Kapitel 72: Shades of Grey
Harry knew he was no light wizard. He was more of a shade of dark grey. The tournament and Albus Dumbledore had seen to that. 'How ironic, Dumbledore wants a passive martyr but he's going to get a lion amongst the sheep,' he chuckled quietly to himself as he thought, 'well, some sort of big snake actually.'
Looking down at the beautiful young woman sleeping on his chest, Harry reached up and stroked a few loose strands away so he could see her face clearly. He knew that she had trouble sleeping in the tower since the second task but she didn't want to admit it. It was times like these that Harry wished that he could take all of her burdens away. She deserved to be free of their oppressiveness. Unfortunately, only time, or leaving Hogwarts, would solve the problem.
Morning dawned and they awoke to the smells of breakfast on a table set for two. When they were almost done with their food, Winky popped in to check up on them and to deliver fresh clothes.
"Here are some fresh clothes and a new vest and cloak for each of you." Winky said proudly.
Confused, Harry said, "Thank you, Winky. Why do we need to wear a vest?"
Winky's voice held a hint of laughter as she said, "It is a dragon hide vest to help protect you. Just wear it under your robes. The pants, boots, and gloves are not finished yet. When they are ready, I will deliver them to you."
While holding up the vest, Harry said curiously, "Winky, did you make this? It's really impressive."
The tiny elf blushed at the praise before replying, "I did. Please wear them every day for your safety. Before I go, here is the dragon's tooth and tail spike that you requested. Have a good day and please call if you need anything." Winky bowed low before popping away, leaving behind a pair of semi shocked teens.
"Wow, she really sounds different doesn't she?" Hermione said in awe. "It's like they are completely different people."
Harry was still staring at the tooth and spike when he replied distractedly, "Yes, she does sound different." He was turning the tooth over in his hands, looking for any cracks. Finding none, he slipped the tooth into his robe pocket and began examining the spike for imperfections.
Hermione was curious about the tooth and tail spike that Harry requested, "What are you going to do with those, Harry?"
"Hmm." he replied distractedly. Realizing that she was asking about the tooth and spike, he answered, "Oh, I'm going to make them into knives of some sort. As I have discovered, wounds from a magical creature are very difficult to heal and they take a very skilled healer to fix them properly."
She didn't really know how to reply to that so she chose to stay quiet. Hermione had noticed that Harry went everywhere with his potions knife strapped into his robes in addition to his wand. Quietly, she asked him, "Do you think that I should start carrying my knife around too?"
Part of him wanted to say no, she didn't need that extra burden. In reality, he knew that the better defended she was, the likelier that she was to come out of a situation alive. He gazed directly into her eyes as he spoke in a voice full of resignation, "Yes, I do. You have already been targeted twice this year."
She reached a hand up to her neck, her fingers tracing the contours of her throat in a reassuring gesture. She understood what he meant so she replied earnestly, "I will carry my knife on my person at all times from now on."
They sat in companionable silence for a while longer, both of them enjoying the quiet before they returned to the hustle and bustle of Hogwarts.
Severus Snape was in pain and he didn't know how he ended up in the Hospital Wing. The last thing he could remember was walking down towards his office when something smashed into the back of his skull. There was another tiny detail flitting at the edges of his awareness but he knew it would come with time.
With a groan, he tried to sit up but found that the world spun with the effort. Slumping back down into the soft hospital bed, he called out, "Poppy?"
A few seconds later, the matron came bustling up to his bedside with her wand in her hand. Relieved to see him awake, she said concernedly, "You gave us quite the scare, Severus. Do you remember anything about the attack?"
That seemed to jog his memory. He experienced a brief flashback as a memory returned, triggered by Poppy's question. He remembered a boot sailing straight for his face that appeared to be wreathed in a black cloak with green trim. Hesitantly, he said, "I do."
After a few moments of silence, Madam Pomfrey couldn't take it any longer and asked, "Well?"
Severus gazed back at her, his face an expressionless mask, but he refused to speak any further on the subject.
"Fine, be that way." she huffed in annoyance, "I'll fetch Professor Dumbledore. He wanted to be informed when you awoke." She stepped over to her office and sent the portrait off to tell Albus that his tight-lipped Potion's Master was awake.
Ten minutes later, Dumbledore strode into the Hospital Wing and headed straight towards Snape's bed. Without any preamble, he asked, "What do you remember?"
Snape took a moment to reflect on the situation. He was sure that the attack was a message to him about his treatment of Harry Potter. His voice had resumed its low, silky, tone when he replied, "I was attacked as a warning. I could have just as easily been killed; instead, I was put into the hospital." Seeing the look on Dumbledore's face, he quickly added, "It was not a student, headmaster."
Albus was relieved that it wasn't a student that had attacked Severus. However, he was worried that an adult had gotten into the castle with the intent purpose to cause serious injury to a member of the staff. In his grandfatherly voice, he said, "Is there anything else you would like to tell me about the incident?"
Severus almost snorted in laughter at Dumbledore's obvious attempt to wheedle more information from him. His voice flat, he said, "No, sir."
With a sigh, Dumbledore said, "If you think of anything else, please let me know." before turning and walking out of the room.
Angrily, Severus thought, 'Oh, I know that Black attacked me. I'll have my revenge against him and Potter. The boy obviously tattled about the treatment he received at my hand.'
Over the next couple of weeks, the rumors finally began to die down about Harry Potter attacking Professor Snape. Unfortunately, those two weeks were two of the longest that Harry had ever experienced while at Hogwarts. He was constantly on edge when around the Slytherin students and in Snape's class.
Professor Snape had found some way to give Harry zero marks each day in class. Blatant sabotage of potions and vanishing the contents of his cauldron were the two most common methods of payback. His plan was to fail the boy for the year and force him to re-take the class with the fourth years while he was a fifth year next term.
Harry was at a loss about what to do in regard to his potions grade. He knew what Snape was doing but he didn't know how to get around it. Harry had even owled Remus and Sirius to let them know what was going on.
Surprisingly, Remus was furious. He took teaching children as a sacred thing with no place for petty grudges and revenge for other people's sins. Sirius thought that dropping potions all together was a better idea.
Hermione had been wracking her brain in an attempt to figure out what they could do to stop this nonsense. In the end, she went to Professor McGonagall and explained the situation in the hopes that she would intervene on Harry's behalf.
The resulting row between the professors in the staff room one afternoon was clearly heard in the hall by passing students. By dinnertime that night, the whole school knew that Harry Potter was flunking potions and the teasing began by the Slytherins. There were even rumors that Harry had tried to get preferential treatment because of his status and that Snape had turned him down on principle.
The only things keeping Harry from lashing out at everyone was the extra training and snogging sessions each night in the Room of Requirement. He was able to take out his anger on the training dummies that looked just like the person that had irritated him the most that particular day. Hermione also rewarded him with kisses for keeping his temper in check. The good news was that Harry's Occlumency skills were progressing rapidly.
Remus was frustrated. Snivellous was doing his best to avoid being caught unaware again. Nor was he ever alone in the halls. There was always someone with him, student, or teacher, when he was active in the castle.
As the days to the start of the third task grew shorter, Hermione had been trying to work out what Harry's plan was going to be to no avail. He would smile and dodge the question.
They did get the map of the maze completed with help from Remus, Winky, and Dobby. The map now boasted the exact locations of every trap, creature, and the location of the Cup.
By the time the third task rolled around, Harry was looking forward to it because it would distract everyone from what was going on in his personal life.
.....
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