Bond of Love

Chapter 6
Out of Hospital

Three days had passed since Harry had learned that Albus Dumbledore was his Grandfather. Harry; still had trouble believing all that had happened in such a short time. Not only was he back at Hogwarts, the place he had felt like it was his home since he first saw it, but now he had a grandfather and a soul-mate. Over the next three days, he began to get stronger. The bruises and cuts had finally healed completely, and some of the color had come back to his pale face. It had not all been happy. Harry had cried over the death of Hedwig, because she had been the only one he could talk to during the long summer nights while he lay healing from beatings. Severus had dried his tears, and told him that he had him to talk to; when he needed someone to talk to. It felt odd to Harry, just how quickly he had grown to love Severus. Perhaps it was because he was finally seeing the man behind all those masks, that he had worn since Harry arrived at Hogwarts.

Today Harry was being released from the hospital wing. He had grown a few inches over the last few days, and now stood at about 5’11. He was still rather short for a boy his age, but it was better than looking like a child. His hair was now just past his shoulders, and it had grown strong and soft. Even his eyes had changed, regaining the fire that had once blazed within the glowing, green orbs. Having been fed properly, and had been given a nutrient supplement potion, had also helped. He was still thin, but being fed properly over the rest the summer would soon replace the weight he had lost over those few weeks at the Dursleys’. Even now you could see some of the muscle tone he had gained, by sparring with Sev and Remmy was coming back.

As Harry stood looking in the mirror, taking in all the changes, he had gone through, Madame Pomfrey or Poppy, as she now insisted he call her, walked in. For a moment, the medi-witch just stood watching him. He was still dressed in pajamas, having no clothing of his own and he was still too thin for her liking, but over all he looked so much better than the broken nearly dead boy that Severus had brought in just a few days ago. She smiled, listening to his soft voice as he began to sing very quietly to himself. She had caught him singing the song on several occasions, and it never failed to make her smile. The song just seemed to suit him so well.

Winter winds have gone and faded
October skies are thoughts of gray
Tears upon my pillow laying
A child lost to pain
I'll pray for better days

Lift me up
Lead me from this place
Let your love be mercy on my fate
Rising up, I change before your eyes
How the darkness faded in the light
Light

Hand of hope come and change me
Out of ashes make me whole
Lift me up and recreate me
And help me overcome
Myself, lead me from hell

Lift me up
Lead me from this place
Let your love be mercy on my fate
Rising up, I change before your eyes
How the darkness faded in the light
Light

I'm rising up, I'm moving on
Give me strength to carry on
I feel the light upon my face
I hear the angels words of grace
My broken wings that learnt to fly
Lift me up and justify
I'm standing up, I'm standing out
I feel the walls comes crashing down

Lift me up
Lead me from this place
Let your love be mercy on my fate
Rising up, I change before your eyes
How the darkness faded in the light
Light
Light
Light
As his voice faded away, he heard clapping and turned to see Poppy and Professor McGonagal watching him. Both of them were smiling at him fondly. It was at such moments when he realized that it was that look that parents gave when they were proud of their child. He smiled back at them. At least if he couldn’t have these moments with his Mum and Dad, he could have them with people who not only knew them, but who also loved Harry as himself. He had learned during his stay in the hospital wing, that even though he was the child of James and Lily Potter, he had been what drew many of them to him; it was as though he himself was who held their hearts. Aunt Minnie, as his dear head of house, had asked him to call her was exactly what she was. She was the kind of Aunt who had watched your parents grow up and could tell you stories, not only of them, but also about the way things were ran when she was young. Poppy was also like an Aunt to him, but more the kind of Aunt who decided you needed more then one mother. Harry had to laugh when he thought of that. After all, he may not have his mother, but he did have several people, including one of his best friends’ parents’ who were willing to step into that void.

Walking over to Aunt Minnie, he hugged her and kissed her cheek. One thing they had all been working on, was trying to get Harry used to affection. He had spent so much of his life being abused, that he feared it, even if he knew the person wouldn’t hurt him. He realized; that with all the hugs he had gotten from the Weasley’s and Hermione, he had never once instigated the contact. Part of his learning for now, was to simply hug his adopted family members whenever he saw them.

“Harry my dear; I swear you have a voice of an angel. You reminded me of Lily just then. She was always walking through the halls singing. It drove your father mad.” Minerva laughed, as she put an arm around the shoulders of her favorite student.

“It probably only drove him mad because he couldn’t carry a tune. At least that is what Remmy told me. Speaking of where are the others? Sev and Remmy promised to take me to Diagon Alley today. I really need to buy clothes that fit for once. I also need a new wand. One good thing about that is; I won’t end up with a brother wand to Voldemort’s this time.”

Unknown to Harry, the two men he was asking about were standing in the doorway behind him. Remus had a grin on his face, glad to see his cub up and walking around. Severus was leaning against the door, taking in all the changes in Harry. At times he felt awkward knowing that Harry was his student, and normally he would never feel any sort of desire for one of his students. There was, however, moments like this when he looked at Harry, and as he often happened forgot that the boy was so much younger than him. Walking up behind Harry, he wrapped his arms around him, pulling him up against his chest. Over the past few days, Harry had relaxed more around him, Remus, and Albus more than anyone. Harry never flinched when Severus touched him, and had stopped flinching with Albus and Remus. Harry relaxed against Severus, letting the older man’s presence comfort him, just as Hogwarts felt like home, so did the arms holding him tight.

“Minerva, Poppy, I hope you ladies don’t mind if the wolf and I steal Harry away from you. I want to get all Harry’s shopping done before the letters go out, so we don’t have to deal with students crowding every corner of the place. Speaking of students Harry, Albus wanted me to ask you if you minded having private quarters this year. Technically, as the youngest male of the Gryffindor line, you are entitled to use Godric’s personal rooms. Albus thought this year you might prefer not to have so many people around all the time. Not to mention the chaos it would cause, if I were to visit the Gryffindor common room.” Severus said the last with a grin, and winked at Minerva, who was fighting laughter as she pictured the reactions of her Gryffindors to Snape entering the Lion’s Den. Since he had finally been able to tell Harry about the bond, he had changed, becoming a more of the carefree young man he had been before Voldamort had destroyed so many lives.

“Actually, I would LOVE to have my own rooms. It is very hard to sleep with four guys snoring. Not to mention, Ron sitting up in the middle of the night, wanting me to save him from tap dancing spiders. Oh and not to mention, have you ever tried to study in that common room. I really should have let the hat put me in Slytherin; it would have been so much quieter there. I swear, the Gryffindors don’t need an excuse to have a party, though without the twins it has gotten considerably quieter. Do I get to redecorate my room, because I think my eyes are going to burn if I don’t see some more color other then red and gold?”

At this everyone gave up holding in their laughter, spending so much time with Harry lately; had taught them that the sunny boy, who liked everyone and would prefer flying to studying, was just a mask. In truth, Harry put up with most people, but there are a few that he actually liked being around often. Last year had surprised everyone, when Neville Longbottom ended up becoming an even closer friend than Ron. Only Remus and Severus had understood why though. Ron was Harry’s first friend, but as much as Harry loved him, Ron was far too immature and to swift to judge people by their standards. Neville, however, had proven to be loyal and steadfast, and unlike Ron, had never turned his back against Harry. Hermione, however, was another unknown. At times, she was completely loyal, however, the know it all; of the group saw everything in black and white. There was no in between with her. Either you did worse, or you did better. Harry had always walked the line between the two. In the end, he did save lives, but often to do so, he broke the rules. Hermione followed rules, but Harry followed his heart.

With a smile on his face, Severus pressed a kiss to Harry’s neck before waving at Minerva and Poppy and leading him out of the castle. Once at the end of the apparition wards, he waited for Remus to leave and check the area out. After about five minutes, he wrapped his arms around Harry and apparated them both to Diagon Alley.

By the way, the song I used is In the Light by Full Blown Rose. I don’t normally use songs in my writing, but this song just screams Harry’s name I hope you don’t mind.
ARI.