A Time And Place To Grow

Chapter 7: Discussion On Disobedience

Snape marched to the top of the hill and stood glaring at his new ward with fury not to be described by words. Harry shrank back, wondering if he should make a run for it. He was fairly tired, but he thought he still might be able to outrun Snape if he tried hard enough. Besides, Harry was wearing long trousers and a loose shirt under his cape while Snape was in his billowing robes.

Harry made a motion to turn, and Snape bellowed, "Potter, if you so much as take one step backwards, I will hex you into a tree and leave you there until you turn twenty!"

Harry turned back reluctantly. He didn't really believe that Snape would leave him for the next four years, but he had no doubt that the stern teacher would hex him. Whether Snape meant to turn Harry into a tree or simply trap him inside a tree, Harry was not eager to find out.

"What time is it?" Snape demanded.

"I dunno, sir," Harry shrugged. "I don't have a watch."

"Did you think to ask for a watch now that you will be following a schedule?"

"No, but you didn't give me one," Harry

protested.

"I thought you might be responsible enough to discern your own needs without me taking care of every little thing. I see I was sorely mistaken."

Harry crossed his arms and wondered what would happen if he grabbed Snape's wand and hex him into a tree.

"Before you left, I told you to stay on the gravel path. Did you hear me?"

"Yes, but it looked like it ended at the bird feeder thingy," Harry pointed out.

Snape almost rolled his eyes. "If you had walked farther up, you would have seen that the path turned sharply to the left after the feeder. The gravel path makes about a half-mile loop in front of the house through the gardens. This bark path goes back into the acres behind the house. It eventually leads back home, but the path is nearly sixteen miles long. You have traveled over four miles did you not think that you had been going a long ways and should be reaching the house before now?"

It was so unfair; Harry wanted to scream in frustration. Snape was just playing mind games with him again. The man made it so Harry was always in the wrong - Snape deliberately saw to it that Harry was as uncomfortable, awkward, and unhappy as he could possibly be, and Snape enjoyed every second of Harry's misery.

"There's a dirt path that turns off the bark path up ahead," Snape added. "If you had taken it, it would have ended at Malfoy Manor!"

Harry blinked. "You live next to Malfoy Manor?"

"If by next to, you mean fourteen miles apart, then yes, I do," Snape snapped. "And next time I tell you something about the house or the grounds, listen to me! It's past eleven o'clock, and you've missed half your study time." Snape shoved the schedule in his robe pocket and tucked his wand away. He grabbed Harry by the shoulders and pulled him close. "Hold still."

Harry wanted to yank back, he didn't like standing so close, but Snape's grip was unrelenting. Then they both Apparated with a crack.

Harry did not like this feeling either - it was worse than traveling by portkey, sudden and loud with a yanking sensation that made every muscle in his body jerk. Snape let go of him as soon as they landed, and Harry fell back to the soft ground with an umph. He glanced around; they were in the main garden, the house only a few hundred feet away. Snape swooped down and pulled Harry up by an arm. Once he made sure the boy was on his feet, Snape latched onto his ear and began dragging him towards the manor.

"Ow! But I thought the other path stopped," Harry protested, jogging along so Snape wouldn't pull off his ear completely.

"You knew exactly what I said," Snape continued walking, his grip vice-like around Harry's ear. "You thought you knew better so you decided to take your own route and ignore my directions. Typical Potter behavior - he thinks knows more than anyone else does. I thought we had been through this conversation before, but obviously the message didn't sink in."