Previously:
Snape watched him the whole time, not angrily anymore, but with that blank face that meant he was surprised or upset. Harry didn't dare ask him what more was wrong, but left quickly, and was back to the common room soon enough that he even had a little time to address his homework before bed.
Severus watched the boy leave after his late detention, and sighed heavily. Potter had been far less confrontational than he had expected -- far less than James bloody Potter would have been in similar circumstance, that was certain. And Severus had almost wanted him to protest more, to get more cheeky and arrogant, so that he could justify his own, still deep seated beliefs about the boy. But it was no good. Even when being handed additional punishments and insults on top of it, the boy remained -- for the most part -- rather polite and obedient.
It was very frustrating.
He heard a chuckle, behind him, and he whipped out his wand as he turned, to find the Bloody Baron smirking at him from the door to his office. "You appear discomfited, Severus Snape."
"Get out of my way," Severus growled, and moved toward the doorway, "Or I'll go right through you."
"Impertinent child," the ghost grunted, but glided aside.
In his office, Severus marked down the new detentions he had planned for the Brat Who Wouldn't Be Cheeky On Command, and glowered at the Baron when the ghost came to hover over his shoulder and peer at his mark book.
"Don't you think you have taken up quite enough of the boy's study time, Severus Snape?" A ghostly finger pointed at the details of Potter's schedule for the next week, and the utter lack of any free time in it.
"Of course not. He can study after detention."
"Mm. When he is supposed to be sleeping?"
Severus pursed his lips. "He has a free period on Tuesdays."
"Ah. I'm sure his other professors will appreciate your forward thinking, in regards to his study time."
With another glower, Severus snapped the book closed. "What business is it of yours, anyway?"
The ghost shook his head and spoke slowly, as if to a child. "Harry Potter is one of ours, Severus Snape. He is Slytherin. You should not continue to make it difficult for him to succeed, nor torment him so."
"I am. Not. Tormenting. Him."
"Ah," the ghost said again, and Severus would have hexed him if he weren't incorporeal. "Alas, I suspect he will not last another week with this schedule, without breaking down. As such, I shall keep watch for him, as you seem to have abrogated your duty."
"You dare--" Severus started, but the annoying ghost floated from the room without looking back. Damnation!
The Baron couldn't be right, could he? The boy seemed to be doing fine in his classes so far, from what he had heard from the other professors. No one had any complaints about his work. Well, Minerva had that one day where she said Potter turned in an essay late, and his handwriting was difficult to parse, but that was hardly indicative of a trend, was it? Oh, and Binns had complained about late work as well and inattentiveness in class, but then, the ancient ghost could barely recognize his students from one day to the next.
Then, of course, Blaise Zabini, one of his Firsties, had come complaining that Potter never showed up for their study groups . . . well, of course he didn't! He was serving detention! He'd set the Zabini whelp down hard, and let him know that his insights on Potter's situation were not appreciated.
Realizing he was pacing in his small office, Severus stopped, closed up the room, and returned to his quarters, where he could think better, especially with a full two fingers of Ogden's Finest in hand. More important, by far, than the Potter Brat's study time or lack thereof, was the information he had received about Quirrell. If Quirrell was, indeed, the conduit for the Dark Lord's return, then Severus would have to step very carefully around the man, while at the same time, not letting him have another go at Potter. He would also need to make sure no one suspected him of treating Potter at all differently than he would if he was still one of the Dark Lord's servants. That would be harder, for the Baron was right; Potter was a Slytherin, and he could not in good conscience pretend otherwise. No one would understand, least of all the boy.
It was a tricky dance, and one he had hoped not to resume for a long time.
He considered the issue for some time, weighing possible actions on his own part, as well as what he would tell the Headmaster – about Quirrell, specifically – before retiring for the night.
The next few days passed rather quickly. Severus had numerous potions to make, for both the infirmary and his own private stores. His classes needed extra preparation so early in the term, too, and then there was Potter. True to his word, the Bloody Baron seemed to have taken it upon himself to act as the boy's personal guardian, following him to classes and hovering near him in the Great Hall at meals -- the ones the boy attended anyway, which looked to be about one in three; breakfasts, primarily, where he continued to down his nutrition potion as commanded, and little else, much to Severus' annoyance. In addition to making himself more present than usual, the Baron gave Severus more than his fair share of baleful looks, thank you very much, even during the boy's Potions class.
Bloody ghost.
During Potions, Severus made sure to call on the boy to answer questions from the actual assigned reading – unlike the previous time, when he'd been set on proving to the boy that he could not trust his peers to not change sides with whatever way the wind blew – and the boy answered appropriately, if not completely. Though Severus sent a smirking smile at the Baron, who was lurking in the corner, he did notice that the boy appeared . . . tired, and a bit disinterested in the topic. His mouth was drawn tight, his face more pale than Severus had seen it since his first mandatory trip to the infirmary, and Potter kept his head down for the most part, not even looking Severus in the eye when he answered questions. It was . . . unlike him. Severus had gotten used to a certain amount of cheek or, at the very least, determination, from the boy. This apparent apathy was . . . troubling.
More troubling, however, was the Baron's eye-roll in response to Severus' smirk, not to mention the challenging looks being thrown his way every time he accosted the boy, by young Mr. Nott, the Bullstrode girl, and, surprisingly enough, Draco Malfoy. Even one or two of the Gryffindors kept peering at Potter in concern. It was enough to drive Severus mad.
However, over the course of the following few days, Potter's detentions went as smoothly as could be expected, with the boy doing the work he was assigned, and answering direct questions, but otherwise remaining silent. For his part, Severus left him to his work, only making a comment if the boy needed correction, which was gratifyingly infrequent. Deftly and quietly, Potter removed stingers from a large box of billywigs, shredded several pouches of boomslang skin, then squeezed a barrel of bundimuns and one of glumbumbles for their secretions.
During each detention, Severus worked on correcting essays and marking potions, or adjusted his lesson plans, or considered further the issue of Professor Quirrell. During his talk with Dumbledore, the Headmaster had made it clear that Severus was responsible for getting to the bottom of whatever was going on with the Defense Professor, despite protestations that he was not the man's superior in any legal way – though he naturally was in most other ways.
Dratted old coot.
Thus, Severus found himself accosting the Stuttering Wonder just after breakfast on Monday morning.
After finding the offensive-smelling professor in the third floor corridor – where he should not have been, under any circumstances other than the Stone being at risk, as it was not his turn to patrol the area – Severus pushed the man against the wall. With his arm across Quirrell's throat, Severus snarled, "What, exactly, do you think you are doing?"