A Turn for the Better

Chapter 4 ~ The Team of Potter and Snape

If Hermione Granger was professor Snape's pet, then Harry Potter was his protégé. From the first, the Slytherin set out to make Harry feel he was something special. When the young wizard had his first flying lesson with Madam Hooch, Snape made it a point to watch him fly from a turret window. As he suspected, he was already quite a talented flyer . . . but it was obvious the boy was holding back.

Now, we couldn't have that could we?

The following Saturday, a sober-faced Severus Snape entered the Common Room and retrieved Harry, who was playing a game of Wizarding chess with Draco Malfoy.

"Come with me, Mr. Potter," he commanded.

Harry paled. What had he done?

"Good luck, Harry," Draco said under his breath, sure that Harry was in trouble. Professor Snape only retrieved people when they were in deep dragon dung.

Harry followed Snape out of Slytherin house and through the damp dungeon corridor. Snape stopped in front of his office.

"Wait here, Mr. Potter," the wizard said, letting himself in.

After a moment, Snape returned, holding two broomsticks and a small box. He handed a gleaming and obviously new broom to Harry, who stared at it, his green eyes round behind his glasses.

"This . . . this is a Nimbus 2000!" he exclaimed as if Snape didn't already know that.

"Indeed it is, Mr. Potter," Snape replied, carrying his own Nimbus. "Now follow me."

Snape walked a bit further down the corridor, then pressed on a number of stones. The wall slid back, then to the side, revealing a hidden niche.

"Wow," Harry breathed as he followed Snape in.

The wall closed behind them and Snape walked forward, tapping his wand to several more bricks in a pattern. He did it slowly so Harry could see what he did. He was showing him castle secrets.

"Tell no one about this exit to the grounds, Mr. Potter. You may find it . . . useful," Snape said.

Harry nodded as a door appeared and they walked outside. The sky was overcast.

"Come, we are going to the Quidditch pitch. I want to see what you can do with a proper broom," Snape said to the boy.

Harry was excited. He had wanted to try a Nimbus of any year for a long time, but his parents would never get him one. They told him he'd have to earn it with good marks at Hogwarts. Harry hadn't been happy about that. It could take forever. He knew his mum wanted almost perfect marks. That was a lot of work to do when everything was so new and begging for exploration. He followed Snape excitedly, wishing they could just fly there.

But Severus wanted to build the boy's anticipation.

"Your father was a fair flyer, Mr. Potter," the wizard said softly. "He had quite a number of 'moves' on a broom. He was very impressive."

Snape scowled as he said this, but Harry didn't see it.

"I am wondering if you have the same skills . . . or better ones," Snape purred, "if you are as good a flyer or better than your father, that broom will be yours."

Harry could hardly believe it.

"Really?" Harry squeaked, caressing the broom handle covetously.

"Truly, although there are certain conditions. You will serve as seeker for Slytherin house," Snape replied, "but only if you show me you are a better flyer than our current seeker. I have no doubt you have your father's sharp eyes, despite your glasses."

"Oh, I can always find the snitch," Harry said brightly, "my dad and I used to practice all the time. I've been catching Snitches since I was five."

"Naturally," Snape intoned. Yes, James Potter was the kind of swollen-headed git that would put a very young child on a broom and let him nearly kill himself trying to learn the basics of Quidditch. Fortunately for Harry, he inherited his father's abilities.

Snape fully intended to take advantage of them as well as undermine his parents. A Nimbus 2000 wasn't a cheap broom by any means. More than likely they would want Harry to give it back. The Potions master smirked.

That would cause the first of many rifts between himself and his parents. And who would be there to support him?

Severus Snape of course. A very understanding Severus Snape.

They arrived at an empty Quidditch pitch. Snape had secured it specifically to work with Harry. He was wasting no time. The boy would be properly Slytherinized.

"Mount up and take a few turns around the pitch so I can see your flying style," Snape instructed.

Smiling broadly, Harry mounted the Nimbus 2000, pausing to admire it once more before kicking off and zooming into the air. Wow, the broom was fast, faster than anything he had ever flown before. He leaned low and poured on the speed, whipping around the pitch, his robes and hair streaming as Snape looked on, his black eyes glinting.

The boy was fast.

Snape waved him in and Harry zoomed down, pulling up short and hovering in front of the wizard.

"Do you know any 'tricks,' Mr. Potter?" Snape asked him.

Harry smiled broadly and nodded. He knew tricks that gave his mum heart failure on several occasions and his dad had forbidden him to do them, because they were so dangerous.

Harry's face clouded.

"My father told me not to do them," he said sullenly.

Snape smirked at him.

"But your father isn't here, Mr. Potter. I am. And I will have my wand trained on you in case anything goes awry. You are a Slytherin, Mr. Potter. As such you are to be cunning and resourceful and work toward your own ends. You do want that broom, don't you?"

"Yes!" Harry exclaimed.

"Well, in order to get it, you are going to have to bend the rules a bit. Your parents will never know. But no pressure, Mr. Potter. We can return to the dungeons and say no more about this," Snape said, his eyes glittering as he tempted the boy.

Harry caressed the Nimbus' gleaming handle, then looked at Snape with determination in his eyes.

"All right, I'll do it," he said, then zoomed off.

Snape watched as Harry executed a number of very dangerous moves. Standing on the broomstick while it flew full speed, diving at the ground full throttle and pulling out just before bone-crunching impact, weaving between the support beams, large loopity-loops and circling the Quidditch pitch flying upside down a mere six inches from the ground.

Snape opened the small box he carried and removed a small golden ball. Immediately airy little wings emerged and it rose from his palm. Harry saw the snitch and stopped mid-air, excited, eager and expectant as a dog about to play fetch. If he had a tail, it would be wagging madly.

"Get the snitch, Mr. Potter. You have two minutes," Snape called to him as the snitch whirred off into the sun. Harry zoomed after it, his eyes squinting. The snitch was very small and hard to see, but Harry locked on to it in about forty-five seconds, then the chase was on.

It was good thing the boy had skills because that snitch gave him a run for his galleons. It zipped and bobbed and dipped, making straight runs, turning back on its path, dodging the pursuing wizard as if it could see him.

But Harry could pull up and spin mid-air and stayed with it as Snape watched approvingly. Even he could see that Harry at age eleven was an advanced flyer. Even his father didn't have his son's skills at such a tender age. Yes, he would make him a seeker . . . the only first year seeker in the history of Hogwarts. That would be an accomplishment that would overshadow his father's fame at the school.

It would make Harry feel special, as well as 'better' than his father.

That was precisely what Snape wanted.

Harry caught the snitch and flew down to Snape, panting as he held out his hand victoriously.

Snape nodded with approval and gave Harry a thin smile.

"Congratulations, Mr. Potter. You've earned yourself a broom," he purred, mounting his own Nimbus now. "Now let's try this again, with myself as a rival seeker. You must catch the snitch before I do. Release it."

Harry did so and blinked as professor Snape zoomed off so quickly, it looked as if he had Apparated from point A to point B. He zoomed up. Both wizards hovered in the air, searching for the small golden globe. Suddenly, Snape whooshed downward and Harry followed, hot on his bristles.

Snape leveled off, flying about three feet above the ground, his robes and hair streaming as Harry followed closely. Suddenly the dark wizard spun mid-air, colliding with Harry's broom and knocking Harry off of it, the boy bouncing across the ground painfully as the wizard hovered above him.

Harry groped around for his glasses, found them, put them on, then looked up at Snape . . . who smirked rather nastily.

"As the Slytherin seeker, you have a few more 'tricks' to learn, Mr. Potter," he said as Harry gave a slow, rather wicked grin of his own.

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About a week later, Snape received a very unexpected visitor. He was grading papers in his office and had a slight hangover from imbibing a few Firewhiskeys and listening to Vivaldi the night before. He hadn't checked his stores for sober-up potion and found out this morning he was out. He was going to have to brew more.

A light knock sounded on his door, and the Potions master looked up sharply.

"Who is it?" he snarled.

"It's Lily Potter, Severus. I was wondering if I might have a word with you about Harry?" the witch said.

Both of Severus' eyebrows rose. Lily Potter? Well, he'd figured one of them would come hightailing it down to the dungeons once they found out their firstborn son had been sorted into Slytherin. It had to be devastating for them.

Snape smirked at the thought as he pulled out his wand and flicked it at the door.

"Come in, Mrs. Potter," he said.

The door opened and in walked Lily Potter. Snape studied the witch as she sat down in the rickety chair before his desk, looking distinctly uncomfortable. She hadn't spoken to Severus in many, many years . . . and the last time she did, it was to tell him they were no longer friends. She was still a pretty woman, with rich auburn hair and lovely green eyes. But she looked a little worn, no doubt from raising so many children. Snape folded his hands on his desk.

"How may I help you, Mrs. Potter?" he said formally.

"Well, Harry's been sorted into Slytherin," she began timidly.

"Yes, I am aware of that, Mrs. Potter. I hope you've come here to tell me something I don't know," he replied rather coldly.

"I . . . I just don't understand how . . . how my son could be a Slytherin," she said softly, shaking her head slightly as if this were the worst thing in the world.

Snape arched an eyebrow at her.

"Do you believe house affiliations are genetically derived, Mrs. Potter? If you do, I certainly would like you to point me to the research," he said. "In any case, I don't have any great understanding of it either."

Lily scowled at him now.

"Severus, tell me the truth . . . did you tamper with the Sorting?" she demanded, her green eyes hard.

"Still as accusatory as ever, aren't you, Mrs. Potter?" Snape hissed at her. "It figures you would think yourself so important that after all these years I would hold a grudge and 'tamper' with your son. I'm sorry to say I could have cared less where young Mr. Potter was sorted. I was as surprised as anyone when the Sorting Hat placed him in Slytherin."

His dark eyes narrowed.

"But Slytherin he is, and he will be taught the Slytherin philosophy," he added.

"I don't want that for him!" Lily said angrily.

"Still trying to control people's lives, are we, Mrs. Potter? Well, I hate to inform you of this, but the world does not revolve around what you 'want.' The moment that boy's umbilical cord was cut, he became an individual. I find it rather arrogant that you would try and interfere with your son's path. Not even the gods attempt to control a man's life, Mrs. Potter. You must think very highly of yourself to walk where even the gods fear to tread."

"You haven't changed a bit," Lily hissed at him. "You're still cold, still . . . evil-minded."

Snape gave her an unpleasant little smirk.

"I'm evil-minded because I said the boy needs to follow his own path, which is the path of Salazar Slytherin? My, Mrs. Potter, your gall is astounding. But you are wrong. I have changed. For one, I am no longer pining after you, after the 'friend' of many years who turned her back on me for one outburst of anger, the friend who fell into the arms of the man who tormented me for years without hesitation. I know now that you were never my friend. You just wanted to be seen as someone 'kinder' than the others. Someone special, extremely compassionate. A Gryffindor who could control a Slytherin. I made you look good, Mrs. Potter, and I hung on to your every word, followed you about as if you had a leash attached to me, bit back my words and did everything you asked of me . . . because . . . because . . ."

Snape's face twisted.

"Because I made myself see something, someone that wasn't there," he said. "I actually believe the best thing you could have ever done for me, was to turn your back so I could see the truth about you."

"That's not true," Lily said to him, "I stopped associating with you because of what you were aspiring to be, and the people you hung around. Awful people."

"And James Potter wasn't awful? His 'Marauders' weren't terrible? You always only saw what you wanted to see. The truth is James was worse than I was. He was a bully and a coward . . . you knew that. I was neither of those things, although I often withheld my hand at your request because they were your 'housemates.' What a fool I was," Snape retorted.

Lily stared at Snape. He was so bitter. Maybe . . . maybe he had a right to be. She had never even considered his side of it. She didn't care to consider it back then. In fact, she wouldn't have given him another thought for the rest of her life if not for the fact Harry was in Slytherin, and he was the Head of House.

"I'm not here to talk about the past, Severus," she said to him, trying to get the conversation back on track.

"But you are, Mrs. Potter. It is our past that brought you here. I am sure if Mr. Potter was sorted into Gryffindor, you wouldn't have descended on Minerva in this manner," the wizard said. "You wouldn't have felt the need to come to Hogwarts and have this kind of conversation. I don't know what you want from me. Harry Potter is a Slytherin. I didn't make him one, but I will do my best to make sure he measures up. That is my duty."

"I . . . I just don't want you to mistreat him because of your past with me and James," Lily said to the dark wizard.

"I have no intentions on making the boy's life miserable, Mrs. Potter, I assure you," Snape replied, "although I can't say the same for you. No doubt you will give him grief over the upcoming years for being who he is, try to 'correct' him, change his nature. You won't be able to do it. He is who he is, Mrs. Potter, just as nature intended him to be."

Lily couldn't help but feel disconcerted at Severus addressing her as "Mrs. Potter." It was as if he were verbally distancing himself from her, making it clear he felt no personal feelings toward her. She sighed. Why did she even come here?

To keep James from coming. He was furious that Severus was going to be an influence over Harry and wanted to lay down the law to him. That may have gotten out of hand, and no doubt Severus would have had James arrested if he even pointed a wand at him. They couldn't tell a Hogwarts Head of House what to do. The only recourse they had to break Severus' influence was to withdraw Harry from Hogwarts. But they didn't want to do that. Hogwarts was a premiere institution for training up young wizards.

"I don't plan to interfere with Harry's life," she said, "I was just concerned . . . "

Snape snorted.

"Just as you didn't plan to end our friendship. I distinctly remember you telling me we would be friends for life. You lied, of course."

Lily stood up. This had been a waste of time. It was best to go now.

"I can't do anything about the past, Severus, I can only say I'm sorry," she said to him softly.

Snape made a "pffft" sound.

"Meaningless," he replied, his dark eyes cold as Lily walked toward the office door.

Suddenly, the wizard was struck with the urge to hurt and shame her emotionally. He knew exactly what to say to accomplish that.

"The only solace I have concerning your tossing me away for James Potter," he said softly as Lily turned to face him, wondering what that solace could be.

"Was I got there first," he finished.

Lily turned red as a salamander. He was cruel to bring that one moment of weakness up.

"You're a bastard," she spat at Snape, "I only hope that your influence doesn't ruin my son!"

She stormed out the office door, slamming it behind her as Snape leaned back in his chair, his mouth turned downward.

"Ruination is in the eye of the beholder, Mrs. Potter," he said softly, "in the eye of the beholder."

Snape did have a theory why Harry was sorted into Slytherin house, and it could have been a matter of genetics. Neither his mother nor father were perfect examples of Gryffindors. Yes, they may have had the loyalty and bravery necessary, but they also had darker sides, both of them. He was living proof of the pain their manipulations and targeting could cause.

It seemed that those darker qualities pooled together in their son, those parts of their personalities that were overlooked when they were popular icons of the school. But people can't hide who they are from everyone, particularly, the fates.

It seemed karma had come into play, and what went around . . . came around.

Snape smirked as he thought about the old witch's tale that a child could come out of a woman's womb looking like the person that was abhorred the most.

Snape chuckled.

Harry Potter certainly didn't look like him, but still . . . he was close enough.

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A/N: Whew. Don't ask me where that came from. I guess my anger at Lily shows in this one. I am going to intersperse the past among the present. I hope it doesn't get too confusing, but I have to find a way to show how the past changed. Note Harry still got his Nimbus 2000 and became the youngest seeker at Hogwarts. I guess some things are destined to happen . I've also come up with a VERY cool adventure scenario for this story. Came to me last night. I think ya'll will like it. Anyway, thanks for reading.