Disclaimer: See Part 1.

Part 17

Harry watched in silence as Severus readied the potion bottles. He spelled a tray to levitate a few inches above the bed, which is where he placed two potions bottles, two sets of what appeared to be Muggle doctor's gloves, an alcohol swab, and a towel resting beside a bowl of cool water. He allowed a white sheet to be draped over him, leaving his marred right hip and thigh visible to Severus, while concealing the rest of him from view. He was situated in the middle of the large bed. He tangled his hand in the pillow behind his head and tried not to wince when Severus sat down beside him. Severus allowed his wand to fall into the bedside drawer beside Harry. Who looked at the drawer in obvious confusion.

"Must you question everything I do?" Severus asked pulling on the pair of Latex gloves. Harry didn't respond. Severus frowned. "Don't okay. Do you trust me?" he asked. Harry nodded firmly. "Then trust that I know what I am doing here and that when I say this will hurt a great deal, I'm being truthful. I doubt my own ability to watch you suffer without interfering with magic. It's the natural response to want to stop the pain. By putting my wand out of reach I can fight that impulse." Harry nodded and let his head fall back against the perpetually cool pillow. He sighed trying to take a few deep breaths. He heard rather then saw the first bottle being opened.

"Harry." Harry turned at the sound of his name being spoken. Severus was holding the bottle tightly in one hand while the other swabbed across Harry's entire hip and thigh with the alcohol. "I need  you to try and relax. This is going to be extremely painful. Can you handle it?" Severus asked. Harry closed his eyes and after a moment looked Severus dead on and nodded slowly. "Okay, I want you to try and roll up on to your left side, toward me, perfect, just like that, and I want you to breathe, big deep breaths. Got it?" he asked. Another barely perceptible nod. Severus seemed to steel himself against what was coming.

"Severus.." Harry whispered. The older man looked up at him. "I do trust you..." Harry continued before closing his eyes and tensing for the coming contact. Severus steeled himself again and began to carefully pour the acid like potion across the scars and surrounding area on Harry's hip. It ate away at the damaged tissue. Harry screamed, and screamed and went slack against the mattress, unconscious from the pain. Severus breathed a sigh of relief. It was better this way, it really was, for both of them. Harry wouldn't have to remember all of the pain, Severus wouldn't have to remember all of the screaming.

Harry woke just as Severus had finished with the first potion. He looked up at Severus with watery and red eyes, tears marring pale cheeks. Harry coughed and groaned trying to shift. Severus clutched his knee and his side.

"Don't move, Harry. You'll do more damage than necessary. Stay still." Harry took a deep breath.

"How did it work?" he asked, voice croaked from his earlier howls. Severus smiled a small half smile.

"As well as can be expected. It's clean, but deep." Harry rocked his head on the pillow with remembered pain.

"Will it heal correctly?" he asked. Severus took off the gloves, folding them carefully inside one another to contain the potion left over from application.

"I don't see why it won't." he pulled on the second pair of gloves. "This one won't be any where near as painful. It may be slightly uncomfortable and it might tickle or burn a bit, but nothing that will have you retreating into unconsciousness again. Luckily." Harry smiled at the apparent sarcasm in his words. Harry wiped at his sweaty forehead and nodded that he was ready to continue. The second bottle was opened and poured over long fingers. Severus brought the yellow goo to Harry's hip and began to apply it to the exposed area. It was rather grotesque to look at, and Harry studiously averted his eyes as the potion was spread over the open wound.

Harry winced at the contact and started to move away from the slight burning that had started there. Severus made a warning noise and pressed a hand to his shoulder to stop his movements.

"Stay still, the burning should pass in a moment," he reassured. Harry groaned and forced himself to hold still. More potion was added to the wound.

Harry gasped, forcing his head away, and closing his eyes. It burned, it was so warm. It spread into his pelvis and down his thigh. The heat radiated up his side and across his abdomen. Harry groaned in a way that clearly wasn't in pain. Severus smirked, applying a third thin layer of the smooth substance.

Harry sighed, the heat was tantalizing. It relaxed every muscle in Harry's body, relaxing away the old ache that he had lived with for 8 and a half years. Harry turned to look at Severus. The older man was watching his wound begin to close slowly, starting with the bone and moving outward. Harry's eyes rolled back in his head as another layer went over the last. Each one seeping into the wound and spreading out in another wave of warmth. One hand went to clutch at the pillow beneath his head, the other tightened the sheet curled around his waist.

His eyes flew wide with the next layer. Severus seemed to be ignoring Harry's subsequent arousal. His focus was directed solely on the task at hand, his eyes fixed on the slowly closing wound. He reached over and dipped the cloth in the cool water and pressed it to Harry's forehead.

"Fever.." he murmured, avoiding Harry's eyes. Harry groaned, sneering. Severus fought back a snicker of amusement. Perfectly natural reaction to such treatment in that particular area of the body. He added another layer and looked up at Harry's face. Harry's gaze was fixed on the stone ceiling of the lower level room. His pupils were wide and dilated. He was practically panting, his face flushed red with heat. "How are you?" Severus asked.

"Just fine, Severus. Just *bloody well* fine. Thank you." Harry's voice was stilted in it's tone, panted out between breaths, strained and almost squeaky. Severus grinned reaching up to re-dip the cloth in the cool water. Harry grabbed his hand before it could be pulled away. "You could have at least warned me before we started this. Given me some time to prepare or something." Harry resisted the urge to arch his hips up off the mattress.

"And, how exactly would you have prepared for this kind of a natural physical reaction?" Severus asked, amusement shining in his voice. Harry's hand dropped back to the bed again.

"I don't know. I could have wanked or something!" he whined. Severus let out a very un-Snape-like bark of laughter.

"I didn't need that visual running through my head. Now stay still, I'm trying to work here." he admonished, pouring out another round of bright yellow liquid onto the almost healed flesh.

In the end, there was a new fresh layer of tender pink skin where there had once been alternately painful and numb flesh. Harry had fallen asleep, flushed with arousal, and still hard. Severus had taken the couch.

Tbc.