Author's Note: Wow, this is up one day after I posted Chapter One! Ohmygosh, thanks so much for the reviews, views, and follows/favorites! I do plan on finishing this fanfic, it'll probably be around 20-30 chapters when I do. I'm sorry to all those that thought this was Snarry, I should've said non-slash. This is a Severitus fanfic. Anyways, enjoy chapter two! ~Hazel394
Chapter Two
He looked rather creepy as the tall, dark, figure stalked down the moonlit street. Straining his hearing, Snape heard a high-pitched shriek coming from one of the houses.
"Potter…" the Potions Professor mumbled, making longer strides as he quickened his pace to the doorstep of 4, Privet Drive. The man briefly wondered what the relative's reaction to his menacing image would be like. Would they scream? Cry? Faint? He smirked inside at the last thought. Finally, he brought his fist up and pounded on the door. The dark man waited. And waited. "Bombarda!" he whispered gruffly. The door blew up in a small smoke, resembles flying throughout the Muggles' front lawn. As the explosion cleared, he barely noticed the extremely chubby boy staring in insane shock at his appearance, and expression mirrored by the skinny horse-faced woman next to him. "Where's Potter?" he spat, hardening his stare into a threatening glare. The fat child pointed to a small, bloody ball on the floor and Severus felt himself sucking up air in shock. Quickly, he grasped the far-too-light boy off the ground and inspected him for damage. Which was quite useless, considering he had crimson drips and splatters all over him, along with countless bruises, making his skin color a blotchy purple.
"W-who are y-you?" Dudley spluttered, still horror-struck. If times weren't so dire, he might've found himself rather amused at the Muggles' reactions to him.
"W-ho are y-you?" he mocked, his sneer disguising his true worried expression at Potter's abuse.
"Stay away from my Dudders!" the woman finally ordered, alarmed. Quickly, he gave them both a mild hex, and left the chaotic Muggle room with a soft pop, Harry in his strong arms.
• • • • • • • • • •
Carefully placing the unconscious Boy-Who-Lived onto his bed, he noticed wincing when Snape touched him on his shoulders, knees, and other small joints. Cold, stonewalls surrounded the iron four-poster king bed, which was covered with silken black sheets. Catching the boy's shiver, the man begrudgingly tucked his covers over the battered child. Well, isn't this a great day, I get to give up my own bed to the bloody Boy-Who-Lives-To-Get-Into-Trouble! The Potions Professor derived. Raising his wand onto Potter's chest, he cast a quick spell to inspect physical damage. A soft blue orb tingled throughout the boy's body, turning a dangerous, fiery red after leaving. His health state was extremely hazardous; he had seven broken ribs, four broken bones, and severe artery, vein, and capillary tears, making his blood loss a few pints. Making a mental note to hex the Muggles into insanity once Harry was stable, Severus quickly waved his hand to heal minor cuts and bruises. Another wave mended the artery, vein, and capillary tears. An abrupt scream left the teenager's white lips as he began tossing and turning in the dark man's bed.
"Uncle…sorry…please…" Harry muttered, squirming about. Potter shielded himself from what looked similar to some sort of invisible blow or hit, and it struck Severus that he probably was being hit or belted in his dream.
"Accio Dreamless Sleep potion!" Snape called. A midnight-blue liquid contained in a crystal vial fell in the man's hands, and he quickly unscrewed the cork and lowered it onto the boy's lips. How do I gently force this down the moronic imbecile's throat? Severus wondered impatiently. With much difficulty, the Potions Professor pushed Harry's lower lip down (as he rolled around), and let the sapphire liquid drip into his mouth. After much coughing and spluttering, Harry finally fell into what appeared to be a calm slumber. Heaving a relaxed sigh, Severus decided to brew his Blood-Replenishing Potion next to Harry's bed (Since when is it Potter's bed? He thought to himself.) Just in case the troublemaker woke up.
After a few hours, the Blood-Replenishing Potion was ready and poured into an ornate, glass cup. It truly did have the appearance of blood itself; it was scarlet red, and had the consistency of water. Raising the cup to Harry's lips, the Potions Professor repeated the action likewise of what he had done before, but with a surprisingly much more gentle touch. The man's pointer figure calmly slipped Harry's lower lip down, and let the potion pour into his mouth, pausing every few seconds to let the boy swallow.
The Potions Professor liked Harry much more when he slept, as he had no glasses (nor did when he find at the Dursleys') to mock the appearance of his father. No rude remarks slipped out of his mouth when he was absent to the mad world surrounding him, deep in sleep. His limp body, resting on the comfy mattress, looked so vulnerable. He didn't look like someone who was supposed to save the world. He looked helpless. He looked calm. If the batters disappeared, and he wasn't just bones but skin too, he would look like a normal boy. But he wasn't a normal boy.
And for the first time in his life, Severus considered if he liked the pressure of saving the world, as he had been taunting him about for years. No, he didn't. The man realized. He just wanted to be normal. Severus put a strong hand on the helpless boy's shoulder, and sighed.
I apologize for the short chapter, but I really just liked that ending and felt like it should just stop there. And again, this is a NON-SLASH fanfic. I'm once again sorry for any mis-communications. By the way, I will reply to any comments left by users on the last chapter, and post my response on the next. Thank you!
Victory-Starr: Thank you so much!