Confusion in Green

Chapter 8: Some are Silver and the other Gold

Draco’s face turned a delicate shade of pink, and his eyes shot open in shock. He swallowed noisily several times trying to find something, anything to say in response to something like that. Harry watched him seriously for a moment or two then broke out in raucous laughter. “You Bloody Git!” Draco screeched while shoving Harry off of him forcefully. He jumped to his feet, his face an even darker blush while Harry continued to roll and laugh in the floor.
“You really thought I had creamed my pants! Ha, that was classic.” Harry’s grin faded quickly at the look on Draco’s face. He looked angry and somehow sad at the same time. Harry stood up and walked over to Draco placing a hand on his slender shoulder. Draco shrugged it off hatefully and stomped into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Harry was bewildered. “It was only a joke!” he shouted to the closed door. “He acts like a bloody girl.” Shrugging he grabbed his books and headed off to D.A.D.A. He might be able to make it before the bell.
Draco sat perched on the toilet seat like it was a throne. He would not cry over Potter. What the hell was the matter with him? He spent one night in the same room with the golden boy and already he was falling for him. Draco laughed at the thought of love. “No one ever loved me, so how would I know if I’m in love? My parents never even cared. Father wanted to turn me over to his crazed master and mother sustained herself with calming droughts and expensive booze. I must just be lonely. I’ll get over this soon enough. Anyway, Potter thinks I’m a joke.” Looking at his watch, an expensive wrist watch that was charmed to work since the castle did strange things to muggle machinery, and sighed to himself. “Well, great way to start the new term. Hasn’t been a whole day and I already missed a class.”

Skidding to a halt in front of the doorway of the 7th year D.A.D.A. classroom Harry took a second to catch his breath. He could hear voices inside the classroom, he listened close to try and figure out who the new professor might be. It wasn’t like Dumbledore not to introduce the new teachers at the start of term feast. He could hear snatches of laughter coming from the students.
“I bet they killed each other off,” said a familiar gruff voice. “I can see it now, the Slytherin prince and Gryffindor’s golden boy dueling to the death over who gets the top bunk.” More laughter. And at his expense too. Harry had had a hard summer, and his patience was not what it used to be. He had lived his whole life with people joking at his expense. First the Dursleys and then all the students at Hogwarts pointing and staring while his back was turned. He’d be damned if he would put up with a professor poking fun at him in front of the entire 7th year class!
Harry stepped up the door and summoned his strength. If a display of his newfound power didn’t shut them up then nothing would. He pushed out with his hand, though he never actually touched it, the door was blown into the classroom with a deafening crack. All eyes turned towards the commotion. When the dust settled Harry saw the professor at the head of the class standing behind a podium.
“I thought you might show up sooner or later” he said
“REMUS” Harry shouted and with a wave of his wand the dust and debris from the door was back in it’s rightful shape and place and Harry was already at the front of the class with his arms wrapped tightly around the older werewolf’s neck. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?” Harry muffled into Lupin’s embrace.
“Didn’t know till last night, Dumbledore called and asked me to come. Why don’t you meet me for tea after dinner tonight and we can talk. Right now I think taking your seat might be a good idea.”
“Oh....err…yeah sorry Professor.”
“And Harry, nice job on the door.”
As soon as Harry found a seat beside Ron and Hermione the bell rang for lunch. They headed down the hall with the droves of other students on their way to the Great Hall. Hermione spoke in a steady stream the whole way not really even pausing for breath. “And he went over all the stuff we did last year, even though he says we won’t need it since you took care of You-Know-Who. He asked us how you did it, but no one knew. Though my best guess is that you used whatever spell you used on the door on him. Why did you blow up the door anyway Harry. It wasn’t very nice you know. You could have gotten into a lot of trouble for that. You’re lucky that Remus, I mean Professor Lupin was the teacher, otherwise---”
But Harry cut her off here saying that he had to go sit at the Slytherin table with the rest of my house mates. Ron shrugged and sat down to a huge plate of food, while Hermione looked very put-off.
Harry didn’t really feel bad for abandoning his friends. He had a feeling that without him around Ron would finally get the courage up to ask Hermione out and they would live happily ever after and have tons of kids with red bushy hair and buck-teeth. Harry watched the doors to the Great Hall all during lunch. He wasn’t sure what he was waiting for, but he felt very anxious. And where was Draco off to anyway? And what was that little tantrum in our room about? Something is going on with him, and why in the hell do I even care if I upset Ferret-Face?
Harry sulkily got out his schedule to see where he was supposed to go next. Double Divination…ugggg. And then Career Advisement. He got up and walked to the head table. “Professor McGonagall?” The Professor looked up from her plate of food and blinked, she was surprised to see Harry talking to her. “Yes Potter?”
“I was just wondering where I am supposed to go for Career Advisement.” Why to your head of house dear, of course. And that would be Professor Snape now Potter, so if you don’t mind I would like to finish my lunch in peace.” She said all this rather coldly Harry thought, maybe she was offended that he wasn’t in her house anymore. “Like it’s my fault,” he thought as he sulked off toward the tower for one of his least favorite classes.
Divination was as dull as usual and Harry slept through most of it since Professor Trelawney drawled on and on about how they would be reviewing all of their skills from the past years and learning the exciting and accurate arts of free writing and channeling. He was the first down the ladder when the bell toned.
Harry headed down to the dungeons and stood slightly out of breath outside Snape’s office door. There was already a queue forming so he just dropped his books and sat down to wait. He was sitting against the cold stone wall with his knees drawn up and his head down when he felt a wave of magic next to him. He didn’t look up simply opened his mind to allow himself to feel the energy coming off the person who was sitting next to him. He felt anger, and loneliness and longing, or even yearning. Harry was immersed in the feel of the magic, it was calming to him. He wanted to take that poor person in his arms and give them everything they ever wanted. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before. He was about to raise his head and look into the eyes of the person who needed him more than anything else in the world when he heard the door to Professor Snape’s office open. All the students stood up and gathered around the door. Harry turned his head to see who had been sitting next to him, but it was too late, that person was gone.
Harry wandered over to where everyone was standing and listened to Snape begin to explain how this would work. Each student would be called in separately and given brochures and flyers to look over to help them decide on a future career. There was no pressure and they could take the brochures with them if they needed more time to decide. Professor Snape would be there to answer any questions they may have and give them advice if needed. So all the students retreated back into line to wait their turn.
It was very dull waiting in the cold damp corridor and they had been waiting for a very long time. Finally Harry heard his name called and he scooped up his books and slouched through the office door. Snape was sitting at his desk, surrounded by all the familiar and sinister things his office held. His dark-wood desk was littered with pamphlets and brochures all with title like “So you want to work with muggles” or “Be a member of the ministry and be on top!” Harry felt ill, just seeing them. He sat down in the uncomfortable chair that Snape motioned to and waited. Snape was sitting with his elbows on the desk and his head in his hands. He was breathing hard, as if he was trying to contain himself. Finally he looked up and what Harry saw in his eyes was nothing short of frightening. He saw sorrow, and compassion in those obsidian orbs. This was not the nasty Professor he had grown to know and respect over the years. This was an old man who was in over his head.
“I want to apologize to you Harry, I have been a bastard to you all these years. You must understand that none of it was real. I was acting. As you know I was a spy for the Order and I had to make Voldemort and all of his followers believe I detested you as much as they. I want to thank you for saving me. When you removed that evil from this world you took a burden off of my shoulders that I had grown used to. I thank you sincerely Harry Potter.”
Harry was flabbergasted. He sat with wide staring eyes and mouth hanging open in shock. Finally he shook his head and spoke two words that healed the many years of grievances between them. “You’re welcome.”
Professor Snape smiled and handed him a stack of brochures and pamphlets and said that he would see him on Thursday. Harry strode out of the office towards his room to change for dinner, thinking, “Wow.”


A/n Since you've all been good you get two chapter in one night! thanks Mikhail for the wonderful Beta work!