Harry has people he can trust
Severus arrived at Grimmauld place early Friday morning. For several years it had been his practice to take Fridays off teaching in order to keep the school stocked with the vast amount of potions necessary to keep all the students and faculty healthy and healed. Sirius had recently informed him that Harry had not spoken a single word since the night Severus had sent Sirius to him, so Severus was a bit apprehensive about how today would go, but the potion's master knew his ultimate purpose was to get the information he needed to keep Harry moving in the right direction on the path of physical recovery so if he needed to resort to yes or no questions, so be it.
"Hello, Harry," Severus said cordially as he entered the boy's room and shut the door behind him. The only response he received was a hand lifted in greeting. Severus sighed ever so slightly is was practically undetectable. "Alright Harry, I'll be asking you yes or no questions today since I know you don't feel safe talking right now. Since it's going to be very hard to be precise in this manner I need you to be as honest and exact as possible. Do you understand?" Severus asked sternly. When the boy nodded, Severus began his questioning.
"Harry, are you still feeling any aches or pains from the explosion of Neville's cauldron? Even if it's improved somewhat, if you are feeling any remaining aches or pains I absolutely must know." When the boy shook his head no, Severus felt some sort of relief.
"That's excellent news, Harry," Severus encouraged in a gentle voice. "And how are the meals going?" Severus asked. The boy only shrugged and Severus realized he'd have to rephrase the question. "Harry, have you been finishing all your meals?" The boy nodded yes. "Have you been feeling sick after any of the meals?" The boy shook his head no. "Have you still been feeling hungry after some meals?" The boy nodded yes. Severus carefully schooled his features so that he did not blatantly display his joy at the boy's progress. "You know what that means, Harry? It means you are healing and are ready for a bit more food. I think we'll add two eggs, you're choice of how you'd like them cooked, to your smoothie for breakfast. For now, let's keep your midmorning snack as the salad, but if you're still hungry after the salad please don't hesitate to have a bit of fruit or bread. For lunch, I want you to be having more substantial soups with bread instead of crackers. For your afternoon snack, I'd like you to try adding a piece of jerky to your nuts, dried fruit, and dark chocolate. For dinner, I want to push you to add another side to your half of a sandwich. So you'll still only have half a sandwich but you'll choose two sides whether they be soup, salad, or smoothie. Does that sound acceptable, Harry?" Severus asked. The child nodded and Severus continued, "You'll continue taking nutrition supplements, and I'd like you not to miss any meals; however if you start feeling nauseous stop eating. There's no reason to push your body past what it is physically capable of handling. You'll only cause more pain that way. If at any time of day you are hungry, but it's not a set 'mealtime' I expect you to find a reasonably sized nutritious snack. Any questions about any of that, Harry?" Severus asked. When the boy shook his head no, Severus offered a little sigh.
"Alright, then Harry, have you taken all six of your anti-cruciatus curse potions?" Harry nodded yes. "So you should have...four more...is that correct?" Again, Harry nodded yes. "Harry, are you still experiencing any trembling?" Harry hesitated for a bit until finally when Severus was afraid the boy wouldn't answer, he nodded almost imperceptibly. "Thank you for being honest, Harry. Does the trembling last longer than an hour?" Harry looked confused, then thoughtful, and then he shook his head no. "That's very good, Harry. Now, do you experience these bouts of trembling every day?" Harry thought for a moment and again shook his head no. "That's very good, Harry. In the last 3 days, how many days have you experienced the bouts of trembling?" The boy held up two fingers. "Were they the first two days after you started the potions?" The boy nodded yes. "Did you experience more than one bout of trembling on either or both of these days?" Harry nodded yes. "How many times did it happen?" The boy was silent for a long time, and eventually, the boy held up five fingers. "Did you have three the first day and two the second?" Severus was very happy when the boy nodded yes. "That's very encouraging, Harry. That means the potions are doing their job. Now may I have your permission to look at the wounds on your hand?" When Harry nodded his consent, Severus unbandaged the boy's hand.
The wounds had healed well, but the skin was still quite pink and tender. So Severus accioed a scar cream and applied it to promote continued healing and prevent any irritation. Severus then rebandaged the hand. "Harry, may I check the wounds on your back?" Severus asked. When the boy shrugged, Severus decided he could not in good conscious just do it. "Harry, I'm confident I got all the infection out of your wounds. I was also very happy with the way the wounds healed. However, I'm concerned that the newly healed skin might be irritated which would be causing you some discomfort, itchiness, and it could also mean the wounds are scarring. The paste I put on your hand helps new skin continue healing in a way that will minimize irritation, discomfort, and scarring. I will not check your wounds if you do not feel comfortable with it. I can simply spell your bandages clean if you really don't want me checking your wounds. Would it be okay for me to check your back?" Severus asked again. Harry was silent for a long time, and when he gave no indication of speaking any time soon, Severus felt the need to speak again. "Harry, it is absolutely okay for you to say no. You may say no. I will not do anything without your consent. You may tell me no and I will respect that decision. Will you allow me to check your back?" Severus asked.
After a couple more moments of silence, Harry shook his head no. Severus nodded and expertly schooled his disappointment that Harry didn't seem to trust him enough to let him check his back. Instead, Severus spelled the bandages clean and let it be. "Harry, have you been sleeping any better?" Severus asked. The boy shook his head no. "I'm sorry, Harry, would you like me to get you some dreamless sleep?" Again, the boy shook his head no. "Okay, is there anything you can think of that I could do to help you?" For a third time in a row, Harry shook his head no. "Do you have any other questions or concerns for me?" Harry again shook his head no. "Okay, Harry, then I'll take my leave, but I'll be coming over in two days since you'll be done with your anti-cruciatus potion. Is that okay?" Harry nodded.