Forsaken
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,144
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,144
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Mediwizardry
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.
~~+~~+~~+~~
Chapter 12 - Mediwizardry
Harry paced up and down the dark sitting room, glancing at the clock on the wall every couple of minutes. He had been gone for three hours already. Harry had no idea how long these gatherings of Voldemort usually lasted or if this was a special occasion. He wasn’t really too worried about Snape being discovered. After all, the man had done this for longer than he’d been alive. No -- it was the condition in which the man would return that had Harry’s stomach in knots. He knew next to no healing spells, and as for potions - well, Snape would never let him brew anything more than tea, and even then, he would probably find something wrong with it.
He spun around at the sound of the door opening slowly. He heard a loud crash and raced to the entryway, instantly dropping to his knees next to Severus, who had collapsed on the floor.
“Snape!” cried Harry, gently turning the man over onto his back. He pulled his hands away, staring in horror at the blood. He deftly unclasped Severus’s cloak and gently felt his chest for wounds. Severus groaned and opened his eyes as Harry’s hands grazed over a large cut in his side.
“Shut the door,” gasped Severus. Harry quickly kicked the door shut with his foot, his hands shaking in panic.
“What do I do?” asked Harry frantically. “Help! I need help!” Severus grabbed Harry’s arm tightly.
“There is a book,” he said shakily, “a Healer’s manual. Summon it to you.”
“Accio Healer manual!” cried Harry, pointing his wand into the sitting room. A huge book flew at him. He caught it one handed and placed it on the floor next to him, looking back at Severus’s face.
“Chapter four,” whispered Severus. Harry quickly flipped the book open, his stomach knotting tighter as he quickly read over the complicated spells and charms for healing cuts. Severus slowly and painfully pulled his wand out of his holster. He ran it down the front of his shirt, cutting it off his trembling body. Harry gently pushed the shirt aside, his face blanching further at the sight of the five-inch gash in his side, along with numerous bruises that covered half his chest, all covered in blood.
“I can’t do this,” whispered Harry, his stomach rebelling violently as flashes of that day in the bathroom at Hogwarts come flooding back to him.
“Yes, you can,” whispered Severus. “Show a bit of that Gryffindor courage now, child.” Harry took a deep breath and read over the incantation one last time. He touched his trembling wand to the wound and began slowly tracing his wand around the edge of the cut, trying with all his might to keep himself together as he clearly spoke the incantation. Severus’s breathing got more and more ragged. Upon completing the incantation for the fourth time, Harry wiped the sweat from his face and fluttered his fingers over the white scar, the only trace of the horrid gash. Severus inhaled shallowly and gave Harry the tiniest of smiles.
“Good,” he whispered. “Help me upstairs.” Harry quickly stepped over to his other side, grabbing his hand and pulling it over his shoulder. He slipped his other arm under Severus’s back and pulled him to his feet. They staggered towards the bookcase. Harry reached out and yanked on the book to open the hidden door.
The stairs were horribly tricky, as Severus had barely enough energy left to lift his feet off the ground. Harry was scared that he was going to fall and hurt Severus even further, but they finally made it into bedroom. Harry gently sat him on the bed.
“I’ll go and get some water,” said Harry quickly as he ran from the room, not hearing Severus quietly call his name. He jumped down the stairs and ran into the kitchen. He pulled open all the cabinets, finding a medium-sized bowl and filling it with warm water. Walking as quickly as he could without sloshing water into the floor, he went back upstairs and grabbed a few washcloths from the bathroom. He quickly made his way back into the bedroom and set the bowl on the bedside table. He dunked a washcloth into the water, wringing out the excess and gently cleaning the blood off of Severus’s hands and stomach. Severus scoffed softly at him.
“There are spells for that, Harry,” whispered Severus. Harry didn’t hear him, rubbing harder at the blood on Severus’s fingers. His hands were shaking so badly by now he could barely hold the cloth. Severus gently stopped his hand. Harry looked up at him, the fear readily apparent in his eyes. Severus shook his head a little, marveling at how the fierce young man he had trained with earlier that day had been reduced to a frightened child.
“Harry, I need you to calm down,” whispered Severus. “I’ve suffered much worse, believe me. But I’m going to need your help.” Harry nodded quickly.
“Anything,” said Harry immediately.
“I need you to brew me a bit of Blood replenisher,” whispered Severus. “Everything is in the pantry downstairs. I’m pretty sure there’s a copy of Advanced Potion-Making on one of the shelves downstairs.” Harry shook his head.
“I can’t!” cried Harry. “It’s too complicated a potion! You said yourself -“
“Harry!” croaked Severus sternly. “Stop this now. Go downstairs. Brew the potion. Bring me back a double dose and save the rest for later. Hurry now.”
“Yes sir,” said Harry shakily. Severus squeezed his hand tightly and let him go, watching a little bemusedly as Harry tripped over a set of robes in his haste to get downstairs. His face fell immediately after Harry left the room, twisting into a grimace as he curled in on himself, gasping through the pain in his side.
Lucius had thought it fitting to submit his petition against Severus at this particular gathering. Severus had to stand there for over an hour in front of the Dark Lord, listening to a very impassioned plea for retribution for losing his family. Of course, Severus had had no chance to explain himself, as he had been unable to speak to Lucius before tonight without Bellatrix hovering and hanging on every word, ready to put her two knuts worth in. God, he hated that woman.
He could still feel the chills he had gotten when the Dark Lord grinned maliciously at him as he granted Lucius’s petition, the only condition being that Lucius not kill or permanently maim Severus. The grieving man had been ruthless in his dishing out of punches and curses. He’d still couldn’t figure out how he had apparated himself home, let alone walk the few blocks from the bridge to his house bleeding all over the place. He was positive his injuries were much more serious than he allowed Harry to believe. His left shoulder was most definitely dislocated, his right ankle sprained fairly badly. His body shook with tremors due to the loss of so much blood through the knife wound Lucius had been all too keen on giving him. What he needed was a Healer. Before a few weeks ago, he had always had Minerva. She had been one of the best Healers at St. Mungo’s before she came back to Hogwarts in the late sixties. The last few years after the Dark Lord’s resurrection, she had been indispensable as Severus had been “tested” by the Dark Lord numerous times to ensure his loyalty. Now all he had was a terrified teenager who was hardly qualified to heal injuries of any kind.
He closed his eyes as the pain in his chest overwhelmed him.
The next time he opened his eyes, Kingsley was standing next to the bed. Severus shivered, causing the worry lines in Kingsley’s face to deepen as he felt the thickness of the covers. Severus tried to speak, his throat burning as if it was on fire.
“Harry,” rasped Severus. A coughing fit overtook him. Kingsley pressed a cool cloth to his feverish forehead as Harry came around to where Severus could see him. Harry sat down on the bed in front of Kingsley, looking very haggard as if he hadn’t slept.
“You’ve been unconscious for two days,” said Harry softly. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
“You needed a Healer right away, Severus,” said Kingsley. “Your fever is very high and the bruising on your chest looks hideous. I had no choice but to -“
“Is he awake?” said an all-too familiar voice. Severus’s eyes went wide, shaking a bit harder as Minerva McGonagall walked into the room, carrying a goblet. He glanced fearfully up at Kingsley, who instantly held up his hands.
“She has agreed to help you and get an explanation later,” said Kingsley. “You should have seen Harry when I brought her over. Nearly blew me apart, he did.”
“Damn right I did,” growled Harry, taking the goblet from Minerva’s hand and helping Severus sit up a little. “What is this, anyway?” Severus weakly hit Harry’s arm, giving him a stern look.
“She banned me from making the potions,” said Harry in his defense, bringing the goblet up to his nose and sniffing it. “Strengthening Solution.” He put it to his own lips and sipped a little of the potion, rolling the liquid around in his mouth.
“You can’t lace a Strengthening Solution, Potter,” said Minerva tersely, brushing a loose tendril of her black hair back behind her ear. “It would destroy the potion.” Harry swallowed the potion and put the goblet to Severus’s mouth, tilting it slowly upwards. Severus closed his eyes, feeling the potion race through his veins and calm his shaking body. Harry gently laid him back down, setting the goblet alongside the others on the bedside table. He repositioned the cloth on Severus’s forehead and compulsively began smoothing out the covers.
“Stop it,” said Severus weakly. “I want you to go get some sleep. You look awful.” Harry shook his head forcefully.
“No,” said Harry. Severus sighed, unable to muster the strength to argue with the fierceness in the boy’s eyes. Minerva walked around to the other side of the bed, pulling back the covers while Harry stood up and watched her like a hawk. She held her wand above Severus’s face and slowly ran a Diagnostic spell over his body. She clicked her tongue disapprovingly, canceling her spell.
“Your shoulder will heal on its own,” she said curtly. “Your ankle is fine, along with the three broken ribs that Harry healed before I arrived.” Severus looked sharply at Harry, who was glaring at Minerva.
“You’ll need to stay in bed for a couple more days,” she continued. “I’ve left a list of potions for Harry to make and give you until you’re well enough to brew your own.” Severus looked away from her stern gaze, horribly reminded of when he was reprimanded by her when he was a boy.
“Thank you for coming, Headmistress,” said Harry firmly. “I don’t want to take up any more of your valuable time. I’m sure you have more important things to do.” Kingsley put a restraining hand on his shoulder as Harry helped pull the covers back over Severus’s torso.
“Don’t you take that tone with me, Potter,” said Minerva. “If I hadn’t had come, he would have died and good riddance -“
“Goodbye, Minerva,” said Harry coldly, his face white with fury. She started slightly at the sound of the window pane rattling behind her. She hurriedly slid her wand back into her pocket and swept from the room. Kingsley sighed, rubbing a hand over his smooth pate.
“I think we could have handled that a bit better, mate,” said Kingsley softly, releasing Harry’s shoulder with a gentle squeeze.
“She was the one in here bloody muttering about her saving his life,” said Harry bitterly, walking around the bed. He stood before the window, gazing down over the nearby buildings. “Bloody self-righteous bitch.”
“Harry,” whispered Severus, motioning for him to approach. Harry walked quickly over and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed. Severus took his arm, slipping the cloth off his face and placing it in the boy’s hand.
“Don’t be too hard on her,” whispered Severus, his throat burning. “I’ll go see her in a few days and smooth things over. Now, go to bed.” At Harry’s refusal, Severus lifted his hand.
“I’m not going anywhere, I promise,” whispered Severus. “Ask Kingsley to stay if you’re worried.”
“I can stay for a while, Harry,” said Kingsley. “Go on.” Severus waved his hand at the door. Harry reluctantly got up and wearily walked to his room. Kingsley shut the door behind him, grabbing Severus’s desk chair on his way back to the bed.
“He’s been here a grand total of four days, and already he’s completely attached to you,”’ said Kingsley quietly. “I don’t understand that at all, Severus. McGonagall probably thinks you’ve got the boy bewitched.”
“Well, she would be wrong, now wouldn’t she,” murmured Severus. “Can you get me a bit of water, please?”
“Sure,” said Kingsley, conjuring a goblet of water and helping him drink it. He set it on the table and moved the chair around so that he could prop his feet up.
“You mind telling me how in the hell you got yourself beat up and nearly killed?” asked Kingsley in a mock serious tone. Severus picked idly at the comforter, staring up at the ceiling.
“Lucius wanted to exact a little revenge for losing Draco and Cissa,” said Severus. “He brought his request before the Dark Lord and it was granted.” Kingsley sighed.
“Harry was in a right state when he patronused me,” said Kingsley, “said he mended a cut in your side big enough to fit his fist through.”
“Knife wound,” said Severus. “He did very well, although that boy would make an awful Healer. He about fainted at the sight of the blood.”
“I’m sure it was the amount, not the substance itself,” said Kingsley. “Harry’s no stranger to a bit of blood, but you see it gushing all over the place like a great bloody fountain, and it’s enough to make anyone faint, let alone a boy with no one to help him, watching you bleed to death before his eyes.”
“Don’t be melodramatic,” chided Severus. “I was far from dying at that point.”
“No, it was only after Harry had healed that cut that you began to go south,” said Kingsley. “Poor kid was hysterical, thinking he had done something wrong and had killed you.”
“He has a guilt complex twice the size of Lockhart’s ego,” muttered Severus angrily. “Why does he see the need to take everyone’s well-being upon himself? He can’t save everyone.”
“No,” agreed Kingsley, “but that still doesn’t erase that fact that Harry feels it’s his duty to get rid of Voldemort. Either consciously or unconsciously, Harry thinks that every death or serious injury that occurs before he can defeat him is his fault.”
“That’s absurd,” said Severus. Kingsley nodded his head.
“I know,” he said sadly. “But I don’t know if we can do anything about it at this point.” Severus sighed, looking towards the window.
“Albus was always better at dealing with him than I was,” whispered Severus. “He always knew just what to say, and how to answer his questions, how to make him feel at ease.” He turned his head towards Kingsley. “I don’t know how to do that. I can’t be what Black was to him.”
“Well, I should hope not,” said Kingsley sharply. “Sirius treated Harry as a resurrected best friend, not as a son. Harry didn’t need another best friend. Still doesn’t, as a matter of fact. What that boy needs is someone who will tell him the truth without bullshitting him about the details. He needs a person who will teach him what he needs to know and discipline him when he screws up, instead of spoiling him rotten like Molly and Remus do. He needs a person who understands what it’s like to live your entire life fighting a seemingly hopeless war and will still stand beside him to help him through it. You see, Severus? Albus knew what he was doing, always putting you and Harry together. You and that boy have a lot in common.”
“Meddling old codger,” muttered Severus. “Even from beyond the grave, I can’t escape him and his manipulations.” Kingsley grinned at him.
“None of us can,” said Kingsley. “Best just to accept it and go on. It’s easier that way.”
“I suppose,” murmured Severus. He fell silent, thinking hard about what Kingsley had said. He had always felt responsible for Harry’s well-being and safety. He still blamed himself for taking the boy’s parents away from him and everyone else in the Order who had been enamored with the couple. The anger on his behalf that Harry had shown to Minerva had been quite staggering. There had only been one other time that someone had shown that much protection over him. It was a very strange feeling. He wondered if Albus had always felt this awkward when Harry did something bordering on the edge of stupidity and bravery in his name.
Why? thought Severus despairingly. Why did you leave me alone with no one to turn to for help? He closed his eyes and fell asleep.