Uh-oh, thought Harry, suddenly understanding what Scaradiate must mean. Well, at least I can see this one coming.
"However, we do have Mr Potter and his scar of rather dubious acclaim." Snape strode up the aisle towards him as he spoke. On the other side of the room, the Slytherins twittered, and Draco whispered something to Pansy, something that Harry felt sure must resemble This is going to be good . . . "Unfortunately for Mr Potter, his is a curse scar. Mr Malfoy, what are the primary properties of a curse scar?"
"It's hideous and disfiguring, sir."
"Indeed. Five points to Slytherin."
Hermione gave a low growl of protest, followed by a hissed, "That wasn't even a proper answer!"
Snape ignored her. "The other distinguishing characteristic is that unlike other scars, a curse scar cannot be removed by mere potion. I am afraid that Mr Potter will have to bravely struggle on despite his . . . how did Mr Malfoy put it? Ah, yes. Hideous disfigurement."
Harry stared up, eyes furious, mouth clenching. He said it was an act, a voice whispered in his mind. Trouble was, Snape's so-called act seemed all too real. Hell, it was reaclass="underline" Harry was being held up to ridicule as usual. But what did he care if Snape went back to being . . . well, Snape? He'd sort of expected it, actually. He'd known it would be idiotic to expect anything else.
Snape gave him a longish stare, then drawled, "I do believe our Gryffindor hero is on the brink of tears. Do not be a fool, Mr Potter. Show us some decorum."
And with that, Harry knew he could relax. Nobody else would catch the hidden meaning in those words, but they meant something significant to Harry. It was just a game, a game of trick-the-ferret. However much Snape might have meant his hurtful comments in the past, he didn't mean them now. Well, not like before, anyway.
Harry gave his usual glare back, playing along, but he wasn't expecting what Snape did next.
-----------------------------------------------------------
"Honestly!" Hermione fumed as they climbed their way back out of the dungeons. "The nerve of that man, refusing to so much as score your test! He knows you didn't cheat, knows it was a letter! And assigning you a second test, today, without any warning! You were called home on family business; you couldn't possibly have studied over the weekend! I think you should take it up with the headmaster, I really do!"
Harry couldn't help but snort, imagining Dumbledore's mock-befuddled reaction if Harry came to him complaining about a test he'd demanded in the first place.
"It doesn't matter," he told Hermione. "I'm sure I got a mark of Troll no matter which one he scores. Troll-minus, more likely."
"Well, it's just disgraceful! He took points off of Gryffindor because you didn't complete your potion, but how could you complete it when he slapped an exam paper on your desk and demanded you do that instead?"
Harry had to admit that part had been disgraceful.
"Were the questions even on the same material?" Hermione railed on. "Or did he test you only on the alternate readings, which he knows you hardly ever do?"
"Alternates," Harry answered, unable to help grinning a bit. He knew it seemed unfair to Hermione, but to him, it was just funny. He'd sort of asked for it, after all. "Forget it," he advised his friend. "You complain and it'll get back to him, you know it will. Then it'll be--" Harry lowered his voice to approximate Snape's deep, sarcastic tones. "Ten points from Gryffindor for expecting justice to prevail despite all evidence to the contrary."
"Having fun, Potter?" Draco Malfoy's sneering voice came up beside them.
"Yeah, actually," Harry admitted, knowing that nothing would get to Malfoy quite as much as the fact that Harry was feeling happy. "How about you?"
Malfoy smirked. "Have fun in detention, too."
Hermione clenched her fists. "Oh, you just have to run to the teacher with everything, don't you, Malfoy?"
Malfoy's silver eyes went wide and innocent. "Nothing to do with me, Mudblood. Professor Snape already assigned it. Penalty for not finishing his potion."
Hermione gave a strangled scream.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The detention was definitely unfair, Harry thought, but he'd served unfair detentions for Snape before. Things were just getting back to normal, he supposed. Snape was making sure of it, and Harry understood. Things had to look like business as usual.
Argus Filch gaped at him when he reported to the caretaker's office. "First I's heard a any detentions fer tonight, Potter," his hoarse voice rasped. "Though I do got me a few billygruffs runnin' wild in the halls by night, an' I need fresh bait to snare 'em. You're jus' about the right size--"
"That's all right," Harry quickly said, stepping back. "My mistake."
Only, it wasn't. Snape had definitely assigned a detention. Sighing, Harry made his way down to the Potions classroom and knocked on the open door. "Professor?"
"Ah, Mr Potter," Snape drawled. "Five minutes late, so five points from Gryffindor. It's really quite kind of you to make detention so enjoyable for me. Perhaps next time you could arrange to be even later?"
Harry gritted his teeth. "I reported to Mr Filch, first."
"Bizarre behaviour. Idiotic, one might say, considering you have a detention precisely so that you can brew the potion you missed."
"Oh," Harry said, his voice low. Snape was going to make sure he didn't fall behind on account of the extra test Harry had demanded . . . he actually hadn't thought of that.
"Before you begin, however, I've finished marking your exam."
When Harry took it from Snape's outstretched hand, his own was shaking a bit, but not because he was worried about his grade. You couldn't sink any lower than Troll-minus, so there was nothing left to worry about, was there?
"Do sit down to read it, Mr Potter," Snape sneered, then returned his attention to another stack of papers he was marking. "I dare say you may be shocked at the things I have to say to such a vaunted and celebrated Gryffindor as yourself."
Shocked was right, Harry thought as he dropped into the nearest chair and ran his glance over the paper.
Troll-minus without a doubt, the comments read. You can't expect much better if you continue to ignore the alternate readings, Harry. Keep the following points in mind:
1) Bobotuber pus is unstable in bronze cauldrons and will actually explode if heated in them.
2) Mandrake root must be shredded and pounded before the juice is extracted.
3) Bicorn horn and unicorn horn are not remotely similar.
4) Mr Malfoy is almost certainly eavesdropping.
5) Burn this beneath your cauldron when you start your potion and be sure you mix the ashes well with the others in the grate.
6) A little raving would not come amiss. Emphasis on little, or I will find myself in a position where I will have to take points.
It was a little much for Harry to take in all at once. No insults? Even more surprising, some helpful tips? Hermione did sometimes get those, and more rarely, Ron and Neville, but he'd never seen them couched in impartial language before. Usually it was Whatever possessed you to believe that toadstools form any part of Salivary Potion? Were you raised under one?
Harry looked up, saw Snape's lips quirk, and realised that it was the first time he'd actually seen Snape's lips quirk. The sight was decidedly bizarre, but Harry knew better than to laugh out his relief. He'd understood the message in those last three points.