Changing Ideals

Body



Disclaimer: Really, I don\'t own this. Forget about suing me, I\'m only borrowing.

Warnings: Will contain HP/SS slash. Overused and cliched plot line ahead. Brief mentions of child abuse and non-con of a minor that may become more than brief. That all depends on how demented and evil I am feeling when I write my chapters. To those of you who don\'t like slash, I suggest you hit the back button and leave.

Chapter 10: Punishment Served

Going about their own separate ways, the fifth years Slytherins decided to skip lunch. They all had preparation to do for their prank on the Weasley\'s responsible for their punishment. Although Harry had made up with two of the three, turn about was fair play. He couldn\'t wait for it to go down and to see what everyone thought. At the moment though, he was heading off to see Professors Sprout, Flitwick, acGoncGonagall and then Headmaster Dumbledore for permission to hold the study session tomorrow in the library. He also wanted to talk about possibly using Fluffy\'s old room on the right hand side of the third floor corridor for practical sessions. He was sure that they would need a few of them as well.

He found everyone he needed just leaving the Great Hall. \"Professors! Could I have a word with you? Well, not really all of you. I need to speak to the Head of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor. I also need to speak with the Headmaster,\" Harry called to the retreating teachers.

As the teachers made their way to Harry, he thought of how he wanted to word his request. He had sent them each a note that detailed his plan, but they never got back to him. Either they didn\'t receive the notes (which was doubtful because Hedwig was very reliable) or they did not approve or they were undecided. He motioned for them to follow him into the side chamber off the Great Hall that the champions had waited in last year. Once they were all in there with the door closed, Harry began.

\"I wrote a request to you to allow me, and any students who wanted to join, to run a study session in the library with practicals being held in a classroom in the third floor corridor. I have awaited an answer from you, but you four have not replied. They only confirmations and approvals I have received have been from my own Head of House, Proor Sor Snape, and the librarian, Madame Pince. Now, I know that you might think we are too immature to be able to do this ourselves, but hear me out before you decline. I have excellent tutelage in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Auror classes. I can handle just about anything that might come up and the majority of people, who will be attending, are people who already respect me and have asked me for my assistance. I ask you to give this request real thought before you either accept it or deny my request. Thank you.\" And with that, Harry walked to the other side of the room to give the teachers time to deliberate whether or not they would allow this.

\"Hmm, the boy does make a valid argument. He is a very bright student, even if he did choose to hide that from us for the first four years of his magical education,\" Professor Flitwick said.

\"I really don\'t have any qualms with it. Although, I\'m saddened to say that I don\'t believe any student from Hufflepuff will be joining him. I am severely disappointed in them. Believing the worst in someone they use to be loyal to. I\'ve never had students that were so wishy-washy before. One minute they love the boy and the next they hate him. I\'m going to have to have a serious talk with them,\" came Professor Sprout\'s saddened reply.

\"Well, I\'ve always known that Harry was a bright student. I guess that since he\'s already gotten the librarian and his new Head of House to say yes, who am I to stand in the way?\" Smiling, Professor McGonagall gave her consent for the group.

Hmm, everyone else has given their consent. I\'ll have to fake a look of deep concentration, as if I\'m actually thinking about his request. What I really want to know is will this benefit me? If I can turn this all in a way that I will be benefited, then I\'m all for it. Actually, I think I can! By allowing him to do this, he might start to put his trust back into me. I need him back! He is a much needed pawn in my strategically played chess game against Tom Riddle. Without him, it\'s all shot to hell. Coming out of his thoughts, Dumbledore gave his reply.

\"Why yes indeed, Harry, my boy. I think this is an excellent idea and I see no problems in allowing you to do this. I\'ll make sure to have Fluffy\'s old room ready in a week\'s time and any materials you may need will be at your disposal. I hope it all goes well for you.\"

Narrowing his eyes in suspicion after the teachers left, Harry couldn\'t help but wonder what Dumbledore had up his sleeve. The old coot couldn\'t possibly believe he would ever earn his full trust again? He might come to rely on him every once in a while, but never for anything major. He wasn\'t going to become some sort of play thing for him to thrust into battles or any other sort of scenario that he had planned. He had his own plans, and they were all working out quite well. He didn\'t need some old manipulative bastard mucking them all up with his own delusions of grandeur.

Harry then set off to the library to inform Madame Pince that he would indeed be needing the library tomorrow. He also wanted to look for any books that might come to be useful for these sessions. Sure, the required school book would do fine, but to actually understand it, they\'d need something better. If they already had problems, then sticking to the same book wasn\'t going to help them in any way, shape, or form.

\"Madame Pince, I wanted to thank you again for agreeing to allow me to use the library for study sessions. I have recently gotten permission from the remaining teachers, so I will definitely be in need of use of the library tomorrow. Don\'t worry, any practical sessions will be held else where, and I will personally make sure that any books used are returned to their proper places in the excellent shape we found them in.\" Smiling, Harry left the relieved women in search of texts for the session tomorrow. Locating everything he would need, Harry made sure to write down where the books were located. This would assist him in finding them on Sunday and returning them when the study session was over.

Looking at the clock, Harry noticed that it was already time for dinner. Hanging his head, Harry made his way to the meal, dreading what would occur afterwards. He didn\'t look forward to serving the detention tonight. Sitting at the dinner table, Harry opted to pull out sheets of parchment to write announcements for the bulletin boards in the House\'s common rooms.

To Those Interested: Study Session For those Challenged
Have you ever noticed that there are just certain things you
just can\'t seem to get the hang of? If so, then the study
session, that will be held in the library on Sunday, is just
what the mediwitch ordered.
Just meet Harry Potter in the library right after breakfast.
Anyone is welcome, but we ask that you come with the
intention of studying. This will not be a time to pick
fights or play pranks. Anyone caught doing this will
be removed and not allowed back to any more
sessions. Thank you and I hope to see you there.

Harry Potter

Satisfied with the notice, Harry cast a duplication charm on it to make three more copies. He then went to the teachers table and asked them to place these in their House\'s common room. He hoped that people would not let their prejudices get in the way of a chance to get better at something they needed help with.

\"Hey Draco. Everyone. I just wanted to let you know that the study session I talked about is on for this Sunday. I hope that you choose to attend.\" Turning to address just Draco, he said, \"So, Draco, excited about going into the forest again? I know I\'m not. With my luck I\'ll run into another lunatic out there that is trying to kill me.\" Rolling his eyes at Harry\'s antics, Draco turned back to his dinner. Hearing the rumbling in his stomach, Harry decided that he better hurry up and eat or he might not get the chance. Dinner was almost over and he didn\'t fancy going into the Forbidden Forest without having eaten. If they ran into trouble, he\'d need his energy to get out. Not eating would not give him energy, it sap him of his strength. He knew how taxing it was to try to do something strenuous on an empty stomach.

Scarfing food down at speeds thought to be impossible, Harry quickly finished eating his main course just in time for dessert. Dessert was his favorite part of the meal. He was use to seeing Dudley eating all these amazing desserts that he wasn\'t allowed to touch. He was left to fantasize about what they tasted like and how good they would feel going down. The sheer contentment one feels while eating something of that magnitude was never lost on Harry, and he enjoyed every second of it. Grabbing a pastry, Harry reverently bit into it, enjoying every bite. He felt the luscious chocolate covering hit his palate, the soft pastry gave way to the hidden treasure on the inside. He rolled the cream around in his mouth for a few seconds before swallowing. By the time he finished his first dessert, he felt like he was in heaven, floating from cloud to cloud without a care in the world. He continued on like this until the desserts disappeared, never noticing the envious looks his food was receiving from some and the astounded looks from those around him.

\"Fuck! Jesus Harry! If I weren\'t in a relationship, I might have to jump you after that little display,\" Blaise said to Harry in a breathy tone of voice.

Looking at him as though he had lost his mind, Harry noticed that others seemed to view things in a similar manner. Motioning Blaise closehim,him, Harry leaned forward and whispered in his hear. \"I never got desserts during my stay with the Dursley\'s.\" Then in a seductive whisper, he said, \"I like to savor them. Allow them to melt in my mouth and to lick the juices off them.\" Adding to his speech, Harry licked the rim of Blaise\'s ear before sliding back into his seat with a cheeky grin on his face. Blaise seemed to be frozen in shock and when he sat down, he let out a rather loud curse that received him warning glances.

Rising from the table, Harry Potter and his fellow fifth year Slytherins headed back to their dormitories to get ready for the inevitable detention. They knew that there was no way to get out of this, so they wanted to make sure to be dressed appropriately. Heading into the dorm rooms, they grabbed old clothes that they wouldn\'t mind getting dirty. They also grabbed old robes that would keep them warm, but would not get them into trouble if they were ruined. If they were already in trouble with Severus, they definitely didn\'t want to be in trouble with their parents as well. Many of them didn\'t even want to have anything to do with their parents.

Steeling themselves, they made their way to the commons to await their Head of House, who would escort them to their punishment with Hagrid. This was really something they were not looking forward to. Maybe they would be able to convince Severus not to make them go into the forest. These ideas flew from their heads when they noticed the agitated expression on Severus\' face. That was never a good sign, and saying anything to him now would lead to a snarky reply. They wisely chose to keep their mouths shut and to just go along with their punishment.

\"Well, what are you waiting for? An open invitation? Follow me, don\'t lag, and keep your mouth\'s shut. I haven\'t the patience to deal with whiny little ideas from whimsical brats today. I\'d much prefer to be doing something else,\" Severus snarled. Yes, like having a glass of brandy and brooding on what an intolerable ass the Headmaster really is. He expects Lucius and I to keep spying because the boy \"might\" be wrong. Since when has he ever been wrong when it comes to things like this? Never, that\'s when. Well, I don\'t care what the old fool says, I\'m telling Lucius. There is no way in HELL that we\'re going back to the man. If Dumbledore won\'t except that, then he can kiss my ass good-bye. I\'ll quit, I\'m sure I can find employment else where.

Gathering his thoughts up, Severus put a stop to them and filed them for later use. Looking to see where they were, he stopped because they had reached the half-giants hut. He wearily peered around for any dangerous creatures before proceeding up to the door. Before he could even reach out to rap on the door, it was flung open and a great, black blur knocked him to the ground. The next thing he noticed was the massive wet thing that was licking along his face. Then it hit him, Hagrid\'s damn mutt had the audacity to lick his face with his slimy, disgusting, revolting tongue.

\"Down, Fang. Let Professor Snape up. Tha\'s a good lad. Hello there Professor, kids. Ready to head into the fores\'?\" Hagrid seemed rather excited about the chance to go into the forest at night. They figured it was due to the fact that he liked dangerous, er, cute creatures (that could rip your heads off, or spray acidic like gunk on you) that happened to live in the forest. Harry could only pray that they did not run into any acromantulas. He was pretty sure that they were still out to have him for dinner.

Journeying into the forest, they all drew their wands and cast the illumination spell. There was no since in them tripping over roots and injuring themselves. Plus, they wanted to be able to see what animal was attacking them, that way they\'d at least have a chance at defending themselves. Following the one ill-tempered professor and the other crazy-dangerous creature loving professor, the students continued their journey further into the forest. Just when they were beginning to wonder if they would ever stop, it was announced that they had reached the clearing that the students would be working in. Explaining to them that the teachers would be elsewhere in the forest, within hearing range, they handed them their lists of ingredients they were to gather. They were told to stay in this clearing and together at all times. If one of them finished their list, then they should help someone else. They weren\'t leaving until Professor Snape had everything he needed and every student had finished their list.

Starting their lists, the students worked in silence for over an hour. Their lists were rather long and they begin to question how long it had been since Severus had restocked his supplies. Getting thoroughly bored with what they were doing, they heard an odd noise. It sounded as though hooves were pounding on the ground. Turning in different directions, the students wondered where it could possibly be coming from. Finally a figure sprang into the clearing, causing those who were nearest to cry out and fall backwards. Grinning like a madman, Harry ran to his centaur friend.

\"Firenze! It\'s so good to see you! How is everyone else? Is Bane still going on about how you let a human ride you and how you should just leave us to our own doom?\" Harry excitedly fired question after question at the centaur, only stopping with a sheepish smile when he realized that he wasn\'t giving time for him to answer.

\"Things aell,ell, young Potter. We are all doing well and Bane is still on about how you humans are the scourge of the Earth. I simply come to warn you that Mars is burning brighter than I have ever seen before. Hard times are ahead, Harry Potter, and I\'m afraid that you will be in the center of quite a few,\" Firenze replied.

\"Like that\'s anything new. Come on Firenze, that\'s the story of my life. Since when haven\'t I been the center of trouble?\" Rolling his eyes, Harry chatted with the centaur, even introduced him to his new house mates. Eventually Firenze left, leaving Harry and the others to get back to work. Sighing wearily to himself, Harry checked his list to see where he left off. Before he could start, he felt a sharp stinging pain in his back that radiated all the way to his front. Looking down at himself, he noticed a sharp fang sticking through the lower half of his body. Turning his head back, he saw a rather large sized acromantula behind him. Damn, knew they were still after me. Crying out a spell, Harry banished the acromantula away from him and turned back to the students.

\"Guys, uh, I think I need a teacher,\" Harry said, while looking down at his blood soaked hand that was holding the gapping hole in his midsection. Shortly after finishing this request, he fell to his knees, with a pained expression, and then fell backwards. He laid there at an awkward angle due to his feet being in his way. At first, his dorm mates could only stare at him, but then they moved into action.

Throwing a signal into the air, Draco moved over to Harry to see how bad his injury looked. Opening Harry\'s cloak, Draco carefully peeled away Harry\'s shirt to reveal his torso. What he saw made him sick, not only was there the wound he just received, but his torso was riddled in half healing wounds and scars. The majority of the scars looked old, but the other wounds looked fairly new. He began to wonder how Harry could go from day to day like this. He almost started to feel pity for the boy, but then he pushed that emotion away. He knew that was not an emotion an abused person took well to. For now he would ignore the scars and just deal with the wounds. Tearing up Harry\'s shirt, he balled pieces to put against the hole in the front and the back, calling over Vince and Greg to hold him up. Knowing not to ask questions, they did just this. hen hen used a strip, of what was left, to tie around him to keep pressure on the dressings. He then pulled off his own shirt and tore it into thin long strips, asking Greg to donate his shirt as well. Just as he was finishing bandaging the rest of the wounds, Hagrid and Severus burst into the clearing.

\"This had better be damn well important...\" Severus began. He cut off his rantings when he saw the battered, bleeding Harry lying on the dirt covered ground. Setting to work, Severus conjured a stretcher. Ordering the students to follow, he sent Hagrid ahead first to get help, then he led the stretcher and the students out. Keeping a brisk pace, Severus managed to have them all out in less time then it took them to get there. Breaking into a run, Severus headed to the doors of Hogwarts, where he was met with Poppy and Albus.

\"What happened, Severus?\" Poppy asked.

\"I couldn\'t tell you. I left my students in a clearing with implicit instructions, when the signal flares went up, we headed to them. I found Harry like this when I got there.\" Looking to the students for a response, Vince spoke up.

\"We actually don\'t know what attacked Harry. We all had our backs to him, then we heard him yell out a spell. All we saw was the flash from the spell. He turned towards us, holding his wound. Pulling his hand away, we got a look at the good sized hole before he declared he needed a teacher and passed out. Draco took action, he sent the flares, and then checked Harry\'s wounds.\"

\"What about these other wounds? There is more than the one bandaged?\" When she noticed that no one was looking at her, or paying attention, she huffed, knowing she wou't r't receive an answer. \"Well fine then, I\'ll just ask Harry when he wakes up. Now on to more pressing matters.\" Setting to work, Madame Pomfrey began muttering healing spells and pulling salves and potions from her supplies. When she noticed everyone was still in the room, she sent them on their way. \"Honestly, how am I suppose to work with you hanging about? When he\'s well again or awake, I\'ll tell you. Doesn\'t mean I\'ll let you see him, but I\'ll tell you.\"

Leaving the mediwitch to her work, Severus motioned for the other students to follow him. Once they were in his office, he closed the door and they all sat down. \" I w I want to know what type of wounds you saw on Harry and what you think they might have been caused from.\"

\"Severus, I saw what appeared to be lash marks on his back and front. To me, they appear to be from a belt. Different varieties at that. Some were thicker, others were thinner. All of them looked rather nasty. I also noticed some odd shaped bruising along the ribs, from the back. It looked like they had been caused by a heavy boot. There were also burns on the hands that I have never noticed, although I\'m sure they\'ve always been there, I just never paid attention. I\'m not sure what could have caused those,\" Pansy replied.

\"Well, I take Muggle Studies and I think the burns came from a \"stove\". I think that\'s the proper name for it. It gets really hot to allow muggles to cook on it. Loads of magical families use them. Just not families like the Parkinson\'s or the Malfoy\'s, since they are old purebloods. They have house elves to do the cooking. That goes for the majority of us here, though. It\'s amazing what muggles come up with...ah...sorry Severus. I guess I got off track there,\" Millicent said.

\"Quite all right. Is there anything else?\" Severus asked.

\"Um, he had some odd marking around his wrist. It looked as though they had been rubbed raw by ropes or something of that nature,\" Draco said. \"Other than that, I think that pretty much covered everything we could see. You have to realize that this was under the illumination of our wands at night in the Forbidden Forest.\"

\"Yes, yes, I know. Thank you, that tells me a lot and confirms a lot more. I don\'t think I need to stress how important it is that this doesn\'t get out to be public knowledge. The injury in the forest isn\'t want I\'m eluding to here. Don\'t speak of his other injuries. This is something I\'m sure he doesn\'t want others knowing. From the way Poppy acted, I would assume he normally keeps a glamour up. The reason why he didn\'t have one up now is unknown, but I think that it is time that I took matters into my own hands. I will ask him if he is ready to confide in someone. If not me, some other Slytherin or person. If he says no, then I won\'t push. This is something he needs to feel he is ready to admit out loud. Not something that should be dragged from him. If he does ask for one of you, I can expect your help by letting him talk to you, right?\" Severus asked. Receivinfirmfirmative nods from everyone present, Severus sent them back to their dorm rooms.

Damn it, Harry. You always have to take years off my life. First it was the broom deal and the Sorcerer\'s stone in first year. Speaking to snakes and the Chamber of Secrets your second year. In your third year, there was the Dementors, falling off your broom, meeting up with an escaped convict, meeting the real traitor to your parents, almost falling prey to a werewolf and a soul-sucking Dementor, and then the time-turner adventure. I always knew it was you. Then things got worse in your fourth year, just when I was sure there was no way for you to have another bad year. You just live to prove me wrong. You ended up in the Triwizard tournament, nearly got eaten by a dragon and a spider, got porkeyed to Voldemort and dueled with him, and then survived an attack my one of His most faithful servants. Why can\'t you ever be like any other students? The most trouble they tend to get into is the occasional fight. I can deal with those. I\'m not sure how much more I can deal with from you though.

God though, does he have a great ass. I did not just think that! That is so wrong on so many levels because: a) he\'s my student, b) he\'s way younger than me, I mean, I\'m old enough to be his father, and c) he\'s bloody Harry Potter. I mean, come on! Of all the people to checking out asses on, it shouldn\'t be him! There\'s nothing in the rules about fraternizing with students, it happens quite often. In fact, I do believe that is how Madame Hooch met her husband. It\'s not even the age thing that bothers me. No, what bothers me is that this is my rivals kid. He\'s not someone I\'m supposed to fall for. Although I think he looks more like Lily then James. The only things he got from James were the hair and the bad eyesight. Everything else is Lily\'s.

Once Severus was out of his thoughts, he was startled to realize he\'d poured himself a cup of brandy and was swirling it in glasglass staring into the fire. He began to think that maybe his life was in a rut if he was able to do this without realizing it. This was something he always did when he wanted to brood, though it was usually done before the brooding started. Maybe he needed a change in his life.

Meanwhile, in the infirmary, Harry was dreaming. Luckily for him, it was a dream. No, not a nightmare and not a vision, just a dream. Or rather, a memory.

\"THEY WHAT? I am going to KILL the Dursley\'s! How dare they lay one finger on you!?! Who do they think they are?\" Trying to calm Sirius down, Harry explained to him that they had already been dealt with. He also told him that he needed him here with him now. He didn\'t want to see him in Azkaban for actually killing someone, no matter how deserving a punishment that was for them.

\"Sirius, I, uh, also have something else to tell you. I\'m, uh, going to, ah, beresortedwhentheschoolyearstarts,he lhe last of Harry\'s sentence was rushed and jumbled.

\"You\'re what? I couldn\'t quite...\" Sirius\' eyes widened even more when he unscrambled Harry\'s message. \"Yo-you\'re going to be resorted?\"

Gulping, Harry shook his head. He went on to explain why and before he was through, he found himself in Sirius\' arms with the man crying onto his shoulder. \"There, there, Sirius. Why are you crying?\"
\"You\'re so grown up! Making wise decisions all by yourself! I\'m so proud! You\'re parents would have been so proud! I-I just don\'t know what to say,\" sniffling, Sirius sat on Harry\'s sofa.

\"So, you\'re not mad at me?\" Harry ventured to ask.

\"Mad? Why would...OH! No, no! I\'m not mad at all. Shocked, yes. Mad, no. I understand the need to be yourself. Hell, even I did something to prove I was my own person. Nobody every thought I\'d ever buy or like anything muggle made, so I bought a motorcycle. My most prized possession at the time. I even enchanted her to fly. Although, after your parents deaths, I gave her to Hagrid.\"

\"Yeah, I remember that. It\'s what he flew me on to get me to the Dursley\'s.\" Finishing that conversation, Harry and Sirius sat down to eat.

Madame Pomfrey noticed Harry\'s rapid eye movement and recognized the tell-tell signs of dreaming. Looking over the potions she gave him, she noticed that she forgot the dreamless sleep. Uncorking it, she opened Harry\'s mouth and gave him a dose. She didn\'t want him to have any nightmares that might jar his injuries. She waited to make sure it worked, when she was satisfied it did, she went back to her office. It was going to be a long night. She would need to keep a constant check on Harry to make sure he didn\'t decline during the night. She didn\'t really mind though, she cared for Harry. Even if she never told him that.

Sitting at her desk, Poppy started to list all the injuries she had found on the boy and then started to write down possible causes. She would make a duplicate copy of this list, one for her records and one for Severus, Harry\'s Head of House. Horrified at what she had found, she thought it would be best for him to know. Knowing Harry, he wouldn\'t want to stay in the hospital wing for long and those wounds would need carrying for. She\'d have to make sure that Severus made sure the boy did that. He could be stubborn as a mule sometimes, but this was for his own good.

TBC

Well, there you go. A nice long chapter. Don\'t expect a lot like this.
Anywho, please review! Maybe I\'ll make the Sev/Harry alone time more steamy than I\'m intending. Of coures, that\'s when I get to the actually slashier parts of the story. Don\'t know quite when that will be. Hehe. Review.