Title: Harry Potter and the Summer From Hell

Author: Ladye Black

Warnings: We're starting to get very tiny hints of slashiness, if you blink, you'll miss them.

Disclaimer: How many ways can I say this? I don't own the chara's.

Notes: Once again, thank you for all the reviews; I'm still surprised so many people like this fic.

Chapter 9

Two hours later found Professor Snape, on his knees, in the garden. The man seemed to have made it his mission to get rid of every possible weed in the medium-sized garden, by hand.

Harry found that he was amused by that prospect. He had assumed that the Professor wouldn't know how to get rid of the weeds without the use of a wand. Therefore, he was surprised when the man had gotten gracefully down on his knees and started pulling the weeds up with a professional air.

"-who said I was Wizard-born?" Harry frowned as the Professor's words replayed themselves. Indeed, who did? The only thing Harry really had was that at one time Snape had been a part of Voldemort's Army, there was nothing else to suggest that the man was of pure-blood.

In fact, if he thought on it, he remembered the slightly disgusted look he had seen Lucius Malfoy once give the dark-haired man. Perhaps, Harry was right, and there was more going on in the man's past than he had first thought. Perhaps there was more than anyone knew. Well, excepting Dumbledore.

The young man smiled slyly as he thought of the best way of getting information from the man, then gasped as he felt a twinge of pain come from the bond.

Realizing it for what it was, Harry hurried over to Snape, who was clutching his hand to his chest. "Are you okay?"

Snape scowled up at him. "I am perfectly fine. I just found this piece of glass and the dirt and picked it up. That seems to have been the wrong thing to do."

Harry frowned at the lie, he knew the Professor had meant to hurt himself, the pain he'd felt from the bond had told him. What he couldn't figure, was why the man had done it right then and with a piece of dirty glass?

Well, he could answer questions later; right now Snape was bleeding heavily into the ground. The cut needed to be taken of, or it would become infected and then scar.

"Here, let's take care of your hand," he said, reaching for Snape's arm to pull the older man up.

"Don't touch me!" Snape snapped.

Harry immediately backed off. "Look, that cut has to be taken care of, and it's really difficult to do that by yourself. Believe me. I know."

Snape looked at him for a long moment. "Alright, but don't touch me until you have to, or I'll put the necessary herbs in your dinner that will cause you a long time of pain and suffering."

Harry rolled his eyes. "It's not like I have rabies or something. I'm not going to bite."

Snape gave him another look that held an entirely different meaning. "It would not surprise me in the least if you didn't have at least some type of abominable disease, considering the company you have kept in the past."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Harry asked, voiced flat with suppressed fury.

Snape got up and headed for the house, just before going in he turned back to Harry. "What I meant was that between Voldemort and the rat Pettigrew, along with any other unlikable characters; I wouldn't be surprised if you did just contract a non-curable disease that kills you right after you defeat the Dark Lord."

Harry snorted in amusement. "That would just make my life complete. Voldemort dead, and me not able to enjoy it." The young man headed in after Snape. "And what did you mean by 'unlikable characters'?"

Snape pressed his lips together. "I believe, at this point, it would be unwise of me to say."

Harry had a feeling he knew what, or rather who, Snape was talking about. "Good, just remember who's cleaning your hand for you."

Snape snorted as they made their way upstairs. "You offered, I didn't ask you to do this for me."

"You accepted," Harry pointed out. "I didn't force you to."

Snape settled for a dignified huff in response and went into the bathroom, Harry following him.

"Here, sit on the toilet so I can clean it," Harry ordered as he got the first-aid kit out of the cabinet under the sink.

"Very well," Snape said as he sank down onto the lid.

"Hold out you hand."

Slowly, Snape extended his hand. Harry almost gasped aloud when he saw the cut. It went from wrist to the juncture between the older man's middle and pointer fingers. Carefully, Harry cleaned the cut with anti-septic then spread some cream on it to help it heal. Finally, he wrapped the slender hand in gauze, being careful not to pull it too tight.

All-the-while Harry was doing this, Snape watched avidly. He was unused to someone taking care of him, and this small bit of kindness was the most he'd received in almost his entire life.

"There," Harry said as he finished wrapping the gauze. "Done." He sat back to admire his work for a moment, suddenly glad at all the injuries he had received when he was younger since it made him so proficient at taking care of other's injuries now.

Snape inspected his work, carefully clenching and unclenching his hand to test its mobility. 'Thank you," he offered reluctantly.

Harry stared at him in shock. Had the man really said 'thank you'? Deciding that, yes, had, Harry stumbled out a reply. "Y-you're welcome," he smiled slightly, still in shock.

Snape nodded to him. "Well, I suppose I should start on lunch. It is slightly after noon, isn't it?"

Harry only nodded dumbly.

Snape got up to move around him. "Wait!"

Snape looked at him questioningly. "I'll make lunch. You shouldn't use that hand more than you have to for awhile."

The older man seemed to consider this for a moment. "Alright," he said, frowning slightly. "I suppose the quickest way for it to heal is to actually let it."

"Right," Harry said, nodding.

"Very well, but only for today, I'm not so hurt that I can't perform simple household chores."

Harry sighed. It figured that the man would be stubborn. Even though Harry didn't like the thought of having to do everything by himself, it was more important that Severus healed. And did he just call Snape 'Severus' in his head?

Pushing the thought away for another time, he agreed to Snape's demands. And wondered why it bothered him that Snape didn't seem to want to allow himself any rest.

TBC...

Okay, that's it for this chappie. I think things will start to pick up after the first day.