Disclaimer: I own NOTHING but my own imagination.
AN: good Snape, good Dumbledor, helping/hurt/comfort/angst/bonding/learning/action/powers, potentially disturbed/distressed Harry, neko/kitty Harry (very cute), idiotic fudge, suggestions of child abuse
Intergration:2 Action.
As soon as he reached him, Dumbledore quickly scooped Harry into his arms with little or no effort.
"He's deathly cold. Quick Severus! the hot chocolate!" At any other time the stoic potions master would have sneered or laughed at this command, hot chocolate seeming such a docile drink in this place. However, much like chocolate, its effects concerning dementor victims were astounding, and it's generally easier to drink then eat if one is in such a state as Harry was.
As Severus appraoched Harry and Dumbledore, his heart started racing, and he hesitated about two feet from them. 'This is foolish, I have no reason to get nervous, he's asleep! And besides, I've known him partially for about two years now, get a grip Severus!' With that he purposfully strode forward to join the pair, pulling out the abnormally chocolaty drink from his pack as he went.
Bending down Severus ould see just how pale, thin and overly broken the child looked, handing Dumbledore the flask he waved his wand over Harry, assesing the general damage. Other then the obvious signs of malnourishment, dehydration, aneamia and extremely low body temperature, the boy's magic was spent and he had several broken bones. The two broken bones, wrist and leg were probably from the violent fits that can happen in particularly intense dementor attacks. The, of course there were his less human appendages, Severus had several theories abput this, the most likely being an accident from becoming an animagus at such a young age, that the change back was too long after an unsteady first transformation and was never completed. 'The boy's probably had them for years.' He thought.
Having relayed his findings and thoughts to Dumbledore quickly, he begun the task of getting Harry to drink the hot chocolate.
"This is useless Albus!" Sverus exclaimed angrily as most of the drink dripped down the boy's chin.
"Patience Severus, he's trying, I can feel him noticing us with what little magic he has left in him." Snape spared a glance at the old man to see his eyes closed in concentration and his magic softley pulsing into the boy, coaxing him to wake up. "He seems to feel the lack of dementors, but his magic has become thicker, more dense, it's hard for him to focus it enough to be brought back." The headmaster said this with assurance, and Severus found himself with a sudden thought.
" It worked before..." he muttered to himself, Dumbledore now paying attention to him too and not solely Harry.
"What is your plan?" his words went seemingly unheard however as Severus put down the drink and moved closer to the child's head.
Reaching out his hand, Severus focused the magic that he felt from his bond with the child into his fingertips, and placed his hand across the lightning scar on the boy's forehead. "Come on Harry, show me your eyes." Severus quietly asked the unmoving figure.
Slowly, the feline ears twitched forward slightly from their limp postion lying against his head, and two, slightly shining green eyes blinked open, focasing directly in on Severus' own obsidion orbs. "There you are" Severus muttered, gently rising Harry's head to give him more drink. Whilst Albus looked on Harry slowly took a few sips of the warm liquid being poured into his mouth as his eyes begun to unfocus. "No! Harry come on stay with me!" Severus exclaimed noticing the lack of attention he was recieving, he frantically begun dosing Harry with more potions as Albus poured more of his magic into the falling boy.
Severus kept up this asult until halfway through the second pepper-up potion Harry begun coughing whilst shaking uncontrollably. Dumbledore held the trembling boy closer and rbbed his back to still the coughing, whilst urgently communicating with Severus. "We need to get him to Poppy now! Severus, you take him, that way I can hold off the Minister from his questions." There was no room for question in the headmaster's eyes, so Severus merely nodded and carefully took the shaking form into his own. Harry's eyes half opened again to look at him, full of questions and a sort of primal fear, his tail swished as Severus stood up, and he made sure to hold it above the floor so that it wouldn't be stepped on.
As predicted, as soon asthey were in sight of the door, Fudge started to wave them over as reporters camerers flashed menacingly. Dumbledore headed straight toward the crowd, they seemed only too happy to swarm around him, leaving the path clear for Severus.
He noticed the lack of fog that had been present on their way to the prison just as he stepped outside. Harry also seemed to notice this change, as with a wimper he closed his eyes and scrunched up in Severus' arms. Noticing Harry's discomfort, ears being now flat back against his head, the sudden movement seemed to have alerted the child to his internal injuries as he hissed out in pain, panting to force air into his bruised lungs. Severus was now slightly paniked, and all but sprinted towards the small boat that had transported them here.
Leaping into the boat that seemed to aggravatingly not notice the urgency of the situation, Severus held Harry close as his alredy shallow breathing turned irratic, his eyes sliding unfocasedly over his surroundings with a glased look. "Hang on child, just a bit longer, calm down now you're out of there." Severus found himself desperately trying to soothe the disstresed, paniking Harry as he begun to squirm. As a wave rocked the boat Severus found he had to hold even tighter on to the child as he started trashing and trying to escape. As his writhing allowed him to twist around enough to see the water over the side of the boat he actually let out a chocked, raw scream, and Severus realised just how hard this feat they were trying to pull off would be, and just how little he knew of helping children.
'Its hopeless, what did I think i could achieve, my only knowledge of children is how to make them cry!' Just as he thought this however, the thin body curled up just like a cat within his arms, clinging onto him with his one good arm and nestling in as if for protection from the world, shivering against him. Severus felt his spirits slightly lifted as he wrapped his arms tighter around Harry in a protective gesture. 'As long as this child will willingly touch me I'm not going to give up on him.' He promised himself.
Soon they were outside the wards of Azkaban, and Severus apparated the pair to Hogwarts, tightly holding Harry whilst being mindful of his injuries. Severus hardly felt sprinting up to the castle and then the hospital wing, Pomfrey already had all her supplies ready as she had been breifed previously, and set to work as soon as Harry had been lain on the bed.
Only then did Severs relax and colapse onto a bed, knowing that for now all was in the medi-witches hands.
In a couple of hours Dumbledore rejoined them, having finished answering the endless questions with his vague, riddle-like answers. The two then settled down to wait until Poppy's work had been done, then retiring when Harry was as stable as could be hoped. Severus remained awake to create some potions that he believed Harry would be in need of. Poppy stayed alert to keep Harry as well as could be helped throughout the night and Dumbledore sat alone in his office, pondering things that would drive any normal man insane.
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