Disclaimer: I own nothing, just a measly idea at a story.

A/N: Well this is my second fanfiction and I hope that you all enjoy it. I will try an update when ever possible. If you want me to email you when I update then say it in a review. Now, on with the story.

Chapter 2: The Rescue

Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall appeared a couple houses down from their destination. Severus nodded to Minerva and signaled that he would enter the house first and she was to stay behind him at all times in case Deatheaters were in the house. Stealthily Severus slid his wand out from its hiding place and pointed it at the front door.

"Alohomora." Severus whispered quietly and was rewarded with the unmistakable click of the lock turning. Severus motioned for Minerva to remain at the door until he could establish that they were not in danger.

Looking around the kitchen he saw that nothing looked out of place. He glanced quickly into the living room and saw that too had nothing out of place.

'Strange' he thought to himself.

Not a sound except the rumbling snores that were coming from upstairs. He turned back to Minerva and waved her toward him.

Minerva stepped into the house and wondered where Harry was and how could something be so terribly wrong in such a normal looking house.

Severus had just reached the top of the stairs when he realized that there were no Deatheaters.

Why would Harry send that note then? At the top of the steps there was a door off to the left and then further down the hall were two more doors.

He and Minerva approached the door to their left and tried to open the door. It was locked. A sudden and terrifying feeling of dread came over him as he muttered the unlocking spell. Opening the door as quietly as possible Severus was nearly knocked off of his feet when he was overwhelmed with the smell of vomit and blood.

Minerva stepped back from Severus afraid at what sight would great them in the room as she was bombarded with the horrid stench as well.

Severus held his wand out and shakily whispered "Lumos."

As the wand light lit the room Severus and Minerva quickly realized that their worst nightmares were nothing compared to this reality they had just stepped into.

The famous Harry Potter, the proclaimed savior of their world lay motionless in an unconscious heap on the floor in a pool of dried blood. The room itself looked as if someone had massacred a dozen people in it and tried to hastily clean up the evidence. Severus shuddered as this thought brought forth too many traumatic memories.

If he had not known before hand that this was Harry, he would have never recognized him. Severus quickly knelt down and felt for a pulse. He could not see if the boy was breathing, if he was it was very shallow. His fingertips searched for the precious heartbeat of the young boy.

"Thank Merlin," he whispered quietly feeling a very weak heartbeat. Severus looked in the doorway at a horror stricken Minerva.

"Shrink Harry's trunk and lets get the hell out of here. We need to get him to Poppy." He said hurriedly.

Minerva merely nodded and walked over to the school trunk. Muttering the spell she shrunk the trunk and slid it into her pocket. Minerva glanced at the broken body of the young boy and then at Severus.

"Is he going to make it?" she asked fearfully.

Severus looked at her hesitantly "Not if we don't get him to Poppy with in the next ten, fifteen minutes." He said trying to keep his voice neutral so not to betray what he really felt. The two professors hurried out the door and onto the street where they promptly apparated.

Seconds later the two adults reappeared in front of the Three Broomsticks.

Minerva went ahead of Severus so that he could carry Harry through the open doorway. They rushed through the crowd of people toward the fireplace.

Severus glanced down to see how Harry was doing and noticed that his lips were starting to turn blue. He frantically muttered a spell that makes a thin layer of smoke around a person's nose and mouth, if the person is breathing even just barely the smoke would disappear.

The smoke remained. Harry had stopped breathing.

Oh god this was not happening. "Oh Merlin, don't do this to me, not now, not when we are so close to getting you home."

Severus pushed through the last of the crowd and reached the fireplace. He hurriedly grabbed a handful of floo powder stepped into the fireplace and yelled

"Hogwarts!"

"Come on Harry, hang on just a little bit longer and we will get you to Poppy and she will fix you up just like she always does." Severus popped out of the fireplace in the Main Hall and started running down the hall toward the infirmary.
He looked down at the young boy in his arms and all that he could think of was how he had failed Lily.

Harry started to go into convulsions when he was halfway to the infirmary,

"POPPY, GO TO THE INFIMARY!" Severus screamed in the direction of the nurse's office. He heard shouts and footsteps behind him but he didn't want to waste precious time by turning around. He figured it was Minerva telling Albus what the situation was.

Severus ran through the infirmary door just seconds after Poppy had rushed through. He gently laid Harry down on one of the nearest beds. It was the first time that he had seen the true extent of his injuries in the light. It made him sick.

"Poppy, he isn't breathing." Severus said to the nurse as she started to work on Harry.

Poppy turned toward Severus " He will be fine Severus, now I suggest that you go and get your self cleaned up." And with that she turned and continued working on her patient.

Severus stood there and watched Poppy work her wonders. He saw that Harry had started breathing again and he felt like the world had been lifted off his shoulders. He was just glad that none of the other students were here to see the greasy git of a potions professor caring about the Boy-who-lived.

It would be a death sentence for him if Voldemort found out. Severus sighed and then he felt someone lay their hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Albus smiling grimly as he saw the condition that Harry was in. Severus started toward the doorway so that he could go and clean himself up. He was halfway out the door when the Headmaster spoke up.

"Please meet me in my office about an hour to tell me what happened."

Severus nodded before continuing out the door. Albus turned and watched patiently as Poppy worked diligently on Harry. How could he have been so wrong? Merlin he felt terrible.

It was his fault that Harry was in this condition. If only he had listened to Minerva those long fourteen years ago. Harry would not be on his deathbed if he had just taken the small child back to Hogwarts like everyone wanted him to do.

Albus sat down on a chair at Harry's bedside when Poppy had announced that she had done everything that she could do. "When should he wake up Poppy?" Albus asked quietly his voice laced with sorrow.

The school nurse looked up at the Headmaster her eyes filled with tears,

"I don't know if he will wake up. The damage was very extensive, It is a miracle that he even made it inside the school." She sniffed; tears were running silently down he cheeks.

"He wasn't breathing when he got here and his heart quit several times before I got him stabilized." Poppy took a deep breath hating what she was going to say next.

"His head injuries were the worst. And I am afraid that if he would wake up.. He may not be the same." She looked at Albus's face and saw that there where tears racing down his cheeks and the infamous twinkle in his eyes was gone.

Albus rested his head in his hands he looked back up at Poppy. "What do you mean 'He may not be the same?" He was not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"He might not be able to function as an adult. As much as Wizarding healing magic can do it cannot reverse any type of brain damage. The longer that he is in a coma the less likely he will have of waking up." By the time that she has finished explaining to Albus she had sat down and was trying to comfort the aged wizard.

As much as he hated to do this he felt that he needed to do this.

"Poppy is it possible to have a vile of Harry's blood?"

Poppy had never heard of such an unusual request. " Yes I can go and retrieve some now." A short time later she returned with a small bottle.

Albus thanked her and walked to the door thinking about what he was about to do. He just hoped that it wasn't too late for either of them.