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

Chapter 33: A WEEK?

When Severus heard a gentle knock reverberating through the cold air of his dungeon chambers, he swore. He knew that it was Dumbledore, come to interfere, without a doubt. That, or a very irate Dark Lord who had heard that a defenceless and snotty Harry Potter was in his care and wanted to know why Severus not handed the boy over; do you have a death wish, Severusss? This had been the nature of the anxious dreams that Severus had been having when he had fallen asleep at four o'clock in the morning at his desk recently. 

"What do you want?" Severus snapped as he pulled open the door. He glared at the old wizard standing there. The man was wearing robes that were far too bright for Severus and his dungeons. 

Severus' disgust must have shown on his face because Dumbledore smiled. "It is called June Bug Green." He supplied, as though expecting Severus to cry 'My goodness, it's gorgeous, do please tell me where you bought it? I must own one myself, headmaster!'

"Come in. If you must." Was Severus' actual reply as he opened the door fully and stepped aside to allow Dumbledore to pass.

Once the two wizards had sat down in Severus' living quarters with tea - coffee for Severus - and some mandatory sweets, which Severus had declined before they had even been offered, they began to discuss Dumbledore's progression with the antidote potion.

"What have you found? I presume you've looked at it? Or have you been too busy?" Severus asked with a hint of irony.

Professor Dumbledore understood that Severus' rudeness was a mask for the man's worry, and Albus told him as much with a gentle smile. "I have nearly found the correct antidote." He inclined his head, "But it will be another week before I can get round to finishing it. You are not doing badly here though, are you, Severus? It is only a week."

Severus stared at the man in front of him with deep dislike etched into every corner of his face. Severus' face had too many lines for his age, and just now it felt like it was sagging under the lack of sleep he had had recently got. It creased further at the thought that he was expected to look after Malfoy and Potter for... a week? It could not be. "No!" Severus shouted, the word ripped from his throat with the force of his anger. "I cannot do another evening of this, never mind a week." He implored the headmaster with his eyes to change his schedule, to burn any letters asking for his attendance on whatever board he was on, to ask Poppy to take the boys, and to give him his sanity back.

"Ah, you are experiencing the stress of new parenthood." Dumbledore said with a smile. 

"Parenthood?" Severus roared. "You came here merely to laugh at me, didn't you!" He said sourly. "I can still contact the Weasleys myself and hand Potter over to them, and Draco over to Lucius!" He threatened.

But Dumbledore's expression darkened at that and Severus drew back into the chair from which he had been slowly rising out of in his anger. 

"Think for a moment, Severus!" Dumbledore said angrily. "We have already established that it is safer to keep Harry here than anywhere else, and you cannot give your godson to Lucius when Voldemort might very well hear of the boy's predicament and seek to find out whether any other students were caught in Longbottom's mishap. It is not worth the risk! I want you to look after Harry." He said firmly. "You have done admirably so far." He added in a gentler tone. 

Severus looked like he wanted to grumble some more but he kept his mouth shut and Dumbledore looked slightly more sympathetic as he asked, "How has it been?"

Severus sniffed and narrowed his eyes. How had it been? "Potter has barely said two words since I got him here. In fact, that's the exact amount he's come out with." Severus said resentfully. "Draco has had two small tantrums." He added, closing his eyes briefly at the admission that his own Slytherin godson had been more troublesome than Potter. "I don't know how Lucius and Narcissa did it." He admitted.

"They didn't." Dumbledore said promptly. "They had house elves to do it for them." He explained, sounding as though he could not quite keep the disapproval out of his voice. "May I see the boys?"

Severus, having expected this request sooner than it had been made, stood up and lead Dumbledore over to the room that had once been a walk-in cupboard. "They should be asleep." Severus murmured as he opened the door and stepped back to let the headmaster in.

The room was very dark but the tiny amount of light that was let in from the open door allowed Dumbledore to see two small figures in two separate beds. Neither boy seemed to be awake just yet and Severus hoped fervently that the headmaster wouldn't wake either one of them, even if he wanted to check that the two students were still breathing. Albus walked over to Draco's bed and satisfied himself that the boy looked to be in a very deep sleep. He then crossed over to Harry's side of the room and watched the boy for a bit. Severus thought that Albus must be having some deep thoughts because Severus could not otherwise understand the pleasure derived from watching Potter dream. 

"Are you quite finished?" Severus asked. He walked over to the boy's bed himself to stand next to Dumbledore. The headmaster nodded and, after a quick survey of the little room, he allowed Severus to lead them back out. Albus smiled slightly as he watched Severus close the door quietly behind him.

"All is well." Dumbledore said softly. "Although..." he said, and Severus jerked his head up to glare at the man. Had Potter's injuries been apparent? Severus had been sure that he had tended to them fully.

"I think that you could have made more of an effort with the room." Albus said lightly.

Severus stared at him. "I hardly think that the interior design for a room that will be in existence for no longer than a week is important." He snapped, his relief making his tone more biting than he had intended. 

But Dumbledore only chuckled and waved a hand at Severus as though to clear the air, stopping a Severus-Snape-Outburst before it had a chance to flare up. The headmaster looked at the state of the room they were in and motioned to Severus' piles of paper and discarded, empty potions bottles. "You look as though you've been busy?" He enquired.

Severus shrugged noncommittally, his face tight with tension. "I have started to look at the Dark Lord's potion." He admitted.

Dumbledore nodded in approval at this but lay a hand on Severus' shoulder, saying in a careful voice, "Maybe wait before Harry has returned to his former self before you invest your energy on this. You have enough to be getting on with for now. I have excused you from morning lessons for the next week so you can be catching up with whatever you please, and tending to Mr Malfoy and Mr Potter, of course." He told Severus.

Dumbledore sat back down on the leather sofa and flicked his wand, causing a fire to spring up merrily to dance in the grate. 

"Do make yourself at home, please." Severus sneered, sitting down across from the headmaster and flicking his own wand to open the heavy curtains. There were enchanted windows in Severus' chambers, very like the ones in the Ministry of Magic, and they mimicked the weather outside. It was looking to be a bright and sunny day. Severus took no pleasure from the thought but Dumbledore looked serene and quite relaxed as he looked out of the windows.

"I will wait for the boys to wake." He said unnecessarily. 

Severus had already known that this had been Albus' intention and he merely nodded with a disgruntled look on his face in reply.