As the day started, Harmony found herself with a nice cup of tea in her hands sitting in her garden. The sun had risen an hour ago and she had risen with it.
Careful not to wake Severus up, she and Rufus had left the room and started their day. For all that she knew, Rufus could be hunting rabbits right now in the nearby woods. The dog was always free to come and go unless she needed his help with something and today she had left him to his own business. Severus had no need of his warmth at the moment and whenever he decided to wake up he would have to bear with her. Not that he seemed to mind all that much if the past night was to be taken into consideration.
Being left in her own company also had another perk: Harmony could think things through without interruptions. And that was what she did.
While watching the scenery change before her eyes with the growing light, she thought about what had transpired in the past 24 hours of her life.
Severus Snape. The name seemed to repeat itself on her mind, surpassing every other thought. The novelty of the situation was to be blammed. If she hadn't been trained as a healer before she wouldn't resist the temptation of fretting over her guest every waking moment. The training did it all more peaceful, as she was sure that he would hardly die if she gave a break of half an hour here and there to herself. Part of providing good care to a patient was to take good care of herself as responsible and healer. It was one of the first things that they learned but it was perhaps the hardest to get used to. It became easier with time and experience.
Taking another sip of her hot tea, Harmony wondered what she should do next. She should read the files she had brought from the hospital and yet she found that she was reluctant to do so. They were most likely filled with outright lies and she would probably end up throwing it all into the fire. Not that she could, of course. Those files were proof of what had happened. No, that would hardly be the way to go. She would have been happy to ask directly to her guest all the information she needed, if only he was able to talk. Not likely for a long time. What options did she had left?
A sensation of fulfillment hit her followed by a distant howl. Rufus had caught something surely, she smiled at the thought. Their link was strong enough for her to feel his victory as he hunted in the woods.
"That's it! A link!" The answer to her problem hit her so hard that she raised from the place she was sitting and dropped her tea cup at the same time.
"Oh, no! Not my favorite cup!" Harmony complained as she made the cup repair itself and return to her palm intact. But empty. "Now I will have to refill it. How lucky..." She chastised herself with sarcasm as she made her way inside.
The idea kept bugging her all the while she filled the cup with more tea and milk and dropped on the big couch.
"It would be the perfect solution. If we weren't both Occlumens, that is. There is no way that Severus Snape, the spy, will lower his shields for me. Not this soon. I'm a perfect stranger and the man is good enough as an Occlumens to keep his mind from the Dark Master himself. And..." She reckoned to herself, brows creasing in frustration. " I don't know if I can do it either. I mean, I shared magic bonds with my brothers but they were my brothers. My family. He is… A stranger still. I knew him from a distance once, ages ago. No, I saw him from a distance. That sounds more accurate. I knew him from what I saw and what I heard of him. That is not like knowing a person at all. And I doubt that the man lying on my bed is the same person. The time he spent in St. Mungus would be enough to change pretty much anyone."
Harmony eyed the clock on the wall. It had passed enough time. Better for her to check on her guest. Leaving the tea cup abandoned on a side table, she got up and went to see if the man was already awake. She was pleased to find him turned to the stained-glass window that she had facing the bed, a contented but melancholic smile playing on his lips.
Raising her hand, she knocked lightly on the wood door to announce her arrival. His head turned to her a little quicker than in the anterior night, fully alert.
"Do you like my window?" She asked, prompting him to try an actual conversation of sorts. She knew that his mind seemed intact still Harmony had to verify. Besides, there was no way that they would spend all their time talking about his condition.
He turned once more to the window before giving a nod.
"I asked my mother for one like this after I saw it elsewhere. Always found that it filtered the light on a reassuring mode. Calming."
Harmony walked closer to the bed and checked to see the condition of the linens. They were still dry but perhaps she should hurry if she wanted to avoid another scene as the one from the night.
"I believe it is time to take care of your toilet needs, don't you think Sir?"
He looked at her seeming more than a bit apprehensive with the suggestion.
It was time to have a small chat between them.
She sat by his side and took his hands in hers.
"Sir, have I hurt you last night?"
He licked his lips before denying it.
" Did… They abused you when doing your hygiene?" Harmony tried, already suspecting the answer. She had to ask anyway.
That gained a pained look and he turned his face aside.
"I see… " Harmony acknowledged before releasing a deep sigh. This wouldn't be easy. "There is no right way of saying this but… Whatever they did to you I would never repeat it, Sir. It is a lot to ask of you to just take my word for it and I realize that. It will take time for you to be able to trust me if only a little after what they did to you. But I will not hurt you on purpose. It is not a part of who I am to take pleasure in others pain. I would appreciate a chance to show you that."
His answer wasn't immediate neither did she expected it to be. Severus Snape took his time to think about her words, to let them sink. Only after a couple of minutes was she rewarded with a more self-assured look in his eyes and a small but firm nod.
"Thank you, Sir. I'm glad that you could find in yourself to trust me. Now let's do this. Can you control your body functions if only a little?"
Severus nodded again, but this time he didn't seem so sure.
"Nightmares and other possible complications are out of the equation, Sir."
His expression changed and there was the tiniest hint of a smile on his lips as he nodded more vigorously.
" Let's get down to work them," Harmony announced as she raised from the bed.
As she had done before, Harmony went through the tasks that needed to be executed with little embarrassment but never forgoing that she was dealing with a traumatized person.
Being shaved by another, for example, seemed to spark contradictory feelings on her guest. So she made sure of doing it with extra care.
When she declared that part of her new routine concluded, Severus Snape was looking more presentable than before. Resembling more the man she had seen in the past. Tucking some gray hairs behind his left ear, she tried to remember if he already had those before the last war. If her memory served her right, his head had looked raven black then. Summoning a mirror to her hands, she presented Severus with his reflexion and observed closely his reaction.
His breathing quickened visibly when he saw his dark image once more. She imagined if he found himself looking too ghastly.
"I can't understand what you may be thinking right now and I will not try to guess either. But I can assure you that you will look way better in a month or two. Now if you don't mind, it's breakfast time. I have some oatmeal waiting in the kitchen for you."
Her choice of words made Severus frown. It took two seconds before she realized what she had done wrong.
"I will not have you spending your full time in this room Sir." She stated with a slight playful smirk on her face. "I have a big kitchen and living room and I have work to do there. While I don't mind doing some of it here on occasion, there are some tasks th must be completed there. You have a huge couch in which you may lay and enjoy some actual life for a change. Rufus will come home sooner or later and join us there."
And like that, Severus Snape ended up in one of the living room couches, covered by a blanket in front of the fire on his first morning in Harmony's home. After feeding him she made sure that he was okay and went on to her daily tasks. From his point of view, Severus could watch most of it and he soon must have understood that he would hardly die of hunger in her house. At least that was what she thought as she finished several orders for cakes and pies. One had to earn some money right?
Sometime later a muffled bark alerted both humans to an incoming German Shepard. The door opened on its own accord to grant the familiar passage and Severus heard Harmony cringe before he could glance at the big dog. He seemed rather satisfied with himself, his mouth full of fur and corpses that he made sure of dropping by his mistress' feet.
"Oh. Nice of you to remember of us Mister. Squirrel isn't my favorite but the rabbit will make a great meal for us humans. Would you want me to prepare the squirrel too or are you thinking about eating it raw?"
Rufus made what could be called a very happy face and barked to his mistress.
"Right, whatever…" Harmony rolled her eyes, seeming resigned. "But now please go to the bathroom and wait for me there. You need a bath, Rufus."
That seemed to make the dog a little less satisfied. He turned his head to a side and gave both humans a crossed look.
"You are covered in blood from your lunch and mud from running after it. No way you will get out of this without a bath." She chastised the dog with a knowing expression on her face. Why did they have to go through this every time?
Another bark and Rufus left the room leaving both humans smiling from the interaction.