Severus Snape was fuming inside as he accepted the offered potion bottle from Harry Potter. He could already tell by the color that it was nearly perfect and he hated it. "You can return to your seat Mr. Potter," He snarled.
"Yes sir," Harry replied and smiled at his Potion's professor.
It was no secret that Severus Snape hated Harry Potter. Hated the son of the man who had stolen the women he loved from him. Stolen the only happiness he'd ever known. That he looked like James Potter was even worse. In the past years it had been relatively easy to ridicule and berate the boy in class because of his poor potion making abilities. Severus loved to use the power he had to make the son of his most hated rival suffer.
"I might have agreed to protect Lily's son," He thought, "but it's doesn't mean I can't make James Potter's son life a living hell," Seeing the anger burn in young Mr. Potter's eyes without him being able to retaliate was candy to Severus' soul.
Recently that had all changed. Potter's potions had become on par with Miss Granger's. "The bloody Miss know-it-all," Snape thought. Even when he put them on opposite sides of the room so there was no way for her to be helping Potter, his potions were still coming out close to perfect each time. "I can't even get him angry anymore," He thought to himself. "Every time I see a glint of anger in his eyes, he seems to master himself and that stupid smile returns."
The one consolation the Potions Master had was that Potter wasn't showing romantic interest in Granger. If the ghost of James Potter ever started dating the smartest witch in the school who happened to be a muggleborn, it would be the past all over again.
"Damn him," Snape thought again as he watched the class file out the door. Potter did what he'd done every class for the last couple of weeks. He turned and smiled that damn smile at him.
"I want to know what's behind that damn smile," Snape thought. "It's too much like the smile his father had when he started dating Lily. Is that it, because he's dating that Veela?"
That was the other problem. "How did Potter develop Occlumency? His mind used to be an open book. I could easily find ways to make him angry. Worse it's like no Occlumency I've ever felt. It's like his mind isn't even there. Normally I should at least feel the walls a person erected, but his is more like nothingness."
Snape sat back in his chair trying to piece together the puzzle that was Harry Potter. "Maybe Dark Arts were used. I wouldn't put it past him to try something like that. That probably what that smile is about," Snape got up from his chair. "I need to speak to the Headmaster."
Twenty minutes later Snape was sitting in front of Dumbledore's desk.
"Yes, I am very familiar with Mr. Potter's ability to shield his mind Severus," The Headmaster said.
"And how did he do it so quickly?" Snape asked. "What dark arts did he use?"
"How it was done is none of your concern for the time being, but I will assure you that it was neither illegal nor dangerous for Mr. Potter."
"How am I supposed to protect the boy if I don't know such things?" Snape argued.
"You are but one part of Mr. Potter's protection," Dumbledore said with a more firm tone. "You do not need to know everything. The secret is Mr. Potter's to share if and when he desires to."
Snape was frustrated. If Potter had been dabbling in something he wasn't supposed to be, it would be something to hold against the brat, but the Headmaster was quite convinced the boy had done this in some fashion that was legal. He knew Potter's new girlfriend was part Veela. "Of course it's typical Potter behavior to convince some girl that he did something to make it look like he saved her life," Snape thought. "If she was in peril he probably caused it like his father's friend did with me. He then probably arrogantly convinced her to fall for him since she owed him," Severus almost snarled at the thought as he remembered his old nemesis and his friend Sirius hitting on any girl they could. Bringing his mind back to the younger Potter he thought of his girlfriend again. Her being part Veela made passive legilimency difficult if not impossible. Even if it was possible the fact she was the daughter of the Deputy Minister of Magic of France would prevent him from trying. "If it was found out, even Dumbledore couldn't protect me if a formal complaint occurred from the French Ministry," The Potion Master thought.
Albus knew Severus Snape was an extremely good occlumens which is the only way he had survived the previous war as Dumbledore's spy in the ranks of the Death Eaters, but he didn't need to be able to read Snape's mind to know what he was thinking. "Severus, leave young Mr. Potter alone. He has enough to deal with right now with the tournament.."
"Another arrogant attempt at fame," Snape sneered.
"For someone who spends an inordinate amount of time probing Mr. Potter's mind, you don't seem to be interested in determining facts concerning him," Dumbledore said in a hard tone. "I've told you several times that Mr. Potter did not enter himself in the tournament, of that I am very certain. Who did and what their ultimate aim was I am not sure but I am greatly concerned as is Alastor. Now as I was saying, young Mr. Potter has enough to be concerned with at the moment for you to add to his problems. Do I make myself clear Severus?"
"Yes Headmaster."
"On another topic, is the mark still darkening?"
Snape glared at the Headmaster for a few seconds before pulling back his sleeve displaying a red tattoo of a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. "Yes," He spat out then continued, "Karkaroff cornered me again the other day. As I told you at the Yule Ball he will run if it burns."
"The crimes of one's past always seem to catch up with us before the end, don't they Severus?" Dumbledore said quietly. "And those are the ones which hurt the most," He thought as he watched the glare intensify in Snape's eyes before his Potion Master turned and stalked out of his office.
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