The Fear in The Child

Snape

As much as he did not want to ask, Tom knew that he needed the help. He hated asking for favors, and he hated even more that he would need Draco's help in obtaining the information that he wanted. Still, he was not too prideful to ask, especially since he knew the Malfoy would be capable of managing it. He just really did not want to ask.

Tom sighed inwardly. He did not really like the fact that he was unable to obtain the information that he wanted alone. That meant that he had to rely on someone else to get it for him. He had never really been one to ask others to do things for him. Unless he trusted them to do them. For things as important as this? It was not something that he wanted to ask for. Yet, he knew that he would need to. He had to because he simply could not manage it by himself. As much as he would love to, Draco had more leeway here at the moment than Tom himself did, which meant that he would have to ask him. 

They were currently in Potions class. Something that he was actually looking forwards to. It was the teacher that he was wary of. The man had seen him at a fairly low time within the Black family manor. He hated it. The idea that he would have to face the man now, he was annoyed. Though he was frustrated about the situation at the same time.

The man was classic Slytherin. Something that made Tom relax just barely around him, and why he had trusted him. The aura of Slytherin just wafted from him clearly. He was glad that the other was at the very least willing to pretend what had happened over the summer did not happen. That meant that he was more than willing to pretend that it did not happen himself. 

Though, he could not help but notice that the Professor was watching him carefully as he and Draco sat down together, and continued to glance at him ever so often. Tom stared just as the professor watched everyone sit, meeting his eyes relentlessly, not willing to look away and back down. It remained that way, neither winning as the class began and Severus looked away.

"Today" Tom noted his voice. Soft, careful, but seeming to boom across the room without effor. "We will be brewing. Hopefully you are all competent enough to actually manage the potion, I expect more now that you are in your fifth year. Do not disappoint me, otherwise I fear that we will have more problems than one." The Potions Master stared down at them with beady eyes. 

He vaguely reminded Tom of a raven. He liked ravens, though he preferred snakes over them. Ravens were known for having beady black eyes that seemed to stare straight through a person. that was what the eyes of his potions master professor reminded him distinctly of. More intelligent then others thought them to be, and seeing everything in one. It was what he was reminded of. As though he were being stared at through his soul. He did not let it bother him, though it was clear that a majority of the students seemed to be unnerved by the professor. It was different then with Dumbledore however. It was more subtle, and that made it more unnerving.

The Gryffindors seemed even more nervous, more so then him, and for what was obviously a different reason. Good. It was nice to know that these pathetic band of gryffindors were able to be nervous. He hated the fact that they seemed to think that they could get away with everything (even more so that they did manage it no matter what the offense, it was bad in his time and he would bet that it was even worse now that the muggle loving Dumbledore was headmaster) but he knew that with Severus' presence they would be more wary of trying to do anything untowards. 

"The directions are on the board. I expect you know what to do." Snape flicked his wand at the chalkboard and then turned to sit idly at his desk, watching as the students did not do anything, simply waiting. 

"Go." He growled. 

In an instant the dungeon was filled with sounds of people moving and walking around to get ingredients and such. Tom simply stood up to get everything that they would need, not leaving Draco to do so, and brought it back to their desk. He was rather nervous for the fact that he had not brewed a potion in ages, and Slughorn-while a decent teacher most certainly-was definitely not the best teacher that Hogwarts could offer when it came to potions masters. He was sure that the man had some problems with some of the ingredients, either that or perhaps the instructions for the potions were never really quite accurate as Tom had been forced to several times go against what Slughorn told them to do in order to accurately make the potions that they were brewing. 

He hoped that this teacher was more competent than his last one. Though it was not as though that were a hard feat after all. Slughorn was not exactly a brilliant potions master, but he was passable enough to teach. 

Tom supposed that it was for the best. After all, if he did not have Slughorn as a teacher it would have been far more complicated getting the books in the Restricted section of the library. Slughorn, as it were, was incredibly easy to manipulate, meaning the signature of a teacher which was necessary was rather simple in essence to obtain. He had manipulated the man so many times in order to get various types of books. It served him well enough that he was not worried when it came down to such things. 

Now, however, Slughorn was not a teacher, it was a different teacher, and given the wary looks that he was undoubedly going to receive, he doubted that managing to obtain the books in the restricted section was going to be as simple as it was when he was last here. 

"Well, would you look at this." Tom's body tensed minutely, not aware that the Professor had moved from his desk to wander about the classroom. He and Draco had been working in silence, not really speaking, either to each other or to anyone else. They had really tuned out the chatter of the room, and been focused on what they needed to do to produce the proper potion. Neither had really cared for anything else. While Tom was certain that Draco probably would be taunting his Gryffindor classmates by now, he probably only did that during the times that his potion was finished, and this was a rather complicated potion. It was taking a bit more time than Tom would wish to complete. They were both highly skill and competent in the arts of potion making, however, and they were both certain that it would be more than enough with the both of them working together to get a proper potion fixed up. 

"Well done, both of you." Severus said simply. Tom stared blankly into the others eyes, it was then that he just...could not hold it, being the first to drop his gaze. He glanced at the cauldron, and then glanced about the room. It was then that he realized, upon watching the teacher move around the classroom once more, why he had even bothered to comment on their potion out of the rest of the ones in the class.

"Is everyone usually this incompetent in this class?" Tom muttered under his breath, glancing at his companion. Draco huffed a laugh, muffling it well, but nodded solemnly. 

"It is not as though potions is hard, but it does require preciseness and logic, something that many people tend to lack in bounds. Slytherins are the best when it comes to potions because we have plenty of that. After us, the Ravens, and then the Gryffindors tend to be last in terms of scores every year." Draco dutifully informed him. Tom smirked.

"Not that it surprises me." He could not help but say. Draco nodded, agreeing with his words.