Harry Potter and the slytherin Prince

Snape and Harry are standing in the centre of the lounge with the old oak furniture pushed to the sides of the room. Each is holding a long sword pointed at each other.

'You do know this is a muggle thing.' Harry teases.

'Yes. My father was a muggle and he taught me. I found it was extremely useful. I realised my duelling skills with a wand improved once I had conquered this Defensive Art. The footwork and reaction times are the same.'

'I never knew you were a half-blood. Does Voldemort know this?' Snape sneers

'Yes. The Dark Lord knows everything.'

'Really. I can think of a few things he doesn't know.' Harry smiles. Snape throws him a disgusted look and turns back to the lesson.

'Today wehave beencontinuing with the basic moves. You are progressing well.'

'That would be due to the fact we are fencing for 3 hours a day and duelling with wands for another hour. I also have wand less magic lessons joined with Occulemency for 2 hours and the rest of the day I spend writing essays whilst you make potions.'

'Yes my ego requires it.' Harry sticks his tongue out at him in a very childish manner. Snape sneers at him

'Put that away Mr Potter. I do not wish to see it again.' Harry grins as Snape continues. 'These lessons are all good practise for when school starts. You are going to be very busy this year. Dumbledore wishes to have you for a few lessons each week on top of the Occlumency I will be teaching you.' This morsel of information raises Harry's interest.

'I wonder what he wants to teach me?' Snape takes full advantage of Harry's distraction and lunges at Harry, causing Harry to use a simple parray and pushes Snapes sword to the side. They are both sweating from exertion of hours of exercise.

'Maybe how to deflate your head so it doesn't get stuck in the doorways at Hogwarts!' Snape lunges at Harry again and Harry moves to the side to escape being stabbed. As Snape returns to his starting position he continues speaking 'I have talked to Dumbledore about your going to Diagon Alley. You are meeting Tonks in two days time in the morning, she is going to transform herself and spend the day with Ron, Hermione and Ginny in Diagon Alley. You will be listening in and helping Tonks pull this off.' Harry lunges at Snape and Snape knocks the sword out of his hand and plants his sword on Harry's chest. 'Watch you don't over reach. Dumbledore likes the idea of having another you running around. I find the thought sickening actually.'

'Maybe I could use this for when I have detention when I don't want to go.'

'Perhaps. But you'd have to persuade Ms Tonks to take your place. I do not think you could get her to replace you cleaning without the use of magic.' Harry pulls a face at the truth of this.

'Why can't I go to Diagon Alley myself and Tonks just comes along for backup? I doubt the Death Eaters will try anything in Diagon Alley.'

Snape drops his sword from Harry's chest and walks over and places his sword in a case lying on a table at the side of the room. Harry too follows over and places his sword away. Snape banishes the case with the flick of his wand.

'A short rest and then lunch. You can start your subject essays whilst I finish the last potion for the school stores.'

'Can you believe McGonagall is making us write a 3 foot essay on, 'The Full Transfiguration of Inanimate Objects into Live Animals?' This makes Snape look closely at Harry.

'I haven't set you yours for Potions, have I?'

'Yes it was on my homework list that came the other day. Although I need my books to do my other essays, with all your books here I finished yours yesterday morning. Do you want to mark it now?' Harry asks slyly.

'I never said yours was the same as on the list, Potter.' Snape smiles thinly at the look of shock on Harry's face.

'So unfair! I've been writing essays all holiday for you.' Snape waves his hand absent mindingly at Harry.

'What's the common ingredient used in Truth Serum, Total Dreams and Veristium?'

'Veritasium Pulvis.' Harry replies witout pausing.

'What 5 potions use Boomslang?'

'Dark Night, Draught of Darkness, Polyjuice Potion, Transfiguraria and… Elixir Commutare is made using a base of Transfiguraria.'

'How long does it take to brew Burn Plaster?'

'It's supposed to take 5 hours according to "Advanced Potions" but in "Medicinal Potions for the Medicine Cabinet" it can take only 3 hours 45 minutes if you add the Powdered Root of Asphodel immediately after the potion turns a green colour, as it saves 30 minutes of waiting for the potion to turn the intermediate colour of pale yellow and a further 45 minutes of setting time after the final ingredient is added. Although if you look in "Potions for Serious Maladies" then the potion takes 7 hours as you are supposed to wait 2 hours instead of 30 minutes before adding the final ingredient.' Harry reels out beginning to sound like Hermione.

Snape stands and crosses his arms. Harry just looks at him.

'Now what was the title of the summer homework?' Snape enquires.

'Explain, giving examples of 3 potions, why Boomslang is used in potions, stating why this is reactive in each case and how this affects the length of the intermediate stages.' Harry pauses and rethinks their past conversation. 'Oh'

Snape raises an eyebrow.

'So. Your summer homework essay title is "Compare, contrast and suggest improvements on all 10 potions using lacewig wings. Including which ingredient the lacewig wings are most reactive with and explain why this is the case in each potion" I want it in first lesson back in term.' Harry's mouth drops open. Snape smiles viciously. 'Have fun' Snape says before leaving the room with Harry staring after him.

The following morning Harry pops his head into Snapes potion lab. Snape is cutting up some ingredients and has his back to Harry. The silver stirrer in the cauldron is moving by itself and a very small flame beneath the cauldron is gently causing the potion to simmer with a silver haze coming from the inside.

'You left a message with Semut saying you wanted to speak with me.' Harry does not sound amused by being summoned via a house elf. Snape ignores him and merely changes knives to continue cutting. 'What did you want? I do have 5 essays left to complete.' Harry's temper begins to fray coming out in his words. 'And only a short amount of time before I go back to school.' There is silence for a long moment in which Harry clenches and unclenches his hands. Putting into practise some of the relaxing techniques Snape finally taught him in Occlumency he finally gets his temper under control. Immediately after Snape turns a round and faces him.

'I thought you had a total of 6 essays to do? One for each subject.'

'I couldn't sleep last night so I finished my Defence essay. Your library contains enough books on the subject and I am guessing by the top shelf I can get my Herbologyessayfinished too before Tonks gets my other text books from Diagon Alley tomorrow.'

'You haven't started your Potions essay yet then?' Harry's jaw clenches tightly. Snape raises one eyebrow in response

'No.' Harry snaps.

Snape nods and then turns back to his ingredients, which he adds to the cauldron blanking Harry. Harry fells his temper again rising but pulls it back under control and finally lets it go. Harry questions Snape again.

'Why did you want to see me?' He asks wearily.

Snape waves his wand and the stirrer stops mixing the potion and another wave turns the heat off. Snape then slowly turns to Harry.

'I figured it was time to show you the garden.'

'I've been out there. Nothing but shrubs and snakes.' Harry says dismissively

'Making friends, Potter?' Snape sneers

'Yes.' Harry smiles mischievously back at him. Snape shakes his head in bewilderment.

'Most Slytherins would give anything to talk to snakes and you don't seem to care about your gift.'

'My gift, as you call it, came from Voldemort and I am not happy that people regard me with suspicion merely because I survived a curse meant to kill me.' Harry says dryly.

'The Dark Lordgave it to you?' Snape looks confused

'Yes. Dumbledore said that the night Voldemort disappeared he transferred some of his powers to me. Including all his distasteful abilities like talking to snakes, being able to seethrough his eyesand feel his feelings. I would give them to you but it seems I am permanently stuck with them!'

Snape stands there looking at Harry as though trying to decide whether to believe him or not before waving his wand to clean up the remaining ingredients and sweeping past Harry and out the back door. Looking back he sees Harry has followed him and leads the way down the garden to a wall at the bottom, here he touches a small face on a round gold disc hidden beneath some ivy and the wall wriggles before a wooden door appears. Harry gasps in surprise.

'Cool.' Harry exclaims.

As Snape leads the way through Harry looks around and sees that this part of the garden is not running wild but kept neat in rows of plants used for potions. He can see a greenhouse at the bottom where the leaves are moving and shuffling.

'Mandrakes?' Harry asks and Snape just nods in reply. He stops just inside the door and it shuts behind them turning back into a wall.

'I thought it was time you helped me harvest some delicate ingredients. I need to finish my stocks tomorrow whilst you are absent, but I do not see why you cannot help today in your free time.'

'Okay. What do you need help with?'

'I do not need help. You need to learn. Herbology this year is going to be dangerous and you might as well start now as I have the same plants you will be growing this year.'

'Oh.'

'Put on those glasses.' Snape says pointing at a pair of goggles hanging on the handle of a shovel. Harry grabs them and puts on the goggles over his own glasses. The goggles are so scratched and marked that he takes them off again.

'I cannot see a thing with them on. My glasses should give my eyes enough protection.' Snape just shrugs.

'Do not ask for any antidote then later when you are poisoned.' Snape turns away. 'We are going to be getting pollen of the Veriatasium plant'

'They're poisonous. Well the pollen is if it gets into your skin. The plant has a nasty habit of spraying it at you whne it feels threatened.' Harry says remembering a book he read a few days ago.

'Your reading these past few weeks is paying off. Finally.'

Harry rolls his eyes. Snape leads him over to a large plant with 3 large yellow flowers on top of long stems protruding from the same base. The stems are covered in leaves.

'Now. To get the pollen off this plant with out it spraying you with pollen is actually very easy. It just looks difficult.'

Snape takes a step closer and the flower head closest to him bends over threateningly. Snape ignores it and steps closer. He reaches out a hand and touches the stem just above the last leaves closest to the flower head. The plant shudders and then seems to curl around Snapes hand like a cat having its ears stroked.

'One of the most poisonous plants in the world and it loves being tickled.' Snape looks disgusted as though the plant has let him down. Harry smiles.

'Brilliant. How do you collect the pollen?'

Snape pulls out his wand and holds it up so Harry can see it.

'Bruscum.' Snapes wand tip turns into a small soft brush. 'You have to imagine what sort of brush you wish for. You can have hard bristles or wool. Up to the creator.'

Snape lowers his wand and gently runs the brush tip along the yellow centre catching the pollen. When his wand tip is coated he pulls away stopping stroking the plant and steps back. The plant flowers stand up straight again. Snape pulls out a large bottle from his pocket and places the tip of his wand inside.

'Reverso.' The brush tip drops off the wand and lands inside the jar. Snape corks it. 'Your turn.'

Snape steps aside and lets Harry take his place. Harry steps forward and the closest flower turns to him. Harry pauses.

'Do not pause. Any sudden movements will cause the plant to react.'

Harry nods and steps forward again. He reaches out his hand and slowly touches the plant where Snape had and begins to tickle the stem. The plant curls itself around gripping Harry's hand. Harry slowly removes his wand from his pocket and looks at it. Imagining hard the same brush Snape just produced he says 'Bruscum' There sitting on the tip of his wand is an identical brush to Snapes. He then runs it along the flowers centre catching the pollen on it and steps back. Snape opens the jar and Harry drops the brush tip into it. Harry breathes out deeply.

'That wasn't so hard was it Potter?' Harry glares at him.

'You forgot to mention that the plant grips on your hand very tightly. I was a little shocked at first and worried it wouldn't let it go.'

'I find experience the best teacher.'

Harry scowls. Snape hands him a pair of Dragon skin earmuffs.

'We have mandrakes to uproot and cut up. Have you ever cut up an adult mandrake plant?'

'No.' Harry says warily.

'You will have by the end of today. Follow me.'

Harry was quite positive by the end of the day that if he never saw another Mandrake plant as long as he lived it would be too soon. Pulling up the plants was no problem; Harry couldn't hear their cries. They had then taken them to Snapes potion lab and dropped them into a pot of boiling water. Watching the plants trying to jump out and finally sink to the bottom tore at Harry's heart. Snape didn't seem affected by it.

'Potter. They are not real. They do not feel pain. They are simply plants that have taken on the human qualities of the magical beings around them.' Snape says impatiently.

'Are you sure they don't feel pain? They really wanted to get out of the boiling water.'

'It could have been cold and they would of tried to crawl out.' Harry nods still feeling sick. 'You will be doing this again in Potions this term. Get used to it. If it helps read the chapters in the books on them.'

'Okay.' Harry drops into a chair behind the desk in the lab. He looks out the window and sees that it is dark outside. At that moment Semut comes in.

'Dinner is served Masters.'

They both follow into the dinning room and sit down. They have sausage, mash potato and peas. Harry slowly eats his dinner his mind still on the plants from today. Distracting himself Harry looks up from his plate and addresses Snape.

'Professor, where will I be meeting Tonks in the morning and what will be happening exactly tomorrow? You haven't mentioned it.'

'I will take you to a meeting point chosen by Dumbledore. We will apparate there.'

'I haven't learnt to apparate yet.'

'I am aware of the Potter. You will be doing side along apparation with me. Tonks and Dumbledore will be waiting for us. Then Dumbledore will stay with you and protect you as you watch Tonks during the day through a crystal ball.' Harry looks disgusted. Snape nods. 'Not the best method, but it is useful as long as you are not looking into the future.' He sneers 'Dumbledore has a way of you communicating directly to Tonks so nobody else will hear so you can direct her what to say and how to act.'

'Sounds okay. When will we be going?'

'Early in the morning. If you can get up.' Snape says it doubtfully.

'I've been managing here all right. You get me up at 7 so I can practise Occlumency.'

'What a waste of time that usually is.' Snape sneers

'I'm trying my best. It doesn't help you've started to surprise me during the day.'

'The answer to that Potter is to always have a mental block up.' Harry nods grimly. There is silence for a while, whilst Snape eats and Harry plays with his food. Snape sighs audibly and catches Harry's attention. 'If you're not going to eat anything, go do some of your homework. You can have food later if you get hungry.'

Harry nods and leaves. Snape eats staring at the seat where Harry was.