A/N- Why yes, I finally felt alive enough to write this...sorry for the long break. My goal is twice a month, currently, but I so rarely seem to make that...Anyway, still don't own. Still AU. Italics are often thoughts, x's are scene breaks. Hm, so Harry and Albus spend some time together, it's a bit cute and sad...AND Tim and Severus have a serious conversation. We learn more about Tim here, a glimpse inside his mind, if you will. Because Tim is one of my favourites, of all the characters I have created. So yes, enjoy. And, use your words.
~Cas
-x-
Harry bit his lip, sitting up in his bed. He always ended up here, he just wasn't sure how. He had been reading on the floor and he must had fallen asleep. But he had books and he loved books, so much. Aunt used to give him books whenever she could, they made him feel normal, even though he knew he was far from normal. He was a freak. A freak who had a giant bed and a large room. He had books and there were toys, but they couldn't be for him. He drew his legs under him, staring with wide, blank eyes around the room once more. He couldn't help it, this room still amazed him.
"Ah, you're awake Harry." Albus remarked gently from the doorway. He had stopped to peek in on the child on his way downstairs once more. Perhaps, however, it was time for him to spend more time with this child. Harry needed a family, after all. It would not do for them to leave the boy to his own devices all the time, especially as the boy was more likely to just sit and stare at walls if they did.
Harry flinched at the kindly old voice, turning to look at the older man. The headmaster had only been nice to him so far, but he was waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the gloves to come off. It always happened, they would realize how big of a freak he was soon enough. He kept his green eyes lowered, knowing better than to meet the man's eyes. "Yes sir." He murmured softly. It had not really required an answer, but Uncle had always expected one.
"Would you like to play with some of your toys, Harry? We could play together." Albus suggested kindly, smiling at the young boy. He knew that Tim's session had not gone well, but it was nothing that they hadn't expected. Not really. Harry was an abused child, there were going to be quite a few problems that they would have to get through. But they would get through them together, as a family should.
Harry shook his head rapidly, knowing very well that those toys could not be for him. He knew Aunt had bought some toys and sent them with him, but it was clearly a mistake. As were the other toys he had noticed today. They couldn't be for him. Freaks did not have toys. None. Not at all.
"Do you not like them, Harry? We can find other toys if you would prefer them." Albus asked gently, sitting his old bones slowly into a conjured armchair.
"I don't want to ruin their toys, sir."
"Whose toys, Harry?" Albus frowned slightly, confused briefly. The toys were Harry's, who else would they belong to?
"The kids who live here, sir." Harry explained slowly, looking up through his fringe at the older man.
"Ah. No other children live here, Harry. You are the only one. These toys are yours." Albus clarified kindly, smiling at the young boy. But inside, he was upset. The child really believed that he wasn't worth toys? Oh, Dursley better hope that they never meet. Or the vile creature would quickly learn that while his son was rash, he was also capable of revenge. His revenge was just a bit more non-violent than Severus'.
Harry blinked, frowning at the Headmaster man. The toys couldn't be for him. Freaks weren't allowed toys! "Not allowed." Harry murmured, dropping his eyes back to his lap.
"You are allowed Harry. The rules you are following do not apply anymore. This toys are yours." Albus remarked sternly, raising a gray eyebrow at the young boy. "Do you like trains, Harry?" He asked slowly, thinking quickly. He needed a way for the child to understand that he was allowed to play, that he was allowed to be a child here.
He hesitated, his face still in its blank mask. But Harry was confused. Did he like trains? He wasn't sure, he'd never been on a train before nor had he played with train sets. Dudley had some train sets, but the older boy had always broken them almost instantly. "I don't know, sir." He responded finally, peeking up through his fringe.
"Albus."
"Sir?"
"My name is Albus, child. Not sir. If you are not comfortable with Albus...well, we'll figure something out. Now, let us find out if you like trains. I believe there is a set around here somewhere."Albus stated quietly, standing and starting to search the shelves. He knew the boy was not likely to actually call him Albus, but they would have to work something out. This sir nonsense was driving him insane, although some would say that was not a very far journey indeed. He bit back a chuckle, shuffling through a toy bin they had put on the shelf for Harry. The poor boy hadn't even touched any of the toys yet. He sighed softly, letting the bit of sadness for this boy show only briefly before finally finding the train set, a replica of the Hogwarts Express, picking it up and turning to grin at the child. "Here it is! What do you say that we put this together and see if it runs?"
Harry hesitated briefly, before moving quickly to sit on the floor, taking the train tracks from the older wizard and starting to connect them together. He peeked up through his long fringe, watching as the headmaster slowly lowered himself onto the floor, on a pillow, before turning his eyes back to the tracks. Freaks not suppose to play. Uncle said. But Al-Headmaster sir said that Uncle was wrong. So did Tim and the Dark Professor. So maybe Uncle was wrong? Or are they wrong? He grimaced, the conflicting thoughts made his head hurt. He kept putting the pieces together, however, forming a rather large oval with the track pieces. "Is that right, sir?" He asked cautiously, vivid green eyes looking up at the man.
"Hm, yes I believe that will work quite well." Albus smiled at the child, holding out the scarlet engine. Harry took it slowly, connecting the passenger cars to it. He watched with twinkling blue eyes as the child placed the wheels on the track with ease. This was the fun part, after all.
"How does it move sir? Do I push it, or? Harry questioned curiously, eyes focused intently on the train. The fluttering in his stomach he thought might be excitement. The train was just so beautiful.
"It runs two ways. One is on..batteries? The other is by magic. It's quite simple, really." Albus responded, pleased to see excitement showing through this hurting child. He stretched his hand out slowly, pointing a finger at the train. "Slow." He ordered and the train slowly reared to life, chugging along the large oval track. Albus let it go around once before ordering for it to stop. "Would you like to try, Harry?" He asked quietly, knowing quite well how weary the child was around magic. But wizarding children usually had magical toys...it was a bit difficult to find something that wasn't magical in their world.
Harry flinched slightly, wide eyes staring at the now stationary train. More freakishness. But the Headmaster had called it...magic. And he wasn't really a freak, was he? He did dress...oddly, but he was also older. He had heard Aunt once mention that older people tended to fall out of trend with what was okay to wear. Or something like that. Perhaps it was okay to try at least. Perhaps he wouldn't need the weird light stuff that came out of him sometimes, or the lights that had come from his wand, when he first tried it. He slowly held a trembling hand out, clenching his eyes shut before whispering "Go." He heard the train start moving and kept his eyes close, shrinking back. Surely they would beat him now, he had done something freaky again.
"Well done, Harry!" Albus praised, watching the child flinch and shrink away. "Very good. Do you think it should go faster?" He questioned, trying to subtly draw the child out. A quick head shake and tightening lips was his answer. "Harry, look at me please." He requested finally. Scared green eyes opened and met his briefly before looking away. "Do you remember the rules we told you, Harry? You will never be beaten here, nor will you get in trouble for doing something we ask. Magic is not bad, Harry. It does not make you bad or freaky or weird. It makes you different, yes, but it is a good difference. As long as you do not try casting with your wand without one of us around, at least this summer, you will not be any trouble. Once you start school, you may use your wand whenever you need to. But you will never be beaten here, not for magic, not for anything." Albus soothed gently, slowly resting a hand on the boy's shoulder.
Harry flinched but settled quickly. He knew, somehow he just knew, that the Headmaster was not lying to him. He wasn't sure whether he could quite believe it yet, but that was alright. Uncle had been telling him things forever, whereas these men had only had him for two days. They would probably get sick of him eventually, but he hoped not. He finally gave a slight nod, to show that he understood, and turned his eyes to the moving train. "Faster." He commanded, grinning when the speed picked up quickly. Albus merely smiled, feeling the young man relax, his hand still resting gently on his shoulder.
-x-
Tim paced, grimacing occasionally in thought. The barb from Severus earlier had stung, even if it was true. His eyes gazed around his room briefly, landing on the sleeping Maple. Usually she stayed downstairs, but she had, perhaps, sensed his agitation. His room. Hmpf. Losing his apartment had...bothered him. Because he thought he had been doing so well this time. Granted, Albus and his secretary had worked out a system so that the complex was paid on time. It was only when he took back over handling the payments and the utilities that he ran into trouble. Six months. He handled the apartment on his own for six month, it was nearly a new recorded. Except...he forgot to make payments for the last four months. He had couch surfed for a week, his friends good-naturedly had just smiled and shook their heads. He would still be couch surfing, but Albus had found out, a week ago, thanks to his loud mouth receptionist/secretary. He had been back here a week before they brought Harry. Severus was home a week early now, which meant both Albus and Severus would be traveling back and forth to Hogwarts all summer. Because the Headmaster and the Deputy had to check in on the school nearly every day, although there was a teacher or two staying over summer break. If he was correct, it was the Defense instructor and the Maths teacher. Albus had finally added some modern classes to Hogwarts, after changing his Deputy, to better prepare the students for the world outside of Hogwarts. He groaned, turning toward the door. Speaking of the Deputy, he knew that knock well. Hopefully Severus wasn't here to be snarky.
Severus sighed, staring at the closed door in front of him. He knocked again, softer this time. As he was brewing, he had thought of something, a conversation he and Petunia had in the car ride back to Surrey. Suddenly the puzzle in his head had clicked into place. Perhaps Tim wasn't just forgetful after all. It also helped that he had the shampoo he made for Maple's sensitive skin as well as a note from the pet store owner about Maple's feed. He was about to leave when the door opened and Tim raised an eyebrow at him. "May I enter?" He drawled, raising an eyebrow of his own at the slightly older man. The healer looked tired and stressed, even...upset.
Tim merely stepped aside, letting the younger man enter his chambers. "I take it you want to talk?" He asked quietly, frowning slightly. Severus did not hold the same air he often did when he came to discuss his problems. But nor did he seem alright. It was almost like he was hiding something.
"I did, but not about what you think. Here is Maple's shampoo and this letter came for you." Severus replied with a shrug, offering the healer the letter first, turning to scratch Maple's head. He was already aware of what the letter had said; it had actually came to Albus and Albus had read it and asked him to give it to Tim. He turned slightly, so that he could observe the older man without being noticed.
Tim grimaced, glaring down at the letter. He read it quickly, stopping and rereading it. It was a simple statement really. He had overpaid the man once again, and it had been added to his account which now equaled...a lot and he didn't need to pay for... a while. At least, that's what he took from it. He wasn't quite sure of the numbers, not that he would ever admit it to anyone. Medical scans he could read easily, as well as books and patient charts. He could even read scales and height charts well. But large figures...didn't make sense to him. He could read them, yes, but he didn't quite understand them. He was a healer for god-sake! He should be able to read damn numbers! Tim crushed the letter into a ball and tossed it into the waste basket. He ignored the raised eyebrow of the Potion's Master, picking up the bottle of Maple's wash. "If that is all, Severus..." He trailed off, glancing at the younger man. He frowned suddenly, something was wrong. He just wasn't sure what just yet.
"It is not. I am...concerned, Tim. My comment earlier, about your apartment, was said in anger and uncalled for. But there is some truth there. You do not always forget to pay. Sometimes you overpay, don't you? Or don't pay enough?" Severus questioned quietly, settling down in an armchair that Tim conjured as the older man dropped into the other. He had looked at quite a few reference books when the idea occurred to him, a few hours ago. After his little...release. Not that Tim needed to know that. After clearing his head, the puzzle, long ago started and often forgotten about, came to the front once more. He silently summoned the crumbled letter to him, perusing it once more as brown eyes glared at him. "You overpaid by 50 galleons this time, which he added to your account. Your account which now is over 300 galleons. Maple's feed cost fifteen galleons a month, not counting anything else you might need. He adds that he will most likely not require payment for...eighteen months. A year and a half." He drawled quietly, fighting to keep the sarcasm from his tone. It was nearly impossible, but Tim did not need the snark right now.
"I read it, Severus. It is fine." Tim shrugged, biting back a grimace. He knew that was quite a bit of money, actually and a long period of time. A year and a half, he understood that quite well. So he'd have to pay again next August...or was it December? Or...damn. He hated this. But admitting it to the child he had taken care of for nearly a decade, never mind telling Albus...it just wasn't something he could do. Although he knew his secretary had guessed. She didn't let him handle the money anymore and she had gotten him a watch that he could actually read. Thank the gods.
"It is not. Something is wrong Tim. You are hiding something from us. I was under the impression that this family ran on truth." Severus replied dryly, raising an eyebrow.
"It does. You, as well, are hiding something." Tim shot back, raising an eyebrow of his own.
"Alright, then I will tell if you do." Severus shrugged. Really, it wasn't like he could have hidden it forever anyway. Tim would have wheedled it out of him during their next session.
Damn it. "Fine." Tim snarled, glaring at the younger man before taking a deep breath and calming himself. He was usually much calmer than this. "I have...trouble with numbers. It's a learning disorder called.."
"Dyscalculia. Some of the students have it." Severus remarked quietly. He knew what it meant, of course. That the other man's brain had trouble processing numbers. He had trouble with time, or Tim used to, before his assistant had given him a watch that beeped in intervals before his appointments. He knew that Tim had trouble doing large sums but the man could easily brew. Perhaps that was more because he knew the value of, say, five ounces of willow bark, as opposed to the number five.
Tim looked down, fighting back his sense of shame. He had helped find help for children with learning problems before. His colleague who helped those children had offered to give him tips before, but he was too proud, he knew that.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of Tim, nor something to hide from us. Especially when we are willing to help you, if you will let us." Severus remarked quietly, watching the older man with a small sigh. He had known the man for years, and yet there were still things he did not know about him. Although he did know much more than most people ever would. Tim was a private person, usually. Unless he had to live with his patient, which happened quite often over the years. Often enough that the older man had his own, permanent office in the house. He also knew Albus' plans...but he would not spoil them just yet.
"I was diagnosed last year. A colleague was curious and managed to convince me to get tested. I will...accept your help. However, I will tell Albus when I feel the time is right." Tim sighed, finally looking back up. He knew that Severus had helped a few of his house with learning problems and he trusted the younger man, but now it was time to find out what was wrong with his younger friend. "Now, your turn."
Severus grimaced but nodded. "I'd rather show you." He muttered, pushing up his sleeve with the ease of long practice. He watched the healer's eyes widen briefly but received a sharp nod. He dropped his sleeve back down, covering the cut that wasn't much more than a scratch.
Tim sighed, surveying the younger man. It was not a bad wound, it didn't even really require healing. But he understood what it meant, quite clearly. "Why did you not come to me?"
"I...wanted it. It will not happen again." Severus shrugged. Discussion closed. Or not.
"I see. Did something cause it?" Tim asked quietly, frowning slightly. It would happen again, he knew. The young man said it to him nearly every time and it always happened again in the future. But not as often as when he didn't say it, when he fell back into it.
He grimaced, nodding slightly. "I was thinking and I rather not talk about it. Right now, at least." Severus replied curtly, biting his lip.
"We will discuss it later then. Do I need to put a charm on you?" Tim asked sharply, raising an eyebrow. Severus merely shook his head. Of course not. "Alright. I believe it is nearly time for the evening meal." He added finally, standing slowly.
Severus also stood, biting back a sigh. Great, food. He hesitated for a moment before hugging Tim, allowing the older man to hug him back. "Thank you, for telling me." He murmured quietly, before disappearing out the door, leaving a pleased healer behind him.
