Hello everyone!

I'm happy to say that I have successfully squeaked in within my one month goal. No, it's not like 2 AM. Of course not. I'm a responsible adult that goes to bed at a reasonable hour and has a Muse who keeps the typical 9-5 business hours like a respectable person.

I wanted to give a huge thank you to everyone who has favorited/followed TBWIM. And another huge thank you to Ilamay, Calmzone1, AcadianProud, MirrorFlower and DarkWind, and two Guests who reviewed the last chapter. Your well-wishes and excitement about TBWIM have meant so much to me. I hope that this one lives up to the previous ones.

Warnings for this chapter are some incredibly veiled references to abuse. Honestly, I'm not even sure if this chapter needs a warning, but I believe in better safe than sorry.

Without further ado, I present to you Chapter 14.

Shamelessly Yours

Severus was not sure what to make of the boy in his arms. It was so glaringly obvious that the idiot child was far too stubborn for his own good. And yet, he could understand how Harry was going stir crazy. He could feel the lines of tension in Harry's body. Despite the child's quick quip about being willing to be carried, it was clear he was incredibly uncomfortable.

Severus could not push worries about the once-golden boy from occupying the forefront of his mind as he wound his way down the labyrinthine halls of the Manor in order to get to the library. He just did not know how he was going to get through to Harry. The child was obviously traumatized and suffering from PTSD-like flashbacks, anxiety attacks, depression (and the denial thereof), and what he highly suspected was self-harm. It was hard to know if the cuts were actually self-inflicted or the work of the boy's sadistic Uncle. Still, some of the things that had slipped from Harry's mouth concerned him.

The frustrating part was that Severus knew he would not be able to be the confidant Harry would open up to at this time. There was still too much history between them despite the realization that some of it had been manufactured by the Headmaster. When Severus saw that man again, he was going to choke him with his own beard.

Severus turned the final corner to the large library held within the heart of the Manor. Severus strode over to the chaise lounge that was positioned close to the lit fireplace and gently relieved himself of his cargo. Harry, though he patently refused to meet Severus's eyes, intoned a quiet, but sincere, "Thank you, Professor."

"You're welcome, Harry. Now, please stay here on the lounge. My elf, Bitty, will be able to help you with any book you might be interested in reading. I also request that you remain on the lounge. If you need to get up, please alert Bitty, and she will come find me if I have not yet returned by the time you want to move."

"Yes, sir," Harry said with a pout. Severus was not surprised the boy was balking at being hovered over so extensively.

With a nod, Severus said, "I will return shortly," and with that, he turned and exited the library.

Severus made his way briskly back to the room he had just come from. The bed was already freshened and made, no doubt due to the diligence of Bitty. The room, too, showed signs of being rearranged, though Severus noted, approvingly, that his equipment and potions had been left untouched. His lips quirked up in a small smile at having finally gotten through to Bitty that some things were better left undisturbed and that, no, he would not be angry with her if she did not tidy them. For several minutes, Severus took quiet stock of the potions before him, noting that he would need to acquire or brew more Mild Pain Draughts and Nutrition Supplements. Having assessed his stocks, Severus sat on the chaise lounge that had taken up residence in the room as Harry had begun his recuperation.

Severus raked his fingers through his lank hair in frustration, "What am I going to do with that child?" he whispered aloud.

The lines of tension were practically vibrating through his frame. He had no idea how to go about getting Harry to open up about what he was going through. The child was an immovable wall of pure stubborn. Severus rarely had to deal with Gryffindor children in such a situation, though if that was due to the fact that he more than fully realized that he made himself as terrifying as he could for them or if they simply did not suffer from the propensity of being abused, he was not sure. He was much more comfortable with maneuvering around the machinations of his Slytherins who often let things slip in the process than bull-headed Gryffidors who simply refused to speak. On top of that, Severus could not be sure if Harry's tight-lipped responses were again due to their shared history or his inherent Gryffindorishness.

Sitting here and chewing on the problem was obviously not going to get him anywhere. Better to focus on something that he could control.

"Bitty," he called.

With a crack, his diminutive house elf appeared. "Yes, Master Snape?"

"Where are the Lestranges and My Lord?"

"They be taking tea in the lounge on the second floor, Sir."

"Thank you, Bitty. You may go."

Bitty bowed and popped away.

Severus rose and made his way down to the second level. Though he could have taken the route past the library to check on Harry, he decided to gift the boy a small bit of leeway to see what he would do with it. Though unlikely, Severus mused, perhaps he will surprise me and not behave like foolish idiot child.

With a click, Severus's heels came together as he reached the lounge. After firmly knocking on the door and hearing the intoned "Enter", he entered the lounge to find Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange and his Lord as Bitty had said.

"Ah, Severus," came the Dark Lord's greeting, "How nice of you to join us."

"My Lord, Bella, Rodolphus." The latter inclined their heads in greeting. "I've come to speak with you regarding our newest guest."

"Yes, how is Harry doing?" Bella inquired.

"Stubborn as usual," huffed Severus, "He has been released from the body-bind. But, the idiot child refused to stay in bed even though he could not even finish dressing into clean clothes or stand for longer than five seconds."

"You allowed him out of bed in that condition!" Bella all but screeched. Her firm grip on her teacup threatened to shatter it within her hand.

"Calm yourself, for Merlin's sake. He had been bed ridden for days. Did you expect him not to jump at the chance of freedom? As it is, he is resting in the library with strict instruction to stay there and not overexert himself, for all the good that is likely to do."

"If the child could not walk," questioned the Dark Lord, "How did he come to be in the library, Severus?"

Severus's lips thinned into a look of faint distaste as his cheeks flushed ever so slightly at having been caught out. "I carried him there."

Rodolphus snorted into his teacup before setting it down. An raised eyebrow was Severus's only answering reply.

"That boy is going to turn you soft, Severus, if he has you carting him everywhere on a simple whim of not wanting to stay in bed when it is in his better interest," Rodolphus said.

"As it so happens, Rodolphus, I simply know how to choose my battles. You've not had to deal with petulant children on a daily basis for almost fifteen years. I should think that I would know whether or not he was truly up to leaving the bed as his primary caregiver."

Rodolphus raised his hands in surrender, while Bella rolled her eyes at her husband's antics. "How is Harry doing really?" she asked.

Snape sat in an open chair next to the Dark Lord with a groan and dropped his head into his hands. The other occupants' eyes widened at the outward show of frustration from the Potions Master. As Severus took a moment to gather his thoughts, the Dark Lord passed him a cup of tea.

"I do not know," Severus whispered in a shaking voice before taking a fortifying sip. "Physically, he is mending, though I have some very serious concerns to speak with you about. It is his mental state that has me most worried. It is incredibly obvious that he is suffering from PTSD and depression, but he refuses to open up to me about it." Rodolphus opened his mouth to interrupt but was preemptively silenced by his wife's elbow jabbing into his rib cage and Severus's challenging glare. "Yes, I am well-aware that he does not want to speak with me about such things, most likely based on our history, but I am worried that he will not talk honestly with anyone about them despite having grudgingly agreed to speak with Bella."

The Lestranges took a long sip from their tea in frustrated contemplation of what the Potions Master had laid out before them. The Dark Lord, however, simply looked thoughtful before asking, "You said that you had some serious concerns about the boy's physical health as well, Severus? If you had such worries, why allow him to abandon his bedrest?"

Severus took a steadying breath that held only the smallest quaver on the end. "Harry's upbringing has left him…what they did to him…he." Severus paused again, not sure how to proceed in that moment.

"Just say it, Sev. We're all well-aware of the horrors that child has lived," Bella offered in hopes of getting Severus to spit out what was going on instead of trying to be delicate about it. Her worry for the boy was written all over her face.

"Harry has such an incredible pain tolerance that he is not able to gauge if he is seriously injured."

They all stared at Severus as if he had just waltzed into the room in a magenta robe claiming to want to wrangle four-year-olds for the rest of his life. To fill the damning silence, Severus drank more of his tea as he waited for them to process the implications of what he had said.

"How," Rodolphus ventured, "How can you be sure?"

"When I was examining him today, he said that the pain 'twinged a bit' only when I was touching and manipulating his injured limbs. After further enquiry, he said that he has not been in serious pain since he has arrived here. As you said, Bella, we are all well-aware of the kind of treatment he has endured. Due to the potions I needed to heal him, especially the Skele-Gro, he was only able to receive the mildest of pain relievers. Such pain relievers are supposed to work for an injury like a twisted ankle or strain until one could get to a Healer for proper treatment not something as enormous as re-growing bones and healing organ damage. Quite frankly, Harry should have been in excruciating pain, and I was prepared to keep him unconscious for the duration of his initial healing. Neither has come to fruition. Furthermore, I cannot tell at this time if the damage is permanent or if it will pass with time."

"So, it is not nerve damage then," asked the Dark Lord.

"To my knowledge, no. Harry's fine motor skills and reactions seem to be unaffected. I doubt the boy would have been able to ride a broom at all if he had suffered nerve damage extensive enough to not feel pain in the majority of his body."

The Dark Lord nodded in agreement with the assessment.

"No, I am fairly certain that it is his magic anesthetizing the pain as a defense mechanism. Only time will tell if it has been permanently handicapped or if it will essentially heal beyond the damage. Which brings me to the reason that I sought you all out. For the time being, Harry is going to need a chaperone so that he cannot inadvertently harm himself. I was thinking that the two of you, Bella and Rodolphus, with your permission, My Lord," Snape said with a bowed head to the Dark Lord, "Along with perhaps Rabastan could provide that supervision. I would take the duty on by myself, but I am going to need to replenish our potions stores soon, and that, unfortunately, takes time and my undivided attention."

"I cannot see why we would not be able to accommodate your request, Severus. As it stands we do not—"

A loud pop interrupted the Dark Lord's reply revealing Bitty in front of Severus. She clutched frantically at Severus's robes, her eyes wide with fear. "Master Snape! Master Snape! You must come quickly, Sir! Is Master Harry, Sir! He be thrashing and screaming and…and crying out in the library, Sir! You—"

Bitty never finished as Severus tore out of the room pursued by the other occupants in the lounge.

There will come an update where I will not put Harry through Hell or end on a cliffhanger. But it is not this update!

Oh Harry, I'm so very, very sorry. Except I'm going to keep breaking you so I can put you back together...That honestly makes me sound like a psycho. Oops.

Hope you all enjoyed the update!

Shameless