Surviving Times

Snape walked towards one of the secluded courtyards in the school. He carried a stack of papers, well arranged inside a file. Upon reaching his destination, he was quite surprised by the change in the surroundings.

The unwanted weeds and broken debris were cleared away, replaced by wonderful meadows. It was autumn yet they were fresh. The scenery was soothing, for the lack of better word. The potions master quietly entered the office of the new guidance counselor. The residence clearly reflected the man's personality. It was calm and relaxing.

Snape sneered for moment. The man was clever, he thought. The aroma in the air was a potion brewed for clearing one's thoughts. It was something needed for practicing occlumency. He needs to ask the man where found this potion. It was banned, after all.

After knocking the door, a voice was heard saying to come in. Snape entered inside to see the man, Gresil sitting in his chair with a serene smile on his face.

"Professor Snape. Thank you very much for time, sir. And sorry for the trouble." Gresil said.

"…Here are the papers you asked for." Snape blandly replied, giving him the assessment of the first-year students. The potions master finally accepted that all of this was not a complete waste of time. The seventh and fifth years showed some qualitative change after counselling, despite how minor it is. And Snape was very supportive of it. The change was nothing to scoff at, considering the man was here only for half a month.

The two of them chatted for a while. Is Snape the type of person to chat? Well, if you serve him some nice tea (a very nice one that is), and can make an intelligent conversation (ignoring some sarcasm here and there), one would find that the potions master can 'chat.'

Gresil walked the man to the doorstep and bid him a farewell. After he had gone away, Gresil sighed. Mia was right, the potions master was indeed intense. But he really appreciated the man's seriousness in the work and especially liked it. Gresil favored his assessment on the students. It really highlighted every negative aspect in the students' character, albeit a bit biased.

He must say, the man had a gift in picking wrong in everything. Just like how Professor Sprout always found good in every student. What would you need more to psychoanalyze anyone? Not that the charms and transfiguration teachers' assessment weren't helpful. They were just a bit… traditional.

Everything aside, he needs to talk with the preteens now. And the first session would not always be the best one. And let's not talk about the fact that 99% of the girls get infatuated with him, which was honestly annoying. Blame his drop-dead gorgeous appearance for that. His sparkling silver hair and storm grey eyes made him look like he walked out of a fairy tale.

Gresil got up and used the time turner, and started his work. First were the Gryffindors, starting with a girl named Lavender Brown. The girl was your typical girl, who wants attention and stand out. But there was more to it. And he would find that sooner or later. One by one, nearly all first year Gryffindors were done.

Neville Longbottom was little boy with a good potential if he could overcome his problem of low self-esteem. Along with some pressure on his young shoulders. And Gresil hated it. Personally, he was not a fan of forcing ideals on others. An appointment with Mrs. Longbottom was due.

Hermione Granger, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. She lacked anything but confidence. But the seemingly perfect girl according to the Professors' assessment (except Snape's) was not without any short comings. The girl was pragmatic and had an intense d.e.s.i.r.e to prove herself. She works hard and all, but ultimately got labelled as a 'know-it-all', very unfortunate for a kid who just wanted somebody to recognize her.

Then comes the youngest Weasley in the school. The boy too, had a problem with low self-esteem and some insecurities. From the one-hour talk, Gresil clearly understood. He might as well arrange a parent teacher meets in the near future. With a sigh, he waited for the arrival of the last Gryffindor. Harry Potter, the boy who lived.

"Hello, Mr. Potter."

"Hello, Mr. Edolas. Call me Harry, please." The boy said, looking at the man's amicable smile. Must say, it always lowers the defense.

"Call me Gresil then Harry, I insist." Gresil winked at the boy. And the boy just grinned. All the nervousness and tension faded just like that.

"So, Harry, as you know, I'm your guidance counselor and all, but let's put it aside and let's just chat, shall we?"

"…Sure?"

"Good. How's school treating you? If you ask me, I'd say it was interesting, speaking with all the young wizards and witches. What about you?"

"It… is very nice, sir. Amazing in fact." Harry had a genuine smile on his face and Gresil smiled warmly at that. He was happy to know the boy was enjoying his time here.

"Very well, have you made any friends yet, Harry?"

"Yes. Ron and I are good."

"That's it? Only one?"

"Well… Neville and Seamus were nice too."

They both talked for little while. Slowly, the boy eased a lot and was ready to talk about anything. This was how Gresil was, he can convince you to give your firstborn and you would have no qualms with it. He's scary in a way.

By the end of the session, they both discussed about Harry's classes. The boy had no problems except for potions.

"You know, Gresil, something really weird happened to me on the first potion's class."

"Oh, do tell."

"Professor Snape, our potions master, you know him, right?"

"Yes. He's quite the no-nonsense guy, a little intense if I might add." Harry laughed at the accurate description of his professor.

"Exactly. But he's a bit scary too. Snape asked me some questions on the very first day, you know."

"Ooh, questions on the very first day. Snape really is demanding."

"Especially me, I think he hates me." Harry whispered secretly.

"Really now?"

"Yeah, that's my feeling, but there's this bizarre thing happened then."

"What is it, Harry?"

"I said he asked me some questions, right? I didn't know the answers for any question, but I answered them correctly… The answers just popped into my head, you know, like magic."

"That's interesting, you might have just remembered them, Harry."

"No Gresil. The questions were from the last chapters and barely read the first few."

"Hmm… that's interesting, we'll talk about it more. But tell me, why do you think Snape hates you, he has no reason to."

"I don't know Gresil."

"Fine. I want to ask you something. Do you miss home, Harry?"

"…No. Not at all."

And that was how Gresil knew about Harry's conditions. Rage slowly simmered within him, but Gresil still managed to smile, though it did nothing to hide the graveness.

"I'll see what I can do about it, Harry."

"There's no need, but thanks a lot. I just wanted someone to listen. That's all." Harry was grateful. They chatted a little longer before the timer set by Gresil rang, indicating the end of this session.

"Alright, Harry. Looks like the time's up. See you next month, but if there's anything important, please let me know."

"Sure, Gresil. See you next month."

When the boy walked out of Gresil's quarter, he felt a little better. Harry Potter, all is said and done, was still new to the wizarding world. He was just an eleven-year-old boy who was no better than an orphan in a sense. There were so many things he wanted to share, like the pain on his scar, some nightmares and his little envy when Ron spoke about his family… sometimes, a therapy does indeed help.

***

Gresil closed the door to his office and changed into a silver cat. He teleported to where Mia was. The girl took the Exceed into her arms and stroked his head fondly. They both remained silent before Gresil spoke, "This world is messed up like any other ones out there."

"Mm."

"Every child here has some problems, Mia. Big ones, which left untreated would become scars."

"Sigh… I know Gresil."

"…and about the boy who lived, you were right about him."

"How bad is it?"

"Bad enough to go and hex his guardians."

"And what's stopping you?"

"Headmaster's one of them."

"Does he know about Potter's situation?"

"Probably... no."

"…try telling him."

"Mm… I'll do that." The cat snuggled deeper and fell asleep. Mia just sighed and took a nap as well, only to be haunted by her regular nightmares.

***

In Headmaster's Office. The portraits, as usual pretended to sleep.

The headmaster was surprised by the sudden request for meeting. Dumbledore looked at the man sitting in front of him, Gresil von Edolas. The man had the same warm smile, but there was something heavy about it today. Not liking the suspense, Dumbledore started speaking first.

"Mr. Edolas, to what do I owe your visit today?"

"Some things I wanted to discuss with you, sir. Rather important ones."

"Oh, then please go ahead."

"Headmaster, you might already know that I had some sessions with first year Gryffindors yesterday."

"Certainly, I do."

"Then I want you to look at this student's report, sir."

"Mm, if you insist."

Dumbledore took the file Gresil gave him. The headmaster sighed a bit while looking at the file. It was Harry Potter's. He opened the file and read it. By each passing second, the old wizard's emotions became unstable. It took a lot of effort for the warlock to regain his calm, which was not lost in years.

"Is everything inside true, Mr. Edolas?" Dumbledore asked, his previous grandfatherly demeanor was long gone, replaced by the pressure from the most powerful light wizard in Britain.

"Unfortunately, yes." Gresil didn't falter under the man's stare and replied in equal seriousness. The headmaster was silent for a long while, before he spoke again.

"…Very well, Mr. Edolas. I need you to make a trip with me to the Ministry. I might need some extra support if I want to press some charges on muggles."

"No problem, sir."

This was how the Dursleys faced the rampant wrath of the century old wizard. Along with the terror named Gresil. And boy, the couple was scarred for the rest of their life to the point that they needed some psychological help.