"No, sir, it was the barrier at King's Cross, it--"
"Silence!" said Snape coldly. "What have you done with the car?"
Ron gulped. This wasn't the first time Snape had given Harry the impression of being able to read minds. But a moment later, he understood, as Snape unrolled today's issue of the Evening Prophet.
"You were seen," he hissed, showing them the headline: FLYING FORD ANGLIA MYSTEFIES MUGGLES. He began to read aloud: "Two Muggles in London, convinced they saw an old care flying over the Post Office tower... at noon in Norfolk, Mrs. Hetty Bayliss, while hanging out her washing... Mr. Angus Fleet, of Peebles, reported to police... Six or seven Muggles in all. I believe your father works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office?" he said, looking up at Ron and smiling still more nastily. "Dear, dear... his own son..."
Harry felt as though he'd just been walloped in the stomach by one of the mad tree's larger branches. If anyone found out Mr. Weasley had bewitched the car... he hadn't thought of that...
"I noticed, in my search of the park, that considerable damage seems to have been done to a very valuable Whomping Willow," Snape went on.
"That tree did more damage to us than we--" Ron blurted out.
"Silence!" snapped Snape again. "Most unfortunately, you are not in my House and the decision to expel you does not rest with me, I shall go and fetch the people who do have that happy power. You will wait here."
~Chamber of Secrets, Ch. 5 "The Whomping Willow"
I love this part so much... But just like I did a few weeks ago, rather than analyzing it, I'll just give you a snippet of my fanfiction (in which I'm rewriting the entire series from Snape's point of view), because my version of that scene is basically an analysis on its own.
Without telling Dumbledore or anyone else where he was going, he stood up from his seat and exited the Great Hall through the door behind the Staff Table. As he did, he could hear Lockhart saying something like, “Going to change into something more fanciful, Professor? Excellent idea!”
Severus knew that if Potter had taken the car, which he was one-hundred percent sure of, it should be arriving soon, if it hadn’t already… The first thing that came to his mind was to head straight up to the Astronomy Tower, where he would be able to see nearly all of Hogwarts, but he changed direction in mid-step, realizing that he would waste time getting up there, and that he would do better to just do a full search of the grounds.
From the great oak doors, he prowled every inch possible, using his acute senses to detect movement or whispers… but there was nothing. The sky was empty but for stars… there were no Ford Anglias flying towards the castle. Severus found nothing near the lake, Quidditch field, or greenhouses, but as he neared the shallow valley in which he knew the Whomping Willow to be planted, he heard rustling and scraping noises gradually becoming louder…
He didn’t have to guess what it meant when he found the Willow
It wasn’t necessarily the tree he cared about, especially since it had played its part in one of his worst memories… But this was a very rare and valuable tree, and it was Hogwarts property. As it must have been Potter and Weasley that had damaged it while flying in, that was another offense right there… Oh, it was bliss to think of what would happen to them. But—where were they, and where was the car?
That was easily answered as Severus completed his circle around the castle to see two figures silhouetted against the brightly lit windows of the Great Hall. Once within hearing distance, he could hear Weasley saying in a hopeful voice, “Maybe he’s ill!”
“Maybe he’s left, because he missed out on the Defense Against the Dark Arts job again!” said Potter, and now Severus knew who they were talking about.
“Or he might have been sacked! I mean, everyone hates him—”
“Or maybe,” Severus said coldly, now directly behind them. “he’s waiting to hear why you two didn’t arrive on the school train.” He smiled evilly at the pure fear and dread they were sure to be feeling at the unexpected sound of his voice, and was not proven wrong when Potter spun around to see him. The boys’ eyes held a look of absolute horror.
“Follow me,” said Severus, immediately spinning around to make his way up the stone steps, his robes rippling behind him in the September breeze. He led them across the Entrance Hall and down the dungeon staircase, finally ending up at his office door. Opening it, he pointed inside and said sharply, “In!” They obeyed, and Severus noticed with satisfaction that they were shivering. He could have lit the fire and made it warmer, but he wanted to let them freeze.
“So, the train isn’t good enough for the famous Harry Potter and his faithful sidekick Weasley,” Severus said, using his softly dangerous voice. “Wanted to arrive with a bang, did we, boys?”
Despite the look he was giving them and the fear it usually induced in students, Potter stared back with defiance rather than dread, and went straight to making excuses. “No, sir, it was the barrier at King’s Cross, it—”
“Silence!” he demanded, his dark eyes harboring nothing but coldness. “What have you done with the car?” Without waiting for either of them to answer, as he knew they wouldn’t, he pulled from his robes the Evening Prophet he had received earlier, shoved it in their face so they could see the title, and hissed, “You were seen.” When he saw their renewed expressions of dread, he pulled it back to himself and began to read aloud the parts he deemed important.
“Two Muggles in London , convinced they saw an old car over the Post Office tower… at noon in Norfolk
The ginger looked indignant. “That tree did more damage to us than we—”
“Silence! Most unfortunately, you are not in my House and the decision to expel you does not rest with me. I shall go and fetch the people who do have that happy power. You will wait here.” Severus opened his office door once more and, as he returned to the Great Hall, felt the undeniable urge to throw back his head and laugh. Finally… I can finally get rid of them! Even if Voldemort does return, Potter will be far away from here, where he does not, by any means, deserve to be… And he’ll be with his aunt and uncle, and he’ll be completely safe there, and I won’t have to do a damn thing…
At the moment, this seemed completely logical to Severus. That kid was a danger to himself and everyone around him… just look at the bloody stunt he just pulled! He and his friend could have died, but did Potter care? Obviously not… and the year before, he broke at least fifty school rules, so he’d definitely be inclined to break more. The fact that he had escape Lord Voldemort once again was pure luck and help from him, no talent or skill on the boy’s part at all… How could he possibly be destined to destroy him? Even if he was, wouldn’t he be much safer away from Hogwarts? Wasn’t he doing that ungrateful brat a favor?
And even aside from this, Severus knew that he just plain hated Potter. He hated to see the man that tortured him for so many years in boy form, walking into his class, glaring at him with hatred just as his father did… And he hated that he had Lily’s eyes. Oh, he loved Lily’s eyes, but he couldn’t bear to look into them when they were in James Potter’s body. Seeing him every day was nothing more or less than a stab, a reminder of why his life took this turn. But now, he would never have to see him again, he was sure of it…
He knew Dumbledore never wanted to do it this way, but did the Headmaster even have a choice anymore? Severus had a valid reason for expelling him, and even that crazy old man wouldn’t be able to deny it.
In about five minutes, he had made it back through the staffroom and entered the Great Hall behind the staff table. The banquet had clearly already started.
“Headmaster, Minerva, I’ve found Potter and Weasley,” he told them, eliciting raised eyebrows as they turned to face him. “I daresay you noticed neither of them are here?” By their expressions, it seemed that they actually hadn’t.
“Where are they, Severus?” asked Dumbledore.
“In my office, awaiting our return…” McGonagall and Dumbledore stood at once, though somewhat confused, and Severus gestured for them to leave through the door behind them first. Realizing that Vesperra must be wondering where he had left to, he sought to quickly find her face in the sea of Slytherins, but half a second proved not long enough and he had to leave.
Not that he was at all reluctant to return to his office. On the way back, he told the two of them his version of events—how he realized that Potter and his friend hadn’t arrived on the train, his search of the castle, and the damage done to the Whomping Willow. Rather than accompanying them down to the dungeons, Dumbledore said that he must go see the Willow
As they proceeded to enter Severus’s office, Minerva’s lips were thinner than ever. Severus stood by the closed door and folded his arms while she pointed her wand at the grate, and flames erupted inside it.
“Sit.” said McGonagall. The boys backed into two chairs by the fire, which only made Severus angrier. They didn’t deserve the luxury of sitting down in his comfortable chairs. Those were his chairs, and he didn’t want the boys to get their filth all over them. But he couldn’t complain—this would likely be the last time he ever saw them.
“Explain.” she said.
“We were really late to King’s Cross station,” said Weasley imploringly. “And me and Harry had to wait to cross the barrier last, but when we did, we couldn’t get through! We crashed into it like it was solid wall—it worked for the rest of my family, but it just sealed itself against us! It was already eleven then, so we had no choice, Professor, we couldn’t get on the train.
Before he could continue with their explanation, McGonagall turned to Potter and said, “Why didn’t you send us a letter by owl? I believe you have an owl?”
Potter’s expression at the moment proved just how clueless he was, as well as Severus’s belief that he didn’t deserve to attend Hogwarts. “I—I didn’t think—”
“That,” said McGonagall, “is obvious.”
There was a knock on the door, which Severus was ready for, and he opened it, unable to suppress the happiness on his face. It was Dumbledore, as expected, and he was looking grave from what he had observed of the Whomping Willow as he stepped in. In the silence that followed, Severus was growing impatient. This is it… he’s going to expel them, and I’ll never have to see them again…
“Please explain why you did this,” said Dumbledore at last.
This time, Potter did the explaining. He told the Headmaster everything his friend had already said, and then continued with the story—“So we didn’t have any other way to get to Hogwarts, and we took the flying car… And we tried to make sure no Muggles would see us, with the Invisibility Booster, but it stopped working, so we stayed in the clouds… And then the engine stopped working properly once we got near Hogwarts, so we couldn’t control it—sir—and we crashed right into the Whomping Willow… It wrecked the car, and when we finally got away, the car threw our trunks out and drove itself into the Forbidden Forest
“We’ll go and get our stuff,” Weasley said, starting to stand up from the chair.
“What are you talking about, Weasley?” barked McGonagall, and Severus’s triumphant smirk faltered, the glint in his eye disappearing somewhat.
“Well, you’re expelling us, aren’t you?”
Both Potter and Severus looked quickly to Dumbledore, the latter thinking and expressing with the mad look in his eyes, Aren’t you?!
“Not today, Mr. Weasley,” said Dumbledore, and Severus’s smirk vanished altogether, now replaced with a look of utter disbelief and horror. “But I must impress upon both of you the seriousness of what you have done. I will be writing to both your families tonight. I must also warn you that if you do anything like this again, I will have no choice but to expel you.”
‘Again’? Why not now?! Haven’t they had enough bloody chances?! Closing his mouth, which he realized was hanging open, Severus cleared his throat and tried to speak without losing his temper. “Professor Dumbledore, these boys have flouted the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry, caused serious damage to an old and valuable tree—surely acts of this nature—”
“It will be for Professor McGonagall to decide on these boys’ punishments, Severus,” said Dumbledore calmly. “They are in her House and therefore her responsibility.” He turned to McGonagall. “I must go back to the feast, Minerva, I’ve got to give out a few notices. Come, Severus, there’s a delicious-looking custard tart I want to sample—”
Before following him, Severus shot Potter and Weasley a look more venomous than even he thought possible. As they walked back to the Great Hall, Dumbledore was smiling, despite the fact that the man next to him was fuming.
“You’re the Headmaster…” Severus was saying, struggling against his urge to yell. “You can expel them if it’s something like this… He’s his father all over again—”
“We have discussed this, Severus,” said Dumbledore. “And do you really think he deserves to leave Hogwarts for being like James?”
“You know what I mean!” It infuriated him that the Headmaster would mention that man by his first name. “How many times did Potter and Black deserve to be expelled for something they did, but weren’t? How many times did you give them another chance—even after they tried to kill me?”
“You know I believe in second chances, Severus… otherwise, you wouldn’t be here.” Dumbledore said, one hand on the doorknob that would lead them to the Staff Table in the Great Hall, at which Severus stopped retorting. “It is essential that Harry Potter continue his education at Hogwarts, you know this. You won’t be able to shirk your duties this easily… Nice try, though.” With a reassuring smile that didn’t work whatsoever, he opened the door and the two took their seats once more.
So... yeah, I included a lot more than just that particular quote. But I needed to include the rest for explanation.
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