Seeking the Star

Ch.4.


Snape emerged from the Pensieve shaken and pale. Had he not known that it was impossible to pull a false memory into the bowl, he would have fully believed that Potter had somehow lied to the device. The boy had either been incredibly honest or more calculating than Snape could have expected. What he learned of Harry\'s life and of the past summer chilled even Snape, who had believed himself beyond such things. Noting the late hour, he undressed mechanically and climbed into bed. That night, the Potions Master\'s dreams were haunted by the suddenly-too-wise eyes of the Boy Who Lived.
Up in Gryffindor Tower, the green-eyed boy cried a little for the pain he had awakened in the man, and his sudden comprehension of why Dumbledore had been so supportive of his idea.

Hermione Granger was worried about Harry. His letters over the summer had vacillated between warm and expansive and tired and withdrawn, and he had never really explained what he was doing at Hogwarts during the summer holiday, other than that he was \'learning a lot\'. It was really this that worried Hermione. The Harry she knew wouldn\'t be so terribly excited at staying at Hogwarts to do intensive studies. The Harry she knew also wouldn\'t lightly be touching her hand and humming a dreamy toneless note to himself either. She wiggled her fingers and the movement seemed to bring him out of his daze. He smiled gently at her.

\"A lot has changed, Mione. But it\'s for the best. I\'ll tell you about it later, right now eat your porridge.\" The smile was so strange. It was almost a Dumbledore smile, but with a strange bright gentleness that had none of the occasional secrecy of Dumbledore\'s twinkling grins. Harry seemed so very genuine.

Ron, on the other hand, hadn\'t noticed much of Harry\'s difference, other than that he seemed more, well, like Hermione, except without the stuck-uppity-ness. He had stayed in the dormitory while all his roommates had uked,ked, but had sat on his bed quietly reading a book entitled Accessing Schema: Experience from Both Sides and had shrugged noncommittally to anyone who asked him what it was about. He had put aside the book for a game of Exploding Snap, though, once everyone was unpacked. Ron hoped that being at Hogwarts for so long hadn\'t turned Harry into a Ravenclaw, or something equally as boring.

During breakfast, the trio compared their schedules. Harry and Hermione both had Advanced Potions, Advanced Transfiguration, and Advanced Herbology, Hermione had Advanced Arithmancy and Advanced Ancient Languages, and all three had Advanced DADA and Advanced Charms. Harry\'s schedule also contained two anomalies: Healing, with Madam Pomfrey and Schema/Schemata, with Professor Snape. Harry\'s heart had sunk a little upon reading the second one and confirming his idea that Dumbledore had encouraged his apology to Snape to get him to restart the Occlumency lessons, and take on the tutoring on Schema and Schemata. Up at the Head Table, Snape was studiously avoiding Harry\'s questioning eyes and occasionally shooting daggers at the Headmaster.

\"Hey, mate, what are those about?\" Ron was pointing at his schedule. Harry shrugged.

\"It has to do with what I was learning over the summer. Dumbledore wants me to keep it up. Might help with the fight ast Vst Voldemort and all.\" Seemingly satisfied, Ron turned back to his porridge. He was slightly disappointed that Harry and Hermione were in mostly advanced classes, and he wasn\'t. Really, he wasn\'t even sure how Harry had pulled off such good scores on his OWLs, since he really hadn\'t seemed to study much either.

\"Well,\" Ron said through a mouthful of toast, \"at least I don\'t have to deal with that greasy git anymore. I can be glad of that, anyway.\"

\"He\'s really not a git, Ron.\" Harry said quietly. Ron looked incredulous and waved his hands in front of Harry\'s face.

\"Hel-lo! What have you done with our Harry? This is Snape we\'re talking about, Harry, remember? Evil Potions Master?\" Harry smiled at his friend, and sighed a little.

\"Ah, let\'s drop it, Ron. It\'s time to leave anyway. Hermione and I have to run to Transfiguration.\" Harry gathered his books and started out of the Great Hall, waiting only a minute for Hermione to follow him. She fell into step with him as they began heading up the stairs.

\"Harry?\" She waited for him to turn towards her, and searched his face. He saw her concern and smiled again, touching her shoulder with a hand that was bigger than she remembered. Just seeing him smile made her face break out into a wide grin. \"Oh, who are you and what did you do with Harry?\" She hadn\'t seen a genuine smile on his face in what seemed like forever, and then there were two, just this morning. His air of brooding seemed to be gone, and he looked very different with his dark cloud lifted.

\"I said I\'ll tell you, but not now, Hermione. It\'s a long story, and McGonagall wouldn\'t be pleased, you know?\" They turned into the Transfiguration classroom, which was already beginning to fill with students from all the Houses. In the NEWTs classes, all the students were grouped together, since there weren\'t enough students in advanced classes to warrant the division by House.

Transfiguration was so much easier when he could see and feel the threads of things. He just tweaked at them, bending them to his will through the tip of his wand. Over the summer, Harry had learned what wands were really for, and was actually more adept at accessing the Schemata without one. Wandless magic allowed him the use of direct touch, which was the most powerful and di way way to \'see\' the Schemata. However, wandless magic was not public magic, and doing anything without the proper swish-and-flick of wand was deeply frowned upon. Professor McGonagall had praised him lightly for his newly developed skills. Charms progressed in much the same manner. He and Hermione both had a break after lunch, and then Double Potions. They spent it in the library, quietly studying. Hermione was about to burst with curiosity as to when Harry had developed a penchant for quiet studying.

Potions was utterly grueling. Snape refused to look at Harry, who desperately wanted to speak to him. The Potions Master was neither scathing nor kind to Harry, and in general seemed less interested in telling his NEWTs class what abject failures they were. He simply warned, in his most dangerous tone of voice, that they would have to learn a set of \'essential\' potions by heart, and that error would not be tolerated. The absence of Neville Longbottom seemed to somehow lower the tension in the room measurably, as did the fact that the students in attendance actually wanted to learn Potions. Harry and Hermione each made a solidly correct potion, and bottled it for grading without Snape making comment to either of them.

Once all the bottles sat on his enormous desk, Snape dismissed the class, following the order with, \"Except for you, Mr. Potter.\"

Harry turned back around, motioning for Hermione not to wait for him. She shrugged and headed off, looking back over her shoulder worriedly. Snape was looking fairly poisonous behind his desk, but, when he reached tentatively out towards the professor\'s Schema, he found little anger directed at him.
\"It seems that Professor Dumbledore has decided I\'m not only to continue your instruction in Occlumency, but I\'m also to pick up your education in Schema and Schemata. As the Headmaster has seen fit to take up some of my precious midday free time three days a week, I think that your Occlumency classes will have to be on Tuesday and Thursday nights.\"

\"Sir, did you...\" Harry trailed off, but kept eye contact with the professor. Snape nodded once, curtly. \"May I, um, have it back, then?\" Another curt nod, with a gesture to the Pensieve sitting on the second shelf in a closed cabinet. Harry retrieved it and was about to ask permission to leave when words escaped Snape\'s mouth, seemingly unbidden.

\"Did you know that Albus was planning this?\" Harry turned, shocked at the words.

\"No, sir. Well, I knew about the Occlumency, but not the other. If I had,\" he gestured at the Pensieve, \"I wouldn\'t have done this now. He--well, Al--Professor Dumbledore has his games. And I didn\'t mean to be a part of this one, sir. I meant what I said.\" As he spoke, Harry moved closer and closer to Snape until his thighs were lightly touching the desk and the currents of his Schema were easily felt. Snape stared at the boy, realizing he was telling the truth. His gesture had been genuine, and this startled the Potions Master.

\"Well then, Mr. Potter, it seems we\'ve both been caught in one of the Headmaster\'s little games. And since we\'ll be spending so much time together, I think it may be appropriate to call an end to hostilities.\" Snape was preternaturally aware of the proximity of the boy, who hovered just across the desk, looking at him with all the intensity of a lightning bolt. His scar was bright white against the tan of his face, and it was only the fact that it was mostly hidden by his fringe that kept it from drawing too much attention. His eyes were deep emeralds behind his glasses, and everything about him radiated intensity. So, when he suddenly smiled, a real, genuine, joyous smile, Severus Snape almost committed one of the most undignified acts of his teaching career and nearly fell out of his chair. There wasn\'t a single event in his my why when anyone smiled like that at him, especially for so little.

\"Thank you, sir.\"

The boy turned and left before he could see the look of absolute wonder solidify onto the Potions Master\'s face, but he felt it.


a/n-
eight of sacred circles-apprenticeship, learning a craft or skill, physical dexterity and skill.