You Can Live: Chapter 15
Glad to hear the characters are being portrayed well. :) Also, I will let you know this is not going towards Drarry. Sorry. I typically don't do relationships in my stories, unless they are already established by the original writers of HP, Avengers, WC and so on. I didn't feel like bothering with Ginny in this fic and don't want to bring in that added stress on Harry. I guess if you really really squint there are hints of it, but I'm just writing them as friends.
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!
Important Interruptions
Hermione and Ron were spending a nice, quiet evening together at the Burrow. It wasn't as much of a rarity that it used to be, what with all of the children mostly independent and/or apprenticing somewhere. Ron was feeling particularly determined that night and was waiting for the right moment to pop the question. Unfortunately, his mother seemed just as determined to not give them any time alone. It was as if she feared they would try making granbabies the moment she turned away.
Finally, Mrs. Weasley, convinced by Mr. Weasley, decided to turn in, leaving Hermione and Ron alone for the first time in days. Ron turned and watched the beautiful girl he was madly in love with. Hermione had been his best friend for years, though he had a feeling that even when they were younger they had a thing for each other. Hermione no doubt knew whether that was true or not. Either way, he loved her, and she loved him. She was currently reading a book, nestled into his side. Well, Ron thought with a deep breath, It's now or never. He slowly reached out and gently pulled the book from her grasp.
"Ronald, what have I told you-" He bookmarked the page and set it down on the table in front of them. Hermione stared at Ron with a look of confusion that almost never showed on her face.
"Ron?" Ron turned back to her and took another deep breath, suddenly feeling that he was about to pass out.
"Hermione, you and I have been best friends for a long time. This last year or so, we have gotten even closer and…..well. Hermione Granger would you do me the honor of-" The floo burst to life and Draco Malfoy's head popped through. Hermione huffed in annoyance and shot the blonde a glare to match Mrs. Weasley's.
"Really, Draco?! He was finally about to ask me!" Ron stared between the two of them gobsmacked.
"Wait! What?!" Draco sighed, his disembodied head wavering.
"I really am sorry, but I need your help. It's Harry." The couple was off of the couch and going through the fireplace immediately, all thoughts of poorly hidden proposals forgotten. They met a rather distraught Draco on the other side.
"Where is he? What's wrong?" Draco paced a few moments before answering, something that drove the two thirds of the Golden Trio insane. Before Ron had to physically assault him to get answers, he shook his head and stopped his circuit around the room.
"I'm sorry, this is all just very…overwhelming. Severus called me here just a few minutes ago saying it was an emergency. I'm still not sure as to what happened, but Harry has hidden himself in his wardrobe, barricaded himself in with magic, and is in a fit of hysteria and won't come out. I don't even know if he's injured." Ron and Hermione took this in with mounting dread.
"You say he's in his wardrobe? How big is it?" Draco, a little confused by the question, gestured with his hands.
"I'm not sure. Maybe a meter deep, two and a half high, and a bit over one wide. About average size, I think." Ron and Hermione shared a look and turned to Draco with grim sets to their faces.
"When Harry was living with the Dursleys he lived most of his life in a cupboard under the stairs. He told us that it was the only safe place he had. One time in first year, Ron found him hiding in his trunk after a nightmare. So, when he gets really scared…sometimes he seeks out small dark spaces. They make him feel safe." Draco nodded in understanding, but some unpleasant thought seemed to have struck Ronald.
"Yeah, but the last time he went and hid like that was third year. So, what the bloody hell happened to make him-" Hermione recognized the look in her boyfriend's eyes and before she could stop him, he was running down the hall, looking for Snape. He found him in Harry's room, crouched in front of the wardrobe. Ron grabbed the startled man by the front of his shirt and hauled him up, despite the man's superior height. Within moments, he had Severus slammed and pinned against a wall.
"What did you do to him?!" Snape could only shake his head. He knew he deserved this, for what he did to Harry. Severus heard two more people run into the room, and caught a glimpse of his godson and Miss Granger.
"Ron, let him go!" Ron's scowl got deeper, and his hold on Severus's shirt got tighter, until Snape was sure it would rip.
"No! I can smell the alcohol on his breath. He did something to him!" Draco walked over calmly and laid a hand lightly on Ron's shoulder.
"Ron, he messed up. He called me for help. He's not important right now." As if to emphasis his point, they all heard a sob come from the wardrobe. Hermione was crouched in front of it now and turned frantic eyes to Snippy.
"Do you know what happened?" Snippy nodded and glared at Severus.
"Master Harry left without telling Master Snape. Master Snape was worried. Master Harry came home only twenty-two minutes ago. Master Snape yelled at him and shook him. Scared Master Harry!" The house elf looked about ready to help Ron out, but once again seeing Severus's mournful expression, let the thought go. Hermione seemed close to tears herself, hearing the pitiful whimpering of her best friend. She heard another loud bang behind her, and turned to see Ron slam Severus against the wall again. Another sob came from the wardrobe, and she could feel the wild magic building. She glared at the two men.
"Ronald Weasley, let him go. You are scaring Harry." That, at least temporarily, shook Ron out of his rage fueled attack. He shook Severus one more time (without the slamming bit) and then released him. Ron slowly walked over to kneel beside Hermione and Draco followed him, leaving Snape to stand back and allow them to fix what he broke.
"Harry, it's Ron and Hermione. It's okay, mate. You know we wouldn't hurt you." Hearing his friend's voice didn't seem to be helping….but it wasn't making things worse.
"Harry?" Hermione tried. "Harry, please. We know you're scared, but you have us. We're here, Harry. We won't let anyone hurt you." There was a palpable drop in magical pressure when Harry heard Hermione's voice. Everyone held their breath as silence reigned for a good ten minutes, until they finally heard,
"'Mione?" The bushy haired girl couldn't help but smile when she heard her friend's quiet voice.
"Yes, Harry. It's Hermione. Ron's here with me, and so is Draco. Are you alright?" They heard shuffling, and scooted back at the unexpected opening of the wardrobe door. A sudden thought hit Draco and he turned hurriedly to his godfather.
"Go! It would not be good for him to see you right now." Snape nodded in understanding, but before he could leave the room unnoticed, Harry poked his head out.
"Hello, Harry. It's okay. You can come out." Harry nodded, and all three of his friends noted, but didn't mention, the young man's blush. Harry always hated it when he lost control or showed how scared he was. Draco remembered Harry telling him one time during the school year that he was afraid people would see him as weak, because he couldn't stand up to his muggle uncle. Now, the poor boy was embarrassed by such a display, no matter how honest of a reaction it was.
Harry slowly crawled out of the closet and sat with his back against the door.
"S-sorry. I d-don't know why I-"
"Harry, your neck!" Draco was shocked to see deep purple bruising and some scabbed scratches on his friend's neck not a day after he had healed him. The apprentice healer grabbed Harry's upper arm in his surprise, but released him like a hot pan when the boy winced and hissed.
"Harry?" Said wizard rubbed his upper arm, and the trio caught a glimpse of more bruises under Harry's sleeve. Ron reached out slowly this time, and pushed up Harry's sleeve, revealing finger shaped bruises wrapping around Harry's bicep. The red head would have been back to slamming Severus into the wall, had the man not rushed out of the room. Draco sighed, the situation now giving him two patients.
"Hermione, you go check on Snape. Oh no, Ron. You are staying with me. We're all mad at the man, but you can't go and beat him black and blue yet until we know what happened." Ron grumbled but stayed with Draco and Harry, while Hermione hesitantly went to follow her old potions professor.
She left Harry's bedroom, at first uncertain as to which direction the wizard had fled to, but heard some sounds from down the stairs. She followed them to what appeared to be the kitchen. There she found Severus pouring bottles of alcohol, expensive firewhiskey as well, down the drain.
"Professor?" Snape did not turn to her until he had gotten rid of every drop and viciously thrown the bottles away. When he moved to walk past her, Hermione stood in his way to prevent him from going anywhere. He scowled.
"Shouldn't you be with..Mr. Potter right now, Ms. Granger?" She crossed her arms over her chest, her wand up her sleeve just in case.
"We need to know what happened, and Draco needs to work on healing Harry, and Ron can't be near you without threat of breaking every bone in your body. They sent me. So…what happened?" There was no denying that Hermione was more of a threat than the ginger, but Snape was tired. And upset. And terribly guilt-ridden. He sighed and rubbed his hand over his eyes. He wasn't going to justify his actions, only explain them. Excuses were for cowards.
"Come with me to my study, Ms. Granger." She complied, though she seemed eager for the information. Once they were seated, Snape began.
"I had told Harry that I would be up in the library doing research, and let him go off to spend time with his new owl. When I came down a few hours later for lunch, he was not there. I explained to Harry that he was to be at every meal. The boy is too scrawny. I almost think I should have Snippy put nutrition potions in his meals…" Snape's mind started to wander, but a pointed cough from Hermione got him back on track.
"I sent Snippy to fetch him, but he wasn't in his room or anywhere else within the wards. She only could tell me that his broom was missing and as was his owl. I panicked. I hadn't thought to put any sort of token on him that I could trace. There was no way for me to find him. I made myself remain calm for a few hours, thinking he would return soon. When late afternoon turned to late evening, however, I grew extremely anxious. I had given in to my nerves and downed two glasses of firewhiskey. Finally, some time after ten pm, the wards alerted me to his presence. I was so relieved, but seeing him made me angry. Harry made me worry for hours. He didn't tell me that he was leaving, he didn't come home until after dark. He could have been hurt or dying, and I wouldn't have been able to find him!" Snape was on his feet now, pacing and clenching his hands into fists.
"Professor, I suggest you calm down, or I will hit you with a sobering spell whether you need it or not." Severus did as she suggested; deep breaths and he slowly sank back into his chair. "Alright, you were angry. But that doesn't-" Snape held up a hand to stop her.
"I know. I know that that is not an excuse. There is no excuse for this. As he came up to the front door, I was waiting for him. I barely gave him a chance to speak before I pulled him inside. I didn't stop to see how scared he was, or if I was hurting him. I hauled him up from the floor, where he had fallen, and shook him. Merlin, I shook him and screamed in his face that he was just like his father…" Hermione still wasn't sure exactly what had happened a few years ago, but she knew something had made Harry change his view of his father. When he spoke about him, his voice didn't hold as much reverence as it used to, but some bitterness and shame. She knew, then, that Severus, someone who hated James Potter, yelling something like that at Harry would have hurt her friend deeply.
Severus dropped his head in his hands as everything that happened downstairs replayed over and over again in his head. Then, his head shot up and he was rushing downstairs. Hermione followed him to the front entryway. Her old professor was kneeling on the ground and muttering repairing spells at something. When he was finished, he stood and wouldn't stop staring at the object in his hands. Before Hermione could ask what it was he had, he started talking.
"I shook him so hard his glasses fell to the floor." He held them up for her to see. "When..when he pulled away and r..ran, I made to follow him, but…I stepped on his glasses. It was like I had been hit with a clarity spell. I could see past my anger and see the damage I had caused." Hermione heard the pain in his voice. She knew from the first time she laid eyes on Snape that night that he was devastated by what he had done. She also knew that it would take a lot for both Harry and his guardian to come back from such a mistake; but Hermione had faith that they could do it.
The bushy haired girl walked up to Severus and softly curled his fingers over Harry's glasses. He looked up, startled that she was so close.
"You aren't like the Dursleys. We all know that, and Harry will remember that once he's calmed down and had a few days to sort things back out. But if you let this eat at you, you won't be what Harry needs you to be. He's going to need your comfort and reassurance that he is cared for, loved. Ron, Draco, the entire Weasley family and I can give him as much as we can, but he needs it from you. You know Harry wasn't loved at his relative's house. He never knew his parents, and his godfather was taken from him before he ever got to experience love and approval from a father figure. Only you can give that to him. If you let this mistake keep you from him, that will hurt him more than this night has. Don't give up on this. He needs you. And you need him." Severus was stunned by her words, but also encouraged.
Yes he had messed up, royally. He had hurt Harry, and broken his promise to never do so. But he would fix it. By Merlin he would fix it.
So, at least Snape knows he made a terrible mistake in what he did. Yes, there is a good reason for him to be angry and upset, but he obviously didn't go about it the right way.
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