"No!" Severus jumped up and looked around his room for whoever was screaming. He couldn't see anyone and then remembered who was staying in his guest bedroom.
He quickly got out of bed and practically ran to his private lab. He ripped vials out and ran back through his rooms and into his guestroom.
Harry was covered in a cold sweat and twisting under the sheets while pleading with an invisible force. Severus grabbed the man before he could inflict any damage to himself or to Severus.
"Harry," Severus whispered, "Come on, wake up, you're safe now. Here at Hogwarts," Severus ran his hand through the messy black hair. "Come on, it's just a nightmare. Just a nightmare."
Harry eventually woke to Severus telling him that there was nothing wrong and that it was nothing but a nightmare, a bad memory. He sighed and buried his face into the man's chest and tried to blink away the hot tears from his eyes.
"Just a nightmare," Harry muttered, "Nobody could ever say that before." And Severus knew that they couldn't. He knew that every night Harry Potter could see the Dark Lord murdering Muggles, or torturing witches and wizards.
"We can now," Severus said softly, "It's all just memories now." Severus reached over and grabbed the two potions off the bedside table. "Drink this, it's a calming draught." Harry slowly took the vial.
Severus cast a quick, silent Tempus Charm and was shocked to see that it was already nine thirty in the morning. He silently set the Dreamless Sleep Potion back on the bedside table and wrapped his arms around the boy.
"Do you want some breakfast?" Severus asked a few moments later when the boy was still. Harry looked up and shook his head, "Why not?"
"Not hungry," Harry muttered and tried to sit up. Severus looked at the boy who looked like a skeleton with pasty white skin draped over it.
"When was the last time you ate?" Severus asked gently pulling away and Harry shrugged, "I'll get you some nutrition potions and we'll get your appetite back."
Severus sighed when he did not receive an answer. HE knew that food was probably used as a way to control the boys in the brothel and it definitely was at the Dursley house.
"I'm going to leave you to shower," Severus said gently and was surprised when Harry began to shake, "Harry, what's wrong?"
"I can't," Harry whispered and pulled his knees up to his chin, as Severus got up and sat down on the side of the bed, and he rested his cheek on his leg. "Don't make me, please."
"I have a meeting with the twins," Severus said lightly, "And I know for a fact that they are worried about you. If you take a shower, I'll bring them here after we talk in my office, if you wish, perhaps Draco and Longbottom as well."
Harry sighed, there were only two people he wanted to see at the moment and he would never be able to see them again, never hear or see them again. Ron was gone, Harry shuddered, and Ron could never come back.
Voldemort, the sadistic bastard, had used Harry's emotions at first when 'dealing' with the Weasley's. He had purposely invaded Harry's mind and Harry had been made to watch as his best friend and his younger sister were tortured and murdered, all as their family watched. He still heard Mrs. Weasley's screams and pleads as her youngest two children's life was taken slowly and painfully.
Hermione had been struck down in battle with Luna, right beside him. Bellatrix Lestrange had been firing the Killing Curse everyway and not caring who she hit, if they hit anyone. Just as Harry had caught sight of Voldemort torturing Snape, for being a traitor, two of the curses broke through and hit Luna and Hermione straight in their chests. As he watched Hermione and Luna drop he threw all of his pain, desperation, and love for those Voldemort had murdered at the Dark Lord in the form of the Killing Curse.
"When are Fred and George going to be here?" Harry asked, reaching up to rub his eyes, and then grab the clothes his professor was holding out to him and he noticed his trunk.
"Half an hour or so," Severus said after casting another Tempus Charm. "Those two always show up at 10:30 when I give them the choice."
Harry nodded, "I want to go out for a while anyway." Harry said but quickly added, "I'll take the cloak and my wand, I don't want to be seen yet, and I'll be safe enough with my wand," when he saw a flash of emotion, too much like all of the men in the brothel.
Severus stared at the young man in front of him for a moment, before it sunk in. 'Of course, he would want to go out and visit the memorial down by the Black Lake.'
"Go out while I talk to them," Severus said standing up, "Please think about showering before you go. Send a Patronus if you need me."
"I know, Professor," Harry said as he slowly stood up and made his way to his trunk and sighed as his fingers closed around his wand. "I will be back by lunch."
Severus nodded and left the room so Harry could get ready. Severus leaned against the door before leaving his quarters to meet with the Weasley Twins.
AS he opened his office door he was determined to get at least one of the boys to talk about what had happened in Riddle Manor. Neither of the twins had talked about it and didn't have anyone to relate to since their brother had left for Romania.
Severus shook his head at the thought of the elder Weasley child. AS soon as he was well enough, he had left London and his brothers, before George was even out of the hospital wing at Hogwarts and the war was over. At first he had believed it was to be able to better cope with the months he had been locked away in a dark cell.
But when George had wrote to him after the war and asked, begged him to come home to be with him and Fred as they finally had the chance to grieve for their family, and never got a reply, Severus knew that the man was running away, trying to escape the pain and loss that London and the wizarding world brought.
Severus looked up as a soft knock was placed on his door, "Come in." The door opened and George came in alone, "I was under the impression that your brother would be joining us."
"Fred wanted to send a letter to Charlie," George said, looking around the office as if he was expecting someone to jump out and attack him as he subconsciously rubbed his arm again. "Not that he will reply. I've been trying to get to him since the end of the war and still haven't gotten a reply."
"Sit down," Severus said and took a deep breath, "I want to talk to you about you…capture," he held up a hand as the red head began to interrupt. "Listen to me, please. It will help if you talk about what happened. I know you feel guilty about making it out of there alive while your siblings didn't. I know what those people are capable of." Severus took a breath and noted the tears welling in the corners of the younger man's eyes.
"George, talk to me," Severus pleaded, moving to sit in the chair next to the child. "Think of it as just another one of your training sessions when the three of you would let out you're pent up emotions. Pain and tears do not make you weak."
Severus stopped and watched the red head fight with his thoughts. George wanted to talk to someone, but that's what Charlie was for right? If Charlie couldn't talk to him, why would anyone else? But now that his professor actually wanted him to tell what had happened he couldn't stop himself.
"It was just a normal Christmas," George said softly, trembling slightly, "Charlie was home from the preserve; Bill was there, Ron and Ginny were home from school, even Percy had taken the day off to spend with all of us. We were all happy. Mum was in the kitchen making all of our favorites, and Dad was sitting with us in the living room."
"I guess it was about an hour before midnight when we heard them apparate around the house. Dad looked out and called back to us to tell Fred and me to take Ron and Ginny and get them out," George had his eyes closed and tears were silently making their way down his face. "I grabbed Ron and tried to apparate but they had thrown up wards."
"We couldn't get out, so we took them upstairs and barricaded ourselves in and waited…"
Fred pulled Ginny into his chest as she began to shake as George pulled Ron away from the door.
"It'll be alright," Fred said just loud enough for the four of them to hear, "Mum and Dad and Bill, Charlie, and Percy can hold them off until the order gets here."
"They aren't here to kill us," Ron said, staring at the door as crashes and screams were heard from downstairs, "You-Know-Who wants us just to hurt Harry."
"The Order will get here," Fred said, strongly as Ron moved closer to George, "Come here," He motioned to Ron and George to sit with him and Ginny.
"It didn't take them long to find us," George said softly, "The noises stopped after around ten minutes and we heard them coming up the stairs after us and Fred and me knew we couldn't do anything."
Severus watched the emotions playing across the man's face and remained silent. He gently took George's hand away from where he was scratching.
"They stunned us when they got to the room we were in. When I woke up I was next to Bill and Mum and it was dark. I heard Ginny crying and Dad trying to get Charlie and Fred to calm down." George took a deep breath, "I don't know how long we were down there for before it started, at least a week."
George was lying on the stone floor with his head on Fred's lap while Ginny had her head on George's chest.
"Dad," Ron said, "What's going to happen? We've been he for days, I'm scared."
"I don't know, Ron," Arthur had told his son while holding his wife, "But when they come for us, don't give them reason to hurt you, any of you."
"Fred," George whispered as he sat up when Ginny had moved over to Bill, "We're going to die, aren't we?"
"No, Georgie," Fred said moving closer to his twin, "We are not."
They sat in silence for nearly an hour, or so it seemed to George. George nearly jumped out of his skin as voices were heard coming closer. He could tell one was definitely female, while the other's hissing made his skin crawl and his stomach do flips. He heard his brother's groans as the door opened and light flooded in.
"Well, well," Voldemort hissed at the helpless family, "The Weasley's. I must admit I was surprised to hear that my Bella had managed to get all of you." He turned his gaze towards the twins, "Especially you two. I hear you have a way of slipping out of trouble."
Voldemort sneered at eh family of blood-traitors and focused his attention on the youngest two. The brat's best friend and honorary sister.
"I think Potter would enjoy knowing that his friends are in my capable care," he hissed and at that moment none of them could move, except Ron and Ginny.
Bellatrix grabbed them by their hair and dragged them into the center of the room where Voldemort trained his wand of Ron and Bellatrix on Ginny.
"Come Ronald," Voldemort sneered, "Let's send Mr. Potter a message, shall we? Crucio!"
Severus stared at the trembling student in front of him and made a point to brew more Calming Draught tonight.
"Don't go into detail if it's too hard," Severus suggested and George nodded.
"They tortured them for hours, and all I could do was think about how when they were younger and would smile all the time and how we were next," George said scratching at his arm again and Severus pulled it away again. "Just when I thought it was over, they killed them. Mum was hysterical and when they released us from the spells, the only thing keeping me from falling was Fred's arms around me as I cried."
"They worked their way through the family, Mum, Dad, Percy, Bill. I think they just wanted us to be done with and then Bellatrix came in the after they took Bill."
George sat back against the wall as the dried tears on his face caked over for the hundredth time since it had all began. It was only the three of them left now, him, Fred, and Charlie. He looked at Fred and knew they were both wondering the same thing, who would be next?
George scrambled over to his twin when he heard Bellatrix's high laughter as she walked down the steps.
"Hello dearies," she said, prowling into the cell, and George felt Fred freeze beside him, "Hmmm, oh yes, we will have lots of fun."
She grabbed George's hair and dragged him out into the center of the cell and he trembled as she trained her wand on him.
George screamed as the first cutting curse was cast on his torso and then a bone crushing hex on his ribs. George lasted hours longer than his brothers had and was relieved when she stopped and smirked at him.
'I am going to die now,' George thought as she leveled her wand at him. He looked to his side and saw Fred with tears cascading down his face as he watched the Death Eater use curse after curse on his twin. George knew that the hardest part for Fred to watch was when she had begun to carve the words 'BLOOD-TRAITOR' into his left arm.
George looked back at Bellatrix, prepared to die when an alarm sounded from the floors above them.
"She left the room without saying anything and as she left Fred ran over to my side and held me," George was talking in barely a whisper now. "Fred and I both knew that it would be the last time, because when she got back, she would kill me."
"The next time the door opened I was sure I was going to die, and so was Fred, so he held me closer." George let out a shaky breath, and Severus had to stop George from scratching his arm again. "I was never so relieved and happy to see you, Professor, or Professor Dumbledore."
"George," Severus said carefully, "May I see your arm? I may be able to brew something that would make the scars go away."
"But Madam Pomfrey said that nothing would heal them completely," George said quietly, still trembling.
"I was a spy in Death Eater meetings," Severus said, standing and moving to his potions cupboard and pulled out a cream and calming draught. "I made a special, shall we say formula, to take mine away."
He handed George the calming draught and held out his hand to take the empty vial. He set the vial down and held out his hand once again, this time for the man's arm.
George hesitated a moment and then held out his arm. He hated the scar, what that woman had done to him. He knew that if there was anyone he trusted as much as Fred and Harry, it was Professor Snape.
Severus rolled up the man's sleeve and took the lid off of the jar. George closed his eyes as his professor rubbed the cream into his arm.
"How long will it take to go away?" George asked as Severus finished and put the jar back in his cupboard.
"Minutes," Severus said, "As I said it is my own formula, and I needed it to work fast."
George nodded and he stopped trembling, he let out a sigh and asked, "How is Harry? Can I see him?"
"He wanted to go outside to the lake," Severus said and sighed, "I am going to need to brew a nutrition potion for him. His stomach has shrunk so much that it is barely there anymore. He wanted to have lunch with you and your twin."