"We're going home in the morning." Severus broke the news that evening as he, Ron, and Hermione sat by Harry's bedside, having a simple dinner of ham sandwiches and chicken noodle soup. He had already spelled a nutritive potion into Harry's system and the boy had closed his eyes soon afterwards.

Severus wasn't sure if he was actually asleep though so he reached over and lightly brushed Harry's hair back from his forehead. "It will be good to be home again, won't it, Harry?"

Ron and Hermione were both quiet. Severus wasn't sure what he'd expected them to say, but he had expected some kind of response, not just this stricken silence.

"Is there a problem?" He asked them after a minute.

"Oh, no," Hermione said, though Severus thought she still looked upset. "It's just...just that with Harry like this, and these past few days..." She trailed off uncertainly.

But now Severus understood.

"You are both welcome in our quarters anytime," he told them. "Indeed I hope you will come. Harry needs all of us, I believe."

Ron and Hermione looked relieved and Hermione even managed to smile at him, though her smile faded when she looked back at Harry.

"Harry, please come back to us. We need you, too," she said softly, squeezing his hand.

But Harry remained still and unresponsive.

***

Severus woke at dawn the next morning. From the high window facing east he could see the rim of the silvery sun rising over the treetops and lightening the heavy grey sky when he sat up. As had become his custom, he looked over at Harry immediately. The boy was lying on his side, his legs curled up to his chest as if even in sleep he needed to protect himself from the world that had always treated him with cruel injustice.

Ron and Hermione were still asleep as well. Hermione lay on the cot to the right, though only her thick curly hair was visible above a soft blue blanket. Ron sprawled on the cot beyond, snoring lightly.

The house elves had left Severus' fresh clothes lying folded in a neat stack on a nearby chair and he carded his fingers through Harry's hair before silently sliding out of bed and collecting them. He went into the infirmary's bathroom to wash and dress and when he came back out, Ron was sitting up.

"Morning, Severus," the red-haired boy said around a wide yawn.

Severus nodded to him, thinking that it still seemed very odd for them to be on a first-name basis now, though he had to admit that it was surprisingly pleasant too.

"I wonder if I might ask a favour of you," he remarked quietly.

Ron nodded. "Sure, I guess so. What is it, sir?"

"I was thinking that now that Harry is no longer physically injured, it might be better if we tried to treat him less like an invalid. To start with, he could wear proper clothes and sit up during the day, not simply lie in bed in pyjamas," Severus replied.

Ron nodded. "Sounds good."

"Well, I wondered if, after you dress, you would go down to our rooms and bring back some of Harry's clothes?" Severus wondered if Ron would ask why he didn't do it himself. He hoped not. Even with this new understanding between him and Harry's friends, he thought it would sound crazy to admit that he didn't want to leave Harry even for a few minutes. But he'd come so close to losing him. Severus just couldn't help it. He did not want to let Harry out of his sight ever again.

But Ron only nodded again and repeated, "Sure."

"I would be most grateful," Severus told him. "The password for the outer door is ‘asphodel'. You'll enter into the parlour and on the opposite wall you'll see two doors to separate bedrooms. Harry's is to the left and his clothes are in the wardrobe."

A short while later Ron emerged from the bathroom, wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt and jeans, and left for the dungeons. Hermione woke, wished Severus a good morning, checked on Harry, and went off to dress as well.

She was still in the bathroom when Ron returned, bearing a pile of clothes which he set down on the foot of Harry's bed.

"Wow, sir. You bought Harry some really nice things," he said, indicating the shirt he'd selected...a red rugby style shirt with a navy collar, dark green sleeves, and a navy stripe across the front, running diagonally from the top of the left shoulder down to the right hem. Like all of Harry's new clothes, the shirt came from Gladrags and the store's tiny golden logo was embossed on the right side near the top.

For some reason Severus felt a little defensive. It was true that he'd ended up spending a not-so-small fortune on Harry's wardrobe, much more than he had originally intended to, and it was most unlike him. Severus had never had any use for fancy clothes or for the social status they implied. He had always preferred to dress in simple, plain clothes himself, believing that only foolish snobs cared for brand names and logos.

But he had wanted only the best for Harry and he felt compelled to explain to Ron.

"I'm sure you know, as I do, that clothing and brand names have nothing at all to do with a person's worth, and Harry knows that, too, of course," Severus began slowly. "But back at the beginning of the summer, when we learned that Harry would need to become my slave...when the shock had worn off and he had begun to think about all the ramifications...well, it was a very difficult time for Harry and he fell into a deep depression."

"And we weren't there for him," Ron said with bitter self-recrimination.

Severus shook his head. "Only because you didn't know about the spell, Ron, and you didn't know because Harry refused to tell anyone."

"I still can't believe he was afraid to tell us, though." Ron's face was filled with sadness and pain.

"I'm afraid I wasn't there for him either, in the beginning." Severus shared Ron's guilt and sorrow. "I was still operating under my old delusions and I was...harsh."

He drew in a long breath and forced those memories aside. "Fortunately I did realize my mistakes once we began spending some time together, and I had grown to care for Harry a great deal by the time we enacted the spell."

"But even so, it was a very bad time for him. Placing himself under that damned spell, having to become a slave, had such a terrible effect on him." Severus sighed.

"I am amazed and humbled by Harry's courage and generosity," he added softly.

"Harry is a really special person," Ron said quietly.

"Yes," Severus nodded. "And I have tried to tell him so, but to no avail. Especially in those first weeks, he was in such despair and he felt that he was inferior and...and worthless." Severus was surprised at how upset he suddenly felt for Harry's sake.

He swallowed hard. "He even said once that he was nothing, less than a person. I tried...God help me, I tried to tell him, to make him see what a wonderful person he was. But now I realize that I didn't do enough. I thought he was better. I thought he was feeling better about himself and about life, but I was wrong."

Severus ran his hand roughly through his hair and bowed his head. It was a long moment before he could go on.

"Actually, once I learned about those cursed Dursleys and how they treated him, I realized that Harry had probably suffered from self-esteem issues all his life. And making him wear those filthy castoffs from his cousin...well, even though we all know that in the grand scheme of things a logo on a shirt means nothing, I wanted Harry to have nice clothes, the best. Not because the clothes themselves are important, but because I wanted him to know that I cared enough to give him something nice."

Severus finished with a small shrug and he looked over to see Ron watching him, his face filled with emotion.

Ron had to swallow, too, before he could speak. "Severus, I agreed with Hermione when she said that you were good with Harry, but we didn't know how good you are with him."

Severus glanced over to where Harry lay. "Oh yes, I'm so good with him that he attempted suicide and lies there practically in a vegetative state, and I have no idea how to help him." He stopped abruptly before his voice broke.

"It isn't your fault," Ron repeated firmly. "And we'll find a way to help Harry. Let's start by getting him dressed. I think that was a good idea."

But just then Hermione came back into the infirmary.

They explained the situation to her...she agreed that getting Harry dressed and out of bed was an excellent first step...and then Ron suggested, "Well, why don't Mione and I go down to the Hall for breakfast while you take care of Harry? Unless you need me to help, sir?"

Severus shook his head. "Thank you, but Harry and I will be fine."

"And then we could sit with Harry if you want to go down to eat, too," Hermione offered.

"I prefer to eat up here, but thank you as well," Severus responded.

Once they'd left, he eased Harry into a sitting position, propped on pillows, and slipped him out of his pyjamas and into proper clothes...the shirt, blue jeans, socks, and trainers. He summoned a brush and attempted, in vain, to smooth the boy's unruly hair.

"Ah, well, it suits you like this anyway," Severus assured Harry. He performed a dental charm and finally reached for the child's spectacles, sliding them on with a deft touch.

"There now, that's better, isn't it?" He murmured as he sat down on the bed beside Harry, facing him and trying to imagine that there was a spark of interest in the boy's eyes instead of the blank emptiness.

"We're going home today so no more lounging about in bed. There are so many things we can do now, Harry, all the things you've never been able to do before. We can go out to the theatre and museums and restaurants. We can go to Quidditch matches if you want. We'll go to all the Chudley Cannons' games and we can even travel and see the national team. We can go anywhere. We can travel and see the world. We can fix up Grimmauld Place and live in London, or buy a house out in the countryside somewhere. Or we can stay here at Hogwarts if you prefer. We'll do whatever you want."

Severus reached for Harry's hands, holding them gently in his own. "Life can be good, Harry. It can be, I promise. Just please...give it a chance. Give me a chance. Please."

But Harry didn't seem to see or hear him and after a moment, Severus had to admit that he wasn't going to respond. Severus tried to hide his disappointment and leaned over to kiss Harry's forehead before standing and saying briskly, "I'll call Poppy and tell her we're ready to leave then."

A few minutes later it was all settled. Since Harry obviously was not going to walk on his own, Severus lifted him in his arms as carefully and tenderly as if the child were made of spun glass. He asked Poppy to inform Ron and Hermione that he and Harry were back in their own rooms and that they should come there once they had finished breakfast.

Then he stepped into the infirmary's fireplace, cradling Harry close to his chest. Severus called out his destination as Poppy tossed a handful of Floo powder into the grate and emerald flames flared high about them.