28. Chapter 28

I loved the response I got from the last chapter. Thank you all so very much! I've said this before but sometimes it's quite surprising to see which chapters are more well-liked than others and the previous chapter was one such case. Alas, Christmas is over and it is time to go back to Hogwarts. I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter as well.

Chapter 28

While Harry had truly had an amazing time in Cokeworth, he was really looking forward to going back to Hogwarts. He hadn't seen Ron and Hermione for two weeks but more than that, he was eager to give the potion another try.

After saying their goodbyes to Alex, they left for Hogwarts a few days early, just so Snape could get some things to do with his teaching duties in order. They also needed to drop off their newly brewed potions in the hospital wing.

They were back in time for dinner and Harry noticed that all of the leftover students shared a single table with their teachers. It was elongated but not extensively so. It was quite odd to see, really. Luna sat next to Dumbledore, having a pleasant discussion concerning the mapping of creatures in the forbidden forest as Hagrid interjected occasionally. McGonagall was discussing animagi with a seventh year Hufflepuff and Bell – who had also returned prematurely – was entertaining three Ravenclaws with a tale that would have been utterly boring had Binns told it.

Adding themselves to the group of reorganised Hogwarts occupants, Snape and Harry sat near Slughorn, where some seats were still available.

"Ah Harry, Severus," Slughorn greeted amiably, "So good to see you back here. Did you have a happy Christmas?"

"Very pleasant, thank you," Harry replied politely. "How was yours?"

"Oh, nothing too eventful happened, I fear," Slughorn chuckled, "I've seen Peeves skulk around the dungeons on more than one occasion but besides that, nothing out of the ordinary has happened. I've mostly been working on some personal research."

"Harry here managed to invent an entirely new potion," Snape said as he cut into his beef Wellington.

"You don't say?" Slughorn said in astonishment. "Do tell, is it the one you've been working on for the last couple of months?"

Harry felt himself flush somewhat because of the unwanted attention but replied anyway. "It's a different potion," he said, "Nothing too spectacular, really. It was just something I've been playing around with."

"There's really no need to make yourself or your accomplishments smaller than they are, Harry," Snape chided lightly. "We're all academics here and I'm certain that Horace would be quite interested in your invention."

Harry frowned at Snape who smirked back at him and shrugged.

"Well, alright," he conceded, "I created a potion that will allow for a muggle to interact with magical items such as a broom."

"You don't say," Slughorn said in obvious wonder, "And if I may ask, what did you use for the base of your potion?"

"Dirigible plums," Harry provided, "They were a Christmas present from Luna –" Harry smiled at her when she looked at him at the mention of her name, "- and it occurred to me that they were perfect."

"Inspired!" Slughorn exclaimed, "But what did you use to counter their gravitational pull?"

"I didn't need to use anything," Harry said proudly, "I simply imbued the plums with innate magic and they were ready for use."

"Simply!" Slughorn exclaimed a bit louder than Harry would have liked but the astonishment in the Potion Master's voice fed his sense of pride. Snape simply looked smug. "That is a very high level of skill, Harry. One that not even a fifth of all Potion Masters possess."

"Do you?" Harry asked, realizing too late just how rude that question might be.

Slughorn regarded him for a moment before smiling slyly. "I do," he replied, "And I know what it takes to learn this particular skill. I gather you've mastered Occlumency then?"

"In the sense that Occlumency can ever be mastered," Snape replied smoothly, "But yes, the boy is extraordinarily talented when it comes to innate magic."

"Fascinating," Slughorn said, eyeing Harry hungrily as if he was an important experiment. "Have you been able to test the potion yet?"

"Oh, I have," Harry replied easily, "We have a muggle friend that knows all about magic –" McGonagall choked on a potato and Dumbledore smiled knowingly. "- And he managed to stay afloat on my Firebolt after he took the potion."

"Do you think he would be able to use a wand after drinking the potion?" Slughorn asked. Harry thought the man's food must be getting cold as it lay there seemingly forgotten. He thought about the question for a moment.

"As much as any wizard can wield a wand that isn't theirs, I would guess," Harry finally said, "A wizard that has never had any practice with spellwork and magic, of course."

"It would be interesting to see if he could," Snape noted.

"I'm quite certain that this particular muggle would be quite happy to assist you with your experimentation," Dumbledore suddenly interjected, "But I must suggest that you remain cautious. I don't know how the ministry would react to a magic-wielding muggle."

Snape smirked. "Forgive me, headmaster, but aren't you calling the proverbial kettle black?" he asked, "For some reason, a certain antediluvian wizard I know has seen fit to introduce this muggle in question to our world rather dramatically."

Dumbledore chuckled. "I simply hate to see talent and enthusiasm wasted," he said, "And I daresay that the young man is thriving because of my interference, wouldn't you say?"

Most of the other occupants sitting at the table now seemed thoroughly lost. Only Maya occasionally chuckled and cast knowing glances at Snape as well as Dumbledore. Luna certainly looked as if she knew what the conversation was about but she could just as easily be thinking about something entirely different.

"Besides," Dumbledore continued, "Life is simply that much more pleasurable when we understand each other, wouldn't you say so, Maya?" His baby blue eyes sparkled annoyingly bright and with one glance at Snape, Harry knew that his father was thoroughly exasperated.

"Are you telling me you were aware of these impossibly coincidental circumstances?" Snape snarled as he gestured in Maya's general direction.

Dumbledore laughed heartily in response. "My dear boy," he said fondly, "There is very little I am not aware of. Besides, I think it's best that we all try and live our lives as if we were doing so on purpose."

Luna – who sat comfortably besides Dumbledore – laughed disarmingly. "That would certainly confuse death, wouldn't it?" she added.

Dumbledore smiled broadly. "Or make him into our ally," Dumbledore told her softly as if it was a secret he shared only with her.

The other people sitting nearby looked at their headmaster somewhat flabbergasted before everyone went back to their own conversations.

"So about this muggle acquaintance of yours," Slughorn said, picking up where they left off, "Do you think we could convince him to visit Hogwarts at some point in the near future? Finding a muggle test subject is quite difficult and I would be very interested to see your potion in action. Perhaps I could discern some issues or unknown aspects you missed, hm?"

Snape and Harry looked at each other for a moment. "I think he would be quite amenable to the idea," Snape replied.

"Preferably at the next Quidditch match," Harry added, "If Professor Dumbledore would allow it, of course."

"Dear Harry, I am somewhat astounded that you would think me disagreeable with that prospect," Dumbledore interjected again, "While I won't have a flock of random muggles explore these sacred halls of their own volition, I could never reject one of the close friends of one of my staff."

"Close friend is a bit much," Snape protested.

"You had dinner at his house for boxing day!" Maya protested, "And you two seemed pretty chummy to me."

"I'm sure that you were simply seeing things," Snape objected, "Possibly due to the wine."

Maya giggled but didn't object which Harry though to be quite graceful of her. She might as well have pointed out that Snape had been equally drunk. Instead, she just winked at him and said: "Whatever it is you think of Alex, he thinks the world of you. If he were an owl or a cat, you would have a familiar on your hands."

"Alexander is not nearly as useful," Snape said coldly, "Though he did manage to deliver a letter."

Harry snorted, "And he was sort of able to fly."

"Someday we'll make an owl of him yet," Snape smirked, "Perhaps an idea for your next experiment?"

"What, animal transformation?" Harry asked, "That sounds ridiculously hard."

"Impossible, I would say," McGonagall interjected with pursed lips. "It is a fine art to become an Animagus. There is no way that you could bottle the discipline required for the transformation."

"Is that a challenge, Minerva?" Snape asked mischievously.

"Nothing of the sort, Severus," McGonagall said plainly as she daintily lifted her cup of tea. "I would hate for any accidents to happen on my account."

"Perhaps if we were able to distil the innate magic of the animal in question," Harry told Snape, "And combined it with that of the drinker, it might have the desired effect."

"But however would you stop both sources from mingling?" Snape asked. McGonagall groaned in exasperation but was ignored.

"You could entrap the innate magic of the human specimen in water," Slughorn suggested.

"And the beastly essence in oil," Snape finished thoughtfully, "That's quite a brilliant suggestion, Horace."

"But of course," Slughorn told him easily, "Don't forget who taught you."

"But we would probably need to wait for the full moon," Harry continued.

Snape shook his head. "The half-moon is what I believe you should be aiming for," he said.

"Why not both?" Slughorn added, "It would take some time but it might work."

"Honestly!" McGonagall growled suddenly, "You three are impossible. There is no way to create an animagi potion."

"Afraid that it will fail, Minerva?" Snape smirked, "Or worried that it might actually work?"

"Don't come complaining to me when you find yourself trapped," McGonagall said haughtily. But Harry caught her small smile of amusement. When she saw him looking at her and was sure that Slughorn and Snape were discussing the possibilities amongst themselves again, she winked at him. Somehow, Harry thought that she was actually quite pleased to see Snape passionate like this. Or maybe it wasn't him she was pleased about.

Listening to his mentor with a half-ear, he refocused his attention on his chicken.

The day after Snape and Harry had come back, Dumbledore had summoned Harry into his office and he couldn't help but wonder what he had done wrong now. Maybe Dumbledore was upset about what had happened with the ghosts?

By the time he had arrived at the gargoyle statue, he had worried himself a great deal and found himself playing with a loose strand on his robe.

"Chocolate-covered strawberries," Harry muttered, the gargoyle Dumbledore had dubbed Archibald allowing him passage.

As soon as Harry stepped into Dumbledore's office and saw the brilliantly white smile he was greeted with, all of his worries disappeared.

"Good to see you, Harry," Dumbledore said, "Would you care for a lemon drop?"

Harry chuckled. "No thank you, sir," he declined respectfully.

Dumbledore's eyes shimmered with amusement. "You know," he said, "You always used to take a lemon drop before. I do believe that Severus' dislike for sweets is rubbing off on you."

"I think it's just me growing up," Harry replied easily.

"Ah yes," Dumbledore said, "The unstoppable passage of time. It is quite sad and yet quite happy all the same, wouldn't you agree?"

"Of course, sir," Harry said, not sure what reply was expected of him.

"But I forget myself," Dumbledore chuckled, "I did not summon you here to listen to the mad ramblings of an old fool. No, I wish to discuss with you the potion you have been trying to create."

Harry's heart jumped slightly. So he was here about his most recent mishap.

Dumbledore seemed to read his expression correctly and smiled encouragingly. "No, Harry," he said, "You're not in trouble. Quite the opposite, in fact. I think that I will be able to help you."

"Help me?" Harry said hopefully, "Do you mean it?"

"I rarely say things I don't mean, Harry," Dumbledore said truthfully, "And I wish to support you in any way that I can. Now, have you ever heard of an alchemist's circle?"

"No sir," Harry replied.

"Ah, I didn't think so," Dumbledore said, "You see, as you no doubt know, I've partnered with Nicolas Flamel for an important portion of my life while working on several alchemical discoveries and developments."

"I know, sir," Harry said, remembering his first year well. Dumbledore flashed him a knowing smile.

"While the outcome of your potion was not entirely your desire, it was only to be expected," Dumbledore said, "I don't know if you've ever heard of innate magic?"

Harry grinned, "I have sir."

Dumbledore actually looked surprised at that. "Have you now?" he asked, "Well, that makes this conversation a lot easier already. You see, I believe the reason that your potion summoned ghosts was because it reacted to the innate magic of the castle as well as its inhabitants."

"Do you mean the ghosts?" Harry asked, somewhat perplexed. Potions weren't supposed to do that.

"The ghosts; the students; the teachers; the rats, all of them," Dumbledore replied, "All lives, big and small have an effect on any form of magic that is so decidedly large."

"Large?" Harry asked.

"You are attempting to cross planes, Harry," Dumbledore said, "Even if only in spirit, that takes a tremendous amount of magic. And other spirits interfere with that process."

Harry frowned. "So what do I do about that?"

"The alchemical circle I mentioned earlier – otherwise known as a containment field – would help keep all innate magic that you do not wish for, out," Dumbledore said.

"That's amazing!" Harry said in obvious excitement, "And you will teach me how to make one?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Calm yourself, Harry," he said fondly, "This is not a dangerous or hard spell I'm teaching you. This is actually rather basic. One of the first things a budding alchemist would learn. But I believe that it would benefit you greatly."

Harry didn't care. Impressive or not, it was amazing that Dumbledore himself was willing to teach him this alchemical circle. Anything that would help him, he would take. And as Dumbledore himself had told him before: 'No knowledge is wasted'.

The circle itself was nothing magical at all. Instead, it was a drawing. A slightly complex drawing, yes, but nothing Harry couldn't handle. He was to draw it in white chalk and make sure that the edges touched each other perfectly to complete the circle. He even noticed some runes that he was familiar with mixed into the edges. It took a mere hour of practising to get it right and for some reason, Harry didn't feel too accomplished.

"Am I doing it right?" Harry asked sheepishly.

"That will do perfectly," Dumbledore told him, "But we won't know for sure what the effect will be until you apply it. Just make sure to take special care to draw the runes for stability and structure correctly lest there be undesirable results. Try it next time and tell me what happens. I confess that I'm rather curious as to what the results will be."

Harry nodded his consent. "Of course, Professor," he said, "And thank you very much for showing me this."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Oh Harry, even though my teaching days have long since passed, I do still enjoy filling the minds of students with all kinds of wonder."

Fawkes thrilled beautifully at that statement.

School restarted the next day. The tables had been reset in their normal positions and Harry found himself back at the Gryffindor table, surrounded by his friends.

Draco had joined them once again and Harry noticed that he was wearing the Swiss timepiece he had given the boy for Christmas.

"So, you might even wear it sometimes, huh?" Harry pointed out with a smirk.

"What can I say?" Draco shrugged, "There's no arguing over quality."

"It's beautiful," Hermione noted, "And it really suits you, Draco."

"It does have an aristocratic feel to it, doesn't it?" Draco said, lifting the piece as he looked at it some more.

A gasp from Lavender Brown made the fearsome foursome look at her. When Hermione caught sight of what she was reading, she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Ignore her," she said, "She's probably fawning over some pretty boy again."

Ron chuckled. "Yeah, 'Witch Weekly'. Ginny was into that for a while."

Harry would have ignored her but she was showing more and more people the magazine cover and everyone she showed it to either broke into uncomfortable fits of giggles or looked away in obvious embarrassment.

"For once they're not looking over here," Harry murmured, "So it can't be me."

He noticed a few people looking over at the head table and when he looked over himself, he saw Maya sitting there with a self-satisfied smirk on her face and couldn't help but think, 'What did you do now?'

Snape was becoming increasingly annoyed at the stares that were directed his way. When he glared at the ones openly looking at him, they would avert their gaze for a while, only to giggle at one of their companions and stare at him once more.

The attention he was getting was mostly female and was directed his way from all tables of all houses. But there were some boys in the mix as well. Thinking for a moment that Harry had something to do with this, he looked pointedly at his son but the boy seemed equally confused.

He sighed deeply when he realized that there could only be one other person that would dare and try to openly embarrass him and that person was sitting right next to him.

"What did you do this time, Maya?" he asked calmly, trying his best not to seem bothered.

"Me?" Maya asked in mock disbelief, "Whatever do you mean, dear Severus? I haven't done a thing."

Suddenly, Sprout broke into a fit of giggles and slid a magazine in McGonagall's direction. Snape noticed that her eyes widened for a moment and that she tried to cover up a smile with her hand as she read.

Having no patience for decorum or etiquette, Snape snatched the magazine McGonagall was reading and stared at it, his own eyes widening in shock.

Right there, on the front cover of Witch Weekly, was a picture of his own face, his expression focused as he carefully and precisely chopped op potion ingredients. He glanced over at his colleagues who seemed to be staring at him with a mixture of shock and amusement. Growling to himself, he looked at the page McGonagall had been reading, his eyes narrowing as he devoured the sappy wording about his person.

Our most eligible bachelor of the week is none other than renowned Potion Master Severus Snape.

The intellectual witch might have seen him appear in 'The Practical Potioneer' quite often, and even more so now that he has taken a young apprentice under his wing.

This man has a brilliant mind that he uses not only for the betterment of the magical community but also to help young witches and wizards develop their own talents. Though stern towards the students he teaches, he is devoted to them wholeheartedly.

He is amazingly charismatic and possesses dark eyes that are able to read any willing witch like an open book. It will surely take him no time at all to find out your deepest desires and act on them.

Severus enjoys reading, brewing potions and spending quality time with his son. He prefers a 1985 Bordeaux wine at dinner and his favourite flowers are lilies. While a hard man to get to open up, he actually has a very solid sense of humour and will no doubt surprise you with it if you give him a chance.

He is very dependable. A loyal and very courageous man who will happily save a damsel (or witch) in distress.

But don't wait too long ladies for this man will surely be snatched up soon. He is – after all – an extraordinarily rare specimen.

For a moment, Snape felt himself be overcome with mortification as he realized what all those – for the most part underage – witches were babbling and giggling about. He glanced sideways at Maya who sat there looking decidedly smug. He was about ready to throw something at her when he regarded the text a second time.

It was not derisive or mocking. There were no signs of this actually being a prank and any witch who read this magazine would definitely not see it as such. In fact, it was all rather flattering. A 1985 Bordeaux indeed. Who other than Maya would know this? It was the bottle he had brought with him on boxing day. And the lilies? Alex had no doubt told her. He liked telling that story to whoever would listen, after all.

With as much dignity as he could muster, he closed the magazine, handed it back to McGonagall and leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed as he looked at Maya. She was smirking at him and he raised a curious eyebrow, regarding her as he would a particularly interesting potion experiment.

"So," he drawled, "You think me amazingly charismatic, do you?"

Maya blinked a few times, her smirk lessening, albeit slightly. "Whatever do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"It's quite clear that you're behind this, dear Maya," Snape said, "Do you deny it?"

"I might have implied that you would make a fine bachelor of the week," Maya admitted, "Urging the publishers of the magazine to do a piece on you."

"Truly?" Snape asked, "And yet, it would appear that you did slightly more than that."

"Whatever do you mean?" Maya asked. She was turning rather red and Snape smirked in the face of her discomfort. Ah, how the tables had turned.

"This text was clearly written by your hand," he said, "No one else – even at this table – knows my wine preference."

Maya snorted, "So I devoted myself to this prank," she said, "I hope you don't find it too much of a bother."

It was clear that she was trying to distract him into feeling embarrassed again but she could not outslytherin the Slytherin head of house that easily. Instead, he slightly leaned his chin into the space between his thumb and index finger, with the other fingers lightly brushing his lips, the arm propped up on his armrest. A devilish smile adorned his features and his dark eyes sparkled mischievously.

"My dear," he teased, "I do think you've shown your hand much too quickly."

Maya huffed indignantly as Snape expertly turned the entire prank around on the instigator. The article had been nothing if not flattering, after all, so in truth, he shouldn't be too embarrassed. If he thought about it, he rather appreciated the things Maya had noticed about him. Not that that would stop him from handing out some payback. He noticed that a large portion of the attending students was now looking in their direction, as was every member of staff.

"I suppose I did," Maya muttered. She got up from her seat, still red as a Weasley's hair and walked out of the great hall, betwixt the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. It felt thoroughly as a walk of shame that Snape couldn't help but be amused by.

"When you're done with that article, Minerva," he said plainly, "I would very much like to keep it if that's alright."

The prank war continues! Please let me know what you think because I'm eager to know!
*Dances* Reviews make me happy!