The Potion Master's Apprentice

Chapter 5

The holidays were boring, to say the least. Harry was the only student besides a Slytherin second year to remain in the castle over the break. His first class-free Monday he had asked Snape if he could brew some potions from past years to refresh himself so he didn't have to cram so hard come exam time and was pleasantly surprised when Snape asked him to help brew for the hospital wing.

"Keep in mind, anything not up to snuff and it won't be going anywhere near Poppy's stores." He had nodded and done his best to ensure his potions were just as well done as Snape's were.

He quickly adapted himself to Snape's schedule. Brewing started at precisely seven in the morning and they would brew until lunch. Once they'd eaten and relaxed for an hour, it was back to brewing until dinner. It wasn't until Christmas Eve that Snape mentioned Harry's unwavering dedication to brewing with him.

"You do realize that it is Christmas Eve, yes?" Harry nodded and grabbed the mortar and pestle to start grinding up beetle wings to a powder. A few hours later and the professor halted him from grabbing a fresh cauldron.

"I must admit, I'm rather curious as to why you are spending today brewing with me. Wouldn't you rather spend your time studying other subjects as well?" Harry shrugged as they started off for the great hall for lunch.

"It's not that my other classes are boring, but I do tend to use magic more often than potions. And it's not like I can just force a plant to grow overnight. I do go down to the greenhouses at night for about an hour to study for herbology you know." He caught the look on Snape's face and sighed. "I know it may be hard to believe professor, but you aren't the only one who enjoys potions. I happen to find it quite soothing."

Lunch passed by quickly for Harry, which was no surprise considering he was so lost in his own thoughts that Snape had to nudge his shoulder to get his attention. The afternoon potions were going to be easy; they were brewing five cauldrons of pepperup potion for Madam Pomfrey for the after-holidays sniffles that children often returned with. Glad for something mindless to do, Harry happily prepped large quantities of ingredients while he let his mind wander.

He hadn't quite been able to shake the feeling that maybe the potions master had been right about boys. Thinking back to some of the guys in other houses, he started to realize he was intrigued. Not anything drastic, and he definitely wasn't looking for a relationship just then, but he was curious about what it would be like.

Suddenly, being his age and also having never even kissed anyone seemed absurd. He was seventeen-a legal adult-and was just as innocent as a toddler.

A slip of his hand, and he missed the mandrake root he was chopping completely.

"Okay, that's enough of that I think for the moment. I'll be brewing and you'll be talking about whatever has you so distracted." The man's eyes never strayed from the cauldrons or ingredients as he waited for Harry to start talking.

"I'm sorry professor. I just got a little lost in my head is all. It won't happen again."

"Don't make promises you can't keep. Exactly what was so intriguing that it had you completely miss the largest thing on this table sans the cauldrons?"

"I-I was just thinking about...you know...stuff, I guess. I guess it's just now dawning on me that I'm an adult and I-well..." Snape looked up at him, his gaze soft before turning to the potions he had to stir.

"I can imagine it isn't easy knowing how much you've been through before adulthood."

"Well yeah, but also all the things I've been too distracted to even think about let alone do." How his professor made the correct leap in the conversation would baffle him until he died, he just knew it.