Chance Meeting at the Ink Pot
by Healer Teddylonglong
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC!
It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Reviews are very welcome, as they inspire my muse.
Minerva and Poppy quietly left the headmaster's office and returned to Severus' quarters. Severus noticed immediately that his two colleagues were absolutely furious.
"What happened?" he asked softly, prompting the two witches to inform him of their conversation with Dumbledore.
"Very well then," Severus said thoughtfully, unconsciously playing with the cork of a phial in his robe pocket, "at least we know exactly how he's going to react if someone takes Harry from the Dursleys'. I suggest that we merely watch Harry for the time being. I'm communicating with him every day, and if something else happens, I'll take him away in a flash without caring about Albus' reactions. However, maybe we'll still have some time, and in the meantime, I'm going to attend as many Potions congresses as I can in order to get to know people from other schools, where I could possibly transfer if I needed to get away from Albus for Harry's sake."
"We don't want to lose you, Severus," Minerva said, sounding very upset. "Maybe we'll find another way to hide Harry here at Hogwarts. We'll think about the matter. Thank Merlin it doesn't seem to be all too urgent if Harry said that his uncle normally doesn't beat him."
"Don't worry, Minerva; I already have an idea, and I promise to keep the two of you informed," Severus said soothingly.
During the following months, Severus and Harry continued to communicate every evening through their wiz2wiz connection. At the same time, Severus used every opportunity to give lectures about his new inventions at Potions congresses or to simply attended conferences in order to make contacts outside of Hogwarts.
本屋さんでの偶然の出会い
Harry enjoyed his conversations with the professor very much. It seemed as if his life had completely changed for the better since that day when they had accidentally met at The Ink Pot. It was not only that Severus continued to send him interesting books whenever Harry told him that he had finished reading the previous book. Severus also talked with him about what he had read and willingly answered all questions that Harry remembered to ask.
Unbeknownst to Harry, all the reading and writing had improved his writing and reading skills immensely, and since Severus told him over and over that he didn't have to hold back at school in order to receive worse marks than Dudley, Harry managed to achieve best marks on his tests that took place shortly before the Christmas holidays.
A few days before the beginning of the holidays, the teacher asked the Dursleys to come for a talk on the last day of school. On Petunia's anxious question if it was something to worry about, the teacher merely replied that she wanted to talk about something extremely positive.
"Vernon, I'm so excited. What can be so positive? Maybe Dudley has been chosen for something special. Oh, I'm so proud of my little cutie."
"Yes son, you are performing excellently," Vernon agreed, proudly slapping his hand on Dudley's shoulder.
"May I come with you?" Dudley asked excitedly, causing his parents to nod eagerly.
"Of course, sweetie," Petunia said softly.
However, when the Dursleys met the teacher, expecting to hear good news about their son, they noticed soon that the conversation centred around Harry, their unwanted nephew and freak.
"Harry has been doing so well in class and his tests, and he seems to be so advanced that we have decided to move him up a year," the teacher informed them, smiling proudly at Harry, who was sitting as far away from the others as possible. "We also think that it would be better to separate him from Dudley, since Dudley seems to be very jealous of Harry, because he is top of the class in all subjects."
"We don't care what you do with the freak. However, we appreciate it if you separate him from our Dudley, so that Dudley can finally study in peace and show his true abilities," Vernon roared and stood up from his seat, pulling Petunia and Dudley out of the room.
By the time Harry arrived home, Vernon had whipped himself into a rage. "Stay out of our house, you freak," he shouted at Harry, pushing him out of the kitchen door into the snow.
Harry slowly let himself sink to the ground, leaning against the wall. 'It's so cold, and I don't have my book with me,' he mused. 'Otherwise, I could ask Severus to come and let me in.'
It was very late in the evening when Petunia opened the kitchen door and whispered, "Uncle Vernon is asleep now. Come in, but be quiet. I'll have to throw you out again, before he wakes up in the morning."
"Thank you, Aunt Petunia," Harry replied, shivering violently in the cold winter air. He hurried back into his cupboard and quickly wrote into his book to proudly tell Severus about the good marks he had received.
Unfortunately, he had caught a bad cold due to being outside in the snow in his thin jeans jacket. However, as usual, his aunt decided to ignore his health issues completely and made him cook all the meals they would eat on Christmas, while Vernon and Dudley chose to ignore him completely.
It was at lunchtime on Christmas Eve that Harry finished all his chores and was locked into his cupboard for the holidays. In the meantime, his cold had worsened so much that Harry wanted nothing but to lie down and be left in peace. He quickly scribbled a note for Severus, just to let the professor know that he probably wouldn't write anything that evening.
'Severus, sorry, I can't write much today. I'm a bit sick. Happy Christmas. Harry.'
With that he lay down on his mattress, curling up under his covers. He was just drifting off into an exhausted sleep, when he heard Severus' voice in his mind.
'Harry, hold on and try to rest if you can; I'll come and check on you during the night.'
本屋さんでの偶然の出会い
Severus sighed as he read Harry's note that was written in unusually untidy handwriting. In order to not aggravate the boy's condition further, he refrained from writing back and instead contacted him telepathically, before he remained in deep thought for a few minutes. Finally, he waved his wand over the huge piles of parchments on his desk, changing them into one small pile that fit into his robe pocket. Placing the master parchment for the wiz2wiz connection into another robe pocket, he stepped into his private quarters and leaned into the fireplace.
"Headmaster, I wish to spend the remaining of the holidays in my ancestors' home," he informed Dumbledore.
"Very well my boy. Would you be willing to return at least for Christmas dinner?" the Headmaster asked gently, giving him an intense look from his baby blue eyes.
"Very well," Severus agreed. "The manor is heavily warded, but in case you need to urgently contact me, Cicero will be able to relay a message."
The Headmaster agreed, and Severus quickly pulled out of the fireplace and took the Floo to Minerva's office.
"Hello Severus. What brings you here?" Minerva asked in surprise, and Severus noticed that her expression was a mixture of curiosity and concern. "Did something happen to Harry?"
"He is sick. I don't know what's wrong, but I intend to check on him tonight. In case I need to look after him during the following nights too, I decided to spend the rest of the holidays at Prince Manor. I already informed Albus." He pulled his master parchment out of his robe pocket and waved his wand over it in an intricate motion, causing the master parchment to split into two parts. Pointing his wand at the second part, he produced another parchment, which he handed to Minerva.
"Here. This is a new wiz2wiz connection. This way, we'll be able to communicate quickly and securely. No one except for you will be able to read it. I'll contact you tonight when I'm back at Prince Manor. Do you know how to contact Poppy in case I need her expertise?"
"I can contact Poppy through the Floo at any time. She is spending the holidays with her sister," Minerva said thoughtfully. "Shall I accompany you tonight?"
"No," Severus said firmly. "Albus doesn't suspect me of having anything to do with Harry, and he is not aware of the fact that I'm an Animagus, but you can't let yourself be seen at the Dursleys' residence, and your feline form is well-known throughout the magical world." With that he excused himself and stepped into the fireplace to take the Floo to his office at Prince Manor. He turned around and waved his wand at the fireplace, uttering an incantation that shut the fireplace off completely with a few exceptions, so that it would only allow Minerva, Poppy and himself in.
"Cicero," he called his personal house-elf, who popped over from Hogwarts, eyeing him in surprise.
"I didn't know that Master Severus intended to come to the manor," he said apologetically.
"It was not planned," Severus replied, sighing, and explained everything about little Harry to the elf, knowing that he could trust him completely.
During the rest of the day, Severus remained in his office, trying in vain to concentrate on the parchments in front of him. 'I better go and brew a few potions,' he finally decided and headed to his potions lab in order to distract himself from the small boy that was probably waiting for him to come.
本屋さんでの偶然の出会い
Considering that it was Christmas Eve, Severus decided to wait until two o'clock in the morning, before he apparated to Little Whinging. As before, he entered the Dursleys' residence in his Animagus form and invisibly made his way into the child's cupboard. Casting the Lumos charm, he noticed that Harry was completely entangled in his covers. His cheeks were feverishly flushed, and his hair was stuck to his sweaty forehead. Dark rings were surrounding the boy's eyes, and his breathing sounded laboured. Severus carefully laid his hand on the boy's forehead that felt extremely hot to touch.
'That's not a simple cold, which I can heal with a Pepperup potion. He needs Poppy to check on him,' he realised, pondering what to do for a few minutes, before he made a decision. He waved his wand over Harry, casting a complicated charm that produced an exact copy of the boy. 'That'll last for at least a few weeks or even months,' he thought as he gently scooped Harry onto his arms as well as he could in the small space, before he apparated away without even bothering to leave the house first.
Back at Prince Manor, he carried Harry into his own old bedroom, which he had vacated when he moved into the Master bedroom after the death of his mother. He gently laid the child on the bed, causing Harry to stir at the loss of his body warmth.
"Hello Harry; everything is all right. I took you with me to my home," Severus quickly filled him in to prevent him from panicking as he carefully tucked him in.
"Cicero," he called the elf in a small voice as to not frighten Harry, who had already gone back to sleep.
"Yes, Master Severus?" the elf enquired quietly, throwing the small boy a concerned look.
"Please go and fetch Poppy. Tell her that Harry is very ill and needs her. The Floo is already opened for her to come through."
"Yes Master Severus," Cicero replied quickly and popped away.
A few minutes later, Cicero led Poppy into the room. The Healer sleepily greeted Severus but became fully awake as she caught sight of Harry. She waved her wand over the boy and shook her head in annoyance as she put her wand back into her dressing gown.
"I'm sorry for calling you out of your holidays, especially at this time of the night," Severus said in his soft, baritone voice, causing Poppy to sigh.
"No Severus, that doesn't matter, and it was good that you called me. Harry has pneumonia coming on, probably caused by neglecting a cold. Do you have any stock here, or shall I fetch a few doses of the pneumonia potion from Hogwarts?"
"Master Severus, shall I go and fetch the potion?" Cicero offered, causing Severus to cast him a grateful look when he popped back an instant later, placing several phials on the night table.
While the Healer spelled the potion into the boy's system, Cicero spoke up hesitantly. "Master Severus, Mistress Poppy, could I perhaps ask Misty to spend a few days here with us?" Seeing that the two humans threw him surprised looks, he elaborated, "Misty told me that Mistress Poppy has allowed her to be on holidays, and she is not only Mistress Poppy's elf but also the Healer of all elves, and she is very good. Normally, she doesn't heal humans, because Mistress Poppy is doing this, but she could help us keep an eye on the boy, so that Mistress Poppy wouldn't have to come and check on him continuously."
Severus and Poppy exchanged an astonished glance, before Poppy said kindly, "Cicero, I don't mind Misty spending time here with Severus and you, if she agrees to do so. Please tell her to fetch me whenever I'm needed and keep me updated on Harry's condition. The same goes for you of course, Severus. I'll come over again tonight in any case."
本屋さんでの偶然の出会い
Harry blinked, noticing immediately that he felt much better than before. 'Severus was with me, or was that a dream?' he mused, slowly opening his eyes to take in his surroundings with amazement. 'I'm not in my cupboard. I'm in a huge room. It's so nice and bright, and it even has a window. Where am I?'
All of a sudden, Severus stepped into the room, alerted by a ward he had placed on the child telling him that Harry had woken up. "Good morning, Harry," he said softly, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better," Harry replied gratefully. "Thank you, sir. Where are we, by the way? Did you take me away from the Dursleys?"
Severus let out a long sigh. "Your condition was too bad to leave you with your relatives. Did your aunt never give you anything for your cold?"
"No," Harry replied softly, shyly averting his eyes to his covers.
"You should have told me much earlier; then it wouldn't have become so bad," Severus said softly, giving the child a piercing look.
"I didn't want to bother you, sir," Harry replied in a barely audible voice.
"I already told you so many times that you aren't bothering me, Harry. From now on, you will tell me if anything is wrong; do you understand me?"
"Yes sir."
"Now, what do you want to eat for breakfast? Would you like some soup, or do you prefer toast?"
"Anything would be fine; I'm not very hungry though," Harry said softly.
"Cicero," Severus called, and to Harry's huge surprise a tall creature with long ears appeared in front of them.
"Good morning, Master Severus, Master Harry," Cicero said in a friendly voice, smiling at him.
"Harry, this is Cicero, my personal elf. He is staying here together with us over the holidays," Severus explained patiently, before he turned to Cicero and asked for breakfast, which to Harry's surprise popped up on the night table only an instant later.
After breakfast, Cicero popped in together with Misty and introduced Misty to Harry, before she checked on him and made him drink a potion, causing him to fall asleep again. Harry spent most of the day asleep, engulfed in a peaceful slumber without any nightmares about his uncle becoming angry at him.
When he woke up in the early evening, Severus was sitting on the edge of his bed reading a Potions journal.
"Hello Harry, how are you feeling?" the professor asked softly.
"Much better," Harry replied, staring at the Christmas tree at the other side of the room in amazement.
"Today is Christmas day," Severus informed him, smiling. "Shall we see if there are any presents for you?"
Harry paled at the man's words. "I never receive presents, sir," he said in a barely audible voice, anxiously rubbing his hands under his bed covers.
"No? Are you sure?" Severus smirked. "Well, I'm fairly certain that I saw at least one or two presents with your name on them." He pointed his wand at a huge present under the tree that was wrapped in dark green paper with twinkling silver stars on it. The present slowly hovered straight into Severus' arm. He handed it to Harry, who accepted the present with an expression of absolute disbelief that turned into delight when Severus helped him to open it, revealing a Lego Hogwarts Express train set.
"I had a Lego train set when I was your age, and I loved it," Severus admitted. "It was my favourite toy apart from my child's brewing kit."
Harry also received a brewing kit for children as well as a child's broom, which Minerva and Poppy had bought for him. 'Why?' Harry thought in surprise as he lay back in exhaustion, admiring the first presents he had ever received. 'Why do I all of a sudden receive presents for Christmas? Father Christmas never brought me anything before.'
"Harry, I'm afraid I'll have to leave for Christmas dinner at Hogwarts soon," Severus said softly, bringing Harry out of his stupor. "Will you be all right for a short while? Cicero and Misty will be here, and they can fetch me whenever you need me."
"No problem, sir," Harry replied softly, tiredly closing his eyes.
本屋さんでの偶然の出会い
Christmas dinner was an uneventful affair, and Severus was glad when he was able to return to Prince Manor. Minerva and Poppy followed him to discuss what to do with Harry.
"There is only one thing you can do, Severus," Minerva said thoughtfully. "And you have to do it before school commences again next week."
tbc...
Thank you so much for your kind comments!