Hey there. I'm so sorry I didn't mean to make you guys wait so long for this update. It's just that I've just started university and have this really crazy workload already. I promise I'll try to update as often as I can though. I really appreciate everyone's comments on the last chapter. Some of them were really well thought out and you guys noticed some things which I had previously not been aware of. I love all those lovely long reviews. *hint* Thanks again.
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The sun shine stung his eyelids; he could see blotches of red light even though his eyes remained resolutely closed. For a moment he imagined that it was a normal day and he was a normal teenager looking forward to a regular school day. He would go to school say hi to his friends, hang around the lockers for awhile and play hooky. He let himself relish his fantasy for a while longer, filling his world with imaginary friends, Rob, Taylor and Sean. They would hang around after class to shoot hoops while talking about girls and cars. The crick in his neck grew too uncomfortable for him to ignore. Reluctantly he shifted, his eyes fluttering open. Yawning he stretched cat like on the couch.
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"He's awake." Sirius winced as a crackle of magical energy ran through the room.
"Don't state the obvious," Severus replied grumpily.
"My aren't we cheerful today."
Severus sneered.
"It's your own bloody fault you drank that whole bottle." Sirius replied nonchalantly, albeit good-naturedly.
Severus didn't think that that warranted a response. He turned back to his coffee, which was laced with a strong painkiller. He tried to unsuccessfully to ignore the painful throbbing in his head, made worse by the pulses of magic that Harry let off unconsciously. He was surprised and indeed intrigued, no one had ever recorded such powerful magical emissions before. Harry must be a very powerful wizard to let off surges of magic and remain relatively unaffected by it. However the fact that it was draining on Harry was apparent. It showed up in ways that you would not visually notice but the weariness in Harry's eyes betrayed the tiredness.
Severus had a stong suspicion that Harry had been experimenting with concealment charms. However he was sure that this was not the time to confront Harry about them. It would just send him further inside his shell. It was difficult enough to set up this fragile link of trust. Severus was afraid to be too sure of his place in Harry's confidence. He knew that the only reason why Harry had told him anything was that the others would overreact and make a big fuss over it. There was no other logical reason why Harry would choose him over anyone else. Hell, if Malfoy had been around it is possible that Harry would have chosen him as a confidant.
Severus had been more shocked by Harry's confession than he had let on. Years of training allowed him to keep his emotions in check. However for a long time after Harry had finished relating his ordeal Severus was at a loss for words. He felt an overwhelming uncharacteristic urge to take the boy in his arms and rock him till he forgot his pain. He had encountered cases of child abuse but none as serious as Harry's. He regretted more than ever his behaviour towards this delicate boy. He had never let prejudice blind him so much as it did in Harry's case. It was time to set aside old rivaries and see the boy, no, man, for what he was. Harry had never been allowed a childhood. It was unfair as well as naive to see him as anything less than an adult. He had gone through more than what most people go through in their whole life times. The terrible loss of his parents, the neglect and abuse from his relatives, the ever present horror of Voldemort haunting his footsteps, hunting down those he loved. Death, pain and suffering seemed to dog his steps as he stumbled bewilderedly though life. Any lesser man would have succumbed by now.
It was eerie how Harry managed to remain so composed and calm when he related the incidents. It seemed as if he were talking about something that had occurred to someone else, someone he didn't relate to, a movie character perhaps. Something unreal and vague. It was obvious that he was keeping the hurt inside himself. What Harry needed was to have a good cry, to let it all out.
In order to do so he must have someone to talk to, someone he trusted, that wouldn't judge him. Ron and Hermione obviously cared for him but they were sometimes too overwhelming. Anyway, the fact that they were a couple drove Harry away from them. It was not a deliberate act, rather an unconscious one. Harry had never actually experienced love before and hence shied away from what he could not understand. However Hermione and Ron tried to make him feel as if nothing had changed it weighed on Harry that he was an unwanted intrusion to their new found intimacy. Sirius was the next obvious choice, however the fact that he was still on the run prevented Harry from telling him anything that would worry him. He cared too much for Sirius to let him in on his pain.
Severus sighed wearily. What Harry needed was someone akin to a lover. Someone he could bare his soul to. But knowing Harry it would be difficult to find someone who didn't look at Harry and see his fame as the Boy-who-lived instead of who he really is. It was nearly impossible to see through the cheerful persona that Harry had put up to mask his pain. The facade was flawless and it's construction was meticulous. The only possible partner would have to be unusually perceptive and sensitive.
Severus snorted into his coffee, a year ago he would never have thought that he would ever be thinking of matchmaking Potter's son.
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flashback
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"Poppy!" Severus yelled as he carefully set the slight frame onto an empty bed.
She came running, alarmed by the potion master's panicked cry. Her eyes widened at the sight of the frail body occupying barely a third of the small hospital cot. "What happened?" She asked as she mechanically began scanning for injuries, her wand glowing an ominous maroon hue, the glow of which intensified at various regions.
She gasped as she realised the extent of Harry's injuries. Ignoring the tears that coursed down her cheeks she adopted a business-like manner, both systematic and efficient. Severus admired her for that. He felt powerless to do anything except watch.
It seemed like hours as Pomfrey struggled to keep her patient alive. She had a lot of trouble with the concealment charms. Even with the most powerful counter charm the concealment charms would reappear moments later, leaving her with only mintues to analyse and treat the wounds. Harry had lost a massive amount of blood and was going into shock. She set up a blood transfusion rack, the red liquid fed into him intraveously. At one point the needle came out and the blood soaked through the sheets so that she had to change them to see what she was doing.
Blood pooled at the ledge of the bed, staining the wooden bed posts red. A single drip swelled and grew pregnant, weighed down and fell.
*** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * ***
To all those who reviewed a million thanks. I am unable at the moment to name all of you but know that I treasure every single one of the reviews you wrote. I appreciate the thought that went behind them and I am glad that you guys like my story so much.
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The sun shine stung his eyelids; he could see blotches of red light even though his eyes remained resolutely closed. For a moment he imagined that it was a normal day and he was a normal teenager looking forward to a regular school day. He would go to school say hi to his friends, hang around the lockers for awhile and play hooky. He let himself relish his fantasy for a while longer, filling his world with imaginary friends, Rob, Taylor and Sean. They would hang around after class to shoot hoops while talking about girls and cars. The crick in his neck grew too uncomfortable for him to ignore. Reluctantly he shifted, his eyes fluttering open. Yawning he stretched cat like on the couch.
*** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * ***
"He's awake." Sirius winced as a crackle of magical energy ran through the room.
"Don't state the obvious," Severus replied grumpily.
"My aren't we cheerful today."
Severus sneered.
"It's your own bloody fault you drank that whole bottle." Sirius replied nonchalantly, albeit good-naturedly.
Severus didn't think that that warranted a response. He turned back to his coffee, which was laced with a strong painkiller. He tried to unsuccessfully to ignore the painful throbbing in his head, made worse by the pulses of magic that Harry let off unconsciously. He was surprised and indeed intrigued, no one had ever recorded such powerful magical emissions before. Harry must be a very powerful wizard to let off surges of magic and remain relatively unaffected by it. However the fact that it was draining on Harry was apparent. It showed up in ways that you would not visually notice but the weariness in Harry's eyes betrayed the tiredness.
Severus had a stong suspicion that Harry had been experimenting with concealment charms. However he was sure that this was not the time to confront Harry about them. It would just send him further inside his shell. It was difficult enough to set up this fragile link of trust. Severus was afraid to be too sure of his place in Harry's confidence. He knew that the only reason why Harry had told him anything was that the others would overreact and make a big fuss over it. There was no other logical reason why Harry would choose him over anyone else. Hell, if Malfoy had been around it is possible that Harry would have chosen him as a confidant.
Severus had been more shocked by Harry's confession than he had let on. Years of training allowed him to keep his emotions in check. However for a long time after Harry had finished relating his ordeal Severus was at a loss for words. He felt an overwhelming uncharacteristic urge to take the boy in his arms and rock him till he forgot his pain. He had encountered cases of child abuse but none as serious as Harry's. He regretted more than ever his behaviour towards this delicate boy. He had never let prejudice blind him so much as it did in Harry's case. It was time to set aside old rivaries and see the boy, no, man, for what he was. Harry had never been allowed a childhood. It was unfair as well as naive to see him as anything less than an adult. He had gone through more than what most people go through in their whole life times. The terrible loss of his parents, the neglect and abuse from his relatives, the ever present horror of Voldemort haunting his footsteps, hunting down those he loved. Death, pain and suffering seemed to dog his steps as he stumbled bewilderedly though life. Any lesser man would have succumbed by now.
It was eerie how Harry managed to remain so composed and calm when he related the incidents. It seemed as if he were talking about something that had occurred to someone else, someone he didn't relate to, a movie character perhaps. Something unreal and vague. It was obvious that he was keeping the hurt inside himself. What Harry needed was to have a good cry, to let it all out.
In order to do so he must have someone to talk to, someone he trusted, that wouldn't judge him. Ron and Hermione obviously cared for him but they were sometimes too overwhelming. Anyway, the fact that they were a couple drove Harry away from them. It was not a deliberate act, rather an unconscious one. Harry had never actually experienced love before and hence shied away from what he could not understand. However Hermione and Ron tried to make him feel as if nothing had changed it weighed on Harry that he was an unwanted intrusion to their new found intimacy. Sirius was the next obvious choice, however the fact that he was still on the run prevented Harry from telling him anything that would worry him. He cared too much for Sirius to let him in on his pain.
Severus sighed wearily. What Harry needed was someone akin to a lover. Someone he could bare his soul to. But knowing Harry it would be difficult to find someone who didn't look at Harry and see his fame as the Boy-who-lived instead of who he really is. It was nearly impossible to see through the cheerful persona that Harry had put up to mask his pain. The facade was flawless and it's construction was meticulous. The only possible partner would have to be unusually perceptive and sensitive.
Severus snorted into his coffee, a year ago he would never have thought that he would ever be thinking of matchmaking Potter's son.
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flashback
*** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * ***
"Poppy!" Severus yelled as he carefully set the slight frame onto an empty bed.
She came running, alarmed by the potion master's panicked cry. Her eyes widened at the sight of the frail body occupying barely a third of the small hospital cot. "What happened?" She asked as she mechanically began scanning for injuries, her wand glowing an ominous maroon hue, the glow of which intensified at various regions.
She gasped as she realised the extent of Harry's injuries. Ignoring the tears that coursed down her cheeks she adopted a business-like manner, both systematic and efficient. Severus admired her for that. He felt powerless to do anything except watch.
It seemed like hours as Pomfrey struggled to keep her patient alive. She had a lot of trouble with the concealment charms. Even with the most powerful counter charm the concealment charms would reappear moments later, leaving her with only mintues to analyse and treat the wounds. Harry had lost a massive amount of blood and was going into shock. She set up a blood transfusion rack, the red liquid fed into him intraveously. At one point the needle came out and the blood soaked through the sheets so that she had to change them to see what she was doing.
Blood pooled at the ledge of the bed, staining the wooden bed posts red. A single drip swelled and grew pregnant, weighed down and fell.
*** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * ***
To all those who reviewed a million thanks. I am unable at the moment to name all of you but know that I treasure every single one of the reviews you wrote. I appreciate the thought that went behind them and I am glad that you guys like my story so much.