Shattered Illusions Chapter Thirteen: Getting out of the Hospital
The next day was Saturday, so after Severus got up and had breakfast he decided to go talk to the Headmaster. When he got to the gargoyle, he realized when he muttered 'lemon drops' that Dumbledore had changed the password again. He started calling out all the wizard candy he could think of, when none worked, he began with the muggle ones. It sprang aside on 'Snickers'. Snickers was actually one of the only candies, wizard and muggle, that Severus actually enjoyed.
Standing outside of Albus' door he lightly knocked and waited. Nobody answered at first, so he knocked again, a bit harder. "Enter," Said a voice from inside, so Severus quietly opened the door.
"Ah, Severus my boy!" Albus exclaimed standing up from his chair, "Come in, sit down!" Nodding, Severus strode to his chair and gracefully sat down. "Lemon drop?" Albus asked, holding out a tin while he picked out a lemon drop from another tin.
Severus frowned and wondered why Albus didn't take one out of the tin he was offering him. He vaguely remembered rumors going around that the lemon drops were laced with calming droughts, and he wondered if it was true. One way to find out, Severus thought to himself.
"Yes, please Albus." Severus said, reaching over and plucking one from the tin. Albus' reaction was priceless. His mouth dropped open, and the tin fell from his finger, then he sputtered, "Wha- But Severus, never in all your years of teaching have you accepted one of my lemon drops."
"Don't be so surprised, old man." Severus said, pretending to put it into his mouth, when he really only dropped it into his sleeve until later. He honestly hated lemon drops, or anything lemon flavored actually. "It was bound to happen eventually." Albus seemed to recover and he flicked his wand, causing all the lemon drops to go back into the tin neatly.
"I see," said Dumbledore, "Now, I don't think this is a social call, is it?" Severus pretended to shift the nonexistent lemon drop in his mouth before speaking.
"No Albus, I would like to talk to you about Mr. Potter." Severus said, looking Dumbledore in the eye. Dumbledore's blue eyes immediately turned icy and the twinkle vanished, his face going hard.
"Now Severus," Albus said harshly. "I told you that I don't want to hear any more about it."
"You said that, unless I had any proof that Potter was abused, then you didn't want to hear any more about." Severus said just as harshly, "It turns out that I do have some proof." Dumbledore's eyes narrowed.
"What are you talking about?" He asked.
"I went into his mind and found a memory of abuse." Severus said, then went on to tell exactly what had happened. "You cannot send him back." Severus finished.
"I take it you extracted the memory then?" Dumbledore asked.
"No, but won't my memory of witnessing it work?" Severus asked calmly. It should, he'd been a witness to many trials by using a memory of witnessing somebody else's memory.
"No, it cannot." Dumbledore answered. "It has to be directly from Harry himself."
"But that's absurd, why cannot it be from me?" Severus demanded.
"Simply, memories can be altered." Dumbledore said.
"What's that got to do with anything?" Severus asked, "Potter could have altered it just as much as I could."
"No, not quite." Dumbledore said. "It's not your memory, so it would be easier for you to do it." Severus frowned, he would just have to ask Harry permission to go back and extract it.
"Very well, I must be going," said Severus while standing. "Good day."
"Good day, Severus." Albus said, popping another lemon drop into his mouth. Severus left the Headmaster's office feeling annoyed, to extract the memory, he would have to search for it again. And he didn't want to watch it again, it made him uncomfortable.
Once he made it back to his quarters and pulled the lemon drop out of his pocket and went to his lab, he really was curious to see if the rumors were true or not.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Harry sat on his bed in the hospital, bored out of his mind. He wished that Pomfrey would let him leave; he wanted to be with his friends. He felt fine, really he did, so he didn't understand why Pomfrey was keeping him there. She had even said that his throat was healed, he would just have to take a potion everyday so the scars inside wouldn't get agitated when he talked. Harry flopped back onto his pillow and sighed loudly.
"What's wrong, Mr. Potter?" Poppy asked, coming into the room. Harry jumped and sat up.
"N-n-nothing M-M-Mad…Madam P-Pomfrey." Harry stuttered. Poppy looked at him.
"That sigh sounded so distressed though." She said, fluffing a pillow of another bed.
"W-wh..when c-c-can l-leave?" Harry asked, his eyes hopeful.
"So eager to get away from me?" Pomfrey asked smiling.
"Oh! N-no m-ma'am." Harry said, his face flushing a bit, "I…I j-j-just… uh…I…"
"You miss your friends, don't you?" She asked. Harry sighed in relief and nodded his head.
"Well," said Poppy, "I think you can leave now, if you promise to come back every morning to take your potions." Harry jumped off the bed.
"I p-p-promise." Harry said, he was about to run out the door when he suddenly stopped and turned. "D-do you th-thi…think y-you c-co-could p-put up a gl-glamour?" Harry asked.
"You know, you shouldn't hide all the time." Poppy frowned.
"I k-know." Harry said. "J-Just f-f-for a li-little while."
"Fine, but just for a while." Pomfrey sighed, and put up a glamour, hiding all of Harry's scars except the famous lightning bolt.
"Th-thanks!" Harry said, and turned to leave, running smack into a tall figure dressed in black. Harry took a step back and looked up at Snape nervously. "S-s-s-so…s-sorry sir!"
"You should watch where you are going, Mr. Potter." Snape said, not unkindly.
"Y-yes s-s-sir." Harry said, looking down.
"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Severus asked.
"C-common w…woom." Harry said, his face flushing at not being able to pronounce the 'r'.
"Madam Pomfrey let you out, did she?" Harry nodded excitedly.
"H-have come b-b-ba…back e-ev-every d-day." Harry stuttered. "T-take p-p-potion."
"Are you excited to see your friends again?" Severus questioned. Harry nodded.
"Before you leave, I wonder if I could have a word with you." Severus said, looking into Harry's eyes.
"Y-yes s-s-sir."
"Good, why don't you sit down?" Severus pulled up a chair and lightly pushed Harry into it without waiting for an answer. "Do you remember the break down you had yesterday?"
"N-n-no s-s-sir." Harry said looking confused. "W-what b-b-break d-d-own?" Severus frowned and looked Harry in the eye.
"What can you tell me about your uncle?" He asked, ignoring Harry's question.
"U-uncle V-Vewnon?" Harry asked, looking away. "N-not m-much." He really didn't remember much about him at all.
"Does he ever hit you?" Severus questioned bluntly. Harry thought back to what he remembered of his uncle. But none of the memories he could remember he was getting hit in. There were a couple where he threw Harry into a cupboard, and taking away food, but not hitting.
"N-no, s-s-sir." Harry said. "W-w-why?"
"Yesterday you had a breakdown, and while you were, I went into your mind," said Severus. "While I was in there, I found a rather disturbing memory."
"W-what wa…was it?" Severus frowned again.
"Your uncle was hitting you." Severus said, "Is it alright if I go into your mind again and try to find it?" Harry nodded so Severus took out his wand and entered Harry's mind. Again there wasn't anything different, all the door were the same. He quickly went over to Freak's door and tried to open it, with no use. It was heavily warded again. He tried as hard as he could, but the wards just wouldn't break, so he exited again.
"D-di…did you f-f-find i-it?" asked Harry.
"No." Severus said rubbing his temples. "The wards are too strong."
"I s-s-sow…s-sowwy." Harry whispered, looking away.
"Don't be sorry, child," said Severus. "We will just have to work at it. Why don't you go on to find your friends?"
"Th…thanks, s-sir!" Harry grinned and jumped up, then ran from the room. Severus sat there for a few minute more thinking; he just couldn't figure it out. He stood and stalked over to Poppy's office and knocked lightly.
"Come in!" Poppy called out, so Severus opened the door.
"I can't stay long," said Severus. "I only wanted to ask if you know any mind healers."
"Yes, I know a couple." Poppy said, "Why?"
"Well I wondered if one could come here to Hogwarts and examine Harry, we're obviously missing something." Severus replied. Poppy nodded.
"I will contact one and let you know." She said. Severus nodded and left the room without another word.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Harry practically skipped down the corridors; he was so excited to see Ron and Hermione, as well as Neville. He was a bit worried of what they would say though, since he couldn't talk right. It only took a day or so for him to figure out how to form most sentences; it really wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. But his pronunciation was horrible and the stuttering was embarrassing. He wondered if they would laugh at him, or would he accept him? Harry didn't know what he would do if they rejected him, he had no other friends. Dean and Seamus were alright, but they didn't really talk to him, everyone else ignored him almost completely.
"Potter." A voice growled from behind him. Harry stopped and turned around, staring in to the face of Draco Malfoy.
"H-h-hello Ma…M-Malfoy." Harry said.
"What's the matter with you?" Malfoy demanded, his eyes narrowing.
"W-wh-what d-do y-you m-mean?" Harry asked confused.
"W-what d-do I m-mean?" mocked Draco, placing his hands on his hips. A look of hurt flashed across Harry's face, making Draco's smirk falter a bit.
"Potter, wait!" Malfoy called, but it was too late. Harry had already turned and started running away.
Something started gnawing at Draco's conscious, making his tummy hurt. He hadn't meant to make Potter cry, he was just still angry at him from the first day. He turned sadly and started off towards the Slytherin common room to see what Crabbe and Goyle were up to.
Harry didn't run far, he couldn't believe how he was acting. He should have known that people would make fun of him, and he shouldn't have been surprised that Malfoy had been so mean. It made him not want to talk anymore, Harry wanted to go back to using sign language to communicate, that way Ron and Hermione wouldn't ever know how bad he talked.
Harry sighed and leaned against the wall, tears burned his eyes. He was so stupid to think it would be ok. He looked over, and spotting the corner, went over to it and slid down to the floor. He pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them. Harry closed his eyes and willed his tears away.
"Potter, what are you doing over there?" A voice asked. Harry opened his eyes, a couple tears slipping past, and looked at Professor Snape. Harry shrugged and pushed himself further into the corner. Snape sighed and strolled over, then knelt down in front of Harry.
"What's wrong?" He asked, "I thought you were excited to see your friends." Harry shrugged, a couple more tears dripping from his eyes. Harry was about to wipe his face with his sleeve, but Snape lifted his hand and brushed them away with the pad of his thumb.
"Did something happen?" He questioned, sounding a bit concerned and awkward at the same time. Harry nodded slowly and tried to push himself even further into the corner, if that was even possible.
"Won't you tell me what It was?" asked Snape. Harry looked at Snape with tears in his eyes, he couldn't believe it, he was being such a baby. Harry looked away again, Snape sighed.
"The things I do for idiot Gryffindors." Snape mumbled and went to lean against the wall next to Harry. Harry looked up, a little shocked. Severus was sitting his legs out in front of him, and his arms crossed over his chest; he stared at Harry.
"You know you can tell me anything." Said Snape awkwardly. Harry nodded, and after a minute of thinking, signed;
"It was Malfoy."
"Mr. Malfoy? What did he do to you?" Severus asked, taking Harry's face and turning it, looking for any injuries.
"It's stupid." Harry signed.
"Why are you signing?" Severus asked.
"I don't want to talk." Harry signed, "Never."
"Why ever not?" Severus questioned, "You're getting much better." Harry shook his head.
"I sound stupid." Harry signed, "Malfoy was making fun of me, and I realized that everyone probably will."
"That's not true," said Snape. "Malfoy was just being Malfoy, I'll have a talk with him. Don't stop talking just because of him. If anybody else makes fun of you, or hurts you in anyway, you come and tell me." Harry smiled a bit and nodded. "Alright then." Severus stood, then held out his hand for Harry to take.
"Th-thank y-y-you p-pw-pwofessor." Harry said, Snape nodded and turned to stalk down to the dungeons. Harry shook his head, a small smile on his lips, then turned and made his own way to the Gryffindor common room.
When he entered he at first thought that nobody was in there, but then as he got closer to the couch he saw Ron and Neville lying on the floor in front of the couch, playing chess. Neville was obviously losing, even Harry could see it, but he wasn't giving up. Both of them were staring at the chess board intently, and Harry wondered when they would even notice him.
He plopped down on the couch and set in to watch the game. It took twenty five minutes before any of them noticed. Neville had just lost the game and he stood to go up to his room when he noticed Harry.
"Harry! How long have you been sitting there?" Neville asked, loud enough to wake the dead. Harry was about to respond when a female voice called out, "Harry? Did you say Harry's out there?" Hermione's head appeared from on top of the stairs and she smiled at him.
"Harry! How are you?" She asked, jogging down the stairs and pulling him into a big hug.
"F-f-fine." Stuttered Harry, "H-h-how aw…awe y-you?" Hermione grinned.
"You can talk now?" She asked.
"Y-yes b-b-but not w-w-ithout s-s-s-stutt…stuttering." Harry said.
"Well, that's alright." Hermione said, "We'll just have to help you out, wont me?" Harry grinned and nodded.
"It's good to have you back, mate." Ron said.
"Yeah," agreed Neville. "It's only been a couple of days, but I missed you."
"Th-thanks." Harry smiled.
"Would you like to play some chess, Harry?" Ron asked, pointing towards the board. Harry nodded enthusiastically. Ron and Harry sat down on the floor while Hermione and Neville sat on the couch, for the rest of the night before bed; they all sat there and played chess against each other. Harry didn't think he'd ever had so much fun.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Severus sat in his chambers, in his favorite chair next to the fire. He had to do something about Potter's living arrangements. He wouldn't allow the headmaster to place him back with his relatives. His respect for the headmaster had dropped drastically since Harry had come to Hogwarts, and he wondered how many other cases of abuse he had ignored for 'the greater good'.
Even if the headmaster had allowed Severus to take Harry out of their care, he wouldn't trust anybody Dumbledore would put him with. It looked like the only solution was to find somebody Severus trusted to take him, or take him in himself. Severus trusted almost nobody, especially with a child, so it looked like it would be the latter. Severus didn't know how he would get the guardianship transferred without Dumbledore knowing or without a trial though, so he wasn't sure what to do.
Finally after about two hours of thinking and nothing coming to mind, he got up and went to the fireplace. There was somebody that he could ask. It could be risky, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He picked up the floo powder and threw some into the fireplace, then calling, "Malfoy Manor" he stepped through.