Cherokee Camp by grugster
Summary: After two weeks of torture by Death Eaters, Draco and Harry have to find a way to cope with all their memories. Severus, as their guardian, tries to help and spends some time with them at a therapy camp in the USA. Draco and Harry friendship
Categories: Parental Snape > Guardian Snape, Healer Snape, Teacher Snape > Trusted Mentor Snape Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required), Draco, Original Character
Snape Flavour: None
Genres: Drama, General, Hurt/Comfort
Media Type: None
Tags: Alternate Universe
Takes Place: 4th summer
Warnings: Character Death, Torture
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 66 Completed: No Word count: 195045 Read: 233012 Published: 09 Jun 2009 Updated: 15 Apr 2012
Chapter 12 – A Crying Girl by grugster
Author's Notes:
Thanks a lot to my beta-reader, Amaq Iraluq, for correcting my mistakes.

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.

I’m not a native speaker of English!

Dear readers,

I'm so happy to be finally able to upload a new chapter.

I hope you all were patient and still will read this story. I love it, and I hope you will do it as well.

Sunny

"It's okay, Harry." Light Arrow laid a calming hand over Harry's. "Whenever you feel ready to talk about it, just let me know."

Harry sighed and nodded.

"One more thing, Harry, before I leave you to get ready for breakfast," Light Arrow said, "you don't have to bother trying to make yourself silent again. Even if your attempt at fooling me had staying in place over you mouth, I would have been alerted to you having a nightmare. My wards are not reliant on sounds. No tape tonight, Harry!" Light Arrow looked at Harry directly in the eyes.

Harry lowered his gaze. "But the others-"

"-Won't hear you. The rooms all have silencing spells on them so nobody outside can hear a word that is muttered from within. Anything you say or scream in here stays completely private, but one of us will be alerted so we can help you." Light Arrow assured Harry while gently lifting Harry's chin.

"Okay. Ehm... I'm sorry for waking up you and White Cloud," Harry said, apologizing.

"No need to apologize, Harry. Like I said, we don't need much sleep, and we have decided to help children like you and knew from the beginning what it would entail. Still, we love it. We want to help you, no matter what time of day or night it is. Never feel embarrassed about waking us up at night," Light Arrow said seriously.

Harry didn't know what to say, so he was happy the need to say anything was eliminated when Light Arrow ruffled his hair and said, "Now get ready for breakfast. We eat in forty minutes. I will go and wake the others now."

~*~

Nobody other than Light Arrow and White Cloud seemed to know about Harry's nighttime problems. At least, nobody mentioned it or looked oddly at Harry during breakfast. Harry felt comfortable at the big table with all the other people around him. The large number of people gave less attention to him. He felt Melissa looking at him shyly a few times, but not as if she knew anything about what had happened last night.

Draco didn't feel as comfortable as Harry with the crowded table. He was glad that Harry sat on one side, and Rose on the other, yet it was still hard to fight the urge to get up and leave the breakfast table to be on his own. He had slept surprisingly well that past night. It was a relief not to wake up in the middle of the night from Harry's screaming, Draco thought, hating himself for it. How can I think such a terrible thing? He felt very ashamed as he stared at his still-untouched roll. He couldn't deny the well-rested feeling, and his mood lightened a bit when he remembered his bed partner. Watje, the white cat, had slept all night in his bed, and it was so soothing to stroke her long white hair that Draco had easily fallen asleep. Still not eating, he thought back to that morning when Rose had awoken him.

Flashback

"Morning, sleepyhead," Rose said as she gently stroked his hair. She hummed a children's song while Draco slowly awoke. It helped the kids to stay calm when someone was close to them while waking. Draco had only bad experiences with men recently, so the light, female humming signified to him that there was no danger.

Draco lazily opened his eyes. Wow, I slept so well, Draco thought, his brain still foggy from sleep.

"Morning, my little red-skin," Rose said teasingly.

Draco grinned. "Morning, Rose."

"So, how do you feel?" Rose asked, still gently stroking Draco's hair.

"Fine. I have never slept better, I think," Draco said and turned onto his side to face Rose.

The white cat sat up in annoyance and mewed disapprovingly.

"Hey, girl. I'm sorry to wake you," Draco said and pet the head of the cat. The mewing changed to purring, and the cat rubbed her head against the part of Draco's face that was closest to her.

"Ew... cat hair in my mouth in the morning isn't one of my favorites!" Draco drew a face, but he still stroked the cat's back and scratched her behind her ear.

Rose chuckled. "It's funny to see her with one of the kids again. She normally stays away from them and only hangs around Red Horse. She seems to like his quietness."

"He is hardly around us. I only saw him when we arrived and yesterday at the campfire. Doesn't he like kids?" Draco didn't say what really was on his mind; he was scared of the quiet Native American. He was so different from all the others here.

"No, he doesn't dislike kids, but he prefers to take care of the animals. Black Hawk normally helps him with the horses, but now he is busy with Harry, so Red Horse has to take care of all the animals mostly on his own. He manages quite well, but this means he is very busy. Maybe you have noticed that he also isn't very talkative with us, Draco. Only with Light Arrow and White Cloud is he more open. He was here as a child as well, and after a short time trying to live on his own, he came back and has stayed from then on. I don't know what happened to him, but it doesn't matter as long as he is happy now. And he is. Some people don't need much conversation to feel happy," Rose explained.

"And some need a lot of conversation," Draco said, grinning.

"Oh, getting cheeky in the morning, young man?" Rose asked.

Draco just laughed. Merlin it feels so good to wake like this, as well as being here, Draco thought. He almost felt normal, not like a damn, scared freak.

"Oh, Watje seems to be getting a little restless." Rose shifted backwards to let the cat jump from the bed.

Draco watched her move over to the door, and then she just disappeared as if she had gone straight through the door. His mouth dropped open in astonishment. "What the hell?"

Rose chuckled. "We have charms like that on all doors. Only if a child says they don't want an animal in their room will we undo it. That way our pets can come and go as they please."

"Oh," Draco said as he recovered from his shock. When he looked back at Rose, he asked, "So Watje is her name? That's a weird name."

"We got her as a small kitten. A breeder tried to drown her because she didn't fit his standards. Some kind people rescued the little cat and brought her to us. At that time, we had a young girl here; her name was Amandine. She took care of the kitten and named her Watje. She was from the dutch speaking part of Belgium, so the name seems weird to us. It means little cotton ball." Rose smiled at Draco, who listened to her like she was reading a story to him. His mouth was hanging open slightly, and he looked like an innocent child with his ruffled hair. Who would have thought of what he had gone through when he saw him at that moment? Rose felt her heart ache and tears forming in her eyes. She had to control her feelings like Light Arrow always taught her. Feeling sorry for the kids didn't help them. So Rose started to smile again and rubbed Draco's head one last time. "Time for breakfast, Draco."

End of flashback

"Draco?" Rose's gentle voice broke him from his thoughts. He looked at her questioningly. "Aren't you hungry, Draco? Would you like something else to eat?"

"No, thank you. I was just thinking." Seeing Light Arrow's worried look, Draco looked down at his plate. He hated to be in the center of the attention. Quickly, he grabbed his roll and started to eat.

Harry looked worriedly at Draco. I hope he is okay, Harry thought. I didn't have time to ask him how he slept. Harry felt bad about having not asked Draco about it immediately when he came down for breakfast.

After Draco had started to eat his roll, Harry looked around. Severus looked grumpy as always in the morning, but today there was something more to read upon his face. Harry wasn't sure, but he would have bet it was fear. From time to time, Severus looked at Light Arrow nervously. His right hand was still bandaged and cooled, and Severus had problems preparing his roll. Without a word, Rose applied his favorite marmalade to the roll and placed it on Severus' plate. Sullenly, Severus said, "Thank you."

Harry looked around again, and this time his glance fell upon Crying Horse who grinned at him. He was sitting opposite Severus, and was, as always, cheerful and joking. His smile was contagious, and Harry smiled back.

"Feeling up to another round with Tohiadedi after breakfast?" Black Hawk asked Harry.

Harry sighed. He wished he could say no, but surely Draco would want to see his own horse, and that would give them some time to talk. "If I must."

"No, you don't have to. You could also go with Rose, Maya and Melissa to collect berries," Black Hawk suggested.

With a grim expression, Harry looked at the other boys who were now snickering. When he turned to Black Hawk, he said angry, "Very funny."

What happened next happened so fast and surprisingly that Harry couldn't even blink. Melissa stood up from the table and ran crying from the room. Light Arrow let his hand come down on the table forcefully. Everyone jumped and immediately lowered their eyes; even Severus. "You three,"-Light Arrow pointed at Aiden, Brian and Ken, who had been snickering only moments before and now were white as sheets-"will help Red Horse to muck out the stalls, and then you will move the muckheap from the east side to the west side of the ranch. That will occupy you for the whole day. If you finish before sunset, you will move the muckheap back to the east side. The whole time you're working I want you to think about the rule about not making fun of others and their feelings. Understand?" All three nodded. "Then, out!" Light Arrow ordered.

When the three were outside, Light Arrow turned to Black Hawk. "I hope for you own sake that that was not intended to be mocking." Light Arrow's voice sounded dangerous.

"It wasn't," Black Hawk insisted. It was true; he hadn't meant to mock Melissa about her crush on Harry. Damn, he had just wanted to annoy Harry a bit by suggesting he go with the women. He hoped the offer would show him that the horses weren't all that bad of an option. "Really!" he further insisted when Light Arrow's gaze still penetrated him.

"You will spend the day with Melissa, Draco, and Harry. You will start your day by comforting the crying girl upstairs," Light Arrow ordered.

"Oh, please, no. Rose is much better at that," Black Hawk pleaded, but he only gained a stern look from Light Arrow. He looked to Rose, seeking help, but she was occupied comforting a trembling Draco. Seeing that there wasn't a way out, Black Hawk stood and made his way to Melissa's room.

"Would you please calm down, Joseph?" White Cloud said in a serious tone. "You are frightening Draco." She very seldom used his given name, and it always meant he was doing something very wrong.

Light Arrow looked worriedly at the blond boy, who clutched Rose's hand desperately. He took two deep breaths to calm down before saying, "I'm sorry, Draco, that I scared you, but sometimes the other boys need a strict order to behave. That doesn't mean any danger to you or anyone else. It was stupid of me to hit the table to get their attention; I forgot that that would scare you. Please forgive me." His voice had calmed with every word, so that by the end he was speaking very gently.

Draco calmed down when he realized that Light Arrow had calmed as well and was no danger to him. "I'm sorry... I... I..."

"No, Draco. I'm the one to be sorry. I feel very bad about having scared you. That wasn't my intention. I was angry that the boys mocked Melissa, and that Black Hawk said something so stupid. I don't think he did it on purpose, but it still hurt Melissa a lot. I can't stand it when people under my care are hurt, no matter if they are hurt by someone else or themselves." At the last few words, he looked intensely at Severus, who immediately lowered his eyes.

"I understand. It was just... you were so angry, and I... I got scared. I can't control it," Draco said apologetically.

"You should not try to control your feeling here, Draco. What ever you feel is okay. You don't have to hide it from us. It is normal that you are scared by loud noises and when somebody is angry. I just hope you believe me that I would never harm you or let anyone else harm you."

"I know," Draco said in a small voice and looked down at his hands which still held Rose's. He let go of them and looked at Rose's smiling face. It was always as if her smile went directly to his heart. She was like he always thought a proper mother would be - not as cold as his mother had been.

"Would it be okay if you and Harry go with Crying Horse to visit your horses until Black Hawk can join you with Melissa? Or do you want me to come with you?" Rose asked Draco.

Draco didn't want to be alone with Crying Horse. He didn't scare him like Red Horse, but he still didn't know him well enough to feel comfortable around him. Crying Horse looked like a man who would often pat the back or shoulder of people around him or ruffle their hair. Draco had a feeling he wouldn't be so as considerate as Black Hawk had been. Not even the fact Harry would be with them made Draco feel comfortable. The problem was that Draco didn't want to seem like a baby, and asking Rose to come with them felt like a babyish thing to do, in his eyes.

He struggled to find an answer to the question, but Crying Horse rescued him. "Why don't we all go to the horses together, at least until Black Hawk is back? Maya also hasn't anything to do right now, and I could help the two women with the berry picking after Black Hawk has come to take over the boys. Someone has to replace Melissa in the berry picking group; even so, I fear I won't be able to be as good as she is." Crying Horse smiled one of his amazing, cheerful smiles.

"Oh, you will do quite well, my dear," Rose said and beamed at her husband for being so thoughtful as to realize Draco's distress. "Then let's go!" Rose said to the room at large. Maya and Crying Horse stood up instantly. Draco didn't want to leave Rose's side, so he stood as well.

Only Harry remained sitting in his chair, dumbfounded. What was all this about? Why had Melissa run out of the room? And why had Light Arrow said that the other boys had been mocking Melissa when they had seemed to be mocking him? It was all very confusing.

"Come on, Harry," Rose said gently and smiled at him.

"But not without your Stetson," Crying Horse said as he ruffled Harry's hair.

After grabbing their hats, the group left the house.

"Now to see to us two," Light Arrow said in a slightly dangerous tone when he turned to Severus. "We will leave in ten minutes. I have told Doc Martens that we will be there in half an hour."

Severus groaned. "Please, Light Arrow. I can just mend it on my own. Please let me cast the spell."

"I thought we could use the drive for our talk, but if you insist on having it right now, I have no objections. Just one thing you should know, and I hardly believe you hoped for anything else, whatever you say it won't change the fact that you will come with me to Doc Martens'. Even if you were a genius in healing spell, which you are far from in reality, I wouldn't let you heal yourself. You inflicted pain upon yourself and you will let others take care of the result. You will never - and when I say never, I mean never - use magic in this house. If you need anything, it will be given to you from us: help, comfort, healing, food, whatever. That is the rule, and you should know it better than anyone else. They who hurt themselves will be brought to Doc Martens' for healing and a serious talk. No matter what age they may be. You can still leave the ranch if you want, but if you stay you will live here following our rules, Severus. Without these rules you wouldn't even be able to sit here with us right now. Don't you agree?"

How Severus hated having stern talks with the man, who knew him better than anyone else. The man could do anything to Severus, and Severus would trust him that it was for his own good. He often didn't like Light Arrow's and White Cloud's decisions, but he always knew that they loved him deeply and only did what they thought was best. They had help hundreds of children who had lost their wills to live, were addicted to drugs and alcohol, had been badly abuse, and much more. They knew what was best for each of their kids, no matter what age. It just felt odd to Severus to be handled like the kids were when he was an adult. However, deep inside Severus knew that he had hoped for this kind of treatment when he had come here with the boys. It felt so good to be cared for, and to let others take a bit of the burden he was carrying around off his chest. Yes, he could leave. He could spit in their faces saying that they had no control over him; that he was an adult who could do what he wanted. All of which he had hoped to be able to say to them during his first weeks at the camp as a teenager. Now things had changed. Now it was as if he was coming back to a place he felt safe; a place where he didn't have to be a authority person, where he wasn't responsible for so many things and people, back to just being Severus Snape - the loved one.

"I will make myself ready," Severus said, defeated. He stood up and headed for the door, but before he reached it, a comforting hand was placed on his shoulder.

White Cloud had caught up with him and stopped him by placing her hand on his shoulder. As always, he first stiffened, but then relaxed. "You know that we love you, Severus. We are only doing this to help you." Her voice was so motherly, so full of love.

"I know," Severus said, but didn't dare to look at her face. He knew he would see so much worry there. He almost regretted telling her what problems he had lately, but, sooner or later, he wouldn't be able to hide his problems from them.

Another hand, larger than the first, rested on his neck. "Come on, boy. Let's get ready for the drive."

To be continued...
End Notes:
Beta’s Note: I would like to apologize to all the readers for the delay, for the delay has been entirely my fault. I’ve been, as Grugster has said, very busy at my new college; orientation and unpacking took a lot out of me! However, now that I have my academic schedule solidified, I have scheduled time each week to devote to betaing this series! I will diligently keep working on it as fast as I possibly can. Thank you to all of you for sticking with Grugster’s story, even though I have caused such a large delay; hopefully this won’t happen again in the future.

Again, I can only say that I'm very, very happy to finally be able to upload this chapter, because I'm a bit paranoid and always fear that I loose my readers when I don't upload regulary. PLEASE, PLEASE review this time and calm me a bit. I really need your feedback!!!!

Sunny



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