Snape watched as Harry's chest rose and fell as he breathed evenly. He hadn't woken since Snape had brought him to Hogwarts.
*Looks a lot like his father doesn't he?* a voice inside his head asked.
'Yeah, he does,' he answered thoughtfully, 'A damn lot; acts like him too.' he added as an after thought.
*Which means he acts like you too. Or have you forgotten that you got in just as much trouble as the Marauders?* the voice continued.
'How could I forget,' he sounded distinctly amused.
*And yet,* the voice sounded like it was about to lecture him, *you punish him often, sometimes for things he hasn't even done. That's not very fair, now is it?*
'Yes, but...' he started only to be cut off.
*No buts! You've been horribly unfair to him. I think you should apologize to him when he wakes.*
'I only wanted to protect him,' he defended weakly.
*And why is that?*
'I-I don't know! There's just something about him; he awakens some instinct I thought I'd never feel......' he trailed off.
*......the paternal instinct?*
'............'
*Oh come on, admit it! You watch over him like a mother cat watches over her kittens* the voice sounded exasperated.
'.......your point?'
*AHH! Do I have to spell it out for you? YOU-CARE-ABOUT-HIM.*
'.......I do?'
*Ahh!* mental voice takes out wand. *If you don't quit acting like a dumb ass, I'm gonna curse you.*
'You can't curse me, you are me dumb ass,' he pointed out. The mental voice blinked.
*Oh yeah. Well, you're still acting like an idiot. You're shying away from these feelings just as you shied from Albus. He thinks of you as his child you know.*
'I know,' he answered meekly.
*Then why are you running away from this?! You finally have a person that cares about you and one that might if you gave him half a chance instead of biting his head off and yet you're still running.*
'I can't believe I'm having an argument with myself....' he grumbled.
*And losing too! Don't forget that. Now give me one good reason why you're being this way and I'll leave you alone*
'............'
*Can't think of one hmmm?*
'Oh go away and quit gloating!' he growled.
*I'll go away but you have to promise me one thing first.*
'Anything to make you go,'
*Be nice to Harry. Just give it a try and see what happens, you might be surprised.* Snape stared down at the innocent face of a boy who had seen so many things in his short life.
'Okay,'
For two weeks Harry slept. Snape was true to his word, he did come back. He stayed up in the hospital wing so often that he moved his desk up there, much to Madam Pomfrey's disgust, next to Harry's bed. He even brought his potions to work on.
"I can't concentrate!" Snape growled, throwing his quill down in disgust. Seri smiled kindly at the man and gently rubbed his shoulders.
"You're just worried about him that's all," she assured, kneading his shoulders harder. He sighed, leaning back into the massage.
"That and the fact that I haven't been summoned," he divulged. She smiled again and patted his shoulder.
"It'll be okay." Serenity Winter or Seri was a healer. She stood at about 5'7" in height, with golden brown hair flowing down to her waist in soft curls and sparkling, forest green eyes. Her twin Kitiara or Kit Winter was a healer as well. She was 5'5" in height, with dark brown hair that always seemed to be done in a braid that reached her waist. Her midnight blue eyes always seemed to be dancing with amusement. Both were built like dancers, with exceedingly agile and fluid movements. At the moment Kit was curled around the end of Harry's bed (as a snow leopard) purring contentedly. She raised her head as a low beeping caught her attention. Seri sighed in annoyance, raising the pulsing tiger pendant.
"The Aurors are calling again, this is fifth time since we've returned."
"You better go," Snape said, turning back to his work.
"We'll be back, come on Kit," Seri grabbed her medical bag as her sister transformed back and followed her out the door.
Harry slowly became more aware of his surroundings. The smell of smoke and some unknown potion brew wafted in his direction.
'That can mean only one thing,' he thought happily, 'I'm not at the Dursley's any more.' Reaching for his glasses on the side table, he stopped, mid-way, his scar burning. His gasp of pain was covered by another, louder gasp. Grabbing his glasses and putting them on, he watched as Snape rose from his desk and headed toward the door, clutching his left arm. Harry knew what that meant.
"Good luck Professor," he croaked weakly, voice barely above a whisper. Snape heard and whirled around in surprise; shock and what Harry thought was relief washing over his face.
"Harry you're awake." Snape seemed torn: stay and watch over Harry or attend the Death Eater meeting.
"Go Professor," Harry urged. Snape still seemed undecided then nodded and left, cloak swishing behind him. Harry closed his eyes, laying back against his pillow. His shoulder ached, his arm ached, he leg ached; heck his whole body ached! Against his will he felt himself drifting off to sleep. 'No I want to wait till.....' the thought went unfinished as sleep claimed him.
Harry woke some time later to the sensation of someone running their fingers through his hair. Groaning, he pulled away from the touch and buried his face deep in the soft pillow. A low chuckling greeted his action.
"Come on little one, you've been asleep quite awhile. Aren't you hungry?" a strange feminine voice asked. He shook his head 'no' even as his stomach growled loudly saying 'yes'. A second chuckle, this one different than the first.
"We've got some real goodies, are you sure you're not hungry?" A second new voice asked. Reluctantly he pulled away from the pillow and sat up as best he could. Someone slid his glasses on him. He blinked up at the unfamiliar smiling face.
"Who are you?" The woman chuckled and sat back.
"My name is Dr. Serenity Winter, but you can call me Seri. And the woman holding the tray with just about everything under the sun is my sister Kitiara." Kitiara's dark braid swung happily from side to side as she sat the tray in front Harry.
"Call me Kit and you don't have to eat everything here, we'll help." To demonstrate, Kit picked up a bread-stick and bit a hunk off.
"Scrumptious, absolutely scrumptious," she proclaimed. Seri raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you're using big words now?" the golden-haired woman teased. Kit's blue eyes flashed.
"Excuse me for even speaking Madam Winter, I will refrain from doing so in the future," she snapped in mock anger. Seri snorted and went back to reading a rather large book, large as in a book even Hermione might think twice about reading. Harry looked at the food for a moment before tentatively selecting a piece of cheese. He nibbled on it, buying time to phrase his next question.
"Is Professor Snape back yet?" Kit stopped munching and Seri looked up from her book. "No he's not Harry," Seri answered quietly. Harry sighed and pushed the food away, suddenly losing his appetite.
"He's been gone since yesterday, which is normal. One or two days isn't anything to worry about," Kit elaborated. This didn't make Harry fell any better, this gut feeling kept telling him that something was not right.
"l think I'm just going to go back to sleep, okay?" The two healers nodded in understanding, taking the tray away. Harry laid down again, falling back to sleep.
The air was cold, only to be made worse by the bone chilling wind that blew fiercely. Harry exited the forest and headed toward a run down hut. Two dark robed Death Eaters stood guard at the entrance. Harry simply walked past them and through the door. (And when I say he walked through it, he did, like a ghost) It was a simple, one room hut; with a only a few beat up chairs, a fireplace, and a mat. On the mat, guarded by another two Death Eaters, was Snape.
"Professor Snape!" Rushing over, he knelt next to his teacher. Reaching out, he shook the man's shoulder.
"Professor Snape," he called again. Intellectually he knew that this was one of the dreams he had about Voldemort and his raids and that all he could do was sit back and watch not interact. He was surprised then, when Snape reacted to his touch.
"Harry?" Snape was confused. What was Harry doing here and why was he glowing a soft gold? The two guards chuckled.
"He must have finally cracked. He thinks he's seeing Harry Potter," one snickered. "I'd be seeing things too after what he's been through. He's been under the Cruciatus curse almost constantly since he's been here," the other said.
"He deserves everything he got, the traitor," the other growled. The other nodded in agreement. Harry's blood boiled at their words. 'He got everything he deserves, the brat,' Vernon's mocking voice drifted across his mind. Harry shook his head to clear that thought away. There would be plenty of time to brood over that later. Looking down at Snape again he noticed the man's were closed.
"Professor? Professor!" he shook the man roughly. Snape didn't answer.
"Professor? Severus!" Harry's voice was rising in panic. Snape stirred at the sound of his first name, opening his eyes again.
"You're still here," he whispered.
"And I'm going to stay here until you get out," Harry vowed. Snape smiled wearily.
"I doubt that's going to happen." The student shook his head.
"Severus there are people back at Hogwarts that are waiting for you, that care about you. You can't give up yet. You did something at the Dursleys, you activated some power within you. Find that power again and stun the guards. If you get to forest you should be able to apparate from there," Harry stared deep into the tired black eyes, willing some of his strength to the man, "Please come home Severus." With that final plea, Harry undid the bonds holding his teacher. Snape watched him for a moment then pushed himself shakily to his feet. He delved inside himself, searching for the power Harry spoke of. He found it and felt its strength surge through his battered body. His sharp intake of breath caused his guards to spin around.
"What the...." one stuttered only to be cut off abruptly.
"STUPEFY!!!!" Snape exploded, sending the new found power out in all directions.
Harry sat up on his bed, bringing himself to face with a concerned Dumbledore.
"Oh Professor!" Harry sat back against his pillow, rubbing his eyes.
"You startled me," he finished. Dumbledore's face split into a wide smile.
"Sorry Harry, I didn't mean to. You were talking in your sleep," he explained. Harry rubbed his head, remembering the dream.
"They know he's a spy," he said quietly. Dumbledore's face paled till it matched the white of his beard; he fell back into a chair.
"Is Severus okay?" he asked hoarsely.
"If what the guards said was true, then he's been tortured since the second he went back." Dumbledore's shoulders slumped; he covered his face with his hands to hide the oncoming tears.
"This is my fault, I asked him to go back. None of this would have happened if I hadn't," he wept bitterly, throwing his glasses clean across the room, where they smashed against the wall. Harry scrambled out of bed and over to his mentor, alarmed by the man's behavior. Kneeling beside the chair, he gently pulled Dumbledore's hands away from his face and held them in his own, staring into the blue eyes that expressed the terror the man felt for his friend.
"Don't worry Professor, he's coming back. If I know Severus, he'll be back," he assured the older man. He concentrating on sending that message through his touch and tone, wanting to help the man that had helped him so many times before. The headmaster smiled slightly.
"I know he'll try." Harry summoned the broken glasses into his hand and repaired them with a quiet spell then handed them back to their owner. He excepted them, smile growing bigger.
"Since when have you started calling him 'Severus'?" he teased slightly. Harry started at the question then grinned sheepishly.
"It was the only thing he'd respond to during the dream," he admitted. Dumbledore's brow furrowed.
"You talked to him in your dream? That hasn't happen before has it?" Harry shook his head.
"Not before no."
"Another mystery to add to the ever growing pile," Dumbledore murmured, "Now Harry, get back to sleep, you're going to need your strength in these coming times." Both stood and Harry, on impulse, hugged the headmaster. Dumbledore returned the hug and the comfort that both needed.
A/N: Hope you like this chapter too. Had my friends in stitches about that little conversation Severus had with himself. Please review, I love reading them.