Snape and the classroom of toddlers// Harry Potter Fanfic

Chapter Forty-Seven - Emerald Eyes

     Harry quickly settled back into classes. The day he was brought back to normal, a hufflepuff boy had been poisoned while under the supervision of Slughorn, which had been dreadful news - the new professor claimed he had grabbed the first bottle of mead on his shelf, not taking note of where it was from, or who it was from. 

   But, that had been over two weeks ago. November was flying by, the sky beginning to darken as early as five. "Er- Sir?" Harry mumbled questioningly, as Severus silently slipped into the toddler room. The boy-who-lived had visited his friends multiple times a day, longing for them to be normal. He didn't particularly see the charm in toddlers. The potions teacher didn't reply, taking a seat on what was Harry's bed. The teenager sat awkwardly, feeling extremely uncomfortable with his presence. Although he had witnessed Snape's memories, he couldn't help but feel even more- weird. That was the word, he decided, as he zoned out in his own thoughts. 

  "Potter," he finally spoke, instantly getting his attention, "Dumbledore wants to have some kind of lesson with you.. Do you know what these are?" Harry glared at him, smiling menacingly. "Why would I tell you, even if I did know?" Snape shrugged, as Hermione ran up to him, showing off her drawing. He hadn't been giving as much attention to the toddlers recently, but there was so much to catch up with, when it came to work and overall, more important things. He hoped they'd understand that, but being toddlers, he doubted it. 

  "That's great! What is it?" He asked taking the page from her. On it, in green crayons, was a stick figure like creature. "Pansy! Does it not look like her..?" Severus forced a smile, patting her head. "It looks exactly like her, now that you say it.. I just umh, need my- glasses?" He lied through his teeth, receiving a What glasses? look from Harry. 

   Although the only one, Hermione was satisfied. She added a small heart above Pansy, before rushing back to the floor, where her and Ron both drew. They were both rather lonely, despite the fact they were so frequently visited - they were the only two toddlers in the world, it felt. 

  "Have you spoken to Neville lately?" Luna asked Ginny, as they packed up their books. "No, I think he's avoiding me." Ginny shoved a History Of Magic book in her bag, sighing loudly. "Really..? He keeps ignoring me too." The two girls walked out of the classroom, a gloomy atmosphere around them. 

   "I think I know why," Luna said in her typical dreamy voice. Ginny, looking startled, pleaded with her eyes to know more. The three of them were the best of friends, and Nevilles sudden disappearance was off-putting. "He told me he liked me, the other day." The ginger girl beside her froze in her tracks. The two girls had been dating for a week, although it wasn't official - and this was the first Ginny was hearing of it. "You can't be serious." 

    Luna frowned at her, linking their arms. "He's probably down in the greenhouses, he has a free period.. Maybe we should speak to him?" Luna nodded, her frown fading - there was no way Neville could run away from them if they were in a greenhouse. "Are you guys okay- you look bothered?" 

   They both looked up at the boy infront of them. Harry. He had a sincere look in his gorgeous green eyes, which were enhanced by his round glasses. "Yeah, of course!" Ginny reassured him. "There's Quidditch try-outs on Saturday, by the way," he told Ginny, who gave him a curt nod. Gryffindor had been out for the beginning of the season, but now that Harry, the captain, was back they would try to pick themselves up. 

    Harry continued his way down the hall, towards the library. Since he had nobody to talk to, since his best friend's were toddlers, he had spent most of his time lounging around in the common room, dormitories and library. 

   As he pushed the door open, he found he wasn't the only sixth year who had payed a visit. A blonde slytherin sat on his own at a round table, several books scattered around it. The library was unusually crowded, for a Tuesday evening. Surveying the area, he noticed that all the tables were full. He begrudgingly took a seat opposite Draco, avoiding eye contact. "Potter?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Harry ignored him, pulling a roll of parchment from his bag. 

   They sat in an uncomfortable silence. "You do realise that seat is saved for somebody, right?" Draco jeered. Harry rolled his eyes, "well everywhere else is taken, so until this 'somebody' turns up, it's mine." Draco pouted, returning to his work. After twenty or so minutes, it was evident that Draco's somebody wasn't coming. Harry wrote messily, not caring for tidiness - he stopped writing, his mind blank. Words weren't coming to him. He stared at the parchment, biting his lip. 

  "Awh, is little Potty struggling?" Draco teased, noticing him stop. Harry groaned, banging his head on the table. Draco's mind quickly wandered to the toddler. That was the same boy. Unable to help himself, he leaned over the table, reading the short essay. Harry, who's head was still resting on the table, glanced up. "Mind your own business, prat." He snatched it out of his enemies sight. 

    "Nine hundred and ninety A.D.," Draco told him. Harry, looking surprised, put the parchment back down. "Are you telling the truth, or trying to trick me?" Harry had been set an essay from History of Magic, about the founding of Hogwarts, and without Hermione, he was struggling immensely. "Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry was founded in nine hundred and ninety A.D," Draco repeated getting impatient.

   Feeling his face flush, he quickly began to scribble down Draco's words. "And uh.. Do you know when Salazar Slytherin was born? I can't find it in any of these books.." Draco looked around at the books he had on the table, before handing him a large green one. 'The History Of Slytherin.' 

   "Oh. Right-" His face reddened even more, as he scanned the contents page. Draco watched intently. He always seemed to get lost in Harry's eyes. They were stunning, any anyone who said otherwise was an idiot. To Draco, all of Harry was stunning. He was starting to think he had a problem. 

Sorry this one's not to great, and a bit short <3 Hope Saturdays is better, just feeling a bit unmotivated. Love you all, remember to take care of yourselves!! (aaaaagh school's been so stressful lately! Sucking all life out of my poor soul.. I'm taking an entrance exam to move into a new, better school in January, and I and the others moving have to do a ton of mock tests - three a weeekk.. (one on Wednesdays after school, one on Friday mornings, one on Saturdays or Sundays.) Have any of you heard of Samuel Beckett? As I aspire to be like him one day, I want to get to the same school as him - the one I'm taking the exam for.)