PART 5

Having dug out the crutches, Harry carried them around and hovered, not certain whom he ought to hand them to. Remus held out a hand towards him though and took them from his grip. It took another few minutes for Minerva to slide her arms into the devices and she muttered one or two choice phrases as she did. After she had taken a few experimental steps she deigned that they had better go and get some food. It was more of a meander then a walk as the progress they made was slow and occasionally halting but Harry was impressed by the steely look of concentration on her face. About halfway across the car park, as she stopped and caught her breath, she glanced up at Lupin and said with the hint of a smile on her face.

"Remus – would you please go and find a bathroom before you have an accident."

"How…" The werewolf asked in an odd repetition of his earlier words.

"After nigh on 40 years as a teacher it's a talent you develop. Now would you…" She gestured for him to 'shoo' with her crutch. Harry watched as with a hint of colour in both his cheeks, the other man sped up considerably almost running the last few metres into the complex. Glancing at Snape he saw that the other man was fighting a smile. By the time they'd reached the front door Remus was standing there waiting for them looking a more than a little sheepish.

"Sorry about that," he said as they approached.

"Never mind that Lupin," Snape interrupted condescendingly. "However directions to the nearest facility would be greatly appreciated." This time it was his head of house who was smiling. Harry followed the Slytherin across the foyer and only just caught Remus saying something about Disabled toilets before they were engulfed in a mob of Japanese tourists.

The process of acquiring food and drinks was becoming more routine but Harry sensed something along the lines of urgency grow as they went through the process. He could see that Minerva was tiring quickly and he suspected that whatever it was that Snape had given her was leaving her somewhat dazed.

"I'll go get the car," Remus said as they finished at the checkout. Harry couldn't help but wonder how exactly this was going to work. It was fairly obvious that though whatever it was Severus had fed her had done an excellent job of numbing the pain, it would make no sense – at least to him – to sit her back in the position that seemed to have caused the problem in the first place.

"They had you lying on your right side in the hospital - right?" Snape asked quietly as they waited in a darkened corner. He had slipped an arm underneath hers again, wrapping it around her back and taking a significant portion of her weight, judging by the way she shifted.

"Yeah," she replied drowsily, the informal phrase seeming to highlight her altered state.

"Do you think that would be the most comfortable now?" he asked her, and Harry was once again surprised by Snape's gentle manner. As she replied in the affirmative, Remus arrived with the car, pulling it up close to the pavement where they stood.

"Right – I'll quite happily drive the next stint," he said as he came across to them. "But the question is how we're going to keep you relatively comfortable with the rest of us fitting in there somewhere too."

"It's quite alright – it's all in hand Remus," Severus reassured him, though Harry wasn't certain quite how it was all going to work. He watched, hanging back to try and give his professor at least a modicum of privacy, as the other two men did what they could to help. They got her sitting down in the back behind the passenger seat and as Remus helped her slide along a little Snape rounded the boot and disappeared into the other passenger's door. When all the movement ceased Remus backed up a little allowing Harry a glance at what this elusive solution had turned out to be. He was more than a little surprised at what he saw. It made sense that Minerva was lying curled up on her side, her back against the seatback. He supposed this meant that there was effectively no unnecessary pressure on the problem area but it also created something of a problem in and of itself due to the fact that she was now taking up the vast majority of the back seat. It wasn't until he clocked that Snape was no-where to be seen and crouched down to look straight into the car that he understood. Her head was resting on his knee where he was sitting on the far side.

"No need to look quite so appalled Mr Potter considering the alternative of having you in my seat – somehow I don't think our upstanding Head of Gryffindor would stand for that – even in this state. Now, why don't you get into the front and then we can eat?" he suggested, all the time his voice quieter than usual. Harry glanced at Minerva who seemed virtually asleep already and was struck as Snape gently placed a hand on her shoulder in an almost protective gesture before pulling the tartan travel rug down off the parcel shelf and tucking it in around her.

"Sure," he replied with a gentle smile before he backed up and shut the door carefully.

"What would you give for a camera right about now?" Remus whispered as he glanced into the rear-view mirror. It was pitch black outside, but even still when Harry turned in his seat he could see enough of the scene to understand what the other man meant. A picture of the Slytherin and Gryffindor Heads of House asleep curled up like they were at present would be worth its weight in gold – either in comic value or for blackmail purposes. Turning back round he saw a slightly concerned look on the driver's face as Minerva shifted a little in her sleep.

"You're worried about her?" he asked broaching the subject that had been on his mind for a couple of hours now. He wasn't quite sure what the exact cause of Remus' unease was but Harry had a feeling that his former professor wasn't the only one to be concerned.

"It's…" he began, indicating and checking his mirrors before changing lanes. "Things are usually more complex than they appear Harry." He wasn't at all sure what the other man was getting at. "Take those two for example," he continued, nodding his head in the direction of the back seat again. "Despite the impression they give and what they would like everyone to believe they probably have one of the most trusting friendships I've ever come across." Harry's confusion obviously showed on his face as he went on to try and clarify what he was saying. "Let's just say that there's always a tabby cat in the dungeons when he returns from his meetings and from what I've seen on occasion there's no way in hell that he's in a fit state to look after himself on nights like that."

"Oh," was all he could say.

"Yeah, well you should have seen him when he contacted Grimauld Place to let us know what had happened with Umbridge – Molly was convinced he was going to do something stupid. Anyway, let's just say that Minerva's been a positive influence in my life for a long time, it's only natural that I should care about her." He didn't sound defensive when he said this but it did give Harry some insight. "You're right though - I do worry. I suppose it's only natural that we should all be concerned about each other in times like these but… well Minerva's an odd one. I think I once heard Severus describe her as having the world's most overdeveloped guilt complex. I went to go see her that night… after everything that had happened in the Ministry. I suppose I needed to be doing something and I knew everyone else was busy with the practicalities and I knew…well I know her well enough to have been able to predict the state she would get herself in when she heard about it all. I got up there to find her in the process of trying to get them to let her out – I mean she'd had three stunners direct to the chest and a fourth exceptionally strong one that had caught her hip shattering one side of her pelvis completely when she hit the ground only 24 hours previously. And yet all she could think of was the fact that her cubs had been hurt, that she'd let you all down. Let us all down." Harry supposed he could understand that, he had seen glimpses of that side of her through the virtually impenetrable armour she wore.

"It wasn't her fault – it was Umbridge's," he said quietly. Remus smiled whimsically at this.

"You and I and even Severus (despite what he says about it being down to her impulsive and temperamental Gryffindorness) might admit that, but convincing the most stubborn woman any of us are likely to meet of that would be a task I don't think any of us are up to. In any case Albus is better than most at handling her; if Poppy had been given her own say she wouldn't be with us now. She'd probably still be under her strict supervision but the Headmaster knows that sometimes it's better to give in just a little to prevent an outright rebellion."

"I suppose," Harry mused out loud.

"Lets just put it this way Harry – she'd threatened to all but abduct you if he hadn't agreed to you spending the summer somewhere other than Privet Drive." He didn't say anything in response to this. He didn't know what to say. Once again his mind was swirling with revelations or at least the same things that had troubled him for sometime, bathed in an entirely new light.

Yet again Harry woke up to raised voices. This time however, they were in much closer proximity.

"Lupin!" Snape's voice cut through the quiet atmosphere in the car. The other man was still sleep tinged and the exclamation seemed to be an odd mix of surprise and anger. Harry turned around to see what was happening in the back. To be honest he had half expected some kind of furore when Lupin had handed the wheel over to Minerva again. He suspected that they had thought he was as fast asleep as Snape had been when Remus had pulled into a lay-by for a breather. Minerva on the other hand had been wideawake and from what he could tell, with close to closed eyes, was much more comfortable.

"Pull. Over. Now." Severus ground out. It seemed the shock of waking up next to Remus rather than Minerva had worn off enough for him to take control again. "Minerva – you have to pull over now."

"Really Severus…" she began, glancing back at him in the rear-view mirror. "I feel fine – if anything the driving is making sure I keep moving enough to stop me seizing up," she said quite plainly.

"Did it never strike any of your thick Gryffindor skulls that the reason you feel fine could have something to do with the fact that you still have a number of illegal compounds flowing through your system?" He was leaning forward on his seat, almost perching on the edge of the cushion and though he had thrown in a familiar insult it was the genuine concern in his voice that struck Harry. No-one said anything in response to this but he saw that Minerva's face had fallen at the thought of this to the point where he thought he might have seen her biting her the far side of her lip. They sat in silence for the next few minutes before Minerva calmly indicated and pulled off the motorway and into yet another service station car park. She had cut the engine and was out of the car within seconds of them having stopped and yet they remained in silence again for a moment before anyone spoke.

"I'm sorry – it was my fault," Remus said quietly. "I just wanted to make her feel like she was being useful. You know how she is… but that's not an excuse. I just wasn't thinking."

"If it makes you feel better Lupin," Snape answered without looking up from where he held his head in his hands. "I suspect that she was perfectly capable of driving it just happens that if the police had pulled us over for one reason or another she would have undoubtedly been arrested for drug-driving."

"Oh," Harry said without thinking. That really wouldn't have been a good thing.

"And it is not entirely your fault – perhaps I should have mentioned what it was that I gave her at some point," he continued.

Looking out of his window Harry could see his Head of House standing maybe twenty metres away with her back towards them. He could see the tension in her shoulders clearly and it looked as though she had her arms wrapped around herself but apart from that he couldn't make out an awful lot.

"Well –it's breakfast time," Snape said finally sitting upright again.

"I'll go grab Minerva then," Lupin said going to get out of the car.

"Just give her a minute would you?" Harry said quietly. He hadn't meant to sound so confrontational but there was something about the lone figure of her standing there on her own that struck him as being especially poignant. He supposed that it was what people liked to call natural instinct that urged him to go to her and for once he trusted it. Neither of the other two said anything as he undid his belt and opened the door calculatedly so he took this as tantamount to approval. It didn't take him long to cover the ground between them but he left a few yards between them when he spoke.

"Hey," he said quietly, not knowing exactly what he ought to be saying now that he was here. She started a little and turned around to glance at him and as she did he couldn't help but notice the sheen of barely restrained tears in her eyes. He had known from the instant her face had fallen that this was about so much more than driving. That it was about being able to contribute something to the cause without letting someone down, letting everyone down. He supposed he knew at least where she was coming from.

"I'm sorry," she said, pulling herself up and offering a somewhat weak smile. "We should probably do something about feeding you shouldn't we?" Before Harry had really thought it through he had acted and opening his arms he had stepped forward and was giving her a somewhat awkward hug. He was even more surprised when her felt her arms wrap around his back and somewhere deep in his subconscious he noted that she really wasn't very much taller than him; little enough that Ron would certainly tower over her. He supposed that that was just another stunning example of things not being how they seem. It was certainly a maternal feeling that washed over him as they stood like that and though perhaps not quite so open with it as Mrs Weasley, he could tell she cared and that was what made all the difference. His mind was so preoccupied with other things that he didn't hear the other two approach and jumped in his own skin when Remus spoke.

"I don't know about you Severus but I'm feeling kind of left out – care to share a hug of our own?"

"Just because I admitted that I may not hate you quite as much as most people seem to believe Lupin does not mean that I have any inclination to become your snuggle bunny." Harry could see the sneer on the other man's face as clear as the light of day in his mind's eye and obviously he wasn't the only one as Minerva's shoulders started to shake with mirth as much as his own.

A/N: Thanks again to Rachel – please keep reviewing I really do appreciate it

Linds