"Uh, no," Harry quietly admitted.
"Draco has his faults, I will not dispute that," Snape admitted. "He has antagonized you for years, and particularly in the last year, done things that may well be unforgivable. I am not ignorant of his failings. But you do not know as much about him as you think, Harry. He called Miss Granger Mudblood so frequently because he hoped that embroiling her in emotion would make her perform less well in class."
"Still wasn't a nice thing to do."
"No, but he was facing a wizard's wrath if he didn't find some way to rein her in." Snape clenched his fingers into fists. "I don't know all Lucius may have done to punish him, but knowing him as I do, I seriously doubt the cobra was the worst of it."
Harry let out a breath he'd been holding and met Snape's eyes. "Aren't you breaking his confidence, telling me these things? I mean, if his biggest problem with Hermione is his grades, why doesn't he just say so himself?"
"Draco knows you are more likely to listen to me than him." Snape shrugged. "He told me to proceed accordingly."
"Why would he want my trust that badly?"
"You really aren't arrogant in the least, if you have to ask that," Snape sighed. "He's in an enormous amount of danger, Harry. He's been marked for death, which is no small matter in the circles in which he was raised, but he's thrown himself into our camp. He sees you as the leader of the light, perhaps not in a tactical or literal sense, but--"
"He called me the vanguard," Harry remembered.
"Ah. Yes, the vanguard. He is quite literally terrified, I think, that if you do not come to believe in his sincerity, he could summarily find himself thrown back to the lions."
Harry scoffed, "You wouldn't do that to him."
"Of course not, but he is nothing if not a Slytherin. He is looking ahead to a day when your influence with Albus may outrank mine. In all honesty, I think he believes such a day may come quite soon."
"Do you?"
Snape softly laughed. "No. Draco cannot possibly appreciate how very young the both of you seem to Albus. The idea is absurd." He gave Harry a wry look. "I see what you mean. The conversation has wound its way back to Draco as you predicted. Was there anything else on your mind?"
Harry wrinkled his forehead. "Well, it's no big deal, but I was a little surprised you had a crucifix."
"Do not mention this to your cousin," Snape sternly instructed, "but there have been vampire sightings in the Forbidden Forest from time to time. When I used to answer the Dark Mark's call, it was prudent to travel prepared."
The Dark Mark... Harry grimaced. Draco had said not to ask, but he felt like he had to. "Do you still get those calls? My own scar hasn't been burning at all."
Snape stiffened and sat back in his chair. "I think your scar will behave as always once your magical abilities have sorted themselves out. As for me, I have found a way to deal with the call. You don't need to worry yourself about it."
"But..." Harry hesitated. "Um, are you in a lot of pain?"
"Do I seem so?" Snape haughtily inquired, looking down his nose at Harry.
"No," Harry admitted.
"Then whatever the case may be, I am managing adequately," Snape pronounced. "You are sixteen, Harry, and have spent these past years assuming burdens no one your age should have to bear. This one is mine. I do not wish to inflict it on you."
"All right," Harry slowly said, not because he didn't want to be burdened, but because Snape obviously wished to dismiss the topic. "Um, one more thing."
Snape merely waited while Harry hesitated.
"Draco said you had a book I should read," Harry finally admitted.
"About anything in particular?" And then when Harry looked away, Snape murmured, "Ah, that book."
"He thinks you left it out on purpose," Harry blurted, "so he'd read it and could kind of... I don't know, beat me over the head with words like denial and overcompensation and guilt complex. Not that I think he knows what he's talking about, but... did you mean for him to read it?"
"No. I was simply tired and laid it to the side without thinking, late one evening." Snape shook his head. "If you spend enough time with Draco, you will quickly understand that he sees plots literally everywhere. A consequence of his upbringing, I suspect."
"Uh, okay," Harry said. He'd have to think about that one, later. "So, can I borrow it?"
Snape assessed him for a long moment, then wordlessly rose and fetched it from a drawer in his desk. Harry turned it over in his hands, feeling more insecure than ever.
"Um, do you think I'm..." Harry cleared his throat. "Sort of mental, after Samhain?"
"No. That's not what the book is about, Harry. If Draco has implied as much--"
"No, he didn't," Harry admitted. "He acts like he really wants to help."
"My impression as well. As for the effect Samhain had on you, I would say you're coping admirably." A small smile curled his lips. "Ah, but I remember. You don't read between the lines quite like a Slytherin would. You need to hear me say well done, as I recall. It was good to see you able to embrace your cousin, Harry. That was well done, indeed."
"You were really great with Dudley, too," Harry murmured. "He'll never believe me that you yell in class, I don't think."
"I do not yell. I lecture," Snape elucidated in a carefully bland tone. "And, I will admit, I try to guarantee that students with no facility for Potions are thoroughly discouraged from dabbling on their own. I am thinking purely of their future safety, of course."
"Oh, of course," Harry agreed, just as blandly. "Well, I'll leave you to mark your essays, I think. Thank you, Professor."
Snape stood up when he did, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You are always welcome to come talk with me, I hope you know. It is a bit awkward at times, with Draco, but the office door does ward itself with silencing spells the moment it closes. We can speak of anything, in here."
Harry nodded, and tried to pull open the door, only to find that it needed magic to open. Thinking of Draco's complaints, he pulled out his own wand and tried, before appealing to Snape.
"It will all come back, Harry," his teacher assured him as he performed the required spell.
The hall and living room were dark as Harry sneaked through them, past the ostentatious four-poster that had replaced the couch. He slipped into his own room, and found his pajamas in the dark, slipping into bed a moment later. He'd thought Dudley was asleep, but the other boy murmured, "That you, Harry?"
"Yeah."
"Do the ghosts come out at night?" Dudley sounded worried, Harry realized.
"They won't come in here at all," Harry assured his cousin. "Professor Snape's a really great wizard. He has protection spells all over his rooms. They can't cross them."
"Glad you're in here, then," Dudley murmured, rolling over to go back to sleep.
Yeah, so am I, Harry thought.
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Coming Soon in A Year Like None Other:
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Sometimes It Just Takes a Muggle
Comments very welcome,
Aspen in the Sunlight
Chapter 38: Sometimes it Just Takes a Muggle
http://archive.skyehawke.com/story.php?no=5036&chapter=38
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