snape and skull

37

A Suitable Teacher
W

hen Harry woke the next morning, he couldn't remember how he had come to be in his room in Snape's quarters. He sat up, trying to figure it out, scratching his head in puzzlement. Then it all came back to him; the sleepwalking, the astral travel, and returning to his body too soon and becoming embarrassingly ill in front of his Head of House and Severus. "Somebody hex me now," he groaned to himself. He wished he knew why his magic kept betraying him like this, creating problems he didn't know how to solve.
S

ighing, he slid from the next of blankets and began to dress. He didn't have class till the afternoon, and could probably go back to bed, but he wasn't tired. He wondered if Severus was awake yet and what he would say about this new development. He would probably be as pleased about it as Harry was. Once he had combed his hair down, he went out into the sitting room, and found Skull napping on the back of Snape's recliner while Severus read the paper.
Harry shuffled into the room and took a seat on the couch.
Skull opened one beady eye and cawed. "Good morning, bran-boy! Sleep well?"
Harry blushed, then said awkwardly, "Uh . . . yeah, I guess so. Morning, Uncle Sev."
Severus set the paper down on his lap and looked at the boy. "Good morning, Harry. I trust there were no more . . . episodes after I brought you down here last night?"
"No." Harry said, playing with a string dangling from his sleeve.
Severus looked relieved, then he called Prissy and asked her to bring some tea and a light breakfast.
The elf returned with a platter of scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon and a large pot of tea. Severus filled a plate for Harry and sent it over to him along with some tea, sugar, and milk. He took a saucer and placed some eggs and bacon on it for Skull and then began to eat his own meal.
They ate quietly, the only sound in the room the soft clink of silverware and Skull's humming. Finally, Severus set down his fork and tossed his napkin over his plate and said, "Harry, we need to talk. How long have you been sleepwalking?"
Harry paused with a piece of toast midway to his mouth. He quickly set it down and said, "Err . . . I'm not too sure. Maybe . . . a couple of days?"
"Why wouldn't you tell me about it?" the Potions Master asked, a faint hurt tone creeping into his speech. "I thought you had gotten over keeping secrets from me."
"I . . . It wasn't like that, Uncle Sev," Harry protested. "I mean, I didn't even know I was sleepwalking until Ron and Nev told me about it a few days ago." He told Severus about waking up and finding his hands scraped and his pajamas wet and muddy. "At first I thought I'd done it to myself, you know scratched myself in my sleep. And that somebody had put the leaves in my hair as a joke. I was having weird dreams, but maybe they weren't just dreams. I couldn't remember anything when I woke up."
"I see. Do you know that you were Traveling as you sleepwalked? That was how you never fell while crawling all over the castle walls and ledges." Severus pointed out. It made him feel a little better that Harry hadn't been totally trying to keep the episodes a secret from him, that Harry did trust him somewhat.
"I was Traveling in my sleep?" Harry gasped. "I . . . didn't think you could do that."
"You can," Skull purred.
"But . . . why?"
"I was hoping you could answer that question," Severus said. "Do you remember falling asleep and being anxious over something? Or upset?"
Harry shook his head. "No. I was just really tired, but not . . ."
"There was nothing you recall that . . . compelled you Travel?
"No. Least not that I can remember. I don't understand. Why is this happening?"
"I am . . . not sure." Severus hesitated.
"I think your talent is slipping its leash, Harry," Skull chimed in gravely.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you need help controlling it," the raven replied.
"But . . . how can I control it when I don't even know I'm doing it?"
"That is the heart of the matter," his guardian said. "I do not like what has been happening, Harry. This Traveling subconsciously is dangerous."
"It's not my fault!"
"Did I say it was?" Severus rebuked softly. "Skullduggery tells me that when you Travel thus, you put yourself at risk in the Place Between Worlds. That you make yourself vulnerable to certain predators there."
Harry swallowed hard. "I do? But I'm not looking for anything over there."
"That doesn't matter. For a beginning Traveler, like yourself, there are many dangers. You don't need to look for them, bran-boy. They'll come looking for you," Skull told him.
"How do I stop doing it then?"
"I suppose I could give you Dreamless Sleep temporarily," Severus conceded. "That should put you into a deep enough sleep that your mind will not be tempted to wander. But that will only work so long, Harry. I brought you down here to keep you from climbing out the window and running about on the parapet. We need to find you a tutor, someone who knows how to Travel and can teach you how to control your power."
"Can't you do it? You've Traveled."
"Only with Skull's help. I am not experienced enough, Harry. It isn't something which comes naturally to me like it does to you."
"What if I asked the Codex?"
"That's a start, but the book might only be able to help you a little. It is not the font of all knowledge." Severus said. "Still . . . while you speak with the book, I am going to speak with Irma and Lena. The Society may know someone with the ability, since they deal in obscure branches of magic." Or so Severus hoped.
Harry looked suddenly frightened. "Why is this happening to me, Uncle Severus? I thought . . . with Voldemort dead things would . . . go back to normal. But they're not. Instead I'm more of a freak than ever."
Severus' eyes flashed. "Harry James, you are not a freak. Never let me hear you speak like that again. You are a talented wizard and there is nothing abnormal about it."
"Uh huh. And how many of your students sleepwalk and Travel at the same time?" asked Harry pointedly.
"You are the first."
"But Harry, that is part of the Old Magic," Skull crooned, flying over and preening the agitated teen's hair. "You were born that way. Like Sev. And Lena and Irma."
Harry bit his lip. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't."
"There's no sense in wishing to be other than you are," the raven said pragmatically. "That's like a cat wishing to fly like a bird. The talent is within you and now you must learn how to live with it."
"That's so bloody helpful, Skull!" Harry snapped.
"Language, Harry James," Severus reprimanded.
"Sorry, it just . . . slipped out." Harry swiftly apologized. "I . . . I'm afraid, Uncle Severus." That last came out a reluctant whisper.
Severus rose and came to sit beside his son. He slipped an arm about the dark-haired youngster's shoulder and said gently, "I know you are. You have a right to be. But together we will find a solution. It's not impossible."
Harry leaned his head on his guardian. Even though he was scared, Severus' presence made him feel better. He knew that Snape would move heaven and earth to help him, and he trusted the older wizard like none other. If Severus said a solution could be found, they would find it.
"Let us pay a visit to the library," suggested his professor. "It's early, but I'm sure Lena or Irma will be there." At this hour, Severus was also sure that most students would be in class or sleeping in, and therefore there was less chance of Harry being observed using the Restricted Section.
"All right." Harry agreed, standing up. Maybe the Codex would have the answers he needed.
But the ancient tome told him it held only the information it had shared with him before. I know how to awaken the power within, young wizard, but mastery is not something I am privy to. Those who created me long ago did not see fit to reveal all their secrets. Or perhaps they felt Traveling was easily learned once it was awakened.
"But it's not!" Harry cried, frustrated. He longed to slam the book closed, but knew better than to act so childishly. "Would you know of someone else that can teach me?"
No. What I know of wizards is limited to those who have used me to study. You are the first I have spoken to in centuries, and those who came before you are long gone.
Harry ground his teeth together. "Isn't there anything else you can tell me about Traveling?"
Only what is written within my pages. The book replied, sounding regretful.
Harry put his head on his hand and gazed at the book, disappointed. He had come to rely on the ancient text as having all the answers and it was upsetting to discover that it did not contain the information he sought. Why didn't those stupid ancient wizards write a handbook on how to Travel?
Meanwhile, Severus explained to Lena what had been happening and asked if she could offer any insight into Harry's Traveling ability. "If there is any reason you might know of, Lena, please share it with me."
But the blond librarian shook her head sadly. "I am not as well read in that branch as I am in the mind magics, Severus. Like you, I only learned how to Travel recently, and the only hypothesis I can come up with is that perhaps Harry is afraid of something subconsciously and that's why his power is responding that way."
"I have asked him if he feels anxious or frightened before going to sleep, he claims not."
"Perhaps you could write to the Ravenmistress, she knows all the Society members, both in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. We have branches in Europe and America also. If there are any who can Travel, she can find them for you. I'm sorry, Severus, that I can't be of more help to you."
"Don't apologize. You cannot be expected to know everything. I shall start giving him Dreamless Sleep, that should ensure he does not go wandering."
"Perhaps you ought to monitor him first, Severus. Use your Legilimency and see if there is something, some memory, that is causing him to Travel. He might not even be aware of it."
"You wish me to let him sleepwalk again?"
"Yes, but not around the castle. Just . . . keep him inside your quarters and see what happens. It could be he's suffering from flashbacks from battling the revenant. Merlin knows I still have nightmares over that thing!" She shivered. "Maybe Harry does too, only his mind refuses to admit it."
Severus eyed her shrewdly. "Then you haven't been sleeping well either?"
"Not really. I am tired, but as soon as I lay down, I dream of the fiend trying to suck out my magic. I've taken Dreamless Sleep a few times, but I know my limits with that. I go to sleep early and wake feeling as if I hadn't slept at all."
"I'm experiencing much the same thing, though without the nightmares." Severus admitted. "Could this be a side-effect of the revenant almost destroying us?"
"Yes. I think. Only . . . we should have recovered by now as we weren't drained bodily, like Dumbledore."
"We could be pushing ourselves too much." Severus frowned. "Let me pen a letter to the Ravenmistress."
Once he had done so, he sent it off with Skull, praying that the lady would have an answer for him.