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

Chapter 22: THE ATTIC

Severus convinced himself that his nervousness was a figment of his imagination for he was not the slightest bit anxious when he knew that he had at least a shrewd idea of what he could do to tamper with the potion that the Dark Lord had ordered him to make. Severus had quickly and efficiently got rid of Lucius Malfoy, who had arrived by floo to his personal chambers through the fireplace (with barely an invitation, he might add) in order to relay the Dark Lord's orders, along with a piece of parchment explaining the particulars of the potion.

At one time, Severus had looked up to Lucius. The man had been, if not a friend, at least an ally during his time at Hogwarts. And when Lucius had left school, Severus had stayed in contact with him through letters. Severus had kept up the correspondence and his Slytherin nature showed in this thought process. Lucius was a good man to have on side, and to keep on side. He had connections, money and influence. However, when Severus came to his senses and became a spy for Albus Dumbledore, he had already begun to inwardly criticise Lucius. His bowing and scraping was often nauseating and, even though the man managed to retain his prideful tone, the necessary respect behind it needed to please the Dark Lord had to be present, and it was an almost emetic display. Severus sniffed contemptuously at Lucius' self-deluded ideas of autonomy despite his allegiance to Voldemort. Severus Snape was a wiser man. He knew that when a wizard or a witch pledged themselves to the Dark Lord, they were pledging their personal freedom to him as well. When was the last time that Lucius had been there for his son, Draco? When had Draco's mother, come to that? Both parents were equipped for dealing with matters of honour and pride, which they had installed in their son, but they had left out affection.

Severus Snape was not an affectionate man himself, not at all, but he recognised perfectly well the need for it in a child and he pitied Draco. And he pitied the boy for his having Severus as a godfather. Severus knew that he was a good guide, teacher and mentor, but he lacked the same qualities as Draco's parents - to show affection. He was not sure that he even felt affection for Draco Malfoy, as cold as that seemed. The boy was not always likeable; he held bitter thoughts towards many of his peers, especially Potter, although Severus could admit to sharing that dislike, it was mutual. But the boy's obvious contempt for his peers was still an unfavourable quality. Still, Severus knew that he carried a duty of care to Draco, and he cared enough to instigate some form of guidance and correction, if needed.

Severus walked through the corridors with long, purposeful strides. He turned swiftly up the main staircase and made his way to the third floor where he knew a private staircase and coveted room at the top was Albus' allotted location to meet. The two wizards had had to get creative with their meeting places. Though the headmaster's office was as private a place to meet as they could wish for, Dumbledore did not want to encourage suspicion in Dolores Umbridge. Although the old toad could not spy on the two of them inside the office, she would still recognise a private meeting between Severus and Albus for what it was: plans to expose the return of Voldemort, and therefore conspiracy against the Ministry for Magic.

The sound of a lowly held conversation drifted its way to Severus' ears as he neared the tapestry hanging where the staircase was concealed. He did not need to hear the Granger girl's dramatic intake of breath to know exactly which three brats were sat behind the curtain, and he considered ripping the tapestry open in a dramatic and terrifying move... but decided against it. He stopped just a few paces away in order to listen.

"You weren't going to tell us at first were you, Harry?" Severus caught Hermione Granger's reproachful tone of voice. He wondered what Potter had been keeping secret this time. The boy's voice as he replied sounded shifty and defensive to Severus.

"Look, 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 a conversation! Then she asked about the DA and it was like she couldn't explain why she couldn't come along to it. She said goodnight, she left behind a tapestry of a bowtruckle tree - have you seen that before?"