Chapter eight

Within an hour of the article about Harry's scars came out, Hogwarts was flooded with letters for Harry. But on the front page of the Daily Prophet was an apology to Harry but also saying they should have checked their facts. Harry and Severus opened a few letters, so far they were similar, they were sorry that Harry had been hurt so badly as a child and if he wanted to have the procedure for his self-confident or even if it would make him feel better than he should, but no one cared how he looked, to them Harry was their hero.

'You see love, all anyone said was they wished you weren't hurt as a child, some of course saying they want to go hex some muggles.'

Harry gave a small chuckle, 'Yeah, but now I wonder if they might say something else, either lies or truth but made to look bad.'

'You never told them about the last horcrux, there is nothing else they could say unless it is lies which would mean that you could correct it. The Daily Prophet or any other magazine or paper will not print another story about you unless it's the truth and maybe they will make sure you approved it first.'

'I had nightmares Sev; sometimes I talked in my sleep. What if they heard something, about what else they did?'

'I'm sure they would have already said something, like we're only together because I turned you towards men or something idiotic like that.'

'You thought about that already, didn't you?'

'It crossed my mind since you've had two nightmares over the last week. You did talk, mainly about Voldemort, telling him to stop killing everyone, that you would do anything. During those months in the tent you were consumed with his horcruxes and him, not much else, you did not know about yourself at the time. So think about this logically, if you did have a nightmare it would have been similar to your others about Voldemort.'

Harry smiled, one that reached his eyes, 'You're right, I often dreamt of him killing people, friends.'

'Good, now how about we put this to rest and spend a few days together before you start your treatment.'

'Spend it in bed since I probably won't be able to while I'm healing.'

'I did hope you were going to suggest that, so love, let's go to bed, I have a surprise for you.'

'Oh,' Harry grinned then took Sev's hand and walked into the bedroom to see black satin sheets but what got Harry's blood pumping was the leather ties attached to each post of the bed which told Harry he was being restrained or Severus was. Either way Harry was already hard as a rock and ready to go.

Later in the day, Harry and Severus were again working on the walls of the castle when Harry heard his name called. The two men turned to see Neville leading a group of Harry's friends towards them.

'Hey, what's going on?'

'I took a leap out of your book Harry, I decided to go undercover to find out if I could discover why they would hurt you writing that article,' Neville smirked.

'He spoke with Kingsley who was able to lend Neville Mad-eye Moody's invisibility cloak,' Seamus said smiling hugely.

'Oh blimey, Neville, you could have been discovered, hurt even.'

'Nah, I had everyone there just in case, they all had our old DA coins. If they didn't get a message from me every five minutes they were to come find me.'

'Very clever Neville, you would make a great auror,' Severus said.

'That's what I want to do when I finish. So are you ready to hear what I overheard?'

'Um, yeah, I suppose so.'

'Two things, yes, Ginny was pissed at you, sorry for the language Professor.'

'Feel free to use any language you like, I often let loose when I need it.'

'Thanks,' Neville smiled, 'Well, she dreamt of marrying you, we all knew that, she wanted to be married to the chosen one, now saviour. She thought having you as her boyfriend or husband would guarantee she would get a spot on a professional quidditch team. There's more to Ginny though but first Hermione and Ron. Hermione told Ron about when she saw your scars in the tent, not sure what that meant, anyway she was also pissed that you weren't going to marry Ginny which means you wouldn't end up her brother in law. So her reason was pretty innocent, but Ron's wasn't. He always felt like your side kick but since you three are now known as the golden trio he thought he'd finally made a name for himself, that name also links him to you forever, but also having you marry his sister would mean more doors opened for him. Now back to Ginny, after Hermione went upstairs to the bathroom I followed Ginny and Ron into another room, they were talking about money, how Ginny always wanted a big house, like what the Malfoy's have. She wanted to travel around the world, to buy lots of clothes, jewellery and knew you were generous, you always bought stuff for Ron and Hermione, she thought you would buy her stuff like that especially if you were married. Ron said even though at first he didn't like you buying stuff, when you mentioned that Sirius was rich then maybe it wouldn't be so bad taking money or gifts from you.'

'You were right love, they wanted your money.'

'So you have money because sorry mate, those clothes you used to wear were ugly and old, then your glasses were very old fashioned,' Seamus said.

'I could never get to my vault my parents left me, I was always being guarded. But that vault was just to get me through my Hogwarts years. I never knew anything about my other vault my parents left me until a year ago. I wanted to know about Sirius' vault, I didn't care about the money, I wanted an inventory in case he left me something personal, so Dumbledore organised an inventory of all my vaults. Apart from looking to see if there were letters I never took any notice of them and just stuck the information away and never thought of it again. The thing is I told Ron and Hermione that the Blacks were loaded, I forgot all about this until yesterday. When I ran inside I sat and tried to figure out why they would do this, Ginny yeah, she's hurt. But then I remembered her talking to me about going on an overseas holiday if the war was ever over. I explained to Sev about that and how Hermione wanted us to be family once we both marry Ron and Ginny. I always knew I wouldn't marry her even before this bond was activated, Ginny used to get me angry a lot, that's something I wouldn't have put up with but it's also part of her personality. Even if Hermione is upset about my marriage to Sev, she still seemed to go too far which isn't like her.'

'We think we know why Harry,' Luna said, 'She liked Ron for a long time, we think if Ron said he wanted to do this and wanted his girlfriend to support him she would, even over you. Think of you and Professor Snape, you would support him because you love him, Hermione's the same with Ron.'

'I would support Sev but I wouldn't lie, I hate lying and I won't unless it's to protect a life, like when I lied to you Neville. I felt so guilty when I walked away from you then I'm thinking I'm going to die with that guilt of lying to one of my best friends. I would protect Sev with my life if I had to, do anything for him, but it would need to be damn serious to make me lie.'

'We know mate, I got to see that for myself when I didn't believe you about Voldemort returning. I really thought you were lying, I found out you weren't and did a lot of thinking after that. No, you aren't someone that will lie, you're evasive or just say outright you can't tell us like you've done before, but you never made anything up,' Seamus said.

'I had so many secrets to keep it was hard so I tried not to get into heavy conversations with any of you.'

'So you're going to have those skin grafts done?' Hannah asked.

'Yeah, Madame Pomfrey is starting on Monday.'

'My brother had them done, I'm sorry it's going to hurt.'

'Don't be Hannah; I just want to get rid of these because there a reminder, then look at my husband, his gorgeous, I have to compete with all the ones that now drool over him.'

Severus laughed loudly then pulled Harry to him, kissing him passionately not caring that some of his students were watching.

'Ah love, such powerful magic and so beautiful. How about the headmaster treat all of you to dinner,' Albus waved his hand towards the castle where Neville led his friends inside leaving Harry and Severus snogging. Something they never thought they would see, but something they might have to get used to.

Harry and Severus made a quick trip to Diagon Alley to pick up their robes; they also went to get Harry's contact lenses he ordered. Harry got a lot of looks, but overheard people say that those muggles should be hexed badly. Even though Harry hated people knowing what his relatives had done to him as a kid, he couldn't help but smile when he would overhear strangers saying stuff like that.

The next couple of days Harry received letters from his friends saying they sent mail to Ron, Ginny and Hermione all with stuff like bubotuba pus, or a cursed one to give them boils all over their faces and other nasty stuff that wouldn't leave any long term damage but enough to know that Harry's friends were not happy with any of them. Harry showed Sev the letters and even though neither of them wanted this, Harry knew it was his friend's way of showing support.

Severus noticed Harry was very quiet as they walked towards the hospital. He kept his arm tight around Harry realising he was scared but you wouldn't tell by looking at him. Severus only knew because as they had gotten to know each other very well over the last few weeks. They stepped into the hospital wing to see Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Poppy Pomfrey, Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom all standing near a bed that had lots of potions and jars of salve on the small table next to it.

'Are you sure you want to do this Harry?' Albus asked.

'Yeah, yeah, I'm sure.'

'Then you will need to undress as I will need to take skin from your thigh, it's the best skin to use for this procedure,' Poppy indicated the screens.

'Come with me,' Harry stared up at Severus who nodded so they went to the bed, Poppy pulling the curtains around to give privacy, 'My hands are shaking Sev.'

'I know, let me help, sit,' Severus waiting for Harry to sit then took his wand and placed it on the table, then took his shoes and socks off, leaving them under the bed. He then pulled Harry back to his feet and undid his shirt, taking that off and folding it, placing it on the table, then took Harry's jeans and underwear off, folding them and placing them with his shirt. He then waited until Harry got on the bed before covering him with the towel Poppy left for Harry to use, 'He's ready Poppy,' Severus called but kept his eyes on Harry.

'The others want to know if they can stay with you.'

'Um, yeah, it's okay.'

'Alright, first I need to sterilize both of you, hold still,' Poppy pointed her want at Severus for a minute then at Harry, 'Now the numbing spell to your face, I'll do the one on your cheek first as it's the biggest,' Poppy pointed her wand at Harry's face then touched his cheek, 'Can you feel my touch?'

'No, nothing, so now you cut, right?'

'Yes, it will sit like that for four hours. I will treat it during that time then cut a piece of skin just slightly bigger from the outside of your thigh. Are you ready?'

'Yes,' Harry blew out a huge breath but kept his eyes on Severus who was holding his hand. He could see the matron cutting his face out of the corner of his eye, he could also see blood, a lot of blood. Even though he couldn't feel it, it was strange to see it.

Poppy placed the scarred skin in a bowl, 'Alright, stay still while I treat this,' Poppy cleaned the blood away then cast her charm, she gave Harry a potion before dabbing some thick yellow salve over his exposed flesh, 'Next is your thigh, again stay still,' poppy moved the towel just enough to expose Harry's thigh cast a hair removing charm before gently removing the flesh. She then she placed it inside a large crystal jar with dark red liquid it in, then cast a healing charm and dabbed more salve on the area, this time it was green, 'Done, that will need to stay in there until I treat it which is done right before I place it on your face.'

'How long before the numbing spell wears off?'

'Not until after it's completed, so four hours. It's a specific charm for this procedure. Now you are not to move or sit up. The area around the bed, and all of us are sterile.'

'When can he eat since he couldn't eat breakfast?' Severus asked.

'Right after, I'll leave you with your friends, I'll be in my office if you need anything but I will be back in two hours to treat your face again.'

'Thanks,' Harry said softly then waited until the matron, McGonagall and Dumbledore left, 'Conjure me a mirror Sev.'

Severus sighed but did what Harry asked, handing it to him, 'It's red which is expected.'

Harry stared at his raw skin, 'It'll be good not to see that scar but it does look terrible and I'm glad I can't feel it.'

'What about the pain after this is done Professor?' Luna asked.

'Harry will have a lot of discomfort for a few days. He can have a pain potion but it can't be strong as Poppy will need to know what he feels to make sure the new skin is grafting properly and he doesn't get an infection.'

'So you know it's going to hurt Harry?'

'Yeah, Sev told me then Madame Pomfrey explained more about this.'

'Why do it then, you could just use the glamour?'

'There's been times I've forgotten and they do wear off. A few times it was gone by the time I woke up. I don't want to see them anymore; it's a reminder of that time. I want to put all the shitty stuff in the past and forget it, the scars will always remind me so getting rid of them will help.'

'Yeah, I get it. We'll go for a while but we will come back in four hours to see how you are, okay.'

'Okay, thanks for coming,' Harry gave his two friends a small smile before the left, 'It's going to be painful wearing anything on my thigh Sev, I never thought of that.'

'A small charm placed on a bathrobe will keep the material away from your leg. I brought it up to Poppy yesterday so she could sterilize it ready for today.'

'You think of everything, it just didn't occur to me.'

'You were worried Harry which is expected.'

'Yeah, but you know you don't have to stay here for four hours, you could go help with the repairs for a while.'

'Don't even try it Harry, you know I'm staying. But while it's still numb why don't you try to sleep since you didn't get a lot last night.'

'I'm sorry I kept you awake.'

'You didn't, but I woke that one time to use the bathroom and noticed you were wide awake, just lying staring at the ceiling. So how about it love, sleep for a while?'

'I'll try, but what will you do if you're going to be here?'

'I'm going to read for a while,' Severus pulled a book from his pocket, showed Harry then kissed him, 'Now close your gorgeous eyes and sleep.' Harry smiled then closed his eyes.

Severus opened his book and started reading, a few minutes later Albus joined him, 'Severus, I had an idea that might make people realise how serious Harry was about going through this just so he wouldn't have any more attention,' Albus held up a camera, 'Would you mind if I took a picture of Harry as he is now?'

'I think that is an excellent idea Albus.'

Albus took a couple of pictures, one close on Harry's face, one of him lying in the hospital bed that also showed all the potions and salves beside it.

'Hopefully this will make those three realise what Harry was willing to go through just so he would not get more attention.'

'Neville sent Harry a letter yesterday, all of them that came to see Harry a few days ago have all sent letters to those three, some even cursed with bubotuba pus and a boils curse. Even though Harry and I wished they did not go that far they wanted to show them that they support Harry and those three were in the wrong for trying to hurt him. Most of it came down to Harry's money Albus, that's why they did it.'

'It is not easy to be rich, there will always be some that want the money. It's very similar to how Harry was treated when it was leaked about him being the chosen one. So many girls were trying to slip him a love potion. They did not want Harry just because he was a cute boy, they wanted the boy who lived.'

'Yes, it's hurtful having that happen, makes you wary as to why people want to be your friend.'

'I will send this off with another statement, but I will return when he is due to have the new skin grafted.'

Severus watched Albus leave then went back to reading his book. Two hours later Poppy returned and did her charms over Harry's face then dabbed more salve on it before leaving again. Severus knew she would be back in two hours but the redness around Harry's exposed flesh was already fading, not a lot but it was noticeable, now he hoped the skin graft worked enough that the scar will be faded so Harry would hardly be able to see it, or it will be gone completely.

Again two hours later Poppy returned, did her charms then applied more salve before taking that salve back to her office knowing it would not be used again until Harry's next scar which wouldn't be for two weeks. Severus knew Poppy would come straight back as it was time to craft the new skin onto Harry's face. He hoped Harry woke, otherwise they would have to wake him.