I'm back! Earlier than I'd planned, but not a lot needed to be changed here, just a word or two and some proofreading. I'm sorry I didn't warn about mentions of child abuse before. There are more mentions of it here. I hope all of those who have put it on their fav lists and story alert, enjoy! (and if you got a story alert about an hour before it came out, that's because I accidently put the new chapter of Universal on this story... which is why you're getting this one now grin. Mistakes can be good for some of us grin) It's a nice long chapter too.
Harry Potter is not mine, honest! Neither *sigh* is anyone else in here. Enjoy! Review! All that good stuff!
Draco watched surreptitiously as Harry played with his food in the Great Hall that night. He wondered what was wrong, besides the obvious, because Harry must certainly be hungry if the painfully malnourished state of his body was any indication.
It wasn't so much the state of his body that had hit Draco, and, he knew, Snape so hard, as it was the simple fact that it was *Harry Potter* that the body belonged to. His own body, Draco well knew, might very well have looked like that if Lord Malfoy didn't believe magic was the only way to truly punish his youngest heir. He *was* a magic snob in all ways after all. The few wounds Draco had received that would have scarred had all been healed. And he'd never been starved. His father had managed to get him healed and make sure he had enough to eat. There couldn't be any disfigurements on his son after all.
Except, of course, for the Dark Mark. Draco's thoughts turned even darker, away from his rival and to his own past and uncertain future. His eyes and thoughts turned toward the only true hope he had. Severus Snape.
It had been only five months ago that he had gone to his favorite professor, hoping desperately for help he wasn't sure would come. During Spring Break, Lucius had made a point of mentioning Draco's induction ceremony into the Death Eaters would be occurring over the summer holidays. Draco didn't want it. He had no wish to become the lackey of a megalomaniac with delusions of grandeur who tended to leave his followers with curses instead of power. Although he did agree that something had to be done about Muggles, he didn't see how killing them all would do the wizarding world any good at all.
His disillusionment with his family's way of life had started all the way back to the train going to Hogwarts for the first time. And it was all Potter's fault. He had been ordered to make friends with 'The Boy Who Lived' and didn't expect it to be at all difficult. He was Draco Malfoy, who wouldn't want to be friends with him? The answer to that, it seemed, was Harry Potter. He'd rather spend his time with a Weasley and a Mudblood than a rich Pure Blood such as himself. It didn't make any sense.
Draco had come to Hogwarts expecting certain things. He had expected to become a Slytherin, and that happened without a problem. That tired old Hat didn't even wait until it was on his head to call out his House. It was just as well, who wanted to wear a smelly old hat that had already been on who knew how many heads? There never had been any real doubt about that part of his destiny, had there?
Of course, he had also expected to be the most popular student at the school. That was blown all to hell almost immediately. Not only was Harry Potter there, but Slytherins were not the favorite of anyone not of their own House. It was not as he'd been told, not as he expected from things his father and his father's friends had said. Of course, after four years of watching Potter fall in and out of the students favor, being popular might not be the best thing in the world. Besides, he was the most popular student in his own House, and that was the important thing, wasn't it?
He'd expected to be the best student at Hogwarts. He'd been trained since he could first talk and hold a wand. Although many of the spells he'd been taught were not the sort that could be shown off around the school, he'd still had a very good basic education. Classes should not have been a problem. In truth, classes weren't a problem, *Granger* was the problem. It seemed that no matter what he did, the curly haired girl managed to edge out his score *every*... *single*... *time*. It was highly annoying. Not to mention painful. Lord Malfoy had not been impressed by him being beaten by a Mudblood.
Draco had thought he'd be the best Quidditch player. But no, Potter had to get on his House team before Draco was even *eligible*. Not only that, but he'd turned out to be a natural at flying as well. And it was *his* fault that the other boy had gotten on the team. His taunting had brought Potter's abilities to Professor McGonagall's attention. He'd been pissed at himself for a while after that one.
Finally, he expected to be the most handsome person at Hogwarts. Well, two out of five wasn't too bad.
Inwardly, Draco shook his head at his thoughts, though no sign of them showed on his face. He was too well trained for that. Expectations aside, life at Hogwarts was far different than he'd thought it would be, but it was better than life at home. A good part of that was because of his Head of House. Severus Snape might pamper his students in public, but there were things he would not accept out of them in private. Regardless of how it looked to others, there was no bullying allowed within the dorms and no cliques were allowed to form. Older students tutored younger and those who needed help always received it. It was the first place, for many of them, where who they *were* mattered more than who their parents were or what they were expected to be when they got older. The students knew they could go to the Potions Professor for help with any problem, from schoolwork to relationships. He always had the time for them.
That pattern of trust was the reason why Draco went to him when he found out he was to receive the Dark Mark. Even though Snape wore one himself, Draco *knew* he would not let one of his students be forced into Voldemort's service against his wish. He'd been right. Together they'd worked out a plan. Severus had gone to Dumbledore and convinced him that starting at the Welcome Feast next year, well this year now, students should be checked for the Dark Mark. He'd then gone to a Death Eater's meeting and told them that Dumbledore had decided to do it, even though he'd tried to talk him out of it. That alone would probably have been enough, but he went one step further. He asked Lucius to allow Draco to become his apprentice.
Voldemort liked the idea of having a second Potions Master at his beck and call, so Lucius did not dare speak against it even if he wanted to. Not that Lucius wanted to. Potions Master was a more than acceptable occupation for the Malfoy heir. There were very few true Potion Masters in the world and for his son to be taken on as apprentice by one of the best, and before he even left school at that. Yes, Lucius Malfoy was happy with the idea, and so was his son. Draco got to spend the entire summer with his favorite professor learning more than he would have ever believed possible. It wasn't easy; anyone who had ever been in his class knew Severus Snape was a hard taskmaster and that didn't stop when the official school year ended. It was however, very rewarding. Draco had always loved Potions, enjoying the meticulous and orderly procedures, the difference one little ingredient could make, and of course, the many, many things that could be done with them.
Draco noticed that he was not the only one keeping watch over his arch rival. Professor Snape was also keeping a close eye on the boy. Surprisingly however, none of Potter's friends seemed to notice anything amiss with either his actions or his looks. How could Weasley not know how he looked? Didn't they have communal showers in the Gryffindor dorms? Shouldn't Granger be trying to get him to eat, forcing him to gain back the weight he'd lost over the summer? Why hadn't they made or stolen healing potions if he didn't want anyone else to know? They certainly hadn't worried about the rules other times they'd needed something. Why not now? Weren't those the things that friends were supposed to do?
A glance back at the Head Table showed the Potions professor getting up. Quickly, Draco pushed thoughts of the other boy out of his head and finished eating. Less than five minutes after Snape had left the room, Draco was following. Being Snape's apprentice meant long hours in front of a cauldron, and being at school all day wasn't going to change that. He was now expected to get up early to help get the classroom ready for the day as well as spending anywhere from two to six hours a night practicing the art of potionmaking.
Draco entered the classroom to find that the professor wasn't there. Unperturbed, he started readying one of the stations, pulling out his cauldron and making sure there was plenty of water and the fire would be ready to light at a single word. Almost immediately after he was done, the Potion Master swept in.
"I believe," Snape said, without any formalities, "that, since we have the perfect guinea pig coming for detention, it's time to test you on your healing potions."
"You want *me* to dose Potter?" Draco asked in surprise. "He's not going to like that."
"And I should care, why?" the professor smirked back. "I get to choose what the detentions I give are and we have need of a test subject for your healing potions. I'm sure Potter will consider it an honor to be yours."
They both chuckled with true amusement, one thought in their minds. /When Hell freezes over./
/?/?/?/?/?/?/?/?/
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry watched his watchers. What was going on? Why were Malfoy and Snape *staring* at him like that? He snorted a little at the thought, then looked up to see if any of his friends had noticed. They hadn't; too wrapped up in each other to wonder or worry about him. It said a lot about a person that the two people most worried about him seemed to be two of his four worst enemies. The only thing more surprising would be if *Voldemort* was the one worrying about him.
His mind drifted back to what had happened earlier that day. He could not *believe* he had lost his temper like that. He never lost his temper! He'd learned how to swallow his anger long ago. The only times he had lost control was when his magic had gotten away from him, and only one of those times was since he had learned about magic. Well, okay, so he'd occasionally get mad when his friends or parents were insulted. But that was different. It was okay to get angry for others but not for himself. Life was unfair when it came to him, he'd lived with that fact for years, and getting angry about it just led to more pain.
He had to make sure he had control of himself before he went into the detention Snape had given him. He was not going to give the greasy git any more ammunition against him than he already had.
He looked up as movement across the room caught his eye. Draco was getting up, obviously ready to leave the Great Hall. Draco was another surprise. His reaction that day had been a shock. Harry couldn't forget the look in his eyes from earlier, and he hated himself for causing it. He recognized it, how could he not? It was the same look he'd seen in the mirror when others were yelling, and knowing he'd put it there was yet another mark on his scarred soul. He didn't mind fighting Draco, but that look only came from an abused child who knew that yelling equaled anger and anger equaled pain.
With a sigh he rose to his feet and headed towards the dungeons. It was time to face the music.
He stopped for a moment to listen at the door of the potions classroom. Snape and Malfoy were obviously talking about him. And healing?
"There is," Snape was saying, "but you don't know it, and he is *your* patient. So how would you find out if he has kidney damage?"
"I haven't a clue," Draco admitted.
"If he has blood in his urine, there is some damage, if there is only a little then it is not likely to be something we need to worry about. If there is still a lot of blood, then he does, indeed have serious damage."
Draco's eyes were wide. "You want him to take a piss in front of me!" he practically yelled. "There's no way he would agree to that, me either for that matter!"
A chuckle came from behind the two potion makers. "He's right, I don't think much of that idea, and no, I don't have kidney damage."
Draco and Severus turned quickly, wands coming up into attack positions. Harry stood looking at them, one eyebrow raised at their reactions but no worry showing on his face. Actually, Draco thought, there was no expression at all on his face. Looking at him now, it was hard to believe that it was the same person they had seen covered in bruises and scars, cowering under a desk or shouting in the Potion Professor's face, just a few hours ago. Nothing in his bearing showed any hints of the pain he had to be feeling, and over-large clothes hid the emaciated state of his body.
Snape scowled to hide the fact that he had been just as surprised as his student. "And how would you know that, Mr. Potter?" he snarled.
Harry walked easily down the stairs to the front of the classroom. Severus remembered suddenly that one of his ankles had been swollen, but barely a sign of a limp or hesitation showed in his walk. How much experience did he have at acting normal , that with his body as damaged as it was, it was still almost impossible for an observer to tell?
"You're very good at hiding it," Snape remarked, walking slowly around the student now standing in the middle of the room.
"A compliment, Professor? I never thought I'd see the day. And I've got lots of experience." Harry didn't move, but Snape could feel his awareness on him at all times. "As to your earlier question? Same answer. I bled heavily for about a day, mildly for another three, and not at all in the last two days. As you said, kidneys are very resilient."
"I have questions," Snape remarked almost conversationally.
"And if I don't want to answer?" Harry asked just as casually.
"I was going to have you be the guinea pig for Mr. Malfoy's healing potions, but he could always use practice on his truth potions." Snape smirked at his almost helpless victim.
Harry glared right back. "Ask," he snapped out.
"And you'll answer truthfully?" Snape asked.
Harry conceded that. "I will. But 'It's none of your business' and 'I don't want to talk about it' are both truthful answers you know."
"Obfuscate too often, Potter and I'll pull out that truth potion," Snape warned.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Harry sighed in seeming disinterest.
Snape stared at him for a long moment, his mouth thinned in disapproval. Finally he pointed to a stool in the front of the classroom and turned toward his apprentice.
Harry sat where he had been told to and waited for the inquisition to begin. It didn't happen. In fact, both Snape and Malfoy practically ignored him, except when they needed a clip of his hair or a drop of his blood. Even the blood taking was done professionally, with no hint of the usual animosity that tended to occur between the two boys. Snape spent his time between overseeing Malfoy's potion making and marking the Fourth Years' summer homework. The silence stretched.
Harry fidgeted.
The only sounds that broke the silence were Malfoy's knife cutting ingredients, his spoon stirring the potion and Snape's quill writing surely scathing comments on the essays in front of him. But where were the scathing comments that should have been directed his way? Where were the glares and orders to answer questions he didn't want to answer? Harry sighed loudly. He knew they didn't care. He sighed again, even louder.
"Is there some reason you feel the need to interrupt the two of us who actually have some worthwhile work with your noisy exhalations, Mr. Potter?" Snape drawled without looking up from the parchments in front of him.
"Aren't you going to ask anything?" burst out of Harry.
"You made it clear you were not going to answer without more effort than I feel is required. I am not in the habit of wasting my time. Once the healing potions Mr. Malfoy is creating have finished their work, he should be ready to be tested on truth potions. If you haven't decided to answer on your own by then, you can be his guinea pig for it as well."
Harry's eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open. He jumped to his feet. "You wouldn't," he all but shouted.
"Modulate your voice, Mr. Potter," Snape's voice took on a deadly tone. "And I most certainly would."
"Why?" Harry's question was plaintive. "You've spent the last four years trying to get me expelled and sent back there. Why are you suddenly pretending you care?"
If it wasn't so impossible, Harry would swear his professor's eyes held a hint of regret. His words seemed to uphold the look in his eyes though. "If I had known, I would not have tried so hard. I believed you would be safer with the Muggles than getting into one of your hare brained, dangerous schemes here."
"You were wrong," Harry asserted.
Harry noted that while Snape tilted his head in assent, he never actually came out and said he was wrong. Unsurprising really, the end of the world hadn't come yet.
Harry sat back down with a sigh. He decided to go ahead and talk. This way he'd keep at least some of his dignity plus he wouldn't have to tell everything like he would under Veritaserum or other truth drugs. He rolled one sleeve of his robe up to reveal a bruise ringing it and just looked at it for a long moment. He abruptly began speaking.
"It was worse this summer than it's been for a long time. Maybe worse than ever. The Dursleys hate anything that makes a person different, but they especially hate magic. They think about wizards the same way Malfoy thinks about Muggles."
"That's ridiculous," Draco scoffed. "Wizards are obviously far superior to Muggles. They're probably just jealous."
Harry shook his head. "I've never understood why there's such a big distinction between the two worlds. Yeah, wizards can do things that Muggles can't, but Muggles can do a whole lot that wizards can't. Electric lights beat torch and candlelight any night of the year. Owl post is great, but if I need to get in touch with someone fast, I'd rather use a telephone. Did you know a computer could hold or have access to more information than Hogwart's entire library? And make in much easier to find what you're looking for? Not to mention"
Snape's voice interrupted the rant just getting started. "Milkweed pods!"
"Huh?" Harry turned a confused look onto the Potions professor only to see his attention caught by the cauldron Malfoy was almost frantically crushing milkweed pods to put in. Finally they were tossed in and the frantically bubbling pot calmed. Obviously, Draco had been paying more attention to Harry then the potion he was making and had almost missed a step.
"Please get back on track, Mr. Potter," Snape's glare turned what could have been a request into a soft spoken order. Harry thought about disobeying but instead sighed yet again and relaxed back onto his stool.
"I grew up not knowing anything about magic, but occasionally something strange would happen and I would be blamed. I'd also usually get beaten and locked into the cupboard that I lived in for weeks. I'd be let out for school and to do my chores, then locked back in. During those times, the only food I would get would be lunch at school and I'd try to save a roll or something for Sunday. Occasionally, if I got really hungry, I would take something from the kitchen, but if it got noticed I'd get beaten. Of course, most of the times I got beaten for taking food, it was actually Dudley who took it. But since their precious Duddeykins could never do anything wrong, it had to be me. It was always me." His voice trailed off and he was silent for a while.
Before Snape could prompt him, he continued. "My Hogwarts letter scared them. They were so sure that they'd beaten or starved the magic out of me. Vernon was so busy trying to keep me from finding out about magic and keeping the owls away that he pretty much left me alone. Then Hagrid came, and he really scared them." He looked up and grinned happily at the other two who looked at him in surprise. "He brought me my first ever birthday cake. And when Dudley started eating it, he gave him a pig's tail! It was so cool! Fear of Hagrid kept them off my back for the rest of that summer and really the next one as well. They'd moved me out of the cupboard into Dudley's junk room when the letters started coming and I got to stay there for the next three years, even if there were bars on the window and padlocks on the door. After Third Year, I got to threaten them with my godfather who was an escaped convict and accused murderer."
"And they believed that tripe?" Draco asked insultingly.
"Why shouldn't they? It's true," Harry answered back easily.
"Yeah right, perfect Potter has a murderer as his godfather?" Draco snarked.
Harry's eyes darkened and he glared at Malfoy. "I thought you'd realized by now that there is *nothing* perfect about me. And I never said he was a murderer, I said he was an *accused* murderer, though his name would have been cleared if a certain someone hadn't interfered." His glare moved to the Potions professor.
"I did what I thought was best, Potter," the professor glared back.
"I know that! But if you had just waited and *listened* to what we were trying to say, it wouldn't have happened, would it? But no, you knew best, right? What would a couple of kids who'd been involved all along know over you who hadn't had anything to do with catching the two of them in the first place, hmm?" Harry was standing by this time, his glare hard as nails.
"Why shouldn't I think he was the murderer?" Snape glared back. "You can't deny he tried to kill me!"
"If you were as big a jerk back when you were going to school as you are now, I don't blame him in the least! And he did not try to kill you! It was just a prank!"
"A prank? It was a prank to tell me a secret entrance into Hogsmeade that turned out to lead straight to where a werewolf was being kept... on the night of the full moon?" Snape had risen to his feet and the two stood across from each other with only the desk seeming to keep them away from each others throats.
"No, it was stupidity! I'm not denying that. He was stupid and reckless and yes, he could have gotten you killed, and yes, he should have probably been punished worse than he was but he wasn't *trying* to kill you!"
"Are you sure about that, Potter?" Snape's voice became low and gravely.
"What possible reason would he have had to kill you? I mean, even though I can't stand Malfoy there, I don't want him dead! Voldemort, yeah, but I doubt you were *that* bad back then."
"A dog is a good form for him, loyal to his master. I had something James wanted, so Sirius tried to kill me so he could have it." Snape's eyes looked into a distant past only he could see.
"What?" Harry asked softly, the vehemence and anger gone at the look on the face before him.
Snape's face closed up quickly. "That, Mr. Potter, is none of your business. Nor is it apropos to the conversation at hand. The Dursley's Mr. Potter?"
"Yeah, yeah," Harry muttered, heading back to his seat. Before he could open his mouth however, Draco spoke.
"The strengthening and healing potions are ready, Professor. The salve and bruise balm need to simmer for a while longer."
Snape walked over to the two cauldron's Draco was standing above. Luckily for the younger Slytherin, none of the potions he was making were truly time sensitive, so he'd been able to work on all four at the same time. Snape checked the two finished potions and nodded approvingly. He turned to Harry. "Take off your robe and shirt," he ordered.
"Why?" Harry growled.
Snape took a leaf out of Harry's book and sighed deeply, rolling his eyes towards the Heavens that had seen fit to give him such thick-headed students and spoke in the voice one would use on a mentally deficient preschooler. "Before you can be healed, it is necessary to know what is wrong. To know what is wrong, we use a sensing spell. This spell works much better when we can see the affected areas." Suddenly, Severus remembered a previous comment Potter had made and his mind made an unhappy connection. His eyes shot up to meet the sullen gaze looking back at him and his wand was suddenly in his hand. Harry shot to his feet at the sight; wariness crossing his features. Before he could move any farther, a cone of silence surrounded the two of them, so that even young Malfoy, only five feet or so away, couldn't hear what was said.
"What are you doing, Snape," Harry growled, anger covering the fear he was suddenly feeling.
"Is beating and starving you all they did?" Snape asked intently.
"And treating me like a house elf," Harry amended, not understanding where the professor was going with that question.
"You said she never noticed that you had trouble sitting down," Severus prompted. "Did they ever..." he let the question trail off, never looking away from the green eyes in front of him. He saw the moment Potter understood what he was insinuating and felt relief sweep through him when there was disgust, but no sign of shame looking back at him.
"Did they rape me?" Harry spoke out loud what the potions master had not. He shook his head. "No, they didn't. I think, this last summer, Dudley was thinking about it, but his mother made sure never to leave us alone, afraid of what I'd do to her precious baby if she wasn't there, I guess."
Harry was surprised at the relief he could see in the Potion Master's eyes. It was that, as much as anything else, that had him doing as the man had asked. As Severus took down the silencing spell, Harry stripped out of his robe and shirt. With another look at the two in the classroom with him, he took off his left shoe and sock, rolling up his pants' leg to show the swollen ankle. Once Harry was standing before them as stripped as he was going to get, Snape held his wand over the top of his student's head. Red light started pouring out of his wand and drifting down Harry's body. Every place there was damage, the light gathered; the more damage, the more light.
Draco spoke up from in back of him. "How come some of these are so much brighter than the others, even though they look just as deep?"
"Chances are they're getting infected," Severus spoke distractedly. "Come around here and tell me what you see."
Draco moved around the motionless boy and stared at the red light that seemed to make broken streaks across Harry's torso. "Why is it in lines like that? I would have thought it would be the whole bruise that was lit up that bad."
"The bruise is the pinker portion. The farther into the body the damage is, the darker red the light is. As you can see, the lines are darker, so they're not surface wounds. What are they?"
Draco traced the lines of almost maroon light, then shook his head in disbelief at his own stupidity. Harry's state of emaciation made it abundantly clear what the lines were. "His ribs. He's got three broken ribs."
"What would happen if we gave him a healing potion, specifically the one you've been working on, with his ribs like that?" Severus asked, all teacher.
Draco thought for a moment, wondering what his mentor meant, then his eyes went wide. "They'd heal just like that, wouldn't they; still out of place?"
"Very good," Snape said. Harry's eyes went wide as well, in disbelief. Severus Snape was *smiling*! Proudly smiling at his student. He hadn't thought the older man could do that without his face breaking. His eyes flew to the other student's face, trying to see what he thought of what had to be an almost unprecedented event. He recognized that expression too; the shy, almost wondering happiness at praise too rarely received. He thought about making a snarky remark, but couldn't bring himself to break the moment; true praise was too rare as it was.
"So how do we fix them?"
"Magic, of course." Severus put his wand into his belt and placed his hands gently on Harry's abdomen.
Harry hissed. He could feel something moving into him. Something that was not *him*. It felt weird, and wrong, and the only thing that kept him from jerking completely away was the fact that he knew what it was and that it wasn't meant to hurt him. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the feeling. It had to be Snape's magic, grasping his rib bones. He stayed as still as if he'd been petrified, not wanting the older wizard to lose hold of the bones he could feel being pulled into place. Then it was over and Harry found himself shuddering as if in the grip of a dreadful cold.
"That's awful," he shuddered.
"Why do you think most healing is done by potions instead of spells? Your body does not like magic other than it's own inside of it. You did a good job of not fighting me. If you *had* fought it off, I would not have been able to set those ribs." Of all the shocks Harry had received that day, this was probably the biggest. That proud smile Snape had shown to Draco earlier? It was now, unbelievable as it may seem, pointed at him
Severus stepped back to check the rest of Harry's body. There was a fairly bright patch still around the ribs, but the lines were straight, only the extra brightness allowing him to see where they were broken. A quick check of the ankle showed a bright red, not deep enough to be a broken bone. Severus walked around the still standing boy to check out the brighter patches Draco had spoken of on his back.
The Head of Slytherin worked hard to keep any expression off of his face as he once more took in the state of the young Gryffindor's back. As bad as his front was, it was obvious that *here* had borne the brunt of his Uncle's rage. Bruises, welts and scabs almost covered over the older yellowing bruises and lines of scars. Severus noticed that he could easily count every one of the vertebrae in the boy's back. He pushed all of that out of his mind, they were going to fix most of it today and what couldn't be immediately fixed, would be worked on. A quick check showed that he was right, several of the cuts had become infected.
Draco took the time to look Harry over as well, trying both to figure out what exactly was wrong and how the spell his teacher used worked. He noticed that Harry's entire body was tinged pink from the spell and wondered if that was normal or a reaction to his rival's underfed state. That reminded him of a question he had had earlier.
"Hey Potter," he said without his customary sneer at saying that name. Well, at least he tried.
"Yes, Malfoy?" Harry's voice did a better job of being expressionless.
"How come you weren't eating at dinner? You're obviously hungry."
Harry probably wouldn't have answered, but he could see that Draco was honestly curious. "Eating too much or foods that are too rich after being starved just makes you sick. Believe me, I know." He turned a little green thinking about it. "I eat several little meals over the course of the day until my stomach is up to dealing with a full meal. I usually take a couple rolls or some fruit from every meal and have it a couple of hours later. I can eat porridge or eggs, plain meats if they're not real greasy or fatty, some vegetables, breads, non acidic fruits, stuff like that. I just can't eat more than, um, about, maybe a third of a plateful."
"Although a shrunken stomach is not considered an injury, the healing potion should help you with that," Snape put in from where he was looking over Draco's potions. "Alright Potter, time to test these. If you get better, than obviously Draco will pass, if you get worse than we still need to work on his healing potions." He smirked at both of his students and was surprised to get two smirks in return.
"Yeah, like I really believe you'd let him give me something that would hurt me. At least not until I'm better."
"That's right, Potter. Once you're better, all bets are off. And I've learned a *lot* this summer." Evil laughter drifted through the room.
"Do your worst, Malfoy." Harry was surprised to find he was grinning with good humor at his rival and his rival was grinning right back.
"Oh, I plan to Potter," Draco chuckled even as he got the two potions ready. Then he got serious as he handed him the first potion. "This is a strengthening potion. Since most healing simply increases a person's own natural healing ability, we're giving you a strengthening potion so your body has enough reserves to actually heal. You'll be drinking several cups of this over the course of the night. Though getting some food into you later would help as well."
Harry took the first goblet Draco handed him and looked at it for a moment. He cautiously took a sip. The expression on his face made it obvious that he wanted to spit it back out. He coughed several times after he swallowed before looking back at the platinum haired boy. "That's gross! I thought you were going to wait until I was better before tormenting me?"
Draco shrugged unapologeticly. "I know how to make the potion, but adding flavoring without changing the basic potion isn't something we've dealt with yet. Just drink it and I'll get you some water to get the taste out."
Harry glared at the other boy but did as asked. As quickly as he could, he poured the potion down his throat, trying desperately not to taste it. True to his word, Draco had a glass of water waiting and quickly traded the empty goblet for it. Snape however, took the glass away before Harry could take so much as a sip. He glared at his apprentice.
"What did you think you were doing?"
Draco looked surprised. "Giving him something to get the taste out of his mouth," he explained, though he was sure his professor had already heard him say that to the other student.
Snape seemed to be waiting, hoping Malfoy would figure out what was wrong, but when Draco just looked at him uncomprehendingly, he unbent enough to explain. "Letting him drink this immediately after giving the potion will mix the two in his stomach, diluting the strengthening potion before it has a chance to do any good."
Draco blushed. "I'm sorry, I should have figured that out."
Snape nodded and turned back to the other student who still had his face screwed up into an expression of disgust and was looking longingly at the cup in the potion master's hand. Snape walked over to the ingredients cabinets and dropped something into the glass in his hand before walking back to where the students stood. He handed the glass to Harry, but his glare made the dark haired youth wait for instructions.
"You may wash your mouth out, but do *not* swallow. Understand?"
Harry nodded eagerly and took some of the water in his mouth. He was very surprised to find it was not just water, but had a pleasant mint taste that got rid of the aftertaste of the potion much better than plain water would have. He swished the water around his mouth several times before spitting it back out into the empty goblet that had held the strengthening potion.
"Thanks," he said, once his mouth was clear. "That was really bad." He shuddered.
"Don't be happy yet," Draco grinned almost maliciously. There was a little too much sympathy involved for it to be true malice. "You still have to drink the healing potion and another couple of cups of the strengthening one."
Harry glared at him before turning and glaring at his teacher. "You really do think up awful detentions, don't you?"
"A compliment from you Mr. Potter? Is there an apocalypse coming that I was not aware of?"
Harry actually found himself holding back a chuckle. He'd wondered that a few times himself today.
Healing potion. Mint water. Strengthening potion. Mint water. Watching the dark reds lighten and the brightest ones start to fade. Feeling the pain that he'd been living with for so long actually, finally start going away. He closed his eyes and would swear that he could *feel* the potion moving through him. Now his ribs, now his back, now his bottom. Down his legs and the twinges leaving his ankle. The only pains left; simple bruises and cuts, dull, normally beneath his notice under the tearing agony of broken bones or sprained muscles. He took a deep breath, the first true one he'd dared in a while, afraid of what the broken ribs might do, though he thought they were too low down to puncture a lung, still, being careful on his mind at all times... just in case.
He smiled at the two people who were, against all odds, helping him, and opened his mouth to comment. His comments were overwhelmed, however, by the sudden eruption of a stomach, looking for nutrition but finding itself totally empty. He found himself blushing as the other two smirked at him, but didn't remark on it. Professor Snape simply summoned a house elf and ordered a meal. For the first time since the Year End feast, Harry ate well. And while the foods were bland, the amount was far more than he'd managed since returning to Hogwarts.
Once Harry was finished eating, the interrogation began again. "Why was this year worse than the last few?"
Harry thought about it, but only for a short while. It was, after all, something he'd asked himself many times over the course of the summer. "I think there were a couple of things. The Weasley's came to get me and take me to the Quidditch Cup at the end of last summer. It didn't go over well, especially as the twins tried out one of their new jokes on Dudley. The Dursley's had *not* forgotten that, let me tell you. I'm pretty sure that there was more going on though. Something to do with Uncle Vernon's job. I can just go by what I overheard, it's not like they talked to me or anything, but I don't think Uncle Vernon's factory was doing very well. I heard something about not wasting good money on me, which is why I only got old bread or spoiled food. I even heard him yelling at Dudley for breaking something they'd spent good money on. And they *never* yelled at Dudley."
"On top of all that, they stopped believing that my godfather would show up *and* found out that I wasn't allowed to use magic during the holidays." He shrugged. "They didn't have anything to fear, so they didn't have any reason to hold back. Add angry, frustrated and occasionally drunk to that mix, and well..." he trailed off.
There was silence in the room for a while before he abruptly started speaking again. "I was lucky about some things though." He saw the other two looking at him with something like disbelief on their faces. "Well, I was. I heal fast, which was a good thing because there were several times during the summer when he was a lot harder on me than this last beating. After all, this last time he had to make sure that I wasn't *too* badly damaged and that it wouldn't show under my robes. He didn't want anyone to find out. Also, he tried to destroy my things, but couldn't. The really important things went home with Hermione, including Hedwig, and I had put enough charms on my trunk that it would have taken a lot more than what they had to get in it or destroy it. And they tried," he smirked at his audience. "Dudley tried to pick the lock and ended up blasted into the wall. That beating was worth it. And watching them try to burn it?" he chuckled just thinking about it. "You should have seen the looks on their faces."
"Are you telling me that you actually thought something through, Mr. Potter?" Severus asked in tones of disbelief.
"Um-hmm, planned ahead too."
"Interesting," Snape mused. "Perhaps something I've been trying to teach you for the past four years is finally sinking in. Now if you can only use that in class."
"But then you wouldn't have any reason to take points or give detentions. No, no, I couldn't do that to you." He looked at his teacher with innocent seeming eyes.
Draco snorted. "Yeah, Professor, he couldn't deprive you of one of your greatest pleasures, it just wouldn't be right."
Snape glared at the two boys that seemed to be ganging up against him. "I'd survive, I'm sure."
"We couldn't take that chance," Draco told him solemnly. "We wouldn't want to lose you. Who would teach potions?"
"When you put it that way," Harry smirked, "maybe I should try it."
With that comment, all three seemed to decide that enough serious talk had been done. The next hour passed easily, if a little strained at times. Finally, the last potions were done and applied, with extra given to Harry so he could apply them himself after he got back to the dorms. All three found themselves shocked that they had at times actually *enjoyed* conversation with a person or persons that had been their enemies for years.
"Potter," Snape said as Harry was heading out the door.
Harry turned with an eyebrow raised inquisitively and waited patiently. Only two hours before he would have been sweating and worrying over what his greasy professor wanted. Then again, over the past two hours, he had found out his professor was human after all. A human he might even be able to like, as long as it was in private. He had no doubt Snape would act like the git he was used to in public.
"I expect to see you here tomorrow, at eight," Snape ordered.
"How long am I going to be having detention?" Harry asked inquiringly.
"Until I decide to end it," Snape sneered back.
Harry turned to Draco. "He's determined to make us spend time together, isn't he?"
"It certainly seems that way," Draco answered.
"Did you know he was a masochist?" Harry asked seriously.
"Don't you mean sadist?" Draco asked, perplexed.
"No," Harry grinned. "After all, he's putting us together in his company. He's the one that's really going to be hurting here." Without waiting for an answer, he practically ran out of the room.