The Mercy of Severus Snape

Chapter One

Harry stood in front of Snape's door for an indefinite amount of time. By now, he had memorized the grooves in the wood and was willing to bet that Snape was just behind the door, sitting at his desk with a stack of papers to grade. No matter how much he dreaded coming here, he knew that this was important for him to do. He had to go to Snape, swallow his pride and apologize so he could continue his Occlumency lessons.

The lessons were vital.

After the disaster in the Department of Mysteries, Harry had no interest in having a repeat. He had lost enough. He had lost his Godfather, Sirius, and put his friends at risk. He spent a good portion of the summer mourning over Sirius, thinking about the Prophecy, and drowning in a never ending pool of guilt. Strangely, the only thought that kept him from going insane was the thought of fixing his mistakes by taking Occlumency lessons again. If he could only convince Snape.

If he could guard his mind, then he could guard himself against Voldemort, at least until he had to physically battle him. His mind was his weakness, and he had let a perfect opportunity to learn to protect it slip away. If he had taken those lessons more seriously, or tried to get along with Snape better, he wouldn't have been victim to Voldemort's fake visions. It stunned him, even now, how stupid it was for him to believe what he saw. Sure it played on his major weakness, his love for Sirius, but if he had a stronger shield than he wouldn't have had to witness the vision to begin with.

He was no fool. He knew that Snape would loathe the very presence of him and would immediately eject him from the room. Harry had earnestly tried to practice clearing his mind every night during the summer, but it wasn't enough. He needed a teacher. And the only teacher he knew of was Snape.

Harry took a deep breath, and knocked. After a moment's silence, Harry spun around, convinced that Snape was either ignoring him or unavailable. He was ready to leave when he heard the voice from the other side of the door.

"Enter."

Harry hesitated before pushing the door open. It was a surprisingly warm room for a Slytherin Head of House. Instead of being furnished with green and silver like the common room, the sitting area had stone walls and an inviting dark blue carpet. Harry certainly did not expect Snape's personal quarters to look like this. The man of the quarters himself was sitting behind an oak desk with a stack of parchment beside him, just as Harry envisioned. He did not look up as Harry approached the desk.

Harry wasn't sure where to begin, or how to explain his request. Snape wasn't being helpful. He pointedly ignored Harry and instead, chose to continue grading his papers. Harry watched warily as Snape's hand flew across the parchment, marking things wrong and probably making deragatory comments on the bottom. He was an unmerciful grader, and Harry was victim to it for many years.

Harry stared down at the blue carpet, unable to look at Snape.

"I... was wondering if I could speak to you about something." Harry started off.

Snape did not pause. He moved on to the next paper.

"I am sure whatever it is you have to say is not worth my time." said Snape coldly.

Harry flinched. Yes, he had deserved that. In fact, it was a far nicer response than he had expected.

"It'll only take a minute." Harry said hesitantly.

"I do not have the patience to spend a minute with you, Mr. Potter."

Harry sighed.

"It's about Occlumency lessons."

Snape paused, and put aside his quill. He looked up at Harry, his dark unforgiving eyes piercing into Harry's green orbs. He clasped his hands together on top of the desk.

"I have no interest in the matter. If my memory serves me correctly, I asked you never to come here again."

"Er, technically this isn't your office – I'm in your quarters."

Snape sneered at him.

"You think you're very clever. However, Mr. Potter, nothing has changed since the last time I caught you looking in my Pensieve."

Snape finished his sentence with a small scream. Harry flinched.

"I-I wanted to apolog-"

"Silence."

Harry choked on his words and fell quiet. Snape rose gracefully from his chair and stalked over to Harry. Snape gripped his shoulder and pulled Harry's face closer to his own.

"Do you honestly believe that I will accept your apologies? Do you expect me to forgive you after trespassing my property and going through my most private memories? Memories of your esteemed father whom I loathe?" hissed Snape.

Harry's eyes watered from the intense grip on his shoulder. Harry blew out loudly through his mouth and tried to wrench himself from Snape's death hold. Snape only held on tighter.

"I'm sorry!" Harry cried out.

Snape's eyes narrowed. He released Harry and crossed his arms together.

"I highly doubt that your apologies are sincere. You are an insolent child, a brat, and I no longer wish to continue this conversation. Leave."

Harry bit his lip. This wasn't going well.

"Listen, I know that you hate me for going through your pensieve. But believe me, I didn't enjoy seeing my dad like that and I never told anyone about what I saw. I kept my word. I know I shouldn't have gone through your pensieve, it's a very private thing, and I really apologize for that. I've realized what a horrible mistake I've made and now I want to do something about it. I want you to give me Occlumency lessons again."

"I could care less about what you want, Potter."

"Professor, please, just think about it. Dumbledore is too busy to teach me, and you're the only other person I know that can do this. I need to guard my mind, I know this now better than before. I'll work at it, and I'll practice. Just give me another chance."

Snape looked like he was about to commit murder.

"You don't deserve another chance. You're still as arrogant and disrespectful as ever." He spit.

"I'll be respectful from now on, I swear. It's just... been hard. Dealing with Sirius' death hasn't been easy and it's been driving me mad knowing I could've done something. It's not too late though. It could be useful for me to make my mind impenetrable to Voldemort."

Harry looked quite pathetic, staring forlornly down at the carpet while wringing his hands together. Snape felt a pang of – what was it? – sympathy for the Potter brat before pushing it away. If he really wanted these lessons, he would work for them. He had, after all, witnessed one of the most humiliating moments of his life.

"You will call him the Dark Lord from now on, in my presence. And you will always address me as 'sir', inside and outside the classroom."

Harry lifted his head up and stared at Snape with a glimmer of hope. Did this mean Snape would be giving him lessons?

"Yes, sir!" Harry said.

"Furthermore, you will need to gain my trust. If you can prove yourself to be less of an arrogant fool and more of a responsible, respectful student willing to learn the fine art of Occlumency again, then I will resume lessons with you. If not, you will remain in my eyes the spitting image of your Father and never have this opportunity again."

"Thank you, sir. You won't regret this!" Harry said sincerely.

"I certainly hope not. Be prepared to work. If your performance in my Potions classroom does not improve, you will consider this deal off."

Harry suppressed a slight shiver. He abhorred Potions.

"Yes, sir. Don't worry, sir."

"Fine. You're dismissed."

Harry shut the door behind him and grinned.

Harry was nervous about class. He had spent a good portion of the day worrying about what would happen during Potions, and it had worn him down to a frenzy. Even Hermione was starting to give him strange looks when she thought he wasn't looking.

Finally, the time came. Harry and Ron sat near the back. Harry took out his potions book, and his quill, and sat still with his hands together on the desk. Ron shot him an odd look.

The dungeon doors sprung open and slammed against the stone walls. As dramatic as ever, Snape swept into the classroom, his black robes billowing behind him, and stood in front of the room. He allowed his eyes to survey each student before letting it fall on Harry.

"Today we will brew the Draught of the Living Dead, since we already went over it yesterday. The instructions are on the board, but they are also on page 10 in your textbook." Snape said curtly.

"Begin!"

Everyone rushed to gather ingredients from the cupboard and set their cauldrons up. Snape paid special attention to Potter. He would see today how much of what he said yesterday sunk into Potter's dense head. He spotted Harry flipping through the Potions textbook, carefully reading the instructions. He then began to chop valerian roots as fast as he could, paying no attention to Ron or the others around him. Snape lost interest in watching Potter when he realized that Potter was actually beginning the potion correctly. He moved onto his next favorite, the Longbottom boy. He was a walking disaster.

But he had spoken too quickly. From the corner of his eye he saw Potter's cauldron smoking dangerously. He glided over to behind Harry and stared into the cauldron over his shoulder.

"Potter!" He barked. He watched in satisfaction as Harry jumped.

"Yes, sir!" He gasped, and twisted around.

"What is the meaning of this? Are you utterly incompetent? You added the bean juice too soon! Your potion is ruined, you will receive a zero for today's work." Snape snapped.

Ron cursed under his breath, but Snape was more interested in Harry's reaction. Usually at this point in the game, Harry would explode in some usual show of disrespect which would warrant a detention. But Harry's head was down, his fists slowly clenching and unclenching.

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir." Harry said softly.

He returned to his cauldron and banished the contents with a flick of his wand. Ron choked and turned to Harry while Hermione gave him a quizzical stare.

"Potter, see me after class."

When the class ended, Harry lingered around his table, waiting for the stragglers to leave the room. Ron and Hermione waited with him, apprehensive about what Snape wanted to do or say to Harry.

"Mate, he's a right git. You weren't the only one that messed the potion up, and he still singled you out." said Ron, trying to support Harry who looked a bit gloomy about the whole thing.

"We'll wait outside if you want, Harry." Hermione said helpfully.

"Uh, it's okay. You'll be late to Transfiguration. I'll just meet you in class."

Hermione and Ron shrugged and left the dungeons.

Harry turned around and walked up to Snape, who was organizing the top of his desk. He looked up.

"First week of class and you've managed to ruin a draught." Snape said evenly.

"I was really trying though. I read the directions, I started off pretty good and then... I don't know what happened."

"I don't know what happened, sir." Snape said, in a tight voice.

"Oh, right. I don't know what happened, sir."

Snape did not look convinced.

"Potter, you are abysmal. Perhaps you should take remedial potions after all. Come after dinner tonight and we shall redo the Draught of the Living Dead."

Harry looked panicked.

"But I have a Quidditch scrimmage game with the Hufflepuffs after dinner!"

"Is it more important than gaining my favor for Occlumency lessons?" Snape said, in a deathly quiet voice.

Harry stared intently at his Professor's face. Flashes of Sirius' death played before Harry's eyes. He licked his lips and opened his mouth to speak.

"I know we had a deal, sir. But isn't this a little... extreme? I would do better at potions, show some respect, and you would willingly give me Occlumency lessons again. But it just seems you're using this as an excuse to make me suffer!" Harry said miserably.

Snape raised an eyebrow.

"You did not truly believe that I would give away Occlumency lessons without making you work for it? You will do as I ask, and I will give you what you seek."

Harry shifted his weight from one foot to the other and sighed.

"Yes, sir. I'll be here."

Snape only offered a thin smile.

"Bring your potions textbook and be prepared, Potter!"

Harry suffered a grueling interrogation from his Quidditch team when he informed them that he had a remedial potions lesson with Snape after dinner.

"We were counting on you, Harry!" Was the basic argument of every member on Gryfffindor's Quidditch team.

"But it's... just a scrimmage game right? I'll be there for all the practices and games." He tried to reassure them.

After dinner, he grabbed his bag from his room and made his way to the dungeons. He saw Snape leave the table five minutes ago, and thought it was safe for him to leave as well. This time, instead of going deeper into the dungeons for Snape's private quarters, he made his way to the potions classroom.

Snape was waiting for him, leaning on one of the desk's with his arms crossed.

"Hello, sir." Harry muttered. Snape gave him a brief nod.

"Take out your book, and sit there for twenty minutes just reading the text and studying the procedure." said Snape, pointing at one of the vacant tables.

"But I know what it says! I don't need to read it for twenty minutes," Harry argued.

Snape raised his eyebrow and uncrossed his arms.

"Which is why you ruined your potion today in class, Mr. Potter? I beg to differ. Sit and read quietly or leave and never come back."

Harry muttered under his breath and slammed his bag on the top of the table, making it scrape loudly against the dungeon floor. He was about to sigh and sit down when he felt Snape grip his arm.

"What another stunning display of respect. You have no sense of discipline. If you studied the text, and knew it better, you would have less of a chance of making a careless error during the actual brewing process. Contrary to belief, Hogwarts does not have an endless supply of potions ingredients. You are only wasting our resources." Snape said heatedly.

Harry grimaced at the pain in his arm.

"Okay! Alright, I got it. I'm sorry. I'll just sit and read, sir. Like you asked."

Snape released his arm and walked across to the front of the room, and sat at his desk. He ignored Potter. Harry took out his potions book, turned to page 10, and started to read the text. He went through it quickly in less than five minutes, went through it once again, but started to get bored after fifteen minutes of reading. He just sat and stared off into space for another five minutes.

After the twenty minute mark, Snape put his quill down and walked up to the board. He waved his wand and the instructions for the Draught of the Living Dead appeared. He began to lecture.

"The Draught of the Living dead is an extremely potent sleeping potion that slows the body until it seems to be dead, barely beating. The most important ingredients that are needed for this Draught are ..."

Harry sat, taking notes and listening to Snape. He wondered if Snape always did this, and why he was so surprised about it. Maybe he did this in every class, and Harry just didn't know because he was fixated on the thought of Snape being a wretched teacher.

After another twenty minutes, Snape told him to begin the potion.

Harry took out his cauldron, and the other ingredients needed for the potion, and layed them neatly on his table. He lit a light under his cauldron and took out his cutting board to chop the valerian roots. Finished, he took out the sopophorous bean to try and cut it up and collect the juices.

"If you crush it with the flat side of your dagger, more juices will be released." He heard Snape say smoothly.

He hovered over Harry's table, watching him work. Harry shrugged and used the flat side of his dagger. Immediately, all the juice from the small bean was extracted. He scooped everything up and threw it into the cauldron. The potion turned into the exact shade of lilac that the book described. Harry picked up the stirrer, and was about to stir counterclockwise when he felt Snape touch his wrist.

"It is better if you add a clockwise stir after every seventh counterclockwise stir."

Harry did so, and was amazed to find that his potion turn pale pink then clear, just as the Draught of the Living Dead was supposed to look. Harry looked up at the Potions Master, who only coolly looked down at the contents of the cauldron.

"Your first successful potion." He said bluntly.

Harry suppressed a grin.

"Take a few vials from the cupboard and store the draught. No point in letting a potion go to waste." Snape said and returned to his desk. Harry stared at his back, in mild shock. If he didn't know better, he would have thought he had paid him a small compliment in disguise.

Harry did as he was told and brought the vials up to Snape's desk.

"Tomorrow we will be brewing the Amortentia potion. I suggest you go over it tonight."

Harry nodded, feeling a little nervous now that there was nothing to distract him with.

"Uh, thank you, sir, for - you know, helping with the draught." He said quietly. Snape's obsidian eyes glittered darkly.

"I wouldn't have had to if you paid more attention during my class, Potter."

"I know. I'll try harder. And uh... sorry about before, sir. I just got a little aggravated."

Snape smirked.

"To make this deal work, I have decided that you will have a meeting with me every day."

A look of sheer horror passed over Harry's face.

"But I have other commitments! I have Quidditch practice and games, work from other classes, a life." Harry said heatedly, cursing his situation.

"Might I remind you, Potter, that these are not detentions. I am not forcing you to come. Everything you are doing is of your own free will because you wish to restart your Occlumency lessons."

"But this is crazy! My Quidditch team will have my head for this."

"Because I am in such a giving mood today, I will allow you to arrange your meetings with me according to your schedule. So you may continue your life as long as you fit in an hour every night to come to me."

Snape continued.

"Furthermore, we can assess our situation, write clear rules on what is expected of you, and what is expected of me."

Harry still looked like he wanted to disagree, but he nodded anyway.

"Good. What is the most convenient time for you tomorrow?" Snape asked calmly. He would not be perturbed by the brat's disrespect or cheek. That would all be addressed in due time.

"Well, I have Quidditch practice tomorrow an hour after dinner, so I guess I can come after practice." Harry reluctantly answered.

"Oh? And how long do these practices usually run?" Snape looked agitated.

Harry shrugged.

"Usually about two hours. I can be here at 9:00... if that's alright with you." Harry added hastily.

"The time is suitable for me as well. Arrive at my quarters, 9:00pm sharp. Do not be tardy, or you will regret it." Snape said dangerously.

Harry gulped.

"Yes, sir."

Quidditch practice ran a little longer than he thought. When he told Snape that he would be there at 9:00, he had taken into account time to run in and shower. But Quidditch practice ran until 8:30, when it was supposed to end at 8:00, so Harry was short on time. He put his equipment away, ran all the way to the Gryffindor Tower, showered, dressed, packed his bag, and ran down to the dungeon. And still he was ten minutes late, even though he ran all the way down.

Harry slipped into the room and fell into place in front of Snape's desk. Harry wasn't surprised to find that Snape looked agitated.

"You are ten minutes late, Potter." He said darkly.

"I know, I'm sorry sir. Practice ran a bit long-"

"Enough, Potter. I don't want to hear any of your excuses."

Harry had the decency to blush and look down.

"Sorry, sir." He mumbled.

"Now that you've finally graced my living room with your holy presence, let's begin." Snape said sarcastically. Harry's face only burned redder.

"Sit down." Snape ordered, and pointed to the straight-back wooden chair that sat in front of Snape's desk. Harry reluctantly sat down.

"Let's make a few things clear. Potter, you were the one that came to me about Occlumency lessons. I said that I would teach you when you earned the right. To do that, you will follow these conditions and rules. I have thought long and hard about what these conditions should be since our first meeting, and you will do well to obey them unless you want to find yourself vulnerable and open to the Dark Lord's attacks."

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off.

"The first rule is that you never lie to me. You have become quite a master at lying, have you not? You have gotten yourself in and out of trouble with your mouth, and I will not tolerate it any longer. You will never utter another lie to me, for Merlin help me I will punish you if I find out you have."

Harry's eyes bugged. Snape held his hand out.

"Let me finish before you speak. Another condition is that you respect me. I told you before that you would have to address me as 'sir' inside and outside of the classroom, and that still holds, even though you've been neglecting that particular rule. You will be respectful to all your teachers, for that matter, and your superiors like the Head Boy and Head Girl."

Snape paused.

"You will also improve your grades. You already know that you have to improve your grades in Potions, but you must bring your grades up in all your other classes. You are a mediocre student, Potter, and only because you choose to be. If you apply yourself, I believe you can be up to Hermione's par."

"I don't think anyone can be up to Hermione's par," Harry mumbled under his breath.

"What was that, Potter?" Snape asked in a dangerous whisper.

Harry cleared his throat.

"Nothing, sir."

"You will also never break school rules ever again. This includes going into the Forbidden Forest and roaming around school grounds after curfew. You've almost been encouraged to break the rules by being rewarded afterward by Professor Dumbledore and your Head of House, both of whom I believe are much too soft on you."

Harry looked very overwhelmed.

"You may speak."

Harry licked his lips.

"You want me to be completely honest with you, right?" He asked.

"Yes Potter, I want you to be completely honest with me." Snape said in an exasperated tone.

"Well, this is what I honestly think. I'm not sure if I can do this. I came to you because I wanted to continue my Occlumency lessons, but now it feels like your trying to control my life. I am who I am, and I don't think a few well placed rules will change me overnight." Harry admitted.

He closed his eyes and looked down, waiting for Snape to kick him out of the room.

"Look at me," Snape snapped impatiently.

Harry forced himself to look up and into his Professor's eyes.

"I believe there is an underlying issue behind all of this, and we will get to the bottom of it tonight. Tell me, Potter, what is your exact reason for wanting to continue Occlumency lessons?"

Now it was Harry's turn to look impatient.

"I already told you. I don't want to fall into another false trap laid down by Vol - the Dark Lord."

"You also feel guilty and responsible." said Snape in a very matter of fact manner.

Harry looked pained for a second.

"Yes," He finally whispered. Snape was determined to extract everything from him.

"Why do you feel guilty?" He asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." Harry said angrily.

"You will, Potter." Snape said forcefully.

Harry jumped up from his chair, his eyes blazing.

"Why do you care anyway?! You hate me, remember? Don't pretend to care by asking these idiotic questions about how I'm feeling. You don't give a shit about how I'm feeling.

"MR. POTTER, SIT DOWN." Snape barked, rising from his seat as well.

Harry brought himself to his full height.

"NO! I DON'T NEED THIS SHIT FROM YOU. I'M LEAVING." Harry yelled, and picked up his bag from the floor, fully intent on leaving.

"Do you want Weasley and Granger to die?" Snape asked silkily.

Harry stopped, but did not turn around. He simply listened.

"Do you want to die, Potter? Do you want to face the Dark Lord unprotected and unprepared? Do you wish to die before you are ready and let everyone you love be tortured and killed by the Dark Lord?"

Harry let his bag drop to the dungeon floor with a dull 'thud'. He bit his lip, and let small tears form in his eyes, but he still did not turn around.

"If you intend on being reckless, you may leave. But if you are interested in what I have to offer and what I am willing to teach you, than you must bite your tongue and sit."

Harry suddenly turned around, his face contorted in anger.

"What do you have to offer me besides Occlumency lessons?" He snapped.

"Many things. I can teach you to control yourself. You will learn how to discipline yourself. When you are ready, I can teach you about the Dark Lord, the Dark Arts, and how to defend yourself against him." said Snape.

Harry looked unsure of himself, but he took a small step forwards.

"Why are you willing to do that?" He asked quietly.

Snape sneered.

"Don't think this is for you, Mr. Potter. I'm doing it for my own future. If the Chosen One is unable to defeat the Dark Lord, the future will be very grim indeed."

Harry suppressed a small smile and sat down on the chair again.

"Now, if you are quite ready, we will continue where we left off."

Snape saw Harry clutch the sides of the seat with both hands until his knuckles turned white.

"It's my fault that Sirius died..." Harry trailed off.

"Continue." Snape ordered.

"If I had learned Occlumency, Vo - the Dark Lord wouldn't have made me believe Sirius was in danger. I went out to the Department of Mysteries with my closest friends thinking something was wrong. I only forced Sirius come out of his hiding and endanger himself. I put everyone in danger that night." Harry ended in a small whisper.

Snape nodded.

"You put everyone at risk, including yourself. The Dark Lord was counting on your recklessness to make his plan work, Potter. You never think before you act. Ever since your first year you've been rushing head-first into danger with Weasley and Granger without any regard to rules or reason."

Harry looked even more guilty.

"You don't have respect for rules, rules that are in place to keep you safe."

"But I have to kill the bastard! Professor Dumbledore told me everything. It's my responsibility to kill Voldemort-"

"The Dark Lord, Potter!" hissed Snape. Harry ignored him.

"It's my responsibility to kill him, even you said so! What I did since first year was necessary, or else the Dark Lord would be back by now!" Harry said.

"Think about it, Potter. If you had not succeeded, you would have been killed and we would no longer have a savior. You will never again risk yourself and confront the Dark Lord until you are ready to do so. End of discussion."

Harry opened his mouth to argue back, but Snape gave him a withering look.

"Are we clear on our conditions? You will follow my rules, and I will reward you with my knowledge and expertise. If you break the rules, you will be punished."

Harry chewed on the inside of his cheek.

"S-sir? What do you mean by 'punished'?" Harry asked, his voice faltering.

"For minor infractions such as forgetting to address me, your Professors, and your Head Boy and Girl with respect, you will not be physically punished, but for others you may. Your specific punishment will be known to you when you break them." Snape said calmly.

Harry drew in a sharp intake of air, trembling.

"Y-you can't do that."

"I can, and I will. When we officially agree on this with a magical bond, I will be considered your mentor, and as your mentor I will have full rights over your punishments. Not even Professor Dumbledore would be able to get in the way."

Harry's lips turned down.

"Who said anything about a mentor? And a magical bond?" He asked.

"You won't last a single day under me unless you are magically obligated to do so. In fact, you would run to Dumbledore crying about how horribly I am treating you. If I magically bond myself to you as your mentor, and you as my charge, you would be unable to break away from our agreements until I annul the bind."

Harry looked apprehensive.

"What if you really do mistreat me? I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. For all I know, you could kill me and that would be legally allowed."

Snape stared him down.

"When we perform the magical bind, the magic must recognize that you are willing to submit to your mentor, and that I am willing to protect and guide you. If not, there would be devastating consequences on our magical core."

"Sir... no offense... but I don't think I can do that yet." Harry bit his lip.

"Don't worry, Potter. We won't bind ourselves quite yet. I think we must... practice, and prepare ourselves for our roles. For the next few weeks, you will become accustomed to the rules and your submissive role, and I will prepare myself to be your mentor. We must do this until our roles aren't pretend anymore, but true feelings."

"I hate that word, submissive." Harry grimaced.

"But you will have no choice but to get used to it, because that is what you will be. The bind must realize that I am the master, and you as the pupil who will submit to me."

Harry seemed to fold into himself, getting smaller.

"I'm not going to be your slave or anything will I? Oh god," Harry muttered to himself.

"Don't worry, Potter. I have no intention of abusing my power like that. If I did, we would be unable to bond."

Harry did not look reassured. Snape sighed in frustration.

"Potter, as grim as this may sound, it's not horrible. All you have to do is come by every night and do something constructive. Follow the rules, don't give me cheek and I will not have any reason to punish you. Later, we will bond and then I will mentor you."

"You make it seem so easy." Harry mumbled.

"Perhaps. But it's up to you. Are you still willing to do this?"

Harry looked thoughtful.

"I need this." He finally admitted. Snape raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?" He implored.

"Well," Harry bit his lip. "I've never had a mentor before and no one has really bothered to lay down any ground rules. I've sort of been running wild for all my life. Maybe it's time I learn control. Maybe you're right."

Snape thought he had misheard Potter, but did not show it. He settled for leaning back in his chair.

"Very well. If you are certain, than it is time we address your tardiness. Why were you ten minutes late tonight?" asked Snape.

"I thought you didn't want to here my excuses?" He asked, confused.

"That was before. Now I want to hear your reasons." Snape said.

"Well, like I was trying to explain to you before, Quidditch practice ran a bit later than usual. I ran up to the Tower to shower... and get ready... and that's why I was ten minutes late." Harry explained.

Snape looked thoughtful.

"Were you aware your practice was running later than usual?" He asked.

Harry brought his legs up the chair and crossed them, propping his elbow on his knee and leaning his chin on his hand.

"Maybe..." He finally admitted. Snape raised his eyebrow doubtfully.

"Potter, put your feet down and sit up properly!" Snape barked. Harry jumped in his seat and hastily put his feet down on the carpeted flooring of Snape's quarters.

"Now, did you already forget the number one rule, Mr. Potter? Do not lie or try to hide anything from me." He said.

"Okay! Alright, maybe I had a feeling, but it's hard to tell when you're in the middle of a grueling training practice." Harry said defensively.

"Full of excuses. Nonetheless, you will be punished for your tardiness and your lack of respect. Not once have you properly addressed me during our conversation." Snape said calmly. He leaned forward again and looked directly into Harry's apprehensive eyes.

"Stand up." He ordered. Harry remained seated in his chair, warily watching Snape with wide eyes.

"W-what are you going to do?" He stammered.

"Potter! Stand up, now!" He said, his voice increasing his volume.

He walked around the desk and in front of Potter, who finally stood from his seat. His body was tense with worry, Snape observed.

"Against the wall, Potter, your face forward and your hands on the back of your head." Snape said, more calmly this time. Potter looked reluctant to follow his orders, but one quick look into Snape's eyes made him obey. He tried to reassure himself that Snape couldn't hurt him. Harry inched towards the wall adjacent to the desk and faced it, his nose almost brushing against the stone walls. He took a quick peek back to see what Snape was doing but quickly turned around and put his hands on the back of his head when he saw the impatience on Snape's face.

Harry almost jumped when he heard Snape speak from behind him.

"Consider this a time-out. You will remain in that position, until I say so. You made me wait when you were late, so now you will wait as well. Don't you dare move a muscle, Mr. Potter, or you will face the consequences." He said briskly, and sat on a cushioned settee that faced a roaring fireplace.

Harry felt immediate indignation at being forced to put his nose against a wall like a mere child, but had to admit to himself that it wasn't as bad of a punishment as he expected. It was a tedious punishment, but he could surely handle it. Harry was only worried about how long he would have to remain there. Snape hadn't specified a time, and it annoyed him that he didn't know.

After about seven minutes, thought Harry didn't know how much time had passed, his arms started to ache from being held against the back of his head so long. He was tempted to lean forward and let his elbows rest against the wall, but he knew Snape would call him out for that. He could hear Snape nursing an iced drink, judging from the sounds of ice bumping against glass, and felt a flare of anger towards the Professor for forcing him to do this ridiculous, demeaning punishment.

After twenty minutes, Harry wanted to shift his weight from one foot to the other, or move, or do something to relieve the pressure on his legs and arms, but he knew he couldn't. By now, all anger that he had for Snape vanished until all that was left was a sort of remorse for himself. Why couldn't he just have been on time? Harry trembled from the effort to keep his arms up, and now completely regretted keeping the Potions Master waiting.

Harry suddenly tensed when he heard Snape get up and move behind Harry.

"Do you know why you are being punished, Mr. Potter?" He heard the Professor say behind him.

Harry remained in his position and forced himself to focus on the Potions Master's voice.

"...Yes, sir." He finally said, letting out a small quick breath of air.

"Good. Explain it to me, then." Snape demanded.

"I was ten minutes late to our meeting, when I knew I was running late and could have prevented it, sir." Harry said to the wall.

"And do you feel you have been justly punished?" He heard Snape ask. Harry took a moment to think. Had he been fairly punished? Harry didn't want to admit it, but he knew it was fair.

"Yes, sir. I do." Harry responded quietly.

"You may turn around now," Snape said softly.

Harry let out a deep groan as he slowly let his arms down, feeling the strain and ache on his muscles. He rolled his shoulders and massaged them, forcing blood back into circulation. He turned around and came face to face with the Professor, who looked amused.

"I trust that you have learned your lesson." He said.

"Yes, sir." Harry nodded.

Snape smirked. "Good. What time are you available tomorrow?" He asked.

"Seven o'clock, sir." Harry answered.

Snape nodded. "That's sounds appropriate. You may leave now."

"Thank you, sir." Harry said gratefully and made a hasty retreat out the door and to the Gryffindor Tower.

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