As Potter is to Snape

Chapter 37

Severus sat in the living room of the Manor with Evelyn as she wrote away in her notebook about Merlin-only-knew-what. He had given her a tour of the Manor and, though she commented very little, she seemed to be writing quite a bit.

Despite his assurances to Harry that everything would go smoothly today, Severus felt nervous, even if he would never admit it. The idea that his and Harry's future depended on what this woman thought of him was unsettling. Normally, Severus was not one to care for anyone's opinions of him, but he found himself hoping that she thought highly of him today. He didn't want to be the reason that Harry was sent to live somewhere else.

"Why does he call you Snape?" Evelyn suddenly asked, and Severus looked up at her with a frown.

"I'm sorry?" he replied, caught off guard by the question.

"You're first name is Severus," she clarified, as if it were obvious. "Why then does he call you Snape instead of Severus?"

He shook his head. "I suppose because he feels more comfortable using my last name. In school he and the other students refer to me as Professor Snape. Very few people call me Severus."

"I see," she remarked, noting something in her book. "And would you rather he call you by your first name?"

"I don't care either way," Severus answered with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sorry, why is this important? What does it have to do with anything?"

Evelyn shifted on the couch so that she was leaning forward slightly, resting her elbow on her knees. "I'm simply trying to better understand your relationship with Harry. Does he feel close enough with you that he's comfortable speaking to you openly or does he still hold back because you are his teacher?"

"I suppose you would need to ask him that," Severus replied shortly.

"I'll do that." Evelyn made yet another note in her book before looking back to Severus. "How do you and Harry spend your time together? Give me an example of what a typical day is like for you."

"It depends on a number of things. Most nights he stays up in Gryffindor Tower in his dormitory. I may only see him during classes or if he wishes to come down to our rooms."

"Does he visit you often?"

"A few times a week usually. After classes or a bit or we may have dinner together."

"But he doesn't spend the night?" she asked, writing more.

"Rarely during the week. He has a few times but typically he only stays in our quarters on weekends. Usually a couple weekends a month he will come down on Friday afternoons and stay until Monday morning."

"Alright, tell me about the weekends. How do you spend them with him?"

Severus thought for a moment and said, "On Fridays he usually gets his homework done while I grade essays or work in my lab. We have dinner, then tea. He talks about his day, classes, and the like. On Saturday he may choose to visit with his friends for a while or we may stay in. I usually leave it up to him to decide. Sometimes he helps me with potions or we play chess. We take our meals together. A few times he has invited his friends down but most of the time he doesn't. Sundays are usually the same except Harry tends to sleep in late. He calls Sunday his lazy day and often doesn't want to do anything. We have breakfast together on Monday before we both leave for classes."

Severus sat back in his chair, watching as Evelyn wrote. Her dark hair fell over her shoulder and she tossed it back before continuing.

"Would you say then that Harry enjoys spending time with you on the weekends?"