Chapter 4 - Facing the World
Harry fled the dungeons praying he didn't meet up with any of the Slytherins on his way to the Great Hall. He had no doubt that most of the students were up and about - first day of school and all. Most people were generally too excited to sleep. He wasn't actually looking forward to facing his friends, not at all certain what sort of reaction he could expect. There were just too many variables. He still hadn't gotten over the fact that he was married. Add to that the fact that he was married to a man and it left his head reeling - despite Hermione's assurances that the Wizarding World didn't share the typical Muggle prejudices concerning such things. But to add to that the fact that the man in question was everyone's most hated Potions Professor, Severus Snape - he rather expected to find himself burned in effigy.
As he he'd guessed, the Great Hall was already crowded with students, and as Harry made his way the Gryffindor table, most everyone turned to stare at him and whispered words followed him. He felt his face growing hot, and the small gold ring on his right hand suddenly felt like an enormous chain.
Ron and Hermione were waiting for him, and both of them jumped up to greet him as he approached. Ron took hold of his arm and pulled him toward a seat, Hermione moving over to make room between the two of them. He was grateful for their consideration, the stares he was getting from Seamus, Dean and Neville almost too much to bear. Especially Neville's. The boy looked like he was about to explode.
"You okay there, Harry?" Ron asked quickly, shooting a glare at the others.
"Fine," Harry assured him. Seamus and Dean were staring at the ring on his finger. He was also aware of the fact the seventh years on one side of him and the fifths on the others were staring as well. Several copies of the Daily Prophet were being passed around the table; each time someone got a copy they'd immediately look up at Harry in disbelief. Ginny Weasley looked as if she were about to burst in to tears. Harry shifted uncomfortably on his seat.
"You okay?" Hermione whispered to him.
"Fine," he repeated.
Hermione and Ron exchanged an odd look. "I mean, are you. . .Snape didn't. . ."
Harry stared at her in horror. "No!" he squeaked. He shot Ron a look of disbelief, disturbed to see that Ron looked quite relieved by his answer. "You didn't actually think that. . ."
"Don't trust the greasy git, do I," Ron pointed out to him. "Wouldn't put anything past him."
Seamus, having caught a passing copy of the Daily Prophet, slapped the newspaper down in front of Harry. "Is it true?" he demanded.
Harry stared down at the front page of the paper. Splashed in bright red letters were the words. "Social Coup of the Century! Severus Snape Marries The Boy Who Lived!"
Harry's eyes widened. It wasn't precisely the article he'd been expecting - figuring it would insinuate all sorts of nasty things about his private life and his sudden liaison with a current professor. But once again Wizarding society surprised him. The article was focused on the fact that Severus Snape seemed to have pulled off some sort of spectacular social triumph. It mentioned the fact that his family's name had been tarnished by rumors of past association with dark wizards on the part of both Severus Snape and his father Octavius Snape. By marrying Harry Potter, it seemed Severus Snape had done what no one expected, clearing his family name and reinstating one of the Wizarding World's oldest family back into their previously lost standing of respect, as obviously neither Harry Potter nor his Headmaster Dumbledore (suspected of having arranged the marriage) would have agreed to such a liaison if any of the rumors of Death Eater sympathies had been true.
The article then went on to suggest various reactions amongst the other Wizarding families of high standing, and how some of them had best find ways of proving their own loyalties lest the Ministry start looking into the rumors surrounding them. It ended with quotes from several Ministry candidates whom Harry had never met explaining their own involvement in arranging the happy nuptials.
There wasn't a single mention of either their genders or their age differences. Harry glanced over at Hermione in bewildered disbelief. "Told you," she shrugged.
"It's true then?" Seamus repeated.
Harry nodded and as he handed back the paper; the ring on his hand glinted in the morning sunlight. Neville gasped in shock. "Harry!" He shook his head. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Tell you what?"
"That you were arranging a marriage with Snape!" Seamus exclaimed. "It wasn't because of what I said about all his money yesterday, was it? Please tell me that wasn't it?"
"Of course not!" Harry nearly choked on the thought.
"But Snape, Harry!" Neville cried. "Professor Snape! How can you stand it?"
Harry didn't really know how to answer that.
"God, Harry," Dean shuddered. "I can understand arranging a marriage of good quality, but you're the last person who needed to do something like this. And to pick someone like Snape!"
Once again, Harry was left with the idea that there was something about Wizarding society he just wasn't understanding. He turned toward Hermione for an explanation. She looked rather thoughtful. "Not unusual for the older families to arrange marriages for their children," she explained. "It's usually done to increase one's wealth or social standing. As you can see this was a brilliant move on the part of Snape, but you didn't need to increase your social standing. People don't get more famous than you."
"So everyone is going to assume I married him for his money?" Harry asked in disbelief.
She nodded her head. "I'm afraid so. You obviously didn't marry him for love. Or lust," she added as an afterthought. "Or even affection. Or vague apathy."
Neville gasped at the very idea. "Oh, God! Poor Harry! Married to that horrible, horrible monster!"
"Neville!" Harry hissed. "Knock it off!"
Seamus slapped Neville lightly on the back. "Yeah, Neville, that is Harry's bond-mate you're insulting now."
Neville's face twisted up in misery and he stared across the table at Harry in horror.
"I didn't mean that!" Harry said quickly. "I just meant. . .oh hell!" He looked over at Ron. "Didn't you tell them anything?"
Ron just shrugged sheepishly. "Wasn't exactly sure what I was supposed to say."
Harry sighed. He supposed it wouldn't help anyone to go into too much detail about Fudge's twisted plan, but he didn't want the rest of Gryffindor believing he had married Snape for his money. Or that Snape had some how trapped him just to get a name for himself. "It was for my safety," he told them all. "Because of Voldemort." The spoken name got winces and shudders of horror. "Because of You Know Who," he corrected. "Because Snape can help protect me."
Seamus leaned closer toward them. "Harry, are you sure you can trust him? I mean there must have been someone better than Snape. Chances are he is a Death Eater himself. He's good buddies with Lucius Malfoy you know and despite what the Ministry says that man is just twisted!"
Harry frowned. That really was too much - he might not like the man, but he did trust him. And admire his courage. Snape had risked his life more times than anyone spying on Voldemort just to keep all of them safe, and this was the thanks he got. He could almost understand why the man took such great delight in tormenting him about his celebrity status.
"Yes, I'm sure," Harry insisted. "None of you may know this, but he's saved my life repeatedly over the last five years."
"Snape!?" Neville and Dean asked in unison. "But Harry he hates you!"
Harry didn't really have an answer to that. They were right. Snape did hate him. "Well, lots of people hate me," he pointed out. "That doesn't exactly automatically make them evil."
"Yes, it does," Seamus insisted.
"Well, not Snape," Harry insisted. "Dumbledore trust him."
They seemed to take that at face value but the looks of sympathy didn't fade any. "God, Harry," Dean shuddered. "I can't imagine how you can stand it. Living with that. . .that. . ..git!"
"So much for breaking curfew any more," Seamus pointed out. "He'll catch you for certain now."
"It will be like one permanent detention," Neville exclaimed.
"That's enough!" Hermione told them all. "This is still Harry's life you're talking about. How would you feel?"
"Horrible!" they said in unison. "That's the point!"
Harry just sighed. This was going to be a long year.
The questions didn't end after that, the other Gryffindors wanted answers of their own, and even a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs joined them to find out what was going on. Only the Slytherins kept their distance, though the glares they were throwing across the room were chilling. But while Harry was suffocating under the endless questions and whispers, it was nothing to the reception Snape received when he entered the hall. Dead silence followed him, every eye in the place turned toward him as if looking for something different about him, something they'd missed that might have made the Boy Who Lived willing to marry him.
He sat down at the head table, nodded to the other teachers, and then turned his most withering gaze on the entire student body. It had its usual affect, everyone looking swiftly away and going right back to their speculating whispers.
Nervously, Harry glanced toward Snape, noticing that the man was in the process of reading the article on the front page of the Daily Prophet. Judging by the look of fury blazing in his dark eyes, he was not in the least bit pleased by the speculations. Harry couldn't figure out what reason he had to be so angry - everyone seemed to think he'd come out smelling like a rose. Harry on the other hand had been painted as a mercenary out for money alone. He was not looking forward to the rest of the day.
The questions never stopped, all day long Harry kept having to answer the same things over and over again. And despite sharing similar sentiments, he was getting tired of the expressions of sympathy from his fellow students. Truth of the matter was, as much as he disliked Snape, he wasn't anywhere near as bad as the Dursleys. If he was to be believed, he had no intention of hitting or starving Harry, nor making him wait on him or serve him. And he actually had thanked Harry for that cup of coffee that morning, much to Harry's surprise. Still he was worried about potions class. He had always done poorly at the subject, though he didn't really know why. He tried, hard. It didn't seem to make much of difference however. And Snape made sure his displeasure at that fact was known to all. Add to this that they had double potions with Slytherin, Harry dreaded the class. If it hadn't been for Hermione's tutoring, he would never have passed his potions Owls last year.
By the time potions class began, last class of the day, Harry was already exhausted and ready to blow up at the first person who said one more word to him. As luck would have it, most of the Gryffindors had apparently figured this out - coupled with the fact that they too hated potions. This time, however, Harry had to endure the snickering and sly looks coming from the Slytherin side of the room. He wondered how Snape had managed to get through the day without killing anyone.
Not well, he guessed judging by the look of the man as he stormed into the room, black robe swirling around him. His face was set in a glare of granite, and everyone in the room instantly fell silent, Slytherin included.
"We will be studying advanced potions in this class in preparations for your NEWTS. This means most of the potions will be volatile this year," Snape announced into the dead quiet. "For those of you whose vocabularies are lacking, that means they're dangerous, unstable if not explosive." This last was directed toward the Gryffindor side of the room. "As such I expect unwavering concentration, and minute attention to detail. I'd like to keep both the death and dismemberment toll down to a minimum, so if I find any student. . .ANY student!" he shot a glare toward the Slytherin side of the room. They all shrank back in surprise. "Doing anything I might construe as horseplay, hyjinnx or simply slacking off, you will become the automatic volunteer test subject for my first years' potions!" The threat was sufficiently terrifying, as they all remembered the disasters they'd created during their own first year. Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortable. "You will find a box on your table filled with highly toxic items. Take out a scroll and identify all of them!"
Harry paired up with Ron, and the two of them began sorting through the items in the box. Hermione identified the most dangerous of the items before either of them could actually injure themselves. Snape hadn't been kidding when he'd said the contents were toxic; a number of the items in the box were actually poisonous to simply touch. Harry did notice that Snape spent the majority of the class period walking around with an unlabeled bottle in his hand - some sort of cure-all he guessed.
He'd nearly made it through the entire class without mishap when the Slytherins finally decided to make a move. While Snape was distracted with Dean Thomas, Pansy Parkinson picked up an item with a pair of iron tongs and flung it across the room toward Harry. Guessing that what ever it was was dangerous, both Ron and Harry ducked out of the way, as the item landed with a plop on their desk. Harry's chair fell over with a loud clatter.
"Mr. Potter!" Snape shouted. Harry froze as Snape advanced on him. "Is there a reason you have firedrake leaf lying on your desktop despite the fact that I told all of you not to remove it from its protective container?"
Firedrake leaf. Harry winced - if that had hit either him or Ron it would have blistered their skin. He debated momentarily telling Snape that Pansy had thrown it, but figured he probably wouldn't be believed. Snape never sided with Gryffindor over his Slytherins. "No, sir," he said quietly.
Snape's eyes flashed with anger. "Ten points from Gryffindor, Potter," he snapped. "And clean that mess up!"
The looks of triumph on the faces of the Slytherin was almost enough to make Harry want to fling the firedrake leaf back at them even with Snape looking on. But the last thing he wanted to do was lose more points for Gryffindor. It was the first day of classes and he'd already lost them points.
Ron threw the retreating Snape a look of utter disbelief and contempt as he helped Harry clean the firedrake up from the table. "So much for family loyalty," Ron muttered under his breath.
"Did you expect anything else?" Harry asked just as quietly.
"Not really," the redhead admitted. "At least he didn't give you detention. Wouldn't that just bite! Getting detention from your bond-mate. As if you don't already have to spend enough time with him as it is."
They cleaned up the mess, finishing just as class ended and Snape dismissed them all for the day. But Harry found the Slytherins waiting for him out in the hallway, the looks of malicious glee on their faces turning his stomach.
"Ten points from Gryffindor," Malfoy mocked. "You just can't win, can you, Potter? You must be really bad if you're still loosing points after putting out for the teacher."
The sexual innuendo was the last straw. Harry didn't even bother drawing his wand. He simply punched Draco for all he was worth, cracking him hard across the jaw and knocking the other boy down on his ass. The shouts of outrage and glee from the Slytherins and Gryffindors were followed by the drawing of wands on either side, ending in a standoff of the two groups. Draco looked stunned, staring up at Harry from the ground, his lip bleeding, looking as if he could not believe Harry had actually punched him.
But before a single hex could be thrown, the dark shape of Severus Snape loomed over all of them, causing everyone to freeze. "Potter!" Snape growled. "Did you just punch Mr. Malfoy?"
Considering Harry still had his fist clenched, he supposed it was pretty obvious what had happened. He flinched at the anger he saw in Snape's eyes. "Yes, sir," he admitted nervously.
"Why?"
Harry flushed. There was no way in hell he was going to repeat what Draco had said, and everyone there knew it, Malfoy included. The Slytherin climbed to his feet, his eyes just daring Harry to say something. Despite the blood on his lips, he smiled smugly.
"No reason, sir," Harry gritted his teeth as he spoke the words. Dead silence followed his words and everyone looked at Snape. The man's expression was unreadable.
"Report for detention tonight, Mr. Potter." His voice was deadly cold. "Now get out of here all of you." With that he turned and disappeared back into the classroom.
The Slytherins started snickering immediately, the Gryffindors glaring at them.
"Point loss and detention!" Malfoy teased. "Don't worry about it, Potter. Maybe you can work the detention off in trade! Likes you on your knees I imagine."
Harry nearly hit him again, would have if Snape hadn't suddenly reemerged from the classroom, grabbed Malfoy by the throat and slammed the young man up against one of the stone walls of the corridor, his eyes blazing with fury. "Mr. Malfoy! If I ever hear you insulting my bond-mate like that again, I will drag you off this campus and beat the crap out of you myself! Do you understand?!"
Malfoy's face was utterly white, his eyes wide in terror. He nodded fervently, trying to speak around the fist that was clamped around his throat. Satisfied with whatever answer he squeaked out, Snape shoved him aside, knocking him on the ground again. The other Slytherins stood frozen in shock, pale faces staring at Snape as if they didn't recognize him. The Gryffindors stared in equal shock, amazement on their faces. Snape gifted them all with his worst glare yet.
"Clear out, NOW!"
They all fled - Slytherins in one direction, Gryffindors in the other.
Harry, pulled along after the other Gryffindors by Ron and Hermione, was struck speechless with shock. He couldn't believe what had just happened! Snape had attacked Malfoy to defend not his life but his honor! The man's words rang through his head. My bond-mate. Maybe Arthur Weasley had been right when he'd said that Snape would be honor-bound to protect him.
Harry found himself sitting in the Gryffindor common room before he knew it, not remembering until after the fact that he didn't live there any more. The rest of the Gryffindors were busy telling the other students what had just happened. Harry supposed that by dinner it would be all over the castle.
"I can't believe that just happened!" Seamus exclaimed. "Oh, my god! Did you see the look on Malfoy's face?"
"I can't believe Snape defended you!" Neville exclaimed, staring at Harry with something that looked strangely like awe. "He's never defended anyone before!"
Ron seemed just as speechless as Harry. Hermione on the other hand seemed neither shocked nor surprised. "Well, what else would you expect?" she demanded of all of them. "Weird as it may seem, they are in fact married. And any insult given to Harry is an insult to Snape's family. If he wants to maintain his good name, he has to defend Harry's honor. The two are tied together now."
"I know that," Seamus agreed. "I just didn't guess that Snape did. Or that he'd care. He's never cared about anyone before. And just the idea of the Head of Slytherin defending a Gryffindor!" He shook his head. "It's beyond belief."
"Merlin, who knew the bastard had it in him!" Dean said gleefully. "I thought Malfoy was going to wet himself!"
"Sure is weird," Ron agreed. "Did you know he was going to do something like that Harry?"
Harry stared at his friend in disbelief. "How would I know something like that? The man just gave me detention! Why would I expect him to defend my honor?"
"Yeah, how weird is that?" Seamus exclaimed. "Takes points from you, gives you detention and then threatens to beat the crap out of Malfoy for saying the same garbage he's been spouting for five years!"
"My life's a three ring circus," Harry agreed.
"What do you suppose he's going to make you do for detention?" Dean asked.
Harry's eyes widened in shock and he threw a furious glare at his year mate. The one thing the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had managed to avoid during the course of the day was the sexual innuendo Harry had been dreading; to hear it now after what Malfoy had just said was too much.
Dean's eyes widened in surprise and he raised his hands in defense. "I didn't mean it like that!" he squeaked. "I swear! I just meant it was weird to get detention from your own bond-mate. That's blurring the lines between public and private lives a bit much."
Appeased, Harry leaned back in his chair. "I image not giving me detention would be blurring the lines just as much." He glanced over at Hermione. "I don't suppose there's a rule book about this anywhere? McGonagall seemed to indicate that there were certain customs concerning married students, suggesting that this has happened before."
"It's not common," Hermione told him. "But it has happened - mostly though the marriages are between two students. Not a student and a teacher. But there have been cases with arranged marriages that are similar to this situation. But I doubt there's any sort of rulebook anywhere. You're going to have figure this out between the two of you."
"Well, it's not like anyone is ever going to accuse Snape of favoritism," Ron told them.
"I'll be lucky if I pass potions at the rate I'm going," Harry agreed. He laughed suddenly. "Won't that make an interesting headline on the front page of Daily Prophet? Boy Who Lives, Bond-Mate of Hogwart's Potions Master, Fails Potions!"
Hermione snorted in disgust. "I doubt you'll fail Potions, Harry," she informed him. "I won't let you. And somehow I doubt Snape will either. If nothing more than to simply avoid just such a headline."
The door to the common room opened suddenly and McGonagall stuck her head inside. "Mr. Potter, could I speak with you for a moment."
"Of course, Professor," Harry said quickly, throwing a curious look at his friends. He followed McGonagall out into the hallway, down the corridor to her private office at the base of Gryffindor tower. Once inside, she motioned Harry to be seated in front of her desk.
"Harry," she began. "In reviewing the board I noticed that you have not only lost points for Gryffindor but received a detention as well. All on the first day of class." She motioned toward the magical placard that graced one wall where the house points for Gryffindor were automatically tallied and totaled. Harry saw his name written in bold letters in two locations.
"Yes, ma'am," he sighed. "I'm sorry, I. . ."
"Harry," she interrupted. "It's not the points or the detention I'm overly worried about. No doubt you and many others will do the same throughout the school year. What concerns me is that both demerits came from Professor Snape."
Harry nodded. Surely she didn't think that was unusual. No one took more points away from Gryffindor that Professor Snape.
McGonagall sighed. "Harry, hasn't it occurred to you what a difficult position Severus is in at the moment? You're his bond-mate. Regardless of the fact that you were both forced into this marriage, it is still legally binding. Everything you do reflects on him. And for him to have to be the one to take points from you, or give you detention must weigh heavily on him. I realize this situation is new to you, but the onus of maintaining a professional relationship with you during school hours lies entirely on his shoulders, since he is the figure in authority here. But that does not mean that you do not have an equal responsibility of helping him maintain both propriety and decorum. He can not risk being accused of bias or nepotism, something I have no doubt he will manage with his usual finesse; but it is exceedingly unfair of you to push him in the opposite extreme as well."
Harry felt himself flush at her words. He hadn't actually thought of how odd it must be for Snape to have to maintain his relationship as his teacher. It was probably weirder for him to be married to a sixteen-year-old student than it was for him to be married to a thirty-six-year-old teacher. "I'm sorry, Professor," he apologized. "It's just that there are some situations that are out of my control." Not much he could do if the Slytherins were bound and determined to get him in trouble. They had years of practice setting him up, and Snape knew it.
"I realize that certain other students make some situations awkward," McGonagall agreed tersely. "I'm just suggesting you do your utmost to give Severus no reason at all to question your behavior. For both your sakes."
"Yes, Ma'am," Harry nodded in agreement.
"And in the interest of making certain there is no hint of impropriety, any detention you receive from Professor Snape will be served with me." There was a faint twinge of pink in the older woman's cheeks, and Harry suspected she'd heard about what Draco had said. He wondered how the story had gotten around so quickly.
"Was that your idea?" he asked curiously.
But McGonagall shook her head. "No, I spoke with Severus just a few minutes ago. It was his idea. Seems he was concerned about some nasty rumor he'd overheard."
Harry just blushed, not certain at all what to make of the situation.