Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or "General Hospital" or the characters of either of those fabulous works of fiction.
A/N: Some mild swearing.
Stubborn Wills
Severus growled as he swept out of Spinelli's room, black robes billowing impressively. He had thought Harry Potter would be the death of him, but that was before he had met his own son. He wished that Albus had never been enlightened as to the fact of this exasperating young man's existence. Spinelli had nearly bled to death the day before after having a vision and today he was insisting that he be allowed out of bed to get acclimated. He also demanded to see Maxie and when asked what he wanted for dinner, had insisted upon pizza, potato chips, and orange soda. As if that was a substantial meal! When he had insisted that the boy eat shepherd's pie with a cool glass of milk, he had sulked for a full hour and pushed the food around on his plate. Eating barely half of the contents of his plate, he pushed it away and made to get out of bed when Severus, aggravated beyond what he thought should be wizardly possible, shoved the plate back at the boy and stalked out of the room, mumbling obscenities beneath his breath.
Thinking back to the previous day, Severus wasn't sure that he wanted to believe that someone related to him, however reluctantly so, was prone to having visions. It certainly didn't run in his mother's family and he doubted that his father's Muggle family had such progeny in their family line. He couldn't remember hearing anything about Kathy's family being prone to visions, not that he had ever really taken an interest in her beyond that fateful one night stand so long ago. He hadn't even been aware of her death until Albus had informed him.
ALBUS! He couldn't believe that the man had, just an hour previous, come to visit and let him know that, though he regretted it, he 'had pressing business to attend to and would not be able to help out with Spinelli.' Pressing business my arse! No, the old man was simply avoiding taking any responsibility for dumping a grown son into the lap of an unprepared and unwilling father. Severus was not looking forward to 'training' Spinelli once he was able to get the protective magical wards off of the young man. If the last five hours were anything to gauge by, Spinelli would be the death of him. The kid would not stop prattling on about Maxie, Cold Stone, or Port Charles. It had been a mistake to remove him from his home, a mistake that Severus might not survive.
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Spinelli watched as Doctor Doom the 2nd swept out of the room and pushed the plate of bland food away from his thin form again. He didn't understand why the man had insisted that he eat sustenance other than what he was used to, nor why he wouldn't allow him to leave the bed. He had been lying down for days and, in spite of yesterday's mishap, he felt perfectly capable of getting up and out of bed, albeit a little shakily. What was this man's problem? He looked at him with barely veiled
disgust. It wasn't as if he actually wanted to be sequestered in this dark room so far from the more than habitable Port Charles. He had been perfectly, okay well not perfectly, happy in his regrettably pink room. The chamber he currently resided in was nearly the exact opposite, the colors surrounding him were a dark forest green and deep burgundy and held a sense of foreboding, whereas the light pink he had been entombed in at Stone Cold's, while he wouldn't call it cheery, was at least somewhat uplifting, in a sickening sort of way.
What did this man want from him anyway? If he was supposed to be the heir of some powerful witch and wizard, why didn't he feel at least some vestige of magic? If anything, he felt that he was the complete inverse. While he might arguably be one of the most formidable hackers out there, he lacked finesse, couth, and the smoothness one would associate with a wizard. No, they had made a mistake, even if this was all completely ensconced in his own mind. He was not wizard material. He had to find a way back to Port Charles and to Maxie.
Thinking of Maxie sent a shiver down his spine. Yesterday's nightmare had seemed so real, he could still taste the fear. Though he didn't quite know why, he had a feeling that she was somehow nearby and he couldn't allow what he had dreamt to occur. He could not let Maxie give her life in his stead. She was too precious. No, he would stop that nightmare, never allow it to see the light of day, if it was the last thing that he ever did.
Swallowing hard, Spinelli whipped the bedclothes off and placed a trembling leg over the edge of the bed. Resting a minute, why was this so hard? He placed his second leg on the icy cold floor and, grasping the wall with his hands, he made his way out of the room on legs that, after lack of use, had somewhat atrophied and were buckling at the use. It was slow moving, especially given that the hallway was encased in darkness, and he found that what would normally take only a few minutes was taking much longer. At this rate, he would make it to his destination in a half an hour.
Perspiration beaded his forehead and he sucked in a lungful of air, as though he were on a long hike and starving for oxygen. There was a stitch in his side and, clutching the wall, he doubled over willing the pain to subside.
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Severus was pulled out of his musings by the sound of stirring coming from Spinelli's room. What was he up to now? If he is out of his bed in spite of my warnings, so help me, Severus muttered as he stood from his chair in the library and made his way to the hallway.
There Spinelli stood, his arms placed on the stone wall in front of him, hunched over in obvious agony. Shaking his head, Severus stepped into the hallway and strode over to the boy, stopping short when he caught snatches of a conversation the young man was having with himself.
"Come on Jackal, it's only a few measly feet away, you can do it. Remember the time when you and Stone Cold were helping to defend the broken masses from…" he trailed off, his face twisted in pain as he attempted to draw in a shaky breath, "Come on, it's only a few feet away."
So, he was attempting to make his way to the bathroom, in spite of his misadventure the day before, Severus shook his head and, with a flick of his wand he helped ease Spinelli's breathing. Now able to breathe, Spinelli stood once again and painstakingly made it the rest of the way to the bathroom where he promptly allowed himself to lean against the door and slump to the floor. Resting for a couple of minutes, he crawled the rest of the way to the toilet and unfortunately expelled all that he had eaten; it wasn't any better the second time around. Tiredly, he pulled himself to his feet and relieved himself. Leaning heavily against the sink, he caught his reflection in the mirror. Jackal man, you have got to get a hold of yourself, he admonished the pasty white visage that locked eyes with him in the mirror. His cheeks were flushed and his black hair was plastered to his forehead. He looked like a mess. He could not face Maximista this way.
Severus paced the length of the hallway between where he had discovered Spinelli and the bathroom two dozen times, muttering about ungrateful brats and their incessant need to do things on their own. On the twenty-fourth pass, Severus stopped in front of the door and opened it with a simple swish of his wand, exposing Spinelli's self-loathing gaze in the mirror.
"It's time you return to your bed," he said with a clipped voice, attempting to keep it snarl free.
Meeting Severus' eyes in the mirror, Spinelli's pleaded with him for a little more time to gather his own strength and walk out on his own. With a curt nod of his head, Severus crossed his arms and leaned against the door, willing to let the younger man attempt to return to his room on his own, yet letting him know that he would be there should anything happen.
Taking a deep breath, Spinelli swayed into a standing position and grappled for a good hold on the door frame. Hauling himself through the door, he used the wall to support his piteously slow progress and stumbled after a few feet. Cursing, he brushed away Severus' aid and gritting his teeth, pulled himself back up and started the slow trek once again. Oh great, his son was a bleeding heart Gryffindor, just like Harry Potter! Severus swore he would do all in his power to make sure that Spinelli did not end up in that house with Harry Potter, know-it-all Granger, and red-haired Ronald Weasley. He knew that Spinelli was not Slytherin material, but would be damned if a son of his, however reluctant he was to claim him, should be sorted into Gryffindor. He would not allow it; it would be too much of a disgrace and an insult after all the pain that the Marauders put him through. No, no son of his would be sorted into the house of Gryffindor. He would put an end to this stubborn willfulness.
Settling Spinelli into bed after the boy had practically crawled the rest of the way into his room; Severus turned a cold eye toward the shivering boy, "Tomorrow we will begin the process of loosing you from the magical bonds that have been placed upon you. It will take a lot of concentrated effort and will be an arduous process. You must get plenty of sleep tonight, so drink this," Severus handed him a vial with a clear liquid in it. Spinelli eyed it warily.
"What is it?" He asked weakly.
"It's not poison," Severus snapped, reminded too much of Harry Potter's own skeptical gaze, "it's a sleepless potion that will ensure you get undisturbed rest for the next 8-10 hours. Drink it up, it won't hurt you."
Spinelli reluctantly swallowed the liquid, grimacing at the medicinal taste and suddenly wishing he had been able to keep his dinner down.
"Drink this as well, I believe that you are rather malnourished due to poor eating habits," at the questioning look Spinelli gave him, he elaborated, "it is a potion for nourishment. It will supply the nutrients that your body is lacking and should aid in returning your strength to you. You will need all of the strength you can muster over the next couple of days."
"Uhm," Spinelli's soft voice stopped Severus mid-stride, "what if it doesn't work? I mean what if it is discovered that I, after all, am not truly a wizard?"
Turning around so that he faced the boy, Severus raised an eyebrow, "What if, after all, it is proven that you truly are a wizard?" Spinning on his heel, he left the room, leaving Spinelli to wonder as he watched the majestic billowing of Severus' robes.
Pondering the question Severus had left him with, Spinelli fell into a dreamless sleep, oblivious to the cold black eyes that watched him as he slept.