Harry Potter and the Misunderstanding

CHAPTER 7

Potter had come back to haunt him in the form of a ten-year-old boy whose mission in life seemed to be to drive Severus to madness.

That morning, he had watched in barely-concealed disgust as Potter had wolfed down his porridge like a pig in a trough. Nothing affected the little brat, did it?

You'd think I'd been making him live on crab shells, Severus thought resentfully.

"Stop it!" he snapped at the boy.

The spoon clinked against the bowl one last time, and Potter sat staring at the remains of the porridge. He wants more, of course, Severus thought with a sigh before passing him a plate of toast. As the boy hesitantly took a slice, he couldn't resist adding snidely, "Can I have Noddy braise a bull for you? Or will this be enough?"

The brat had not answered him, but sat sulking for the remainder of the meal.

After Severus had finished his own breakfast, he had ordered Potter to follow him into the library. When he'd seen the clean sheets of parchment and neatly-stacked books, Snape had felt the vein in his temple begin to throb.

Even after a night's sleep, the little brat's blatant disobedience, not to mention dishonesty, still made his blood pressure spike skyward whenever he thought of it, and the unsullied study materials only served to remind him. This was, perhaps, what made him speak so caustically to the boy.

"You will spend today making up the work that you should have completed yesterday," he began. "There will be no playing outside for you today, Potter. When you've finished, you'll stay in your room for the rest of the day. You may bring some books upstairs, just don't leave your room until I get back. And heaven help you if I come home to find you've disobeyed me again, young man."

Before leaving, Severus approached Noddy in the kitchen. "Noddy, the boy is to stay inside for all of today, don't let him go into the garden or leave his room after he's done with his schoolwork. And make sure he gets a plain lunch, no cake or anything afterwards. Just soup or a sandwich."

Noddy didn't look too pleased at these orders, but Snape was beyond caring what the house-elf thought of his disciplinary measures. Potter had to learn to obey.

It had been decided that Severus would not take his breakfast or dinner at Hogwarts anymore. Dumbledore felt that it was important for the brat to have 'family meals'. Personally, Severus wasn't entirely displeased with the arrangement: he had always loathed eating in the crowded Great Hall, and he hated having to sit facing the student body. Even the most delicious meals tended to taste like sawdust when his focus was more on eating neatly and avoiding even the slightest mess on his face.

However, despite that extra cushion of time provided by not having to arrive for breakfast, setting Potter up for the day had caused Severus to run ten minutes late to morning classes, and being flustered put him in a particularly foul temper. By the end of the school day, had the House points system been the stock market, the average drop that day would have sent the world economy into a tailspin. The House Cup Championship, formerly in favour of the Hufflepuffs, was now anyone's guess.

Severus left Potter with barely a word of goodbye. He took his classes with his usual manner of briskness and, when lunchtime arrived, Severus plopped into his chair at the head table with an aggravated sigh before piling his plate high with chicken and rice.

Still recovering from the stress of the morning, he couldn't help feeling satisfied when he imagined Potter back at Spinner's End, partaking in a plain lunch. This, of course, only caused yet another surge of annoyance as he remembered yesterday's events. Ordering my house-elf around, indeed, he thought angrily.

Severus could feel Dumbledore's eyes on him as he arranged his food on a plate. His teeth clenched as he realised that he was about to be interrogated, much like the day before. And this time, of course, he would have to tell the old man that he'd berated the precious Boy Who Lived. Somehow, Severus doubted that Dumbledore would sympathise with his reasoning.

Finally, Severus laid down his fork and turned to face the headmaster. "Yes, Albus?" he asked in rather a snide tone. If he was about to be debriefed, he wasn't going to make it easy.

"How is your young charge settling in?" Dumbledore inquired, seemingly unaffected by Snape's tone.

"Wonderfully." Severus replied bitterly. "Making himself at home, as I had a feeling he would."

Dumbledore frowned at Snape's tone. "Is something wrong, Severus?"

"He's James Potter's son, Albus. Arrogant, lazy, and disrespectful." Severus stabbed angrily at a piece of chicken and jammed the whole of it into his mouth at once, hoping to forestall the inevitable conversation.

Albus and Minerva exchanged a look, and out of the corner of his eye, Snape saw the Transfiguration Mistress give a barely perceptible roll of her eyes before starting back on her food.

Albus, for his part, merely looked appraisingly at Severus over the rim of his goblet as he took a long draught.

Finally, the old man spoke: "After classes today, come and see me in my office, Severus. We'll discuss this then."