That evening, the Brat showed up on time, with a scroll of parchment that he handed over without a word. His gaze remained on his feet.
Severus put down the scroll. "In my classroom is a bucket of murtlap tentacles which need to be pickled. First, you will cut them in the way specified by my written instructions, and then place them in the vat of brine. Any questions?"
"No, sir."
"Did you check in with Madam Pomfrey today?" He already knew the answer, having received a confirmation from Poppy, but he wanted the boy to acknowledge his own success.
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Now go."
The boy lifted his head for a brief look, then scampered into the classroom. Severus scooped up the scroll and followed after him, to make sure the Brat had no problems deciphering his instructions. The beetles had been done very well, so he had little concern that the boy could do this one, too. Keeping one ear tuned to the sound of precise slicing, Severus unraveled the scroll and read through it quickly, once, and then more thoroughly a second time.
The first thing that occurred to him was that the boy had to learn better penmanship and soon, or it was going to drive Severus quite mad to have to read any essays he turned in. His second though was that he was . . . pleased the boy had put in an honest effort. So many children did not, when their work was for detention. Giving almost three feet of examples and counter examples of his rules-abiding behavior, as well as his reasons for doing so when he understood them, Potter had shown, too, that he had a decent head on his shoulders and was not a complete waste of breath, unlike his father.
Some of the examples of rules Potter did not respect or follow, however, drawn almost entirely from his aunt and uncle's domain, took his breath away.
Apparently, in his home, Potter was expected to do everything he was told, up to and including tasks that put him in the way of serious physical harm, to accept any kind of abuse as his due, and to agree with every nasty and illogical thing he was told about himself, his parents and magic in general.
Severus realized the sound of murtlap separation had ceased, and he looked up to find Potter staring at him, his green eyes hard, the knife still in his hand.
"Is it what you wanted, sir?"
"It is," Severus replied evenly, not rising to the bait of the boy's anger. "And I detect a pattern here. You will obey rules if you agree with them, or if given an even chance to comply."
Potter's eyes narrowed, but he nodded, tightly.
"For example, you have sent away for clothes to replace the ones that I noted were out of regulation. When did you send the owl?"
"The morning after we arrived, sir," Potter said, flushing.
"So, before I even discovered your nightclothes error."
"Yes, sir."
Severus nodded, and he was pretty sure of the next answer, but wanted to know for certain the depth of his own folly. "And so, when you asked about owl orders, during our House meeting . . . you had not forgotten quills or candy, had you."
Potter's jaw tightened, and his hand clenched around the knife. "No, sir."
"Mm." He paused, then, "You wrote that you arrive for classes on time, I see, realizing that not doing so is not only a disservice to yourself, but to your fellow classmates, and is disrespectful to your professors."
"Yes, sir."
"You do all your homework, to the best of your ability, though you have been required, primarily due to detentions, to miss several mandatory meetings with your study group." He peered up at the boy, watching his internal struggle. "Does that bother you?"
"Yes, sir."
"Explain."
"Well, sir, like I wrote, it's not fair to them when I don't show up, 'cause Millie, um, Millicent Bullstrode, she sometimes needs extra help and the others think she's dragging them down on purpose."
"And you do not?"
"No, sir. She can do the material, she just needs . . ." He shrugged.
"Encouragement?"
A brief smile. "Yes, sir."
"I see. But tell me, Potter, aside from the effect your absence has on your peers, Miss Bullstrode in specific, is there any other reason that not attending a mandatory study session should be avoided?"
Potter's frown was troubling, but then it smoothed and Severus released his breath. "Because I might need help, too?"
"Indeed." He paused, considered his words very carefully, then continued, "There is a pattern readily apparent in your rules violations, Mr. Potter. When you believe that you are the only person to be impacted by a rule that inconveniences you or may lead you to further trouble, you are more likely to disregard it. Take this one for example: the rule of 'No food until all your chores are done' has been disobeyed . . . how many times would you say?"