Chapter 34

Severus gasped as Phaedrus hoisted him to his feet. The werewolf supported Severus with an arm wrapped around his waist and the hand from the other arm occupied itself with keeping Severus' upper body straight.

Severus made a last futile attempt to escape from Phaedrus' grasp by trying to push away but Phaedrus tightened his grip on the wizard.

"Don't, Severus. You'll just make it worse," he said, dragging his charge back to the bed.

Swinging Severus around, the werewolf lowered him into the blankets.

A sharp breath of air escaped the wizard's lips when the full weight of his body rested on the bed. Severus' chest seared with burning pain. He thought that he felt a warm liquid collecting on his chest but he was too lightheaded to be sure what he was feeling was real. His limbs felt like they were floating in water. He felt the werewolf lifting his legs on the bed and straightening his body on the bed. Closing his eyes, the wizard let his head fall loosely to the side.

Phaedrus lifted the man's head up to face him and placed the back of his hand against Severus' forehead and cheeks. Hot.

Severus' eyes opened blearily and it was evident that he was having trouble focusing on Phaedrus who had disappeared then reappeared within a few seconds.

Severus felt a cold, soothing rag draped across his forehead. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and opened them again when he felt Phaedrus tearing at his shirt. Severus caught a glimpse of Phaedrus' hands as they tugged the shirt from his shoulders. They were smeared with blood.

Instinctively, the wizard lifted his head to get an idea of the damage he had inflicted upon himself but before he could assess the damage, the werewolf pushed his head back to the pillow.

"Harry," Phaedrus called out to the sleeping teenager.

A quick look over his shoulder told Phaedrus that all he had accomplished was getting Harry to roll over.

"Harry!" he called louder this time.

A sleepy grumble answered and he heard sheets rustling.

"Harry, I need your help," he said attempting to inform the teen of the situation's urgency.

Harry finally sat up in his bed. After a few seconds of feeling for his glasses, Harry placed them on his nose and peered across the room from where Phaedrus' voice was coming.

Seeing Phaedrus leaning over a clearly loopy Professor Snape, the young wizard jumped out of his sheets and crossed the room. "What happened?!" he exclaimed after taking stock of the situation laid before him. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Make sure he doesn't try to get up," Phaedrus said, purposely not answering Harry's questions. He wouldn't have a clear idea of the extent of the damage Severus had inflicted upon himself until he could get under the bloody bandages covering his wounds.

Phaedrus left Harry to look after Severus while he looked for a pair of scissors. When he returned, he found Harry sitting on the left side of the bed, wide-eyed staring at the blood soaked bandage covering Severus' chest. One of his hands was holding Severus' hand which was closest to him and the other hand was placed on Severus' opposite shoulder. Severus was breathing shallowly through his mouth. His head had fallen back on its side and his eyes were opened only halfway and didn't seem to be focused on anything.

Harry started to get up when he saw Phaedrus return with scissors.

"Don't get up. Keep holding him," the werewolf instructed while making his way to the right side of the bed. Sitting down on the bedside, the werewolf positioned this scissors at the edge of the bandage.

Severus flinched when the cold metal touched his skin.

Phaedrus glanced pointedly at Harry who applied more pressure to his professor's shoulder.

Quickly cutting through the bandages, the werewolf placed the scissors on his bedside table and peeled the sticky bandages from Severus' chest. Taking the now warm cloth from Severus' forehead, Phaedrus wiped away the blood that was seeping out of the wound.

"Harry, can you get another rag for his head?" Phaedrus asked to spare the boy from having to see the laceration.

Harry hesitated for a moment but was on his feet with another glance from his caretaker.

Phaedrus continued wiping away the blood until he could clearly see the open cut. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the cut had been reopened but not too badly. The bleeding was decreasing. He looked up at Severus whose eyes were closed. The man's breathing was slow but had deepened and steadied.

Harry returned with a fresh rag and placed it across the man's forehead.

"Thank you, Harry," Phaedrus said as he took the soiled cloth away from Severus' chest and noticed Harry's eyes drifting toward the wound. "The bleeding is stopping," he informed Harry trying to reassure the teen.

"Will he be okay?" Harry asked again.

"Yes, if he'll stay put long enough," Phaedrus answered.

The young wizard nodded distractedly but continued his questioning. "What happened?"

Shaking his head, Phaedrus related the events that had led to Severus' present state while he applied pressure to Severus' wound.

"I was in the kitchen when he in came in behind me. I don't know what he was doing out of bed. I must have woken him when I dropped a bowl," Phaedrus began.

Harry nodded but didn't say anything.

"Then he accused me of being the werewolf that attacked you and collapsed."

Harry looked at Phaedrus with surprise. "How did he know?"

"I thought that you must have told him," Phaedrus said without accusation.

Harry shook he head. "No, I didn't think it would be a good idea."

Phaedrus' eye on Harry turned thoughtful. "Harry, you never did explain why my... condition seems common place to you."

Harry, turned away from Phaedrus. Faced with the possibly catastrophic decision of telling Phaedrus about a world that was still new to himself or lying to someone who he needed to be able to trust, Harry looked to his professor for guidance. Unfortunately for the conflicted wizard, Severus was in no condition to issue advise.

Now that the werewolf had time to think about Severus' strange reaction, his mind wandered back to the moment when Harry had guessed his secret. In the back of his mind he had been hoping that Harry and Severus would be able to shed some light on his situation. He didn't want to raise his hopes much but for the first time since his own attack, he did feel the least bit hopeful.

"It's all right, Harry," Phaedrus said. "Forget I said that."

Harry looked up at Phaedrus. His eyes reflected an internal struggle. He wanted to tell Phaedrus who had been so kind to he and his professor but he knew that he couldn't go around discussing the world of magic. "Phaedrus, I... I want to tell you but-"

"It's all right, Harry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't push you." Phaedrus said quickly.

Harry's face fell. He wanted so desperately to tell the werewolf that a good friend of his father's was a werewolf and that he knew it was hard but that he could get through this. He wished that Snape was awake or that Sirius and Remus were there.

Phaedrus took a moment to inspect Severus' open wound. "The bleeding stopped," he said.

Harry looked at the deep red laceration. There didn't seem to be any fresh blood but the wound was deep.

Phaedrus left and returned with new bandages. "Let's hope that he'll stay put long enough for these to do some good," Phaedrus said as he sat down. "He can't overexert himself in this condition."

Severus woke the next afternoon to find Harry asleep, holding his hand and the werewolf asleep on the opposite side. For a few moments he lay there grateful for the silence. Now that he knew what Phaedrus was, he knew that he and Harry would have to leave as soon as possible. He would take Harry away from there immediately if he could. In the back of his mind, he remembered what Phaedrus had told him before. He only had a few weeks to recover. Now he had even less time.

Glaring at the werewolf sleeping next to him, he pictured the night of the attack in his mind. How he and Harry had narrowly escaped death and how Harry would have been safely under the care of Dumbledore at Hogwarts if that night had not happened.

He wanted to hate the creature. He was a werewolf. He was an endangerment to everyone. How long had he hidden in this house in the middle of the forrest? How many others had he endangered or possibly killed? It was a werewolf that had killed his parents in front of his own eyes when he was only a child. It was because of a werewolf that he had virtually been a prisoner at his grandmother's house until she had died and Dumbledore had taken over his care.

A small part of his conscious was telling him that Phaedrus had taken them in when he could have left them to die in the forrest. But wasn't that the least that he could do after what he had done?

He let out an agitated huff which woke up Harry.

"Professor?" Harry addressed him sleepily.

Severus removed his gaze from Phaedrus and turned to Harry. There was worry in the boy's eyes which made him uncomfortable.

"How do you feel?" the youth inquired.

Severus swallowed then answered. "I feel fine."

"Why were you out of bed?" Harry asked in a tone that reminded Severus of Minerva when she was inquiring after his health.

Severus shook his head. He didn't want to add any burden to the boy by telling him what Phaedrus was. Of course, considering his relationship with Lupin, he probably wouldn't care. "I don't remember," he lied.

The middle aged wizard used an elbow to prop himself up. Under Phaedrus' care, his other wounds had for the most part healed.

Harry made a movement to stop his professor from getting up but Severus stopped him. "I'm fine, Harry. I'll be careful." It wasn't easy for him to care about his own well-being since he had spent so many years ignoring it but he knew that Harry was depending on him. He had to recover enough so that he could get Harry to the cabin. From there, he could get Harry back to Hogwarts which was the safest place in the world for him to be.

He pushed himself up to a full sitting position.

Harry looked over to Phaedrus who was still asleep then turned his attention to Severus' chest. "Does it hurt?" he asked timidly.

"No," he lied again.

Licking his lips nervously, Harry looked up to Severus' face. "Professor, I was wondering how long you thought it was going to take us to get to that cabin from here."

The Potions Master considered this for a moment before answering. "About a week, I imagine. I don't think this has taken us off course by very far."

Harry nodded. "How long do you think it will be until we can leave?"

Severus sighed. "Soon," he said.

Harry nodded again and looked away from the man. He was trying to muster the confidence to tell him about Phaedrus. He knew that Severus knew about Phaedrus now but Severus didn't know that he knew and he could only imagine how the man would feel when he found out that he had known for some time. He and Severus were finally getting along and he didn't want to have to hide this from him. He was hoping that once they made it back to Hogwarts, their bond would hold. If that were the case, he didn't want to lie about this for the rest of his life.

Severus regarded the teen for a few seconds. He could tell that Harry had something on his mind that he was trying to get off his chest but he was finding it difficult. Severus knew that he wasn't the most approachable adult in this young man's life but the past few weeks had changed their relationship. He wanted Harry to be able to confide in him, especially now.

"What is it, Harry?" he prodded after waiting for a couple of minutes for Harry to just tell him.

The boy looked back at him for a moment then his eyes dropped. "Professor, I knew about Phaedrus."

Severus' eyes narrowed. "You knew what?"

Harry sighed. "I knew that he was the werewolf that attacked us," he stammered, inwardly bracing himself for Severus' rebuke.

Severus' eyes returned to their normal size. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. This boy had kept this information from him for days while they had been under the werewolf's care. "You knew that it was him?!" Severus hissed, his breathing quickening. "You knew that he was a werewolf and you decided that it would be best to keep that information from me?" he seethed.

Harry flinched. He knew that this would happen. "Professor, I'm sorry," he apologized quickly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Severus demanded. Only a few weeks ago he would never have imagined himself hurt by the fact that James Potter's son had kept something from him.

"You were so-" Harry started but couldn't finish.

"So what?" Severus said.

"I was afraid that you were going to die!" Harry shouted, trying to defend himself and waking Phaedrus in the process.

Severus was taken aback by this. "Telling me wasn't going to kill me." Severus stated.

"I know that!" Harry snapped. "It's just, you hate Remus so much just because he's a werewolf and I didn't want to chance your health because you don't like werewolves."

"You don't like werewolves?" Phaedrus said confused, disbelieving tone.

Severus and Harry simultaneously looked at him. Until now neither of them had noticed that Phaedrus was awake.

Harry and Severus remained silent. Their argument was obviously not going to make sense to Phaedrus who was not part of their world.

Phaedrus gave a sarcastic laugh. "Just how many werewolves do you know, Severus?" He couldn't believe two people were having a conversation about this in front of him. Of course he had taken into account that he was probably not the only werewolf in the world but the last time he checked, sane people didn't believe in them.

Severus and Harry looked back at each other, neither knowing what exactly to say to Phaedrus.

The werewolf got to his feet and walked to the window. He didn't know how to take this. He stared out the window in an effort to divert his attention from the tension in the room.

He hadn't actually expected this to work until something caught his eye. Three men were walking up to his cabin.

"They weren't in the town. Pettigrew, they won't be here, out in the middle of no where!" Crabb senior spat at the short, balding man.

"Crabb's right. If you ask me, they're heading to Hogwarts, not away from it," Goyle senior agreed.

"The Dark Lord said this is where he sensed that power," Pettigrew said defensively. "If you would like to tell him yourself that they aren't here, be my guests!" he challenged.

Crabb and Goyle were silenced. No matter how ridiculous they thought this was, there was no arguing with Voldemort. His will was final.

"Stow your wands," Pettigrew instructed. "There's no reason to raise suspicion and if anyone gives us trouble, we can get information out of them the muggle way," he said, punching his flesh colored palm with his silver fist.

"Do you know those three?" Phaedrus said, putting an end to the tension.

Severus and Harry looked at each other meaningfully then Harry got up and joined Phaedrus at the window.

Harry peered out the window then jumped back, alarming both men.

"Who is it?" Severus demanded.

Harry backed away from the window and turned panicky toward Severus. "Pettigrew, Crabb, and Goyle," he answered making no effort to hide the fear in his voice.

Severus' eyes widened. He didn't say anything but Harry could tell from the look on his face that he was mentally assessing their situation.

"I take it, you're not on friendly terms," Phaedrus remarked, also stepping away from the window. "Are these the men that abducted you?" Phaedrus asked Harry, recalling the conversation he and the boy had when Harry had to explain to him what he was doing in the forrest with his professor.

Harry nodded quickly.

Severus briefly wondered exactly how much Harry had told the werewolf then again focused his thoughts back on what to do. If he and Harry made a run for it, he would only slow Harry down. It would be too easy for Voldemort's henchmen to catch up with them since they were already on their trail. If he sent Harry ahead without him, they would still find him and know that Harry couldn't be far away. He cursed inwardly. How had they known that he and Harry were here?

Phaedrus looked at Harry then at Severus. "I think I have an idea," he said, disappearing into the kitchen.

Severus removed the blanket covering him then slid his legs off of the bed and onto the floor. Harry went to his side and helped him to his feet. When Phaedrus returned, he found Severus standing with Harry's help.

"In here," he said, motioning for them to follow him.

With little other choice, Severus and Harry obeyed.

Phaedrus brought the two to the kitchen and indicated the pantry. "In there," he said.

The two wizards eyed him skeptically. There was no way they'd both fit in there.

"The back wall removes for extra storage on the bottom shelf," Phaedrus explained interpreting their looks correctly. "You can hide in there until they're gone."

Harry looked up at his professor to see if he would agree.

Severus didn't really see that they had any other option and nodded his head. "You first, Harry."

Phaedrus took Harry's place, supporting Severus, allowing Harry to get on his hands and knees and crawl into the space at the back of the closet. Once inside, he felt around to determine how much room there was. Not much.

Phaedrus helped Severus down to his hands and knees and waited for the injured man to make it inside the space.

Once inside, Harry made as much room for him to sit as comfortably as possible.

Phaedrus closed up the wall behind them and arranged some things in front of it so it looked less suspicious then closed the closet door just in time to hear an aggressive knock at the door.

Author's Note: Yes, it's been months... I actually had to read the entire story again to see what I had done in the earlier chapters. Thank you for all of the reviews and encouragement to continue! I'm hoping to update more often now that I'm finally getting somewhere with the current point in the plot :)

Thank you again for reading!