Disclaimer: Nope not mine.

Darkest Before the Dawn

Chapter 2

Potions, Spells and Medicinal Baths

"Lumos." Severus whispered hoarsely lighting the room they had landed in after the portkey ripped them through the manor's anti-portkey wards and transported them where he now sat with Potter unconscious in his lap. His skin was tingling painfully from the power and force it took to pull through the magical barriers. He could only imagine what it had done to the boy.

Lifting the child, he laid him on the well-worn couch. Releasing Potter's mind, he started a fire, before going to a tall roughly hewn cabinet behind the couch. Taking out a number of potions, he downed one and levitated the rest to a small table against the right arm of the couch. The tingling stopped just as a moan was elicited from the battered and now waking teen.

Frowning Snape took a deep breath and put up a neutral mask, determined not to panic his "charge" but also not to let the boy see through his well-kept façade. Moving around the furniture he perching himself on the edge next to where Potter lay. Green eyes fluttered open, and widened with fear as the golden- boy shot up moving as far away from him as possible.

Watching Snape warily, he brought his knees up against his chest, whimpering and biting his lip when pain shock waved through his body. Snape reached out to him and he flinched suddenly feeling light headed. He tried to lift a hand to his head but only caused himself more pain. Attempting to steady his breathing and avoid jostling his ribs to much, he started when the other man cleared his throat.

Harry looked at the pale hand holding a potion vile out to him. "Drink it Potter." The potions master requested stonily and Harry tried again to make his arms work.

"I can't sir." He whispered.

"Of course you can't." Snape sneered, causing Harry to flinch again. "You have two dislocated shoulders; you won't be lifting anything for quite a while. Now if you would stop this foolishness I will set them and give you some potions to help with your other injuries."

Harry gave the older man a hard look. "Potter I don't have the patience to deal with your insolence right now and you don't have the time. You will bleed out if I do not heal your injuries soon. It is a wonder you are still conscious, with all the blood you've lost."

"Let's not forget who took the most of it, Sir." Harry whispered hoarsely his voice lined with distrust.

"I took less than you think, Potter." Snape sneered. "And regardless of what you think of me at the moment I am the only one here to help you so either you start cooperating or I will be forced to do as I did at the manor."

Potter's eyes took on a thoughtful look and Snape sighed mentally. "Why not just let me die?" The boy watched him carefully and he knew that this approach was not going to work.

"Because Potter I don't wish to see you dead, or in pain, and despite what my actions toward you in the past would lead you to believe I have never wanted to see anything like this happen to you." A variety of emotions flitted across his charges face, before he squeezed his eyes shut in what Severus could only assume was pain. "Will you let me help you?" The child nodded and Severus moved closer placing one hand on the back of the boy's neck using the other to tip the potion down his throat.

Harry grimaced at the bitter taste, then he felt the pain slowly ebbing away. "Thank you, sir." He whispered opening his eyes to find the potion's master retrieving a few other vials from a table beside the couch they where sitting on. The man gave him those the same as the first and helped him lay down.

Pulling his hand back from the boy's neck he found it covered in blood. Cursing himself, he realized that he had yet to close the mark he left on the boy's neck. Turning Potter's head to expose the injury he felt the boy stiffen and breathe in sharply, ignoring his reaction Severus bent licking the wound shut before covering the area with his mouth and cleaning it toughly of blood, before drawing away.

Harry kept his eyes closed fear welled in his chest, and he felt like he was going to suffocate. Was the man going to kill him now? Shivering as the vampire released him and moved away, he forced himself not to shy away from what he perceived as a threat. The man said he wanted to help and he had not done anything to harm him past scaring him.

Severus watched Potter, the shiver did not go unnoticed nor did the paleness of his skin. "I'm sorry Potter, I didn't mean to scare you."

Harry opened his eyes giving the man a suspicious look even though he could not see more than a black blur without his glasses. "What exactly are you playing at? Is this some sort of sick joke that Voldie cooked up?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean boy?" Severus sneered his fangs glistening in the firelight.

"If your going to kill me just do it, and stop toying with me, I'm sick of these stupid games."

Snape scowled, and cast a binding charm on the boy. Potters eyes went wide with panic. "I am not going to hurt you Potter, and this is not some insane joke complements of the dark lord. I am sincerely trying to help. The wound on your neck would not have healed even with the aid of the potions, only the vampire who left the mark can heal it. That's why so many people die after being bitten."

"As much as I'm enjoying this lecture sir. You should have told me what you had to do instead to just doing it and scaring me like that." Harry bit out defensively, glaring at the man, as that was the only thing he could do bound as he was.

"Would it have really made any difference? It certainly did not with your father and god mutt." Snape muttered the last bit under his breath but Harry's hearing; after not having his glasses and relying on his ears for the last two days; was incredibly sensitive allowing him to hear every word.

"Why would you have to bite them?"

"I didn't , but this isn't the time to talk about it. I'll draw you a medicinal bath. It will heal the rest of the abrasions while helping you relax. After I will see what can be done about the rest of your injuries." Snape then swept from the room leaving Harry bound on the couch.

Closing his eyes tiredly, Harry tried not to panic. He hated being bound. Ever since his fourth year when Voldie had been revived, being bound was never a good thing. It meant that he couldn't defend himself, that he was completely helpless.

He had learned the hard way that the only one he could rely on was himself, every time he dropped his guard and let someone else help; they had either gotten hurt so he had to protect them or disappointed him by not being there when he needed them the most.

He was so lost in his own musings that he started violently when Snape's cool hand touched his bare shoulder. He yelping in pain as he jarred his ribs, he hadn't even noticed that the binding spell had been released. Breathing quickly he tried to push the pain down but apparently he had reached his thresh hold. Whimpering he blinked back tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. He was not going to cry in front of Snape, true the man had seen him at his worse but tears were not something he wanted the man to see.

Snape watched as Potter wrapped his arms around himself, his breath coming in short pained gasps. "Potter." He said sitting directly behind the boy. "Let me help." The boy gave him a slow nod and he set to work. Casting a few diagnostic spells, he forced his charge to lay against his chest.

"Why?" The boy asked again. "Why are you being so nice?"

"You're hurt."

"It's never stopped you from snipping at me before." Harry whispered trying not to breathe too much.

"Breathe normal." Snape soothed placing his hands on the boy's sides just over his broken ribs, completely ignoring the statement. Harry tensed whimpering. "Shhh...relax and breathe."

"It hurts." Harry whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut.

"I know, just relax. You've been running on adrenalin your body is coming down off of the high." Snape then started chanting slowly in some language Harry didn't recognize he knew it wasn't the normal Latin that most spells where incanted with. It was smooth and almost melodic, slowly the pain eased and he could feel the magic knitting his ribs back into place before moving to his other injuries.

When Snape stopped Harry's body felt tingly. He still could not move either of his arms but he assumed the spell could only mend bones and was not meant for popping things back into joint.

Sighing in relief Harry closed his eyes tiredly, only to yelp in surprise and pain when a sharp jerk on his left arm popped the shoulder into joint. "You could have warned me you know." He growled turning to glare at the other man.

"You where relaxed if I had told you, you would have tensed up. Shall we do the other arm now?" Snape watched the boy and made a mental note to conjure him some glasses. Taking the boy's right arm, he waited for him to nod before jerking the limb back into place. "There how is that."

Potter rolled his shoulders grimacing, "There a little sore."

"That's to be expected, they will take a few days to heal completely but until then the bath will help." Scooping Potter up Snape ignored the boy's grunt of protest and took him into the kitchen, setting him down in a tub of cool water.

Shivering Harry rubbed his arms for warmth. The water was cold, the only thing that cold water would help him do was catch a cold. He wondered where they were for a moment before the water started to get warm suddenly.

Snape watched Potter shiver, and dumped a potion into the water, which would warm it and heal the rest of the wounds on the boy's body. Satisfied that the boy was stable enough to be left alone for a few moments he went back into the other room, as there were only two in the cottage. Going to a small dresser against he left wall he brought out a long t-shirt, and a pair of sweat pants for Potter to wear.

After his bath, Snape put him on the couch wrapping him in an afghan. Harry watched the man warily, trying not to flush in embarrassment at his unclothed state. Watching the black blur that was Snape, he dropped his gaze when the vampire sat across from him.

"Lift your arms." Snape instructed rolling the shirt so that he could slip it easily over the boys head. Potter did as he was told, wincing slightly. Carefully Severus pulled the shirt over the boys head, making sure that his arms were in the sleeves before letting it unroll.

Once the boy was dressed, Snape transfigured one of the empty potions bottles into glasses. "Here, Potter." He said placing them on the boy's face before moving to the rocking chair near the fire. He was quite sure that the boy would not want him quite so close now that he could see properly and did not have to rely on him.

Harry watched Snape move over to a large wooden rocking chair with worn cushions. The glasses the man had given him were nearly perfect, and he took in his surroundings trying to figure out where they were. It looked like a small cottage; there was a huge stone fireplace and very little furniture. Aside from the couch where he was, there was also a small chest of drawers on the left wall, an end table on either side of the couch and a large cabinet behind the couch. To the right of the fireplace behind Snape there was a passage to what he assumed was the kitchen and opposite that, there was a door, which led assumingly to the outside.

Severus watched Potter as he looked around the room. After the short analysis curious green eye locked on to him, and he fought the instinctual urge to fidget. "Err...Sir where are we?" The boy questioned his voice little more than a whisper as if he were afraid to break the silence lest the dark lord hear him.

"In a safe house outside of Dublin." Severus replied evenly.

"Oh." Potter chewed on his lip for a second, not looking at him.

Severus sighed exasperatedly when he realized that the boy had wanted more before explaining further, wagering how much it was going to cost him. "It belonged to my mother; she used it to escape Vampire hunters in the early eighteenth century." Green eye locked on to him with surprise. "No, boy I am not nearly that old." Standing he stalked into the kitchen.

He had not wanted to tell anyone of his past, certainly not Potter, but now the boy knew what he was...well assumed any way, and it wouldn't be so easy to avoid the Childs questions without sending him off to seek his answers else where. Making some broth he returned to the other room, trying to decide what to tell his charge, and how much.