Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

In this chapter: More silk shirts, a startling discovery, and Severus talks to himself

~~~

Chapter 3

Later that evening, Harry awoke to find Sirius and Remus standing by the bedside table, sifting through a pile of presents.

Presents? Harry thought. Then it clicked. Oh, yeah. Birthday. He slowly sat up against the back of the bed, and the two older men looked at him.

"Harry!" Sirius exclaimed, sitting on the bed and hugging the boy. "Merlin, I was so worried about you, and then Dumbledore sent us to Italy, and he sent that greasy bastard, Snape, to check on you--"

"Professor Snape saved my life, and he's been helping me out today, so I don't want to hear you saying anything bad about him, or I'll hex you..." Harry warned him sleepily.

"Okay, okay, no more talk about Snape," Sirius replied, eyes wide with surprise.

"How are you feeling, Harry?" Remus asked, rolling his eyes at Sirius.

"All right. My leg's a little sore, but I feel better than I did last night."

"Anyway, happy birthday, kiddo!" Sirius said, suddenly. "How about some presents? Open mine first." He handed Harry a long, abnormally-shaped gift wrapped in red and gold paper.

"Wonderful color scheme," Harry chuckled as he opened the present. Inside the paper was, of course, a broomstick. "A Glider 2.4, the best broom a Seeker can have! Wow, Sirius, thank you! I hope my leg heals soon so I can try it out!"

"Mine next," Remus said, handing Harry a small gift.

Harry took the paper off and opened the little velvet box. Sitting inside was a necklace with a miniature golden Snitch hanging from it. Harry immediately fastened the necklace around his neck, thanking Remus. Then he began to open the gifts and letters from his friends. First was Hermione's and, of course, it was a book.

Dear Harry,

I'm at the Weasleys' right now, and Dumbledore called through the fireplace to tell us what happened. All of the Weasleys wanted to go to those blasted Muggles and curse them, even Percy, and I have to say, I wanted to, too. I do hope you're all right, and if you need to talk, I'm here.

Anyway, happy birthday! I remembered how you told me you wanted to become an Animagus, so I found this book for you. "The Animagus In You." I think McGonagall mentioned it once or twice. I hope you like it!

See you soon!

Love, Hermione

"Your dad and I used that when we were learning," Sirius told Harry as he flipped through the pages. "Good book, it explains everything clearly."

Harry put the book down and then went on to his gifts from the Weasleys. From Ron, he received a subscription to Quidditch Weekly and a letter.

Harry,

I couldn't believe it when Dumbledore told us about the Dursleys! Why didn't you tell anyone, mate? Fred and George wanted to go over there with some of the tricks that they'd tested that didn't work right. I swear, those Muggles would've been dead by the time we were done with them. You just don't mess with nine angry Weasleys.

Dumbledore said maybe you can visit in a couple of weeks. We're all looking forward to it. Bill and Charlie want to see you again, and Mum wants to make sure you're alive and healthy and all that.

Hope you like the magazine. Write back sometime.

From, Ron

From Molly Weasley, Harry received some fudge and a sweater. Bill sent him a leather-bound journal, and Charlie sent a model of a Hungarian Horntail dragon. Fred and George, who own a joke shop in Hogsmeade, sent some of their new tricks. And Ginny, the youngest Weasley, gave Harry some candy and a quill. Albus sent him some Muggle candy (Skittles, M&Ms, and Reese's Pieces).

Harry's last gift came with a note that wasn't signed. When he read the note and saw the gift, however, he smiled and knew exactly who it was from. The gift was a black silk button-down shirt, and the note said:

I saw you admiring mine this morning, so I went out to Hogsmeade and bought you one for yourself.

Harry snorted at this and thought, I wasn't admiring the shirt, I was admiring you in the shirt. But no matter. I like the shirt, anyway.

"Who's that from, Harry?" Remus asked, touching the material. "It's nice." Harry blushed a little, and Sirius started laughing.

"Oh, does Harry have someone in his life who he can't tell us about?" he teased. "A young lady, perhaps?" Harry blushed harder and shook his head. "A guy, then? Do tell!"

"It's nothing," Harry muttered. "Just a crush, on my part. And I don't even know if it's a crush." He crumpled up the note, so that the other two men wouldn't see and get ideas, and the parchment suddenly disappeared. "Well, that was cool."

"How can you not know if it's a crush?" Sirius asked. "Look, kid, do you like the guy?"

"I don't know," Harry sighed. "I'm physically attracted to him, I guess, but I don't even really know him. We're not friends or anything. We just...know each other."

"Well, who is it?"

"Come on, Siri, leave him alone," Remus cut in, resting a hand on Sirius's shoulder. "He'll tell when he's ready."

"What were you doing in Italy?" Harry wondered after a little while. He and Remus were now engaged in a game of chess.

"Helping out while some more Death Eaters were arrested," Remus replied as he took out one of Harry's pawns. "Macnair, Trayder, Kenedy, Nott, and a couple of others I didn't know."

"No Wormtail?" Harry asked, softly, as he leaned back in Sirius's arms.

"No Wormtail," Sirius sighed, resting his cheek on his godson's head. "But we'll find him, buddy. I promise you that."

Suddenly, Severus entered the room, carrying a tray of potions. He placed the tray on the table, sneered at Sirius, nodded at Remus, and then looked at Harry.

"Poppy's on her way up to give you your dinner," he told Harry, who groaned. "Just a warning."

"Hide me," Harry muttered, pulling Sirius in front of him.

Right on cue, Poppy came into the room with a tray of food, including chicken soup and bread. Harry paled, and his stomach churned at the sight of it. Still, the matron placed the tray in front of him.

"I'm not hungry," Harry mumbled, laying his head on Sirius's shoulder.

"Eat it," Poppy ordered him. "You can't possibly not be hungry, you haven't eaten in a month!"

"I don't want it," Harry insisted. "I'm not hungry."

"Poppy, I think you'd better leave him be," Severus said, softly, seeing the look on Harry's face.

Still, Poppy kept pushing him to eat at least some of the food. Each time she tried, Harry kept saying 'no.' She even went so far as to try to force him to take a bite of the soup, and that's when Harry snapped. He threw his arms out, knocking the tray to the floor and causing everyone to back away from him before he curled up, burying his face in his arms, and broke down in tears.

"No... I don't want it..." Harry whispered.

Severus was the only one brave enough to go closer to Harry, as the others stared in shock. Severus sat next to him and rested a hand on his back. Sensing his warm, comforting presence, Harry fell into Severus's arms, crying into his chest.

"Harry, tell me what's wrong," Severus said, softly. "Why did you react like that?"

"I said 'no!'" Harry cried. "I didn't want it, I said 'no,' and she tried to force me, and...and..." His words trailed to an end as he sobbed, but it was enough for Severus to understand.

"Harry," Severus said, gently rubbing circles over the boy's back. "While you were with your relatives, did somebody force you to do something you didn't want to do?"

Harry didn't reply. He just clung to Severus as his sobs lessened to hiccups. His small body trembled as Severus held him. Severus looked back at Remus, Sirius, and Poppy (who was in tears, herself), and he saw that they had all come to the same conclusion that he had.

Severus looked down at the spilled tray. Getting an idea, he waved his hand at the mess, and it returned to the table in front of Harry, looking the same as it had before he knocked it down.

"Listen to me, Harry," Severus murmured. "Will you please eat just a little something? Not a lot; just as much as you can manage. If you don't eat anything, you'll become even more sick than you are already."

Harry sighed after a moment and nodded. He picked his head up and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He reached for the spoon with a shaking hand, but Severus had already grabbed it. He fed Harry spoonfuls of soup until the boy turned his head away, showing that he could eat no more. Severus then helped Harry to lie down and tucked the blanket around him, and Harry immediately fell asleep. Severus turned to leave, but Sirius stopped him. He and Remus stared at the man in surprise.

"How the hell did you do that?" Sirius asked, shocked.

"I'm Head of Slytherin, Black," Severus replied, simply. Sirius gave him a blank look, and Severus sighed, shaking his head. "A lot of them, Death Eaters' children, have been raped by people in their own families. I know how to calm them." He glanced at Harry and chuckled slightly. "And I suppose I may have developed something of a soft spot for the boy."

"You frighten me sometimes, Snape, do you know that?" Sirius commented.

"Ah, my lifelong dream has been fulfilled," Snape replied, smirking. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must depart."

~~~

As soon as Severus returned to his suite in the dungeons, he dropped into his favorite chair and reached for a bottle of Firewhiskey from the table.

"How dare they," Severus muttered to himself. "I have half a mind to go back to those bloody Muggles and kill them, or at least do permanent damage..."

He was angry; no doubt about that. But why was he angry? Because a child, one of his students, had been hurt? Or because Harry--"no, Potter"--had been hurt.

Sure, Severus had been angry each and every one of those times one of his Slytherins had confessed that their father or brother had raped them. Nobody deserved to be abused like that.

And yet this anger was different. It was more like rage. Severus couldn't stand the thought that someone had tortured and violated Harry--"Potter"-- in such a way. He'd already suffered enough throughout his life, and those worthless Muggles just had to add more suffering.

Harry--"Potter, damn it!"-- affected him in a way that most people would consider good, while Severus considered it to be bad. He'd promised himself for over twenty years that he wouldn't let anyone affect him in this way, ever again.

But he was drawn to Harry--"fine, I give up"-- in a way that he couldn't explain. He was somewhat attracted to him physically. And after he talked to him in the hospital wing and at lunch, Severus seemed to completely change his mind about the boy he used to torment. He had a good wit and a sharp tongue, which Severus appreciated.

What caught Severus most was when Harry had thanked him and then asked if Severus would visit again. Because he wasn't the most sociable of people, Severus didn't often feel wanted or needed, and Harry made him feel that.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Severus muttered. "He's just a child."

He's seventeen.

"He's a student."

Only for another year.

"I'm old enough to be his father."

But you aren't his father, and would he really care about your age?

"He would never want someone like me."

Then why was he staring at you like a lion would stare at its prey?

"Let's go with that 'temporary insanity' excuse again."

And so went the bickering between the two sides of Severus's conscience until the dead of night.