Chapter 3
The morning of Harry's fifth day at Hogwarts found the boy a trembling and scared ball under his bed in Gryffindor Tower. Harry had woken from yet another Night Terror with his pants soiled and the burgeoning need for his cupboard, at least there he knew what to expect from his family but in this wide open world everyone behaved out of character. Without the option of returning to his safe haven the emotionally distraught teenager sought out the tiny space under his bed, where his trunk would be if he still had it. It was here that Professor McGonnagal found him shivering and crying, when everyone found out he was hiding they rather counter productively crowded around the edges of the bed and murmured to him about what treats he would get if he ventured out of his hiding spot. Professor Snape was the only one who made any sort of progress with the boy.
Dumbledore had called on Severus as soon as he had seen the distraught look on the child's face. As Head of Slytherin House the Professor had a rather intimate knowledge of how to treat traumatized students. When he saw Potter his first response was to shoo away all the other Staff Members, the boy was scared enough as it was thank you very much. He did not follow the path Harry thought he would take but instead sat himself down against the farthest wall from the bed, it took a few moments for Harry to realize that the dour Professor wasn't going to peer under the bed and then a few more for him to calm down enough to roll himself out from under the bed. Without a word Severus vanished the dried mess in his night clothes with a nonverbal Scourgify, Harry murmured an almost silent thank you then cautiously sat himself on the floor a good distance from the curiosity of Severus Snape with his new ears laid flat against his head and his tail wrapped tightly around his upper leg. The part of Harry that carried his practical knowledge knew exactly what his taciturn Professor was trying to do but just then his practical side was overshadowed by the primal part of himself that focused entirely on surviving. Just as that primal part of the boy began to relax and his ears began to swivel gently in the air the door flew open with a resounding bang. Once the last echoes of this crash had evaporated the skittish Gryffindor was back under the bed and checking on the stores of food he had been hiding in his blankets.
Severus sighed and tossed a murderous glare at the Weasely who had so carelessly entered Potter's space. He distinctly remembered telling a house elf to remain outside and make sure no one disturbed the fragile first steps of getting the boy to open up about his ordeal. "What is it Weasely?"
"I just heard about this little arrangement!" Severus was surprised at how venomously angry the boy was, he had thought that the Weasel was intruding to check on his new charge.
"Yes Mr. Weasely, I have been put in charge of insuring that Mr. Potter recovers from his ordeal!" At his words the quivering lump of blankets under the desk let out a pained mewl of distress.
Weasely's head snapped around at the sound and he quickly dropped to the ground and looked at his terrified friend, "Don't worry Harry, I'm gonna talk to Professor Dumbledore and we'll get you out to the Burrow where Hermione and I can help you recover."
"I d-don't kn-kno-know if that's a good i-id-idea Ron." Severus could hear the violent way the boy spit the words out around his equally violent stutter. He thought about how the boy seemed to be trying to hold it together for his friend and compared his behavior now to the way he had acted when they had been alone together in the room. He could imagine the look on the boy's face as he forced his airs to rise up and begin their swiveling guard though the tempo would be dramatically faster. He nodded to himself once more as he noted the flicking black tail just barely peeking out from under the bed, yes he was trying to hide the full extent of his trauma from his friends which would make them the worst possible people to care for him after the trauma of this summer.
"You should listen to your friend Mr. Weasely. May I speak with you for a moment in the hall?" the redhead nodded suspiciously and followed in the wake of Severus's billowing robes. "Listen up, I know this isn't ideal but if you or any of his other friends brought him home with you he would spend the entire time pretending that he was already better so as not to worry you," the Weasel tried to butt in but Severus held up one finger, "this is not what he needs in order to recover. Potter's condition is worse than either of us thought. Though it is promising that he is aware enough to recognize the need to protect you from the full extent of his injuries Mr. Potter seems to have drawn himself away from his logical brain and he is now operating on autopilot. As much as you hate the idea it is what is best for him, we both know that he has rather violent reactions to my presence so I will be
