The Scourge

On a Year in Training (Part IV)

Chri… Yule was awesome.

- February, 1997 (16 Years Old) -

- Potions Lab, Malfoy Manor -

Learning to become an Animagus was apparently an ordeal.(1) Harry couldn’t believe that his biological father and the rest of the Marauders taught themselves without any help except for what they read in books! And they had to do it in secret! He didn’t think that he would have even gotten this far if he didn’t have Sirius and Remus helping him along with the transformation. Severus was staying out of it, often mumbling about dunderheads who got themselves into too much trouble during the school year.

Ok, so he kinda sucked at staying out of it, really. He would sometimes delicately push Harry in the right direction when he got stuck on something. Harry would feel Severus glance over his shoulder as he read something, then the dour man would mutter about how interesting the paragraph on page 43 was regarding the discovery of one’s inner animal. Or, there were times when Severus would slide Harry a note at breakfast with the title of a book on the ability to meditate and center oneself. So one could commune with their wilder side.

Yeah, he was staying out of it alright. (And Harry was very happy for his help on the down low. He would never betray Severus’ trust by letting the others know of the stealthy help he was getting.)

The more Harry learned about the three men, the more he realized that even though Severus was demanding, grumpy, aloof and potentially the crabbiest person that Harry had ever met… he was also subtly cool in a lot of other ways. After hearing all about his backstory with Harry’s birth mother and his younger years, Harry understood why he outwardly portrayed that sort of persona. He had built walls around himself so that no one could penetrate them and hurt him again. It wasn’t the way that Harry went about things. (He was more of a ‘kill ‘em all and then no one can hurt you’ kind of guy.) But he could see how one might react to the world by sequestering their true self behind impenetrable walls, like Severus had.

But Severus looked out for Harry. Whether as a personal promise made to his birth mom or as a personal vendetta against the man who had caused the death of his best friend, he made it his mission to guarantee that Harry had a pristine and well-rounded education for when he entered Hogwarts. He made sure that the potions they made together were perfect, so that when Harry finally did go to school he wouldn’t make a fool of himself. As they worked together, he ensured that Harry knew all the plants used, and the proper way to use a knife.

“Really, Sev? I know how to use a knife. You know I know how to use a knife. In fact, if I remember a couple Death Eater meetings ago, I’m pretty sure that you’ve been witness to my particular brand of knife skills,” Harry drawled at him while they were working in the potions lab.

Severus fixed him with a slow look and intoned, “Harry, not a killing knife… a potions knife.”

“Ah, yes…” Harry coughed faintly into his hand. “Well, by all means, let’s kill some plants then!”

Sighing in defeat, Severus handed him the potions knife by the handle and pointed to the Shrivelfig on the board. “Let us begin working on the Shrinking Solution potion. Can you remind me where the Shrivelfig is found and when it is most potent?”

Harry took the knife and began his cuts while reciting all he knew about the plant. “The Shrivelfig is a deciduous plant that sheds its leaves in autumn. The purple fluid needed for the potion comes from the inside of the fruit and is best used within one month of picking. However, it can be put under stasis so that the fluid stays potent enough for a decent potion. The fluid is also used in the Elixir to Induce Euphoria.”(2)