The Sword of Light
by Jardyn39
Part Four of "The Apprentice Piece"
Chapter Five: Apology
Once again Harry took a deep breath but rather than hesitating, this time he actually knocked firmly on Professor Snape's office door.
Hearing, "Come!" he entered.
Snape was putting a large black bound book back on a shelf away from his desk but turned and sneered at him as soon as he looked to see who had entered.
"I seem to recall, Potter, that I told you never to come back here again. Get out of my sight."
Harry expected this welcome and ignored him. He closed the door, walked across and sat in the seat opposite Snape's desk.
For a moment, Harry thought Snape would have a seizure.
"Are you incapable of understanding simple instructions?" began Snape, sounding quite aghast at Harry's impertinence.
Harry though, realised that Snape's anger was making him calmer, if anything.
"Please, sit down, Professor," he asked gently.
Snape, however, continued to rant on. Several deducted points later, Harry tried again, saying, "Please sit down, Professor, I would like a word with you."
Snape paused to draw breath.
Harry opened the bag he'd brought in with him and placed a heavy stone bowl on the desk. Harry knew Snape would recognise it instantly as Professor Dumbledore's pensieve.
Snape's curiosity appeared to be getting the better of him as he stayed quiet for a moment.
Using the pushing technique taught to him by Professor Harbinger, Harry drew Snape's chair back from his desk, giving him a clear invitation to sit down.
"I'm not impressed by your party tricks, Potter," snarled Snape.
"By way of an apology," said Harry, "I'd like to show you some of my memories. This will make them more clear than before and you'll see what was actually going on. I think you may have seen part of this already."
"What are you babbling about, Potter?" said Snape, sitting down.
He immediately looked furious with himself for doing so, but remained seated.
"Bear with me," said Harry. "I only learned how to use this pensieve last night and I'm not too good at getting the right memory yet."
Harry took out his wand and smiled to himself. It felt like it been a long time since he'd used anything but his Apprentice Piece and he felt a thrill of delight whenever he used his original wand again. Somehow he appreciated it so much more.
Perhaps it was the influence of the Apprentice Piece, but the feeling he had from the moment he held his wand in Mr Ollivander's shop came back to him every time he held it. The only difference being that for some spells he was now fighting to control the power of the effect.
Harry held the wand to his forehead and closed his eyes. He thought back to just the particular moment he wanted Snape to see. He slowly moved the wand tip away and dropped the gossamer fine strand of thought into the pensieve.
He finally opened his eyes again and smiled at Snape, pleased he had been able to do it properly. This appeared just to annoy him.
Harry gingerly pushed the pensieve towards Snape.
"These are a selection of memories from before I came to Hogwarts. I'd like you to watch them with me. I need you to see something."
*
Harry and Snape stood in a Primary School playground.
The circle of children before them broke up upon hearing a hand bell that signalled the end of break. Left lying before them on the tarmac was a bloody and beaten Harry. He got up and gingerly inspected the damage, clearly more concerned about his glasses and clothes than the cuts, bruises and nosebleed. He then hobbled off to lessons.
"Tonight I'll be locked in my cupboard with no dinner because I got blood on my shirt."
Snape looked on as impassive as ever.
"They didn't always catch me. I got much faster later on." said Harry. "You noticed the big, fat one with the fists? He's my cousin."
Snape nodded.
"Somehow, though, the taunts always hurt more than the kicks and punches."
Snape turned at last to Harry but remained silent.
"I'd heard my father's voice before, when the dementors came close in Third Year. But the first time I saw him properly was in your memories. I was in complete shock. Everything you'd ever said about him appeared to be true."
Snape's expression changed slightly.
"I was wrong to look into your memories, and I apologise for that. You were understandably angry and were right to throw me out. I was, however, wrong for not coming back. I should have told you then. I'm sorry."
Snape said nothing. Instead he grasped Harry's firmly elbow and they found themselves back again on opposite sides of Snape's desk.
As Harry returned his memories as Dumbledore had taught him, he said, "I'm not going to ask you not to tell anyone what you've seen. Instead, I'm just going to trust you."
Snape seemed to be taken aback by this statement.
"I would, however, ask you to consider a request,"
At once, Snape's expression became impassive again.
"I've tried to show you that I'm not my father, no matter how alike you think we are. Hate me if you want, but hate me. My father is gone. Hate his memory if you must, but please don't just transfer your feelings for him onto me."
Snape didn't react. He knew he wouldn't.
"One more thing," Harry added as he carefully returned the pensieve to his bag. "It seems pretty obvious that you left those particular memories in the pensieve, knowing I would be too curious to resist."
*
"How did it go?" asked Hermione with concern as soon as she got to Harry's side. She knew he was going to Snape but didn't know any details of what Harry was proposing.
They were standing in main entrance lobby and Harry was looking up at the great hour glasses.
Rubies were still flying out of the Gryffindor hour glass at an alarming rate.
"That well?"
*
Professor McGonagall gave Harry a stern look and invited him inside her office. He had been expecting her to summon him, although this hadn't made him feel better about it.
"I have been informed that you have not been attending Professor Binns' OWL classes, Potter."
Harry had decided to skip the Christmas exam re-sits and re-take his History OWL in the summer again.
"I know," said Harry looking down, "it's just that I keep dozing off, like everyone else. Only Hermione used to be able to stay awake or keep me awake sometimes."
Harry could have sworn that she almost smiled at this comment.
"Potter, you undertook to re-sit your History of Magic OWL. You need to study in order to pass."
Harry nodded and said flatly, "Hermione may have mentioned it a couple of times."
"The Headmaster thought a change in teaching style might help. He has engaged a temporary teacher who will be covering some revision areas. Please make sure you attend classes from now on."
Harry sighed miserably, but agreed.