Summary: The war is over for everyone but Harry. He is still fighting just to survive, but he won't make it on his own. Just when he's given up, help comes along.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, but I do own my imagination which takes me on wonderful adventures.
PLEASE NOTE: I am in the process of revising and finishing this story. I have removed all the chapters that had been previously uploaded because they have been slightly modified.
Chapter 6: Theories
The week crawled by slowly on Harry's part. Severus did his best to keep him distracted and busy, but it was difficult.
Eventually, he felt the need to provide reassurance. "Don't lose hope, Harry," Severus remonstrated at the disheartened expression on Harry's face following another afternoon of unfruitful research. "We've only just begun and we will not give up until we find the answer – no matter how long that takes. And regardless of what happens, you have a place to live now and myself and Poppy to help you."
Harry looked up with tear-filled eyes at Severus' declaration. "I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you for all you're doing for me, Severus. Hermione always used to say I have a 'people-saving thing,' but you must have a 'Harry-saving thing.'
"Nonsense. If I have to keep you alive to have a life for myself, then that's what I'll do. I am fulfilling my oath, that's all."
"No, that's not all, Severus. What you are doing for me goes way beyond any wizard's oath you may have taken. You have given me a home, a job, a 'family' and, most of all, hope. You are not just keeping me alive, you have given me a reason to live."
The red spots on Severus' cheeks attested to how uncomfortable he was at Harry's assertion. He looked away from the intensity of emotion in the green eyes. "I'm just doing what anybody would."
"That's just it, though. No one else did. In fact, everyone else pushed me away. I was as good as dead long before I gave up. Ten long, lonely years, Severus. And then, you came along – the man whom I thought to be my worst enemy after Voldemort. I was wrong – so very wrong. There is a muggle saying 'never judge a book by its cover'. I never realized how astute the saying is. I regret never having even deigned to try to get to know you because you are worth it. I am infinitely glad now to be able to correct that unfortunate oversight."
Severus cleared his throat. "There's another saying, this one by Carl Jung, the famous psychologist: 'The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.' I believe we have managed to positively affect each other."
"Spoken like a true Potions Master," Harry chuckled, breaking the tension. "I think it's time to turn in," he added, standing and stretching. "Have a good night. I'll see you in the morning."
"Goodnight, Harry. Sleep well." It was a long while before Severus followed Harry's example.
O-O-O-O-O
"How was your week, gentlemen?" Poppy asked, removing more globes and books from her pockets and hanging up her travelling cloak.
"Rather unsuccessful," Severus commented. "I spent my spare time going through old potions journals and texts searching for anything known to have an effect on magical cores, both positively and negatively. I was unable to uncover anything related to Harry's symptoms."
"I read through the books you left looking for similar information from the medical standpoint. The only thing I learned is that the nervous system and the magical core seem to work on similar principles and occasionally enhance or even hinder one another," Harry added.
"My week was spent searching for additional diagnostics we could use. Unfortunately, there is little to no research in this field. As usual, Harry, you are an anomaly."
"Yay, lucky me."
"Shall we get started?" Severus interrupted the suddenly sombre mood in the room.
As Harry entered the guest room, he asked, "Which systems are you going to do today, Poppy?"
"We are going to scan the circulatory and endocrine systems today and the lymphatic system tomorrow," she answered.
"Circulatory? That's the blood, right? Heart, veins and arteries?" Harry asked, ignoring the slight reprimand.
"That's correct, but it is more than just 'blood'. It is the body's transport system for nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water and waste, in addition to blood."
"All that goes through my veins?" Harry was astounded. "What of the other two systems? What are they for?"
"The endocrine system is concerned with regulating hormonal secretions from your various glands and the lymphatic one is the body's filter system. Okay – lie down and get comfortable. Severus, your arm please."
The day passed in a similar fashion to the previous Saturday. As Poppy was leaving, she said, "I came across a box of old muggle medical reference books in an unused storeroom of the clinic. The building was once used for muggle outpatients. I will bring them with me tomorrow and we will go through them, too. Maybe they'll help point us in the right direction. See you both tomorrow."
"Good night, Poppy. Come early. Join us for breakfast."
"Good night, sweet dreams."
O-O-O-O-O
"Severus," Harry asked the next morning as he was setting the table for breakfast, "why did you take a wizard's oath for me?"
Caught off guard, Severus wasn't sure where to begin his answer. He sat down and collected his thoughts. "I guess it was because of the feelings I had for your mother. She was my best friend, my lifeline, during an otherwise empty and painful childhood. When I realised what my actions at the Hogshead had wrought, I was devastated. I could never have imagined that the Dark Lord would take such a trivial and vague piece of information and turn it into a weapon as he did. I was at a low point in my life following that night and Albus knew it. He offered me sanctuary and the chance to redeem myself for just a 'small' favour. I would vow to protect Lily's child and he, Albus, would in turn, protect me. How could I have known that keeping you safe would be so difficult?" He shook his head and offered a wry smile. "My treatment of you at Hogwarts was as much because of your father as it was for having been put into the position I was. I resented the vow then."
"Then?" Harry interrupted.
"Yes, then. The vow no longer weighs on me. I feel… clean somehow. Maybe I got my redemption after all." He smiled at Harry.
O-O-O-O-O
Poppy arrived just before breakfast. She greeted the two men, hung up her cloak and removed a box from her pocket.
"This box contains assorted muggle medical books on illnesses of the body," she said as she enlarged it. "I figured it couldn't hurt to use them for cross-referencing information since, after all, our anatomy is the same, even though some of our illness may not be. If nothing else, the information contained here may make different associations for us leading to different ideas. If we have time today, I thought we might look at them after we scan, review and discuss the three from this week and compare them to last week's notes."
Again, the day passed similarly to the previous week. First, Poppy scanned Harry's lymphatic system, then each took a turn investigating, observing and comparing notes on the three newest scans along with the previous ones. Following lunch, they adjourned to the living room to begin research of the data in the wizarding medical books.
In mid-afternoon, Poppy got up to open the box of muggle books she had brought with her. She removed a few and carried them over to the coffee table.
"I apologize for their condition – they are rather dusty," she said, taking out her wand to banish the dust.
Harry's head jerked up and he gasped. "What? What did you say?"
Severus and Poppy exchanged glances. "I said, 'I apologize for the condition of the books. They are quite dusty'. It's obvious…"
Harry cut her off, holding up a finger. "Wait…" He got up and paced for a few minutes, gathering his thoughts.
"Poppy, do the filaments of the magical core have a shield or protective layer around them?"
"Yes, but they only appear when magic is being used – they wouldn't show up on the scans we did," she said slowly. "Why?"
Harry paced a bit more. "In primary school, I spent my free time with a boy named Dustin. He was confined to a wheelchair. Dudley, my cousin, always threatened anyone who tried to be friendly with me because I was a freak, but in his opinion, so was Dustin, so that was okay."
"You are not a freak," Poppy admonished at the same time that Severus said, "Your cousin was the freak – not you."
Harry looked at them, nodded and continued. "Dustin had an illness which affected his nervous system. His was genetically caused, but the basic diagnosis was multiple sclerosis. In this illness, the protective covering of the nerves, called myelin, if I remember correctly, is damaged which causes the misfiring of signals. As Dustin aged, the damage worsened until even his other systems no longer operated without external stimulation. He was hospitalized around Christmas when we were nine. The teacher told us he passed away about two months later."
"I'm sorry, Harry," Poppy said.
"It's been a long time. I only remembered now because we were talking about systems and illnesses and you used the word 'dusty'. Anyway, my point is, what if the protective shields around my magical filaments are affected in a similar manner. As you said, it would not show up on the normal scan of my core because the filaments only appear when I do magic, so no one else would have picked that up either, right?" He stopped pacing and looked at them. "What do you think? Is that a possibility?"
Poppy slowly inclined her head. "I think so."
"It sounds quite plausible to me, as well," Severus added, nodding. "We just need to be able to test that theory. How do we perform the scan of active magic, Poppy?"
"I'll have to research it, but I'm sure we'll be able to manage it. Good job, Harry."
Harry beamed.
Severus smiled, as well. "I think this calls for a celebration of sorts. How about we go into town and eat dinner out?"
O-O-O-O-O
A/N: I have had no medical training. All my information comes from various internet sites which I have summarized and streamlined for the average reader. I apologize for any mistakes I may have made and would appreciate being notified about anything that needs to be fixed.
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