As soon as the door was closed and the three of them were seated, the questions began. Thistlethorne didn't even fetch out a quill and parchment with which to record Harry's answers; she just listened to them.
The first question really threw Harry for a loop. He'd expected some preliminaries, but Hufflepuff or no, the casewitch apparently believed in delving straight to the heart of the matter.
"Why do you wish to be adopted by Professor Snape?"
Harry's mind went almost blank, though he managed to say, "I explained that already on the forms I filled out."
Thistlethorne had done her homework; she didn't need to consult those forms. "Yes. Your answer centered primarily on respect, Mr. Potter. But I'm sure you have profound respect for many people. You aren't petitioning that the others adopt you. So think a little more deeply for me, if you would."
Harry did, though it was a little difficult as interlaced into all his thoughts was an awareness that he wanted Snape's quarters warded for his safety. While it might not be terrible to mention that aspect, he remembered Snape saying it wasn't very good for a sole reason to be adopted. "Hmm," he mused, closing his eyes as he considered it. "I haven't analyzed it much myself," he admitted. "It just seems right. But thinking about it now... you know, I think it's because he treats me normally."
Harry opened his eyes and saw the casewitch watching him closely, her blue eyes intent. "Is that so unusual, Mr. Potter?"
"Yeah, it is. People see the scar on my face and either love me or hate me for it. Just to give you an inkling of what my life is like, not even my adoption interview could go normally. When's the last time a casewizard tried to abduct a child?"
"Point taken," she murmured.
"Imagine a life just stuffed with events like that," Harry added, taking a deep breath. "Then fill in the rest of the days with people fawning over you, practically worshipping you over something that happened when you were a baby. Worse, something that for you is a personal tragedy, nothing to celebrate."
"It must take a toll."
"It does. But from the first, Professor Snape has insisted that I should be treated just like any other student." He laughed. "Now, I haven't always been exactly appreciative of that, mind. I'd go sneaking out after curfew and hope not to get caught, obviously. I'd think it was unfair and all that rot when Professor Snape would assign me a detention. But he was determined that the last thing I needed was special privileges and exceptions. I think he knew from the first that I'd gotten too many of those from the moment I'd entered the Wizarding world. He knew it wasn't good for me."
Harry couldn't tell what she thought of all that; the woman's expression was absolutely non-committal. Well, so much for the overemotional Hufflepuff theory.
"Has he given you many detentions over the years?" she next asked.
Oooh, dangerous territory. For all Harry knew, she'd seen his records and knew the truth. "Well, quite a few," he temporized. "Like I said, I didn't appreciate them at the time, but I have made... uh, almost a habit of breaking the rules."
"What I'm getting at is this," she detailed. "How are you going to handle your father being one of your teachers? Do you foresee any difficulties, there?"
"Hmm. Well, it's not even going to come up for a while, as I'm currently not attending classes. You know about that, I suppose?"
"I've been informed that you're in far more danger than usual and are currently defenseless as your magical abilities have to all intents and purposes, vanished."
So they didn't tell her about the wild magic, Harry realized. Interesting. "Right. You see what I mean about my life never being normal. But even now, Professor Snape's doing his best. He makes Draco and me get up on time and do classes just like always. Anyway, though, you were asking about for later. I think we can work out any problems that arise. You'd have to know how Professor Snape operates to really understand. Like, he really does want what's best for me, so when it comes to grades, say, he's more likely to be harder on me on account of being my... um, guardian. I don't think he'd go easy on me because of it."
"You stumble over the word guardian," she softly observed.
"Well, I'm not exactly sure what to call him."
Her eyebrows lifted. "You haven't discussed it?"
Harry thought back. "He said to consider calling him Severus, actually. And I am. Considering it, I mean."
"Would you say you had a positive relationship with your previous guardians?"
Harry's most recent nightmare flashed into his mind, but thanks to Truthful Dreams, he didn't flinch, at least not visibly. He wondered what to say in answer. Should he play the sympathy card and try to get her to think that Snape, unlike the Dursleys, would be a real parent, something he desperately needed? Or would that make him seem too psychologically damaged for Snape to adequately handle? And how much did she know already? What had Snape told her, or Dumbledore? Whatever he said had to coordinate with everybody else's statements.
"The truth, if you would, Mr. Potter," she prompted as the silence wore on.
"I was foisted onto them as a baby and they never let me forget it," Harry abruptly announced, taking care not to look at Remus. "Plus, they disapproved of magic, which wizard children can't help doing. I was no different."
"How did they react to your accidental magic?"
Harry frowned. "I thought this interview was supposed to be about Professor Snape and myself?"
"Your experiences in your last family setting are relevant to the prospects for this one," Thistlethorne calmly explained.
"Well, they punished me," he admitted, deciding to downplay just how. "They sent me to bed without dinner, things like that." No need to mention that the bed was in a cupboard, or that he'd often gone without breakfast, lunch, or dinner... sometimes, for days at a time. He thought of a way, though, to turn the story to his advantage. "Growing up there was very oppressive, and then I was plunged into this other life where I'm practically hero-worshipped and I'm given too much leeway. I mean, for example, everybody broke all the rules to let me compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. I wasn't old enough by any means, but I'm Harry Potter. If anybody else's name had come spinning out of the Goblet, they'd have found a way to get them out of it, for their own safety. But I'm supposed to be this super-wizard, don't you know, so I had to compete, like it or not. Professor Snape argued against that, by the way. But my point is just that: he knows how to strike a balance that nobody else even notices I need."
Thistlethorne nodded, though it looked more like she was indicating she'd heard than she was actually agreeing. "Just a few more questions," she announced. "Has Professor Snape discussed with you why he joined You-Know-Who all those years ago?"
Harry's mouth fell open. Oh, for Merlin's sake, not again... "These are just the sorts of questions Darswaithe went on and on about," he complained to Remus, his eyes going wide with anxiety.
The casewitch held up a hand before Remus could speak. "Please, hear me out. I am not asking you to tell me why he once sided with the forces of Darkness. I am asking you if the professor has spoken to you of his decision."
Harry debated with himself what to say. "Well, he doesn't try to justify it, if that's what you mean. And actually, he's talked to me a lot more about just how he realized that Voldemort was wrong about everything, why he left, that sort of thing. But yeah, we have talked about all of that."
"What about his well-known animosity for your father?" she pressed, and at Harry's look of shock, sagely added, "Oh yes, it's no secret to those who were in the Order the first time around."