The Differences Between Us

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     Chapter 4: Return to Hogwarts

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After Harry’s bout with Snape, Harry gave up on trying to "make peace" with him.

He had finished cleaning up breakfast the same morning and returned to his room. Hedwig was back so he gave her some cold toast. Just as he had started to stroke his owl, Harry heard someone knocking on the door.

He got up wondering what Snape would have to say to him. He opened the door and was immediately knocked to the ground by something grabbing him around his knees.

"Harry Potter, sir! Dobby has been wanting to go see sir. I tolds Professor Dumbledore this and he is letting Dobby help sir and Professor Snape for the summer."

"D-Dobby, nice to see you, too."

The elf had finally let go of Harry, so Harry could get to his feet.

"Dobby... Do you know where Professor Snape is? I need to see him about something."

Dobby merely nodded and beckoned Harry to follow him. The elf led him down the corridor into the drawing room. Here Dobby motioned Harry over to the far corner of the room. Dobby tapped the stone closest to the corner. Five of the enormous stones moved

ay to reveal a trapdoor big enough for a man to fit through. Dobby opened the trapdoor and led Harry down a flight of steps that led to another door.

"Professor Snape is working in there, Sir," Dobby squeaked and with that the elf vanished.

‘Probably off to do more cleaning,’ Harry thought. Harry wasn’t entirely sure what he was going to say to Snape but something had been bothering him all summer and he knew that Snape would have to answer.

Harry knocked on the door. There was no reply. Harry knocked again. Still no reply. Harry had raised his hand to knock once again

"Come in already but make it quick! I’m busy!"

Harry opened the door and stepped inside. There were numerous potions’ ingredients and vials on a large table that Snape had a cauldron on. He was concocting something with an awful smell, but Harry was oblivious to this. He was dumbstruck by all of the Dark Arts objects Snape had on shelves surrounding the room.

"Well, what do you want, Potter?" Snape barked.

Harry snapped into reality. "I needed to ask you something, Professor."

"Well," Snape said impatiently as he threw some more ingredients into whichever potion he was brewing.

"L-L-Last year at Voldemort’s’ resurrection," Harry began. He noticed that Snape didn’t flinch at Voldemort’s name as Harry hadn’t expected him to.

"There was a circle of Death Eaters. But there were gaps where people who were missing should have stood. Voldemort explained where the missing people were. Except, there was one empty spot that Voldemort didn’t say anything about. He didn’t even glance at it."

"And what may I ask, Potter, is so intriguing about that particular spot?"

Harry didn’t know. There was just something about that spot that gave Harry chills. As if there was some sort of important, bad, memory that was supposed to go there. Instead of answering, Harry returned his attention to the Dark Arts objects on the shelves. One of them particularly interested him.

It was in a dark corner. It was covered with cobwebs and dust, as though as it was purposely put there to be forgotten.

"Err, Professor," Harry said breaking the odd silence, "What is that in that corner?"

Snape looked at where Harry was pointing. His face went even paler than it already was. And with the candles casting strange shadows onto his face, Snape looked absolutely ghoulish.

"Professor?" Harry asked.

Snape snapped into action. He grabbed the item from it’s shelf as Harry made his way towards the object.

"Don’t ever touch anything in here, Potter!" Snape hissed. "But since you’re an insufferable twit who won’t leave me alone until I tell you, it’s a Memocive."

Snape groaned in frustration at Harry’s blank look.

"It’s like a Pensieve," Snape sighed as though he was speaking to a particularly stupid toddler, "except it only shows you the one memory that alters your life. It could be a wonderful decision like getting married, or it could be a terrible decision like..."

Snape did not finish. He did not have to. Harry knew exactly what the Memocive shows Snape when he looks in it.

Harry turned to leave when, Snape said: "Potter, I received a letter from Dumbledore, a little while ago, saying that we need to return to Hogwarts immediately. I’m leaving in half an hour, with or without you."

Harry shut the door and ran up the stairs. The trapdoor flung open as he reached it. He walked out of the it and heard the stones moving back into place as was returning to his room. He flung the door open.

Harry stopped. All of his things were packed and Hedwig was in her cage.

"Thanks, Dobby," Harry breathed.

"Sir is welcome!" said a squeaky voice from behind him. Harry jumped out of his skin. He whipped around to see Snape go into his office a little way down the hall, cackling.

"Lousy old git," Harry breathed as he grabbed his things and dragged them into the drawing room. Snape arrived a few minutes later.

"I’ve already send my things ahead. Let’s send just your trunk first and then you, so in that case I should catch up to you in the Floo Line. Hopefully, you shan’t knock me unconscious again," Snape added looking livid. Harry was sure he was referring

the incident in the shrieking shack back in the third year.

Snape took some Floo powder and threw it into the fire. Harry then sent his trunk through the fireplace and yelled into the flames: "Hogwarts!"

The trunk and Hedwig disappeared into the flames.

Harry stepped into the fire and again shouted "Hogwarts!" He was swept up into the flames.

Harry noticed something different about this trip. When you use Floo Powder as a way of travel you see the other fireplaces as you pass them. On this trip, however, there was nothing but flames on either side of him. When he landed at the bottom of the

replace, he realised that Hogwarts would have its own Floo Line for security reasons.

"Hello Harry," said a familiar voice, "I trust your summer went well?"

"Yes Headmaster, it did," Harry replied as he stepped out of the fireplace and into Dumbledore’s office.

At that moment Snape walked out of the fire place.

"Good, you’re both here. Come, it’s almost lunch." Dumbledore said.

He lead them down to the Great Hall which only had one table at the centre of the it. Professor Flitwick, Professor Sinistra, and Professor McGonagall where the only other people there besides Harry, Dumbledore and Professor Snape.

"Welcome back Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said.

"Yes Harry," Dumbledore said, "welcome Home"

‘Yeah,’ Harry thought as he sat down. ‘Welcome home.’