Child of Mine
Chapter 7
To the Rescue
Severus ran full speed to Hagrid's hut, his sharp eyes could see the giant standing before it, crying as he called out for Harry. A group of children were converging on the hut from all directions, disheveled and breathing hard. Fear and/or tears were evident on the faces of most of them, and some of the youngest were noticeably crying, but trying desperately to be quiet about it.
"We can't find him anywhere!" Ron cried out, terror making him shrill. Snape's heart skipped a beat, anger evident in his face, as he reached them and skidded to a halt.
"What have you done with the boy?!" he shouted in a mix of fear and barely contained rage. His hands were clenched at his sides as he tried not to throttle the closest child to him.
"He ran away!" Amber gasped out, holding her ribs as a cramp bent her over in pain.
"We've checked EVERYWHERE!!!" Perrin blurted out, "The gardens, the lake, the quidditch pitch, all around the sides of the castle, the only place we HAVEN'T gone is-" she slowly turned her head towards the dark forest and Severus' face drained of it's color.
"Hagrid, if ANYTHING has happened to that child I'll take it out of your hide-" Severus growled, glaring at the tormented man.
"Not now, Severus!" Remus stopped him from going any further and saying something he'd regret later. "We have to search the forest. Children, stay in groups of three, and search no further then a few yards into the forest, if you can't find him, go get ALBUS, do not search any deeper lest you get hurt. Severus, Hagrid and I will search the deeper parts, send out red sparks if you are hurt, green sparks if you find him."
The children nodded and dashed off all ways as the adults quickly cleared the first set of trees and ran deep into the forest, disappearing from view.
Fred and George were gone immediately once ordered to search, but unlike the first and fifth years, they knew more magic and protection spells, and had a better chance of surviving the deeper parts of the forest. They ran to the quidditch broom shed and with an 'Alohomora', the door unlocked and they grabbed the schools Cleansweep brooms and mounted them. They whipped off towards the forest, looking together everywhere they could, calling for Harry every now and then, as they soared higher, searching just as desperately as the rest.
Once inside the deeper boundaries of the forest, the adults split up, Hagrid going straight, Remus taking the left, and Snape to the right. Fear gripped all three adults as they hunted for the helpless child that had been placed in their care. All of them were bound and determined NOT to return to Hogwarts without that child. Severus was all for blasting the forest to the ground to find Harry if that's what it took. Nothing short of Voldemort killing him would stop Severus from seeing that Harry got back home safely.
~*~
Firenze's heart pounded fiercely, blood pumping wildly as he leaped over dead trees, bushes, rocks and roots. He knew now he was being chased. And not just by a lone 'kitty' as Harry had dubbed them, But by at least seven or eight of the things. Every time a flash of darkness would catch the corner of his eye he'd frantically dodge out of the way just in time to miss a claw or a bite. Several of the claws HAD hit him already, it caused no more damage then a house cat, although the width of the cuts were bigger, it was not as bad as a panther swiping him, which was what he'd expected from so large a feline. But with enough cuts he would bleed to death. And for some reason he was becoming lethargic, his movements had become clumsier, and they HAD managed to swipe him two more times.
Harry was sobbing now because of how roughly he was being treated, his fear escalating in tandem with Firenze's. All of a sudden the centaur skidded to a halt, reared, and backed up a few steps, as a growl erupted from directly in front of them. With only that for warning, they were attacked once again.
Firenze tried dodging the animal that blocked his path. Only to feel another's claw's rake home along his side. Trying to hold a child while running was never an easy task, but being assaulted from all sides by multiple predators, made it nigh-impossible.
Hearing a cry of pain, Firenze realized that Harry had been clawed by the lead cat. A scream of sheer terror from the child followed, and the... things... froze. Giving Firenze the opening he needed, he bolted as well as he could and staggering slightly, managed to jump a log, holding Harry more protectively then before.
Where was he to go? Would the creatures stop chasing them once they escaped the forest? Or did they not care of that? All Firenze could do was keep running, and pray he could stay upright long enough to reach the castle.
Severus stopped cold and his heart froze as he heard a high-pitched scream echo through the woods. He'd know that scream anywhere! He had dealt with it for five days- "HARRY!?!?!" he roared, his voice more powerful then before, and twice as stressed. Gods, if anything happened to the boy-!
Within a moment he was crashing through the underbrush, racing towards the direction of Harry's scream. He was already tired and winded from running through the woods non-stop to begin with, but he wasn't going to stop now. Somewhere from deep within him, Severus found reserves of energy he didn't know he possessed as he plunged onward. He couldn't seem to calm himself down, though he was thinking logically enough to know where he was and what he was doing.
Firenze looked up as he heard a human cry out from the direction of Hogwarts, he cantered awkwardly towards the sound, if he could reach that voice, perhaps they could help him protect Harry.
A second shout echoed through the woods and Firenze heard it clearly, the person was calling out for Harry! And this time Harry heard it, too, for he had gone silent, and then-
"DADDY, HELP!!!" the child screeched, instantly recognizing the voice calling him.
Without warning, four of the strange felines leaped out, surrounding them, two in front and two behind. Firenze screeched to a halt, prancing nervously in place, as he watched the creatures anxiously. They held steady, heads low, ears pricked and tails lashing. A deep throated rumbling growl could be heard from several of them. What was he to do? He couldn't shoot arrows at them, not with Harry in his arms – But he COULD use his bow to swing it at them if they came near, to batter them with. That and his hooves were his only weapons. He could always make a new bow, and there was no way he would release the child to defend himself from these things. Perhaps others in his tribe
didn't wish to involve themselves with the human wizards, and would leave them to their fate... even if that fate be death... but Firenze could not do that... He would fight to his last breathe.
Just then one of the creatures leaped at him from the rear. Whirling rapidly, Firenze kicked out with his hind legs sending the creature flying eight feet back into the bushes where it landed with a satisfying crash and a high-pitched squeal, not unlike an offended, and hopefully injured, cat.
"DADDY!!!" Harry screamed out yet again, wanting his protector there more than ever. His green eyes were wide with terror, and he was shaking uncontrollably.
Now one can argue that Snape's paternal instinct was like that of a male bear, (practically non-existent) but at the sound of the panic-stricken child that he had been watching for nearly a week, it multiplied beyond belief - - Whipping his wand out, he was ready to Jinx whatever it was that was hurting Harry into the next world and beyond.
"HARRY!" his voice thundered as he neared where his charge was. But he stopped immediately as his eyes fell upon the unusual, but dangerous looking, creatures before him... And there was Harry, and a centaur, in the middle of them all, kicking and
whirling trying to stay out of the way of flashing claws and teeth.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Without a second thought to the consequences of using the unforgivable spell, and with the skill and precision of only the greatest of duelists, Snape unerringly hit one of the offending creatures.
The beast screeched in pain and leapt into a shadow, melding and disappearing immediately from view. Severus was shocked for a moment that the thing hadn't died outright, but gathered his thoughts together quickly and aimed for another one. The remaining three predators looked at the newly arrived warrior who had just entered the battlefield, then at where their wounded kin had vanished, and fled themselves.
Snape rushed over to the centaur, "Who are you? Where did you find him?!" he asked in rapid-fire succession. Severus held out his arms and gently took Harry from Firenze, cradling the crying child to his chest and running a soothing hand over his hair as Harry clung tightly to his robes.
"I'm Firenze, a friend of Hagrid, the groundskeeper. I found Harry in the forest, crying and alone," he informed the distraught wizard who was tenderly and possessively caressing the shuddering, frightened child.
"Harry, I'm going to skin you alive when we get back. You gave me a heart attack!" Snape scolded the sobbing boy. "If you ever do this again, when you get back to normal, I'll have you in detention for a week!"
Firenze raised an eyebrow at this statement, which was in complete contrast to the actions of the man, "Were you the only one searching for him?"
"No, I wasn't..." he pulled out his wand and with a wave shot off green sparks into the air. "I needed to signal the others... Are you all right?" he inquired.
Firenze blinked at the man who was starting to become a little fuzzy around the edges and shook his head, "I do not think so, I think their claws had a poison of some kind on them- -"
"Then follow me, I need to get to Hagrid and the others, we can help you at Hogwarts." He tucked Harry even closer while the boy buried his head into Severus' neck. Snape turned and the centaur followed slowly behind him, stumbling frequently, but keeping up.
"Daddy..." Harry sniffled, no longer crying, but he snuggled closer. "Kitty bad. I hurt-"
"What?!" Snape responded sharply. "Where?" Severus pulled Harry away from him and then began examining the boy. Harry protested mildly to being pulled away from the comforting shoulder he was cuddling, but otherwise remained silent, only pouting a little. On his upper right arm were claw marks, only two, but about a centimeter wide each, and only partly deep. Had Harry been bigger, the claws would not have caused so much damage, but he was only a small boy...
"That's it, you're going straight to Pomfrey," Snape said decidedly. Then muttered beneath his breath, "Damn, I wish we could apparate."
When they had finally reached Hagrid's hut all the children and adults were waiting anxiously, including Albus. Poppy was running towards them with Amber.
"Is Harry all right?!"
"Did you find him?!"
"Who the hell is that?"
"Watch your language!"
"Hey, that's a centaur!"
"Where'd you find him?"
"He looks scratched up- OW!"
"Mind your manners!"
"As if you're one to talk Amber- OW!"
"CHILDREN, please!" Albus raised his voice sharply to hush them. "What happened, Severus?" He hid his surprise at the fact that a very calm Harry was contentedly cuddled into Snape, head nestled into his robes.
"Harry wandered into the forest and Firenze found him and helped protect him from these cat-like creatures that I've never seen before," Snape explained, still rubbing a hand soothingly over Harry's back. "I think the claws or the fangs may have had some kind of venom, Firenze is feeling ill- -"
"Tired-" Firenze corrected. "Even in the middle of battle, it's like a lethargy..." he explained as he knelt down, too exhausted to stand any longer. "If they had hit me just a few more times, I think I might have actually been brought down. Effective attack, that. Harry, unfortunately got hit too- but not too badly, I believe..."
Hagrid stepped over to Firenze and placed a large hand over his shoulder, "We'll take care of yeh, don' worry. Thank you for protecting 'Arry."
"Yes, thank you indeed. That's twice you've saved him," Albus added with a small smile.
"I must admit, the child had me confused for a while... He asked to be taken to his father... I thought he was speaking of James..." Firenze looked at Severus, then shook his head, "I suppose I was mistaken."
Harry then spoke, gazing up into Severus' eyes as he yawned, "Tired daddy, wanna sleep."
The children gaped silently at Harry and Snape, not believing what they'd just heard their friend call their Professor. Albus' eyes flashed in affection and amusement, but he remained quiet, he wasn't going to draw Severus' attention to the sudden change in his relationship with Harry... yet.
Remus firmly clamped his jaw shut tight over a laugh and barely managed to keep from grinning. Oh, he was going to have fun with this later... much later... when Severus wouldn't bite his head off for speaking. For a man who claimed to loathe and despise
the-boy-who-lived, he was doing a damn good job of being an overprotective and caring father figure. From the looks of it, Remus would lay odds that no one could PRY the child from Severus' arms, short of using magic.
Poppy went over to check Harry first and began placing fingers on vital points, checking to see if physically he was all right, then ran a wand over him murmuring quietly... finally she spoke, "It seems to be a sleeping poison... Not lethal, but the cuts need to be healed." with that she waved her wand and chanted the necessary words, leaving his flesh was cleansed and once again unscathed. "Mr. Firenze, on the other hand should stay down here while I take care of his wounds with some ointment and a potion. I have the needed supplies in my bag with me."
"Firenze, I can help you get into my hut," Hagrid offered. Firenze nodded, and Hagrid helped the centaur stagger to his feet and then guided him to the inside of his house.
"Go give Harry a bath and let him sleep, that seems to be the best thing for him now," Poppy informed Snape. "If he's hungry, give him something light. When he wakes, definitely feed him a hearty meal." Snape nodded and Poppy followed the giant and centaur into the hut.
"Five points to Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor for helping in this search, and for quick thinking," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling behind his spectacles as he smiled broadly at all the upset children.
"Although I should most likely TAKE those points away for LOSING him in the first place," Snape growled quietly, but still loud enough to be heard.
Harry began whimpering and Snape's face changed from a snarl to something infinitely more gentle, as he went back to calming Harry, murmuring quietly to him.
Ron and Hermione gaped with the twins and Neville, as once again, their 'nasty' potions master shocked them to the core. Ron was wondering who this man was, and where the hell Snape had gone to!
"I think I need to go lay down... Too much sun... I'm hallucinating..." Fred muttered. This was too much for him... seven years he'd known this man, and now this?
"Excuse me-" he then walked off with his twin, both utterly confused. As they walked away, George whispered, "If you're hallucinating, I'm going along for the ride... Unbelieveable..."
"I told you you had to calm down around him, professor," Amber smirked knowingly. She was bouncing with glee at having been proven right.
Snape favored her with 'the look' as she grinned cheekily at him, "Ms. Posten..." he warned her softly.
"Right, understood, I'm off to do 'work', bai!" she grabbed her friends (Ben, Salamanthia, Perrin) and hauled them all back to the castle, chattering about everything that had happened that day.
Remus smiled finally and placed a hand on Neville and Ron's shoulders, "Come on Ron, Neville, Hermoine... we best go inside... Leave the now over-protective father with his child." He couldn't resist, he had HAD to say it... now to see how Severus would react.
Remus grinned cheekily at Snape, who gave him a glare that promised pain at some future time, before he nodded at his stressed-out friend and turned to guide the three fifth years back to the castle.
"Well, Severus, let's go. You could BOTH probably use a nap right about now," Albus suggested. Severus nodded and sighed wearily, as both of them followed the rest of the herd back to the school. Harry yawned and curled up against his daddy's neck, clutching the black robes possessively in his small fists, safe at last.
~*~
A/N: Do you like? Don't kill me for taking so long! I was very very sick! The kinda sick where you end up at the doctors…. Anyway, Chapter 8 is written! Just not posted yet… Should be up by next Monday or this Friday…. Toot – a – Loo! Oh, for those of you who are reading my other Harry Potter story, 'A Jinx to Treasure' WHO should Lilly be paired up with, and two, should I continue it? Thanks a bunch, bai!
PS: Sorry, I would have had this up on WEDNESDAY but FF.net outsmarted me. The NORMAL way of uploading stories to edit chapters was CHANGED on me. It took me till TODAY to go … " OH! So THIS is how you do it." And I figured it out just by site. No directions. I'm stubborn that way…. But now I know what to do *laughs evilly* It thought it had OUTSMARTED me forever but it was wrong!!!