This art was so good it brought me out of my Snape hibernation. I had to write a one shot. Continued below.
Harry had escaped the Grindylows, but only just. The physical effort he had expended in fighting them off was taking its toll on his legs, and more importantly, on the Gillyweed. He could feel the sides of his neck beginning to itch.
Quelling a rising sense of panic, he swam further away from the Grindylow den and went toward the curious spirals in the distance. They gleamed dully, with a whitish green pearly glow, in the underwater light. This must be where the merpeople live, he thought. But his fascination fizzled out when he saw four looming shapes, seemingly attached to chains, moving slowly and eerily with the currents. The closer Harry got, the more his feeling of horror rose, and soon he could see that the blobs he’d seen from a distance were humans. People with no way to breathe. And these weren’t just any people, either.
On the left he could see Gabrielle Delacour, her blonde hair moving as if through syrup, her eyes closed. He saw Cho, who had a slight frown marring her otherwise tranquil expression. And Hermione. His friend Hermione, her mass of hair billowing like a cloud around her face.
Harry’s eyes moved to the right to peer the fourth figure, who was cast in more shadow than the rest — but soon as his gaze lit on the figure, Harry froze.
“Bloody hell,” he said. His words left his mouth in the form of bubbles. He stared. And then stared some more, not knowing what to do, because the fourth body, the fourth hostage, was Snape.
They are on Dreamless Sleep if they think I’m helping him, Harry thought derisively. He looked at the other hostages, then froze again in realization.
Cho was for Cedric. Gabrielle was for Fleur. And there was no reason why Krum would hold a Hogwarts Professor “most dear.” That meant Hermione was for the Bulgarian to save, which left Snape.
Harry stared. Snape? Snape was the thing he held most dear? What about Ron? Luna? Neville? Ginny?
Harry peered at the man’s face. For once the Potions Professor’s face was unmarred by a frown, and Snape looked eerily peaceful, just like Gabrielle, as though he were sleeping. His hands, floating out by his sides, no longer looked like spidery claws, but instead looked as though he was playing the piano. The piano. A Muggle instrument.
Clearly Harry was going off his rocker and this was one of Dumbledore’s games. This had to be a joke. A prank. Snape had done nothing but torture Harry since he’d arrived at Hogwarts.
Harry stared some more, and would have done for some time, had he not been interrupted by a merman swimming into his view. The merman held a spear in his hand and pointed it threateningly at Harry.
Suddenly, Viktor Krum appeared from behind one of the spirals. It looked like he’d tried and failed at a full Animagus transformation; he had the head of a shark but the rest of his body was human. Krum swam toward Harry, something like a frown on his shark-face. He jerked his thumb at Hermione and then pointed at himself. Harry nodded, and watched as Krum used a knife to cut the thin chain that had been holding Hermione down.
Harry watched as Viktor swam toward the surface, and fought the urge to scratch his burning gills. More merpeople were watching now.
Cedric arrived next, using a Bubble Head Charm and propelling himself forward with his wand. He slowed when he saw Harry, and pointed at Cho. Again Harry nodded and watched as Cedric cast Relashio on the chain that was trapping the girl. Then they, like Krum, disappeared to the surface of the lake.
Alone, Harry stared at Gabrielle and Snape. He cast a spell to check the time and the water-warped letters told him he had five minutes to get to the surface. But Fleur hadn’t arrived.
He turned to the merpeople and spoke.
“What happens if I leave Gabrielle?” he asked.
When their faces were blank he tried again.
“The girl. I want to save her, too.”
The merman at the front shook his head. “Only one,” said the merman.
Harry felt his face grow pale. Only one?
He looked at Gabrielle, with her whole life ahead of her. He looked at Snape, who despite the fact that he was a git, was a member of staff. If he died, who would teach potions?
And if nothing else, if Snape died, there would be no professors left who treated Harry like someone ordinary. Someone normal.
Harry groaned. That settled it.
He swam toward Snape hesitantly. The bat was tall and looming even when unconscious. It occurred to Harry in a sudden flash that Snape had to have agreed to be held hostage underwater for him. And that Snape would have known, must have known, that Harry would have lost his mind trying to figure out what to do.
The idea of Snape of all people doing something so Gryffindor and at the same time so bloody Slytherin made Harry laugh in disbelief, bubbles exiting his mouth. Bloody hell, Snape. You git.
Using Reducto Harry broke the chain that was strapped to Snape’s right boot-clad foot, and grasped Snape’s upper arm in his left hand.
He felt the merpeople staring at him and with a sudden giddiness he realized he didn’t care about the rules anymore. Not when he was saving Severus Bloody Snape.
Harry cast Relashio at Gabrielle’s restraints. They snapped, and the merpeople swarmed around him. Then he said Accio Gabrielle, and the girl seemed to fly through the water toward him. The merpeople murmured and chanted the phrase “Only one” over and over, but Harry ignored it.
Chest burning, he began to swim to the surface, with one hand on Gabrielle and the other on the man who had made his life a living hell for four years. Harry laughed again, then choked. Bugger.
The effects of the Gillyweed were fizzling out and he could feel water beginning to enter his nose. The gills were closing, he could feel it, but he only had three meters left to swim.
The idea of Snape’s stupid face at the end of the task when he realized Harry had made it was enough to push him forward, kicking and struggling as his webbed feet and hands became human again.
He could see the faces through the surface of the water now. Just a little bit further to go. A little bit more. Yes!!! —
Harry broke the water with a deep shuddering breath. At his right side, Gabrielle did the same, gasping for air. To his left, Snape emerged, throwing his head back and letting out a very human gasp.
After treading water for a couple seconds, Harry coughed up stray bits of Gillyweed, and then once his throat was clear, he spoke. “Come on, you two.”
He grabbed their arms, ignoring Snape’s slight jerk of surprise, and hauled them to the wooden decks where the other champions and their people were waiting.
“Gabrielle!” came the voice of Fleur Delacour. “Oh, zank you, ‘Arry! You saved her!”
To his left, Snape snorted, and muttered a word under his breath that sounded suspiciously like “Typical.” He accepted a blanket, and a mug of tea with a terse nod of thanks, and sat on a chair.
The longer Harry watched the Professor, the funnier he found the man’s expressions. Harry grinned at the sight of Snape’s deepening frown.
“Alright, Snape?” said Harry cheekily.
“Professor Snape, Harry,” came Hermione’s soft reproach from somewhere behind him.
“Right,” said Harry, still grinning. “Alright, Professor?”
The man looked at Harry with dark, calculating eyes. The expression would have been intimidating if not for the fact that the Professor was sopping wet.
Harry waved his wand and cast a Drying Charm on Snape, followed by a Warming Charm. Then he looked up at the handful of people who had circled around to watch, some of whom were clearly from the Ministry.
“Why hasn’t anybody given Snape his wand back?”
“Professor Snape, Harry—”
“Merlin, could somebody give Professor Snape his wand?”
It was at that moment that Dumbledore chose to appear. He gave Gabrielle her wand first, then Cho, then Hermione, and then Snape last. When he gave Snape’s wand back to him, he clasped the man’s hand briefly.
“There you are, my dear boy. Order restored!” said Dumbledore cheerfully to Harry. “And now, for the scores. Sonorus,” he said, turning away to face the crowd.
While Dumbledore spoke Harry said hello to Hermione and gave her a hug, then spoke to the Delacours, then Cedric and Cho. By the time he came back to Snape’s side, Dumbledore was still going on about the ‘mortal perils of the lake’ and the ‘remarkable fortitude of the champions.’
“What a load of drivel,” Snape said derisively.
“Yeah, I reckon he’s making it up as he goes,” Harry said, nodding. “Classic Dumbledore.”
Snape frowned. After a moment he cast a cursory glance at the state of Harry’s hair and clothes, then said,
“Do you particularly enjoy the prospect of hypothermia, Mr. Potter?”
Harry looked down at himself and realized he hadn’t bothered to do anything about how wet and cold he was. He cast a few spells on himself and accepted a mug and a blanket from a nearby helper, as Snape and the others had done minutes before.
“Thanks for that,” he said to Snape.
Snape smirked and raised his cup to his lips silently.
“And so the scoring must take into account the following,” announced Dumbledore, continuing his speech, seemingly unaware of what was going on behind him.
Harry leaned down to speak in Snape’s ear. “What would have happened if I’d have left Gabrielle Delacour in the Black Lake?”
Snape twitched, then turned to look at Harry’s earnest face. “Gabrielle Delacour, Mr. Potter?”
“Yeah, Gabby. I told the merpeople I didn’t want to leave her but they kept telling me I could take only one. I was worried about what would happen to Gabrielle.”
Snape looked at Harry silently. “Any remaining hostages would have been safely returned to Hogwarts as soon as the task were completed.”
Harry blinked. “So I did it for nothing.”
“Not for nothing, Mr. Potter, you did it for the attention.”
Harry froze, then glared. “Maybe I should have left you down there to rot.”
Snape shrugged. “The hostages were placed under such a number of charms and spells that they could have easily remained underwater for three days at least before coming to any harm. If you had, as you so charmingly put it, left me down there to rot, the Merchief would have brought me to Dumbledore in due course.”
They went silent as Dumbledore began to announce the points. Fleur had been disqualified after firing a red flare in the Grindylow den. Krum was in first, then Cedric in second. And that left Harry, in third and final place.
“Surely not,” said Snape sarcastically.
Dumbledore continued. “Yes, yes, congratulations all around. However, we must take into account points for creativity and resilience.”
There was silence on the decks as he gave extra points to Cedric for a successful Bubble Head and Propulsion Charm, and to Krum for his partially completed Animagus transformation, and even to Harry for his use of Gillyweed.
“You don’t happen to play the piano, do you, Professor?” Harry asked.
Snape turned his head slowly to look at Harry. “While your private life may be available for public consumption, Mr. Potter, mine is surely not available for yours.”
“That’s a yes, then,” said Harry sagely with a nod.
Snape raised an eyebrow. “That’ll be five points from Gryffindor for cheek, Mr. Potter,” he drawled almost mildly.
Harry choked on a laugh. “Alright, Professor.”
Snape glanced at Harry sharply, and Harry walked over to where Hermione and Ron were standing. Both were gaping at him as if he’d grown a spare head.
“Alright mate,” said Ron. Harry nodded. “Right. Brilliant. Good. What in Merlin’s saggy left bollock is,” he gestured toward Snape, “that?”
Harry shrugged. “Dunno. ‘Spose Snape volunteered for the task.”
Ron stared at him, mouth gaping.
“Close your mouth Ronald, you’ll catch flies,” said Hermione.
“Yeah, alright, ‘Mione. But Harry, why’re you so chummy with the bat? You don’t have to talk to the git,” said Ron in pained tones.
Hermione sighed. “Because it’s polite, Ronald. Besides, it makes sense that Dumbledore asked Snape to volunteer,” Hermione went on. “He protected us in Second Year, and last year too. Dumbledore's not stupid. He was right to trust Hagrid and Professor Lupin, even though loads of people wouldn't have given them jobs, so why shouldn't he be right about Snape, even if Snape is a bit—”*
“— evil,” said Ron promptly.*
Harry frowned. “Evil’s a strong word, mate.”
“Anyway,” continued Hermione, “Everyone was expecting your hostage to be Ron, Harry. So this was quite the surprise. Nobody was expecting to see Professor Snape come out of the lake with you. But well done.”
Hermione smiled and Harry placed a hand on her arm in thanks.
They were interrupted by Dumbledore’s booming voice.
“Mr. Potter and Mr. Diggory — tied, for second place.”
Harry stood still in shock. “That’s not fair. Cedric got there before me.” He looked up and made eye contact with Cedric, shaking his head to show his disapproval of the decision.
“Harry; you did bring two people up with you,” said Hermione gently.
Harry frowned. “It’s not right.” He paused. “I’ll be back,” he added.
He went to where Snape was still sitting.
“Sir,” said Harry. It occurred to him that it was possibly the first time he’d ever said the word with a minimum of respect.
“Yes, Mr. Potter?” said Snape, in bored tones. “Here to gloat? You won’t get any complimentary drivel from my quarter, I assure you.”
“No, sir,” said Harry. “I find it unfair, actually. I was in third place because I arrived last, and I didn’t follow the rules.”
“And you stole Gillyweed from my stores,” said Snape without looking at him.
Harry glared. “That’s not true! The Gillyweed came from Dobby the House Elf.” He paused, then grimaced. “I don’t know where he got it from, though.”
“He got it from my stores,” said Snape sharply, “I noticed it missing this morning as I was doing inventory.” He looked at Harry with piercing black eyes. “You were not aware the elf pilfered the Gillyweed?”
Harry shook his head. “No, sir.”
“Then what do you suggest as punishment for its disappearance and unauthorized use?”
“Er…. Detention, sir?” Harry replied reluctantly.
Snape looked at him with a level gaze. “Very well. You may also send 30 Galleons to the school’s Gringotts vault.”
“Yes, sir.” Harry paused. “Why did you volunteer for the task?” he asked.
“I did it because Dumbledore asked me to and because the Weasley boy is utterly incompetent, particularly when unconscious and waterlogged.”
Harry stared at him in silent amazement.
“Go to your dormitory, Potter.”
Harry nodded and then walked toward Hermione and Ron. He didn’t hear Snape returning the five points he’d taken earlier — and he didn’t hear Snape saying, under his breath, Well done.
*this bit came from the books
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