Chapter 10
‘Hagrid, I don’t get this, why are you watching me?’
‘Since I found out you want to be a master I wanted to see how good you are. I overheard the headmaster telling Minerva that you’ve been practicing. I won’t disturb you Harry, I’ll just watch.’
Harry’s brow furrowed then shrugged, ‘Alright, but it still seems strange that you want to spend time down in the dungeons,’ Harry went back to stirring his potion, this one was a basic headache potion, he figured this might be one he would need during his last year at Hogwarts but also when he starts studying to become a potions master.
Up in the headmaster’s office, Severus and Minerva finished performing their charms over the two people that said they were James and Lily Potter, they did not perform their charms on the girl who turned out to be Jamie Potter, daughter of James and Lily, younger sister of Harry. James explained why they left, why they made everyone believe they were dead, Lily was pregnant so they wanted to save their daughter and they knew Albus would keep Harry safe, they also thought Sirius and Remus would be there for Harry. They never expected the war with Voldemort to on for so long, they believed that Voldemort would have been finished within the first year or so after they left and they never believed Sirius would end up being sent to Azkaban.
‘What you did was basically abandoned your son to Voldemort to save your daughter.’
‘We didn’t abandon him Snape, we’ve been keeping an eye on him, disguised so no one would realise who we were. Now can we see our son please?’
‘I’m absolutely positive that he will not take this very well. But before he gets told you are here I need to say something. Think back James, to your family, do you remember an aunt that went by the name Mini, she was your grandmother’s sister?’
‘I remember my grandmother talking about someone called Mini, someone she didn’t like, but what’s that got to do with any of this?’
‘I am Mini, as a teacher I could not let it be known that I had a relative as a student, Albus believed it would have caused problems. Then when Voldemort believed the prophecy meant Harry, it would have placed both of us in danger, he would have taken me to make Harry surrender to him. I could keep an eye on him without him or anyone else realising. But Harry and I have become very close and I do not want him hurt anymore, he has suffered enough.’
‘Suffered, how, he was with my sister, Albus was protecting him?’ Lily asked looking confused.
‘Your sister and her husband never wanted Harry, he was treated badly by those muggles, then there is everything that Voldemort put him through over the years,’ Severus said still glaring, ‘Minerva, you stay with them, I will go see Harry.’
‘Alright Severus, but I would suggest explaining before he is brought up here.’
‘Yes, the shock of seeing them before he knows the truth might just push him too far. Is he working on his potions?’
‘Yes, he said he was doing a basic headache potion, he figured he would need it over the coming year.’
‘Yes, he probably will. I won’t be long,’ Severus glared at James Potter before leaving his office.
‘I can’t believe Snape is headmaster, I figured you’d get the job after Albus died Minerva,’ James said.
‘After what Severus did to protect Harry and the students, he deserved the job. I am happy to stay teaching, it is my passion. Severus only taught as Albus believed it was the best to keep his real agenda hidden. I can’t believe you did this James, or you Lily. I understand you wished to keep your daughter safe, but it did not have to mean both of you leaving that boy alone, surely you could have stayed with Harry James?’
‘I couldn’t leave Lily to fend for herself while she was pregnant, she almost died giving birth to Harry, it would have been too dangerous for her to be alone.’
‘We could have planned James, none of this should have happened. As Minerva stated, Harry will not take this news well, in fact I would go as far in saying he will take it very badly,’ Albus said staring down from his portrait.
Severus stepped into the potions room, gave Hagrid a nod of the head to silently tell him he could leave, which he did, Harry never noticed as he kept counting his stirs. Severus waited until Harry finished counting before walking over to him.
‘Very good Harry and the amount you made could last close to a full year.’
Even though Harry was nervous, wondering if Snape was going to do anything again, but he was also hoping. He smiled as he lifted his head.
‘Well, I figured if I made it perfect than I’ll have it for those times I will need it, or my friends might need it as well. I would have checked with professor Slughorn before letting any of my friends drink it though.’
‘Now you do not have to as I just stated it was very good, perfect in fact.’
‘Thanks, could I ask you something sir, since professor Slughorn isn’t here?’
‘Of course.’
‘All potions that we need to drink don’t taste very nice, can’t we add flavours to make them taste better?’
‘As you will learn during your first year of training under a master, some potions do not react well or work as they should if they have had flavoured ingredients added. For example, your headache potion, if you added a vanilla pod that would counteract what the potion is meant to do, you will still end up with a headache and your potion would end up useless. It’s the same with hangover potions, I remember a student tried to make it taste better by adding a chocolate bean, he blew up his potion and the potions room, coating all the students in his potion, which took a week before the smell finally washed out.’
‘Oh, okay, so I could either experiment with flavours, but do it alone and somewhere that wouldn’t destroy this room, unless there is a book on which ones shouldn’t be added.’
‘As there are thousands of potions, not to mention the amount of ingredients that could be used, not all have been tried or publicised, but yes, there is a book on the ones we know that do not work. Another example, the vanilla pod might not work with a headache potion but it has never been tried with skele-grow or hundreds of other potions. Once you have done your three years and you start working under a master that is when you will first experiment, if you wish. Some do not want to try adding extra ingredients until they have finished their full training.’
‘So it’s best to wait then, I suppose once I learn more about each ingredient and what they can and can’t be used for that will give me more to go on. Thanks professor, that all helped.’
‘You are welcome, now I came down here as I need to talk to you in regards to something that has just come to light, something that is both shocking and upsetting, and will be for you especially.’
‘Oh, have I done something wrong professor?’
‘No, as far as I know you haven’t. Why don’t we sit so I can explain what this is about?’ Severus gestured towards two seats where they both sat, now Severus had to explain to Harry Potter that his parents left him as a child, but he also had to tell him the facts and try not to show his hatred in regards to James Potter.