She left him as they drew near the boys. "I'll fetch Wood and meet you in your office," she called as she headed through the doorway.
He nodded, then turned to the boys. "So." He turned his fiercest glare upon them and had the satisfaction of watching them quail. "You decided to ignore Madame Hooch's instructions and lost each of your Houses five points."
Potter gulped. "Sorry, sir."
"Oh, you will be, Potter. Go to my office and wait for me there."
With only the briefest glance back at the Quidditch pitch, Harry obeyed, leaving Snape and Malfoy alone.
"Mr Malfoy. You have barely arrived here at school and you are already losing our House points."
"Don't worry; I'll make it up in another class," Draco tried to emulate his father's sneer, but failed miserably.
"That isn't the point, Mr Malfoy," Snape said, his voice low and curiously hypnotic. "You were warned about embarrassing the House. You were told not to bring disgrace upon the name of Slytherin, and yet what do you do? In one of your first classes, you blatantly disobey your instructor."
"It's j-just flying," Draco tried desperately to bluster his way out of it.
"No, Mr Malfoy, it is not. By your actions, you not only demonstrated disrespect towards Madame Hooch and her orders to your class, but also towards me and my orders to our House," Snape gently pointed out. Draco paled further.
"I do not treat disrespect lightly, Mr Malfoy. I am surprised you appear unaware of this."
Draco tried to speak but no sound came out.
"You will return to your dormitory where you will spend the rest of the afternoon writing, 'I apologize for my disrespectful actions' five hundred times." He ignored Draco's dismayed expression. "This weekend, while your classmates enjoy their free time, you will serve two detentions with Mr Filch, paying for your misbehavior by scrubbing the Owlry floor with a toothbrush. If I hear even a hint of complaint from you or Mr Filch, I will owl your father about my dissatisfaction with your conduct. Need I point out the likely consequences of that action?" Draco was now a light green in color and was shaking his head vehemently.
"You are not only an arrogant and foolish little boy, Mr Malfoy," Snape continued in the same quiet, dangerous voice, "but you are also an extremely ill-informed one. Mr Potter has come under my protection." Draco's jaw dropped. "He is now my ward, and any action against him will be considered an action against me. He is to be thought of as a Slytherin and treated accordingly. If I see you arguing with him in public, I will take it as a deliberate violation of our House code: Slytherins United, One Against the World. Do you understand?"
"Y-yes, sir," Draco managed shakily.
"Then I suggest you start those five hundred lines. If I do not have them by breakfast tomorrow, we will make it two weekends of detention, and I promise you that the second weekend's task will make the first one's appear a garden of delight. Do you understand me?" Draco nodded jerkily. "Good. And do pass on my warning about Mr Potter to the rest of the House, will you? I will be very displeased with you if someone repeats your error."
"Yes, sir!" the blond stammered and fled.
By nightfall, Snape mused, the Owlry will likely be empty as every Slytherin writes home about this news. It would be very interesting to see what happens next.
Meanwhile, outside Snape's office, Harry was waiting with a deepening sense of dread. The look on the professor's faceтАж He shivered.
Snape often snapped and snarled, but he didn't really feel angry. This time, the anger was radiating off of him in nearly palpable waves. Harry thought he might sick up if he had to wait much longer. He didn't know what Snape was going to do to him, but he was utterly terrified that the man would change his mind now that he had seen how much trouble Harry could be.
"In," Snape swept up behind him, robes billowing, and opened the door with a wave of his wand.
Harry scuttled in and stood before the desk, head down and eyes on the toes of his shoes.
"Potter, I am prepared to hear whatever excuses you may have to offer for your behavior," Snape said coldly, standing next to him, arms folded.
"No excuses, sir," Harry whispered, feeling his stomach clench.
"Then perhaps you can explain what you were thinking?"
"I тАУ I just got mad when Malfoy took Neville's rememberall. He's been awful to Neville, really mean and nasty, and when he tried to break it, I тАУ I just didn't want to let him do it."
"So you allowed Malfoy to manipulate you into breaking the rules and losing points for your House. Had he led you by the nose, it would hardly have been any less deliberate," Snape said bitingly. Harry winced. "Are you always so easily controlled, Potter? Are you completely incapable of thinking for yourself? Of deducing another person's intentions?"
"I knew Malfoy was trying to get me in trouble," Harry protested, eyes welling with tears, "but I didn't want Neville to lose his rememberall. I'm sorry about disobeying but it тАУ"
"Potter!" Snape's voice cut like a lash. "You moronic child! Why do you think I am so angry with you?"
"B-because I didn't listen to Madame Hooch." At Snape's contemptuous snort, Harry was surprised enough to look up. "Then what?"
Snape was in front of him in an instant, and had him by the shoulders. Stooping down so that he looked directly into the child's eyes, Snape punctuated each word with a little shake. "You тАУ could тАУ have тАУ killed тАУ yourself тАУ with тАУ that тАУ stunt! How dare you fly at the castle like that!"
Harry's eyes were wide. "I didn't even really see the wall. I was just after the ball," he gulped.
If anything, that just made the professor angrier. "Do you think so little of your own life, of your parents' sacrifice, that you don't even consider the consequences of your actions?" Snape demanded furiously.
Harry felt a warm glow begin deep in his belly. The professor wasn't mad because he had disobeyed. The professor was mad because he might have gotten hurt.
This was the first time Harry could remember where anyone had ever worried about him. When he was ill or hurt back at the Dursleys, they had only cared what it meant for his ability to do his chores and make their food. Occasionally they might worry about what the neighbors would think, but they never, ever cared about Harry for his own sake. Yet here was Professor Snape, absolutely furious over the fact that Harry might have been hurt.
He didn't even care that Harry hadn't been hurt. He was still mad that Harry might have been. The butterflies in Harry's stomach were gone, replaced by a warm, happy feeling.
He risked a quick glance up at the professor's livid face and quickly dropped his gaze again. Ooh, Snape was angry. Harry fought to keep the tiny smile off his face. The professor cared. He really cared.
The insufferable brat, Snape fumed. Grinning over his harebrained stunt like it was something to be proud of! Obviously it would take sterner measures to communicate his message.
"Potter," he said dangerously, "do you remember what I said I would do if you were foolish enough to place yourself in jeopardy?"