Harry Riddle || Harry potter

Chapter 10: Detention With Severus

Harry rubbed the tan and black dog's head and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"What did you possibly do to get yourself in detention on the first day, Harry?" Professor Snape asked, obviously exasperated.

Harry scowled dangerously. He was currently serving his 'detention' by sitting in his favorite professor's personal chambers, drinking some type of white Earl Grey tea and eating biscuits. Sabine, the grey eyed dog, curled up by his feet happily and looked up at him pleadingly for bits of food.

"That-that dreadful Care of Magical Creatures professor-if you can even call him a 'professor'-Hagrid, took ten points and gave me this detention just for talking. Not before he first tried to embarrass me by seeing if I was too ignorant to even know what a bloody Hippogriff was. I knew, of course, but he was still being a complete git. Why would he hate me so much? It's not like I did anything other than talk. I wasn't even being loud. He made much more of a distraction by pointing it out." At least the man had been too stupid to send him to someone who would actually punish him; instead, his first detention was proving to be more of an afternoon tea.

"I'm sure he was just irritated you weren't paying attention, Harry," Severus muttered, but Harry couldn't help but notice he didn't quite meet his eyes as he said it. Severus, no matter how proficient he was at deceiving other people (and he was very proficient), never seemed to be able to lie to him without giving himself away somehow. Harry narrowed his eyes at the man but didn't comment.

They were silent for several minutes, awkwardly content with their tea, until something he had been suspicious about resurfaced to the front of Harry's thoughts. "Why are you spying on me?"

Severus sat his cup down on the table and started to shake his head. "Why do you think-?"

"No. Tell me. Father was nice enough to inform me in a letter that the 'mudblood Ravenclaw girl' I'm hanging around with is entirely unsuitable to lick my boots. He went on to say that he almost wouldn't be surprised if I lowered myself to socializing with muggles and Gryffindors next."

"I am your father's servant, Harry," Severus said, almost regretfully. "If he tells me to report back on you, I have to at least tell him the truth."

Harry scowled at him but couldn't really bring himself to get cross. He'd found that he could never get truly angry at Severus ever since he was about four years old.

A whimper turned his attention downwards towards Sabine, who was sitting on her haunches and holding her leash in her teeth. Her bushy tail glided back and forth.

A slow smile spread over Harry's face. "Severus?"

"Hmm?" he asked, picking his teacup back up and raising it to his lips.

"It's really a pity that I already lost ten points, isn't it? Might affect Slytherin getting the House Cup at the end of the year, couldn't it?"

Severus sipped his tea and shrugged. "I don't think ten points could have that much effect in the long run—"

"We could lose," Harry interrupted. "Break our winning streak. Imagine if Gryffindor won? We'd be shamed."

"We would," Severus agreed sincerely but slowly, clearly not understanding what Harry was getting at.

"And poor Sabine, being such a large dog, needs exercise. She's getting a bit fat."

Snape looked back and forth between Harry and Sabine for a second before comprehension lit his eyes. "Oh! Of course. Mr. Riddle, your duty for detention is to take Sabine for a long, long walk."

Harry smiled. "Yes, Professor."

"Good. Ten points to Slytherin for . . . aiding your Head of House."

Jumping up, Harry quickly clipped the leash onto Sabine's black leather collar and led her out the door, her tags jangling harshly against one another and claws clacking loudly on the cold floor. The noises eventually faded into complete silence.

Severus stared after him until he was long gone, finally whispering, "I'm your father's servant, Harry, but I belong to you."