Chapter 31: "Professor Snape, Harry Has His Mother's Eyes"

Chapter 31: "Professor Snape, Harry Has His Mother's Eyes"

"So you're saying... you want me to deliver this... to Quirrell?" Malfoy's eyes were filled with suspicion. He refused to take the parcel Leon was holding out.

Leon frowned at him, then "accidentally" dropped the package.

It fell in such a way that the contents spilled out slightly.

It was a brand-new pistol.

Leon looked at Malfoy, his gaze turning cold, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"What time would be most convenient for the delivery?" Malfoy asked quickly, abandoning all resistance. He forced a stiff smile. "Besides delivering the item, is there anything else I need to be aware of?"

Leon patted the blond boy's head, satisfied. "Go now. Just remember to collect the payment from Professor Quirrell. One thousand Galleons. Oh, and you can keep ten for yourself. For your trouble."

After giving Malfoy a few more instructions, Leon left the dormitory, content, and headed down towards the dungeons.

He walked along the cold stone corridor, past the Potions classroom, and finally stopped in front of an office door.

Before he could even knock, the door swung open with an eerie creak. Snape's cold, drawling voice drifted out.

"Well, well. If it isn't the exceedingly busy Mr. Shelby. To what do I owe the honour? Let me guess... you've finally remembered your detention?"

"If so, then perhaps there's hope for you yet. It would indicate you possess slightly more intelligence than a baboon."

Was he a priest in a past life? Leon thought. He's certainly mastered the art of passive aggression.

He stepped inside, wrinkling his nose. Snape's office reeked of unknown potions, sharp and acrid. The air was damp and chillingly cold. The office was constructed from black stone, with a low, arched ceiling. The only light came from a single, dim lamp hanging above the doorway.

The space consisted of three interconnected, semi-circular rooms. Hundreds of glass jars lined the walls and shelves, containing various unpleasant-looking plant and animal specimens preserved in liquid.

Leon walked through a short, dark passageway and found Snape sitting behind his desk, a sneer firmly in place.

"Mr. Shelby. What a rare visitor," Snape drawled, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

For a fleeting moment, Leon found himself empathizing with Harry's father. Snape really did have an incredibly punchable face.

"Care to explain your absence yesterday? I trust it was for a matter more pressing than serving your detention," Snape added, his gaze cold and unsettling.

Leon raised an eyebrow. "I was in the library, Professor. I became engrossed in my reading and lost track of time. By the time I remembered, it was quite late."

"A pathetic excuse. Your detention is extended by one week," Snape said, his contempt obvious. "Now, go to that desk in the corner and copy One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. From the beginning."

"I've already memorized that book, Professor," Leon objected. "Might I copy something else?"

Snape's first instinct was to test him, but recalling Leon's performance in the first Potions class, he merely shot him a cold glare.

"Do not behave like a baboon showing off its banana, Shelby."

Snape rose silently and glided towards Leon like a giant bat. He thrust a book into Leon's hands and then glided back to his desk.

"Silence. Go to the corner and copy the first six chapters. You may leave when you are finished."

Leon looked down. The book was An Encyclopedia of Toadstools. He flipped through it. The first six chapters amounted to nearly one hundred pages.

He raised another objection. "Professor Snape, I have Astronomy class at eleven tonight."

"Then you had best start thinking of an excuse for Professor Sinistra," Snape replied, unmoved.

Shaking his head with a sigh, Leon went to the desk in the corner and began copying in silence. Snape appeared to be researching something, flipping through several books on his own desk.

"Professor," Leon said after finishing the first chapter, flexing his hand. "Could you tell me about the Dark Lord? I was reading about him in the library yesterday. That's why I forgot about detention."

Snape looked up, startled, then immediately became irritated. "I have no interest in your excuses. Be silent and continue your work."

Leon obediently lowered his head and continued writing.

After another half hour, he finished the second chapter and glanced over at Snape.

His voice, quiet but clear, cut through the silence again. This time, it struck a nerve.

"They call Harry 'The Boy Who Lived,' but I heard his parents were killed that night. Rather than saying Harry defeated Voldemort, I believe it was a mother's love that performed the miracle."

Leon watched Snape closely. The professor's hand was trembling almost imperceptibly.

"You talk too much, Mr. Shelby," Snape said after a long pause, forcing his voice to remain steady, though a slight tremor betrayed him.

Leon dutifully returned to his copying.

Another half hour passed. After finishing the third chapter, Leon looked up again. Snape was staring into the distance with a haunted, faraway look, clearly lost in thoughts of someone else's wife.

"I visited Harry's home before term started," Leon said conversationally. "I happened to see a photograph of his mother."

He paused, then added pointedly, looking directly at Snape.

"Professor Snape... did you know? Harry has his mother's eyes. Exactly the same."

This time, Snape showed no outward reaction. He kept his head down, pretending to read. His face was impassive, his movements steady, as if he hadn't heard a word.

"That will be all for tonight," Snape said suddenly, his voice startlingly calm, devoid of its usual sarcastic edge. It was almost unnerving. "You may go to your Astronomy class. If Professor Sinistra asks why you are late, tell her you were assisting me."

Leon put down his quill, gave Snape a slight bow, and left the office, heading towards the Astronomy Tower.

By the time he reached the top, breathless from the climb, the class was already underway. Professor Sinistra was guiding the students' gazes towards the night sky.

"The constellation Orion," she was saying, "is associated by wizards with courage, and is often used as an astrological reference in defensive magic."

"Those three stars form Orion's Belt. I want you to observe them carefully and draw me a chart of their position after class."

Leon quietly slipped into the group, following Professor Sinistra's instructions and looking up at the sky.

Just then, a fiery red meteor streaked across the heavens, cutting directly through the Orion Nebula. Professor Sinistra's face paled.

At that exact same moment, deep in the dungeons, Snape, his composure finally cracking, walked towards a Pensieve tucked away in a corner, seeking solace in memories of Lily.

As he passed the desk where Leon had been sitting, a chance glance made him freeze. On the parchment, Leon's handwriting was still slightly damp.

"The Sopophorous bean, a magical fruit possessing powerful sleep-inducing properties. Its characteristics and applications are central to potion-making. It is also worth noting that it is one of the primary ingredients in the Draught of Living Death (a potion inducing a deep, death-like sleep)."

Below that, Leon had added another, chilling note.

"Perhaps Voldemort is merely feigning death, plotting his return even now."