Draco was secretly amazed. He was also very happy. He had won seventeen Galleons on a bet that Snape would never smile in front of a student, and now Draco had the photo safely stored in his wand. Thank Merlin for the Weasley twins, who had supplied Draco with a trunk full of practical jokes after he had stayed over the Burrow that summer.

He was jerked from him thoughts when Snape turned to him, the smile gone from his sallow face.

"If you mention this to any other student, Malfoy, you will wish the Death Eaters had got to you first, understood?"

Draco meant to give a witty reply, but all the came out was a trembly "Y- yes, s-sir." He hated the potions master sometimes. But it had been Snape who had taken Draco in where the wizarding world (well, as far as Draco knew it) had turned it's back on him. Snape had been Draco's saviour, and now it looked like he would be Harry's too.

As though Harry had read Draco's thoughts, he opened one discoloured eye, and looked around the room, his gaze resting on Snape and then Draco. His face twisted into disgust, but his eyes were full of terror, like a rabbit in the headlights.

"Why?"

The two Slytherins looked at him, puzzled.

"Why the FUCKING HELL can you not LEAVE ME ALONE? Why do you persist in trying to give me help which I DON'T NEED?"

Snape and Draco goggled, like fish out of water.

Harry glared at them both, his frail body heaving with anger.

"Why. . .why do you all pretend you're going to help me. . .and then take it back. . .I don't understand, I never hurt you. I'm. . .I'm meant to be saving you. I'm meant to save the world, and I-I. . .just don't know how. . ."

Harry turned his back on Snape and Malfoy, trembling violently and trying to hold back tears. He felt weird. . .without the physical pain, he had all the time in the world to think about everything else that was bothering him.

To be truthful, he didn't care if he died, but as the Boy-Who-Lived he obviously had to live up to his name until Voldemort was dead. He just didn't want to die at the hands of the Dursleys. It would hurt so much. It felt like a matter of pride. But then again, what is pride to a beaten and broken toy? An instrument for the destruction of Voldemort, to be dropped on the floor and inadvertently crushed.

What happiness did he have to anticipate?

What happiness did he deserve?

**********************************

Snape looked, horrified, at the boy lying trembling on the bed. He moved forward and reached out to touch Harry, but something was blocking him. He relaxed his mind and body and tried again, but harry was definitely blocking him out with a very strong shield. Draco looked puzzled.

"What's happening?"

"He's blocking everything out. He won't listen, or let me touch him, or speak. The shield is too strong for me to break."

"Can't you stupefy him and let him get some sleep?"

Snape turned a withering glare onto Draco.

"It's a shield. That means it deflects things. If you want to stupefy yourself, be my guest. Merlin knows I could do with a laugh."

Draco suddenly noticed how bitter his Head of House looked.

"Severus, what is it?"

Snape was silent for a moment.

"I was always such a bastard to him. I thought he revelled in his fame. I thought he loved the attention. I made his life a living hell, and I just had no idea about any of this!"

Draco sighed.

"None of us did, Sev. Nobody had any idea. Don't beat yourself up about it."

Snape looked at Draco and sighed.

"You're wondering why I smiled a few minutes ago, aren't you? I'll tell you. For a moment; for more than a few moments, I thought I saw a Slytherin overcoming the restrictions of House loyalties to try and help someone in need. You've just completely taken back all the compassion you showed, Draco. 'Don't beat yourself up about it'? I wasn't. I was feeling something akin to sympathy for Potter. NOT thinking of myself."

He turned away, disgust blazing in his eyes. Had it been too much to hope that maybe, someday, a student of his would find it in themselves to show some kindness and compassion?

Obviously so.

Sadly, he lay a hand on Harry's shield. It was the closest he'd get to anything as pure as the boy.

Life was unfair.

****************************

Twenty minutes later, there was a quiet tap at the door. Draco opened it and looked Lupin up and down.

"Come in. . .I suppose. . ."

"Shut up Draco. Remus. . .we have a problem."

"Great Merlin's beard! What the hell happened?"

"I don't know. I think. . .it was the muggles he stays with."

Remus looked suddenly aged, his face sagging with weariness.

"Telling that ruddy canine should be interesting. I don't know what to do with the boy though. I've fixed him up as best I can but he needs rest, lots of it."

"That's no problem Severus. He can come and stay in my rooms, until he is healed. The full moon has been and gone, and he will be safe for at least 3 weeks."

Snape nodded, watching impassively as Lupin placed a mobilicorpus and invisibility charm on Harry and left the dungeons.

He went back to the dungeons by the fire and tried to concentrate on marking books, but his mind kept wandering back to the boy, lying as though dead; indeed, battered to the point of death.

How could they ever be forgiven?













**If anyone can figure out how to do bold and italic, please let me know!! And to all you Lupin lovers. . .I'm afraid he's going to be nasty! Because it's my fic, yay! So sorry if you don't like that. And also, no, Harry and Snape aren't going to have a romantic relationship. Unless I really change my mind.**