-Hogwarts-
"I can't believe they are gone!" Molly shouted, "how could they just LEAVE like that!"
The others in the room nodded in agreement, when an irritated ghost floated through the wall.
"What's with all the noise?" the Grey Lady asked, "even we ghosts occasionally need our rest, you know."
"Harry and Severus," Minerva said, upset, "we had them trapped and they escaped!"
The Lady raised her ghostly eyebrows. "You had them…trapped?" she inquired icily.
"We located them in one of the Potter's houses," Molly said in a huff, "Harry just ranted at us and refused to lift the wards to let us in and take them back to Hogwarts or the Burrow. We had Bill come over to break down the ward keeping us out, but when we stormed the house they were gone."
The Grey Lady shook her head, angry. "Will you listen to yourselves? Located them. Trapped them. Break down wards. STORM the house, for Merlin's sake! I'd think you were talking about criminals, not people you wish to protect."
Molly spluttered, Remus protested and the others just stared dumbfounded.
"The whole story, please," the ghost tapped her feet in the air impatiently.
Arthur nodded and started relaying the day's events.
"You have just committed the same mistakes that you blamed Albus for," the ghost said sternly when he had finished, "You were angry with Albus for how he treated Harry, yet you are doing the very same thing now! You broke your promise to him. You people have a lot to sort out before you are ready to care for the boys in a responsible manner."
Remus sagged. "We just want to care for them…"
"By breaking your promises? By cornering them so they feel forced to flee? You have done nothing to gain Harry's trust, and if you continue in this manner, you will lose his love too. Tell me, what did you plan to do had you captured them both?"
Molly snorted. "I would have hugged them silly, and then I would have grounded them for the rest of the summer."
"Same here," Remus said, "and I guess that goes for the rest of us too."
The Grey Lady sighed. "Despite the fact that none of you can claim a relationship of trust with Harry? And if that isn't bad enough, you are confusing him."
"How?" Arthur asked, who, contrary to his wife, did seem to listen closely.
"It is very unclear who Harry's 'parental figures' should be. Right now, every adult in his life is allowed to dictate his behavior and punish him whenever they feel like it. Would you allow that for your own children?" she asked Arthur, who sighed.
"No," he admitted, "even at school, the teachers are allowed to punish them only up to a certain point. Anything major, and we are invited over because it is our decision."
"Yes. And you can protect your children if they are punished unfairly. But Harry never had that. He is used to unfair treatment, and no one so far has ever bothered to listen to his side of the story. You always just go ahead and decide what is good for him without even asking for his opinion. And besides that, he is 16. Arthur, would you allow just anyone to come in and start ordering you around?"
"No, of course not."
"Precisely. You decide who has authority over you and who doesn't. That's natural. As adults, we control that by the choices we make. You choose who to work for, who to respect. Teens start doing that by rebelling against all authority. It's normal teen behavior and part of the process of growing up and becoming independant adults. Most of them calm down and see reason, especially when their parents are aware of this process and provide them with more freedom and responsibility, corresponding with their age. Yet Harry, who is due to his upbringing, much older than his years, is treated like a toddler by just about anyone."
Arthur sat down sadly.
"So basically, Harry has no reason to trust adults, and we have not proven ourselves trustworthy. And apart from that, we ignore his problems, the things he should be able to talk to us about, in favor of dictating his actions. Or trying to, anyway."
The Grey Lady nodded.
"You are in very real danger of losing not only Harry, but also your own children if you keep this up," she warned gravely, "because his friends will side with him."
"And…and Severus?" Pomona asked.
"Severus apparently wants to be with Harry, from what I've heard," the Grey Lady answered as she started to float back to the wall, "and Harry is perhaps the one who understands him best. Certainly none of you qualify at the moment."
-93, Diagon Alley-
Hermione and Ron entered WWW, Ron still carrying the nearly asleep boy. He looked a bit awkward, having his potions master asleep on his shoulders with his cheek resting on the top of his head. Had she not been so concerned over Harry, Hermione would have snickered at the look on his face.
Entering the livingroom, she immediately checked the clock.
They had recently added their own faces to it. Hers, Ron's and Severus's now all were on 'WWW' and 'safe'.
The twins were in the same location, but on 'stressed'. Harry's was on 'mortal peril'.
Taking Severus off his shoulders, Ron stretched a bit. The boy was swaying on his feet, but looked up at them in tears.
"Harry?" he asked.
Hermione shook her head. "We don't know yet," she admitted, staring at the clock.
Severus now noticed it too, and climbed on a chair to watch Harry's picture.
Finally, he fell asleep with his head in his arms, not awake long enough to see Harry's face move from 'mortal peril' to 'recovering'.
Ron and Hermione did see it and smiled happily.
"How come your brothers know so much about healing?" Hermione asked.
"Well, they do tend to get injured a lot creating their gags," Ron shrugged, "they always were good at potions, and managed to get Pomfrey to teach them some healing. But shouldn't we put him to bed?" he pointed at Severus slightly hesitatingly, "he seems tired."
Hermione nodded. "I'll transfigure the sofa in the library," she said, "Can you carry him there?"
Ron sighed, and carefully lifted the sleeping Severus in his arms. Asleep, and so young, the potions master seemed just a regular kid, he contemplated. And according to his father, he had also been an abused child. That would explain a bit of why the man was always such a…
"Ron, are you coming?"
"Yes, on my way," he answered, carrying the child quickly to his makeshift bed.
-Later-
Fred and George emerged from their bedroom, looking tired, but happy.
"He'll be fine," they reassured the other two, "he'll need to rest for a while, but once the bloodreplenishing potions have done their work, he'll be up and about in no time. It was a close call, though," Fred sighed.
"Anyway, he was awake for a while to tell us what happened. Malfoy offered him and Severus the chance to join Voldemort. Then a fight ensued, when they refused. Harry managed to Stun two before Lucius got the better of him. Apparently Severus, on instinct, Petrified Lucius," George grinned widely, "and that is the last thing Harry remembers. Where is the boy, anyway?"
"Asleep in the library," Hermione answered.
"Erm, not anymore," Fred said, pointing at the small figure in the doorframe.
Severus watched the redheaded people anxiously. Where was Harry?
"Come here, kid," George said, "Harry will be fine, he's just sleeping right now."
"Is he going to be better?" Severus wanted to hear it outright. He walked into the room, stopping at George's knee and looking up imploringly at the boys that had been the bane of his existance in his adult life.
George hesitated. People always hesitated, Severus thought distractedly, like they weren't sure they liked him. Suddenly he was picked up and sitting on the man's lap.
"Yes, Ickle Sevvikins," George said teasingly, "Harry is going to be all better. He told us how brave you were and that you saved his life! He told us he is very proud of you and he threatened to use all of our own inventions on us if we didn't take proper care of you. So, we're going to get you something to eat – we haven't eaten either – and then tomorrow morning, when you've slept, you can go see Harry. You can peek around the door when you go to bed, but we gave him a dreamless sleep potion so he is pretty much out of it."
Severus nodded. "Dreamless Sleep lasts 4 to 24 hours, depending on the exhaustion of the drinker," he quoted from a potions book mother had made him read.
That made the two identical men giggle.
"Yes, you're absolutely right. Oh, and we didn't even introduce ourselves! That lady over there is Harry's best friend Hermione. Next to her is Ron, Harry's other best friend. That gentleman there is Fred, and I'm George, Fred's smarter half."
Severus stared intently at the twins for long seconds.
"Ok," he said then, smiling.
"Oi, brother of mine," Fred said to Ron, "how about you run to the Three Broomsticks and get us some dinner? And don't forget to stop by Florean's for icecream."
Sevvy's face brightened. Fred grinned.
"So, you like icecream, eh?"
Severus nodded enthusiastically. "Harry took me there and we ate icecream and he got me a broom so we could play Quidditch in the backyard, and then we went to the Zoo and set the snakes loose…"
He suddenly clasped his hands over his mouth and turned crimson.
The other four snorted, chuckled and then roared with laughter.
"Oh, Merlin, it WAS the two of you," George groaned, holding his aching sides, "we should have known."
"Circe!" Severus exclaimed happily as a snake slithered in, "this is Circe, we took her from the Zoo. She was in my pocket."
Ron paled. "You had her on you when I was carrying you?"
Severus nodded. "She was warm enough in your hair," he said innocently.
Ron sank back into the couch in a near-faint, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.
The twins were positively gleeful. Fred picked Severus up and put him on the table, where he conjured an 'Honorary Marauder' badge for him.
"Kid, you are the BEST," he said, sticking it to the child's shirt.
-Hogwarts -
"Hello, Lady," Albus Dumbledore said, smiling slightly, "I heard a lot of voices from the office. Everything ok?"
The Grey Lady sighed. "We had a little discussion. They had trapped Harry and Severus in the house and wanted to drag them out and back here forcefully. They escaped."
Dumbledore covered his face with his hands. "So they're missing again?"
The Grey Lady nodded. "But my guess would be they go straight to Harry's friends. Have Dobby pop over and check. He would never betray Harry to anyone."
Dobby was summoned and sent off. Fifteen minutes later he returned.
"Harry Potter was attacked by bad old master!" the elf said, distressed, "but Harry and little Master Snape is doing good now. They is with Harry's Wheezy's."
Dumbledore had paled at the mention of Lucius Malfoy, but quickly brightened when Dobby told him they were doing ok.
He thanked the elf and turned to the Grey Lady.
"I would like to write Harry and Severus…ask them for a chance to apologise in person…do you think it would be a good idea?"
She smiled. "Yes, I think so. Writing would be a good idea. Write seperate letters to both boys, even."
Dumbledore sighed deeply. "Will they ever forgive me?"
The Grey Lady patted his hand; he suppressed a shudder.
"They might, Albus. Be open and honest, and don't hold anything back. Do not try to manipulate them, just write about your own feelings for them. You love them and you are sorry, tell them that. It's all that matters."
-93, Diagon Alley-
The four teens had been surprised when Dobby popped up in the early evening, but quickly gave him the information the headmaster asked for.
"Does it matter that he knows where Harry and Severus are?" Ron asked Hermione.
"I don't think so," she said, "he can't hurt them now. And he does want to help them, so it seems he is recovering. But we have to relocate anyway, because this is the first place the others will look for them. And we don't know if those Death Eaters will…OH!"
Ron caugh on. "We forgot about those Death Eaters! I'm so stupid!"
"We agree, brother…"
"but what makes you say…"
"such insightful things?"
Ron blushed. "Oh shut up, you two. We forgot about the Death Eaters!"
"YOU forgot about them, little brother…"
"WE, however, left a timed signal…"
"that alerted the Aurors a few minutes after we left."
"Not that it will detain Lucius Malfoy for long…"
"But we are hoping he won't get back in Voldemorts good favour as easily as in the Minister's."
Severus came in, dressed in his pyjamas.
Hermione 'Aaaaah'ed' when she saw him.
The three males looked at her, scowling.
She raised her eyebrows in defense. "What? I think he's adorable."
"Can I go see Harry now? You promised!" Severus looked, without hesitation, at George.
"How did you know it was me?" George said in surprise.
Severus shrugged. "Because you are not Fred," was his simple explanation.
Fred rolled his eyes and took his hand.
Harry was awake. He looked up when he heard the door open, and smiled at Fred and Severus.
"Hey, guys," he said. He still was pale from the blood he'd lost, but the potions the twins had given him had taken care of his injuries just as much as Pomfrey's did.
Severus slowly walked towards the bed that held Harry.
"Are you better?" he asked.
"Lots better, especially now that I see you," Harry said, "I was worried. You saved my life, Sevvy…again," he grinned.
Severus looked at him, not understanding.
"You saved me on an almost yearly basis when you were an adult," Harry explained, smiling fondly at the child, "and now you saved me again."
"I saved you life?" Severus asked, confused.
"Yes, you did."
"But…but…" Severus hesitated. "But why didn't you like me if I saved your life?"
He would think that if he saved Harry's life, Harry and his friends would like him. And they did, but they did not like him when he was an adult, or they wouldn't have looked at him like that when they first saw him. Harry had even looked like he really hated him when he told him his name in that restaurant.
"Sevvy, come here," Harry held out his arms.
Severus ran forward and jumped into them, his head tucked underneath Harry's chin.
"We didn't get along at all, that is true," Harry admitted, "and I didn't really want to see how good you were. And you are, Sevvy. You are a very good person."
Severus sighed and cuddled closer. He was a good person. Not useless and disappointing, like his parents had told him. Harry rubbed circles on his back, laying down himself too.
Almost asleep, Severus missed the look Harry and Fred shared, one of amusement, regret, and fondness as they turned their eyes to the sleeping boy.
Just before he really fell asleep, Severus wondered if the bad snake man would turn the man who had tried to kill Harry in a child now too.