Harry Potter gets smart and takes control - The Goblet

Chapter 85: Harry and Snape pt 1; Biting the Bullet

I had a lot to pack into this one, so its split into three parts, so I could do it justice. I worked really hard on this, its taken the better part of several months of picking away at it. There were like a million tiny pieces that had to be put together and interwoven, it was nuts. And making Snape human to Harry without un-snape-ing him... thats hard work right there folks. Hope you like it. if your not happy with it, sod off 😊

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Severus looked up from his marking and frowned when the wards alerted him that it was Potter knocking on his door. He sighed, at least the boy had excellent timing. He'd almost finished his marking. They did need to talk, this saved Severus from having to hunt the kid down or summon him. And maybe being here on his own terms would help the boy be a bit less anxious for Hekate's sake.

"Enter," Severus called, flicking his wand at the door. It swung open. No-one was there, but the wards across the doorway alerted him to someone crossing the threshold.

Good, he thought, the boy had heeded his warning.

He flicked his wand at the door again, shutting it.

"I'll be with you in just a moment, Mr Potter," Severus said calmly, indicating the chair opposite his desk, "have a seat, we have much to discuss."

Potter slowly pulled off his cloak, tucking it away in his pocket. The boy looked pale and clammy, Severus thought as he turned back to quickly finish marking his last essay.

Harry sat, and after a moment, Professor Snape put his quill down and looked up.

"We have several things to discuss, but before we get to any of that, William assures me that your Occlumency is progressing well. Is that correct?" He asked.

"Yes, sir," Harry said wearily, strengthening his shields in paranoia.

He really didn't want Professor Snape in his head, even if that was what he had come for.

Professor Snape allowed the slip and just said, "there are a few other things we need to discuss. Many of which require Occlumency first, for numerous reasons that we cannot discuss until your shields are satisfactory."

As Severus spoke, he gently extended his mind to passively test the boy's outer shields. He could feel a thick defensive outer fog, then only harmless school-related thoughts milling around Potter's outer mind. Nothing important and none of the anxiety Severus knew the boy was feeling. Interesting. So the boy had some skill. Good. Did he have shields around his inner mind too? And were they better than just fog?

But before he could press, the boy sensed him and shoved. Hard. Sending Severus tumbling out of the boy's outer mind with far more force than he'd expected.

Harry glared harshly at Professor Snape, looking both terrified and furiously pissed off. Then he blanched looking horrified at his own audacity as if he expected to be yelled at for having emotions. Severus almost laughed.

Instead he allowed himself to show the boy a small weakness and rubbed his throbbing temples. He did not, however, let himself show his surprise.

He was surprised that he been sensed at all. Especially when using such a delicate scan like that, and to be properly ejected... Passive scans often went unnoticed, Severus was both careful and very good at what he did.

But that was a good sign. It suggested some practice and skill. Potter was able to tell he was there and was prepared for this unexpected check; as well as hide things from his outer mind. That all meant he was occluding, at least to an extent, all the time now. Or often. Severus was impressed.