Harry woke up to pain. It was so strong, so utterly encompassing, he could hardly inhale properly. The one consolation was that he was laying in a bed, probably in the hospital wing. Harry struggled to open his eyes, and was relieved to learn that he could see. Barely, though. His glasses were not on his face anymore. Blurred images came before him, then, he heard, "Thank Merlin, he's awake!" Suddenly, glasses were on his face, and a goblet was pressed to his lips. "Drink. It will help ease the pain.
Harry obediently consumed the clear contents. It didn't taste half bad, really almost good for a potion, and the pain dimmed considerably.
Not that it was completely gone, but he didn't feel like every nerve of his body was on fire.
Harry now looked around, recognizing the hospital wing, and then the faces of McGonagall, Snape, Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey, Ron, Hermione, and-to his great relief-his godfather.
"What happened?" he croaked.
Another glass appeared under his face, and he drank. To his relief, it was just water.
Sirius was suddenly next to him on the bed, and he took hold of Harry's hand. "We have Peeves to thank. He made such a racket that half the professors came looking for you. Snape found you first, and took you to the hospital wing."
"There," the Potions-no, Defense Against the Dark Arts-professor said, his voice oddly gentle, "Madam Pomfrey performed a diagnostic spell to determine that you had been hit with the Cruciatus Curse, and Draco Malfoy came to me to admit to as much. I summoned your godfather, as I believed that he would insist upon being there upon your waking."
"Thank you," Harry answered, weakly. "It was him. Malfoy, I mean. And it was the Cruciatus curse."
Hermione gasped, and Ron let out a curse.
Sirius let out some choice words before pulling Harry closer to him. Ron and Hermione edged closer to his bed, standing next to Sirius.
He expected the other adults to protest to say something, but they only looked uncomfortable. Especially Dumbledore.
"It hurt-hurt worse than Voldemort did it-and I woke up here," Harry muttered. "Why did it hurt so much more?"
Snape spoke up, his voice oddly gentle. "I'm afraid that isn't anything out of the ordinary, Potter. Each time a witch or wizard is inflicted with the Cruciatus Curse, it stings more than the last."
"Why's that?" Hermione asked, her voice high-pitched.
Ron wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
Snape turned so both Harry and Hermione were able to see him. "Simply put, Miss Granger, your nerves are aggravated by it anew. Even if the same fervor isn't meant. Unless the witch or wizard feels only righteous anger, and no sincere wish to cause pain, a first or second year student could, theoretically, do as much harm to a person subjected to multiple uses as a Death Eater the first time."
Harry nodded, aware that things must be bad, if Snape had simply answered these questions without sarcasm or insult.
"What happens next?"
"You should recover fully within the next several days," Madam Pomfrey assured Harry. "You'll be on a regimen of pain relief and healing potions for the time being."
"When I woke up," Harry began, "I couldn't breathe because of the pain."
"That is, unfortunately, quite typical," Snape replied, shifting so that he was in front of Harry. "Which I can attest to, personally."
Harry nodded, not wanting to think about Snape being tortured.
"I want to you to our home, and care for you until you are well enough to return," answered Sirius, firmly.
"If I may offer an alternative," Dumbledore spoke up.
"What is that?" Sirius demanded, and Harry shivered at the anger in his voice.
He's not angry at me, he told himself.
"You could be given temporary teacher status, enabling you to care for Harry in relative seclusion and complete safety, in a suite of rooms prepared for our teachers," Dumbledore explained, calmly.
Sirius inclined his head. "What do you think, Harry? Would you rather stay here?"
Harry nodded.
Sirius nodded, but cast a dark look at Snape. "Very well. Once you can arrange this, I will take Harry to the temporary quarters. Tonight."
"You will need until tomorrow morning. I'll need several hours to assess the full extent of the damage and determine an appropriate potions regimen," Madam Pomfrey put in, rather severely.
Sirius nodded in acknowledgment, and Harry noticed his stance diminish, slightly. She was the healing matron, after all.
"Tomorrow, then," he agreed.
"Sir?" Harry spoke up. "What will happen to Malfoy?"
Dumbledore turned to Snape, a strange expression on his face. "His head of house will handle his punishment."
"Snivellus will handle his punishment? He'll barely get a slap on the wrist for nearly killing my godson!" Sirius thundered, making Harry flinch and stiffen. Immediately, his arms tightened around him, holding Harry in a hug. "It's all right, pup," he murmured.
"Draco Malfoy receive more than a mere slap on the wrist, Black," Snape answered, with just as much anger. Harry could not fathom why, until Snape continued. "As I recall, given that you nearly had me killed around the same age, you're hardly one to talk."
"I didn't use an Unforgivable on you!" Sirius growled.
"No, only turning a fellow student into a monster would have been far better. Among numerous other events that ought to have gotten you suspended, at minimum!" Snape shot back. "No, Draco Malfoy will not be expelled for this. He will be punished, instead, which is more than I can say for you, mutt!"
Sirius opened his mouth, but Dumbledore suddenly boomed, "Enough!"
At their silence, Dumbledore continued, "Draco Malfoy made a grave mistake, not unlike many other students throughout the years. As he is still an underage wizard, and a student under the care of Severus Snape, it will be up to his head of house to determine his punishment. Having said that, Sirius, I will be in charge of determining whether his punishment is too harsh or too lenient for his infraction." He paused before staring at them both. "That is final."
Harry shivered under the covers, and Madam Pomfrey immediately applied another blanket to his bed.
Now exhausted, Harry closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
The very next day, Sirius took Harry to his new living quarters, holding the teenager in his arms, both covered up by the invisibility cloak. Harry had been forced to drink some type of potion whenever he woke up, and even though he knew this regime would continue for several days, at least it would be under the care of Sirius.
Once they were inside, Harry let out a breath. At least, breathing didn't hurt, or moving his arms or speaking, but the rest of him still felt like he was on fire the moment the potion had left his system.
Sirius had him half sit, half lie down on a chair, and sat down next to him.
"How about a hot bath?" his godfather asked, smoothing some hair away from his face.
"Will it hurt?" Harry asked, in a low voice. "Because of the curse?"
Sirius shook his head, then nodded.
"Just for a few seconds, when your body first hits the water," Sirius answered, honestly. "It will stop afterwards, and you'll feel much, much better, pup. I promise."
Remembering that Sirius's parents had used this curse on him, and feeling a sense of anguish at Sirius having to go through this without the aid of potions, he nodded.
"All right, then."
"Now, I know you're 16, but speaking from experience having undergone this curse, you will need help undressing, and bathing. I'll avoid looking, I promise. And I'll wash your hair, very carefully," Sirius added. "Is this all right with you?"
Harry reddened a little, but nodded, so Sirius went off to fill the tub, returning a few minutes later.
It wasn't as embarrassing as it could have been. Sirius was quick, disrobing Harry with the flick of a wand, and then kept his eyes away from Harry's body while he walked the few feet to the tub, already filled with water and plenty of soapy bubbles.
Harry let out an involuntary gasp of pain as his body submerged. It felt like being burned all over. Sirius murmured words of encouragement, and then, the burning was over, replaced by the pleasant warmth of the bath water.
Sirius carefully adjusted his body so the boy's head was lying on a floating cushion, letting his entire body submerge without getting the soapy water in his eyes.
"You did great, pup, really great," he encouraged, kneeling outside the tub, facing Harry. "I am so proud of you."
Harry managed a smile. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
"Soon, it won't hurt at all when you bathe. Why don't you rest for a bit, and then I'll help with your hair?" Sirius suggested, speaking softly.
"Okay."
He closed his eyes, reveling in the warmth. Several moments later, he heard Sirius speak again.
"Ready for me to wash your hair?"
"Will it hurt?"
Harry hated how he sounded like a kid, but he needed to know.
"It will for a few seconds. Less than before, because of all that hair of yours. Do you want to put your hair under water, or shall I?" Sirius asked, softly.
"No, I will." Grimacing, Harry propped his hands on the floor of the tub, letting the water soak his hair.
The pain was nearly as intense as before, but then, it was gone.
He let out a shuddering breath, and then Sirius repositioned Harry back onto the cushion.
"Good job," he murmured. "Okay, pup, time to close your eyes."
Harry obeyed, and felt the cool shampoo cover his hair, and a bit of his forehead. Memories came back of Aunt Petunia grabbing his hair as she roughly scrubbed it, usually with too cold water, before Harry was old enough to wash himself.
Sirius, Harry soon realized, was nothing like his aunt. His hands on Harry's head were gentle, but they worked the suds onto his head in a circular, relaxing motion. Scalp massage, he thought, remembering hearing the term from somewhere.
He remembered, suddenly. One of the many times his aunt had taken him for a haircut, they had insisted on washing it first. Harry had expected the similar rough treatment from the woman there as from his aunt. Instead, the lady had been very gentle, and had given him his first-and until now, only-scalp massage. It had felt so good, the six year old Harry had even looked forward to his next visit to the hairdresser, until they just chopped it short without washing it, first.
It felt even better than when his godfather would run his fingers through Harry's hair, and that always put him to sleep. His fingers moved in circles, carefully, even softly, yet seemed to massage every part of his head. Sirius went through each part of Harry's head several times, just as carefully and, Harry knew, lovingly. Every now and then, a spray of water rinsed some of the suds from his head, but the massage always continued with at least one hand. Harry was half asleep by the time Sirius was finished with his hair. Then, he used the spray to rinse the suds from the rest of his body. Soon, Sirius was wrapping him in a towel that covered nearly all of his body.
Harry felt himself being dressed, not in pajamas, but in one of the sleeping gowns Sirius always wore. At his look of question, Sirius chuckled.
"Easier to get on and off. Believe me, you'll want to make it as easy as possible to dress and undress for the next few days."
Harry nodded, then felt himself being lifted into Sirius's arms, then tucked into a bed that was easily as comfortable as the one he shared with Sirius at Grimmauld Place.
"Stay with me? Please?" Harry murmured.
"I promise, I'm not going anywhere," Sirius promised, getting in beside Harry.
Then, his arms held Harry close to him, and he let out another sigh-this one of contentment.
Even if the relief was only temporary, Harry was without pain, safe, and wrapped in his godfather's arms.
For now, he was content.
Author's note:
Why wasn't Draco Malfoy expelled? Well, I want to admit that, for the time being, there wouldn't be any major difference to my storyline if Draco Malfoy were expelled or not. I don't have any immediate plans of giving him a "redemption arc" or, conversely, becoming worse than he was in canon. However, Malfoy is technically underage at this point (his birthday is in June), and, arguably, his head of house would determine his punishment. As Snape pointed out, the Marauders nearly got him killed, maimed, or turned into a werewolf. Sure, James jumped in and saved the day at the last minute, but shouldn't THAT have been grounds for expulsion? As far as we know, they went unpunished. So...Snape can sort of use that as a type of leverage. Hogwarts can be political, after all.
Additionally, while Snape has NOT made the Unbreakable Vow in this version, he has the similar motivations for looking out for Draco.
As, of course, does Dumbledore.
That's my reasoning, and I'm sticking to it! :)
Next up: Harry begins to heal, and Remus visits with unexpected (but very good) news.
As always, constructive feedback would be most welcome!
