes. "I have no idea how I'd bring it into conversation without being rude." He said.

"Who cares about being rude?" Ron said incredulously. "There are photographs of your parents in some girl's diary, and they seem pretty personal to her. Why else would she stick them in? I don't keep photos of my next door neighbours in a private book." Ron said, flippant as ever in his support. "They must mean something to her." Ron repeated. He paused and then added, as though the idea made him feel a bit sick, "Unless... maybe she's a fan of you or something? Y'know, like she might have gone over the top with interest and found photos of your parents because she's that interested in you and your history."

Harry shook his head though, feeling uncomfortable at the suggestion, he did not need another Colin Creevey. "She wasn't like that at all. She didn't even stare at my scar." He reasoned.

Hermione was nodding at Ron, having looked up from the pages of the book to smile at him. "You're right, Ron, it's significant." She agreed. She turned to Harry then, adding: "Harry, I really think that you should ask this girl, if you see her again. Ron's right, who cares about being rude?"

Harry tried not to look at Ron, who was almost preening at having been complimented by Hermione. 

"If I do see her, I will. Thanks guys." Harry smiled. 

"You weren't going to tell us at first were you, Harry?" Hermione said quietly, as fastidious as ever, Harry thought. Ron looked surprised at this and ever so slightly hurt. He opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again, looking unsure. Harry knew that Ron couldn't decide whether to reproach Harry for what his friend surely considered to be a lapse in trust in their friendship on his part. 

"Look", Said Harry gently, "It was a shock when I found that photo. I felt really weird about it, and I went to sleep feeling weird about it too. I don't know who this girl is, I just met her one evening after Occlumency and we barely even talked, it was hardly even a conversation..." Harry trailed off. "She asked about the DA but then couldn't seem to decide whether to explain why she couldn't come along to it." Harry recalled. "She said goodnight and then left behind a tapestry of a bowtruckle tree - have either of you seen that tapestry before? And then I saw that she'd left behind that book so I took it with me but she wasn't at breakfast so I couldn't hand it back to her. I carried it with me, hoping I might see her. Finally, I give in to curiosity and have a look through the thing, and she's got these cool drawings and funny comments about Slytherins, but then she's also got these personal photograph, of my parents." Harry said in a rush. 

Hermione looked extremely sympathetic and Ron nodded, looking alarmed. "Yeah, don't worry, I would be feeling freaked out too." He said quickly.

"We'll all keep an eye out for her." Hermione said kindly.

Ron nodded again, looking uncharacteristically serious, and Harry smiled warmly at his friends as Hermione handed Harry the grey book. Ron bent down to lace up his shoes and then they stood, following Harry out of the tapestry hanging-

-and straight into the form of Professor Snape. Harry stepped back into Ron, who stumbled and fell into Hermione, who promptly tripped over her feet.

"What a display." Said the snide voice of the tall, darkly clad man standing over them. 

Harry tried not to glare, remembering Snape's face only a few hours ago when he had run out of his office.

"Sorry, Professor." Hermione said from the back of the queue as she was helped up by Ron, who was looking mistrustfully at Snape. 

Snape ignored her and Harry waited for the man to speak to him, sure that he must have a reason for blocking their path, aside from knocking them all over in an embarrassing fashion. But the man merely cast an unfriendly eye over the three of them before he swept past them through the hanging tapestry that they had just left, and up the spiral staircase that they had just been sitting on.

"Nice chat." Ron said under his breath, to which Harry and Hermione chuckled quietly. "Wonder what he's up to. Do you know exactly when Snape will stop teaching?" Ron said with narrowed his eyes. 

"It might be next lesson. Hopefully. When do we have potions next?" Harry replied.

"Ask the walking timetable." Ron yawned, pointing to Hermione.

"Tomorrow, fourth period, just before Defence Against The Dark Arts." She recited.

Harry's mood plummeted at the reminder of Umbridge's lesson. Having learnt what a detention with her consisted of, he felt a renewed anger when he saw her toad-like face and sickening little smile. He had still not shared the outcome of his detentions with his friends. The scars on the back of his left hand remained covered by the long sleeves of his school uniform and his jumpers at the weekend. Harry felt that the whole ordeal was a silent battle between Umbridge and himself and he did not want to blab. Not because he was scared of what Umbridge might do, but because this was something that would prove to her that he was unaffected by her belittlement. The suggestion that he was an attention seeking little boy with a bad temper was nettling, but Harry tried to take comfort from the headmaster's words: soon enough the wizarding community would know the truth about Voldemort's return, maybe even by the end of the year.