The next day after the start of term feast seemed to pass quickly for Snape. He had already had his first few classes, most of them with the upperclassmen, and he hadn't seen Harry at all except during meals. They never spoke, of course, but as Harry entered the Great Hall with his friends that day, he seemed to almost unconsciously scan the teachers' table where Snape usually sat. When he made eye contact, however, he would drop his head or turn his attention elsewhere. Snape would have found it amusing if he were the sort of person to find humor in things.
Though he could not deny that he found himself paying closer attention to the boy this year than he had before. He actually noticed the ways in which Harry interacted with the other students and his friends. The way that he always sat on the left side of Gryffindor Table and was usually content to let the others talk amongst themselves, while he stayed mostly quiet. An odd thing considering that he never seemed to be quiet over the summer. He assumed that it was just the first day of classes that had taken its toll on him.
It was these thoughts and more that had been floating around in Snape's head the last few hours as he prepared his lesson plans for his third-year classes the coming morning. This would be the class that Harry had with him and he could only hope that their act was good enough to fool everyone into thinking that everything was exactly as it had always been.
A soft knock on his parlor door drew Snape's attention, but he only glanced up at it before the door swung open to reveal Albus standing there with a smile on his face.
"Severus," he said as he came inside and allowed the door to close behind him, "I'm glad I caught you before you went to bed."
"It's still early," Snape said with a frown. "I rarely retire before midnight, you know that."
"Ah, well, you never did appreciate the importance of a good night's rest."
Snape rolled his eyes as Albus claimed the chair opposite him and summoned tea with a wave of his wand.
"Surely you didn't come all the way down to the dungeons just to criticize my sleeping habits, Dad."
Albus smiled again. "Of course not, my boy. I actually came for two reasons. The first is that I believe I've found a way for Harry to come back and forth without being seen by anyone."
"Do go on," Snape said when Albus didn't immediately elaborate.
The older man pulled a small, golden key from an inside pocket of his robes and passed it to Snape who turned it over in his hand, examining it. "A magical door can be put in place that would appear should he want or need to come here. Much like a portkey, he would only need to hold the key in his hand while thinking of here and the door would be there. After that, Harry would simply open the door and walk through. It connects straight here, just inside the parlor."
Snape could have kicked himself. "I don't know why I didn't think of this in the first place," he said as he placed the key on the coffee table. "But what if he loses it or someone else gets ahold of it?"
Albus shook his head. "Nothing at all. For anyone else, it's nothing more than an old key that doesn't fit anything."
Snape nodded. "Thank you. This is perfect."
Albus waved away his gratitude as he sat back in the chair. "My pleasure. As for your other problem, however, that's a bit more complicated."
Snape sighed as he nodded. "Of course, the Ministry would never let a former Death Eater become a permanent guardian to Harry Potter. The only reason they gave me temporary was because it was considered an emergency and you were searching for someone else."
"You were never a Death Eater," Albus said so sharply that Snape, for once, didn't argue the fact.
Snape had long since come to terms with the role that he had played in the first war. Being a spy was something that his parents had been strongly against from the beginning but he had felt like it was his best way to help the side of good. He had ended up making the decision and then following through with it in secret. Not telling them until after the fact.
Though even knowing that spies are necessary, Snape hated that he had ever been a part of something so horrific. The things he had done, the people he had had to make nice with, and especially the effort that went into keeping up the ruse for so long, all played a part in shaping him into the man he was now.
Bitter, angry, untrusting, and resentful. Voldemort had taken so much from him, but Snape would be the first to admit that it had all been his own doing. That he had brought it upon himself. If he had just listened and found another way to help. If he had been a little more trusting of the people who knew better than he did. If he had been a little older or a little more this or a little more that, then maybe his life could have been entirely different. But Snape had learned a long time ago that it did him no good to dwell on the past and what he could or should have done differently. Because it didn't change anything.
He sighed. "So then what's the problem?"
"The Ministry just wants to be sure that if they let you take more permanent custody of Harry, that he is adjusting well and that his emotional and physical wellbeing is taking top priority. They want to do a series of interviews with both you and Harry and they may also talk to his teachers or friends. Maybe even the Weasleys. No one that doesn't already know about the arrangement will be contacted though."
"Interviews?" Snape asked as he sat further back in his chair. "A polite way of saying that they'll interrogate everyone. I'm sure that we can assume that the slightest misstep could mean that they would take him away?"
"It is the Ministry," Albus said with a frown. "I imagine it will be quite a bit like how they talked to all of us when you were younger. The intentions are good, son. But you don't have to go along with it. We could simply keep you as a temporary guardian and make it seem like we're searching for someone else."
But even as he spoke, Snape was shaking his head.
"Eventually they would find out, we both know that they will, and then he would be as good as gone. We'll have to agree to it. I'll talk to Harry Friday evening when he comes here. When would they send someone for the interviews?"
"I do not know." Albus answered honestly, "They would be surprise home visits. I believe that they would likely meet you here and then request that Harry be brought somewhere that they could talk privately."
Severus nodded. "He won't like it, but there isn't any way around it."
"I'm afraid you're right. Severus, they will also be looking at Harry's behavior in your care."
Snape's eyebrows creased. "His behavior?"
"Yes," Albus said, nodding before taking a sip of his tea. "They'll want to make sure that he's staying out of trouble but also, how you handle it when he doesn't. Remember, we went through this same process with you. It is standard especially when the child in question has been abused before." The older man paused, "They'll likely ask him about the abuse at some point."
Snape sighed. "He won't like that. He won't even talk to me about it, though I haven't given up and I plan to talk to him again about it on Friday. But the point is, if they start battering that child with questions about the Dursleys, he's going to shut down completely."
"I know, Severus. And I promise that I'm talking to whomever I have to in order to try and make this go as smoothly as possible, but you may want to warn Harry ahead of time that this topic will most likely come up. At least then he can be somewhat prepared."
Snape remembered all too well how those interviews had gone when he had been a teenager. In all honesty, Snape had thought for sure that they were going to take him away after he had lost his temper with one of the caseworkers and stormed off, shoving the man hard in the shoulder as he passed him. He really hoped that it went better for Harry.
***
After Dumbledore left, Snape, still thinking about the coming interviews, decided to take a walk up through the castle to get some fresh air. However, just as he was walking out onto the grounds, he spotted the unmistakable shape of Hagrid walking towards the castle with three students. One of which, Snape noticed, Hagrid had by the arm as they led the way. Snape's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms over his chest when they got close enough that he could recognize them. The student that Hagrid had by the arm was none other than Harry, and he along with both Ron and Hermione, looked guiltily at their feet when they saw him standing on the front steps.
"The second time in as many days that you've been found outside of where you're supposed to be, Mr. Potter. Care to explain?" Snape asked drily.
"We just wanted to check on Hagrid." Harry quickly said as Hagrid let him go, unintentionally causing him to stumble forward towards Snape, who reached his hand out and steadied him even as he glared down at them all.
"Thank you for bringing them back, Hagrid," Snape told the half-giant, "but I can take it from here."
Hagrid nodded. "They meant well, Professor. Don't be too hard on them." Then he looked down at Harry, Ron, and Hermione and said, "But I meant what I said, you lot. Don' let me catch yeh walkin' down ter see me after dark again."
The three of them nodded and said good night before slowly turning back to Snape, whose scowl was now firmly back in place. Ron audibly gulped from beside Harry.
"Ten points from Gryffindor for each of you-"
"But we were just worried about Hagrid!" Harry exclaimed. "It's not even after curfew."
Snape's steely eyes turned to Harry who glared right back. "I believe I promised you detention if you were caught out again, young man, and I don't intend to start going back on my word now. Did you perhaps think that you would save us the trouble of acting in class tomorrow?" He said the words quietly so that only the three of them heard, even though there was no one else around and Harry felt his face heat up in embarrassment. He ducked his head and hoped that his friends hadn't noticed.
"It was for Hagrid," Harry said again, though this time it was quiet and with much less enthusiasm.
"I do not care. Hagrid is an adult and can take care of himself. How do you think he would have felt if something had happened to one of you while you were out visiting him after dark?"
"We hadn't thought of that, Professor," Hermione said meekly and Ron nodded.
"Obviously." Snape answered.
He sighed then, something he found he was doing more and more often as of late, then addressed Ron and Hermione. "I'll give you both the same warning that I gave him last night. No more sneaking out. I don't care if it's before curfew or not, I want you inside before dark. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir." They both answered without protest.
"As for you," Snape said to Harry, "you can make your way to my office on Friday night for detention. A real one. I'm sure I'll have quite a few cauldrons that will need to be cleaned out by then." As Harry opened his mouth to protest, Snape shook his head. "Don't even think of arguing with me. Now, upstairs and to your dorms, all three of you. You have my class tomorrow morning and I expect you all to come rested and prepared."
Harry turned away without another word and began to climb the steps into the castle. He didn't even look back to see if Ron and Hermione were following him, though he was sure that they were. No one would ignore Snape when he was already this cross.
Snape watched him walk away and for a brief moment, he considered calling him back but dismissed the thought almost immediately. Harry needed consistency. He needed to know that Snape kept his word. That he wasn't like the other adults in his life that just let him do whatever he wanted because of who he was or because they just didn't want to deal with it. He had promised the boy detention if he was caught out again and that's just what he got. If Harry was angry with him now, it wouldn't be the first time and it certainly wasn't going to be the last.
Suddenly, the walk that Snape had been looking forward to didn't seem as appealing. Instead, he thought he'd rather just go back to his quarters for a nightcap before bed. Tomorrow already seemed like it was going to be a long day.
***
"Harry," Ron said the next morning as he pulled the curtains back from Harry's bed, "if you don't get up soon we'll be late. You've already missed breakfast and Snape will go mental if you miss class."
"I'm not going," Harry replied from beneath the covers. "I'm not feeling well."
"You feel fine," Ron countered. "You're just hiding."
Harry pulled the blankets away from his face and glared at Ron. "No, I'm not."
Their conversation drew the attention of the other boys and they all came to see what was going on and why Harry was still in his pajamas instead of his school robes.
"What's wrong with him?" Seamus asked as he leaned against the bedpost near Harry's feet.
"We got caught sneaking back into the castle last night by Snape and now Harry's avoiding him."
"I'm not avoiding him," Harry argued, "But you saw how upset he was. I'm just giving him a chance to calm down."
"What did he do to you?" Asked Neville, his eyes wide with fear as he also took a seat on Harry's bed.
"He only gave him detention." Ron answered with a roll of his eyes, "And he wasn't even that upset. We've seen him way worse than that. He's fine now."
"How do you know?" Harry asked.
"Because my mum yells at me all the time but she always gets over it after a while."
Beside him, Dean nodded. "Yeah, mate. Parents are just like that."
"Snape's not-"
But before Harry could finish his sentence, the dorm room door opened and Hermione stepped inside. "What's taking so long? We're going to be late!"
Harry groaned and dropped back down onto the bed, pulling the blankets up again.
"Harry's hiding from Snape. Thinks he's still mad at us."
Hermione pursed her lips and crossed over to join the others at Harry's bed. "Harry, this is nonsense. Get up this instant."
"I'm sick." Harry's voice was muffled from under the blanket.
Hermione sighed. "Then I suppose I should let Professor Snape know. He can come up and check on you. Or at least send Madam Pomfrey."
Harry pushed the covers back so that he could glare at Hermione, who simply glared back.
"Hermione-"
"Harry, you're being ridiculous. Didn't you say that you had snuck out on our first night back?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah, I used the fireplace in the common room to floo home for my book."
"And what did Professor Snape do when he found out?" She asked, crossing her arms and looking impatiently at him.
Harry didn't know where she was going with this and he was starting to feel claustrophobic with everyone standing so close around him. He shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know. He was angry I suppose. He told me off for leaving the castle," Harry's cheeks flushed once more at the memory. "He said that if he caught me out again, I'd get detention. Then he gave me my book and brought me back to the tower."
Hermione was smiling. Beaming actually.
"You don't have to look so happy about it!" Harry exclaimed.
"But, Harry, don't you see? If Snape had caught you out of the castle last year, he would have taken you straight to Professor Dumbledore and tried to get you expelled. Or at the very least he would have given you enough detentions to last until Christmas. But he didn't! He talked to you about it and then said what would happen if you did it again. And last night, the only thing that happened was that we lost a few house points and he gave you the detention that he promised you!"
When Harry still didn't seem to understand the significance, Hermione threw her hands up in frustration. "Harry, Professor Snape is acting towards you the way that a parent would. Not the way you might be used to," Harry noticed that she was very careful with her words here and he was grateful, "but the way that you should have been treated all this time. I think that's really wonderful!"
"Sure," Harry said sarcastically, "don't mind me while I leap for joy."
Hermione rolled her eyes and the boys started to move away as Ron said, "Well, Snape's not going to be happy with any of us if we're late. So let's go."
"Alright, alright, I'm coming," Harry replied sullenly. "But I hope you know that he's not going to act any differently in class. He can't. He has to keep up the act."
"How do you know it's an act?" Neville asked.
"We have a signal," Harry answered as he gathered up his clothes. He waited for Hermione to leave before getting dressed then he showed the others the signal that he and Snape had come up with.
"See," Ron said confidently, "it's all going to be fine. We all know that it's an act now. Maybe we can even get in on it sometimes, you know. Really rile him up."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Neville said quickly.
Dean and Seamus laughed but Harry just shook his head at his best friend.
"I just hope his act isn't so convincing that I forget."