A/N
Chapter name from the poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" by W.B. Yeats.
So, this chap is the longest I have written and, I don't really know what to feel about this one. I really pushed myself this time to at least write more than 1k and im kinda proud of that...There might be some typos and there are some in the previous chapter also but please bear with me, they WILL be corrected.
Enjoy:)
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Harry woke up to two things. Maybe...they were the most wonderful things he had ever felt.
First was silence. Absolute, whole and complete silence. No Aunt shrieking, no cousin thumping on the stairs above his head. No, there was silence. It felt really very good.
Second came like waves of shock to him. He felt not a single thing. No pain, no aches, no stinging. This made him sit up on the bed-
Wait, how was he on a bed?
Oh, he remembered. A Professor took him from his relatives' house.
Thinking back about his latest discovery, he pulled up Dudley's old t-shirt (more like a rag) and looked down to his stomach. All the blues- they were gone! Harry prodded the maybe-tender skin with his finger, but it didn't hurt at all.
If this was okay, probably...
Harry didn't wait further and again prodded his skin, this time his back. No pain! He was so so happy! To make things feel real, he tested by pulling his hair real tight.
Ouch, that hurt. So he wasn't dreaming.
Had that Professor and the lady made him all okay? Harry didn't know what to think about the whole situation. Why would anyone help him, a freak? Maybe it was because...
Harry jumped out of bed and started to plod his way towards the kitchen as fast as he could.
Maybe the Professor, like Uncle Vernon, wanted him to do chores for him. That was why they had healed him, they didn't want a kid being useless and ungrateful. Maybe the Professor would make him do more bad and hard work. Even his Uncle never touched him to make him feel better (except that one concussion, maybe Harry shouldn't be thinking bad about his Uncle and Aunt after all, he thought). If he had been treated completely, maybe it was for a purpose. Oh no, what if the Professor had waken up before him? He would have been waiting for Harry to make his breakfast. Now he will be really angry...
When Harry reached the kitchen, he saw the Professor with a feather(?) and some papers. Maybe he was being crazy, but he saw the Professor writing on the papers with the feather!
The Professor looked up from his work and stopped at the sight of him.
"I see you have woken up. How was your sleep?"
The way he asked, it looked like something not-practiced enough. The forced small smile (was that supposed to be a smile? it didn't look like that) didn't look natural on him. But the way the Professor said was gentle and...nice. Harry appreciated the effort (although he didn't know why that man was wasting his energy over being nice for him, he could have dropped his act).
"It was good, sir."
Then he remembered.
"I am so sorry sir. I didn't wake up on time and make breakfast for you. I am so sorry. Please tell me what to do, I'll do it right away, sir. Just don't punish me. Please!"
Harry knew he hadn't woken up on time. He could feel it in his bones. He was well-rested, which meant that he had slept longer than he was supposed to. Longer than he deserved.
He held his head down while silent tears started to collect in his eyes. Harry didn't dare look the man straight in the eyes.
A low noise of a chair scraping was made. A minute more and the Professor was in front of him, bent on his knees.
"Look at me, child."
Harry looked up. The Professor looked - worried. But not angry. His thumbs made way to Harry's cheeks and he wiped something wet from them. He didn't realize that he had started to cry.
"There is no need for you to do any work. Do you understand me? No cleaning, no cooking, nothing. You are a child, you shouldn't be doing any chores."
Harry gave a slow 'Ok'.
"Now, I know you want to be aware of what is happening. How about you go brush your teeth and take a bath while I fix some breakfast for you?"
"Alright." Harry didn't know what else to say. The man was being so kind, he even allowed him to ask questions later! And breakfast too! He was feeling so hungry that his stomach had started to pain.
The Professor stood up and motioned towards the room Harry came from. He tailed behind the tall man and they both entered the bathroom.
It looked very much like the bathroom back at the Dursleys. A sink, a toilet, a mirror-cabinet above the sink, a bath tub with taps: all white. But it didn't reek with the bad smell of bleach and disinfectants. That made Harry feel something weird in his chest and head whenever he smelt them in his relatives' bathroom.
The Professor opened the cabinet and took out a toothpaste and toothbrush. While he applied the paste on the brush, a small stool came dragging itself on the floor with a horrifying screeching sound.
Right, he forgot about the 'magic being real' part.
Harry didn't want to provoke the Professor anymore by his stupid reactions. He was allowed to ask questions later, he would ask about that later too.
He stood up on the stool and took the brush from the Professor's hands.
"I'll have some clothes ready for you while you freshen up yourself. Do you require any other assistance?"
Why was the man using such difficult words? It made his head ache. Harry gave a slow shake of his head. He understood by the way that the man had said it (more like forced out vomit, getting it out would make him feel better) that he was asking if he needed any help while taking a bath.
The man's shoulders sagged a bit in relief and as he started to walk out of the bathroom, he said: "Don't take a too long or too short bath. Do make sure to clean yourself up properly. The toiletries are on the rack just beside the bathtub. You may use them without any hesitation, I have plenty of them for a restock. Leave your dirty clothes beside the bathtub. Understand?"
"Yes, sir." He didn't. He didn't understand why the man was being so nice to him. Unless...Harry stopped his train of thought for the bath. He will definitely ask that question.
"Good. Clothes will be waiting for you in the bed and breakfast served in the kitchen."
The Professor left Harry. Alone.
The bath did wonders for him. Harry felt as fresh as a...what did Aunt Petunia used to say? Lily? No. Wait- daisy? Yes!
It left him as fresh as a daisy. He smelt of pretty flowers, just like in Aunt Petunia's garden. His body sweet-smelling like orchids and hair like the airy lavender.
A towel wound round his body, Harry found a dark blue long sleeved t-shirt with black trousers and pants on the bed. He quickly wore them (they - they fit him perfectly!), picked up his glasses (now fixed!) and walked to the kitchen. The Professor was, once again, writing on papers with a feather. He raised his head from his work, saw Harry and gestured towards an empty chair which had a bowl in front of it.
Harry thought for a second whether the man was stupid. How was he supposed to reach that high on the chair? Anyways, he went to face the chair to find a cushion still in the air. Shrugging his shoulders, he used it to climb the chair. When he was settled, he saw what was inside the bowl. It was a sight to behold.
The bowl was loaded with yogurt and topped with cut strawberries, blueberries and a drizzle of honey. He questioningly looked at the Professor and waited for him to shout at him. For what, he wasn't sure. But the man was patiently looking at him, having had left his work now completely.
Harry slowly, very slowly, picked up the spoon and took a bite.
It was heaven.
The yogurt was a little sour, but the sweetness of the honey balanced it out perfectly. The fruity punch of the berries was like a blessing to his taste buds, which hadn't tasted nothing more than four to five things. He looked at the Professor, who was now looking at him with a small smile, hands clasped under his chin.
"I hope that you find it fulfilling. I thought something light would do for it is already 11 in the morning."
"It's really nice Professor! Thank you so much!" He took another bite of the yogurt. God, it was so tasty.
"You are most welcome.
"Now, you can ask me whatever you would like to know."
Oh, he knew what he wanted to ask for sure. The question was at the tip of his tongue.
"Are you my Dad?"
"Are you my Dad?"
Severus stiffened at the question. He was clearly not expecting that.
What answer is one supposed to give when an orphan asks if he is his father? A sad shake of the head and a no falling past his lips demolished the boy's beliefs. It made Severus - sad. However, he couldn't help but wonder what caused Harry to think of such an assumption. They shared none of their physical features. And Severus knew that surely, surely the boy was not running his imagination too such an extent just because of the colour of their hair.
"Harry, what made you think of such an idea?"
Swallowing the food he had been currently chewing, the child replied, "That's because you're being too kind, sir. I haven't done anything for you, but you still treat me very nicely. I don't think that there is any other reason for you being good to me. Only parents love their children very much. I thought that maybe now you wanted me back, so you took me and treated me good."
If it was ever possible in any other parallel universe, Severus swore that he would open the brain of the kid sitting in front of him and scoop out every iota of negative remarks that had been beaten into him and then put his brain back.
"Child, I haven't done anything that nice. It's just what any other decent human would do. You are a human, just like your relatives. Every human has the right to food, sleep, rest, proper clothes, love and care (except the fucking Dursleys, Severus thought). A child is not always loved only by their parents, but friends, aunts, uncles, siblings and many more. You are not at fault for the way you were treated by your Aunt and Uncle. They had no excuses to treat you like an animal. Got it?"
Severus didn't know whether a single word of his was being registered by Harry. It certainly would take time to destroy his insecurities.
"Yes, sir."
"Okay. What would you like to ask next?"
"Is magic real?"
Ah, the question he had been waiting for.
"Yes, it certainly is. And before you interrupt me, your'freakishness' is not freakishness but magic. Having the ability to perform magic is not what makes a person freak. You are not a freak, Harry. Mmm...Have you done anything...strange, yet?"
Harry's cheeks stood out against his skin as there appeared a deep red blush.
"I...turned Aunt Petunia's hair purple, once."
Ha, that horse in a purple! Severus would have paid galleons to say that sight. He could clearly imagine it in his head. A Petunia shrieking because of the colour of her hair.
"That's called accidental magic, Harry. It's like how toddlers learn to walk. They stumble and fall in the beginning as they are not in complete control due to their under-developed muscles. However, they gradually grasp the concept and start walking. Likewise, these bursts of magic by a child are perfectly natural and show the capability of a young witch and wizard. Children are guided to learn how to control it to prevent any difficulties from happening."
Harry's nose was scrunched up in absolute confusion, his hand now supporting his cheek, bowl left untouched. Severus didn't chastise him to eat more, it would take some time to get Harry to eat meals in required portions. He kept in mind to add some nutrition potions to his diet.
"So, when I gave Dudley a shock, it was just - akksedul magic? Not freakishness?"
Interesting.
"It's accidental and no, I repeat once again that there is no such thing as freakishness. It's just magic. Right now, you are in a magic school called Hogwarts where I teach Potions, similar to cooking. You will also study here when you will be 11 years old. Even your parents studied here."
Fucking shit, he did not just exactly say that. He didn't mean to, it just slipped out of his mouth. Perfect, now Harry would question about Lily and Potter.
Fortunately, the child had already perked up at the sentence that he would be studying at Hogwarts too.
"What? I am also going to study here?"
"Yes."
"That's awesome!"
"Yes, it is." A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Blast Albus!
"Sir, can I ask one last question? Please?"
"Of course, you may."
"Why did you take me from there now only? Why didn't anybody else come here before?"
That question, Severus couldn't comprehend how to answer it. Why should he do all the work. He was leaving this on Albus.
"To be honest, Harry, I simply don't know. The Headmaster here, my...boss, told me to do so."
"Oh...okay. Thank you so much for answering my questions, sir! How do I repay you?"
Severus Evanescoed the bowl of yogurt. He didn't want to leave any work to be left so that Harry could volunteer to do it. He glanced at his watch and found it was one now. He could either completely ignore the boy for the rest of the day or start to form a bond with him. He desperately needed to know about the status of the boy's Obscurus, but he didn't want to burden him with such questions on the very first day. It called for some amount of trust too.
"You will repay me by playing a board game with me," Severus stated. He just hoped that he was not actimg stupid. He didn't know what else to do with a four years old boy.
"Uh huh, but what game? Sir."
"Chess."
"But I don't know how to play it."
Severus felt himself smirk and said, "I'll teach you. What else is a Professor for?"
"Sir, is this a checkmate?"
"It certainly is, Potter," Severus mumbled.
How could he be bested by a small kid in chess? It was hundred percent positive then that his brain was really turning into just a shemozzle of thoughts.
The tricks Harry used were just phenomenal. It was as if he had been playing chess for years.
He positioned his pawns in such a way that he captured Severus' rook and knight by his black bishop at the start of the game. On and on went the game till Severus' king was in checkmate by Harry's queen in front of him. He didn't even realize when he had moved all the pawns from the king's file.
"So, I won?"
"Yes, Harry. You have won the game."
They both shook hands, Severus the initiater. He again looked at his watch and saw it was two now. Huh, how time flies by...
He was thinking now what to do but in the end, he decided to fuck it all.
"What about another round of chess?"
The entirety of their remaining day was spent solely in that activity.
She was running. The lizard - it didn't seem to let her go. It kept hopping behind her.
She didn't know where she was. She just kept running what seemed to be a dark, desolate and vacant lane. There were street lights, though.
But then, the lizard started to speak. The voice was vaguely familiar.
"Miss Adder. Miss Adder, wake up!"
Flora woke up with a small gasp. Madam Pince was towering over her, glaring daggers into her soul. But she wouldn't let her get through her.
"The library is not a place to sleep. Get out of here this instant!"
Flora wanted to rip that woman apart with her nails. She aggressively picked up her quill, her parchment and her book and left the Library. She didn't even want to have a look at its door ever again.
What did that woman deem herself to be, some sort of heiress?
"Now, now, this won't work for you well," the whisper advised. Flora stopped thinking about Pince.
She marched, like a soldier going to face a war, towards the Missing Room. Of course, no bloody person would know how important it was to be chosen for a specific task.
Flora entered the room and found an entirely different world within the circular wall. Not a single bit of the enclosure was not covered in bookshelves with books stuffed in them. In the centre was a couch with a table in front of it. She unloaded her burden onto the table and sat on the couch, taking out the tiara.
"Well done. You know what to do now. PROCEED!" It was a particularly violent whisper, but it was no bother for Flora. She knew what she had to do.
She was the Chosen One.
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A/N:-
This was quite fun to write, tbh. Harry's pov was the part i had been waiting for to write again! I wasn't planning on adding the Chess part. But then I thought I should write it while severus is teaching Harry it but then I was like blast it all, im'ma make Harry defeat severus.
Now, I know what to do with my plot but not what to do with my next chapter so it might take a while for me to think and write. Until then, is there any particular scene you all want to read? I might get some ideas maybe... Except dursleys, I have that part planned out but it won't be coming for a while:)
And Flora's dream is one of my weird dreams I had in which my friend was a lizard and was hopping behind me while I screamed the shit out of me;))
