Harry had spent so many days on the run; he lost count of the days and months. Only the weather around him had provided what time of the year it was and as soon as the snow had melted, he knew it had to be April.
He often thought of how things were like at Hogwarts. Snape was Headmaster and that had to be disastrous in so many ways. Who knows, maybe he even killed some more professors or students even. Inside he prayed that thought was wrong. Thinking of Minerva McGonagall or Filius Flitwick dead was enough to make Harry sick.
He thought about the Order, and if they were safe and well. They had left the wedding immediately the second they were under attack and he dearly hoped Ginny was alright. Ron had a radio at on all times and never had it mentioned the name 'Weasley'. This was a giant relief to all of them. Harry knew Hermione would be pressured too, wondering if the Death Eaters had found out her parents moved to Australia thinking they were other people.
The Dursleys popped into his mind and Harry thought about their last encounter. Did they even think about him? Did they give a damn? He bet they spent every second of their lives hating how they had to move and were under the protection of wizards. Were they even concerned about Harry's safety, about what he had to do?
Harry wished someone would be there to care for him and only him. The Weasleys cared about him, but when it came down to it, their kids came first. The Order cared too but Remus and Nymphadora had their own child to bring into the world. Kingsley and the rest were too busy to even think about Harry. No one truly cared about him. The entire wizarding world merely wanted him to save them all from a life of depression and torture.
Only one person cared for Harry and that was Celosia. She was his only real family and had shown it in numerous ways. When he was around her, he actually felt like he had a family, that his parents never died and he was with them. They were her. She was the only one who was truly there for him.
Harry frowned, his thoughts drifting to his aunt. She was stationed to help protect the Dursleys and that was an angry family war in the making. He wondered if they had argued lots and if they couldn't stand each other. No doubt there would be a lot of magic used in the house. A smile formed on his face at the thought of the Dursleys jumping every time they saw a wand come out.
Harry hoped Celosia was safe, and that she was well. He hoped the Dursleys were having the protection they needed. Celosia was the only one he had left, if she died he couldn't stand it. Not another one. Too many people had died for him.
And now Harry stood in the Hogwarts' boathouse, Voldemort long gone and Severus Snape on the floor, blood leaking from a large wound on his neck. The man was gasping out in short breaths, tears streaming down his face. "Take them," He begged. "Take them!"
Harry found himself removing the hand pressed against Severus' wound. He didn't know why he put it there or why he was even trying to save the man. He killed Dumbledore and betrayed him! "Give me a flask!" Harry exclaimed, extending his and out to Hermione. "Quickly!"
She handed him a small vial, Harry collecting Snape's tears, seeing the thin string of memories in his palm. "Look at me." Severus muttered and Harry looked into the man's eyes. Green met brown and no longer did Harry see Severus as the man he hated, or the murderer. He saw him as someone who cared deeply for his aunt.
"Hermione, you still have a potion?" Harry exclaimed, pocketing the vial and leaning over Severus, applying pressure to the man's wounds. "Something that'll heal him, I know you still have some left!"
"Harry, I can't," Hermione began.
"No!" The boy roared, glaring at her. "Search it! Accio it! Anything! Please Hermione, Celosia loves him! I can't let him die."
Harry was shocked even at his own words and he looked back at Severus, who seemed to have a little bit of life still in him. He applied more pressure onto the wound on his neck, carefully unbuttoning his collar to try and get a look at it. "It's no use, Harry." Severus gasped out and Harry looked up at him, surprised. That was the first time the Potions Master had ever used his first name.
"No." The boy grabbed his wand, looking over at Hermione. "Well, don't you have anything?"
"The only thing I have left is Essence of Dittany but it won't be enough." Hermione handed him the small vial and Harry quickly took it, uncorking it and tipping the contents into Severus' wounds.
"This is going to help, right Professor?" He asked, suddenly desperate to save the man's life. "This will at least help the wounds heal?"
"It's not enough." Severus gasped out, repeating Hermione's words. Harry emptied the small amount of potion into his wound, taking his wand and pointing it to the open door. His stag Patronus soared out, Ron and Hermione staring at him.
"Are you bloody mad?" Ron exclaimed. "Sending out your Patronus? In a situation like this?"
"He's right Harry, that's reckless!" Hermione exclaimed.
"What's the point, Voldemort already knows I'm on the grounds." Harry muttered, turning back to Severus with his wand in his hand. "Tell me a spell Professor, some sort of chant that will help heal you."
"There's no-" Severus whispered.
"There's only a chant and it's complicated!" Hermione explained for him. "And besides, if you manage to close the wounds, Nagini's poison is still inside him!"
"It's too late." Ron said and Severus nodded his approval.
"No, it's not!" The Boy Who Lived roared. "I'm not letting him die!"
"Harry, he murdered Dumbledore!" Ron exclaimed.
"I don't care!" Harry screamed. "Celosia loves him more than anything in the entire world, maybe even more than me. If I let him die, she'll have no one and have no chance at ever having the family she wanted. I'm not going to let that happen to her, Snape has to stay alive!"
Severus was surprised as his focus went on and off, the poison and blood loss getting to him. The Dittany seemed to keep him up a little longer but not long enough. The thought that Celosia had loved him even after all he did to her made his heart warm. He could die happily knowing that fact.
A figure burst through the boathouse doors and Minerva McGonagall put a hand to her heart, her wand in her other one. "Potter! Are you insane?" The woman instantly scolded. "You're bloody lucky I was alone when your Patronus reached me. Who knows what could have happened if Death Eaters followed you here!"
"Professor, you have to help him." Harry said, his hand once again against Severus' neck. "He needs medical attention and he needs it now."
"Mr. Potter why would you want to-" McGonagall started.
"JUST HELP HIM!" Harry yelled, anger bubbling in his voice. Everyone in the room stayed still and silent. Harry felt a sharp sting in his scar and he let out a grunt, feeling a pressure in his mind. He shook his head, getting rid of the feeling before looking down at the man lying beside him, his eyes drooping with every blink he took.
Hermione, Ron and McGonagall stared at Harry, who was indeed desperately set on keeping Snape alive. "Please Professor." Harry begged in a quiet voice. "Trust me. When have I ever given you a reason not to? I need you to do this for me and my aunt."
Those were the last words Severus heard before he felt his mind start to give into the darkness. His eyes closed and he could feel his blood seeping out of his clothes and onto Harry's hand. The warmth from the boy's hand on his neck was surprising to him and Severus' breath began to grow slow.
A shaking from Harry made him open his eyes and he looked up into the emerald orbs. Severus saw determination and compassion, an emotion he never thought the boy would give him. Perhaps he wasn't like James at all.
"Very well." McGonagall gave in and stooped down, making eye contact with Severus. Taking her wand she traced it on the wound, Harry leaving her to it as she started to mumble small chants under her breath. "Alert someone from the Order so we can get him to St. Mungo's without the Death Eaters finding out."
Ron was the one to send his Patronus out, Hermione starting to scold Harry for being reckless before a hissing filled the room. Hermione covered her ears and the deathly sound of Voldemort's voice was heard. McGonagall however remained focus on Severus' wounds, making sure to try to stop the bleeding as much as possible and trying to replenish it. She could only hope for someone from the Order to get the message and come to them quickly. With the charms diminished on the castle grounds, Apparition was possible however no one but McGonagall and Molly Weasley were to figure it out.
Once Voldemort had announced his forces were retreating, Harry stared out the open door, the castle burned. He saw some fires that were being extinguished, and his heart broke in two when he saw the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Towers had been completely destroyed.
"What are you going to do, mate?" Ron asked, referring to the time limit Voldemort gave Harry before he surrendered himself.
"I don't want anyone else to die." Harry muttered and his two friends started to protest.
"You have to take that vial to the Pensieve." Hermione reminded and Harry nodded, pressing his fingers against his pocket, where the vial holding Severus' memories were surely still there.
"We're going to think of a plan." Ron said defiantly. "We can throw him off track."
"No we can't." Harry said, looking back up at the destroyed castle. His one and only home was in pieces before his eyes- the Tower he used to spend his nights in demolished, the corridors he walked through constantly had missing pieces in them. Even from the area he was in Harry could still see the damage caused, and that burned a hole through his chest.
Gulping down his sadness he looked over at his professors, McGonagall muttering spells under her breath as Severus stared blankly at the wall. The only sign of him still alive was the slight twitching of his finger whenever McGonagall's wand grazed him, and his eyes often fluttered open after being closed for several agonizing seconds.
It pained Harry to see him like that and the thought itself surprised him to the core. Here was the man that he was convinced hated him the second he laid eyes on him and Harry didn't even know why. The Potions Master that he had back talked, the one who accused Harry of stealing and lying, the one who murdered Dumbledore and betrayed the Order was right in front of him dying and Harry didn't wish it on him. Deep down Harry knew that Celosia and Severus loved each other, there was no denying that fact. He hadn't heard of his aunt ever since he saw her leave with the Dursleys but he just knew she wasn't dead. She couldn't be. He begged she wasn't. Severus had to go back to her and make her happy. She deserved that.
Arthur Weasley burst through the door, much to Harry and McGonagall's relief. After filling him in on the situation the man looked down at Severus, who was still conscious but barely hanging onto life. The poison was reaching every part of him and his body was numb, his eyelids blinking ever so slowly. He felt like he wanted to close his eyes and never open them again but Harry's presence made him cling on. If what he said was true, he had to stay alive for Celosia. He hoped to Merlin that she was alright.
Arthur grabbed onto Severus, who's body mass immediately fell into the Weasley. The last thing Severus saw was Harry's face looking back up at him before he was Disapparated out of the area, the spinning bringing him into a massive headache.
Severus never knew where they landed, for once they stopped, Arthur levitated the unconscious body of Severus Snape into St. Mungo's Hospital, hoping that the wizard was still alive.