Chapter 13: Sick

Harry hadn't left the tree since they had completed it, his green eyes focused solely on the beautiful fairy lights that twinkled at him. They flickered on and off, as if winking at the mystified child. To his chest Harry clutched the green dragon that his father had conjured, feeling warm and safe. A few feet from where the boy sat was an empty mug, the remnants of hot chocolate still streaking the rim.

"Harry?" Hermione approached the little boy, making her presence known to the obviously distracted child. "Would you like to go outside?"

The two-year-old frowned, his head spinning to face the girl. It was obvious that the child was still fearful of what had happened, and didn't want to chance allowing the "bad man" to get to him. However, the adults around him immediately sensed the hesitation and spoke up.

"Your daddies will come with us, you can even hold their hands," Hermione reassured. As she spoke Tom had stepped forward from where he had been reading a novel and picked up the little boy. Harry spun his head to look at the dark lord, green eyes glittering.

"We'll protect you Harry," he comforted. "We can do whatever you want."

With a little whimper the child buried his face into Tom's shoulder, his hands clutching the man's robes rather tightly. "Papa," Harry murmured.

Tightening his hold on the little boy, the dark lord decided right there and then that he would make sure Dumbledore met the worst end. While he had been fighting Harry as a teen, he had lost part of his sanity. Why would he fight a child if he had been sane? Why would he have feared a boy whom hadn't even known magic?

"Why don't we go outside and build a snowman?" Remus suggested from where he sat playing chess against Draco. They had both paused in their game to pay attention to the little scared child in the room.

"That way, we are all together and you can play in the snow." The wolf gave a gentle smile, his eyes warm as he stared at the little child in Tom's arms.

"Papa," Harry repeated, not daring to look up as he kept his hold on his father. It was then that Tom noticed that the trembling didn't seem completely to be from fear. Although the idea of the old wizard had scared the boy, he was also quite warm.

Carefully prying the child from his body, Tom put a gentle hand on Harry's forehead and frowned. "He's sick," he stated.

Immediately Severus stood, sweeping forward as he reached towards his son to feel the temperature himself. In seconds he'd conjured two separate vials of potions. One a pepper-up potion and the other a calming draught to keep the little boy from freaking out. Both dosages had been created specifically for children.

Harry took the drinks without complaint, only making faces before he curled back into his papa. While his hold wasn't as strong as it had been, he still seemed panicked that he was sick.

"How about we put you down for a nap?" Tom gently moved Harry to one shoulder, using his want to open the door to head towards the room across the hall. Severus followed without being asked, everyone else choosing to remain.

Harry had been asleep for several hours. It had worried them at first, but everyone was quick to realize that the boy seemed to have been staving off a cold for a long time before he'd finally given in. No one knew why he was so quiet about it, but they had all settled in the manor.

The holidays would be fast approaching, it hadn't been a secret that they would all stay at the manor for Harry's health. Waiting for Harry to wake, the group had dispersed to their own activities for a while. However, with the child still asleep they had all sat down to eat dinner.

The house elves had already made a large pot of chicken noodle soup, and another of tomato soup. No one complained of the choice, as they were all worried about the little boy.

"We should tell the Weasley's about Harry," Hermione brought up as everyone had started to dig in. "They were always good at making him come out of his shell."

"And my family," Draco added. "They'll want to visit with us staying here."

Severus nodded, but before he could be interrupted he held up a hand. "We can tell them what's going on. However, I think that the red-haired clan should be told in sections… starting with the twins. He is not the same boy they knew, they'll have to be careful, so they won't alarm him or overwhelm him."

Hermione agreed, a small smile lifted the corner of her lips. She knew that Ron would be psyched to see his best friend again, even if Harry was a child. But the twins would likely approach the subject better.

"Your family, Draco," Tom started. "Are welcome to meet Harry. I will personally speak to your father to make sure that he still remembers that the child is no longer an enemy."

The blond nodded, glad that the dark lord would make sure his father would treat the boy gently. He knew that Lucius Malfoy meant well, but he still had a strange intensity with children that sent them running. Fortunately, his wife had mellowed him out over the years.

A small jingle interrupted the rest of any conversation, an indication that Harry was awake. Severus stood, leaving the group to continue their dinner as he went to fetch the sick little boy. He'd already brewed more healing potions for the moment when Harry woke.

Stepping into the room, he froze when he realized the little boy wasn't in the bed. He immediately cast a spell to detect the child, glad that Harry was still in the room. With a frown Severus closed the door and stalked around, trying to see where Harry had hidden.

Not under the bed.

Not in the closet.

Not behind the shower curtain in the attached bathroom.

Severus froze. Little quiet sobbing could be heard coming from the cupboard where the towels were kept.

He swung open the door, shocked to find Harry curled in the little closet. His body was shaking, vomit stained the front of his shirt. In his fear and sickness the child had obviously urinated, staining his little pajama pants.

Immediately he reached forward, horrified when Harry gave a screech of fear rather than to jump into his father's arms. "Harry?" Severus murmured in shock.

"Freak bad! I'm sorry! Freak not do again!" The little boy hollered, his hands flying over his head as if to block punches from his father.

Growing pale, Severus reached forward and pried Harry from the cupboard, ignoring the evidence of Harry's illness to hug the child. He swept his wand to cast a quick scourgify, but otherwise had the boy on his lap rather quickly.

"You're not a freak," he murmured, holding the struggling child tightly. "It's okay! Harry, look at me." He rocked the boy and tried to desperately bring the boy back from whatever hell he seemed to be lost in.

"Daddy's here, see? Daddy's here!" He continued the motions until the child started to calm. His body quieting as he sunk into his father's hold.

It was several minutes of silence before the child spoke, "daddy?" He seemed unsure.

"Yes, Harry!" Severus smiled, breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding finally releasing. The little boy looked up.

"Daddy!" Back to himself, the child hugged his father as if he hadn't seen him in a long time. "I hurt," the boy rubbed his stomach.

"I know," Severus lifted the boy, quickly removing the child's clothing as he turned on the tub. "Let's get you cleaned, and then we'll get you some warm food and potions, okay?"

If he could question the child about what had happened, he would have. Unfortunately, the toddler would likely know nothing about why he had reacted in such a way. Was this part of the spell that had been cast? Was this a part of Harry's past?

Perhaps it was time to visit Harry's muggle family.

Short, but I just needed to write something to continue. More Harry next time... or Harry's muggle "family."