The Potion Master's Apprentice

Chapter 7

The night was full of loud laughter and tales of escapades that the students had gotten into. Harry politely accepted drink after drink and managed to get most of the alcohol safely vanished into the ether before anyone noticed he wasn't drinking. Snape, on the other hand, was having the time of his life retelling the story of how he had found a Slytherin with a Hufflepuff in a broom closet. The description was vague enough to not be completely inappropriate but with enough detail that you could practically see the scene unfold right in front of your eyes. It wasn't until well after midnight that Harry had decided he wanted to play on the piano in the dungeons. He bid the teachers around him a good night and was just about to tell Snape he was going to bed when he was interrupted by the man himself.

"Filius, you'd never believe it. Harry here can play the bloody piano, and he does it quite well too. The best I've heard, anyway." Harry felt a deep blush painting his cheeks and tried to make himself look invisible.

"I say, can you really? I'd love to hear you play sometime, Mr. Potter."

"Thank you professor. Maybe one day I'll play for the teachers, but right now I'm off to bed." He turned back to Snape, making sure to sway slightly to give the impression of drunkenness so he could leave. At this rate, the sooner the better.

"Enjoy your time." Snape winked at him, something McGonagall was quick to pick up on, but the gaze behind the playful banter was anything but light. Harry rushed down to the dungeons to his beloved piano.

Playing was a bit more difficult with the two drinks he had been practically forced to drink under the watchful eyes of Madame Pomfrey so he stuck to slower songs. The sweet melodies were undercut with an intense string of notes from the darker end of the instrument, reminding him of the looks he had caught Snape giving him throughout the night.

The man had surprised him. It wasn't something Harry could ever see him doing, getting drunk. And, truth be told, Harry wasn't so sure the man had actually gotten that drunk to begin with. He had watched as the former spy had taken shot after shot to keep up with McGonagall, and yet the man was capable of such an intense gaze that Harry felt like he was melting into the bench just at the memory.

At some point, Harry closed his eyes and just felt his way along the keys. It was a trick he used often when he started to overthink things. It forced him to focus on what his hands were doing and the added concentration on the music helped quiet his thoughts. He was halfway through Un Sospiro when the bench cushion dipped to allow the weight of someone sitting next to him. His eyes shot open and the song came to an abrupt stop in his shock.

"I didn't mean to frighten you." Snape gave him a soft smile and gestured back to the keys. "I was really starting to enjoy that if you don't mind." Relaxing, Harry started the song once more.

"Taken a sobriety potion already, sir?"

"No, alcohol doesn't affect me the way it does with most." Harry raised an eyebrow at him. "The long answer you might discover given enough time. The short answer? Being a spy often meant being around pigheaded drunks that couldn't admit that drinking two bottles of wine over dinner every night was a problem." Harry felt that there was more to the story, but decided to let it go.

"And the reason you're down here with me now instead of showing up McGonagall's ability to hold her alcohol?"

"Minnie would be devastated if I outdrank her in front of others. Besides, you play so beautifully that I couldn't resist. It amazes me that you're able to play so well with so little practice in your life. Then again, you did pick up the concept of potions rather quickly once you started to apply yourself. I must admit, you constantly surprise me Potter."