Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his world belong to J. K. Rowling.
**
Chapter 7:
The new swimming pool was commenced, and an area mapped out for a gymnasium. Harry didn't take much notice, though there was a lot of excited talk. The pool was expected to be ready in just a few days, though the gymnasium would take longer, as no-one knew quite what went into a gymnasium.
Another week of lessons. Harry tried to behave in case what Snape said was true, - that if only he behaved, they'd take off the Bracelets. He engrossed himself in the books of advanced magic, occasionally spoke to Neville, also Charlie and his mates, but was still very quiet. Except that they no longer inflicted potions on him, the Aurors' instructions hadn't changed. Sue and Grant were bored, as the boy remained uncommunicative, what they saw as sulky. They were two of many who'd concluded that Harry didn't deserve any credit for the defeat of Voldemort. It had merely been a consequence of something going wrong with the risky Rite of Cerlikh. Sue had some compassion for him, but Grant's lip tended to curl when he regarded him. No self-respecting wizard could possibly allow himself to be raped!
Thursday evening, and Harry took up his usual position in the corner of the large Common Room, a book in front of him. It was November. A few trees had leaves clinging to them but most were bare and stark against a frequently stormy sky. The never-ending pain gnawed at him, and he'd lost more weight. He pulled his cape closer about him, and shivered. The Aurors were taking no notice of him, sitting close to the entrance to their room. The exit door of the Common Room was warded against Harry, but other students still came and went. Few of the older students were present. It was an hour yet before curfew, 'Lights Out' an hour after that, though McGonnagal hardly ever checked, and the Aurors considered it none of their business.
Three fourth year girls looked up in surprise when he took a chair close to them, and close to the fire. The first was Lisa Smythe, who'd lost her father and two brothers, all dead in the same instant that Voldemort had died. She narrowed her eyes in hatred, as he settled himself and started to read again. She looked around for the Aurors, out of sight behind a large group of first years, then quietly slipped out her wand. She glanced at Anita, and whispered, "He can't do magic."
Anita looked nervous and excited as she stood and drew her own wand.
The third girl whispered urgently, "What are you doing? It wasn't his fault."
Lisa cast her a look of contempt, aimed her wand, and said the incantation for a stinging hex. Harry jumped at the harsh sting in his shoulder, automatically went for his wand, and then raised his closed book instead, in time to block the second spell, sent by Anita.
Another sting, on his leg this time, and Harry was up, took a swift stride to Lisa, and briskly struck her hand, making her drop her wand. He picked it up, fast, and turned it onto Anita. Anita froze, but Lisa called, "Hurt him, Nita! He can't work magic any more, remember!"
Anita laughed, "I forgot for a moment. You're a Muggle now, Harry, aren't you?"
Lisa urged, "He deserves to be hurt, Nita! Remember what Sean is now!"
Harry frowned, "Sean Bowen?"
Anita replied in a cold voice, "Sean. My former boyfriend. He sits in a chair, dribbles, sometimes wets himself. He can't walk any more. He can't think."
Harry said clearly, "I do not take responsibility for those who died or were injured because they were linked to Voldemort. All I did was defend myself against the one who was hurting me. I will always claim the right to defend myself, magic or not."
The third of the group of friends, Jacinta, said urgently, "Leave him alone, Anita! It's Harry Potter. Merlin knows what he can do!"
Lisa mocked, "He's just a Muggle now, Cinny. A witch can do exactly what she wants to a Muggle!"
Harry said coolly, "If I'm a Muggle, then I am not bound by the normal ethics of wizardkind. A wand used against me is a wand liable to be broken over my knee!" It was not something that wizards did, attack each others' wands. One's own wand was too precious. It was a serious threat.
Anita curled her lip, and started to utter the words of a Paralysis Spell. Harry moved very fast, kicked the wand out of her hand, caught it, and broke it over his knee, followed by Lisa's wand. They stared at him, mouth agape. Harry displayed the sharp ends of the broken wands, "Muggles have weapons, too, you know. A wand can become a sharp stick, and a sharp stick is good for gouging out eyes. I am Harry Potter, and Muggle, Squib or wizard, I will defend myself!"
The confrontation had drawn an audience, mostly of first and second years, with a sprinkling of older students, including a seventh year, John Pettit, who'd been a close friend of the unfortunate Sean. He was Anita's cousin.
Sue noticed the sound of the girls' outraged cries at the far end of the room, and said, quite casually, "I can't see Harry in his usual place."
Grant reluctantly rose to his feet, "We'd best check."
Pettit decided that Harry's full attention was focussed on the girls who'd attacked him, and aimed his wand, - a powerful cutting curse. Harry caught the flash of the spell, and hurled himself to the side, knocking over a first year girl, who screamed. The spell missed, but grazed a boy, who yelped, and grabbed his bleeding leg. Harry growled, "Pettit," and came after him.
Pettit tripped over a chair, aimed at Harry again, and yelled, "Stupify!" but again Harry twisted out of the way. Harry was on him then, grabbing the wand with one hand, and punching with the other. Pettit vainly tried to avoid the punishing blows.
Grant pushed through the younger students, and roared, "Potter! Leave him alone."
Harry pushed himself off Pettit, still holding his wand. He started to say something, but Pettit interrupted, "He attacked innocent girls. I tried to stop him."
Grant aimed his wand at Harry, "Come with me, Potter. You're to go to bed now, and with a potion to keep you quiet."
Harry raised his fists, "I was defending myself. You're not to touch me!"
One of the first years called, "The girls started it. Harry didn't do anything wrong."
Harry's eyes flicked to her, and he said, "Meggie, run and fetch Snape will you? Quick as you can."
The child ran. Her friend ran with her, and said, "I'll get McGonnagal, you get Snape."
Meggie panted, "It's not fair!" before peeling off toward the corridor that led to the dungeons.
Snape was in his office when the girl erupted into his room, and poured out her story. Snape glanced at the two boys doing a Detention, and briskly told them to get out.
Meggie trotted behind Snape as he strode toward the Gryffindor Tower, robes billowing. Snape snapped, "You said that Harry didn't start it."
"Lisa Smythe started it. Her and her friends."
"Pettit?"
"Aimed a spell at Harry."
"What spell?"
"The incantation was something like Hendiya Vol Septri."
"Could it have Hendrieya Voleceptri?"
"That sounds like it."
"Did it hit anyone?"
"It hit Peter Winton, but only a bit, I think."
"You did well, coming for me."
"Harry said to."
"Not Professor McGonnagal?"
"He said to get you, Sir, but my friend, Vi, went for McGonnagal." She should have said Professor McGonnagal, but Snape was in too much of a hurry for the routine reprimand, and only snapped out the password as they came to the portrait over the entrance to Gryffindor Common Room. McGonnagal was just behind him.
The situation was almost unchanged, Harry standing defiant with fists raised, both Aurors covering him with their wands. Lisa had recovered the broken pieces of the two wands, furious and distressed. Anita stood beside her, but Jacinta was having nothing to do with either of them. John Pettit sat in a chair, leaning his head back, while his girlfriend patted a wet towel over his bloodstained face. Someone had retrieved his wand from the floor, still intact. The injured boy stood in a widening pool of blood, looking a bit bewildered. It didn't hurt that much!
McGonnagal went straight to the boy, made a quick inspection, and then sealed the wound with a spell. Snape swiftly and competently interrogated the witnesses. The Aurors lowered their wands. Snape concluded, clearly, "So you girls attacked without warning, and all he did was take your wands. Then Pettit attacked and missed Harry, but hit young Winton."
Harry said quietly, "It was the Hendrix Curse."
Snape nodded, "So you punched him."
"I stopped him."
Snape turned to the Aurors, "Harry Potter has done nothing to warrant punishment. And as you so abysmally failed to protect him, you are dismissed from this position. Please pack your things, and get out."
Grant blustered, "He's aggressive and unstable. And besides, it's up to Chief Auror McKenzie whether we should be dismissed, not you."
McGonnagal said calmly, "I am headmistress of this school, and you are no longer welcome here."
Sue touched her husband on the arm, "Come on, Grant. We made a mistake."
Grant glared a moment longer at the teachers, before turning on his heel, and going to pack.
Harry felt he was still on display. The pain from the Binding Bracelets was rapidly increasing, but he must not show weakness. The weak invited bullying, and without magic, among wizards, he was vulnerable. He picked up his book and returned to the chair next to the fire. Anita and Lisa flinched away from him, but Jacinta sat down next to him, and then Meggie and her friend.
Harry smiled at Meggie, "Do you know how to do the repair spell? The book's spine is broken."
Meggie said uncertainly, "I don't know."
"Just tap it with your wand, visualise it fixed, and say Reparo."
Meggie did as he requested, grinned all over her face at her success, and passed back the book.
Harry inspected and said, "Well done. And thanks."
Meggie sat back, beaming. So what if something shameful had happened to him? It was Harry Potter, who'd faced a dragon just last year. He was a Fighter, but he'd always been nice to the younger kids.
Snape said, "Minerva? Your students?"
McGonnagal nodded, "Miss Pettit, Miss Smythe, are either of you hurt?"
Lisa said, in a trembling voice, "He hit me and he broke my wand."
"Mine, too. And he kicked my hand!"
"Go to Madam Pomfrey if you're hurt. As for your wands, it seems to me that it serves you right."
Anita said quickly, "I only sent a Stinger, nothing serious and it didn't even hit."
Lisa sobbed, "That's all I did, too."
"Detentions for the pair of you, and sixty points each off Gryffindor. It's a shameful thing to attack someone who can't retaliate."
Pettit, listening, touched his swelling eye. He'd been very foolish, and now it would probably be expulsion, especially as the Winton boy had been hit. McGonnagal turned to him, "My office. Now!"
Snape waited until the Aurors had emerged with their bags, and said, "Mr. Potter, would you please come to your room now. We'll treat the bruises those stupid girls inflicted."
Without comment, Harry followed him to his rooms. Snape said calmly, "You might acknowledge that the Aurors are needed now. I suggest that you keep within their sight."
"You're going to replace them then?"
"Tomorrow, probably. We'll make different arrangements for you tonight."
"Are you going to punish me?"
"There is no cause. Now, where did the spells hit?"
Harry stripped off his outer clothing, showing the obvious burn and bruise of hex marks on his thigh and on his shoulder. Snape dabbed on the anti-bruising lotion, which quickly took away most of the swelling. The boy was so tense. Snape asked, "Is there anything else? Did Pettit hurt you?" Harry hugged himself, and Snape touched his pale forehead, "Harry?"
Harry muttered, "Sometimes the pain gets worse. When I need to do magic, and can't. Then it gets very bad."
Snape frowned, "Stay here. I'm going to fetch Madam Pomfrey."
Harry said hopelessly, "Why? She won't take them off. She can't do anything." He'd begun to shiver. Briskly, Snape helped him into his pyjamas, and cast a warming spell over the room.
When Snape returned with the nurse, almost a quarter of an hour later, they found Harry still sitting on the edge of the bed, hugging himself tighter than ever, and rocking himself. Madam Pomfrey hurried to his side. Tears were streaming down his face, and when she asked what was wrong, he didn't answer. He couldn't talk. If he tried to talk he would scream. It had never been this bad. Dumbledore was killing him. He'd thought so before, but now he knew. Dumbledore had always intended this, to break him, to kill him with the pain the first time he tried to fight.
Madam Pomfrey asked, "Severus?"
Snape replied, "If we take off the Bracelets without permission, we risk Fudge deciding to do worse in order to control him. I think he's afraid of Harry being too powerful."
Madam Pomfrey said gently, "I can help you, Harry. But only if you permit me to do a spell, or agree to take a potion."
Harry shook his head, still silent.
Madam Pomfrey put a gentle hand to the side of his face, "You can trust me, Harry. Let me help you."
Harry's cry was wrenched from him, "I can trust nobody! Nobody will help me!"
Snape said dryly, "You did send for me." But Harry only bit his lip, and looked away.
Madam Pomfrey called clearly, "Vriella?" A house-elf appeared, and Madam Pomfrey said, "Could you get Harry a large mug of hot chocolate, heavily sweetened." When she sat next to him on the bed, her body in contact, and coaxed, he accepted the drink, and his trembling gradually diminished. Softly, she asked, "Better?"
"Much better. Thank you, Madam Pomfrey."
He was still white and tense, but his shivering had died down. The nurse put a hand to his face, and ordered, "Take off your pyjama jacket and lie face down. I'm going to give you a backrub."
He looked confused, and said, "No reason for that. I'll be all right now."
Snape said dryly, "Do as she says, Potter. You know she always gets her way." Harry did as she said.
Snape leaned against the wall and observed as the nurse calmly rubbed his back, gently at first, just stroking, more vigorous as he began to relax. Harry's eyes closed, and Snape wondered if she'd slipped a pain-relieving potion into that hot chocolate. After a while, she sat up stiffly, and complained that she was too old to be giving backrubs.
Harry said quietly, "Thank you, Madam Pomfrey. It was like a cramp in the leg, you see, except that it was all through me." He started to turn over, and then cried out, and curled himself in a ball, his face buried in the pillow.
Pomfrey asked, "Severus? Just a gentle stroking to begin with."
Snape looked dubiously at the boy, who was making no noise, but rocking himself a little again.
Madam Pomfrey said firmly, "Harry, you're to lie properly, flat. Severus will do what I was doing."
Harry whimpered, and curled himself tighter. Snape said sternly, "Do as you're told, Harry. Lie flat!"
Shakily, breathing in short gasps, Harry complied, and Snape started touching, feeling him tense, knotted up, like a leg in cramp, just as he'd said. After a while, he asked, "Has it been like this before?"
Harry gritted, "No."
Snape was sorry he'd said anything. He'd made some small progress, but drawing that word from him had sent him back to the start. Patiently, he persevered, after a while, slipping off his cape, and kneeling on the bed, a knee on each side of the boy's legs, so he could work without twisting his own back.
McGonnagal raised her eyebrows when she found them like that, and looked at the watching nurse for an explanation. Pomfrey went with her to the sitting room, and explained. McGonnagal said, "Surely it would have been more simple to make him take a potion."
"He refused a potion. I feel it would be fatal to force him." She lowered her voice further, "Severus told me days ago that he was desperate enough to kill himself. Just one more abuse of trust, and we'll lose him."
"You know what it looks like, of course."
"For appearance's sake, it would be best if one of his friends stay with him tonight, as well as Severus."
"Is Severus planning on staying?"
"I believe so."
McGonnagal nodded, "I'll arrange it."
The pain was easing again. Harry lay quite still, trying to relax, focusing on the feel of the hands on his back, more firm than those of the nurse's. They seemed to draw away the tension, draw away the anger and pain.
Snape smiled in satisfaction as he felt the boy's relaxation. He'd caused pain sometimes, in his role of Death Eater. This was the first time in his life that he'd set out to ease pain. He was rather pleased with himself when it seemed to be working. He was sorry for the boy, and had a grudging respect for him as well. Even now, he didn't seem like a victim. John Pettit, a seventh year with a wand, and he'd defeated him. And stating that if he was a Muggle, he had a perfect right to break wands, - that was a clever ploy.
He worked rhythmically, his mind wandering. He didn't notice when the nurse and the headmistress slipped quietly out, but did notice when Charlie Greaves looked in, and then silently withdrew. Harry felt quite different now under his hands, and he worked on him a little more vigorously, easing the remaining tension out of muscles, still kneeling over him. He thought that Harry was almost asleep, and was surprised when the sleepy voice came, "Do you want to do to me what Voldemort did?"
Snape said calmly, "You're too thin and the wrong gender. Besides, when you say no, it tends to be a little over-dramatic."
Harry actually chuckled, and Snape smiled in response. He'd begun to think the boy would never smile again, let alone laugh. He continued working. Harry didn't suggest that he stop. He thought it was the first time in his life that he'd felt as if someone was actively caring for him. He presumed his parents might have done, but he had no true memories of that time in his life, only vague impressions.
Snape's hands became more gentle. The boy seemed totally relaxed, nearly asleep. He'd stop soon. Surely he'd been working an hour or more. Harry asked, very quietly, "Professor Snape, can you do something for me please?"
"Maybe."
"I want a document to say that I've satisfactorily completed fifth year, so I can be regarded as a wizard, even if I'm not."
"Why do you want that?"
"I want to be buried as a wizard, with my wand in my hand."
"A shortcut, Harry? I didn't expect that from you."
"A shortcut. I want the right to carry a wand, and when I die, I want to be buried with my wand in my hand."
"I doubt if your death is imminent."
"Please, Professor?"
"I'll see the headmistress."
"Thank you, Sir."
Harry went to sleep then. When he was sure, Snape gently eased himself off the bed, and stretched. Charlie sat in the sitting room, and asked, "Asleep?"
Snape nodded.
"Madam Pomfrey left a potion for your back and shoulders. She said that if you take it tonight, you won't suffer for it tomorrow."
Snape rolled his shoulders, feeling the strain. "She's an excellent nurse."
"I heard him talking to you. He hardly talks to anyone."
"A few sentences, that's all. He wanted a favour."
"The Bracelets off?"
"Something different."
Snape slept lightly that night, several times checking on Harry. Once he found him moving restlessly, and muttering. In a firm, but not loud voice, Snape told him to go back to sleep, that there was no need for nightmares any more. That all his nightmares were gone. To the man's utter astonishment, there was a muttered assent, and Harry stopped fidgeting. Snape scratched his head. He would never have believed that a high strung teenager was so easy to look after.
When next Snape saw Harry, it was morning, he was talking with Charlie, and getting his school books out. Snape observed, "You're looking a lot better."
"It's not too bad today. It was good of you to help me."
"Does that mean you're going to start working in class?"
"Not until I'm no longer a prisoner."
"You've been told before, do your best to behave, and you will not be a prisoner for much longer."
Harry's mouth quirked a little. One thing about Snape, he hardly ever lied to him. McGonnagal would have told him that he was not a prisoner. Dumbledore would have tried to persuade him that it was all for the best, and then he'd say something like how much he cared for him. His former friends? Hermione and Ron would simply have been embarrassed, and made sure to keep away. Fred and George as well. He'd given them his Triwizard earnings, but they hadn't been near him since his return. He'd never wondered why Snape had helped give him to Voldemort. In his calculations, it would have been simple, - that his life was worth far less than all those who would have otherwise died. Harry Potter had worked out long ago that his life was only important to himself, except insofar as he was of use, whether to do Aunt Petunia's cooking for her, or to slay a wicked wizard for Dumbledore.
Snape was observing him like a specimen. Harry twitched his shoulders a little in irritation, and searched again for the book he'd mislaid. Snape said, "You go along, Mr. Greaves. Harry and I will eat here." Charlie glanced at Harry, and left.
Snape raised his voice, "Vesna?" A house-elf popped into their presence. Snape asked, "Vesna, Harry and I are having breakfast here this morning. Would you organise it, please."
"Yes, Sir."
Harry asked as she vanished, "Do all members of staff have personal house-elves?"
"They belong to Hogwarts, but each of us have one assigned."
"Convenient."
Snape was feeling a little embarrassed, almost like the morning after an intimate encounter between almost-strangers. Harry didn't seem disturbed, but maybe he had some memory of the times when Snape had bathed him, or cleaned him up.
Vesna was quick to have the study table transformed into a dining table, and Harry remarked, in a tone of surprise, "I'm actually hungry!"
Snape waited until Harry seemed to have finished before saying, "You know that the headmaster was your Demter Guardian?"
Harry was puzzled, "My Aunt Petunia is my guardian."
"Did he never explain to you?"
"No."
"Your relatives are your legal guardians, but Muggle-born and Muggle-raised children also have a DMTH Guardian, usually referred to as a Demter Guardian."
"I've never heard the term."
"They're appointed by the DMT, the Ministry that is, in conjunction with Hogwarts, thus DMTH. They're authorised to deal with problems within the magical world, and also to take over guardianship entirely if the Muggle guardians are unsatisfactory for some reason. Albus Dumbledore was appointed your Demter Guardian when your parents died."
"He censored my mail, especially this year, and limited the amount of money that I could take from my vault. I never understood why he was allowed to do that."
"As your Demter Guardian, he could do that. There are quite a few Muggle-born in Gryffindor, each of whom must have a Demter Guardian. Has no-one ever mentioned it?"
"No."
"For most of them, it would be Minerva as House Mistress. Maybe there's been no need for her to take any active role."
Harry nodded, "Hermione's Muggle-born. Her parents are nice. They support her. I don't think she knows about any other guardian."
Snape was unaccountably nervous, wondering how the boy would take it. He concluded quickly, "Anyway, a Demter Guardian is supposed to act always in the best interests of the child, to look after him as best he can. There was Sirius Black, but no-one thinks him suitable. I have volunteered to replace the headmaster as your guardian. It has been approved."
Harry asked curiously, "Are you going to act always in my best interests, and look after me as best you can?"
Snape said quietly, and it was a declaration, "I am."
Harry said coolly, "Well that'll be a pleasant novelty. Was there anything else you wanted to tell me this morning?"
Snape smiled slightly, "I think that might be enough for one breakfast."
"Will I be going back to my relatives for the Summer?"
"Unless you want to, you will never see your relatives again."
"I have no desire to see them ever again."
"Do you have anything there you need to collect?"
Harry shook his head, and glanced at the clock, "Potions first. Will I just go by myself?"
"I need to call in to my apartment. You might as well come with me."
"Yes, Sir."
Harry didn't really expect it to make much difference to him in his current situation, but again and again, he thought of the commitment in Snape's voice when he stated that he would try and act as a Demter Guardian was supposed to act. He traced the silver runes on the Binding Bracelets, and looked back at Snape, gliding back and forth in front of the class as he lectured on the uses of a certain obscure ingredient. Further information came to his awareness, that it was one of the primary ingredients in the illegal Luxus potion. Information from Voldemort. He could never tell anyone about that. They'd condemn him. It would be worse than when he'd spoken Parseltongue.
Just a single period of Potions, then Divination, but by then Jeremy and Kingsley had appeared, and he walked to Trelawney's lesson with their escort. Kingsley said, "You were in a fight, they said."
"The Vanstones assumed I'd lost control. I was probably lucky they didn't put me down as a danger to society."
"You were attacked?"
"Stinging curses by a couple of silly girls, then another by a seventh year. I didn't know that one."
"The wrist-bands still bothering you?"
"Not so much today."
But then they were in Divination, and Professor Trelawney gave her usual exaggerated start, and kept well clear of him. Jeremy murmured to Kingsley, "He's a lot better, I think."
Kingsley nodded. "Far more alert, and he spoke to us."
"He did speak to us sometimes before."
"Not often."
****
Later that day, when classes were finished, there was a meeting at the Ministry. Snape, now officially Harry's Demter Guardian, Professor McGonnagal, Fudge and Vance McKenzie. Snape insisted, "He was just reading when he was hit with a stinging hex. He acted with total self-control, but you can't expect a boy who's been groomed to take on the Dark Lord to just sit and take whatever ignorant students choose to hand out."
"Did he really break their wands?"
"According to him, we've made him a Muggle, and therefore he's no longer bound by wizards' rules."
McKenzie nodded, "I suppose he has a point."
"All he has left to defend himself, are fists and threats. You can't expect him not to use them."
Snape emerged victorious. Harry could be released from the Binding Bracelets, but they were to be put back on if there were any incidents of wild magic. If he was well behaved for another week, then his wand could be returned. The bodyguards were to remain indefinitely, but they were to be explained to others as purely for the boy's protection, not to guard the boy. The restraints on his movements were to remain.
****
Madam Pomfrey bustled straight over to Harry when he was escorted to the Hospital Wing, "I'm to take off the Binding Bracelets, Harry."
Snape was in the corner, pleased as Harry's face blazed into a look of shining hope. He cautioned, "Not your wand back yet. In a week provided there are no problems. The bodyguards remain indefinitely. You probably have fewer enemies in your own house than in any other, and yet you were seriously attacked."
Kingsley asked, "What was the curse, do you know, Severus?"
"The Hendrix Curse, I think. Witnesses heard the incantation, though Pettit asserted it was just a stinging hex."
"His punishment?"
"Sent home. He'll probably be expelled."
Harry asked tentatively, "Madam Pomfrey?" He held out his wrists.
The nurse instructed, "Touch the Binding Bracelets together, and make sure you hold them together. They'll fall off as soon as I work the spell. You may feel an uncomfortable sensation as they do."
Harry glanced at the thick book she had open on her desk, and pressed the Bracelets firmly together. Madam Pomfrey touched the point of her wand to where they touched, and chanted softly, Homorapas, Homorapas, Vahanishi, Cupoarhumor, Vahanishi Vree Pas Dey." There was a spark from her wand, but nothing else happened. Harry's expression of hope vanished, but he didn't move. Madam Pomfrey looked at Snape, puzzled, then tried again.
Snape walked across and studied the book, "The incantation's right."
"Did you see when the headmaster put them on?"
"Only enough to hear that the spell was in Old Aniragi, not Latin or English."
"Could he have done something else?"
"It's possible. They were never supposed to be painful, and Harry's been in severe pain." He went across and studied the book, then turned the page, went back to study the runes on the Bracelets, and said, "I wonder where he got them."
Harry looked away. They weren't going to help him. Probably had never intended to help him. Next, Snape would offer to try, and that would be when the incantation Avada Kedavra would come instead of that involved phrase that didn't even sound like a spell. They were going to put him down, but his so-called Demter Guardian preferred to do it without frightening him. Did it matter? He glanced at the door, where the two big guards stood solid.
Madam Pomfrey said, "Maybe it's simply that Dumbledore had extra power. His spells might be harder to break than most."
Kingsley stirred, "No-one is accepted into Auror Training unless they have higher than average power. Will I try?"
"Please." He studied the incantation, said the words carefully, rehearsing, and then instructed Harry to hold out his hands. Harry looked away from him, but held out his hands. The pain was starting again, and he had a feeling it was going to be very bad.
There was no result when Kingsley tried, no result when Jeremy made an attempt. Snape sent for Professor Flitwick, for his knowledge of Charms, and Trimble, who should know about Dark Artefacts. He made an attempt himself then, and for the first time, Harry felt a sensation, like a twist in his guts, and fell to his knees, with a cry of pain. Snape asked hopefully, "Did it work?"
Harry staggered to his feet, trembling, and held out his hands again, demanding urgently, "Please, Sir, try again. You nearly did it. I felt it." Snape tried three more times, but there was no result more than a brief hurt. The Bracelets remained.
By the time Trimble made the attempt, Harry was sweating, shaking and white with pain.
Snape intervened when again there was no result, "Enough for now. Kingsley, would you return to London, and see about finding an expert, urgently. Consult with the Research Department. Harry, are you up to returning to your room, now?"
Harry started to get up, but fell to the ground, writhing in pain. There was a half stifled groan.
The nurse pulled down the bedcovers of a nearby bed, and Snape picked him up bodily, lay him down, and started stroking over his clothed body. It took a long time this time before he was able to lie still and relaxed. Snape said, quite gently, "Harry, it takes too long this way. If it happens again, you'll have to accept either spells or potions."
"Yes."
"So which is it to be?"
"Spells. You never know what a potion will do to you." His voice was calm, his body still relaxed.
Snape pointed out, "You never know what a spell will do to you, either."
"Mmm."
"Ready to go back to your room?"
"In a little while."
Snape nodded, and left Jeremy to guard him. Harry slept.
McGonnagal had been waiting for him, but in the staffroom rather than her office because of the numbers of people. Snape was introduced to the three he didn't know, Thalia Lovegood, head of the Research Department, and two of her staff, brothers Larry and Vincent Carlyle. There were also the Ministry Healer, Peter Braithwaite, and Amelia Bones. Several teachers were gathered around. Professor Flitwick was holding open the textbook they'd been referring to, but there were a stack of other books on the table, some open. Braithwaite said, "Minerva told me he was in a bad way."
Snape said bluntly, "He was in agony. It can't go on."
Flitwick explained, "We've been trying to work out just exactly what Albus did. It has to be more than what is described in the text-books."
"I don't think Dumbledore wanted him to be free, ever."
The middle-aged woman, Lovegood, asked, "What sort of pain, and how severe?"
Snape explained, and said, "Like his whole body is cramping, but deep inside. Backrubbing helps, because after a while he can make himself relax, though the nurse thinks it's a little more complex than that. He's still in the Hospital Wing, but he's better in his own room, I think."
"Best leave him there for the moment. Larry's on to something."
Discussions continued, especially between the three from the Research Department. Braithwaite went to have a look at Harry, and the Professor who taught ancient runes copied down the ones marked on the Bracelets for closer study. Finally he went over to the Carlyle brothers, "This one is not as described in the book. These Bracelets are not merely to Bind magic. It depends on the spell he used as well, but I think they've been made to destroy a wizard's magic without killing the wizard."
"They've been on five weeks."
"If we get them off tonight, he might have something left to him, but he'll never be a powerful wizard."
Trimble observed, "Maybe that's not such a bad thing. It's obviously what our esteemed headmaster thought best."
Snape wheeled on him, "It's a wicked thing. Just because Dumbledore liked to think of himself as the most powerful wizard in England, there was no need to punish an innocent boy!"
Larry Carlyle cut in, "I'm ready to have a go now. It'll be a series of spells, so I suggest that someone he trusts, stun him first. I don't want him panicking."
Snape said dryly, "Thanks to his history, I don't believe there's a single person in the world whom he does trust."
Harry lay unmoving in the bed, with a frown of pain on his face. If he tried to move, it would seize him again, he knew it. When Snape said that he wanted to stun him so the spells wouldn't hurt him, he said, "Please, as a wizard. I want my wand in my hand."
Snape frowned, not quite sure of the reference. Harry clarified, "If he kills me, I want to be buried as a wizard."
Snape gripped his hand, "You have a Demter Guardian now. If he kills you, he'll have me to reckon with."
Harry smiled, and didn't even flinch when the spell was inflicted.
They worked for hours then, starting by taking off the Locator Charm, and then using a series of revealing spells in an attempt to clarify the situation. Larry Carlyle was seriously annoyed that his concentrated efforts didn't work. Others had a try, Snape with the same series of spells that Carlyle had used, since he'd achieved some result before, but all that happened this time, was that Harry was pulled back into awareness, screaming with renewed pain. Amelia Bones turned away, tears in her eyes. Braithwaite observed dispassionately, "If there was any wild magic left to him, the windows would be breaking by now."
Snape held Harry firmly by the shoulder, "I'm going to stun you again. Don't be afraid, we're working for your benefit."
Harry gasped, bit his lip, and tried to be silent. Snape said, "Good boy," and he was stunned again, quiet.
At last, they stood around, defeated. Braithwaite asked, "Do you mind if I give him a thorough examination, Severus? See just exactly what condition he's in."
"Very thin, and weakening by the day."
"Yes... Do you mind?"
Snape sighed, "I don't mind. There is no need for anyone else to be present however."
It was quite a quick check, using a series of monitors that the school nurse was apt to condemn as 'new fangled nonsense.' He noted down results, then requested that Snape helped strip him, and thoroughly inspected his body, first his front, and then they turned him over. The healer remarked, "You'll have to take care of him. Some might think it an honour to go where only the Dark Lord has been before. And without any magic, he's helpless."
Snape was annoyed, "He's quick, bright, and he has an enormous courage. Anyone trying it might be in for an unpleasant surprise."
Braithwaite took in his glare, and said firmly, "I wouldn't dream of abusing a child, Severus. We'll dress him now."
Snape put aside his sudden suspicion, thinking he was already becoming over-protective. He asked, "Isn't there a spell that displays healed scars? Since I'm to look after him now, I wouldn't mind knowing just how bad it became."
Braithwaite nodded, "The spell will show any old scars that would have been permanent if not healed with magic. They will look as if they were freshly made, but without blood." He said the incantation, and there was a silence as stripes appeared across the boy's back, and a series of marks down each thigh. The healer touched a large mark on his shoulder, "That was a burn."
Snape ran a hand down his back, "Whippings, I'd say."
"His legs?"
"Cuts. It looks like someone was trying to cut words into him, but I can't make them out."
The healer lifted one arm and then the other, "More burns, and quite a deep cut."
"That might have been when his blood was taken for the benefit of Voldemort."
There was more when they turned him over, and Snape gently touched the clear word on his chest, FREAK! He finally said, "No wonder he doesn't trust. These would have been when he was small, as Dumbledore told me he intervened when he was around eight, after he tried to run away."
"So Dumbledore knew?"
"I was loyal to the headmaster for more than half my life. It seems I'm a very bad judge of character, Peter."
"We all admired him. Is it true he used Mind-Magic?"
"There's no proof, but when I think about the foolish mistakes he made... And yet nobody ever questioned his wisdom. He has to have used something!"
He turned to the Aurors, quiet in the corner, "We won't wake him, just take him to his room. I'll come in a little later, and please call me if he suffers pain again tonight." The scar images were fading quickly. Braithwaite, curious, cast the Sylph Virgo Spell, and said, "Red, to indicate that he's had full intercourse. The black streak indicates that it was not consensual. If my reading is correct, once he's truly sexually active, the black will gradually fade, and the red will become deeper."
Kingsley came forward, and said, in a forbidding voice, "We'll dress him now then, and take him back. I guess we'd best not mention just how thorough the examination was?"
Snape said sharply, "Of course not. It would upset him very much."
It was late, but in the staff room, the visiting witches and wizards were still in close conversation, all of them apparently determined to find a cure. Amelia Bones suddenly yawned, apologised, and then said, "It occurs to me that Gringotts' Curse Breakers might have a go."
Snape agreed, and added, "Don't forget to check them for the Dark Mark. No point handing him to a Death Eater on a platter."
"There can't be many left!"
"We don't know that. How many were just knocked out for a day or two?"
The Carlyle brothers looked at each other, and Larry raised an eyebrow. Vincent laughed. It had taken them a while to think of that. Larry's wife had died, and Vincent had been off work for a week. Not that the brothers were loyal Death Eaters, either of them. Vincent had accepted the mark as a very young man, and defected just ten days later. Larry had thought his late wife frankly foolish that she doted on the Monster. He suggested, "Dumbledore's ancestral home. Did he have a personal library?"
Amelia said she'd investigate, "I think it's being fought over by several distant relatives at the moment. There are no descendants."
Harry woke in the early hours of the morning. He felt exhausted and very weak, but the pain was minimal. He dragged himself up, and went to shower. It was obvious that the attempts to free him had failed, and yet he felt more optimistic than he had for weeks. They had tried. Snape had tried. He knew he'd tried. There had been that odd twist in his insides when Snape had made the spell. The spell had done something, or at least, it had come close to doing something. Snape wouldn't give up. He was convinced now, almost convinced. Snape would do his best for him, as best he could. Not that he was planning on confiding in him. He'd probably change his mind if he knew that if he chose, he could remember Voldemort's school days, his first murders, an early confrontation with Dumbledore, even knew exactly how to inflict a Dark Mark of his own if he chose. A shame that Voldemort didn't seem to have known anything about Binding Bracelets. Harry wondered again just exactly where Dumbledore had acquired them. They were undeniably a Dark Artefact. Illegal under Ministry rules, and yet there they were, encircling his wrists, looking oh so sickeningly handsome.
Snape was waiting for him when he returned to his room. He was expecting crying, maybe yelling. The boy had to be distressed with the failure, and further distressed when he told him their conclusions. He was resolved not to lie to the boy. Harry looked perfectly calm, replied that he felt very tired, but was in little pain, and agreed that bringing in Curse Breakers was an excellent idea. Snape added, "You have the Research Department working too, of course. They were very put out that the Bracelets defeated them."
"You came closest, I think."
Snape said regretfully, "I'm sorry I didn't do better." He looked frankly at Harry. "They're not just Binding Bracelets, you see. We think they are designed to destroy a wizard's magic, without killing the wizard. Already, it is unlikely that you have the power you once had."
Harry was silent for a moment, and then offered, "I never wanted to be special. I can be perfectly happy living as a Muggle. If it didn't hurt so much, if you just let me go, I'd be fine."
"The experts thought the process might be almost complete. The expectation is that even if they cannot be taken off, you will not suffer pain from them for much longer."
Harry touched a wrist-band, "Good."
Snape stood, "I am leaving supplies of potions for you to take when you need to. A mild pain reliever, a very strong pain reliever, and one that I hope will do the same job as a backrub, only a lot quicker. You should take that as soon as you feel the pain and tension start."
Harry looked at them dubiously, and Snape urged, "Use them. Merely because potions have been used against you does not mean they cannot be helpful. Until we either get rid of the wrist-bands, or the process is complete, there will be pain."
Harry said seriously, "I should have killed Dumbledore first, then Voldemort. I might have survived as a wizard then."
Only after Snape had gone did Harry give it some serious thought. Had he lost his magic? He couldn't use it of course, but was it gone? Somehow he didn't feel it had gone. Testing, he extended a hand to the window, and tried to break the bars. Nothing happened to the bars, but he doubled up with the agony inside him, unable to restrain the scream. Jeremy and Kingsley were there straightaway, and a message was sent to Snape. Kingsley held Harry, who was struggling, still screaming, unable to think for the agony that gripped him.
Kingsley held him close, his deep voice rumbling, the warmth of his body comforting. Harry started to come out of it. His screams turned to sobs, his body shaking. Snape felt a surge of something like jealousy when he found Harry held like that. It had been something special to feel that he could give comfort with his touch, but it appeared that the boy was not particular who touched him. He guessed that Poppy was right. Harry was starved for physical affection, and she'd warned that he could be easy prey for anyone offering that, only providing he could overcome his lack of trust.
He stood, simply watching. After a while, Kingsley shifted Harry until he sat on his knee, firmly embraced, one arm rubbing his back. The pain had struck suddenly that time, and luckily didn't take long to go. Harry stayed in the warm arms, his face turned into the chest of the big Auror, his eyes closed. It made him look so young. A child.
Snape finally stirred, "Maybe just put him back to bed, Kingsley."
Gently, Kingsley gathered Harry up in his arms, and did just that. Harry opened his eyes, saw Snape there, but felt too weary to acknowledge him. He still had his magic. Snape was wrong. If it hadn't been there, caged, it could not have hurt like that. Maybe not a bad thing if they thought it gone. They couldn't see him as a threat if he was a Muggle, or not much more.
***chapter end***
