Yo. So sorry about the wait. If you've read anything else I've updated more recently, then you already know I've been focused on the Hobbit/LOTR fandoms, which, coupled with writer's block, and a really crappy RL, makes it pretty hard to get anything done. Anyway, thank you to all readers, and especially to those who reviewed!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters...
Tapping each lock, Severus pulled the door open, jaw nearly dropping at the sight that met him. Laying curled up on a small mattress in the tiny space, was a naked, bloody, and bruised Harry Potter. Severus just stared for a moment, unable to comprehend what he was looking at.
"Hullo, professor," greeted the exhausted looking teen in a scratchy voice. He sounded dehydrated.
Finally pulled out of his stupor, Severus yanked up his Occlumency shields, and merely nodded his head in reply, before reaching into the cupboard to help Potter out. "You smell horrid," he stated once the boy was standing in front of him, with his support, of course.
Potter just shrugged vaguely. "My bucket's full."
Realizing Potter meant just that, considering he had caught a glimpse of a bucket in the corner of the cupboard, Severus' lip curled in a disgusted frown. He was going to kill the Dursleys. "Bath." Spells, even the strongest ones, were not going to be good enough.
"Does it look like I can bathe myself?" questioned Potter with a raised brow.
The man sighed. "Very well. I suppose I can aid you," he said in a suffering tone. And ignoring the still silenced and petrified Dursleys, he helped the nude teen up the stairs and into the bathroom. He sat him down on the edge of the tub, before pulling off his frock coat and rolling up his crisp, white sleeves.
He turned on the shower, then scowled before conjuring up a waterproof bench in the tub, and seating Potter down onto that. Severus did what he could to help the boy bathe, absently realizing he hadn't done something like this since Draco had been five or six years old and he'd had to give his godson a bath. His mother would have been scandalized had she seen how filthy he had been. Potter, being a teenager, should never have even needed this help. And yet...
"What are you doing here anyway?" questioned Potter suddenly.
Severus raised a brow. It sounded to him that the teen was merely asking for formality's sake. He didn't actually sound all that interested. He answered regardless. "Headmaster Dumbledore wishes for me to escort you to the Burrow."
"Current Order Headquarters... I see."
Potter remained silent for a moment, allowing him to wash the grub out of his hair. The Potions Master briefly wondered why he wasn't more shocked about all of this. He supposed it was because part of him had expected it. Perhaps not to this extent, but something.
He had known for years that the boy had been suffering through some form of abuse. He may have been prejudiced, but he was a spy, and was far from blind. He had noticed in Potter's first year. In fact, he had noticed it the moment he had laid eyes on him. But after questioning the Headmaster, and informing him of his observations, well, Albus Dumbledore made it clear he felt there was nothing wrong.
And look how that turned out. Again. Severus shook his head and sighed inwardly. That old fool was never going to learn, was he? "How long has this been going on for?" he asked.
Potter shrugged slightly awkwardly. "Since I was left here?"
Severus sighed, instructing the teen to shut his eyes so he could rinse his hair. Yes, Dumbledore had once again made a grave mistake, and something was telling him that the boy he was currently helping bathe, knew exactly who to blame for his circumstances.
Deeming Potter clean enough, Severus shut off the water, dried him off with a charm, and helped him into that horrifying room, sitting him down on the bed.
"Clothing?"
"In the wardrobe. The door won't fall. Just support it."
Severus turned and pulled open the broken door, immediately reaching out to catch it when it appeared to be about to fall. He then noticed it was only attached at one of the hinges and, as Potter had said, supported the wood so it wouldn't break completely. Peering at the clothes within, he sneered. More like rags, really.
"Do you not have anything more decent?"
"Nothing other than my robes."
The professor sighed again, lip curling, and pulled out the least offending clothing, before shutting the wardrobe door and returning to help Potter dress. Once this task was done, the boy was already exhausted, and was quick to sit back down on the edge of the bed, breathing a little heavy.
Pulling out his wand, Severus ran a simple diagnostic spell, and found that while Potter did not seem to be too injured at the moment (discounting the bruises), he most certainly had been in the past, and many times. His weight was almost dangerously low, and he was clearly malnourished. He masked a frown. He was weak, yes, but not enough for his magic to have not been strong enough to feel. Unless...
He flicked and twitched his wand in a complex pattern, and the results were not what he had expected. Potter's Magical Core was nearly depleted. His magic must have been what had been healing him all summer. No wonder he couldn't sense anything!
He refocused. The teen needed nutrient potions for sure, and more food. That weight had to come back up, and soon, though not all at once. Some of the old injuries hadn't healed properly, like the broken bones, which he was going to have to re-break and set into place before healing once more.
"When was the last time you ate, Potter?"
The boy looked up, blinked, and then shrugged. "A few days ago? Three, maybe four? I don't really remember. I think I blacked out."
Nodding, the Potions Master glanced around, spotting what he hadn't before. Potter's trunk and broom sat in the corner of the room. Giving his wand a little twitch, both shrank and he placed them in a pocket. "Where is your owl?"
"With Ron."
"Very well. Come." Helping the boy up, he led him back down the stairs, and into the kitchen, passing the still silenced and petrified Dursleys in the sitting room. "Sit," he gestured at one of the chairs at the table. "Fruits?"
"In the fridge. At the bottom."
Opening the fridge, Severus knelt down to examine what fruits there were. He needed something soft-not an apple...the only pears were too hard...an orange? Yes, that was fine. He pulled out an orange and squeezed it gently. Satisfied, he straightened up and used a spell to peel and separate it, before grabbing a plate from the drainer to set the sections on, and placing this in front of the boy. "Eat."
Potter didn't argue, and did as told, tucking in immediately. Leaving him at it, Severus returned to the sitting room, and made three mind trips via Occlumency, wanting to find out just how Potter was treated this household. Suffice to say, he was far from pleased.
After making his way back into the kitchen, he found the teen was just finishing his orange. Seeing this, he dug into his robes for his potion's kit, and pulled out a nutrient potion, pausing to think about the required dosage by Potter's weight. He measured it out, then held the vial out.
"Drink." The boy did so, not even hesitating. Was he not worried about his "evil" professor poisoning him?
"I know a Nutrient Potion when I see one," Potter explained suddenly, as if having noticed where his thoughts had begun to stray. "I've taken it before."
Surprised, Severus raised a brow. "When?"
The teen shrugged. "Summer before fifth year. Sirius gave it to me. Said I needed it."
Surprise became incredulity. The Dog had managed to give Potter a potion without killing him? It was indeed a miracle.
"I know what you're thinking," stated Potter, gazing at him with a steady, green eyes. "Sirius knew his potions, you know. He had to. He used to be an Auror."
Oh...yes, that was true. He had forgotten. Not that anything was ever going to change his opinion of the Mutt. Regardless, he was dead now, so it didn't even matter, did it?
"When are we leaving?" asked Potter abruptly.
"Soon, unless you would rather be healed there instead of here?"
"Nope. Here is just fine."
"Very well." Severus pulled out both his wand and his potions' kit, setting the latter of the two on the kitchen table. Recalling what needed to be done, he informed the teen of what he would be doing now, and in the long run.
He simply nodded once. "That's fine."
The immediate healing process began, the man keeping a close eye on the teen's reactions. Potter was far too calm. He should have been indignant, argumentative, a Gryffindor. But he wasn't. He simply sat there and continued to watch the professor with those emerald eyes that had never looked more eerie.
Severus was no fool. He knew Potter was hiding something beyond this abuse that was happening. Hiding something that was going to be a very big deal in the long run. Something that was, perhaps, his side in the war.
The boy was no longer bothering with pretences. It was evident that he had chosen his path, and had no desire to put on what must have been the act he had been playing all these years.
For a brief moment, the Potions Master debating on simply asking. Would Potter tell him if he did? The most obvious answer, of course, was no, but there was a small chance that he would. Unless this was the act, and Potter was simply stringing him on in an attempt to throw him off.
Conflicted now, Severus stood. "Come, we will depart now."
"Sure." He got to his feet, steady now. "And the Dursleys?"
Severus paused. He had not thought that far ahead. The Headmaster, he knew, would deny what had taken place in this house, despite the glaring evidence. The Dark Lord, on the other hand, would happily kill the Dursleys, regardless of what had happened to the teen. Or, he could always have a little...chat with the three himself. Warn them of what their future held. Severus despised abuse of any kind, no matter who the victim was.
"Don't do anything to them."
The voice snapped the man out of his thoughts. "Pardon me?"
"The Dursleys," Potter clarified. "Don't do anything to them."
Severus raised a brow, and peered down at the dark haired boy. "Why?" he questioned simply.
Potter stared up at him in silence for a long moment, as if considering whether or not he should tell him whatever it was that he was thinking. "I have my reasons," finally said. And as if aware he was about to counter that, added, "I'm the one they've been hurting, so I have the right to decide what'll happen to them."
"And what are you planning on, exactly?"
"I'm not sure yet, but I'll think of something."
Severus wasn't sure if it was a trick of the light, but for a second, half a second even, Potter's emerald irises glowed as bright as the Killing Curse. "Very well," he spoke, returning to the sitting room to undo the spells he had placed on those disgusting relatives.
He did nothing else, said nothing else, and was amused by the fear in their eyes. No doubt they had expected him to curse them or something to that effect. He certainly would have done so as well, if it hadn't been for Potter. He did not envy them, that was for sure.
As he had all of the teen's belongings, he headed for the door, finding the raven haired teen leaning up against it, waiting for him. He appeared calm, nonchalant, as if his most hated professor hadn't found him locked in a cupboard (among other things).
"Ready yet?"
Not at all surprised by the lack of respect, he inclined his head. "Come."
They left Number Four, and walked down the street until they reached an area where they wouldn't been seen. Severus extended an arm, and Potter took it without question, and the two spun, and vanished on the spot in silence.
And that's it for now. To be honest, I'm not particularly pleased with this chapter. Something about it just seems...off to me, but I can't figure out why. Anyway, the next chapter will feature Harry's POV, so we can finally find out what's been going on in that mind of his. Do I know what that is yet? No, no I don't. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!