Chapter Text
Harry woke up with a jolt. Another Death Eater meeting, at least it wasn’t a nightmare. The meetings were easier to witness, which surprised Harry. Every time there was a meeting he was unable to make out who was there or what had been discussed. The visions were blurry and kept skipping, like an old cassette tape. He thought about telling Snape but ultimately decided against it. Even if his dour professor did believe him, it’s not like he could see or hear anything that happened. Harry glanced at the clock, which read 3:38 AM in big, red numbers.
He sighed and pushed himself up, there was no use going back to sleep at this point. Harry sat on the window seat and used the light of the moon to read his Occlumency book. He knew better than to turn the ceiling light on, no need to let Snape know he was awake.
Harry closed his eyes and attempted to clear his mind, letting the thoughts of Snape wash away. He envisioned a blank blackboard but every time he tried, his thoughts just kept creeping in, manifesting as chalk writing on the board. When he wasn’t successful, he tried a different technique the book suggested. Harry envisioned a wall of fire surrounding his thoughts so nobody could access them, but the fire was quickly doused by the roaring ocean of his thoughts.
He sat there reading and attempting to clear his mind with various different techniques until the sun came up. He made zero progress which made him incredibly frustrated. He just didn’t understand, it felt impossible.
When the clock hit 8 am Harry got up and showered, taking as long as possible so he would miss breakfast. He took his time and was ready by 8:30, success. As he came down the stairs he immediately sensed something was wrong.
Snape looked off today. He looked pale, or at least paler than usual with prominent dark circles under his eyes and was moving slightly slower than normal. ‘Did something happen?,’ he wondered. Before Harry had more time to ponder Snape’s health, the man turned to him with an unimpressed glare. “Skipping meals again Potter? I thought you’d be whining and demanding to be fed right now.”
Harry gritted his teeth, he was still the same snarky git despite his diminished physical appearance. “No sir, I’m just not hungry.”
“Suit yourself, whether you eat or not does not concern me. Moving on, I have a small list of chores for you to do. I will check once you are done to make sure they are done to my standards. Are we clear?” he said icily, his shrewd eyes examining Harry as though he were prey.
Snape handed him a small sheaf of parchment. Harry almost laughed at how easy these chores were. The list read: wash dishes, clean kitchen, take out trash, and make bed. This was a walk in the park compared to what the Dursleys made him do. He looked up from the parchment to see his professor sneering at him.
“Do you even know how to do a chore? I bet your relatives never made you lift a finger,” the Potions Master sneered.
Harry laughed internally, thousands of incidents of scrubbing the Dursley family home clean in every crevice flashed through his mind but made sure he thought about his response before speaking, “No sir, my relatives made me do plenty of things, this will not take long.” There was no need to make the man even angrier.
“I highly doubt that. I will be checking in a few hours to make sure you have done these to my standard.” He walked out of the kitchen haughtily, his heavy robes billowing behind him.
Harry completed his chores with a practiced efficiency and sat on the couch reading his Herbology textbook until Snape came to check his work.
“Lazing about and skipping your chores? I can’t imagine you would have already finished cleaning the kitchen.” Snape stalked around the kitchen looking, dark eyes narrowed as he inspected Harry’s work.
“Hmph, acceptable. Work on your summer assignments today, I will check your progress at the end of the week to ensure you are completing the work to a high standard. If the assignments are incorrect or not done to my standard, I will see that you redo each and every assignment I find unacceptable. Are we clear?”
“Yes sir,” Harry replied wearily.
The rest of the day passed quickly and uneventfully. Harry completed two of his Transfiguration assignments and read part of the book required for his Defense Against the Dark Arts paper. The Professor didn’t come out of his Potions lab until it was time to cook dinner. When dinner was ready, the two sat at dark oak table and ate in a very uncomfortable silence. This time, Harry ate a few bites of a bland chicken and pasta dish to appease Snape.
Occlumency went just as well as the day before. Harry was beginning to feel defeat at his lack of progress despite the effort he was putting in. ‘At least Snape hadn’t seen anything, a small victory,’ he thought bitterly. Harry flopped onto his bed with exhaustion and was asleep within seconds.
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The sound of screaming woke Severus from his slumber. Within seconds he was awake and his wand brandished to fight off any intruders. His sleep-addled brain took a moment to process who was screaming, but when it did, the Potions Master shot up and ran to Potter’s room. There had better be an intruder, because if not, the boy was going to have hell to pay. Severus rarely had time to sleep, so having it interrupted only served to make him incredibly angry.
He flung open the door with his wand out, only to find Potter twisted in his sheets and drenched in sweat. The boy looked terrified and was making small whimpering noises. It was a nightmare, Severus realised, raising an eyebrow, surprised by this new piece of information.
Severus quickly turned away. He shouldn't be witnessing this, besides it’s not like he could offer comfort to the boy. He was one of the last people on Earth the boy would seek comfort from, only second to the Dark Lord himself. His whirling mind was interrupted by another shriek of terror from the boy.
“NO CEDRIC RUN!” Harry screamed in his sleep. The sound of the boy screeching in terror pulled on Severus’ rarely used heartstrings. No child should have to witness their friend’s murder. The grief was clearly still fresh in his mind if he was having these violent nightmares. Severus made the decision to wake Potter up but was unsure how to do it. He was unsure how the dark-haired boy would react to being woken by his least favorite professor.
“Potter!” Severus said loudly, hoping to pull the boy from his dreams, but it didn’t work. He tried again with no success.
Before he could think about his actions, Severus grabbed his shoulders and shook the boy.
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Harry woke up to someone shaking him. He immediately jolted awake and wrenched himself away from whoever was gripping his shoulders. Harry felt like a cornered animal, immediately pressing himself up against the headboard to make himself look as small as possible.
After his eyes adjusted to the dark he took a look around the room and remembered where he was. Harry attempted to slow down his breathing once he realized... As he regained control of his lungs, he finally looked up, and directly into the onyx eyes of his least favorite professor. ‘Brilliant,” he thought sarcastically, a sense of shame oozing through his veins.
Snape just stared back at him for a moment before whispering a spell. A vial of Dreamless Sleep came flying into the room. The Potions Master uncorked it in one fluid motion and offered it to Harry.
With a slight hesitation, he took the vial with shaky hands and downed it. He grimaced at the horrible taste, setting the vial on his nightstand. Before Harry could say something to thank the Professor, Snape turned on his heel and left the room without a word, shutting the door behind him.
Harry sagged against the headboard. He was mortified, ‘Why did Snape of all people have to witness this?’ He barely had time to think about what had just happened as the Dreamless Sleep started to kick in, pulling Harry into a comforting darkness that promised rest.
When he woke, a soft light was streaming through the curtains.
‘Wait…a light? Oh my god I overslept.’ Harry practically jumped out of bed and threw his clothes on, running down the stairs and into the kitchen.
At the table sat an unimpressed Snape. “There is no need to run around my house like a chicken with its head cut off, Mister Potter.”
“Sir, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to sleep in and-” Harry was interrupted with a wave of Snape’s hand.
“I’m aware, that tends to be a side effect of dreamless sleep,” Snape replied in an even tone that lacked its usual malice.
Harry let out a breath he wasn’t even aware he was holding. He had expected to be yelled at and punished for not being awake. They awkwardly stared at each other for a moment before Harry eventually broke eye contact.
“No chores this morning, eat your breakfast quickly. The Headmaster will be stopping by shortly.” With a flick of Snape’s wand a portion of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast came flying to the table. Snape quickly exited the room.
Harry tentatively made his way to the table, staring at the food for a few minutes before making his way to the rubbish bin and throwing it out. He felt bad wasting Snape’s food, but eating it would make him sick.
Just as he finished cleaning his dishes, the floo flared green and none other than Albus Dumbledore stepped out, dressed in his customary bright blue robes.
“Hello, morning Harry. I am glad to see you are doing well. How has your stay with Professor Snape been?” the Headmaster asked warmly.
“Hello Professor Dumbledore. We’ve been getting along fine.” Harry replied in a monotone voice, not wanting to be honest and give Snape a reason to punish him.
“Glad to hear my boy! Unfortunately I cannot stay and chat, Severus and I have much to discuss...” Dumbledore made his way over to the Potions Master’s study, glancing at Harry for a mere moment before stepping in.
Snape gave Harry a piercing glare, warning him not to listen before he slammed the door to his study shut.
Harry immediately disregarded the Professor and pressed his ear against the door, wanting to hear their conversation and see if he could gather some information. The voices were muffled, but Harry was able to make out what they were saying.
The two men exchanged pleasantries and Hogwarts gossip for a few minutes, and just as Harry was beginning to lose hope about gaining new information, the conversation took a sharp turn.
“You were summoned last night. What happened at the meeting?” Dumbledore asked his Potions Master of well over a decade.
“The Dark Lord knows Potter has been moved but is unsure where. Lucius found out through someone at the Ministry, we need to be more careful. The Order needs to understand how imperative it is to keep this sensitive information under wraps.” Snape replied as he sat down at his desk/
‘The Dark Lord?! Meaning that Snape had been at the Death Eater meeting he witnessed last night.’ His mind reeled, ‘Oh my god, I’m living with a Death Eater.’ He wasn’t able to fully wrap his mind around that fact when Snape continued speaking.
“He was upset I did not inform him and believes that I am slipping from your trust,” Snape continued.
“Did he torture you?” Dumbledore asked, but Snape didn’t respond. “Severus,” the Headmaster coaxed gently. “What spells did he use on you? Do you require any medical assistance?” Dumbledore was met with a resounding silence form his potions master.
When he eventually spoke, Snape’s voice sounded resigned in a way that Harry had never heard before. “Multiple rounds of the Cruciatus Curse and Sectumsempra. I did not drop my shields under his brutal Legilimency, my cover is still intact. I healed myself last night and I am fine.” Snape's voice hardened at the last sentence, signaling an end to the conversation.
That explained why the Potions Master looked like shit this morning. Harry had felt the Cruciatus Curse and couldn’t imagine enduring multiple rounds. It had taken him days to recover. He could imagine that Snape must have been in a lot of pain today.
“Please take care of yourself my dear boy, we need you. I shall be off now, the Minister requested my presence this afternoon so I must go take care of that.” Harry heard the telltale whoosh of the Floo as the Headmaster departed.
Footsteps made their way towards the door, but Harry wasn’t able to get away fast enough. The door opened and Harry was left looking into the professor’s dark eyes that were flashing with anger.
“Potter, how much of that did you hear?”