Well, so much for keeping it under 20 chapters. Now I have no idea how
long this will go on. I still have to take down Voldemort. So much to
do...well, on with the story.
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Hours later, Harry slowly opened his eyes. This place looked a lot like the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts, except for the number of medi-witches wandering around. His arm still throbbed a little, and he rubbed it gently.
"Feeling better Mr. Potter?" a cold voice pierced the silence. Harry tried to sit up, but a wave of nausea overcame him. The color drained from his face, and the nearest medi-witch pushed him gently back down, scolding him. He settled for turning his head and looking at his potions professor.
"What happened?" he rasped, "I remember casting the spell, and I think it worked, but other than that." he trailed off, trying to recover lost memories.
"Potter, what on earth possessed you to interrupt official proceedings?" His face took on a stone glare Harry knew all too well.
"Because of the Merlin's Blessing, I could see them for who they really were. I saw them at Hogsmeade, then I saw you attack them. I could tell by the others' reactions that something wasn't right. Then I talked to Draco," Snape's eyes widened at the informality, but Harry didn't notice, "He said the three of them looked like Muggles to him. He also said Caribe was picking up a powerful negative energy from them, I deduced that Voldemort had cast a concealment spell on them. So I looked in the tome you gave me, and I found a simple revealing spell. Professor Dumbledore said I could learn it, and it didn't take me long."
"The Headmaster allowed this?" Snape's glare grew colder. Harry took on a look of guilt, but only because Fudge had walked through the door.
"Harry my boy!"
"Mr. Fudge?" Fudge threw Snape an icy glare, then immediately morphed it into concern as he turned to Harry.
"How do you feel?" He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Good as new," he gave his most convincing smile, and Fudge bought it; Snape did not.
"That's great to hear! Then if Sara doesn't mind," he winked at the young medi-witch standing nearby, and she flushed crimson, "I'd like to take you to dinner." Harry kept smiling, but his stomach churned at the thought of food, not to mention eating with this man. Snape noticed his discomfort and stepped in.
"Minister, I was instructed by Albus Dumbledore to stay with Mr. Potter, and I do not intend to do otherwise." Fudge frowned at the thought of eating dinner with the traitor, so he had to think up a lie.
"Oh, thank you! That reminds me! Dumbledore wanted to speak with me over dinner. I'm sorry Harry, but it looks like I'll have to cancel our engagement. But I will take a rain check!" He strode out with his entourage in tow, and Harry let out a deep sigh.
"Thank you, Professor, but you didn't have to lie."
"I did no such thing, Mr. Potter. The Headmaster specifically directed me to stay with you. I may not like the Ministry at all, but I trust and am loyal to Dumbledore." His gaze remained steady, but Harry smiled a little at this.
"Thank you anyway. To tell the truth, I don't think I can keep anything down right now." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pushing back the wave of nausea that had surfaced. "You should get something to eat sir. I don't want to keep everyone uncomfortable." Snape nodded slightly, and left to retrieve his food.
Sara heard of his complaints, and came by with a Stomach Settling Potion. He looked at it warily. It didn't look right, and he voiced his opinion.
"Mr. Potter, I assure you our potions maker knows what he's doing. Now drink up," she urged him a little more, and again he resisted. Snape entered quietly when he noticed the conflict.
"Ma'am, I mean no disrespect to your potions maker, but I am not drinking this. Stomach Settling Potions are supposed to be pinkish and viscous. This one is not." Snape smiled to himself, then frowned as something swelled up inside of him that he couldn't identify.
"You have been around that potions professor of yours too long. Drink this, and I'll prove I'm right."
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I can't drink this. Judging by the viscosity of the liquid, your potions master added a bit too much monberry. If I drink this, the acids in my stomach will no longer be able to break down food. I could never have solid food again." Sara stood there shocked, but decided to humor the boy. She disposed of the potion she had, and grabbed another, properly made potion from the med-cabinet. Harry downed the sweet liquid and slumped back against his propped up pillows. She scowled at him and continued on her rounds.
Snape could now identify the strange feeling: pride. He walked back over to the bed and sat in the chair he had previously occupied. Harry seemed rather pleased with himself.
"Potter, where did you learn that? Stomach Settling Potions and monberry aren't covered until the end of fifth year." He began to eat his salad.
"Hermione let me borrow her potions text this year so I could catch up. Because I entered the class a full year early, I missed the fifth year stuff." Snape merely nodded, feeling the pride swell again. He was beginning to feel a little afraid. Ever since Samantha had arrived, a part of him had been awakened; a part that had lain dormant for almost 17 years. He had finally begun to open a little, and she had been taken from him. Now he was vulnerable, susceptible to attacks because he had been left with an open wound. Suddenly he understood the Headmaster's unusual behavior; why he had left him with the boy. He also knew the man was completely insane.
"Professor?" Harry was a little concerned. For a few minutes, Snape's eyes had glazed over and his face had dropped its stone demeanor. He had almost looked..human. The barrier raised again as the older wizard snapped from his thoughts. He quickly began consuming the remainder of his dinner, and Harry soon heard his stomach growl. He smiled sheepishly up at Snape, who merely sighed.
"It seems as if *that* potion was made correctly. Perhaps something light?"
"When Dudley was sick, Aunt Petunia made me cook Chicken Noodle Soup. It was his favorite thing to eat, especially with crackers."
"What about when you were ill. Surely you had a favorite to eat when sick?" Harry's face fell, and Snape knew he had said something wrong. He also saw that Harry was not volunteering any information. Then something hit him.
"Wait, your aunt made YOU cook for him? Why didn't she do it herself?"
Harry snorted, then answered, his voice dripping with a loathing Snape had not heard from Harry before. "As long as I was in the house, the Dursleys didn't do anything. Well, that's not true; they tortured me. Especially Uncle Vernon.I was his scapegoat for everything that ever went wrong." Snape's eyes widened as he grasped the full meaning of his words. Surely *family* wouldn't treat each other that way. His own family hadn't been very close, but they never...
"Potter, when you went missing, Mr. Weasley said you'd threatened the Dursleys with an Unforgivable. Why?"
Tears stung Harry's eyes, but he didn't let them show. "Because now I'll have to go back there every summer, now that...that Sirius is gone." It was true Snape never liked the man; well, that was an extreme understatement. Now it was apparent why Harry clung closely to his friends, and cared so much for those around him.
"Harry, we both know that's not the full reason." Harry looked at him in surprise. Could he actually care? Forget that, Snape had just called him *Harry.* The tears threatened ever closer to spilling over their boundaries, but he held them in.
"I'm tired of getting beat on. They all do it, and they take pleasure out of it!" He was screaming now, and the unshed tears were flowing. "They locked me in a cupboard for eleven years, lying to me, beating me, making me slave for them! I can't take another summer like last year. I won't." He said these last two words with anger in his eyes, and he clenched his fists.
Snape closed his eyes, letting everything he had just heard sink in. The picture he had of Potter living a luxurious life faded away; it was replaced with an image of a battered and bruised boy.
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Hours later, Harry slowly opened his eyes. This place looked a lot like the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts, except for the number of medi-witches wandering around. His arm still throbbed a little, and he rubbed it gently.
"Feeling better Mr. Potter?" a cold voice pierced the silence. Harry tried to sit up, but a wave of nausea overcame him. The color drained from his face, and the nearest medi-witch pushed him gently back down, scolding him. He settled for turning his head and looking at his potions professor.
"What happened?" he rasped, "I remember casting the spell, and I think it worked, but other than that." he trailed off, trying to recover lost memories.
"Potter, what on earth possessed you to interrupt official proceedings?" His face took on a stone glare Harry knew all too well.
"Because of the Merlin's Blessing, I could see them for who they really were. I saw them at Hogsmeade, then I saw you attack them. I could tell by the others' reactions that something wasn't right. Then I talked to Draco," Snape's eyes widened at the informality, but Harry didn't notice, "He said the three of them looked like Muggles to him. He also said Caribe was picking up a powerful negative energy from them, I deduced that Voldemort had cast a concealment spell on them. So I looked in the tome you gave me, and I found a simple revealing spell. Professor Dumbledore said I could learn it, and it didn't take me long."
"The Headmaster allowed this?" Snape's glare grew colder. Harry took on a look of guilt, but only because Fudge had walked through the door.
"Harry my boy!"
"Mr. Fudge?" Fudge threw Snape an icy glare, then immediately morphed it into concern as he turned to Harry.
"How do you feel?" He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Good as new," he gave his most convincing smile, and Fudge bought it; Snape did not.
"That's great to hear! Then if Sara doesn't mind," he winked at the young medi-witch standing nearby, and she flushed crimson, "I'd like to take you to dinner." Harry kept smiling, but his stomach churned at the thought of food, not to mention eating with this man. Snape noticed his discomfort and stepped in.
"Minister, I was instructed by Albus Dumbledore to stay with Mr. Potter, and I do not intend to do otherwise." Fudge frowned at the thought of eating dinner with the traitor, so he had to think up a lie.
"Oh, thank you! That reminds me! Dumbledore wanted to speak with me over dinner. I'm sorry Harry, but it looks like I'll have to cancel our engagement. But I will take a rain check!" He strode out with his entourage in tow, and Harry let out a deep sigh.
"Thank you, Professor, but you didn't have to lie."
"I did no such thing, Mr. Potter. The Headmaster specifically directed me to stay with you. I may not like the Ministry at all, but I trust and am loyal to Dumbledore." His gaze remained steady, but Harry smiled a little at this.
"Thank you anyway. To tell the truth, I don't think I can keep anything down right now." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pushing back the wave of nausea that had surfaced. "You should get something to eat sir. I don't want to keep everyone uncomfortable." Snape nodded slightly, and left to retrieve his food.
Sara heard of his complaints, and came by with a Stomach Settling Potion. He looked at it warily. It didn't look right, and he voiced his opinion.
"Mr. Potter, I assure you our potions maker knows what he's doing. Now drink up," she urged him a little more, and again he resisted. Snape entered quietly when he noticed the conflict.
"Ma'am, I mean no disrespect to your potions maker, but I am not drinking this. Stomach Settling Potions are supposed to be pinkish and viscous. This one is not." Snape smiled to himself, then frowned as something swelled up inside of him that he couldn't identify.
"You have been around that potions professor of yours too long. Drink this, and I'll prove I'm right."
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I can't drink this. Judging by the viscosity of the liquid, your potions master added a bit too much monberry. If I drink this, the acids in my stomach will no longer be able to break down food. I could never have solid food again." Sara stood there shocked, but decided to humor the boy. She disposed of the potion she had, and grabbed another, properly made potion from the med-cabinet. Harry downed the sweet liquid and slumped back against his propped up pillows. She scowled at him and continued on her rounds.
Snape could now identify the strange feeling: pride. He walked back over to the bed and sat in the chair he had previously occupied. Harry seemed rather pleased with himself.
"Potter, where did you learn that? Stomach Settling Potions and monberry aren't covered until the end of fifth year." He began to eat his salad.
"Hermione let me borrow her potions text this year so I could catch up. Because I entered the class a full year early, I missed the fifth year stuff." Snape merely nodded, feeling the pride swell again. He was beginning to feel a little afraid. Ever since Samantha had arrived, a part of him had been awakened; a part that had lain dormant for almost 17 years. He had finally begun to open a little, and she had been taken from him. Now he was vulnerable, susceptible to attacks because he had been left with an open wound. Suddenly he understood the Headmaster's unusual behavior; why he had left him with the boy. He also knew the man was completely insane.
"Professor?" Harry was a little concerned. For a few minutes, Snape's eyes had glazed over and his face had dropped its stone demeanor. He had almost looked..human. The barrier raised again as the older wizard snapped from his thoughts. He quickly began consuming the remainder of his dinner, and Harry soon heard his stomach growl. He smiled sheepishly up at Snape, who merely sighed.
"It seems as if *that* potion was made correctly. Perhaps something light?"
"When Dudley was sick, Aunt Petunia made me cook Chicken Noodle Soup. It was his favorite thing to eat, especially with crackers."
"What about when you were ill. Surely you had a favorite to eat when sick?" Harry's face fell, and Snape knew he had said something wrong. He also saw that Harry was not volunteering any information. Then something hit him.
"Wait, your aunt made YOU cook for him? Why didn't she do it herself?"
Harry snorted, then answered, his voice dripping with a loathing Snape had not heard from Harry before. "As long as I was in the house, the Dursleys didn't do anything. Well, that's not true; they tortured me. Especially Uncle Vernon.I was his scapegoat for everything that ever went wrong." Snape's eyes widened as he grasped the full meaning of his words. Surely *family* wouldn't treat each other that way. His own family hadn't been very close, but they never...
"Potter, when you went missing, Mr. Weasley said you'd threatened the Dursleys with an Unforgivable. Why?"
Tears stung Harry's eyes, but he didn't let them show. "Because now I'll have to go back there every summer, now that...that Sirius is gone." It was true Snape never liked the man; well, that was an extreme understatement. Now it was apparent why Harry clung closely to his friends, and cared so much for those around him.
"Harry, we both know that's not the full reason." Harry looked at him in surprise. Could he actually care? Forget that, Snape had just called him *Harry.* The tears threatened ever closer to spilling over their boundaries, but he held them in.
"I'm tired of getting beat on. They all do it, and they take pleasure out of it!" He was screaming now, and the unshed tears were flowing. "They locked me in a cupboard for eleven years, lying to me, beating me, making me slave for them! I can't take another summer like last year. I won't." He said these last two words with anger in his eyes, and he clenched his fists.
Snape closed his eyes, letting everything he had just heard sink in. The picture he had of Potter living a luxurious life faded away; it was replaced with an image of a battered and bruised boy.