I removed the Death Eater parts due to popular demand.
After teaching his classes, Remus returned to Severus and Harry. The two had placed a spell to hide their locations, over themselves and the boy, in case the twins were in possession of the map.
Harry was still unconscious and was receiving regular potions to keep his blood pressure and heart rate up. He didn't respond to any kind of stimuli and there was no signs that he would wake up. Severus was sustaining him with nutrient and hydrating potions.
He needed more supplies from the lab and Diagon Alley. Remus was dispatched to the lab and Sirius was dispatched to the Alley. Severus had been reluctant to involve Sirius, but they needed help. Harry was critical and needed continuous monitoring.
Sirius arrived with supplies quicker than everybody expected. He was quickly briefed on Harry's condition and offered to be the gopher, after casting a concealment spell on himself.
But he didn't cast it quickly enough. Neville had been continuously watching Professor Snape's lab and quarters and noticed the moment Sirius appeared. He and Ron watched as he moved around, then suddenly disappeared.
The twins had created a vision spell for the lab. They could watch everything that happened. They saw Professor Lupin floo in, grab ingredients using a list in his hand and then floo to Professor Snape's quarters.
After supper, the seven met up and shared their findings.
The girls had detected a silencing spell around the potion master's quarters. The twins shared what they'd seen. Ron and Neville described the occurrences on the map.
It was clear. Harry was being kept in Professor Snape's quarters and something catastrophic had happened to him.
Hermione volunteered to don the Invisibility Cloak and sneak in the moment the door opened. If it did. For a personal quarters having so many comings and goings, the door was not being used. It was determined the girls would sit by the door in shifts under the cloak, the twins would monitor the lab and DAtDA classroom, and Ron and Neville would watch the map.
There was no class for the next four days, due to a long weekend. The seven all sent owls home that they would be staying at the school to study.
Two days into their surveillance sting, Professor Snape appeared on the map, in his quarters. Then Professor Lupin did, too. Ron and Neville watched their movements, which were mostly concentrated in one room. They shared this with the girls, so they knew where to look.
The third day, during her shift, Ginny stood outside the door with her wand, repeating spells to open it. It finally worked and she silently slipped in.
"She's in! Ginny's in! Get over here!"
The twins, Luna and Hermione happened to be in the common room with Ron and Neville, so they watched her movements.
If she found Harry, the signal was to walk in a circle in the room he was in. If he was sick, she would pace. The sicker he was, the more she would pace.
Finding Harry on the couch, she made the circle. Seeing his low heart rate and blood pressure, she began pacing. The three wizards were discussing what to do after he died, so she kept pacing, never taking her eyes off him. As soon as no one else was close to him, she went to his side.
Six pairs of eyes watched as Ginny walked in a circle in the sitting room then paced back and forth many times and kept pacing without stopping.
"He's sick. He's critical. Harry's critical." Hermione panicked as she watched the movements on the map. Ron placed a comforting hand on her back and she leaned on his shoulder.
Ginny still hadn't stopped pacing. Everyone silently watched the map, holding their breath. If she bounced from foot to foot, then it meant Harry was dead. Ginny's pacing movements continued, then stopped.
In Severus' quarters, the tension was palpable. He had exhausted every potion known to him. Harry's condition continued to deteriorate, despite use of every bit of magic known to the three wizards attending him. They were watching his increasingly shallow breathing, defeated. No one had noticed that the door quickly open and shut again. They began discussing what to tell the Headmaster after he died
Suddenly, Harry's breathing increased in depth, then slowed to a normal rate. No one noticed the slight indentation in the blanket over his shoulder or his hair slightly moving. Or the quick indentation on his cheek.
Severus checked his vital signs and found his heart rate and blood pressure were improving.
"He's coming back."
Ginny, encouraged by the improvement and no longer fearing discovery, sat down on the side of the couch and took Harry's hand.
Sirius finally noticed the indentation on the couch and pointed it out. Severus went to remove the Invisibility Cloak off the intruder, but was unable. This was a young witch with strong magic.
"Whoever you are, you are obviously helping him, so you can stay. But you must not breathe a word to anyone about this."
"From the size of the indentation, it's one of the girls. Miss Granger or Miss Weasley, I'd surmise. Keep up the good work, young lady."
"Harry", a soft female voice whispered. "Harry, wake up. Slytherin is beating us at Quidditch and we need you."
"Come on, Harry. Open your eyes."
He did. He opened his eyes. Ginny threw off the cloak immediately and grabbed both his hands.
"Ginny…"
"You're going to be alright, Harry. I demand it."
"I love you, Ginny."
"I love you, too, Harry."
"Love saved Harry twice." Professor Lupin shook his head in amazement.
Ginny looked around the room, walked to the middle of it, walked in a circle then jumped three times. Then she sat back down next to Harry.
"You've got company coming." Three jumps was the summoning signal.
Sure enough, moments later there were several knocks at the door.
Professor Snape answered the door. He regarded the six with an obligatory scowl, but he was secretly impressed with everyone's detective work. He let them in, but only after a warning that Harry needed quiet and peace and not to bombard him. One at a time, except Ginny, who needed to stay at his side.
Harry smiled at the sight of his friends, although he didn't let go of Ginny. They teased him about just wanting to get out of class and Gryffindor losing to Slytherin.
Finally, Professor Snape kicked everybody out except Ginny. But not before swearing everyone to secrecy. No one was to breathe a word. They all agreed, then left for their first meal in the dining room in days.
Left alone with Harry for the moment, Ginny focused her attention on him.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like Buckbeak just kicked me 100 times." Ginny smiled, considering the hippogriff had played a part in finding him.
Sirius returned home through the fireplace, leaving the professors with Harry and Ginny.
Professor Snape smiled at the love the two obviously shared.
"There's something you two need to know. Something I didn't learn until it was too late." He took a deep breath. "When you truly love someone this much, do not let them get away. Fight for them. Hang on to them for dear life."
The words sounded so strange to Ginny, coming from Professor Snape. She noticed Harry didn't seem surprised by them, though. He smiled a sad smile.
"Yes, sir."
Now I've found you
There's no more emptiness inside
I was standing
All alone against the world outside
You were searching for a place to hide
Lost and lonely
Now you've given me the will to survive
When we're hungry
Love will keep us alive
(Eagles, Love Will Keep Us Alive)
"Harry, how are you feeling?" The professor was running vitals and diagnostics on him.
"Other than feeling like I got ran over by a family of centaurs, I am okay." He silently regarded the scratches and bruises on his father's arms and neck, wondering how hard he'd fought.
His father. He had family. He refused to think of the man he had once believed to be his father. That was an issue for another day.
Ginny fell asleep in a chair next to Harry, his hand in hers. While she dozed, Harry and Professor Snape finally talked.
"What happened to me?"
"What do you remember?"
"I remember watching the pensive. I remember feeling numb. I remember looking at you and you confirming that you're my father. I remember you saying that the killing curse was intended for me. Then I kept hearing the words "intended for you" over and over in my head until I couldn't hear or see anything else. I saw a vision of my mother laying dead on the floor with her eyes open looking at me, saying it. Then everybody I ever knew was trying to kill me by pouring poison down my throat and I was fighting them because they were all saying it. Then everything went black, except…"
"Except?"
"Except I could hear this voice. A man's voice, soft but evil. Telling me to come with him and he'd help me get revenge, that he'd bring my mother back. I knew I shouldn't follow him. I had to keep telling him no until I heard Ginny's voice calling to me."
The professor sucked in his breath. The Dark Wizard was targeting Harry, probably because he was his son.
"You became what we call catatonic soon after the pensive, then you started fighting very hard. The calming potion we poured down your throat did nothing. Professor Lupin had to hold you down while I brewed a highly potent one. Then we had to both practically sit on you to get it in you. The potion almost killed you. I believe it would have if Ginny hadn't snuck in."
Harry smiled at the mention of Ginny's name.
"Don't ever let her go, Harry. I let your mother go and I lost her forever. Don't make the same mistake I did."
"Why did she marry James?"
"It was expected. They'd been dating for 2 years, since 6th year. She didn't love him. She told me as much."
"Why didn't she date you?"
"I was Slytherin, she was Gryffindor. The two aren't supposed to mix."
"But you did anyway."
"I suppose so. Every day, I wish I'd fought for her."
"Who betrayed her?"
"Are you sure you want to talk about that?"
"No, but tell me anyways."
"Peter Pettigrew."
"The rat. Sirius' animagous had snatched him out of Ron's hand. So he's dead?"
"Yes, he's dead. Probably eaten by fish."
"Now I know what you mean by my not being the only one who deserved to seek revenge on him."
Professor Snape allowed him to return to his dorm the next day on the condition that he take it easy, to enjoy the last day of break with his friends.
They had a lot of questions, but Harry told them he didn't have the strength to answer them yet. He did want to know how they discovered where he was, so he heard all about it.
"Thank you, to all of you, for looking out for me. I was close to dying when Ginny came in." Harry squeezed her hand.
"What kind of friends would we be if we hadn't done everything we could to find you?"
You just call on me brother
when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you'll understand
We all need somebody to lean on
Lean on me
When you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on...
(Bill Withers, Lean on Me)
.
Over the next several weeks, Harry found he was plagued by nightmares. Nightmares of his mother, nightmares of the echo, nightmares of the Dark Lord. It was hard to wake him up when he started screaming, so Professor Snape had left potions with him for Ron to give him when it started.
More than once, Ron had to floo to the professor's quarters to summon him when he couldn't bring him out of it.
It became a frequent enough occurrence that Harry started sleeping at his father's every night.
Professor Snape told him it was a lasting effect of the psychotic break he'd experienced and the potent calming potion.
"Do you think it will ever go away?"
"It might not."
Because of his lack of sleep and subsequent exhaustion, Harry's performance in school began to slip. He had to quit Quidditch after falling off his broom, because his balance and performance were off.
Because the Dark Lord was somehow accessing his mind, he began receiving lessons from Professor Snape on blocking him out.
Knowing this was no small matter and more than he and Remus could deal with on their own, they called a meeting of the Order. The two of them explained what was happening to Harry and why, along with the basic back story and Harry's psychotic break and the calming potion.
No one was truly surprised to learn of Harry's true paternity. Several members had their suspicions early on.
The Headmaster and Headmistress were part of the Order, so now they both knew the story about visiting Lily's grave was a lie. Remus and Severus expected a reckoning and it came the next day when they both were summoned to the Headmaster's office.
They both explained why they kept it secret. Harry wouldn't have wanted anyone else to know or see him like that. Lily had actually sworn her former lover to secrecy. They had finally told the Order out of concern for Harry's wellbeing.
Just before Severus left the office, away from everyone else's hearing, the Headmaster had told him, "By the way, I know what happened in here!". Severus actually blushed before quickly walking away.
Harry's lessons in blocking out the Dark Lord continued. He received potions every night and continued to sleep in his father's quarters. Slowly, the nightmares decreased enough that his school performance improved and he rejoined the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
The Order had begun destroying the Dark Lord's horcruxes one by one, until none remained. The snake, the goblet, the locket, the diadem… every one of them was destroyed. Only the Dark Lord himself remained. During a confrontation at the Burrow, he too was destroyed.
Harry spent the summer with his father at his home in Spinner's End.
They visited Lily's grave. Harry finally confronted his anger for James Potter by digging up his grave and tossing his remains in an abandoned field used as a rubbish dump.
Upon visiting the home his mother had lived in, Harry saw the blood on the floor. This set him back and he once again began having nightmares. The echo was back and it screamed at him in his dreams.
"... intended for you…"
Whenever he woke up screaming, his father gave him sleeping potions and put pleasant dream spells on him.
It became a nightly ritual of Harry's to do the spells and the potions and the nightmares eventually stopped.
Two years after his graduation, he married Ginny Weasley, the love of his life.
Before the wedding, his father gave him the necklace he'd bought for his mother the day she died. At their wedding ceremony, Harry placed it on Ginny.
When Professor Snape finally passed on at the age of 70, Harry buried him next to his mother, so they could be together in the next life even though this life had kept them apart.
I would die for you
Climb the highest mountain
Baby there's nothing I wouldn't do
Now I've found you
There's no more emptiness inside
When we're hungry
Love will keep us alive