Taken

Body



Disclaimer: Hehe, you\'re very silly if you think I own any of this. I even borrowed the plot from LunarMist DarknessEclipse, so there. Go ahead, sue. You\'ll get nothing, nothing at all, so there.

Chapter 7: Gentle Touches

Holding the distraught boy, all Draco could do was rub circles in his back, rock him back and forth, and murmur comforting, nonsensical sentences into his ear, telling him everything would be fine. Hearing the pitiful, keening whine at his feet, Draco looked down to Snuffles, shrugging his shoulders and giving the dog a confused look. Watching, Severus quickly make his way to them; Draco couldn\'t have been more happy to have the boy taken from his care, he simply didn\'t know what to do for him. Watching the Potions Master scoop the boy up, he quickly followed, with Snuffles on his heels, to the Infirmary. Angrily running a hand through his hair, Draco was upset that neither he nor Severus seemed to know what to do for the whimpering, muttering boy.

"I\'m bad. I\'m bad. I\'m so bad." Whining, Harry continued with this mantra, occasionally adding in a few other sentences. "I promise I\'ll be good. Please, stop hurting me. Don\'t hit me. I\'m bad. I\'m bad." Putting his head in his hands, Severus felt like crying out his frustrations, anger, and sorrow for the boy. He dearly wanted to go back and kill the Dursleys instead of handing them over to the Ministry like they did. The trial was coming up soon, Harry would have to be there. They were going to do a spell that would show the boy\'s memories. The only drawback was that in most cases, the person that the spell was being used on suffered from severe flashbacks and post traumatic stress. The boy was evidently going through both of these already, the spell would only make matters worse. Seeing as how these were muggles though, they were protected from the use of Veritaserum, or that spell, it would have to be Harry. Without his testimony, this filth would continue to walk the streets, free of any and all criminal charges.

Waiting to hear what the Mediwitch had to say, both Severus and Draco were contemplating how to best help the boy cope with any and all memories that would surface again to torment the already fragile youth before them. The memories would be tough for the boy to face, but necessary, if Harry was to heal properly. He had to remember what happened, no matter how awful it would be to relive his horrid life. Cursing their own inabilities, they patiently sat with the babbling boy, whispering praises and words of comfort to help mitigate his pain. Looking at the woman\'s face, they realized that she was becoming overly frustrated with everything the boy had been through.

*Poppy\'s POV*

Rubbing my hands over my face, I wonder how often I will see this pitiful, abused boy. Nobody should be in the hospital wing with as many drastic injuries as Mr. Potter has. I\'m sorely tempted to just make him his own private room, or better yet, his own private wing. That way his friends can visit, along with that mangy mongrel that follows him around. I don\'t like dogs. And I definitely hate having to let that thing into my pristine, white ward. It\'s just going to muck everything up, but how can I refuse anything to the poor dear it comes with? One look into those murky, sightless eyes and I cave. Oh if the boy knew what power he held over me.

Putting on my game face, I start my initial scan of him. I can\'t find anything physically wrong with him, which leads me to believe it is something that is mentally wrong with him. Mental damage is always so much harder to repair. It just keeps compounding with every bad experience the person has had. In Harry\'s case, that is an awful lot. He\'s dealt with his muggle relatives, the students turning on him, idiots writing false articles about him, and of course, You-Know-Who. When will he ever get peace?

"I\'m going to give you a sleeping potion, Harry," I say, trying to inject sincerity and kindness into my voice. I don\'t want to startle the poor dear. Hearing the growling coming from the great beast that helps the boy, I roll my eyes, one would almost think it was human. Muttering about idiot dogs and how they shouldn\'t have the mentality of a human being, I decide maybe I should say why I\'m giving this potion. "It will let you sleep, give you reprieve from your memories." Seeing the calm acceptance in the dogs eyes, I tip the potion into the awaiting boy\'s mouth. He is unresisting, and I can\'t help but be happy at this. I wouldn\'t have liked to use force on the boy, it would only dreg up damaging memories.

Sighing yet again, I look down at the mangy mutt that is sitting at my heels. Narrowing my eyes, I get ready to run it out of my infirmary when it jumps up on the bed. The nerve! How dare that beast get on my beds with my patients! Pulling my wand out, I am only waylaid from cursing the damn thing by Severus.

"I wouldn\'t do that, Poppy. That dog is Harry\'s seeing eye companion. Without him, Harry won\'t be able to get around properly," he said, with a slight smirk on his face. Oooh, how I\'d love to wipe it off his face. That smirk just proves that the slimy Slytherin knows exactly the power the boy holds over me. I notice that the other Slytherin seems to notice, and I can\'t help but shudder at the idea that I know they will tell the boy. He\'s going to have so much power over me. Sighing, I allow the boy, who I just remember happens to now be Slytherin as well, the comfort of the dog that is curled along his side. Guh. Did I mention how much I hate dogs?

*End Poppy\'s POV*

Swiftly turning, Severus and Draco watch the retreating backside of Madame Pomfrey\'s, both itching to burst out laughing at what they have realized about tverlverly strict woman. This would be great blackmail material. The only thing that stopped them from laughing was Harry. They did not want to disturb the peacefully sleeping boy, or his dog, and they didn\'t think the atmosphere was quite right to be laughing.

Taking one last glance at the boy, they both expeditiously leave the Infirmary to head on their ways. Of course, they both were heading to the same area, the Potions classroom. Sweeping in, Severus barked at the students to sit down, shut up, and to get to work. "The bloody work is on the ruddy chalkboard! I expected you to be smart enough to start already, evidently I over estimated your intelligence." Sneering at them, Severus looked pointedly at Draco before speaking to him. "Mr. Malfoy, my office, now."

Following him into the room, Draco collapsed bonelessly into a nearby chair, about ready to break down from this mornings activities already. How was he going to survive the rest of the day? Raking a hand through his thoroughly disheveled blonde hair, Draco looked imploring to Severus for any answers.

"Mr. Malfoy...er...Draco." Looking nervously at the boy, Severus didn\'t know what exactly to say. He wasn\'t use to having to deal with things like this. Most of the cases he dealt with weren\'t this severe. He wasn\'t so sure what to do. "Are you all right?" Oh God. How pathetic, Severus. Come on! You can do better than \'Are you all right?\', you\'re a freakin\' spy!! Hell, you\'re a teacher. Just take some deep calming breaths and reassure the boy.

Reassure the boy?! Reassure the boy?! I think I need someone to reassure me! How the Hell am I suppose to reassure someone else? I...I can\'t do this! Harry \'Golden Boy\' Potter, the perfect Gryffindor, isn\'t suppose to have problems like this. He isn\'t suppose to breakdown! Damnit!

Get a grip Snape! Honestly man! You\'re going nuts. You\'re talking to yourself, answering yourself in your head, and your student is starring at you as though you\'ve grown a second head that has proclaimed it\'s self as Voldemort and that it\'s in love with Dumbledore.

Taking a few calming breaths, just like his conscious suggested in the first place, Severus looked Draco in the eyes, attempting to assert his professionalism to the boy. If he did it right, then maybe the boy wouldn\'t need him.

"I...I\'m all right professor. But, are you okay?" Draco asked, with a slightly dubious look on his face. He wasn\'t sure that his professor was all there at the moment. He had asked him a question, and then he had seemed to have spaced out, as though he were somewhere completely different. Maybe all those years teaching and in the service to the Dark Lord, while actually spying, had fried the man\'s brains?

"Oh, I\'m fine, Draco." Clearing his throat, he sat up, putting his best teacher mask on. "Now then, don\'t worry about Mr. Potter. He is in very competent hands. There isn\'t anything Madame Pomfrey can\'t handle." Except maybe this, Severus thought, grimly. "I suggest you get back out in the classroom and get to work. Can\'t have my star student falling behind now, can we?" Rising and ushering the boy out the door, Severus walked back into the utter chaos that Neville had created, wondering if maybe he was simply too old to deal with any of this.

TBC

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Myk