The Lily That Poisons The Snake
Chapter 12
Warnings: See chapter 1
Disclaimer: Yeah, I own Harry Potter. That's why I'm posting on here and begging for reviews. *note sarcasm*
The next couple of weeks were exceedingly difficult for Severus as he dealt with taking care of his newborn son, working, and Lily's attitude towards him and baby Harry. The red-headed woman watched as an exhausted Severus tried to grade papers and make lesson plans while feeding, changing and tending to baby Harry. One day she even invited James Potter over to laugh cruelly as Severus graded papers with one hand and fed Harry with the other.
"I can't believe Snivellus is playing mummy to a brat that isn't even his," Potter had sneered as he and Lily sat on the sofa eating crisps and watching the telly.
"This just goes to show how big of a bitch he is," Lily said, laughing evilly. Severus had gotten up and went upstairs murmuring quietly to baby Harry.
One day, a few weeks later, Severus had a very important meeting to attend at school, but his parents were too busy to babysit, Lucius was still at work, and Remus and Sirius still weren't talking to him. They hadn't even seen Harry. Forty-five minutes before his meeting, he made a decision. This is the perfect opportunity for Lily to spend some time with the baby, he thought as he finished changing Harry's diaper before heading downstairs to find Lily, She'll never be able to love him if she doesn't spend any time with him. He found hi red-haired wife curled up on the sofa watching a movie.
"Lily…" he said hesitantly, "I have a really important meeting in thirty minutes and neither my parents of Lucius can watch Harry…"
"No," she said immediately.
"Lil, please. It's only for about an hour, maybe two."
"I told you I was not taking care of that baby. He's yours, not mine."
"I know, but I really need to go to this meeting. It'll only be for a little while. Please. He's ready for a bottle, and he'll go to sleep as soon as you feed him. You hardly have to do anything. Please, Lily," he pleaded.
"Fine, but you owe me," she snapped.
"Thank you so much," he said, placing Harry in her arms and handing her his bottle. Baby Harry whimpered and reached out a tiny hand to grab at his daddy's hair as he was placed in the red-haired woman's arms. "It's okay, Harry. Daddy has to leave for a bit, so you're going to stay with mummy. Be good, okay?" Severus said, disentangling his son's hand from his hair and kissing his forehead. Lily scoffed in disgust. She just needs to spend some time with him, he tried to reassure himself as he grabbed his bag and left for his meeting, She'll grow to love him. She will. And everything will be okay. But all throughout his meeting, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous and anxious.
When the meeting was finally over and he was able to leave, Severus rushed home with a terrible feeling in his gut telling that something was wrong. When he walked into the house, his ears were met with silence, which didn't make him feel any better. Lily was sitting on the sofa staring into space, and baby Harry was nowhere in sight.
"Lily, where's the baby?" Severus asked, fighting back panic. Lily didn't speak. She just continued to stare blankly into space. "Where's Harry, Lily? Where is he?" he demanded.
"He wouldn't stop crying," Lily said after a moment in an emotionless voice, "He wouldn't stop."
"What did you do, Lily? Where's Harry?" he asked, his breathing becoming labored as panic set in.
"He was crying so loud. He wouldn't stop. I tried…He just wouldn't stop."
"Dammit Lily, where is Harry?" Severus yelled. Without turning her head, Lily pointed a finger at the coat closet near the front door.
Heart pounding in his chest, Severus walked over to the closet and opened the door. What he saw at the bottom of the closet broke his heart. Lying on the floor of the closet was Harry, unconscious with duct tape covering his little mouth. His arms were covered in bruises and the left on hung limply at an odd angle.
"Oh God," Severus gasped, dropping to his knees, gathering his one month old son in his arms, and shakily checking for a pulse. Finding one, although very weak, he sighed in relief and pulled out his cell phone to call 911. With an ambulance on the way, he called the only person he could think to call.
"Hello?" Lucius said, answering the phone, "Sev, this isn't really a good time…"
"Luc," the dark-haired man sobbed, clutching his unconscious baby to his chest, "Luc, she…"
"Sev, what's wrong? What's going on?" the blond man asked.
"Lily…she…Harry's hurt. The paramedics are on the way, but he's so…I can't even remove the duct tape…"
"I'm on my way, Sev. You just stay where you are, okay? I'll be right there," Lucius said, not completely understanding the situation but knowing that his dark-haired friend needed him.
Another sob rose in Severus's throat as he let his cell phone fall to the floor. He flinched as he heard Lily get up from the sofa and inched into the closet, holding Harry protectively against his chest. The green-eyed woman ignored him and walked out the front door without a word. Severus sat huddled at the bottom of the closet until he heard the sirens of the paramedics. Still clutching Harry, he got up to open the door and saw that Lucius had just arrived as well. The paramedics took baby Harry from a reluctant Severus to check him over, while Lucius tried to get him to explain what happened.
"Did someone break in?" Lucius asked worriedly, "Are you hurt as well? Where is Lily?"
"Lily left," Severus said quietly, "She didn't even care that she hurt him. She just left."
"Lily did this?" the blond man said in shock.
"You're saying your wife did this?" one of the paramedics asked.
"I had a meeting, and no one could babysit. I had to beg her, but she agreed to watch him. I thought if she spent some time with him, she'd learn to love him. I was wrong. I came home, and she was just sitting on the sofa. I didn't see Harry anywhere. She said he wouldn't stop crying and when I asked where he was, she pointed at the closet and he was in there…just like that," Severus said his voice raw with emotion.
"I find it hard to believe that a mother did this to her own baby," the paramedic said, eying Severus disbelievingly as he the other paramedic moved to place Harry in the ambulance.
"You don't know Lily," Severus softly. Sensing that there was more to the situation, Lucius led him over to the car.
"Come on. We'll follow them to the hospital," he said, helping the dark-haired man into the car.
"I didn't do that to Harry," Severus said softly as they were riding to the hospital, "I wouldn't do that."
"I know, Sev. I know you wouldn't do that," Lucius assured him. They slipped into a somber silence the rest of the way to the hospital. Lucius still had a lot of questions for his dark-haired friend, but he knew it wasn't the time to ask.
When they arrived at the hospital, Harry was rushed to the emergency room while Lucius and Severus sat in the waiting room. Seeing that Severus too shaken up to do it, the blond man filled out the paper work as best as he could and handed it to the lady at the front desk. Severus sat curled in on himself with his arms wrapped around the middle of his body and tears shining in his onyx eyes. Lucius's heart broke as he looked at the distraught man beside him. He moved to put his arm around him and was shocked when Severus flinched harshly at the contact. He looked at his friend questioningly, but Severus just shook his head and moved to lean against his friend's shoulder. Something's going on here, Lucius thought, And I'm afraid I know what it is. Before he could ask and confirm his suspicions, a doctor came out and let them know that Harry was stable and would be okay eventually. Severus's whole body went limp with relief as tears spilled down his cheeks.
"Can I see him? Please?" he asked.
"Yes, right this way, Mr. Snape." Severus and Lucius followed the doctor to Harry's room, and Severus was almost in tears once more when he saw his tiny infant son, who looked even smaller on the too large children's hospital bed. His eyes were stilled closed, but he could tell he was only sleeping. There were bruises still visible on his little arms and his left arm was wrapped in a small cast. The worst of the visible damage was on his face, where the doctors had removed the duct tape from his mouth. The skin around his mouth was red and raw-looking and there were even places where the tape had ripped bits of skin off. Fighting back a sob, he turned to the doctor, who was standing at the foot of the bed with Lucius.
"C-can I hold him? Please? I'll be careful, but…I-I just need to hold him," he pleaded, seeing that the doctor wanted to say no.
"Okay. Just be mindful of his arms and his face. I'll be back to check on him later," the doctor said before leaving the room. Careful of the bruising and the cast, Severus lifted his son into his arms and held him against his chest protectively.
"I am so sorry, Harry, so sorry," he murmured, sitting down on the bed, "This will never happen again. I promise. We are never going back there. I won't let her hurt you again. I won't let her hurt my little boy ever again."
"Sev, I don't understand. Why did she do this?" Lucius asked, filled with worry for his best friend, "Why would Lily do this to her own child?"
"She never wanted him. She didn't want him. I should have listened. I should have known…God, I'm so sorry."
"Sev?"
"He's not my son, but I love him. I'm the only one who loves him."
"What do you mean he's not…Lily cheated on you?"
"With James Potter," the dark-haired man said, nodding.
"That arrogant arse you went to high school with? How could she do that?"
"She doesn't love me. Probably hasn't for years," Severus said, finally seeing what he hadn't for the last few years, "I can't believe I've been so stupid. I can't believe I…I was so stupid. I didn't see what she was doing to me…and to Harry…until it was almost too late. But never again. Never. I'm not going back."
"Sev, Lily…she abused you, didn't she?" Lucius asked, already knowing the answer. Tears spilled from obsidian eyes as Severus nodded. Lucius was nearly in tears as well as he sat down next to his friend and pulled him into a hug. Severus's body trembled as he sobbed into his friend's shoulder.
"It's okay, Sev. You're okay. You don't ever have to go back there," Lucius murmured, carding his fingers through silky ebony locks, "You and Harry are safe now."
Eventually Severus cried himself to sleep leaning against Lucius. Moving carefully, Lucius stood and laid the dark-haired man down on the bed, baby Harry still cradled in his arms. He slid Severus's cell phone out of his trouser pocket before covering both father and baby with the hospital blanket. Sitting down in the chair beside the bed, he went through his friend's phone until he found the number he was looking for. I don't know if they know about what's going on, but if they don't, they should, he thought as he put the phone to his ear.
AN: Severus has come to his senses and left Lily, but have we seen the last of the red head? We can't just let her get away with what she's done to Sev and baby Harry, can we? And who did Lucius call on Sev's phone? Will Severus ever talk to Remus and Sirius again? Tune in next time to The Lily That Poisons The Snake to find out! And review!
Peace, Love & Happiness
EnimsajaSnape