Chapter One: Close Calls and New Friendships
A boy lay face down in a seldom traveled country backstreet, thinking that the worst thing about the country was the fact that no one was there when you needed help. He was dying, and though he was only sixteen, but he had already accepted his death.
Then, what was that? The boy strained his ears and heard a footfall, he waited as the approached, but when he heard them at his back, they stopped. There was no sound from whoever was behind him.
With a great effort, he raised his head and looked up, a Death Eater stood above him, watching silently.
'Just kill me, Death Eater.' The boy said, and looked back down. 'I'll die anyway.'
'I'll do no such thing, Potter.' Harry Potter stirred slightly at his name, he recognized the man now.
'Snape.' He said, venomously.
'Yes, Snape. And instead of killing you, I'm here to help. I'll summon the Ministry…' he broke off as the boy struggled to rise, chocking and falling unconscious in his efforts to voice his protests.
Severus Snape looked surprised at this, but, after a moments thought, lifted his wand and created a stretcher, gently wafting the unconscious child onto it, and apperated to his own home, deep in a forest where not even Lord Voldemort could find him.
It was here that Harry lay, before the fire, for over a week as Snape nursed him back to health, showing the unconscious Harry a gentleness that he never had before. Harry woke one morning as his Potions teacher gently changed the bandages on one of the wounds on his arm, but kept his eyes closed, listening to his surroundings and feeling grateful of the warmth of the fire. As Snape moved away from him, Harry opened his eyes and made a soft noise, instantly the man whipped around, hurrying back to the makeshift bed beside the fire.
'Do not try to speak, Potter.' He said, warningly. 'You are far from healed, but since you have woken up, that is a good sign. I will get you something to eat.' He disappeared then, and Harry took in his surroundings, surprised that the wealth of jars of he-did-not-know-what's that decorated the teachers office at school where absent from his home.
Snape returned with some type of soup and helped Harry sit up against the pillows, Harry managed to eat the entire bowl on his own and fell asleep again straight afterwards, still sitting up. Snape looked at him, surprised at the fact that no hate twisted in his chest when he looked at the boy.
Harry woke again later in the day, but Snape again put of the moment of the inevitable conversation and Harry's question, why? It was a question he would not be able to answer.
Snape sighed. How had it happened? He had hated Harry Potter ever since the boy's birth, and yet here he was taking care of him!
Snape returned to the kitchen to get some more soup on the fire, when he returned, Harry's eyes rested on the fire, he just looked at it, not blinking, just watching. Snape did not disturb him.
Harry suddenly blinked and that broke whatever it was that had come over him, and looked around to see where Snape was.
Harry made no attempt to speak, but his eyes asked the question Snape dreaded.
'I don't know why, Potter.' He said, putting his head in his hands. 'I don't know if it was the right thing to do, but it's what I did.' Harry nodded slightly and closed his eyes to sleep again.
It was another week before Harry could speak without coughing, and even then, he could only talk for short periods at a time.
'Why didn't you want me to tell the Ministry?' Snape asked him one day, Harry thought for a moment, deciding on the words he would use, he always did this so as not to waste his breath.
'Because there is a traitor in the Ministry, and the Death Eaters who attacked me where unaware of the fact that I was Harry Potter, I didn't need them to know how much they could hurt me, Voldemort would just try it again.'
'That makes sense.' Snape said, surprised that Harry seemed so much different from what he had made him seem. The boy only seemed to want to be friends, it had taken time before Harry had really trusted him, but Snape was surprised at how happy he felt to have the boy's trust.
The child seemed to know so much, and understand so many things, Snape was surprised at how much he had missed.
Harry looked into the fire and again fell into that trance that he had on the first day he had woken. Snape didn't understand it, but it seemed to help the boy, not harm him, so he did nothing about it.
Harry slept again, and woke an hour later, thrashing in the grips of a nightmare. Snape woke him, and the boys hand came straight to his scar, touching it gently as pain seared his body.
Snape did not ask what it had been, the boy would tell him if he wanted to.
It would take most of the holidays for Harry to recover from this insident, but what really surprised Snape was that the experience left no scar on his body, though half of the wounds should have left scars for life.
Another thing that was a mystery, the boy was surrounded by mysteries, and Snape never pressed him to answer questions, the one time he did Harry had drawn in on himself that Snape had never done so again.
After nearly all of the holidays had passed, Harry was able to walk around, with Snape's help, and finished his homework, Snape bought the things he would need in the coming year at Diagon Alley one day, and soon it was the day before Harry would leave for Hogwarts.
Harry knew that the magical world thought he was dead, though some had suggested that he was remaining away from the spotlight to avoid Voldemort's attentions, no one had much hope.
Ron and Hermione knew that Harry was alive; he had contacted them once, but had not given an address or anything that would let them find him. He didn't really want them to know.
Like Snape, Harry was seeing a completely different side to his teacher, had it been there the whole time and he simply hadn't noticed?
Harry sighed slightly, and headed in doors and wandered into the living room, the place that he had spent all those weeks recovering.
He sat down before the fire and fell into a trance-like state, staring into the roaring flames. As he watched, pictures began to form; a hall reached away, identical doors opening on either side… just as always. Harry walked along the road, and when suddenly one of them called to him, he turned and touched his hands to its unblemished surface. It swung open before him and a new vision filled his eyes.
Sirius stood alone in a clearing in a forest, in dog form, head held high and looking around him, he turned suddenly, bounding away into the night, and the vision followed him to a tiny shack.
He walked inside and became human again; he flopped down on an old bed, his head in his hands. 'Harry, where are you kid? Are you even alive?' Harry's heart nearly broke looking at the hopelessness on his Godfathers face.
'I'm alive.' He told the man, knowing that no one would hear. The vision abruptly ended and Harry was back in the hallway.
Harry felt a tug from his body, and returned to it, wondering if the vision he had seen of Sirius was from the past or the present or the future…
Returning was a simple matter of turning around and seeing another of the doors, opening this one would return him to his physical form.
Harry opened his eyes to see Snape. 'There is a black dog in front of the house; it seems to want to come inside. He looks familiar.'
'He would, he's Sirius Black. He'll have been worried.' Harry said, noticing the look of dislike flash across Snape's face, Harry thought that the other mans dislike of Sirius had dulled slightly now.
'Well, go and talk to him, Harry.' Severus said, giving the boy a gentle push towards the door, Harry quickly left the house and was instantly enveloped by his godfather's arms.
'Harry, we've been so worried. Almost everyone thinks your dead! Only the Weasley's, Hermione and me know otherwise!' Sirius said.
'Sorry Sirius. C'mon, I'll explain it all to you…' Harry walked into the forest.
'Why are you with Snape?' Sirius demanded and would have said more, but Harry interrupted.
'That's part of what I'll explain.' He told the man patiently. 'But Snape's a friend now.'
'Well, I look forward to your explanation.' Sirius said weakly.
'Come on, just up here. It's my favorite place in the whole forest.' Harry scrambled up a slope of rocks, Sirius followed wearily; still getting over the fact that Harry had called Severus Snape a friend.
He joined Harry at the rockslides top and gaped, all thoughts of Snape driven from his mind. Before him was a beautiful clear pond, perfect round rocks making a bottom and huge willow tree above it. It was virtually hidden from view by a tight circle of trees.
'It's so peaceful here. I love this place.' Harry whispered softly to his Godfather.
'I have to agree. It's beautiful.' Sirius said, still staring.
'Now, you wish for my explanation.' Harry and Sirius settled on rocks around the pools, and Harry told the other man just what had happened over the period of the holidays.
Sirius was gaping by the end of it. 'Well your right, it certainly looks like Severus is a friend. I guess I should ask him for a truce as long as you need any help at all.'
'Wow, you really are grateful!' Harry commented softly. 'I'm glad you'll try and get along with him, he's the only reason I'm alive and you're the only family I have, I really don't want you two to be enemies.' He was smiling.
Harry led the way back to the house; Severus was seated outside, when he saw Sirius, a look of hatred flashed across his face.
'Hey, Severus. It seems that my godson owes you his life, and for that, I'm really grateful. So, if you'll forgive me for everything I did to you, I'll forgive you for your faults. Harry needs all the help he can get. It'll help him more if we aren't trying to kill each other.' Sirius said, looking Snape straight in the eye.
'Then I will forgive you, Sirius Black. Friends?' Severus asked, holding out a hand.
For a second, Sirius hesitated, then placed his hand in that of his one time enemy and gave him a happy smile. 'As a gesture of friendship, Sirius, I would invite you to stay here over the rest of the holidays.' Snape said.
'I accept that. I've had enough of living out of trash cans – or close enough.' Sirius grinned. The three of them laughed and entered the house.
That night Harry and Sirius shared a room, and Sirius was lying in a makeshift bed on the floor. 'When did Snape get so nice?' He asked Harry.
'I don't know. I think it was something that came from him helping me heal. I saw a new side of him, and I'd guess he saw a new side of me. I think the pair of you will be great friends, now that you both see a different side in each other. You're united because you share a protectiveness of me.' Harry said, trying to put his feelings into words.
'I think he'll be a better friend than I would have thought.' Sirius said. 'Well, G'night kid.' He rolled over and fell asleep, but Harry remained awake for a while longer, thinking about Sirius' words.
Harry sighed after a moment and then he too fell asleep, his dreams more peaceful that he had had for a long time.
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Hello people. I wrote this about a year ago, and thought that I'd stick it up and see what the response was! Please review, anonymous reviews are accepted!
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