Win The War: Consanguinity

Chapter 14: Plangentine

Chantale-of-da-last-generation Thank you for beta reading!Jasmin Kain - you too;)Thank you for your support guys!

Sunday, August 6, 1995

It was the last meal he was to spend in the company of the two Slytherins. A week earlier, he had been sure that there was nothing worse than a few days of being locked in the same house with the oversized bat. It seemed more terrible than sitting in the cupboard under the stairs, or bars on the window, rows of padlocks and a can of cold soup per day.

However, to Harry's surprise, it had turned out quite the opposite. He didn't know if it was from regular meals or potions, but he felt much better physically than the week before or when he was living with the Dursleys.

Besides, it seemed to him that he was slowly becoming friends with Nott. It turned out that despite being a Slytherin, the boy had quite a pleasant personality. He was rarely malicious or unpleasant. Perhaps if Harry had gotten to know him earlier, he would not have been so prejudiced against the inhabitants of the Slytherin's house. Nott was intelligent and had a broad knowledge of various topics. He could be described as a typical bookworm; however, he wasn't as pushy about sharing his expertise as Hermione was. Of course, Harry loved his friend dearly and would have given his life for her without the slightest hesitation, but sometimes her behaviour was simply irritating. Two like her would probably be too much for him.

As for Snape, the man was still acting nothing like himself. The day before, the Potions Master decided they would order a pizza for dinner, and then they played Monopoly all evening. To Harry's surprise, he found himself forgetting who he was spending time with, and he was even enjoying himself for a moment. Pizza, hot chocolate and Muggle games? If it weren't for the fact that Harry saw the man didn't drink anything for more than an hour, he would have thought someone had impersonated him with a Polyjuice Potion.

Maybe he was high on some cheering potion?

Either way, something was reassuring about being in the Potions Master's house.

It struck him how much their relationship had changed over the course of several days. Harry also noticed that, involuntarily, he was starting to trust Snape. At least enough not to be afraid of poisoning by him at the first opportunity. During these few days, since his return from the hospital, the man never yelled at him or called him names. And the only thing that bothered the Gryffindor was that being around Snape made him feel some illusionary sense of security. In the hospital, the gesture of the Potions Master stepping between him and Uncle Vernon, completely shielding him, hadn't escaped Harry's notice.

Regardless, Harry tried to tiptoe around him because the teen was sure that after his abstinence from malice towards him that lasted for so long, the man was like a ticking bomb – once it exploded, everything would crash down and then return to its normal state.

"Potter, how are you feeling?" the Potions Master asked the teen, spreading jam on his toast.

"Okay," the boy replied, trying not to roll his eyes when Snape, once again, asked, according to Harry, an utterly unnecessary question.

"No dizziness? Shivers? Nausea? Are you feeling any itchiness from that damn tattoo of yours?"

Harry shook his head.

"That's good. Remember, if you feel anything disturbing, and I repeat anything, come to me straight away. Understood?"

"Okay."

"Your hearing is on Saturday morning. Dress appropriately. And no hoodies. Take your dress robe with you and be here at seven o'clock. And don't you dare be late. I have no idea what possessed them to set the hearing on Saturday, but they decided to do so. I'll take you to the Ministry. And if you would like to, ask Tobias' permission to let you spend the weekend with the mongrel. "