Chapter 5: An Unexpected Ally

It was three long days before Harry fully regained consciousness. His eyelids slowly opened and he peered around, bleary-eyed at his unfamiliar surroundings. He was surprised, but gladdened, to realise that his body ached from a lack of use rather than what had been inflicted upon him. His throat was dry and his voice cracked as he croaked out a hello in the hope that someone would hear him.

"Ah, you're awake."

A voice emanated from a shadowed corner of the room and Harry was astonished to see his old Potions professor lean forward from an oversized wingback chair. Harry tried to sit up but Snape moved quickly to his side to ensure he stayed still. "Lay back. Poppy will have my head if she thinks I've let you move around without her say-so."

Harry remembered the many vociferous tellings off he'd received from Madam Pomfrey during his numerous stays in the Hogwarts hospital wing and immediately lay back without argument, a wry grin teasing the corners of his mouth.

"Here, you need to drink all of this." Snape handed Harry a large vial filled with a thick, grey liquid that looked particularly unappetising. "It's a nutrient potion – we've been coaxing them into you every three hours for the last few days." He noticed the revolted look on Harry's face. "There's water next to you too but only sip it – we don't want you bringing the entire lot back up".

Harry was thrown by the concern Snape was showing him – this was possibly the longest Snape had ever gone without insulting him. It was completely out of character compared to the frankly terrifying amount of hatred shown toward him in his original timeline. He swallowed the potion, almost gagging on the consistency as it slipped down his throat, before reaching quickly for the water to wash away the horrendous taste. He noticed his glasses, that were sat on a dark, wooden unit next to the bed, had clearly been repaired as they were no longer cracked and twisted as they had been following his encounter with Uncle Vernon. He slipped them onto his face to take a better look at Snape.

"Poppy will be here shortly," Snape said watching Harry closely, "but I do believe we need to have a little chat before she arrives, don't we Mr Potter?"

Harry realised his Occlumency walls were down and slammed them up as quickly as possible but Snape merely smiled, a calculating look on his face. "My my, Occlumency? That's an awfully advanced skill for one so young and supposedly unfamiliar with the magical world. Besides, it's a little late for that Mr Potter. On the morning after your arrival, you woke briefly but were unable to communicate so I took the opportunity to… glance… at your mind. Simply to determine what had happened and who had harmed you but I found something more. It appears we have quite the history… or perhaps that should be future… don't we?"

Harry was shaken but remained silent.

"Come now, I think we can dispense with the games here. I've seen some of what is in your mind – I was especially curious after you begged me not to speak to the Headmaster. I think it's for the best you tell me what is going on." Snape sat back and waited silently, fingers steepled in front of his face.

Harry took a deep breath and thought through the situation. He was firmly in Snape's control with no means of escape – he was far too weak to try apparating again – and Snape clearly already had some idea as to Harry's origin. He looked at Snape, wondering how little he could get away with telling him but before he could open his mouth, Snape leant forward once more.

"Harry…"

This unsettled Harry – it may have been the first time Snape had ever used his first name.

"…I've seen inside your mind so I know you're not ignorant of my secret, the reason why I began to spy on the Dark Lord. I know you are conscious of the fact that I hated your father with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. I expected to look at you and see the arrogant face of James Potter sneering back at me but your eyes are pure Lily." Snape paused. "I also know you're aware of how I felt about her. She was my first friend and I loved her – but I threw that all away and drove her into the arms of your father. For her sake, I would help you."

Snape took out his wand and Harry flinched instinctively. Snape gave no sign of having noticed and instead raised his wand and spoke.

"I, Severus Snape, do hereby swear on my life and magic to protect and assist Harry James Potter in his endeavours to remove the Dark Lord and prevent the rise of a new Dark Lord. So mote it be." A blue glow surrounded Snape for a moment before dissipating.

Harry considered Snape for a moment. He took another sip of water then began to speak.

Having filled Snape in on the details of his return Harry lay back and waited for his reaction.

"If I hadn't seen for myself I wouldn't believe it." Snape murmured. He sat up straighter in his seat and looked Harry in the eye, endeavouring to counterpart the 37-year-old mind with the 8-year-old frame in front of him.

"So just to be clear, you need to get away from a century-old master manipulator who currently has control over almost every aspect of your life, destroy several cursed, dark objects that are currently tying the Dark Lord to this mortal plane before facing and defeating him, and change the very fabric of Wizarding society, stopping the destruction of everything we know, before you leave school?"

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up"

Snape looked again at the boy in front of him and smirked. "What can I do to help?"

Harry grinned, he had his first ally.

"Severus?" a voice called from downstairs.

"We're up here Poppy. He's awake."

Harry glanced at Severus, "What does she know?" he murmured hurriedly.

"She knows who you are and that you were hurt by the family that Dumbledore placed you with. He's not in her good books and she won't report anything back to him. Don't mention the time travel but you can trust her with anything else." Severus responded in a low voice.

Poppy Pomfrey bustled into the room and immediately moved to Harry's side. "Let's get you checked over then Harry," she said kindly.

Harry sat back and allowed her to carry out an array of tests that he was perhaps too familiar with. He had been through these so many times that he found he had to stop himself from answering her standard questions before she could ask them. Hopefully, this time around there wouldn't be a need for Madam Pomfrey to effectively reserve a bed in the ward for him.

She finished her tests and gave a satisfied grunt. She looked at Harry with a gentle smile on her lips. "Well Harry, I had to regrow a number of your bones due to how badly damaged they were. I stopped the bleeding on your lungs and healed your back, although there will be some scarring. With a bit of rest and plenty of care you should be physically fine…" She hesitated, trying to determine how to approach the next subject. With a look of compassion in her eyes, she asked her question. "Can you tell me how you get these injuries?"

Harry had never liked to discuss his life at Privet Drive before but knew that honesty here would work in his favour when it came to changing his guardian. Over the next half an hour he told Severus and Poppy about how he was treated by his relatives and watched the anger grow in the adults sat by his bedside. "You poor boy." Madam Pomfrey whispered, blinking tears away, "How could anyone do that to a child, let alone a member of their family?" She focussed on Severus. "And the Headmaster left him there?" she demanded.

"So I've heard. I understand Minerva was there on the night he was left and objected to it, but he proceeded regardless."

There were many things that Poppy was willing to do to help Albus Dumbledore, but the systematic abuse and neglect of a child was not one of them. She decided herself that, from this moment on, her trust in the Headmaster would no longer be absolute and without question and she would, instead, determine for herself if he was really doing what was best for those involved. Without thinking she'd already taken that first step by not informing him about the goings-on in Spinner's End.

In order to evade suspicion over his whereabouts, Poppy had informed Dumbledore that Severus had fallen victim to a contagious Muggle illness and she was monitoring him carefully at his home, allowing them both to be away from the castle and out of the immediate sphere of control of the Headmaster.

"Harry – I need to leave you now but I must insist that you remain in bed for the next two days. You'll also need to continue taking the potions I've prescribed so we can get you back to the height and weight you should be. Once you're up and about again we'll start you on some physical activity to build your muscles back up, OK?" Poppy smiled down at Harry, employing the soft gentle voice normally used by adults speaking to a small child.

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey," Harry said meekly, remembering he had to act his perceived age. "And thank you for helping me, Ma'am."

"Oh, and so polite, even after all he's been through." A wide smile spread across Poppy's face and Severus leant back out of her line of sight as he struggled to maintain his composure at Harry's performance.

"Severus – I'll be back in a couple of days." And with that, she swept from the room.

They waited until they heard the tell-tale sounds of the floo in action looked at each other once again.

"Get some rest, Harry. I'll be back up in a few hours with some food for you." Severus stood and made the leave the room.

"Profess... ermm… sir?"

"Call me Severus, Harry"

"OK – Severus. I just wanted to say… thank you."

"You're welcome, Potter. Just don't make me regret it." A twinkle in his eye made sure Harry knew he was joking as he turned and left Harry alone with his thoughts.