Chapter Ten
Harry had hoped not to have to go through having a check-up, he`d never been to any doctors before but he was apprehensive anyway. In the end it was professor Reiks who ended up doing an exam "thank you for doing this Miss Reiks, Poppy is a good medic but I thought she might not be best for this. She can be a bit overwhelming, and Harry has been through a strenuous day as it is" Severus said to his newest colleague.
The exam had beentotally painless and Harry was just beginning to relax a bit when Miss Reiks showed a piece of paper to his father. The man transformed in front of his eyes as he looked angrier and angrier as he read through it. Miss Reiks covered the sheet with her hand and as his father looked up angrily she nodded significantly at Harry.
Still seething Severus managed to clear his face of emotions, Harry looked quite apprehensive and he did not want to scare the boy from his wits within minutes of them meeting for the first time. "We have some issues to work through after your time with the Dursleys, but I`m sure everything can be fixed given a bit of time." He said this barely managing not to go kill those animals, he was by no means a good man but even he had standards. Such blatant neglect of any child rankled.
The results of the exam had been revealing, and Severus knew he would have to adress the treatment Harry had received from the Dursleys. He would be surprised if the boy wouldn`t need some time with a competent mind healer. For now the most pressing matter was getting to know the boy, and hopefully they might be able to talk through the matter between themselves at a later date. For now Severus delayed telling his new son much about anything at this time, as he saw the boy struggling to stay awake. Indeed as he was led to his room afterwards Harry barely registered it before collapsing on the bed.
Half an hour later Severus sat brooding in his armchair, contemplating his use of the last chance potion and felt glad he`d chosen to act fast. As soon as the facts had been clear, and the Headmaster had refused his offer of accompanying him to fetch Harry; Severus had taken the potion he`d stored in his nightstand for what seemed forever. A result of years of painstaking research into old and forgotten potions it had definitely worked well. Severus had always had issues and his position as spy had given him an excuse to wallow in his bitterness; but no longer. Now he was responsible not only for Harry, but also for his house full of needy students and the school itself in his capacity as assistant to the Headmaster. The potion was of course an easy way to deal with his issues, and he`d kept it as a sort of lure to himself. He`d expected to be killed by the Dark Lord, but being Slytherin one always prepared for all probabilities… Hence the second chance potion. What he might have achieved with several visits to mind-healers, was now achieved using this very rare potion. His regrets and bitterness still existed, and always would but the potion helped him manage them and not give in to the bitter thoughts. As he self-consciously raked his fingers through his hair, he registered that it had even had a positive effect on his overly greasy hair. Not being prone to admiring his image in the mirror, he`d barely registered the change before but now he felt that it was smooth and free of oil. Shrugging he transferred the lock of hair he`d been playing with back behind his ear, this was not important compared to the fact that he had a son who was now sleeping soundly in his new room.
