Chapter 5 - A Serious Talk

Severus sat on the floor of Harry's bedroom keeping the boy company; both were lost in their own contemplation. He felt the weight of his son's body leaning against his arm and was grateful they were at a point in their relationship that allowed for comfort without words.

His own thoughts were wrapped around the biggest obstacle he had ever encountered. As a matter of fact he couldn't imagine how he would ever get through this next event unscathed. Just the mere thought of having a fifteen year old arrogant girl live in his home made his head hurt. He knew the ministry had been looking for Vespa and had yet to find even the slightest trace of the wretched woman. Now it was his responsibility to take the ghastly girl into his home. He wondered how Harry would react to having another member in his family. With all probability the boy would keep his true feelings hidden, of this Severus was quite certain.

He glanced at his son and noticed the boy had finally fallen asleep with his head leaning against the bed. Severus hated to wake him but his own arm had fallen asleep with the weight of the teen against it. He pulled his wand out and levitated Harry to the bed. Harry continued to sleep soundly so he flicked his wand and replaced the wrinkled dress robes with cotton pajamas.

Severus went back to his own room but had trouble falling asleep with so many thoughts running through his head. Harry had seemed quite distressed after his visit with Black. Damn that mangy mutt for coming back and disrupting the boy's life when it was already filled with so much difficulty. If it had been up to him he would have forbade Harry from going to the hospital until Black proved he was of sound mind … or at least as sound as he had been before falling through the veil. But he knew the devoted teen would not react well to being forbidden to see the mongrel. He couldn't afford to distance himself from his son at this point. After all the horrors Harry had been through he needed a supportive father in his life. Hopefully the guarded teen would open up to him about whatever had occurred at the hospital that night.

Severus wasn't sure how long he had been asleep but he suddenly startled awake. He lay still and just listened. Something was wrong, he could feel it. A moment later he heard a strangled cry coming out of Harry's room. He jolted out of bed and grabbed his wand from his nightstand.

Severus turned the knob of Harry's bedroom door and noticed how extraordinarily cold it was. He quickly threw the door opened and stepped inside but abruptly stopped when it felt as if he had stepped into a glacial blizzard. The room was so cold that the glass of water by Harry's bedside was now frozen solid. He heard Harry moan out again and quickly went to his side. The teen looked as if he were in the throes of a fearsome nightmare from the way he tossed and turned.

"Harry wake up!" Severus shook his son's shoulders, to no avail. His heart skipped a beat when the boy's breath hitched and then he began to struggle to breathe. His lips were blue from the cold and his mouth continued to open and close as if he were struggling for air. What in Merlin's name was happening?

"Harry wake up! Open your eyes!" He harshly shook the unconscious teen.

Harry's eyes flew open and he immediately looked around the room. He could feel them, they were here!

"Severus I can't see them! Where are they!" Harry screamed in a gravelly voice.

"See who!" Severus stopped the panic stricken teen from bolting from the bed, "What is it?"

"The dementors! Can't you feel them? Oh Merlin, make them stop!" Harry yelled as he grabbed for his wand. He raised his wand in the air and yelled out, "Expecto Patronum!" Nothing happened, not even a tiny wisp of silver. He pushed his father's arm away and scrambled out of bed, "Expecto Patronum!"

Severus watched in confusion. He couldn't see any intruder but what was causing this chill in the air? He raised his own wand when Harry's Patronus failed the second time.

"Expecto Patronum!" Severus' patronus came leaping out of his wand with a blur of wings. The hawk began racing around the room, chasing phantom dementors that neither Harry nor Severus could see. With a shock Severus felt the iciness begin to depart, replaced with the warmth from the roaring fire.

"They're leaving, can you feel them leave?" Harry grabbed his father's arm, shaken by the experience.

"The chill is gone," Severus immediately cast a detection spell. Finding nothing, he checked the wards on the home. Still finding that they had not been compromised he cast another ward on Harry's room.

"What happened?" Harry asked as he looked down at his wand with horror. "I can't cast a Patronus. Why can't I cast a Patronus? How did dementors get in here? "He grabbed his glasses with one hand and clutched his wand with the other. His leg throbbed so intensely he thought he might vomit from the pain as he fell against the bed.

"I too felt the chill but I did not detect a dementor."

"My leg … it really hurts, Dad," Harry sat on the edge of the bed and pulled up his pajama pants to expose his throbbing leg. He heard his father gasp over seeing the swollen limb.

To say that Severus was alarmed was an understatement. He had never seen anything like the inflamed extremity in all his years as a Death Eater. Whatever spell had been cast at his son had been very powerful. It had turned the limb black now with pulsing dark magic.

"Can't you do something!" Harry asked, now in a full panic at the sight of the black leg.

Severus waved his wand around the leg detecting the murky effects of something evil underneath the skin. He had spoken to Albus earlier and learned that he was very close to coming up with a solution to this curse. The headmaster had strongly advised for Severus to keep Harry as calm as possible.

"Take a seat. I will get you a calming draught," Severus said as he helped Harry to the sofa by the fire.

Harry shook his head, "No! I'll go with you to get the draught."

Severus at once understood that the boy did not want to be left alone in this room. He wordlessly steered his son into his own room and deposited the boy on the sofa by the fire. Harry seemed to relax as he sunk into the deep cushions and closed his eyes.

Severus came back a moment later with the calming draught and a pain reliever for the leg, "Drink."

Harry drank quickly, wanting nothing more than to feel relief from the intense pain emanating from his leg, "Why does it have to hurt so much?"

"You need rest," Severus said while he spelled forth a pillow and blanket. "Close your eyes and let the pain reliever begin to work."

"No, I don't think I can sleep again," Harry croaked. "I don't want to sleep." He sat up further, rubbing the sleep from his weary eyes.

Severus sat down next to the exhausted boy, "Do you remember anything leading up to the chill in the air?"

"I was sleeping. I think I was having a nightmare but I don't remember what it was about. You felt the dementors, right?"

"I felt the chill in the air but I detected no dementors," Severus studied his son's face. He could tell Harry was still in a panic.

Harry looked down at the wand in his hand, "Why can't I cast a patronus?"

Severus wrapped an arm around the worried youth's shoulder, "In all likelihood it has to do with the curse. I am sure once the curse has been banished you will be able to cast any spell you wish. Try not to dwell on it. Albus has informed me that he will be ready to rid you of this tomorrow."

"It's hard not to dwell on it," Harry said darkly. "It's all I think about. How's Dumbledore going to get rid of it?"

"I am not certain. I think it best if we change the topic." Severus tried to come up with another topic of discussion to take the boy's mind off the curse, "Perhaps you can explain something to me?" He stood up and walked over to his desk.

Harry watched as his father pulled forth the missing report he was supposed to hand in that day. He took it from the potion master's outstretched hand. "Where did you get this?"

Severus frowned at the boy, "I was hoping you would explain how this ended up on the staircase leading out of the dungeons."

Harry immediately realized that Severus already knew about the confrontation, "It was nothing. Don't go getting mad at that guy either."

"Harry, how I choose to handle the students in my house is not of your concern. I should think you would inform me of any confrontations after all that you have been through. Did you learn nothing?"

"That guy … he was angry because I killed his uncle," Harry confessed with guilt.

"You killed no one except Voldemort. The dementors killed his uncle."

"Technicalities."

"No, you did not kill him. Why did you withhold this information from me?" Severus asked and sat down next to his son once again. He could tell the calming draught was working when Harry leaned back against his arm and yawned.

"I don't know. I didn't want you getting mad at that guy. He was hurting over his loss and … I know how he felt. I felt that same miserable way after losing Sirius. Besides he didn't even hex me when he had the chance."

"Maybe not this time but there is no telling what anger will do to his actions if there should be another encounter. However, you needn't worry; I understand he will be attending Durmstrang for the remainder of the year."

Harry immediately sat up and looked at his father's face, "You kicked him out, didn't you?"

"I will not allow anyone to threaten you. He will get a good education at his new school." Severus felt a slight chill in the air and did not want a repeat of earlier. "Perhaps we should speak of something different."

"No! You brought it up. That guy has friends and a life at Hogwarts. I don't want to be responsible for having him kicked out just when he needs his friends the most."

"You are responsible for nothing. I am his head of house and I will decide what is best for him. Now, end of discussion. I had no idea you would get so upset over Mr. Jackson's removable."

"You have no idea over what that guy is going through! I know exactly what he feels. He just said the truth Severus! At least he's not afraid of saying the truth, unlike everyone else. You had no bloody right!" Harry said with anger, the air crackling with coolness.

"Calm down, boy! I will not tolerate your impudence, no matter how you are suffering," He watched as Harry chewed on his lower lip but begrudgingly settled back against the sofa, this time leaning away from him.

"You can't expel everyone that's angry at me," Harry retorted sharply but with less anger.

Severus decided an answer to that retort would not be wise at this time. He was not about to inform his son that he had already expelled everyone that might hold a grudge against him. He folded his arms across his chest and studied the boy's accusing eyes. "I think another calming draught might be in order."

"No! I don't want to fall asleep."

"I still think it best at this time," Severus stated and began to rise.

"I'll calm down, I promise," Harry said and forced his anger down. His mind drifted to the supper in the Great Hall.

He looked back up at his father and asked, "Can you believe Dumbledore tricked me with that party tonight? He knew I wouldn't have gone if he told me about it before."

"Actually, I can believe the old fool tricked us. He felt it was good for you to be recognized for all that you did. It turned out well enough in the end. I was … touched by the speech you made," Severus said as he looked at his son.

"I meant it," Harry said seriously then leaned against his father's arm once more.

"Harry, it was you that stood up against Voldemort. I did nothing," Severus said as he looked into his son's eyes. "Your bravery knows no bounds."

Harry chuckled, "Ha, that sounds hilarious at a time like this. Just look at me … I'm too frightened to fall asleep and I have to sleep in my father's bedroom!"

Severus wrapped a long arm over his son's shoulder and waited for the boy to fall asleep once more.

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The next morning Harry awoke to his leg throbbing with pain. He rolled off the sofa and onto his one good leg. He looked around for his father but the Potion Master was not about. He looked at the clock and realized he was late for breakfast. He hopped into the bathroom and quickly showered, then dressed into jeans and a black button down shirt. He quickly pulled a comb through his hair before grabbing his cane and heading down the stairs to breakfast.

Half way down the winding staircase he was forced to stop as the pain flared in his leg to an all time high. He leaned against the banister, panting as the throbbing intensified. His eyes were squeezed shut and his breath was hitching in and out when Severus walked out of his study and looked up the staircase. He stopped and watched as his son composed himself then continued down the stairs.

"Good morning, how are you feeling?" Severus asked from the dark hallway, catching Harry completely unaware.

"Morning, um, fine. Yeah, I feel great," Harry said with forced enthusiasm. "How are you?"

Severus studied the boy's pale complexion and shaky stance. He knew Harry was trying to hide his pain once again and it bothered him to no end. What was the point of hiding the pain?

"I am fine," Severus answered back darkly.

"Um, thanks for staying with me last night." Harry added when he noticed his father's frown, "Are you mad at me?"

"No, I am not mad." Severus walked into the large dining room and pulled a chair back for Harry to sit in. He detected the slight tremor in the boy when he bent his leg to sit. How long was the teen going to go on with this farce? It was quite obvious that the young man was in pain.

Harry grabbed the plate of eggs and put some on his plate along with toast. He forced the food down, hoping it would settle his stomach. He hated to lie about the way he was feeling to his father but he didn't want to be stopped from seeing Sirius today. After those harsh words Sirius spoke yesterday he didn't want to take any chances that his father might force him to stay home and rest.

He looked up at Severus and noticed the frown was still present, "Are you mad because I was late for breakfast? I overslept but I promise it won't happen again."

"For the last time, I am not angry at you! Now eat up before Lupin arrives," Severus snapped out, immediately regretting sounding so harsh.

"Yes sir," Harry said quietly. His eyes drifted over to the pile of newspapers sitting on the sideboard. He could clearly see his face smiling back at him. He lifted his wand and pointed at the stack of papers, "Accio newspapers." The stack came floating over.

He rifled through the top paper, noticing the picture of himself and Severus. The picture was taken when he had just turned around to hug his father. He could see the unshed tears in his father's eyes. He sat staring at that picture for quite some time, realizing how prized that moment was. He decided to keep the copy and frame the picture. He looked up when he realized Severus had been staring at him.

"Did you see this Dad?"

"Yes, I read the article. It paints a very accurate picture of you and your experiences with the Dark Lord."

"That's refreshing. It's a far cry better than the way they portrayed me last year. I think everyone thought I was nutters for most of the year. I think some people still think I'm a little touched in the head."

"And you think you are not?" Severus asked dryly.

"Ha ha, very funny," Harry answered back and threw his rolled up napkin at his father, hitting him in the face.

Severus threw the napkin back at his son. "You would have to be touched in the head to do what you just did. You're acting ridiculously bold for a boy who can not run," Severus said with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

"I might not be able to run but I still have my wand," Harry raised his wand and pointed it at his father. Severus raised his own wand and pointed it at Harry. They both called forth spells at the same time. Water came shooting out of Harry's wand and green goo came gushing out of Severus' wand.

Severus pushed his chair back and moved away from the stream of water. Harry had a difficult time getting away from the stream of goo. By the time he was ready to surrender he was covered in the sticky stuff from head to toe. Both were laughing so hard they missed the arrival of Remus, who stood watching the scene unfold before him. He had never imagined Severus Snape was capable of playing this way, let alone laughing so genuinely.

"Am I interrupting an important lesson?" Remus joked from the dining room doorway.

"Yeah, I just learned that Severus won't hesitate to take advantage of an injured boy!" Harry teased, still laughing at his father's wet hair dripping on the Persian carpet.

"Only an insufferable, cheeky, injured boy, who starts something he can not finish," Severus stated with a smirk.

Harry pointed his wand at himself and said, "Scourgify." The green goo remained. He raised his wand once more and said with more force, "Scourgify!" Nothing. He immediately thought of the Patronus he couldn't cast last night and looked alarmingly at his father. He noticed the smirk still in place and realized Severus was playing a joke on him. He must have cast some sort of anti-scourgify spell on the green goo.

"You're just a barrel of laughs this morning. Do you think you could give me a hand here," Harry asked with hopefulness as the green goo ran down his face and puddled in his lap.

"I might consider it … if you admit that you are in need of a pain potion," Severus declared.

"How… I mean .. why do you think I'm in pain?" Harry asked but already knew his father must have seen him on the staircase. "Okay, I'll admit …it would be nice to have something for my leg."

"Was that so hard?" Severus admonished. He pulled forth a pain reliever from his pocket after he cleaned both himself and his son with a flick of his wand.

Harry downed the pain reliever quickly, glad for the relief it offered, "Good stuff!"

Severus walked Harry and Lupin to the fireplace, all the while giving them warnings about safety. They both rolled their eyes at each other behind the Potion Master's back. Harry gave his dad a quick hug before entering the floo.

Severus delayed Lupin's entrance into the floo with a dark warning, "Make sure he comes back with a smile. I do not want to see him like I did last night or the visits will cease."

Remus nodded, feeling a slight a curl of guilt in his stomach. He would be sure to curb any outbursts Sirius had today.

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Harry stepped out of the floo and into the hospital waiting room filled with people. He immediately ducked his head and faced the wall before anyone could recognize who he was. He noticed a woman reading the newspaper with his picture on the cover. He also noticed a picture on the back of the paper that he hadn't seen this morning. It was the picture taken when he was in the hospital after being rescued from Vernon. His face looked so swollen and blue that it was hard to tell it was actually him.

A sudden thought entered his mind; did Sirius know the extent of what had taken place at the Dursley's? He wasn't sure how his Godfather would take that particular bit of news. Just then Remus joined him and they walked up to the locked ward to visit Sirius.

Healer Fairchild was coming down the hall as they entered the ward.

"Hello, Harry, Remus," greeted the healer. "Mr. Black is in a fine mood today. Do you suppose I could have a word with you Remus before you visit Sirius?"

"Do you think it is safe for Harry to be alone with Sirius?" Remus asked, remembering the very real threat from Severus.

"Yes, he has been a perfect patient since Harry's last visit."

Remus nodded towards Harry and followed the healer into her office. Harry turned towards the door and noticed it was no longer locked. That was a good sign. Apparently they trusted Sirius enough to let him walk the ward. He pushed the door opened and saw his Godfather sitting in the chair in the corner. He was dressed in blue jeans and a long sleeved shirt.

"Hi Sirius," greeted Harry and walked towards his Godfather. He stopped when he became aware of the newspaper on Sirius' lap. That picture of him and Severus was staring back at him.

Sirius looked towards the door before he spoke, "I can't tell you how disappointed I was to see this. Did it ever occur to you that Snape was your father's enemy? Did it ever occur to you that this … this relationship you have developed with that overgrown bat was like a slap in the face to us Marauders?"

Harry shook his head, "No. But I didn't plan for any of this to happen either. Severus is really important to me, Sirius. He's not the same person you once knew."

"How could you defend that bastard? I don't understand how you can even consider him more than a greasy, malicious, git, after all that he put you through for so many years!" Sirius rose to his feet and advanced menacingly towards Harry.

Harry was already standing close to the door so he didn't have anywhere else to go. "Sirius, I'm not going to stand here and let you put Severus down. You'll just have to get used to the fact that he's in my life now."

"Harry, I don't have to get used to anything! As far as I'm concerned he had no right to adopt you. I've already contacted the ministry and requested that the adoption be nullified on the grounds that you are my ward." Sirius was breathing hard and his face took on a hard, uncompromising glare. "And you can bet that once I have custody of you, that greasy bastard will not be allowed to see you!"

"But … I-I just want things to stay the same," Harry exclaimed, trying hard not to come right out and say that he didn't want to be adopted by Sirius any longer.

"I don't know what potion you were given but once I get you home you'll start to see how stupid you were to trust Snape," Sirius was standing so close to his godson that his spittle hit Harry on the face. Harry backed up into the door.

"Sirius, you can't do this," Harry said in alarm. "He's my-my father now."

Sirius turned a deeper shade of red and cocked back his arm. His punch landed on the door next to Harry's head. "Don't you ever let me catch you calling him that again." Sirius kicked Harry's cane to the other side of the room then abruptly turned his back on the shaking teen. "You might be months away from adulthood but I plan on using that time to set you straight."

"Please Sirius, please. You have to understand what I went through," Harry pleaded with a hammering heart.

"What Harry? Exactly what pushed you to the point that you would accept Snape as a father?" Sirius couldn't even look at the boy. He had his head leaning against the wall and gripped a handful of his own hair in his fist.

Harry didn't know how much to tell him, "You- you know about the Dursley's, right?"

"No. What does any of this have to do with Muggles?"

Harry gulped deeply, "Well, Vernon, you know my uncle? Well, he … um, he started hurting me this past summer."

Sirius spun around so fast it caught Harry off guard and he stumbled into the rubbish can.

"You mean to say … are you telling me that fat arsed Muggle hit you?" Sirius stood toe to toe with the teen now. He watched his godson look down, then look towards the wall, avoiding any and all eye contact.

"Yeah, he did. Severus took me away from them, fixed me up too," Harry practically whispered.

Sirius snorted, "Harry, I grew up getting hit by my spiteful mother every other day. I didn't need anyone coming in and saving me either. If that had been your father he would have just hit that fat bastard back! "

"I couldn't. He had Hedwig and was hurting her too," shame and humiliation washed over him.

Just then Remus walked in holding a stack of papers. He froze when he saw that Sirius was angry with Harry.

"What's going on?" Remus asked, looking over towards Harry to make sure he was alright.

Harry quickly looked away but Sirius spoke up, "The kid claims he was driven to Snape by his uncle's punishments."

"That is quite true. His uncle came very close to causing permanent injury," Remus said slowly, hoping Sirius would not blow up over hearing this new bit of information.

"What, so he hit you a few times and you go running off to Snape!" Sirius accused, walking towards his godson. Harry was looking down at his shoes when he felt Sirius roughly force his chin up. "Now's your time to talk," Sirius spat out, then released Harry's chin.

"I don't know what you want to hear?" Harry said in defeated tone of voice.

Remus had the newspaper in his hand and turned it to the back page. The page Harry knew had that picture of him in the hospital.

"Sirius, read this," Remus thrust the paper towards his friend. He watched as Sirius' face crumbled when he saw the damage done to his godson. Sirius began to read the article and tears fell down, wetting the ink.

"That Muggle did this to you!" Sirius screamed in a high pitched voice. "You let that Muggle do this!"

"I-I couldn't, I-I tried but …he - he tied my hands. I w-wanted to fight. I swear I wanted to fight," Harry stammered out, swimming in shame for not reacting like a true Marauder.

Sirius crumbled to the ground with the picture tightly gripped in his hands, "Tied your hands?" he asked in a high pitched voice. "Tied you up? … I'll kill him!" His voice cracked with emotion. "It's all my fault."

"No! You can't go near him, they'll put you back in jail," Harry said in a panic over causing more grief to his godfather.

"Sirius, the Muggles have been dealt with. They have been punished by the ministry," Remus said in a calm voice as he helped his friend from the floor. "Calm down before Fairchild walks in and revokes your release."

Sirius looked up, "You mean I'm being released?"

"It would seem so," Remus said with a satisfied grin. Sirius hugged his friend tightly. He turned towards his godson and wrapped him in a tight embrace. "We're okay, aren't we?"

Harry nodded but remained guarded.

His response wasn't good enough for Sirius. "Harry, I'm just trying to do right by your father. Living with me will be so much more fun than living with an unyielding, conniving bat."

Harry continued looking down, not wanting to reveal the alarm that was running through him over the thought of being taken away from Severus.

"You'll see, Harry. Everything will turn out for the best," the animagus said in a cheery voice.

Harry's alarm over Sirius' abrupt happiness only intensified when his Godfather began to laugh in a high pitched maniacal way. Sirius grabbed him roughly by the arms, digging his fingers in so harshly it made Harry wince, "Harry, I'll take care of everything."

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