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: 233027 Published: 09 Jun 2009 Updated: 15 Apr 2012
Chapter 54 – Problems again? by grugster

-II-

"Harry, you are not relaxing. Try to think about something nice. What about riding? You made big progress in that recently."

So, Harry thought about Tohiadedi. Yes, he had finally built a friendship with his horse. Tohiadedi would come to the gate when he saw him, happy to be brushed or petted. He still wasn't allowed to ride outside the paddock without supervision, but only Maya and Aiden were allowed to do so anyways.

"Okay, Harry. Please remain laying down. I will be back soon." Light Arrow pulled Harry's shirt down and petted his stomach.

Nervously, Harry started to play with the hem of his shirt again. Light Arrow hadn't said anything about the diagnostic charm. Was this a good or a bad sign?

-II-

When Light Arrow came back, he wasn't alone any longer.

Harry's face fell when he saw Doc Martens at his side.

"Not happy to see me, Harry?" the doctor said cheerfully and smiled at his patient.

Harry sighed. "So I'm not okay?" He looked worried from Light Arrow to the doctor and back.

"I'm here to check if you are okay or not, Harry. Will you let me do so?"

Harry nodded and pulled his shirt up again. He waited for the magic to start tingling and almost jumped from the couch when the doctor started to prod on his stomach.

"Did this hurt?" the doctors asked worriedly.

Harry blushed. "No I was just surprised. I thought you would use magic."

"Oh, sorry, I sometimes forget that magical healers around the world examine their patients differently. I have learned medicine in a Muggle university and went through healer training in the wizard world. I think both ways have their advantages and faults. That's why I often use both methods. Better safe than sorry." The doctor smiled at Harry.

"Okay."

After more prodding, Harry blushed deeply when the doctor opened his jeans a bit to press on his bladder and his lower abdomen. "Do you have problem on toilet, Harry?"

Harry thought he couldn't get redder, but now he was sure he was glowing red like Rudolph's nose. He shook his head vehemently and was glad that the doctor didn't show any signs of noticing his blushing. "I'm really fine."

"Harry you lost over 30 pounds of you normal weight. Most of it because of the traumatic situation you were in during the summer, but also seven more since you were out of the hospital." The doctor had stopped his prodding and let his hand rest against Harry's stomach.

Oh no, Harry knew he was in trouble, but he had no idea how he had got himself in this situation. "I didn't do it on purpose. I don't know why I lost it." Lost it? Merlin, the double meaning made Harry blush even more.

"We didn't accuse you of doing it on purpose. We just want to find out. You have gone through a lot, so it would be natural that it is mentally caused, but we want to be sure it isn't physical. I will use magic now, Harry. Try to relax and stay calm. I will let my hand wander around on your abdomen like I did before, okay?" When Harry nodded, the doctor started.

Harry always had been very sensitive to magic. So he had to breathe very strained to stay calm and not squirm, but when the doctor went down to his bladder again, Harry whimpered and grabbed for the doctor's hands. Immediately Doc Martens stopped the magic flow. "I wouldn't have gone farther, you know, Harry?"

His face would never be a decent color again; Harry was sure about that. "The healers at St. Mungo's said I'm oversensitive to some healing magic. It is too much. I... I..."

"Need to pee?" the doctor guessed.

Harry groaned. "Yes."

"Actually, that's something I wanted you to do anyway. Your body is just helping me along." He fumbled through his bag and gave Harry a small cup with a screw cap. Please fill this for me and then we can go on with the examination."

Harry quickly went to the bathroom wanting to get this examination over with as fast as possible.

"Oversensitive to magic? That isn't noted in his medical folder," Light Arrow said while checking the folder for a second time. "He didn't seem to have any problem when I checked him over. Only that he was too tensed."

"Some healers don't give much to it. Many people are oversensitive to magic in special areas, especially healing magic. As long as he doesn't want to become a healer it won't be a problem. Although I do know some healers who manage to channel or control this oversensitivity and even use it as an advantage. As for your magic, it is different to mine and he is already used to it. You use it on him almost each night and it is pulsing through the walls of the house and in the air. Speaking of the nights, how are his nightmares going?" The doctor asked.

"Still the same, but he has a few nights without them. Sometimes he gets very depressed about it and becomes impatient. He expects us to be wonder healers."

Doc Martens chuckled. "Impatient patients are the worst."

"You can say that again. At least he is accepting our help without protest now, even when he wets himself."

"It's always hard to be so vulnerable in front of someone. The wetting just happens during special nightmares or should I check him for physical problems as well?"

"No, I don't think that is necessary. It only happens when he had one of the nightmares and is too deep into it."

"Good, nevertheless it would not be a miss to check it while doing this examination."

Light Arrow nodded just as Harry came back in the room. The urine was quickly checked. "Nothing unusual," Doc Martens said while vanishing the cup and it's content. "So let's finish the examination. Okay, Harry?"

Harry nodded and pulled his shirt up again.

Doc Martens continued again at Harry's bladder and he squirmed again, but this time the doctor didn't stop. When he was finished, he said, "Almost done, Harry. I now will place my hand over your chest and run a normal diagnostic spell over your whole body. That is how I will get information like your weight. It's a strong spell as it has to spread through the whole body without getting unstable. That means it will challenge your sensitivity to magic. Try to relax, your bladder is empty and nothing can happen, even if it feels otherwise. I also have a counter spell involved in this diagnostic spell that will stop your body from losing any body liquid during the spell. So don't panic and try to lay as still as possible. Otherwise the results will be useless."

"Okay," Harry said nervously. Before he could worry even more, the magic already overwhelmed him. "Merlin," he muttered when he felt dizzy and the world started to spin. A tingling ran through his whole body. When it reached his groin Harry had to concentrate hard not to curl up. It felt as if he already was wetting the couch. Then the spell reached his head and the world spun even more. When Harry thought he couldn't take any more, the hand that had rested on his chest went to his neck and another kind of magic flew through his body. This time it was overwhelming but in a nice way, a calming way.

"Better?" the doctor asked.

"That was awful," Harry croaked.

"It's done. I will see if I get a Muggle scales for you, so we don't have to use this kind of diagnostic spell again. Light Arrow wasn't able to use a weighting charm on you. The human body often finds ways to refuse spells like this if they aren't as powerful or channeled as the one of a trained healer." The doctor smiled reassuringly at Harry. "You can dress now." Turning to Light Arrow, he explained, "He has lost five more pounds since his last weighting three month ago. That means we are hard on the border to getting a serious problem here. There seems to be no physical problem and I would like to get it under control without a potion. I fear we need to stop the running training and-"

"No!" Harry looked, shocked. "No, please not!"

The doctor sighed. It had been his advice that Harry should start the running training and it pained him to take it away from him, now when he liked it. "Harry, we can't risk you to lose more weight."

"I will eat more. I promise. I have no eating problem, it's just... just boring. I will eat more, even before running if you want me to." Harry looked hopefully at the doctor.

Doc Martens exchanged a look with Light Arrow. "Okay, under one condition."

"Whatever it is, I'll do it."

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "We will see, Harry. I will send a package via floo with some energy bars. They taste horrible, but I will only let you run when you eat one before you go running and a half after it."

Harry nodded eagerly. Under no circumstances would he give up running. He would even do it secretly if they would forbid it.

"Good, I will send it together with the scales. I want you to weight him each morning and keep an account about the result. Just use Melissa's weighting book and add another column for Harry. That way I will have an overview about both when I check my messenger." It was a very useful messenger. All his patients, at least those who were reliable, could send their results this way and the doctor just has to check his messenger a few times a day. That spares a lot of waiting time in the doctor's practice.

Turning back to Harry, Doc Martens said, "At meals White Cloud will measure your calorie supply very accurate from now on and you need to eat everything. If you vomit or get diarrhea, you need to tell Light Arrow or White Cloud, so you will get new calories. If you only lose one more pound, the running training is canceled and if you lose..." He paused and checked the diagnostic protocol his magical quill had written during the examination. "-more than four pounds we need to give you potions. The same goes if you aren't able to keep the amount of calories we will give you from now on. Everything you can't keep in we need to replace with a potion that is spelled to not being vomited. The potion won't help you to gain weight it just prevents more damage to your body, Harry. You really need to eat what White Cloud offers you." Again he turned to light Arrow. "I will supply you with more nutrient potion, just for the case you need it. You already know how to measure it. If he vomits or gets diarrhea give him the potion immediately. That's better than trying around with food again. I don't want him to become stomach ill as well."

Harry hated it when he was in the room while people talk about him like a child. He knew that this was normal here and even Severus and Black Hawk get treated the same, but still he didn't like it. "Can I go?"

Light Arrow fixed him with a stern look, and he immediately lowered his gaze. "Sorry."

"Let me check your arms, Harry. How is it going lately?" Doc Martens asked to change the mood.

"Better," Harry said, relieved, and held out his arms. "No scratches." He beamed proudly at the doctor, not looking at Light Arrow just for the case the old man still was mad at him.

"Ah, I see. That's very good. How often do you use the rubber bands?"

Harry's face fell, and he sighed. "Sometimes to be able to sleep."

"How often is sometimes?"

"Mostly when I'm alone in my room. Lately Black Hawk was with me and I hardy used them. I always try to fall asleep without it."

"It's no problem, Harry. I gave you the rubber bands exactly for the purpose to use them. Stop thinking too much about it. That will only make you depressed. The further you go in your therapy sessions, the more you work on what you experienced in your past and the more you work on your feelings about it, the less you will need the rubber bands. There is no need to think about it or force yourself to not use them."

"But the earlier I can control it the better, right?"

"No, Harry, this has nothing to do with control. This hurting is just a way of your body to get rid of the tension and bad feelings. You need to work hard in the therapy sessions. That's all. The more progress you make in speaking about your problems the less you will feel the urge to hurt yourself. There is no need to control anything."

"Okay," Harry mumbled.

The doctor leaned forward and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder to be on level with Harry's eyes. "You made great progress, Harry. You should be proud of yourself. I'm very proud of you!"

Harry didn't know how he should react to this, so he just shrugged.

"I think you will handle this weight problem as well as your scratching problem. Just try to remember how important eating is at the moment. White Cloud will offer you snacks between the meals. Please try to eat them even if you don't feel hungry."

Harry nodded.

"Okay, that's all. If nothing happens before, I will see you in seven days for a small check up."

"Okay." After a short glance over to Light Arrow, Harry said, "Bye!" and vanished through the door.

"Don't worry too much. I think he will handle the situation well now that he knows how important eating is for him at the moment," the doctor said, determined.

"Yes, he is very responsible when he understands why something is important."

"I would like to check Draco as well. Just to be safe."

In the kitchen they met Black Hawk, Rose and Severus who were waiting for Light Arrow.

"I will need some more time. Just wait inside for me," the old man said and gestured the small group into the room.

"Problems?" the doctor ask on their way up to Draco's room.

"No, I was just a week away, and now have to smooth things out. Something seems to be wrong with Draco, but they didn't tell me the full story until now."

The doctor looked thoughtfully at Light Arrow, but before he could reply, they had reached the door of Draco's room. They knocked and waited for Draco's permission to step in.

"Hello, Draco," the doctor greeted Draco cheerfully. He had met Draco a few times after healing his ankle, but the boy still was very wary around him.

"Doc Martens?" Draco was worried. How could they know about his problems? He had been so careful to hide it.

"Nothing to worry, Draco. Just a small check-up," Doc Martens said when he saw Draco pale.

"I'm fine!" That came so quick that the doctor and Light Arrow exchanged a knowing look.

"Really?" Doc Martens said, furrowing his brow.

Draco nodded vehemently.

The doctor sat down on the bed and placed his bag beside his feet. "Let me see for myself, Draco. We realized that we haven't had a closer look at your medical files when you came here." He looked at Light Arrow to ask him for the file, but the old man had already summoned them. "Thanks!"

After a short study of the file, the doctor placed it on the night table. Watje, the snow white cat, lay on Draco's stomach and eyed the doctor skeptically. "Okay, young lady, do you think you can move for a moment?" the doctor addressed the cat.

Watje wasn't very happy when Light Arrow took her away from Draco. Her human wasn't feeling well, and she wanted to stay with him. She meowed miserably, but Light Arrow calmed her down with skilled hands.

"Draco?" the doctor asked to get the boy's attention. "I need you to lift your shirt for me and open your trousers a bit."

Draco had the feeling his heart would stop beating. Cold sweat was forming on his forehead and his neck.

"Draco, I will try to make this as quick as possible, but I need to examine your abdomen. You medical file states that you were very underweight when you were released from the hospital. A digestive problem also is mentioned in your file."

"Can't you just use a wand?"

"No, Draco, I prefer to combine Muggle examination techniques with wizard techniques. That is the safest way. Just lift your shirt a bit and open the first two buttons of your jeans."

With shaking hands Draco obeyed to get it over with. He very much felt like crying, but fought it hard.

"Try to relax as best as possible. I know it is hard for you, but it will be over soon. When I examine your bladder, I need to go deep down your abdomen, but remember I won't go deeper. Try to stay calm." Starting with the upper abdomen and stomach, the doctor felt around. The lower he got the more he furrowed his brow. "Draco?"

The boy refused to speak with him and turned his head sideways, staring at the wall.

"Draco, since when do you have diarrhea?"

Draco gnawed at his bottom lip.

"Draco, come on, I can't help you when you don't talk with me!"

"I'm fine!"

The doctor sighed. "You are not. Please tell me how long you have had it."

"Three days," Draco whispered.

The doctor nodded and went on with his examination. The lower he went the more Draco tensed up. "I will examine your bladder now, Draco. It will be quick. Try to breath deeply and as calm as possible."

Draco did as he was told. The doctor had always good advices for him when he had hurt his ankle. So why shouldn't he trust him now.

"Okay, you can button up your jeans, Draco but please let the shirt stay up, I'm not finished." When Draco had buttoned his jeans up and calmed a bit, the doctor went on. "I will cast a general diagnostic spell now. Therefore I will place my hands on your chest and stomach. Try to relax."

After he finished his diagnostic spell, he placed his hand lower on Draco's abdomen. "I will clean your guts now, Draco. That will feel a bit weird, but you should feel much better after it."

The feeling really was weird, as if someone flushed his tummy out. The moment this weird feeling was over, Draco felt much better. No abdominal cramping anymore.

"Better?" the doctor asked.

Draco nodded and this time kept looking at the doctor and didn't turn away.

"There is no physical reason for his diarrhea. It must be caused mentally. Nevertheless we need to have a close eye on it. I will leave him a potion. He should take it twice a day as long as the diarrhea stays. If it isn't gone in two days, contact me again," the doctor instructed Light Arrow. Facing Draco, he said, "Whatever worries you lately, you need to speak with someone about it. Otherwise you won't get rid of the diarrhea. The potion is just helping your body a bit."

Draco looked sideways again. He didn't want to speak about it.

"His weight is no problem at the moment, Light Arrow. He even gained some pounds since the last weighting. Nevertheless I would suggest we have a close eye on it. Weighing him twice a week should do. Note it down in the messenger book as well. So I'm up to date." Lowering Draco's shirt, the doctor smiled at Draco. "You did very well, Draco. Thanks for your trust."

Draco was surprised. He had expected a scolding for not telling them about the diarrhea or his behavior during the examination, but not praise.

"Please, talk with someone about your problems, Draco. Cramps are not nice, are they?"

Draco shook his head.

"See. Something is on your mind lately that makes you feel ill. It will only get better when you talk about it. Just think about it. If you need me because it get worse or something else bothers you, let someone of the adults contact me." The doctor stood up and gave Draco his hand, who took it cautiously, still not believing he wouldn't get a scolding.

"How is Severus?" Doc Martens asked when they stood in the hall.

"He is fine, much better than he was when he arrived here. It seems he really is working on his problems. Now he has much more time and energy to help the boys, and his job at the school does him good as well. I'm just a bit worried because he wants to go into town this evening with Black Hawk and Crying Horse."

"The addiction medications are working very well, Light Arrow. We could lower the dose already, and I don't think he is in danger when he is in a pub. He can control it."

"Nevertheless I won't be able to relax until they all are back healthy and sane."

"You worry way too much, Light Arrow. Crying Horse has absolutely no problem with alcohol or drugs as much as I know, and Severus knows what he risks when he drinks. Black Hawk is not alone, and I think Severus has no problem to tell him when he has enough. So relax, Light Arrow. They are adults."

Light Arrow groaned, but then agreed. "You are right, but it is hard to trust them when I have seen too often that they had severe relapses."

"That belongs to life, Light Arrow. Let them live their life, help them along the way, but don't control it for them!"

Light Arrow sighed. "Yes, that always is a great problem of mine."

"Everyone has faults, some smaller and some bigger. Important is to notice them and work on them! You are human, just like we all, Light Arrow! You are giving your best and you can't demand more from yourself. And now let's go to find White Cloud; I need to check if my plushy is done. I can't wait to see which animal she has chosen for me."

To be continued...


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