Harry did not have to see his parents or Bellatrix untilWednesday. He had expected James and Sirius to be rather angry with him andconsequently cause problems, but when the day arrived, they had treated himcasually in class. This caused Harry to realize that they probably were quiteaccustomed to getting detentions and probably didn't take it personally. Thissort of attitude fondly reminded Harry of the Weasley twins. Surprisingly, thetrouble he had been expecting arrived with Bellatrix, instead of the Marauders,during a student presentation.
A group of rather dull students wanting the extra creditHarry had promised were explaining to the class how to brew one of the NEWTlevel potions. Harry had optimistically told himself that this was a goodopportunity to learn more about potions, but very shortly after thepresentation began, he found himself drowsing.
"When the mixture begins to boil, it is safe to addthe scorpion tongue powder and stir clockwise," droned Ned Willardby.
Bellatrix, leaning back in her chair spoke up."Nobody adds scorpion tongue powder to a boiling mixture, dimwit!"she drawled loudly. The class gasped and Harry sat up in his chair trying toascertain whether he had heard her correctly.
The girl who appeared to be Ned's girlfriend and studypartner quickly retorted in a high-pitched voice. "What do you know aboutscorpion tongue powder?"
"So the dimwit has a dimwit friend," Bellatrixsaid snidely.
"Miss Black," Harry spoke up, "it is notappropriate to refer to people as dimwits… in the classroom."
"What? Are you a dimwit too?"
Harry glared at her. "Five points fromSlytherin."
Bellatrix smirked at Harry and he felt his ire rising."All right, Ashworth. Prove that you're not a dimwit. Tell us what happenswhen one puts scorpion tongue powder into a cauldron full of a boiling potion.You have heard of this powder, have you not?"
"Of course I've heard of it," Harry growled,wondering why Bellatrix felt that it was necessary to embarrass him in front ofthe class. "Now why don't we let Ned finish presenting his group'sproject?"
"Dimwit."
"Detention! Thursday night."
The gleam of triumph in Bellatrix's eyes instantly causedHarry to realize that she had wanteddetention and he cursed quietly, annoyed at his letting a teenager manipulatehim like that. He scowled fiercely at her before motioning for Ned to resume.Something told him that there wouldn't be any further disruptions from her nowthat she had what she wanted.
.....
Thursday evening found Harry in his office, sitting athis desk with one of the library's time travel books propped open. Thus far,his search had not yielded a large amount of information about time travel, buthe had learned a few things-perhaps enough to make some firm decisions aboutjust what he would attempt to do in the past. He now realized that he probablyshould have done this research earlier rather than wasting time treading aroundsoftly. He was spared any further thought by the arrival of James Potter andSirius Black who stepped into his office through the open door.
"Hey Professor Ashworth, how are you this fineevening?" Sirius cheekily inquired.
"I'm doing well. Please sit down," Harry said,gesturing toward a pair of chairs on the other side of his desk.
"So what is on the menu tonight?" James asked,sharing a smirk with Sirius and trying to not laugh too openly.
Harry slowly closed the book he had been studying and setit aside before studying James and Sirius for several moments. Seeing hisfather and godfather this close and interacting with them personally was goingto be harder than he anticipated-not only for the sheer fact that he wasinteracting with two persons that he had lost, but also for the fact that theywere displaying very shameful behavior.
"Tell me Mr. Potter, Mr. Black. Why is it that yousee fit to give Mr. Snape so much grief? What has he done to deserve it?"Harry inquired, trying to sound calm and dispassionate.
"Call me James," Harry's father muttered ratherthan providing a very good answer.
"Fine," Harry replied. "James, what isyour bone against Severus?"
There was some awkward silence, but it didn't botherHarry. He wasn't the one in the hot seat. Harry looked from James to Siriuswaiting for an answer. Neither of the boys seemed to be able to think ofanything remarkable to say.
"Well?" Harry asked.
"He's a git!" Sirius declared hotly.
"A git?" Harry repeated coldly, implying thathe wanted an explanation.
"He just thinks he's so amazing!" Jamesdeclared angrily.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Everyone likes to thinkthey're amazing, especially you. Why does Severus's doing so bother youespecially?"
"Well…" James vaguely said. "It's justthat he's especially annoying."
Harry knew enough from the future, and from hisobservations in class to produce the answer himself. "There's also theminor fact that he likes Lily."
The look on James's face told Harry that he'd hit home.James didn't seem to have anything to say, so Harry took the opportunity tocontinue. "If you like Lily Evans, then you're going to have to impressher. How do you suppose you're doing so far by tormenting her childhoodfriend?"
James muttered something that Harry couldn't hear.
....
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