You Can Live: Chapter 11
This one is really zooming for me compared to my other stories. :) Love writing it. Love hearing that you guys like reading it ;)
Please enjoy :)
No slash here, only guardian/ward psuedo-parent/child relationship and friendships.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, except for the plot. I would be able to afford school if that were the case.
Warnings: SEE CHAPTER 1 FOR WARNINGS AND OTHER IMPORTANT NOTES!
They Are Back With a Vengeance
After their chat in the garden, Snape excused himself to his potions lab, because he really did have a lot of work to finish up. This left Harry with some free time on his hands. He passed a couple of hours getting through the next book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, then explored the back yard and gardens some more, before finally settling in his room. His thoughts of what training under Severus would be like, were interrupted by an owl banging into his window. Harry recognized the bird immediately.
He crossed the floor and opened the window for the daft bird. Ron's owl fell through, and Harry had to laugh at its face as it righted itself. Pig squawked at him indignantly, dropping the letter it was carrying. Harry bent to pick it up, but Pig nipped at his hand.
"What, you're demanding treats now? For a delivery like that?" The owl continued to stare him down. With a fond smile, Harry lifted the clumsy bird onto his shoulder and letter in hand left to find some owl treats.
After he lost Hedwig, Harry didn't bother keeping treats and things around, even though he just couldn't part with her cage. He kept it shrunk in his trunk in case he ever needed it again. When he reached the kitchen, he set Pig down on a stool (and the letter on the table) , away from anything he could break, and went in search of owl treats. Harry heard footsteps behind him and in his hurry to see who was sneaking up on him, he banged his head on the cabinet.
"Ouch!" He heard a low chuckle and pouted at Severus.
"What, pray tell, are you doing with your head buried in the pantry? If you need something you could have asked Snippy." Harry blushed, as he still wasn't used to having a house elf at his beck and call.
"I was looking for owl treats. Pig won't go until he gets some." Snape raised an eyebrow as he caught sight of the bumbling creature.
"Pig? That is the Weasley's owl is it not?" Harry nodded and caught the bird as he fell off of the stool. Snape looked like he couldn't believe his eyes, but turned and grabbed a bowl from the mantle above the fireplace.
"I keep the owl treats in the living room, because that is usually where the post owls drop their deliveries. I have marked that window for them specifically. Interesting that this owl chooses to ignore it and fly straight to you." Harry shrugged, for Pig had always been a bit…off. Well more than a bit…but at least he wasn't a murderer in disguise. Severus watched with a fond smile on his face as Harry interacted with the bird. The creature itself was daft, but the boy treated it with special care. Snape did not miss the whimsical and lonely look in Harry's eyes as he stroked the bird's feathers, before guiding it out of the window. The young man then sat down to read the letter from his best friend.
A thought struck the potion's master then, and he slipped away for a few moments. When he returned it appeared as though, Harry hadn't finished the letter yet. Though, in truth he was re-reading it for the third time. He had a fond smile adorning his face and treated the letter with great care.
"Your friends are well, I presume?" Harry jolted out of his little world, then nodded once his thoughts were clear.
"Yes. Hermione has returned to spend a few weeks at the Burrow. She was able to restore the memories of her parents, though they will have to spend a few weeks in isolation to recuperate from having their minds altered so much. Ron is ecstatic, and Mrs. Weasley won't leave those two alone in a room together. It seems to be hindering Ron's plans a bit." Snape had seated himself in a nearby arm chair.
"His plans?" Harry's smile got broader, and he lowered the letter into his lap.
"Ron is going to propose to Hermione this summer. He was going to before graduation, but then he got cold feet. Now that he's actually going to go through with it, he can't get enough time alone with her to get the words out." Snape chuckled at the Weasley boy's troubles. If he recalled correctly, Arthur had the same difficulties when he was the boy's age.
"I am sure, Miss Granger is aware of it already, and is purposefully dragging it out to torment the boy." Harry laughed at that.
"Yeah. I could see 'Mione doing something like that. To be honest, I think Ron will be the one to faint at the wedding." Then Harry sighed and set the letter down. He stared out the window, daydreaming about what the summer would bring. His body, however, decided it was very comfortable at the nice evening hour of seven thirty, and Harry fell asleep.
Severus watched his ward as he eventually gave in to the pull of sleep. He let the boy remain in his curled up position, until he himself decided to turn in for the night. Snape lifted his wand to levitate the boy, but changed his mind. Instead, he bent down to lift the boy into his arms. It pressed on his heart that he could lift the eighteen year old boy with ease. The potion's master was seriously considering having Snippy slip some nutrition potions into the boy's food.
Snape found himself at Harry's bedroom door and with a light tap from his foot, the door opened enough for him to walk in without banging Harry into anything. He set the boy down on his bed and this time did use magic to change his clothes into pajamas. Once that was accomplished he pulled the covers up, and yes (though he will forever deny it), he tucked Harry into bed. Snape stood and watched the boy sleep for a moment or two. This, he thought, must be what parents feel, when putting their kids to bed. The professor allowed a fond smile to alight his face, and even dared to brush the wild black hair out of Harry's eyes.
"Goodnight, my boy." And Snape slipped out of the room, not seeing the unconscious smile that adorned Harry's face.
Later that night:
Harry was on his hands and knees cleaning his blood off of the floor…again. It had become a regular occurrence since he started going to Hogwarts. His 'family' didn't have him around to take out their frustrations on over the course of the year, so during the summer it was always worse. This time, he was whipped with the belt because he passed out from heat exhaustion in the backyard. Then he was beat more for passing out during the whipping. Harry winced and occasionally groaned, but he refused to cry. Uncle Vernon liked it when he cried. The man himself was standing over him, taunting him in hopes of making him lash out.
"Dead-beat parents, useless FREAK. No one wanted you! You are ungrateful, selfish. A devil! Bringing curses upon our house." Uncle Vernon bent over to grab Harry by the hair and yank him to his knees. Then the oversized man brought his lips to near-touching the boy's ear and whispered,
"You deserve every single ounce of your pain, MURDERER." Then Harry cried. He cried as the floorboards underneath him began to writhe and form faces. His parents, Cedric Diggory, Sirius, Dumbledore, Lupin, Tonks, Fred, and so many more. They screamed at him and bit at his hands and knees. Then skeletal hands reached up and grabbed him 'round the throat. He didn't have anymore breath for crying…..
Snape was wide awake. The clock informed him that it was after one in the morning. He did not care. He would, no doubt, fall asleep around three and then wake at eight. That was how it was every other night. Then the next night he will surely fall asleep around eleven-thirty and wake at four. It was a vicious cycle, but one he was long accustomed to. So, Severus settled back into his book and was soon lost in the pages.
That only lasted for fifteen minutes.
Severus was greatly startled by a scream coming from Harry's room. He knew at once that Harry was having a nightmare. Although it was well known that Harry had nightmares frequently, the boy had only had one when he was around Severus during the past school year. He was quick to dismiss it and leave for breakfast as hastily as he could. Unfortunately, Harry's nightmares seemed to be getting more frequent. He just hoped that wasn't a bad omen.
The potion's master was out of bed and down the hall in a matter of moments. He did not barge into the room however. He went in swiftly, but quietly. Snape was across the room and took in Harry's state. The boy was drenched in sweat and tangled up in the sheets. His eyes would open every so often, and they were glassy with fever. The worst part, though, was that Harry was scratching at his throat, drawing blood in some places.
"NO! NO! Please! I didn't mean to! Please!" Snape sat next to the struggling boy and grabbed Harry's wrists. He struggled to pull the boy's hands away from his throat, Harry being surprisingly strong for such a lean boy.
"Harry. Harry wake up. You are having a nightmare." Snape tried to stay calm, feeling that if he allowed fear into his voice it would only rile Harry up more. However, it didn't seem to be working. The boy was still sobbing and screaming at the top of his lungs.
"NO! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't want you to die!" Severus would not be able to stand this for much longer. He managed a firmer grasp on Harry's wrists, no doubt leaving bruises, and steeled himself for what he was about to do.
"Mr. Potter! Wake up this instant!" Harry flinched. He could feel it under his hands, and it made him sick to his stomach…..but it had worked. The young man's eyes popped open and for a moment there was an incredible terror and sorrow that was way too old for someone so young. Harry struggled, still confused, until Snape spoke to him again.
"Harry. Harry. You are safe. Look at me. Look at me." Harry's eyes finally resettled on him, and Severus saw the clarity dawn in them. The boy immediately stopped his struggling, even though tears still fell from his eyes.
"P-Professor? I…what…what are you doing in my room?" Severus sighed internally, and gently settled Harry's hands at his sides. He pulled his wand from his pocket and cast a dim light around the room so as to not blind either of them.
"I was making sure my ward didn't kill himself in his sleep." Harry blushed, though it was hard to tell with how flushed he was already from the nightmare.
Now able to see, he took a closer look at Harry's neck. There were quiet a few gouges, and what didn't break skin at least broke blood vessels, leaving dark red lines up and down his neck. Normally Snape would just heal them himself, however, this area of the body was very delicate, and only trained healers were supposed to treat such injuries. Not keen on the idea, and knowing Harry wouldn't be either, Severus made a difficult choice.
"Harry, I need to call a healer for your neck." Harry immediately started to panic and argue. Snape laid a hand on his chest and the boy stilled, though he was certain he heard a whimper come from the young man.
"I know you don't want anyone to see this. I know. But I won't lie to you. I am not capable of safely healing these wounds. I will call upon Madam Pomfrey, so you and I both know this will stay in the strictest confidence. Trust me, Harry. No one else will know." Very reluctantly, Harry nodded, though he wouldn't look Snape in the eye. So, Severus nodded, patted the boy's arm and went to the private fireplace in his study.
He scrawled a quick note and cast it into the flames with a cry of, "Hogwarts Infirmary, Madam Pomfrey." The scrap of paper disappeared, leaving Severus to hurry up and wait. Thankfully, he only had to wait a few minutes. The fireplace came to life once more, and someone stepped through.
It was one of the few times that Snape could say he was truly surprised. There, standing before him, was not Madam Pomfrey, but his godson. Draco Malfoy.
Go Snippy! She's cool. I like the house elves in the books, Kreacher included. Dobey was the best!
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