It had been a difficult summer. Well that was quite an understatement. Harry had gone back to his relatives after the events of his fourth year. His daily nightmares were the cause for many punishments from his uncle. Harry Potter was a survivor at heart and he knew how to prepare for such things. He would never admit that though. When Harry had learned that you could create potions that would heal wounds he had been ecstatic. He had taught himself how to brew all manner of healing potions. He didn't brew dreamless sleep because he didn't want to become addicted but there were many others that he did.
Bruise salves, scar creams, laceration potions, blood replenishers, refreshers. Potions upon potions he brewed. It allowed Harry to heal quickly enough that he could complete the chores he had been assigned so as to avoid extra punishments. He had bought a small bag that Hermione helped him charm to be feather light and have a lot of extra space. He hid this bag which had filled to the brim with vials, his wand and his invisibility cloak.
He had placed the bag under the loose floorboard in his room and used his supplies sparingly to help them last the entire summer. The last three weeks had been total and utter hell. Harry wasn't sleeping well and he wasn't eating. Vernon woke him up that morning to tell him that he was expected to get a long list of chores done for the next three days.
"We are leaving on a trip. We left enough food for a freak for three days. When I get back I expect you to be in your room and the chores complete. If they are not, mark my words boy…" Vernon threatened.
He didn't need to finish the threat. Vernon left at that point with Petunia and Dudley. Harry had known about the trip. Dudley was going to a wrestling championship. Time had skewed lately and Harry hadn't realized it was already time for them to leave. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and walked out of his room while looking at the first of the chores. It was long but not impossible. He decided he would work on the garden stuff today and then after that take a much needed shower.
He headed out into the garden and began the weeding. First he had to weed the garden. Thankfully this was a weekly chore and there was not much weeding needing to be done. Next was mowing the lawn. Vernon refused to buy a powered one so Harry was stuck with an old mower that worked on foot power alone. The next thing on the list was painting the fence. Before he could get the white paint from the shed a loud crack sounded that made him yelp in fright.
Harry looked around and saw that in the middle of the now cut lawn was a large pile of black robes and limbs. Harry raced over and heard a groan. He smelt the blood and knew whomever had appeared in his yard was injured. He pulled back the black robes and saw the barely conscious face of his potions professor. Harry gasped and quickly picked up the man and dragged him into the house. He took him upstairs and into his own bed room. Using strength he didn't know he had he pushed the man onto the bed. He ran down stairs to get bandages and saw his professor's wand laying in the yard. He rushed out and retrieved the wand.
The wand hummed happily in his hand and the feeling gave Harry an idea. He could use his professor's wand and that would override the underage magic law since the tracker was on his own wand. He could use magic to help Snape. He ran back up the stairs and began trying to treat his injuries. Madame Pomphrey always cast a diagnostic charm before she did anything else. Harry grabbed his charm book and flipped to the page on a basic diagnostic charm. After practicing the incantation and wand movements a few times he turned back to Snape.
He cast the spell and a parchment appeared and began listing out the man's injuries. Four broken ribs, his left knee cap shattered into 20 pieces, his left femur was broken as well, multiple contusions, a concussion, leftover damage from the cruciatus curse, multiple lacerations, and his magical stores were depleted. The man had been tortured! Harry winced at the memories of the cruciatus. Harry did not have a potion that would help with that damage but he probably could make one. Harry grabbed a healing textbook he had bought and opened to the bone mending spell, episkey
The spell would work if the bone wasn't too damaged. If it was damaged then skele-grow would have to be administered. Harry focused on healing the lacerations and applying a salve that would keep the wound clean and closed. He undressed the man so he could see all the damage. Once the bruises and cuts were healed Harry moved onto the more difficult stuff. He pointed Snape's wand at his chest and focused hard on what ribs were supposed to be shaped like. He incanted the spell and heard a crack as the first rib popped back together. He did that three more times checking each time to ensure the rib was correctly healed. Then he did the same to the left femur. He cast another diagnostic charm and saw that a bone strengthener would be needed.
The next wound he focused on was the concussion. He had a potion for that which he forced Snape to drink. He couldn't give the man a pain potion since that would counter act with the skele-grow. He cleaned the knee wound and vanished the bone shards. He closed the wound and applied the salve. Then he pulled out a vial of skele-grow. Harry did not envy the man who was going to have a painful night. He tipped the potion into Snape's mouth who drank it down instinctively.
The only injury left to be treated was the cruciatus damage. After his encounter with Voldemort Poppy had given him a bright orange potion that tasted like acid. It had healed the damage done to his nerves. He had looked up the recipe for the potion and had kept a copy. Harry went down stairs and used the borrowed wand to liberate his stuff. He pulled out his cauldron and potion supplies along with the recipe. He levitated the stuff back into his room and began to prepare everything he would need.
According to the recipe it would take four hours to brew. Hopefully the damage would still be reversible by then. As Harry worked he thought about Snape. The man hated him. He had made that very clear during Harry's first year and all the years following. He had been cruel to Hermione too, saying things that Harry knew had made her cry. The man had been cruel and exacting. He had also saved Harry's life quite a few times. To say that Harry and Snape did not get along would an oversimplification of their relationship.
Harry wondered why he was going through all this trouble. The man would not have done the same for him. Snape would've just dropped him off at Hogwarts. That was not an option Harry had though. He had sent Hedwig to live with Ron and he had no way of contacting anyone from Hogwarts until they contacted him.
Why had Snape come here anyway? Why not apparate to Hogwarts? Snape could not guarantee Harry would help him. Snape thought Harry was arrogant and if Snape had been correct he would've been left to die in the backyard. If he came here it was because he had had no choice. So that meant Snape had been tortured for long enough that he lacked the energy to apparate anywhere farther than Harry's house. Harry's house was well warded so it would be a good spot to run away too.
Snape started whimpering and tossing and turning. The pain was waking him or at least disturbing him enough. Harry did not want Snape to move around and re injure himself. He cast 'petrificus totalus' on him which made Snape lie flat like a board. Snape continued to whimper but at least he wasn't struggling and rolling around. The last thing Harry needed was for the man to get so agitated he fell off the bed.
Harry was surprised Professor Snape's wand worked so well with him. The wand had not chosen him and he had been told that only a wand that choses you would work well with you. This wand worked just as well as his own did. Did that mean he and Snape were similar enough for the wand to accept him too? Or did the wand know that it's owner was in need and allowed itself to be used by someone who could help him? Harry wasn't sure. These thoughts kept him occupied as he brewed.
Harry enjoyed brewing potions. He found it relaxing and the four hours passed quickly. When he finished he found a potion in his cauldron that looked exactly like the one he had taken a month ago. He scooped out the correct dosage into a vial and walked over to his professor. He cancelled the jinx and gently lifted his professor's head. He helped the unconscious man drink the nerve potion. He wrote down the time. The next dose of bruise salve was due tomorrow at around 4pm, the laceration salve was due at midnight and the next dose of cruciatus potion was due in six hours. He also had to start the bone strengthener soon.
He did not have any clothing that would fit his professor so he transfigured some towels into some pajamas which he then used magic to dress the man in. It was strange to see the man in white clothing when Harry had only ever seen him in dark oppressive black. Harry went into the guest room of his house and grabbed a soft blanket. The last thing Snape needed was a ratty blanket. He used said ratty blanket to prop up the pillow beneath the man. He covered the man in a blanket and used a sticking charm to keep the man on the bed and in place so that he wouldn't injure himself. Then he cancelled the spell that kept the professor like a solider at attention.
Once that was completed Harry sat down on the floor for a moment to rest. It was nearing midnight and Harry felt exhausted. He still had so much work to do. The wand hummed in his hand again. He could use magic to get the chores done! At least the indoor ones. Suddenly feeling very tired Harry curled up next to the bed and fell asleep right on the floor.
Harry had his normal nightmares that night. He woke up only a couple hours later a scream on his lips. He shot straight up and stuffed his hand into his mouth. The knowledge that his uncle wasn't there came back quickly and he calmed. Harry looked around and saw that Snape was still asleep. Harry shrunk in on himself once he realized he was alone. The nightmare of Cedric's murder caused fresh waves of guilt to roll over him. He rocked himself back and forth for a long time before he drifted off again.
Harry woke up to the sun hitting him right in the face. He checked the time and sighed with relief. It was just in time to give Snape the next dose of nerve healer. He went over to the cauldron and spooned out the next dose. He walked over to Snape and forced the potion down his throat. The man's face was covered in sweat and he was mumbling under his breath. Harry placed his hand on his forehead and groaned. The man had a fever. Harry ripped off the blanket and grabbed a fever reducer potion. He tipped that down the man's throat.
Snape seemed to calm after that and Harry hoped that was a good sign. Harry knew he couldn't give Snape a pain potion until the knee was completely healed. He recast the diagnostic charm and smiled at the results. The concussion was very nearly healed, the ribs were fixed if a little sore, his blood levels were almost normal, the nerves were being healed and the knee was halfway done.
Harry administered the next round of potions and decided to leave the man to rest. He grabbed the list of chores he had left on the floor and began on the indoor chores. Things went by very quickly when he used magic. The attic was instantly organized, a chore which would've taken a full day. Harry took a break at lunch and ate his fill. He checked on his teacher periodically and found there to be no change. It was probably better that Snape was unconscious, that way he wouldn't have to feel the pain of the skele-grow. He looked up a spell to feed people who were unconscious and spelled a light soup into the man. Harry was very happy that he had bought all those low level healing books, without them Snape would most likely be dead.
Harry finished all the indoor chores and took a shower. He had dinner and fed Snape again along with the needed potions. By the end of the second day the only issues the man had was a low magical core and lingering nerve damage. At 8:36 pm Snape woke up.