Harry Potter and the Bucket List

Year 1 - 7

Beta: Cloudy

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

Returning from Hogsmeade was done quickly and quietly. The twins were grinning ear to ear and in such jolly moods. I couldn't blame them. Not only had Sirius taken them aside to privately discuss what it meant to be a marauder, but he had given them a fair bit of gifts. At first the twins had been reluctant to accept some of them—especially the bag of galleons—but Sirius had insisted.

"You need to start somewhere. We had plenty between all of us, but you've only got yourselves!" Sirius had argued. "Hogwarts needs marauders. Make sure you'll set up for the next generation, too."

They eventually agreed.

The one item that made them really happy was a book. It, sadly, wasn't my occlumency book—though they did thank me for that—but rather a book on animagus training. The same one Sirius, James, Peter, and Remus had used.

Fred and George were positively giddy.

The three of us reached Hogwarts without fuss and went our separate ways. I nearly made it back to the dungeons without issue when I ran into a sweet old schemer.

"Good day, Miss Potter," Professor Dumbledore cheerfully greeted me. He looked exceptionally fashionable in his purple star-printed robes and matching hat. "Thank you ever so kindly for the gifts."

"One can never have enough socks. Especially thick woolen ones," I said with a sly smile.

"I could not agree more. People have usually insisted on giving me books. The socks are greatly appreciated."

"I'll make sure to send you more next year along with a matching hat," I promised him. "I'm thinking fox-themed."

Professor Dumbledore chuckled warmly. "I will look forward to them. I do hope you enjoyed seeing your family."

He definitely caught me sneaking out.

"Yep. Thanks for not giving me detention," I chirped.

"It's only fair. You gave me such nice socks."

I laughed.

I did have one more stop to make before returning to my dorms.

I did not know if Professor Snape stayed at Hogwarts over the holidays. I did not feel it would be appropriate to ask such a question, yet. He treated me better than my twin, but closer to indifference when compared to the other snakes. If I answered a question correctly in class it was treated as an expectation, not a praise.

It... did not sit well with me. That type of treatment reminded me of my mother from my past life. I was torn between two ways of dealing with it.

The first option that came to mind would be to try and please him—to go out of my way to earn brownies points. It was something I had done in my past life, and it did absolutely nothing for me. If anything, it made it worse because going above and beyond became the expectation. I was continuously pushed to meet a rising bar, and when I failed it... it did not work out well.

The second option would be to ignore the professor entirely and play a more passive role in class. The second option was equally unappealing because I needed to excel in potions. I had a fair bit of knowledge from self-study and the tutoring from Remus, but Snape was a proper potions master.

There were things that could not be taught in a book—like how to adjust a potion on the fly, how to predict when one has turned volatile, and so on. Such things came with experience. Experience which I lacked, and Professor Snape had plenty to spare.