Chapter Text
Threads of Sweetness
Chapter 1 – Possibility
In everyone’s lives, there were moments that would impact them deeply. Moments that were points of clarity, that would be major driving forces to direct their lives forevermore. Sometimes, the person would not even know how important that moment was, not until later. Not realizing that their life had changed.
For some, they could feel the moment as it is happening, realizing what the moment was and what opportunities it had revealed to them. Sometimes the feeling is more than that, something to be seen.
Or tasted.
Harry Potter, at the age of just 11 years, was staring at the cart before him with wide-eyed wonder.
Within the last few weeks, his life had been turned upside down in many ways. Most people of any age would be surprised at the existence of a literally magical world that was also a very large secret. Not only that, he was told that his parents were actually a part of that world, before he lost them when he was a baby. Now he was returning to the secret magical world, something that was exciting and anxiety-inducing in equal measure.
He was currently on a large train, that was also probably magical, surrounded by children and older young adults. He was being taken away from the only world he knew these last 10 years and going to somewhere completely new and unknown. Everything would be strange and different to him.
He had sat in the train compartment, chatting to someone who was very friendly, which was new and wonderful to him, when a trolley stopped outside the compartment. The woman who pushed it, the witch he remembered, had smiled and asked if he wanted to purchase anything. Ronald Weasley, who went by Ron, the very friendly person, had deferred but Harry had gotten up to look. He had heard that some passenger trains had people who brought around snacks and sweets for people to buy and now that he had some money of his own, another wonder, he wanted to see what was available.
Which led to the current moment where he was gaping at the cart with wonder. The large cart had so many options laid out before him, and all of them were new. He saw sweets and candy that were clad in different colors and covers, things he had never seen before. He had hoped for candy but the array laid out before him was far different than what he was used to.
“Muggleborn?” the witch asked with a kind smile.
“Pardon?” Harry asked, tearing his eyes away from the treats to look up at her.
“He wasn’t raised around magic,” Ron said helpfully.
“Oh same thing more or less,” the witch said with a soft smile. “So you haven’t had any magical sweets, have you?”
“There are magical sweets?!” Harry asked, a smile growing.
The witch laughed and it was a kind and happy sound. “Of course there are dearie!” she exclaimed. “All the ones here are!”
Harry looked over the cart and was about to turn and ask Ron what he would recommend. He then noticed Ron looking at the cart wistfully and Harry thought for a moment. “Could I get some of everything to try, please?” he asked the woman. “Enough for two?”
“Oh, uh,” Ron sputtered, his ears red. “I’ve got sandwiches, it’s fine…”
The trolley witch looked at Harry with a soft expression. “Of course you may,” she said and put together a tray for Harry. She picked out the best of her offerings for him, looking through the packages and seemingly picking one over the other for reasons known only to her. She then counted out the bill and took the coins from Harry. “I hope you enjoy,” she said, her smile soft and sweet.
“Thank you!” Harry said, taking the tray from her with barely restrained eagerness. He sat back down in the compartment and put the tray on the small table between him and Ron.
“I’m really fine,” Ron repeated, looking embarrassed and wistful still, looking at the large pile of sweets and treats.
“You can trade me some of the sandwiches,” Harry said, feeling happy at the moment. It felt nice to be able to share. He recognized the look that Ron had and knew it all too well. “Plus you’ll have to explain to me all the sweets. Since I’ve never had them before.”
“Really?” Ron asked, hopeful.
“Go on,” Harry encouraged.
“Thanks!” Ron’s smile was almost as wide as Harry’s and he opened the wrapped sandwiches and put them on the table. “Mum made them. They’re corned beef. I don’t love them, but they’re still good.”
“They are!” Harry munched on one readily without reservation. “She’s a good cook.”
Ron beamed. “She is! Corned beef isn’t my favorite though, never liked it all that much.”
“That’s fair,” Harry nodded. He and Ron swiftly polished off a sandwich each. “So what should we start with?”
“My favorite are the chocolate frogs,” Ron said eagerly. “They’re really tasty and they have cards in them.”
Harry picked up the purple and gold package and opened it, shouting with alarm as the chocolate frog within jumped at him. He managed to catch it in mid-jump while also ducking.
“Sorry!” Ron exclaimed. “Forgot to warn you, but that was a really good catch.”
“Thanks,” Harry said, eyes wide as he looked at the now inert chocolate in his hand. It looked very much like a frog, as if it was once one and now was covered in chocolate. “It’s not a real frog, is it?”
“No, don’t worry,” Ron laughed, opening a package but not all the way so the frog did not jump out. “There’s something called croakoa in it and that’s what makes them tasty and act like a frog.”
Harry tentatively bit into the chocolate frog and his narrowed eyes popped open. “It’s really good!” he exclaimed, chewing happily. “That’s really nice chocolate!”
“They’re my favorite,” Ron said, smiling wide. “And the cards are really cool. They’re about famous witches and wizards and you collect them. I have a lot of them.”
“Oh wow.” Harry took out the card in the package and looked at the wizened wizard within. “Albus Dumbledore, oh the Headmaster. Wow, he has a card?”
Ron nodded. “He’s really famous and a really important wizard.”
“The picture moved!” Harry gasped as picture Dumbledore scratched his nose and smiled kindly up at him.
“Well of course they do,” Ron said. “They can’t hang around all day. They’d get bored or something.”
“Pictures normally don’t move at all unless it’s on the telly or a movie,” Harry said, “where I grew up. Usually photographs are still.”
“Now that’s weird,” Ron said with wide eyes.
“What are these?” Harry asked, opening a box that was red and white striped. “Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans?”
“Oh they mean every flavor,” Ron warned. “There’s the usuals like apple and peppermint and marmalade, but then there are ones like tripe and liver and spinach.”
“No way!” Harry said, pouring the beans out onto the table and examining them.
“George reckons he had a bogey-flavored one before!”
“How would he know what bogeys taste like?” Harry asked.
Ron blinked. “That’s a good point.”
Harry picked up a red one and bravely bit it. “Mmm, cherry!”
“Nice!” Ron popped a brown one into his mouth. “That was gravy,” he said with the smallest grimace. “It’s good gravy, but not what I was expecting.”
“Wow! This tastes like sprouts!” Harry laughed, chewing a green one. “How did they do this?! That’s incredible!”
“Magic I suppose,” Ron said, enjoying Harry’s obvious enthusiasm. “Never thought about it really.”
“This one is pickles!” Harry said, eating another.
“I’m glad you’re liking even the bad ones,” Ron laughed.
“They’re not so bad,” Harry said. “Just weird and fun! Mmm, lemon!” The boys finished the pack with the wildest bean being medium rare steak, and decided to wait to open the other one.
“So these aren’t really mice then either, right?” Harry asked, looking at the mice in the wrapping. Much like the chocolate frogs, they looked very much like real mice though they were colored bright blue and white.
“Nope, they make your teeth chatter and squeak because they’re really cold,” Ron explained.
Harry shivered as he ate one. The ice mice were very cold like Ron said and dissolved in the mouth, much like sherbet ice cream. They were very sweet and they did make Harry’s teeth chatter and squeak as advertised. “These are nice too,” he said. He turned his head and smiled as two very large amber eyes looked very intently at the ice mice. “Would you like one?”
Hedwig, his snowy owl, nodded eagerly, opening her beak wide.
“Actually, can owls have sweets?” Harry asked.
“I don’t know honestly,” Ron said. “Never tried to feed one any. Not even Errol but he’s really old and has a sensitive stomach.”
“Your rat is eating sweets,” Harry pointed out, looking at the large old grey rat that was Ron’s pet who was in fact eating some of the sweets and the last of the sandwiches.
“Scabbers eats anything,” Ron said. “But if he can, your owl probably can too. Magical animals are different after all.”
“Makes sense to me.” Harry fed an ice mouse to Hedwig and he laughed when Hedwig shivered and fluffed her feathers up, hooting happily. Hedwig licked her beak clean of sugar and nuzzled Harry lovingly. She danced in place when Harry opened another chocolate frog box for her, nabbing the frog in mid-jump and chewed daintily.
“Candy wands?” Harry looked at the slim box showing a chocolate wand. “I’m pretty sure they’re not real wands, right?”
Ron grinned. “Not really, but you can wave them and the tip lights up.” He opened a box and waved the wand and the tip glowed. “More for little kids who don’t have their wands yet. Though with enough accidental magic, you can do all sorts of things.” He bit into the candy wand, showing a biscuit core that was covered in chocolate. “They’re good too, I haven’t had one in a long time.”
“Everything’s been wonderful,” Harry said happily as he munched on the candy wand. The biscuit was crisp and crunchy and the chocolate was sweet and smooth. He opened another one and offered it to Hedwig, laughing when she waved it around in her talons and poked him playfully with it before nibbling on it. “Don’t do that to my wand though please.” He laughed again when she gave him a flat look and poked him with the candy wand again, barking at him.
“There are Pumpkin Pasties,” Ron said, pointing at the golden-brown pastry. “They have a sweet pumpkin filling. And those are Cauldron Cakes. They’re really nice too. A nice soft cake, some are vanilla and some are chocolate.”
Harry ate one of each with enthusiasm. The pasties had crisp exteriors that were almost flaky, and the filling was pumpkin and cinnamon and other sweet and tangy spices. The cauldron cakes were very soft and moist, pleasantly sweet and not overly so. They were in the shapes of small cauldrons, much like the one he bought to use for his potions class back in Diagon Alley.
“I like how colorful these are,” Harry said, opening the next package. “Sugar Quills. Do they write like other quills?”
“Some do,” Ron said. “They look like regular quills so you can eat them while in class but I heard a lot of the professors at the school can tell the difference. One time, Fred replaced Percy’s regular quill with a deluxe Sugar Quill and Percy got mad because by the time he realized it, it made his hand and parchment sticky. And made the ink go funny.”
The sugar quills were sweet and while sturdy to the touch, dissolved easily in the mouth. The fine filaments that made the vane of the feather dissolved swiftly while the center rachis or spine dissolved much more slowly. The one Harry was eating was plain and looked like a common quill but apparently the colored ones were different flavors.
“What do you think?” Ron asked when they finished trying one of everything.
“They’re incredible!” Harry said. “So much more fun than the candy I’ve had before. The candy I’ve had, Muggle? Am I saying that right?” He continued at Ron’s nod. “Muggle candy doesn’t do anything really. They are gummy sweets that are in fun shapes and of course chocolates too, but they are just that. And there are bars and small wrapped sweets too. But it’s so much fun that magical candy is like this.”
“I like all sorts of candy and sweets,” Ron said. “There are bars and small things that don’t do anything like the frogs and the mice, but sometimes it’s more fun having them than not. And of course the beans can be a bit dangerous.”
Harry nodded and stopped, turning thoughtful. “And people really made these? I mean, of course they did, but people make magical candy like this?”
“Well yeah,” Ron said, looking at Harry with a quizzical expression.
After another moment, Harry noticed and blinked a few times. “Oh sorry, just had a thought. What are some other kinds that we didn’t get here.” He listened to Ron with interest and petted Hedwig while listening, but the small thought in the back of his mind stayed there, waiting patiently.
-0-
Hours later, Harry sat on his bed in Gryffindor Tower, in the dorm room he shared with the other boys in his year.
Even though it had only been a day, he had experienced a lot. Much more than one day should hold.
He rode a magical train, leaving London and arriving to somewhere in Scotland. He met several people, and maybe made at least one friend which was very new and nice. He met a very unpleasant person, for the second time technically but still. He saw real ghosts and learned that they existed too. He wore an enchanted hat that Sorted him into one of the four Houses of Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He then ate more food than he ever had before at a truly wonderful feast, eating without stinting and worry. Then he went through a gigantic magical castle, seeing moving paintings and other forms of magic that existed out in the open. Now he was in a bed that was many times bigger and more comfortable than any place he had slept in up until now.
It was late but he was still wide awake, still going over everything that had happened that day. The other boys had fallen asleep but Harry sat on his bed and looked out the window, drinking in the sights of the castle and the surrounding grounds and countryside. He chose the bed beside the window, wanting to be able to look outside and enjoy the sights.
For a while he had sat there alone before he noticed a snowy white form flapping to him. He eagerly opened the window and smiled when Hedwig landed on the sill and hopped daintily in the room, hooting softly to him. The boy was just thinking about her and just like magic, she had appeared. Despite having only known each other for a few days now, she was a gift given to him by Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys and school Groundskeeper. Harry adored her and liked to think she felt the same about him. She had made the remaining days at Number 4 Privet Drive more tolerable for him while they were there, before leaving for school.
“Hi girl,” he whispered softly, smiling as she hooted warmly at him. He closed the window and started petting her when she installed herself on his lap, feeling better at her happy cooing and how she fluffed up comfortably. “I’m sure you can stay here,” he said softly. “Scabbers does after all.” He took one of his blankets and made a nest for her at the corner of his bed beside his head. She cheeped happily at the sight, helping him twist it around and she fluffed up inside of it with approval.
The boy sat against the headboard and continued to pet her, running his fingers through her soft feathers, enjoying the way she nibbled and gnawed on his fingers with obvious affection. “What a day,” he mused and she hooted in agreement.
In the quiet dorm room, that thought he had earlier rose to the surface, drawing his attention. He rolled the thought around in his mind, only realizing he had gone still when Hedwig cheeped at him, butting his hand with her head and she looked up at him with large amber eyes full of intelligence.
“I was just thinking,” he said slowly, grinning when her eyes widened with faux shock and surprise. “Remember when we had the candy on the train?”
Hedwig bobbed her head, licking her beak.
“Wasn’t it wonderful?” he asked softly. “And people made it. So different from the candy and sweets I’ve seen before. I’ve never heard of…wait.”
Harry hopped off the bed and Hedwig followed him with her eyes, blinking slowly as she watched him open his trunk and rummage about within. The trunk at the foot of his bed held his belongings. There were some clothes that the Dursleys, his Aunt and Uncle, had given him but those were old and beyond well-worn. They once belonged to Dudley, his cousin, and were much too large for Harry, but they were all he had until he went shopping for school things with Hagrid. There were new clothes bought for school, there were books and other things like school equipment. There was one thing, however, that had belonged to him before he bought the rest from his trip to Diagon Alley. It was something he had earned a long time ago and had hid from the Dursleys for good reason, knowing they would have taken it from him for no other reason than that they did not want him to have it.
He sat back on the bed and gently patted it. It was a book, also very old and well-used. The pages were curled from copious flipping, the cover and binding thin and peeling from continued use. Unlike the clothes, the book was worn from time and constant reading, from being read time and again and again and again. It had the feeling of something loved, something cherished.
Hedwig recognized the book, Harry had read some of the chapters to her in their short time together, and she nodded with understanding, barking softly.
“They really are alike,” Harry agreed, running palm and finger gently over the cover. “I always thought it was just…fantastical before. But now that I know magic is real…”
He looked down at her as she leaned over and laid on his hand. She looked up at him and blinked very large eyes and cheeped at him.
“You think so?” he asked, his mind racing.
Hedwig nodded emphatically. She barked softly.
“That would be wonderful,” he agreed. He thought some more and his smile was full. “Yeah, I really do want to do that.” He looked back at Hedwig who was fluffed up. “Thank you, Hedwig.”
He gently put the book back into his trunk and laid down, settling to sleep. Hedwig had fallen asleep as well, her soft snores joining the louder ones of the other boys. Harry laid there for a few more moments, his mind still going, before he finally put his glasses onto the nightstand and closed his eyes.
The moon shone through the window, bathing the owl and boy in argent light and the smile on the boy’s lips did not fade until morning’s light.
-0-
The smile did fade in time, though for no truly bad reason until later in the week when Harry found himself in a situation that was not smile-inducing in the slightest. If anything, it was the opposite of that.
The irony of the situation was that Harry had been looking forward to the class, having gone as far as to read a little of the textbook because it seemed interesting as well as thinking it would be pertinent to his newfound goal.
Ron had done his best to warn Harry beforehand, and while Harry believed his friend, he seemed to have underestimated the warning considerably.
Severus Snape, Potions Professor and Head of Slytherin, was quite the sight and experience.
Harry had seen him during the Welcoming Feast and had asked Percy Weasley who the man was. At the time, Harry had thought him very intimidating because the man had shot a complicated look at Harry during the feast, a look that was unpleasant. Percy had explained that Professor Snape taught Potions and was the Head of Slytherin, much like how Minerva McGonagall was their Transfiguration professor and Head of their House, Gryffindor. He also mentioned that Snape was very strict.
He neglected to mention that Snape was strict to the degree of harshness.
Also, Harry also seemed to have underestimated his initial gut feeling too because the man was more than a little unpleasant to him. He was quite unpleasant and was veering more into true hostility.
From the moment Snape entered the classroom, he had commanded their attention. He was not bubbly and happy like Filius Flitwick, Charms Professor and Head of Ravenclaw. Nor was he warm and approachable like Pomona Sprout, Herbology Professor and Head of Hufflepuff. McGonagall had the air of strictness as well, but it was the type where the woman expected the best of them and was more stern and proper. Snape spoke in a low tone that cut the air effortlessly and his eyes did not twinkle nor shine.
Snape had taken one look at Harry and sneered, making Harry squirm a little in his chair.
“Tell me, Potter,” he said in his cold voice, “what would I get if I added a powder root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?”
“Wormwood is used in some medicine?” Harry said hesitantly, missing Snape’s surprised look. “I think it's in some alcohol? I don’t know for sure.”
Snape blinked a few times before he continued. “Where would you find a bezoar, should asked?”
“Oh I read that the other night,” Harry said, feeling more confident. “In a goat’s stomach. I was reading a little of the textbook and I remembered that because it was weird.” His confidence faded when Snape looked even more irritated instead of pleased.
“And what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?” Snape asked acidly.
“Uh…I don’t know, Sir,” Harry said weakly. He looked to his side at Hermione Granger, a girl from their House who had raised her hand at Snape’s first question and kept it up the entire time, looking eager to be called upon. “Maybe she knows?”
Others started to chuckle but the sound died swiftly when Snape glared at them. He snapped at Hermione to lower her hand and answered his own questions, then took a point away from Harry that made him feel some righteous indignation.
The class had barely gotten better after that. After lecturing them on basic potion techniques, Snape had shown them directions written out on the board and had them start working on a potion. Harry, hoping not to draw more attention or ire from the man, had worked swiftly with Ron.
“Have you brewed potions before?” Ron whispered, looking at Harry with surprise. “I thought you didn’t do anything magical before.”
“I haven’t,” Harry said as he finished grinding some potion ingredients in the mortar and gently stirred the contents of his cauldron. “I’ve done a lot of cooking and baking though, and it’s actually kinda similar.”
“Oh, I guess so,” Ron conceded. The boys did not notice that Snape stood behind him and the man was listening in on the conversation. Snape’s eyes narrowed as he watched Harry work. Before he could comment, a commotion drew his attention and he was forced to deal with a situation as one student had caused a minor reaction that made the potion sputter and spill all over.
Towards the end of the class, the students brought up vials of their potions to be examined and graded. Snape looked at Harry and Ron’s offering with a look of displeasure. The displeasure deepened when he swirled the potion in the vial and looked at it critically. He had also noticed that Harry had managed to prevent another accident from occurring with their neighbor, fellow Gryffindor Neville Longbottom.
“Barely acceptable,” Snape said, pushing the vial to the side. “Now clean and leave.”
“Barely acceptable?” Ron hissed very quietly as he and Harry cleaned their table. “It looks loads better than most people. He gave Malfoy points and our potion looked like his!”
Harry shrugged mutely and the boys finished cleaning and fled the classroom. Harry chanced a look back and blanched when he saw Snape giving him yet another very complicated look, it giving him more encouragement to leave faster. “I was hoping he wouldn’t be as bad as you said, but he was worse,” he said after they put a safe distance between themselves and the classroom, well out of the earshot of the professor within said classroom.
“Snape hates everyone but his own House,” Ron said. “Everyone knows it. Been like that for years. Bill and Charlie, my two oldest brothers, said he’s always been like that. He really hates the twins but to be fair, they cause a lot of trouble.”
Harry smiled softly. He liked hearing about Ron’s brothers and sister. “I don’t think he likes me at all,” he said.
“I don’t think he likes anyone,” Ron snorted.
Harry was thinking as they walked, listening to Ron complain with half an ear. He had looked forward to the class, hoping it would be like the others but now it seemed his hopes would be dashed. For a moment, he felt his recently determined goal feel slightly shakier, no longer solid or steady. He had done some thinking and knew potions would be very important to his goal and now it was in some peril.
Harry took a deep breath and shook his head. No, it was far too early to be discouraged. Now that he knew what was possible, he knew he could still figure it out. If he was being completely honest, he was not that discouraged by what just happened. He was well used to being looked down upon by others. He was well used to being faced with cold rudeness. He was well used to having his best looked down upon while being insulted.
He could endure and overcome. He always had before. Especially now that he knew what was possible. What could be.
“You don’t agree?” Ron asked, giving him a look.
Harry flushed guiltily. “Sorry, was thinking about something. No, I agree with you. It would be nice if Professor McGonagall favored us too.”
Harry took a look around the castle as he and Ron continued to walk. Seeing all the moving paintings and statues, seeing paper airplanes fly through the air easily, watching an owl flap around the corner and seeing a cat saunter pass, observing lanterns flare into brilliance as they walked past and then put themselves out when not needed, standing on a staircase as it moved beneath them, taking them to where they needed to go, all of those reminded Harry where he was. He not only saw the magic, he felt it.
He nodded once more, still resolute.