Summary: The past will come back, the present will change them, now what will the future hold?
Disclaimer: I do not own them, sad but true
A/N: Yes this is an AU fic. Reviews are welcome, flames are shared with friends for amusement.
Chapter 12
Severus sat at the table looking at his watch. It was six forty five, and he figured the boys were sleeping in till the last possible moment. He hoped Harry was feeling better this morning and that his fever had broken during the night.
Inside the room, Ron had smelled breakfast and was already dressed. Harry also had gotten up, but a devious little smile came over his face. "Ron, I do not think I will be joining you for breakfast." Pulling the vial from under the mattress he placed two more drops on his tongue and got back into bed.
"No way, mate. You are not leaving me to eat with him alone. Come on, get up."
Harry laughed, but already the potion was taking affect, and he could feel the heat rising in his body. "All right, just stop pulling. Come on, maybe it is cooler out there anyway, because now I am hot again."
Harry and Ron walked into the room and took a seat at the table. No one spoke as the plates were filled, until Severus finally broke the silence. "I see you are feeling better, Harry. That is good. Now after breakfast you can both finish your essays, and then perhaps we can start to learn a few new potions."
Ron made a sour face in his chair, and Harry looked down at his plate before his smile could give him away. When Severus got up to get himself more coffee, Harry motioned for Ron. Understanding what Harry meant, Ron nodded, and they waited for Severus to sit back down.
"I'm through eating. May I be excused to work on my essay now?" Harry almost spat.
"Very well, you may both go and get started."
Ron stood and walked past Harry, smiling and snickering to himself. When Harry stood he only made it three steps before he swooned and hit the floor. With an audible ouch, he laid there unable to get back up.
Severus jumped up and walked over to where Harry was laying. "If this is some ploy to get out of doing your essay, Harry, I will be disappointed."
Harry said nothing. He merely laid where he was. Severus rolled his eyes, "Get up! That is enough playing, there is work to be done."
"I can't get up, the room is spinning."
"Very well, then I will help you up." Severus reached down, grabbed Harry by the arm and pulled him up. No sooner had Harry stood up straight than he sagged again and was limp in Severus' arms. Severus was about to yell at Harry to stop this foolishness when he saw the sweat dripping down his face. Carefully holding him up with one hand, he felt Harry's head with the other. "Dear Merlin, Harry, you are burning up! Why did you not say you were still feeling ill? Come on, back to bed with you, and you might as well go back to bed too, Mr. Weasly, before you come down with something too."
Severus took both boys back into the room and placed Harry on the bed. "I will go and make a fever reducing potion for you. In the meantime you are not to get out of this bed. Do I make myself clear?"
Harry rolled his head to face Severus and nodded. This seemed to be enough for him, and he went to the door. "You, Mr. Weasley, seemed to have missed out on whatever it is that Harry has caught. I think you will begin your essay after lunch." With that Severus closed the door.
Ron sat up in his bed. "That's not fair. There is no way you are having all the fun. Give me some of that stuff. I am not getting stuck writing an essay while you lounge around in bed."
Harry grinned and handed Ron the vial. "Only one drop Ron, two makes you feel like a troll ran over your head."
Ron nodded his head and placed one drop on his tongue. He then crawled back into the bed and waited for lunch and Severus. Instantly he could feel the heat creeping up on him. It was like holding his head over the fireplace. Throwing his covers off, Ron was soon too hot to stay in the bed any longer. "I can't take this. I am going to splash some water on my face."
Ron came back into the room carrying a washcloth, and when he lay down on the bed, he placed the washcloth over his eyes. "Harry, I don't think I want any more of this stuff. How long does it take to wear off?"
"It should wear off by morning."
"By morning!" Ron exclaimed. "By then I will have melted into a puddle. I hope he hurries back with that potion, maybe it will do some good."
Ron didn't have to wait long before Severus walked back into the room carrying a bottle of green potion. Walking over he gently shook Harry until he opened his eyes. "Can you sit up and drink this?" Harry nodded his head yes, carefully sat up and downed the potion in one gulp. Severus then felt his head. Drawing his hand back, Severus sighed. "What ails you, I do not know, but we will fix it and return back to normal soon."
Severus was about to walk out of the room when he saw that Ron had flipped all his covers onto the floor and was laying there with his shirt up to his chin and a cold cloth over his eyes. "Mr. Weasley, do not tell me that you have also come down with this?" All he got in response was a groan, and he reached down to feel the boy's head.
"I should have known that if one was going to get it, the other would as well. Sit up, Mr. Weasley and drink this." Ron grumbled that he couldn't, and Severus lifted his head and poured the potion down his throat.
Coughing and sputtering Ron sat up quick. "Are you trying to strangle me?"
"On the contrary, Mr. Weasley, I do believe I asked you to sit up first. Now lay down and go back to sleep, and give the potion time to work."
Severus made sure both boys were covered up and left the room to floo Remus. Soon the head of Remus poked out of Severus' fireplace. "Is there something wrong, Severus? Have you come to find out you cannot handle two first-years by yourself," he said with a grin on his face.
"Harry and Mr. Weasley are both ill, Remus, and I was just informing you, so that you can tell the headmaster. It seems they caught something while we were in Hogsmeade, and now both have come down with a fever."
"Is it serious, Severus? Do you need my help?"
"I have given them a fever reducing potion. They should be fine by morning. Honestly you would think that they could both go a day without causing havoc."
Remus heard the words that Severus spoke and would have thought them cruel, but he saw the fear in the man's eyes. "Harry will be fine Severus."
"I already know that, Remus. Of course I can heal my own son, and he will be writing that essay come morning. I think he needs to learn how to be on time and to be careful about his surroundings, and the Weasley child is sure to lead him astray."
Remus spoke for a few more minutes to Severus, but Harry, who had been standing at the door, didn't not hear those words. Sniffling he went and crawled back into the bed. "He thinks I am some burden, and that I don't have brains enough to stay out of trouble. I'll show him that he is not the smartest, either."
Taking the vial from under his mattress Harry placed another drop on his tongue. He knew that three in one day was harmful, but right now he didn't care. Wiping the tears away from his face, he lay back down and fell into a fitful sleep, dreaming again of his Uncle and the cupboard.
Severus poured himself a glass of wine and sat down on the couch. It had been a long day, and he had spent most of it checking on both boys. It seemed Ron's fever was trying to break, but Harry's was not. This concerned him. He opened the book of potions and began to read to find something to ease the boy's suffering. Minute after minute went by and he found many things he thought might help. Closing the book, he was about to retire for the night so that he could get a fresh start brewing a potion that would take the better part of the day. As he walked past Harry's room he heard crying. Wondering which child it was, he opened the door.
Inside the room was dark, but he could see Ron still sleeping. Stepping over to Harry's bed, he saw the boy curled up in a ball, the sheets drenched in sweat. "Harry, wake up! You are having a bad dream."
Harry did wake up, and tears began to pour from his eyes. Severus had no time to give him any words of comfort, because Harry leaned over the bed and began to vomit all over the floor. Harry kept going until there was nothing left in his stomach, but even then the heaving of his stomach would not settle down. Try as he might, he just kept gagging, trying to suck in a precious breath of air.
"Harry, breathe," Severus said, rubbing soothing circles on his back, but Harry could not draw in a single breath. Every time he did, he began to gag again, and his face was beginning to turn a blue hue. "Breathe, Harry, breathe in!" Severus said, his voice showing his panic. Soon he was beating Harry on the back, and all the commotion stirred Ron from his sleep.
Ron opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but his fever made his head swim. In his foggy state of mind he looked over at Harry's bed and saw Severus beating Harry on the back. With a yell, he stumbled from the bed and made it over to Harry's. "Don't you dare beat him, leave him alone, you greasy bastard. What right do you have to treat him this way!" Ron screamed, but then he crumbled to the floor, all his energy spent.
Severus could not help the Weasley child for Harry had still not taken a breath and was turning blue. Beating the boy on the back as hard as he could, Severus screamed at him. "For the love of Merlin, Harry, breathe!"
Harry shuddered and fell limp in his arms, but as he collapsed he took in a breath of air, and soon he was turning back to his normal color. Severus let out a sigh of relief and lowered Harry back down on his pillow. He then sat there, for he could not move, his hands were shaking. Closing his eyes, he prayed that the boy would have no further episodes tonight, and then he gathered Ron up and laid him back in his bed. He was about to leave, when he heard Harry whimper again. Turning back around, he was just in time to see Harry roll over on his side and get sick all over the bed. All night long, Harry went from sleeping in a fevered state and calling out, to retching over the side of the bed. Severus sat there each time, holding his head and trying to comfort him as best he could. Around the break of dawn, Harry finally settled down, and a weary Severus got up to floo Remus.
