The Anti-Heroine || A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chapter LXXI

CHAPTER LXXI:

Severus's POV:

After assuring himself of Hermione's wellbeing (and deciding to write to Rem— Lupin and get him to come in earlier for his weekly chat with her) Severus made his way up to Dumbledore's office.

He didn't bother knocking, not in the mood to observe the social niceties, and stalked into the room, making sure to send both Fred and George Weasley withering looks as he did so. Both Molly and Arthur Weasley were already present, Molly looking unrepentant and Arthur just looking tired, as was Moody– who, as usual, was scowling.

"What is he doing here?" Severus sneered, turning his withering look towards the ex-Auror.

"Alastor served as an Auror for many years," Dumbledore answered him calmly, "I thought it prudent that he impressed upon Misters Weasley the gravity of their ill-thought actions today."

Severus held back his biting response, instead crossing the room so he was standing beside Minerva, his arms folded across his chest. Despite his anger at Moody's involvement, he'd grudgingly admit that it was well-thought out of Dumbledore, involving the ex-Auror— Moody had been acting like an old, grizzled bear with a thorn in its paw since he got into a shouting match with Harry; no matter the fact that the twins were Gryffindors, he doubted that in his current foul-tempered state Moody would go easy on them.

Severus was personally ticked off about that whole incident too— mostly that nobody had thought to inform him about the 'private lessons' that had been arranged between Harry and Moody until after the fact. He wouldn't deny he was relieved it had all gone up in flames, but of course he wondered why Harry had tried to go along with it in the first place— he knew Dumbledore's angle, of course; he wanted his Golden Boy back under his thumb and was starting to get desperate about getting Harry there (his reaction to the failed 'lessons' between Harry and Moody had been... unhappy, to say the least; according to Minerva, he'd been furious with Moody for failing to be the 'bigger person' and reacting to a child's insults).

Harry, on the other hand, had had no reason to cooperate with Dumbledore's obvious machinations that Severus was aware of— the boy had no shortage of willing tutors available, should he so desire one.

Actually, the whole ordeal had brought to mind Harry's cooperation with spending the Eostre holidays with the Weasley family, not attempting to escape their... homey abode and hospitality even once. It certainly hadn't been what he'd been expecting and it was making him suspicious. Harry had never been one for manipulation or ulterior motives before, so either this was personal growth for his young Slytherin or there was someone else behind the attempts to integrate the boy with Dumbledore and his followers— and there was no prize for guessing just who that 'someone' was.

The thought of Harry being groomed as a spy was an uncomfortable one. Severus knew firsthand the trials and tribulations of spying and the toll it had had on him was certainly not something he'd wish on anyone but his enemies. And while he'd like to believe that Harry, at least, would not be put in the same danger as he'd been in when he'd been spying on the Dark Lord and his followers, he knew better then to believe that the Light were the saints they were purported to be— the Weasley twins, for example; they'd almost killed Hermione today and Harry had recently been forced to spend two weeks in their house and would likely be forced to spend time there again in the future should he continue with inserting himself into Dumbledore's confidences.

The fact that the twins would not receive the punishment that their crime deserved— because it was a crime— would only encourage their bullying behaviour too, would only strengthen their belief that harming Slytherins was acceptable as the adult witches and wizards who should know better let their malicious actions slide.