A Chance at Life

PLEASE READ:
It has been brought to my attention that I have been a bit ambiguous with my explanations. Harry did not just travel to the past, he is also in an alternate reality. In his original time-line/reality Snape was NOT a human-vampire. In fact, there is a very good reason why Severus becomes a human-vampire in this reality, but this reason won't come up for a while yet.

Hope this clears things up a bit.

Enjoy!

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A Chance at Life

Chapter 6: A New Home

January 15

Severus still thought there was something going on with Harry’s look-alike but he knew Harry wouldn’t tell him, so he didn’t pursue it. He had too much going on right now.

The last two days had been an extended, exhausting, shopping spree. He never would have thought that buying things could be so tiring but after two days of it he was ready to barricade himself in his room. But it was all worth it to see their home take shape.

He truly thought of Harry’s house as his home, not just Harry’s. Home was something he had never really had before, but now, he truly felt he had one. Not so much because the house was clean and beautiful, but because of the people in it. He saw his mother truly being happy. He didn’t have to worry about her or spend most of his time hiding from Tobias or dread the thought of spending his at the house.

Harry always made sure that Severus and his mother were happy, comfortable, and that they ate well. Even Noodle was great, always looking after all three of them in his own way. With all the shopping they had been doing they had not been able to eat at home but Harry always took them to a restaurant no matter where they were.

And Harry was the one that gave him all this. He was always there. He never ignored him or told him to go away. Harry answered his questions and cared for him…and he only smiled at Severus and his mother, no one else. It made Severus feel special, happy to have what he saw as the ‘real’ Harry to themselves.

Severus finally knew what it was like to have a good family, a good home…a good life.

HPSSHPSSHPSS

Harry woke up pleasantly well rested. He should have never complained about Hermione being a picky shopper, she didn’t hold a candle to Eileen. Though he had to admit, she had done a great job furnishing and decorating the house.

Harry stretched, made sure his Occlumency shields were secure, and left the bed; it was time to clean himself up. He then made his way to the kitchen feeling a bit excited. It was his first time cooking at home and he was really looking forward to breaking in the kitchen.

He made buttermilk and chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, freshly cut fruit, breakfast tea and coffee; nothing fancy and hopefully something that everyone would like. He also made lunch, knowing he won’t have time to make it later.

“Wow, you really cooked.” Severus said yawning as he entered the kitchen after Eileen.

“Good morning you two. Sleep well?” Harry asked smiling.

“Yes, I think knowing that we finally have everything we need and will not have to go shopping again has something to do with it.”

Harry laughed good naturedly understanding the sentiment, he hated shopping. “I forgot to ask you if there was anything you hated to eat. If you don’t like anything you see here, let me know what you would like instead and I’ll make it if I can.”

Eileen smiled sadly. “We are not the picky kind.” Severus nodded in agreement and they sat down to eat. Severus quickly grabbed two chocolate chip pancakes and smothered them in syrup while Harry called Noodle to breakfast.

“Noodle, good morning. Dig in; I’m sure you are as tired of restaurant food as we are by now.”

“You bought your house-elf restaurant food?” Eileen asked.

“Yes, I always ordered two sets of whatever I ate. I just had to call Noodle to come pick them up.” Harry answered casually and didn’t notice Severus looking at him with warm amusement.

“Thank you, Master Harry.”

“Just Harry, remember. How was your day yesterday?” Harry listened to Noodle’s answer as he got some fruit and started eating. He was not one for big breakfasts but was happy to see everyone eating with enjoyment.

“Noodle is almost done setting up the potions lab; will be starting with the garden today.”

“That’s good. Make sure you take it easy and remember that you can visit your family if you don’t have anything to do here. I know we are not a big household.” Eileen and Severus were stunned at that; they had never even wondered where house-elves came from, much less if they had families.

“What about you two, is Severus starting his lessons again today or tomorrow?”

“Today. It’s a good day to remain indoors. It was snowing hard all of last night.” Eileen answered.

“Finally! I really want to read those new books we got,” Severus said around a mouthful of pancake.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” Eileen and Harry admonished at the same time, Severus just rolled his eyes and kept eating.

They all continued chatting lightly, until a Gringotts owl dropped off Harry’s bank statement in his plate towards the end of breakfast. Harry wiped his hands on a napkin and opened it, frowning lightly as he read it.

Eileen and Severus exchanged worried glances.

“Is something the matter?” Eileen inquired.

“No, I just spent a lot more than I had anticipated.” Harry replied distractedly. There was a moment of silence and then Eileen spoke again tentatively. “I can take a part time job.”

“You wish to pursue a career?” Harry asked still reading.

“No. I mean…I can help earn money for…” She ground to a halt we Harry focused his gaze on her. She had never seen him so intense, like there was something underneath the surface just beyond her reach. She felt very small all of a sudden.

“I was simply answering your question, it was not a reproach. I assure you, in the very unlikely event that I’m ever unable to provide for you I will make it known to you without delay…Excuse me, I have a few things to take care of. Enjoy your breakfast.” Harry said it all as emotionlessly as possible but he couldn’t help feeling a little hurt. He knew it was foolish to expect them to trust him to keep his word so soon, but her question had stung nonetheless.

He went to his bedroom and stripped to his boxers. He had just pulled on a black pair of pajama pants when he heard his bedroom door open. He had the last bedroom in the hallway so he had not bothered to fully close his door yet since he needed to call Noodle before he got started. With the lack of much work around the house, Noodle had taken to walking places instead of popping in and out all the time.

“Harry, I wanted to apologize..." she stopped with a gasp.

"Your back......Merlin, what happened? Do they hurt?” Eileen asked worriedly as she made her way to him and Harry turned to face her fully. She had seen the scars from the final battle. They were still an angry red, being so recent, and Harry had never been able to heal wounds with minimal scaring like Madam Pomfrey. His back was the worst from Malfoy's slashing curses. His chest wasn't as bad with only 3 deep scars across his chest and ribs. He had gotten those from Hogwarts' spiked gate, Voldemort always did have a gift for improvisations, anything could become a weapon in his hands.

“I’m fine. It will just take a while for them to fade. Severus, you might as well come in. I know you are there.” Harry called out the door, knowing that Severus was listening in. He came in looking half guilty and part worried as he carefully looked over what he could see of Harry’s body.

“Truly, they’re not as bad as they look. They’re just ugly.” Harry reassured them and did a quick glamour spell to hide them.

“They’re not ugly! Who hurt you?!” Severus demanded. He had never seen Harry looking like this: self-conscious and hurt. His Harry was not supposed to be hurt!

“It doesn’t matter…” Harry said soothingly.

“But..!” Severus tried to protest in indignation.

“It’s part of a past I have left behind. Don’t worry; no one will be coming after you because of me. Now, if you could please let me get finished here...” Harry said and pushed them out the door.

Outside, Eileen and Severus were left gaping at the closed door in concerned annoyance.

HPSSHPSSHP

Inside, Harry put on a black sleeveless undershirt and called Noodle. It was time to get started.

“Hold on a second.” He told him when he walked in. He then locked the door and placed a privacy charm on his room.

“I need you to help with something. Can you get me at least 10, 1L plastic storage bags, do you know what I"m talking about?”

“Yes, Noodle can.” While Noodle was gone Harry quickly retrieved his remaining blood replenishing potions and nutrition potions. He also transfigured a stainless steel blood transfusion needle and conjured rubber tubing.

When Noodle returned he stared wide-eyed at everything Harry was doing. He had sterilized the room and enlarged his bedside table to place the transfusion needle, tubing, and the bags Noodle brought.

“Mas…Harry…?” Noodle questioned uncertainly.

“I have only done this once before, with the help of a wizard. I need you to help me…and in case something goes wrong.” By now Noodle was wringing his hands in worry. “I’m sure nothing will go wrong, but better safe than sorry. If I pass out and you can’t wake me up call Eileen immediately, but don't let her take me to St. Mungos, no matter how bad I look.” Harry lay on his bed with his wand in his hand and finished making the final preparations.

“I have transfigured these bags into blood packs. They are sterilized but I need you to place them under preservation charms, your magic is stronger than mine so it’s best if you do it. As each one fills up with blood I want you to control the flow and stop every two bags. I will need to take a blood replenishing potion and a nutrition potion before we continue once again.”

“Harry, why must you be doing this?” Noodle asked, not liking what his master was doing.

“It is not healthy to take blood replenishing positions daily, over time they have a weakening affect on the blood. If I keep taking them as I have, my blood will not be healthy enough for Severus to drink. It is better if I do this once a week instead. Blood potions were made to be taken in large quantities, but not for prolonged periods of time, especially not for daily use. I will only need to do this until Eileen is well enough to feed Severus as well. This way I can feed Severus three times a week without taking potions and he can drink from the packs the rest of the time.”

Noodle understood but wasn’t happy about it. It looked painful.

They kept repeating the procedure until lunch time. They had to keep waiting for the potions to take effect before continuing and Harry had to fight the nausea they produced after the first time.

When Noodle left to set up lunch for Severus and Eileen, Harry was left to sleep, exhausted.

HPSSHPSSHP

“Noodle, do you know where Harry is? He didn’t eat much breakfast.” Eileen asked. She wanted to take the opportunity to apologize before they ate. She felt guilty about hurting his feelings, both with her question and for bursting into his room like that. Severus had been mad at her all morning for making Harry think his scars were ugly.

Eileen had never seen Severus so incensed on someone else’s behalf. On one hand she was happy because it meant her son was starting to open up to someone other than her. But on the other hand, deep down, she was still afraid that Harry might betray them somehow, and if that happened it would truly tear Severus apart.

“Master Harry be sleeping. He said he will be here for dinner.” Noodle told her before bowing and popping away. Lunch was delicious, just like breakfast. But neither Eileen nor Severus had much appetite. This was the first meal they had by themselves since Harry took them in and it felt wrong without him. They had not realized how much they had gotten used to Harry’s presence in the last few days.

It was lonely without him.

Noodle popped in with a message for Severus as they were finishing their meal. “Master Harry says Master Severus can come to his room to feed after lunch.”

Severus nodded and Eileen saw him off afterward. She was always present during feedings but she had not been invited this time, so she chose not to intrude.

HPSSHPSSHP

Severus had been worried about Harry the whole morning. He had enough experience hiding his own feelings to know that Harry had been hurt by his mother’s offer. He also wanted to know who had hurt him so bad. He had seen the scars on his back reflected on the mirror behind Harry that morning, along with the scars on his chest that looked just as new. The scars on his forearms and the one on his forehead looked faded, much older, but they still worried him. He wanted to know more about Harry, like Harry knew about them.

When he got admitted to Harry’s room, it was unusually dark. The curtains were drawn and Harry was sitting atop his made bed. He was still wearing the same pajama pants as this morning, but now with a long sleeved shirt, which was weird since Harry always wore muggle t-shirts, even under his robes.

The feeding wasn’t as satisfying as usual. Although he always thought Harry’s blood to be delicious, this time it didn’t seem as flavorful somehow. Harry didn’t talk more than strictly necessary and told him that they would see each other again at dinner before sending him on his way once more.

Severus felt troubled; he had never known Harry to sleep during the day. Nor had Harry ever been so silent when they weren’t in public, not even when they had first met. But he didn’t have the courage to bother him when he obviously wanted go back to sleep. Severus left subdued, deciding to wait until Harry woke up again to question him.

HPSSHPSSHP

Harry woke up again at 4:30 to make dinner, but he was feeling a lot more tired than he had anticipated. When he got to the kitchen he found Noodle waiting for him and Severus and Eileen having some tea.

“Harry! Are you all right?” Eileen asked him as soon as she got a good look at him.

Though Harry was naturally pale, at the moment he knew he was sporting too close a resemblance to Jack Skellington.

“Master Harry should go back to bed. Noodle will take care of dinner.” Noodle put in as well. Harry arched an eyebrow but didn’t bother fighting with a determined house-elf. He really didn’t feel like cooking right now anyway.

“I’m fine. I just need to rest a little more.” He said with a small smile and ruffled Severus’ hair on his way out. He didn’t like to see Severus’ with that worried expression on his face.

For her part, Eileen was trying to contain her bewilderment, Severus hated for people to touch his hair, including her. But he wasn’t even looking at her right now. He was pinning Noodle to the spot with a predatory look on his face.

“What do you know?” Severus demanded.

“K-Know?”

“You were ready for Harry to come in looking like he did. Why is he so tired and pale?”

“Noodle, please, if you know, tell us. We are worried about him.” Eileen added, before Severus lost his temper and made things worse.

“Master is tired because of something he did.” He fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment before nodding determinedly to himself. “Come please.” Noodle took them to the magically expanded kitchen pantry. He showed him the blood packs, carefully stored as Harry had requested.

“This is Harry’s blood? But why?” Eileen asked, almost whispering.

“Master Harry said it was bad to drink potions everyday. Mistress should ask Master Harry. Noodle is no good saying things well.”

Eileen turned to Severus to say something but he wasn’t there.

Severus was on his way to Harry’s room. He wanted to understand: how could Harry do such a thing to himself? He rather starve than see Harry in such a state.

“Harry,” he called, knocking on his door.

“Come in.”

The curtains were still drawn and Harry was sitting up on his bed once again, yawning.

“Did you need something?...Eileen, come in, did something happen?” Harry asked when he saw Eileen standing outside his door as well.

“Bleeding yourself dry like that…how did you do it without killing yourself? Harry, why did you do it?”

“Take a seat, both of you.” Harry motioned them to the foot of the bed but Severus removed his house slippers and climbed up to sit crossed-legged beside him instead. Harry smiled at him; it was nice to see Severus acting his age.

“Eileen, you cannot feed Severus yet, you know this. Both you and Severus lived on an inadequate diet for many years. It isn’t safe for you to feed Severus until you’ve had a chance to recover. For Severus, healthy blood is essential at this early stage, as well as regular feedings. I cannot keep feeding him as I have without hurting both of us in the long run. By limiting my intake of blood replenishing potions to once a week, we keep my blood healthy and simultaneously ensure a healthy blood supply for Severus.”

“But I don’t mind feeding once a day. Or maybe if I try really hard, every other day.” Severus offered.

“Oh Sev,” Harry said softly, truly touched by the offer. “The important thing is to keep all of us healthy. The blood packs help us accomplish that. True, the process is very uncomfortable and time consuming, but it is not overly dangerous. I will be completely recovered come tomorrow morning, you’ll see.”

“I still don’t like it.” Eileen said with a frown. “When will I be able to feed him?”

“In 8-9 weeks, at the earliest.”

“In 8 weeks I will start feeding Severus, then. Two months is more than enough time to regain my strength... I will do this whether you want me to or not.” She declared with a stubborn set of her chin. Harry shook his head and chuckled. He knew better than to fight against a woman using that tone of voice.

Harry then turned to look at Severus, who he noticed was running a finger up and down over the fabric on Harry’s forearm. Harry was still wearing his long-sleeved pajama top.

“Harry…why do you hide your scars from us?” Severus asked, looking at him with a sad expression on his face.

“Severus!” Eileen called out in a scolding tone.

“I…” Harry didn’t know what to say, he hadn’t expected that question. He had never really used glamour spells before since Ron and Hermione had not cared about the scars and he did not care about what anyone else might have thought. But he had not wanted for Severus and Eileen to see them, they were not used to seeing battle scars in half the people they met like he was.

“We wouldn’t make fun of you or anything. You don’t have to hide them.” Severus said in a reassuring tone.

Harry swallowed. “It’s not that. I know how they look. They are not something people would like to see everyday. There is no reason why either of you should have to look at them when a simple glamour takes care of the problem easily enough.”

Severus put his whole hand on Harry’s forearm. “There is no problem. We are not people, we’re your fam-friends.”

“Indeed, Harry. I am sure my sensibilities can survive looking at your scars. Or do you truly think me so shallow?” Eileen asked with pretend indignation.

“Okay, Okay,” Harry chortled. “I know when to stop protesting.”

Eileen got up and patted his hand. “Truly, Harry, we just want you to be comfortable with us. We will still like you, no matter what you look like or how many scars you get.”

Severus leaned towards Harry a little but stopped himself halfway and shook his head cutely. The motion reminded Harry of a puppy.

“Sleep. But if you still look half dead tomorrow morning, we’re taking you straight to St. Mungo’s. Good night.” Severus jumped off the bed, put on his slippers and left with a wave of his hand as he went out the door.

Harry and Eileen looked at each other, amused at hearing such an edict from an eight-year-old boy. Things were starting look up for their little family.
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AN: Though Harry didn't get to actually eat much during the war, he always had nutrition potions, so he considers himself healthy enough to feed Severus.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter and a million thanks to everyone that reviewed...until next time!

-Lina =)