As Potter is to Snape

Chapter 33

Harry sat on the couch the next morning with his blanket over his lap as he stared, transfixed, at the Firebolt. Snape had let Harry sleep in and they'd had a late breakfast when he woke up, though straight afterwards he told him that he needed to either rest in his room or on the couch. Harry, of course, chose the couch and had taken his new broomstick and the servicing kit that Hermione had gotten him for his birthday and brought them both with him. The Firebolt hardly needed to be cleaned, but Harry took quite a bit of pride in polishing it anyway. But now, he simply stared at it.

"Couldn't I just take it out for a little bit?" he asked suddenly, and Snape, who had been sitting in his armchair reading a book, sighed heavily.

"Harry-"

"Please, Snape. I feel fine, honestly. And Madam Pomfrey will never know."

Snape huffed but before he could open his mouth to disagree wholeheartedly with his ward, there came a knock at the door and he looked over at it in surprise.

"Who could that be?" he muttered as he closed his book and stood up. Harry turned in his place so that he could see who had come to visit.

Snape opened the door and looked out, but there was no one. He looked down the corridor thinking that someone must have knocked and then left but there was no one in sight.

"It's us, Professor," he heard a voice whisper from right in front of him. He glanced down and saw a foot appear and then disappear. Understanding dawned on Snape and he narrowed his eyes but said nothing. "We've come to visit Harry," the voice, that Snape now recognized as Hermione Granger's, spoke again.

With a sigh, Snape moved back and held the door open with his right arm, leaving enough room that the two third-years could pass by him before closing it once more.

As Ron pulled off Harry's invisibility cloak from around him and Hermione, Snape crossed his arms and glared down at them.

"Ron! Hermione!" Harry exclaimed as he jumped from the couch and came to stand next to his friends. Hermione threw her arms around her friend and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, Harry," she said before letting him go, "we've been so worried about you."

"I'm fine, 'Mione," Harry assured her. "I keep telling Snape that, but he doesn't listen."

"For good reason," Snape interrupted as he walked towards them and pointed to the couch. "You're supposed to be resting." Harry rolled his eyes but sat back down, moving the Firebolt out of the way so that the other two could sit as well. Then Snape held his hand out to Ron who looked at him curiously. "The cloak, Mr. Weasley," he said in a dry voice. "Why are you using it to sneak around the castle?"

Ron sat next to Harry and motioned towards the Firebolt, which Harry eagerly handed him, and they immediately began discussing it in all its glory. Hermione sat in the vacant arm chair and answered Snape instead. "We weren't sneaking, Professor." She eyed him warily as he too sat down. "We just didn't want to cause suspicion if anyone saw us coming down here. So we thought it would be the best option. We don't all have magical doors that let us in."

"Thank Merlin for that," Snape answered before nodding. "Alright, but I don't want to hear of any of you using this cloak to get into mischief. If you do, I will know."

On the couch, Harry snorted, causing Snape to glare over at him.

"Something you'd like to say, Harry?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No. Sorry. 'Course you would." Harry replied, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning, until Snape eventually looked away.

Snape stood up then and conjured a tray of pumpkin juice and chicken sandwiches that settled on the coffee table between them. "I'll be in my lab if anyone needs me," he replied before walking behind the couch to head down the hallway. He put a hand on Harry's shoulder as he passed and said, "Resting. That's all. If I come out here to find you've been running around, you won't ride that broom til the weekend."