His love for Potions I ✔

Chapter 22: Painfully civil teachers

"Professor Lupin?" he said. "If you knew my dad, you must've known Sirius Black as well."

Lupin turned very quickly.

"What gives you that idea?" he said sharply.

"Nothing -- I mean, I just knew they were friends at Hogwarts too..."

Lupin's face relaxed.

"Yes, I knew him," he said shortly. "Or I thought I did. You'd better be off, Harry, it's getting late."

#

The dog was back in the kitchens during the first week of term when Harry snuck down between classes to ask the House Elves if he could have a snack. It had been washed at some point in the past few weeks, and was gnawing enthusiastically on a turkey carcass. Harry settled down next to him to eat his cauldron cake.

"They think you're my dog," Harry confided. "I'm not going to tell them you're not, they'd kick you out and it's snowing again, but I really don't have time for a dog. I've got extra lessons with Snape and Lupin and I think they're going to break down and try to kill each other any day now."

The dog paused its gnawing to give him a doggish look.

"You don't know who any of these people are. That's alright. Then there's Ron and Hermione, who aren't talking, and Neville, who's going to have a nervous breakdown over Potions, and everyone thinks my new Firebolt's evil."

That was probably more than a dog needed to know.

"You're a good listener, Grim," Harry informed him. "I bet I could find someone who could give you a home somewhere in the castle - not Draco, though - he was the cat you met. I bet he taunted you, he's like that. He's done his best to get a hippogriff killed this year because - I'm really not sure why Draco Malfoy does anything. If I had...."

If I had a mum and dad at home that loved me, I'd spend less time acting like a miserable git, Harry finished his thought to himself.

"It's good they're feeding you."

Harry got a wet nose in his face, and hugged the dog awkwardly.

"Stop it," he sputtered. "Dog breath."

The dog huffed at him, and Harry sighed and heaved himself to his feet. Back to work.

#

"Did you know Professor Lupin at school, too?" Harry asked Professor Snape while his teacher inspected Harry's diced acorns. He figured it was good timing, since Professor Snape already had something to criticize.

At Snape's look, Harry realized he'd misjudged the situation badly, but it was too late to back out.

"Professor Lupin is your teacher, and you will offer him the proper respect."

"I respect him loads. He's been teaching me the Patronus," Harry said, taking the change of subject and running with it.

"You failed to mention this."

"It's not as if I tell you all about my day," Harry said, crushing beetles. He'd picked up the habit from Professor Snape of imagining that whatever he was crushing today was his current problems. Crush goes people who suspect an innocent broomstick. Crush go dementors.

"I was not suggesting gossip. Reporting unusual behavior would be... appreciated."

"He's unusually competent for a Defense professor, if that's what you mean."

There was a faint snort, and Harry turned to look at Professor Snape, whose expression was completely smooth.

That couldn't have been real, could it? Harry had to be hearing things.

Well, unusual behavior....

"Did you know Draco's an animagus?"

"As his Head of House, it's my responsibility to monitor the situation. I am, however, curious how you became aware of it. I was not aware you and Mister Malfoy were on familiar terms."

Avoiding the question neatly, Harry replied, "He's been picking fights with housepets. He used me as a decoy when one of them bit back."

Harry studied Snape's expression, which he found unusually impossible to read, but didn't let it throw off his timing on adding the beetles to his potion.

"Professor?"

"Imagine, if you will, Lucius Malfoy's expression if informed that his precious heir was picking fights with housepets, Potter."

Harry imagined, and then he started to laugh.

"You will not repeat that," Snape added. "I may not enjoy my job, but I intend to keep it."

"Why are you even a teacher, if you hate kids so much?"

"Because the headmaster has a soft spot for lost causes," Snape replied in clipped tones.

"Er."

"Hagrid. Binns. Filch. Trelawney. Lupin. Do you think that they were hired because they were the best and brightest of their field? I assure you, it is not the case."

"But you're great at potions. Um. Aren't you?"

"There is more to being a teacher than being a Potions master."

Harry couldn't actually disagree with that. At all.