The tension was so thick in Snape cottage that you could physically feel the pressure of it on your lungs. There was hardly a word spoken by anyone, and when one did speak, it was to ask the time, to pass the salt, open the window for the post owl and Hedwig, or excuse themselves from the table. Draco and Harry tried to hold whispered conversations and had even put the Occlumency lessons on hold.

Three days after the initial argument, Remus finally broke the silence while the four of them sat in the sitting room pouring over books out of sheer boredom. “This silence is beyond maddening. Don’t you children ever make any noise?” Remus asked of the two teens, who looked up from their individual books.

“We’re not children, and we prefer not to make noise if it’s going to set Severus off, no offence,” Draco said, glancing over at his godfather, who was sitting in his favourite armchair across from the other three, who took up the couch.

Severus rolled his eyes as he turned a page in his book leisurely. “I’m not an explosive, you cannot set me off.”

“Oh, I beg to differ,” Remus muttered as he sat back and continued to stare disinterestedly at his book. He glanced up and found Severus’ burning gaze on him from across the room.

Harry rolled his eyes as he paid attention to the staring contest rather than his book. Snape was glaring at Remus, who was glaring right back at Snape, looking more haughty than Harry had ever seen him. It was interesting, really, to see two of his Professors acting like teenagers all over again.

“You can beg all you want, Lupin,” Severus drawled, his eyebrows rising suggestively.

Draco snorted into his book and tried to stifle his giggles as Harry glared pointedly at him to shut him up. He too had found that comment amusing, though he wasn’t brave or stupid enough to laugh at it.

Remus continued to stare at Severus until he broke out in raucous laughter, startling Severus into dropping his book, which made Draco laugh harder. Harry had unfortunately taken a sip of tea just then and spit it out his mouth and nose as he joined in on the laughter, which made Severus chuckle from his armchair. Soon all four of them were wiping tears of mirth from their eyes as the giggling and chuckling slowly subsided.

“Well, I must say we could all have used that laugh,” Severus said as he finished drying his eyes and leaned over to pick up his fallen book.

Remus smiled lightly over at the Potions Master, a strange twinkling in his eyes. “Yes, we all needed that for sure.”

Draco looked between the two men and distinctly felt like he had walked in on his parents snogging when he was ten all over again. “Er, let’s go work on your Occlumency, Harry,” Draco said, nodding towards the door to the kitchen.

Harry shrugged and set his book aside, not catching the undercurrents travelling thickly across the room. “Yeah sure, why not.”

Severus waited until the boys had disappeared into the kitchen before casting a silencing charm on the door so that they could not eaves drop.

“I’m sorry – ”

“I apologize for – ”

The two men spoke simultaneously, eliciting a blush from Remus and an amused grin from Severus. Another slightly awkward silence passed as they both waited for the other to go first. Yet again, Remus’ Gryffindor courage won out.

“I’m sorry for overreacting the other night. I know you were just trying to help Harry, but the way you were speaking to him just...set my skin on edge,” Remus said, frowning slightly at the memory.

Severus nodded slowly, thinking over a good response to that. “And I apologize for acting the way I did in the first place. I should not have been so hard on Harry. I fear my paranoia from years of espionage will never fade. I should not have said that you couldn’t protect Harry, either – ”

Remus shook his head quickly, cutting Snape off. “No, you’re right – I can’t fully protect Harry, and that is why I depended on you to do it for me when I could not. You did not let me, or him, down, and I should be very grateful for that, not arguing with you about Harry’s self confidence and keeping the Prophecy inside his own mind. I should know that you’d never put him in harm’s way. I’m sorry for doubting you.”

“I fear you put too much trust in me, Remus. Don’t depend on me for too much, for I have been known to deeply disappoint in the past,” Severus said quietly, averting his eyes as he stared at the ever darkening window instead.

Remus smiled warmly as he stood up and crossed the room. When he reached Snape’s armchair, he reached out a hand and tugged Severus to his feet, surprising the man, who hadn’t noticed he had crossed the room. Standing face to face with the Potions Professor and pulling him close, Remus whispered gently, “We all make mistakes, Severus. The real test lies in learning from those mistakes.” He leaned in and pressed his lips firmly to Severus’, moaning lightly as Severus returned the kiss with much passion.

Harry was sitting across the kitchen table from Draco, his eyes closed as he focused on his shield. Once he felt it was safe enough to let it fall to the background, he opened his eyes and was met with slate gray ones almost immediately. He didn’t even hear a spell, but he knew Draco was trying to delve into his mind. He pulled up the block much quicker than before, properly shutting the Slytherin out and forcefully removing his presence from his mind.

Draco blinked and broke the spell, shaking his head to clear it. Harry had used a lot of force to keep him out, which shocked him slightly. “Well, that was definitely an improvement.”

“Did you just try to wandlessly Legilimize me?” Harry asked, curious now as to how Draco had managed that without saying the spell at all. Maybe he just hadn’t heard it in his concentration.

“This is practise for me as well, Potter. I’ve been learning how to do Legilimency wandlessly like Severus does, but it’s really difficult. It takes much more force than using a wand to focus the magic through. That’s only the third time I’ve successfully been able to do it,” Draco explained, excited that he had done it again, this time with much more ease than the last.

Harry smirked as a thought occurred to him. He waited until Draco looked into his eyes, then concentrated hard on the spell, imagining that he was focusing the magic through his eyes instead of his wand. A flash of a scene where Lucius Malfoy was beaming and clapping him on the shoulder assaulted his mind, accompanied by mixed feelings of elation and annoyance before he was forcefully pushed out.

“I hate you, Potter! It’s taken me years to learn Legilimency, and months to be able to do it wandless a mere three times! You don’t even have to try, you can do it automatically. I hate you!” Draco sneered, though it was more out of disdain than actual hate.

Harry could see that it was jealousy talking, not actual malice, and felt himself relax. “Sorry, I just wanted to see if I could do it. I didn’t ask to be a natural Legilimens; trust me, I’d rather have been a natural Occlumens.”

Draco scoffed at that. He’d have been even more livid if Harry was a natural at both. “I’m surprised you’re not, since you seem to be able to do everything else.” Draco stood up, his wand held loosely in his hand. “I want to try something. I’m going to try to Legilimize you, wandlessly, but instead of just pushing me out, I want you to try to reverse the channel to Legilimizing me, wandless as well. Ready?”

Harry shrugged and nodded, blinking a few times before catching Draco’s eyes. He felt the first signs of Draco’s presence and used the same way of focusing his magic through his eyes as he did before. Suddenly, he was watching a memory that was not only certainly not his, but he hoped to every deity he could think of that it wasn’t Draco’s either. Harry blinked and broke the spell, shaking his head hard to clear the disturbing image away.

“I…Draco…What was that memory?” Harry asked in a horrified whisper as he dropped back down into his chair, staring wide eyed at the Slytherin.

Draco was breathing extremely hard as he avoided Harry’s gaze completely and dropped into the chair opposite, cradling his head in his hands. “Please, Harry….Don’t do this, not now, ok? You weren’t supposed to see that, no one was ever supposed to see that,” Draco whispered, his pale hand covering his worried gray eyes.

Harry leaned across the table towards Draco, a worried crease between his eyebrows. “Was that where you were after you ran away from Bellatrix? Draco…Did that man h-hurt you…like that?” Harry asked, horrified by the very thought. He got his answer by Draco’s quiet whimper and subtle shudder.

“You can’t tell Severus, Harry…Please, I couldn’t stand seeing that look in his eyes if he ever found out. What matters now is that I’m safe here with you lot. I can’t change the past, alright? So don’t linger on it. Forget you ever saw that,” Draco pleaded, taking a deep breath to calm his panicking nerves. He had grown to begin to trust Harry, but he wasn’t sure if the Gryffindor was capable of keeping a secret of such magnitude to himself. Draco sincerely hoped he was.

Harry shook his head indignantly. How could Draco try to make him keep something like that a secret, especially from his godfather? He was obviously not ok, and Harry would feel horrible knowing the information and doing nothing about it. “Draco…I-I can’t keep something like that from Snape. He’s been trying to coax the information out of you since you got here, and if he even suspects I might know anything about it, he’ll dive into my mind and get it himself. He may have taught me Occlumency, but he’s a damn good Master Legilimens and I wouldn’t stand a chance if he really wanted to get it from me.”

Draco stood up and rounded on Harry angrily, his gray eyes flashing silver; a definite Malfoy danger sign. “So don’t lead him on and make him suspect you know anything! Swear to me, Harry! I swore to keep your secret, now you have to keep mine!”

“That was different! Snape already knew about the Prophecy and that it puts me in grave danger! This, though…Draco, what that man did to you was disgusting and he should be punished for what he did! Don’t you want him to pay for hurting you? If Snape knew, he’d find him and he’d have his bollocks on a silver platter in ten seconds flat. Why won’t you let anyone help you?” Harry didn’t know when he had stood up, or when he had drawn so close to the Slytherin, but he was aware that his voice had grown to a shout and it made Draco pale considerably.

“For the love of Merlin, Harry, keep it down! Severus and Lupin are just in the other room, you prat! I don’t fucking care about that bastard, alright? I got away from him unscathed, so what’s the big deal, eh?” Draco pleaded in a hurried whisper, trying to push Harry back down into his chair to keep the argument from escalating out of his control.

“Unscathed? Draco, when you showed up here with Dumbledore you had bruises and cuts all over you, not to mention you were starved and obviously emotionally drained. Merlin only knows what else was wrong with you that you were keeping from everyone. If it wasn’t for Dumbledore’s trust in you and his impersonal healing spells, Snape would have found out for sure. I thought Gryffindors were the foolishly stubborn ones, not Slytherins!”

“You’re right, Slytherin’s have pride and a sense of self-preservation, meaning we’ll do anything to keep ourselves alive – anything, do you understand?” Draco whispered furiously as he shoved Harry forcefully into a chair and sat down in the one beside him, clenching his fists to keep his temper in check.

Harry stared at Draco, appalled by what the Slytherin was telling him. “Are you saying that you…you did it all willingly to save your own skin? You let him…” Harry turned away, swallowing the lump in his throat that had kept him from finishing his sentence. He knew Slytherin’s had a strong urge to thrive, but he never thought anyone would go that far, especially not Draco bloody Malfoy.

Draco sighed heavily as he ran his hands agitatedly through his silky blonde locks. “I know you think I’m disgusting now, but please don’t tell anyone, Harry…Please.”

Harry shook his head, feeling his stomach squirm at the desperation and self-loathing in Draco’s voice. “No – Draco…I don’t think you’re disgusting at all. I think that man is disgusting and deserves to burn in hell! Whether you think you did it willing or not, he kept you there against your will. You were forced to cave in to keep yourself alive. Don’t hate yourself for something you had no control over,” Harry said, placing a comforting hand on Draco’s trembling shoulder. He felt his heart sink even lower as he heard a badly veiled sniffle and a whimper come from the blonde.

Draco stayed staring at the floor, not wanting to look up and see concern-filled emerald eyes staring back at him. It was bad enough that Harry knew at all, but to hear the Gryffindor defend and comfort him – it was too much. “Look, I swear on my mother’s grave that I will tell someone if and when I am ready, but you have to swear you’ll let me do it on my own, tell Severus on my own terms, alright?” Draco said as he reluctantly looked up at the raven-haired teen he had so recently despised.

Harry let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, a sense of foreboding telling him not to agree, to seek help for Draco immediately. However, Harry knew what it was like to be so hurt that he couldn’t bear for anyone else to know. If he were in Draco’s situation, he’d feel the exact same way the Slytherin did. Though he knew he would regret it later, Harry nodded slowly, meeting the blonde’s smouldering grey eyes. “Ok…I swear on my mother’s grave that I won’t tell a soul. I really want to help you, Draco…At least help yourself if you won’t let me, yeah?”

Draco let out a sigh of relief, his shoulders relaxing as his sense of panic dwindled away. “Thank you, Harry. I promise…I’ll tell someone eventually.”

S~S~S~S

It was a week until Hogwarts was to start up again, and both Harry and Draco had received their Hogwarts letters the morning before. The four occupants of the Bristol Cottage set off on a mission to Diagon Alley to get their supplies as quickly and inconspicuously as possible.

Remus fidgeted with his robes, holding tightly to his wand, which was stuck up his sleeve for quick access. He looked around distractedly as people gave their odd entourage strange looks. “Are you sure this was a wise idea, Severus? We could easily have gotten the boys’ supplies for them and left them home. We still haven’t apprehended the ones who attacked Harry earlier this summer.”

Severus rolled his eyes as he kept close approximation to his two charges and his...companion. He was not quite as obviously paranoid as the werewolf, but he was very anxious, not helped by Remus’ fidgeting. “Calm down, Remus. I don’t intend to let them run off by themselves at any point and there are other Order members stationed around the Alley in case anyone tries to pull something.”

Harry stopped walking abruptly, making Snape walk right into him, as he’d been looking the other direction at Remus. “I have escorts and people are still guarding me wherever I go? Why is it that I never know any of this?” he asked with an incredulous expression.

Severus glared and gave Harry a prod in the back to keep him moving, not wanting to linger too long on the high streets. “It’s for your own protection, idiot child, and you’re not told precisely because of that abysmal attitude you’re so fond of having. If you weren’t so insolent maybe Dumbledore would be more willing to divulge such information – ”

“Honestly, why don’t you just send him to bed with no pudding while you’re at it, Severus? You sound like a mollycoddling father. It’s rather disgusting,” Draco sneered as he flounced his way a little ahead of the group, trying to look more important than he was. Truth be told, he was in just as much danger as Potter, if not more.

“However would you know what a mollycoddling father sounds like, Draco? You’re father hasn’t coddled you once since you were an infant,” Severus snapped irritably, knowing damn well Draco was right and highly irritated by it.

“Severus, that was uncalled for,” Remus admonished. He was sure he would never understand the dynamics of Snape’s relationship with his godson, but purposely kicking him while he was down was pretty low, even for Snape.

However, Draco turned and smirked haughtily at Snape, walking backwards in a show of overconfidence. “You’re right, Severus; I was coddled enough by you to make up where my real father lacked.”

“Why you insolent little – !”

“Harry! It’s wonderful to see – Professor Snape? Malfoy? Remus?” Hermione stopped in her rush to hug Harry and stared bemusedly at the strange group in front of her.

Ron ambled over not paying a bit of attention to Harry’s escorts and grinning crookedly at his best friend. “Hey mate; glad to see you were let out of your cage. You just get here? Hermione and I need to – ” He was cut off as Hermione elbowed him pointedly, making him look up and realize who was present. “Bloody hell!”

“Language, Weasley,” Severus sneered at the grimacing redhead. He’d surely never get use to those Weasley expressions of horror, no matter how many times they were directed at him from the various Weasleys – children and adults.

Harry shifted uncomfortably as he felt some sort of impending explosion building up. “Hey guys. Good summer so far?” he asked with a tentative smile.

“Er...Yeah, it’s been nice. Uh, Harry, can we speak to you – privately?” Hermione asked, giving Snape and Malfoy wary looks. She had a light hold on Ron’s arm, trying to soothe the boiling emotions she could sense coming from him.

“Stay where we can see you, Harry, and hurry up. We shouldn’t be out too long,” Remus said as he conspicuously brushed Severus’ palm with his fingertips to indicate that he should let Harry go.

“Put a rush on it, Potter,” Severus said grudgingly as he allowed the Golden Trio to retreat quite a few hasty steps away to compose a whispered conversation.

Ron rounded on Harry as soon as they were out of earshot, his face a lovely shade of Pissed Off Weasley-red. “What the bloody hell are you doing with Snape and Malfoy, Harry? Don’t tell me that’s who you’ve had to stay with all summer!”

Harry’s look of chagrined guilt made Ron’s face grow dangerously redder. “I didn’t have much of a choice, Ron. Dumbledore thinks it’s the safest place for me until Hogwarts starts up again. It’s not as horrible as you may think, actually. Snape has helped me loads this summer, not to mention saved my life –”

Hermione tightened her hold on Ron’s arm as he threw a scathing look over at Snape and Malfoy. “Harry, you can’t honestly be comfortable with this, right? Being stuck with Snape and Malfoy? I can’t imagine wherever you’re staying is very large either; how do all three of you live?”

“Four; Remus is living with us too. It’s for extra protection, and because he’s pretty miffed at Dumbledore presently. We live pretty comfortably, if not a bit too cosy. Draco and I sleep in the sitting room and Snape and Remus share the bedroom – er, at least they did before that big fight. Now Draco’s in the room with Snape and Remus is in the sitting room with me.”

“‘Draco’?! Since when do you call the ferret by his first name? And why is the prat living with you anyways? Doesn’t he have some huge mansion in Wiltshire to be lording over?” Ron asked snidely, trying to pull his arm out of Hermione’s increasingly tight grip.

Harry frowned at his friend, willing his sudden surge of anger to subside before he tried to answer Ron’s slightly hysteric questions. “First off, I started addressing him by his full name when he started teaching me Occlumency as a show of trust, which is a requirement of the skill. Second, he’s staying in the same place as me because his mother was murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange and then he was held captive by the psychotic bitch until he escaped her and lived on the streets until he found Dumbledore and switched sides. I assume Malfoy Manor is still there, yes, but it’s probably also teeming with Death Eater scum and Voldemort himself. He’s under Dumbledore’s protection now, not to mention Snape is his legal guardian as his godfather.”

Hermione’s eyes were impossibly wide and Ron’s mouth was gaping open stupidly. They stared in utter silence for what seemed like hours until Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see Snape behind him.

“Come, Harry; we have much to do and very little time to do so. There’s only a week until term starts, you’ll see them then.”

Ron blanched as he stared up at Snape instead. “Did you just call him ‘Harry’? And since when were you so...nice?”

“Ronald!” Hermione hissed in a harassed sort of voice.

Severus rolled his eyes as he tightened his grip on Harry’s shoulder in an attempt to steer him away. “Yes, I called him Harry, and don’t mistake my rapidly waning patience for niceness. Good day Weasley, Granger.”

Harry shrugged with a slight frown as he waved at his friends before allowing Snape to steer him back towards Malfoy and Remus, who were both looking surprisingly worried. He forced himself not to turn around and see the scandalized looks that surely graced Ron’s and Hermione’s expressions.

“What’s wrong?” Severus asked Remus and Draco, spotting a problem where Harry had not. He quickly pulled his wand out and let his eyes travel quickly around the Alley.

Remus gulped visibly and shared a look with Draco before answering Snape. “Draco said he recognized one of the men who just walked by and are now standing very close to Ron and Hermione from one of his father’s Death Eater dinner parties.”

Severus slowly turned around, his wand held closely at his side as he squinted towards the two men looking conspicuously in Ron and Hermione’s direction from naught fifteen feet away. “Ellings and Briggs. They’re fairly unimportant figures, but Death Eaters none the less.” Severus rapped Harry smartly on the head with his wand, incanting a Disillusionment charm. “You have your cloak, yes? Put it on,” Severus instructed Harry out of the corner of his mouth.

Remus copied Snape’s movements and did the same to Draco, shoving him close to Harry as the Invisibility cloak swung around both teens. “We need to protect Draco as well, Severus.”

“Get ready to shield Granger and Weasley when I say so.” Severus waited for Remus’ nod before making a move towards the two men, which spurred them into action. “NOW!”

Remus cast a strong shield charm at Ron and Hermione, encasing them in a bubble of glowing protection. He grabbed blindly for a few seconds before pushing the invisible teens towards the closest shop, indicating they should hide out.

Draco stumbled as he was pushed into Harry, who caught him on instinct and ended up flat on his back with Draco sprawled over him underneath the cloak. “Bloody werewolf,” Draco grumbled as he struggled to regain his footing and help Harry up while keeping the cloak covering them. He had to crouch slightly as he was much taller than Harry and made the cloak hover, even though they were Disillusioned.

“I can’t just stand here, I have to do something! They want me, not them!” Harry said in a heated whisper as he went to pull the cloak off himself.

“Potter, stop playing the hero and let’s go! Look, there’s other’s coming to help now,” Draco pointed out as he saw three people running towards Snape, Remus, and the two Death Eaters with their wands drawn.

“Yeah, help on both sides!” Harry growled as four more Death Eaters in black cloaks Apparated to the scene.

“Harry, come on!” Draco grounded out as he tugged at Harry’s arm and tried to drag him towards Madame Malkin’s, which was the closest shop. He could hear shouted warnings and horrified screams from passers-by as they scurried for cover.

Harry suffered a few seconds indecision as he watched a Death Eater dismantle the shield around Ron and Hermione. Harry pulled his wand and countered the Disillusionment charm, hoping to distract the Death Eaters enough to keep Ron and Hermione safe. He escaped the folds of the cloak before Draco could stop him. “Oi! I’m over here!”

Draco panicked as all six Death Eaters turned towards Harry with their wands aimed. He quickly grabbed Harry around the shoulders and pivoted, making his still-invisible back face the Death Eaters as six simultaneous spells shot in his direction. He made a silent prayer that none of those spell lights were green before the world went black and he dropped to the ground.

As Harry felt the blast of spells hit Draco behind him, twenty or so Aurors turned up and quickly joined in on the battle, but the Death Eaters Apparated quickly away. Harry knelt down and whipped the cloak off of Draco, who was fully visible as whatever cocktail of curses he’d taken had lifted the Disillusionment charm. “Draco...” Harry whispered, horrified that the Slytherin had risked himself to protect him.

“You foolish, arrogant, waste of oxygen!” Severus shouted, spit flecks flying from his mouth as he ran over and dropped to his knees beside his unconscious godson. He quickly checked for a pulse and relaxed minutely as he felt a faint heartbeat. He performed a few diagnostics spells to assess the damage, becoming increasingly panicked by what they showed.

Remus ran over and quickly pulled Harry to his feet, moving him away from Draco’s prone body and Severus, who was glaring at him viciously as he stood up, his wand still held at his side. “Severus, now, calm down...”

“What the hell were you thinking, Potter?! After all I’ve done to protect you, you go and give yourself up on a silver platter – and for what, to protect Granger and Weasley? You idiot, Lupin’s shield charm was still working, the outer shell was the only thing affected!”

Dumbledore suddenly appeared and looked around to assess the damage before spotting Draco lying on the ground and Snape advancing on Harry, who was being held protectively against Remus’ chest. “Severus, the boy needs the hospital. I will deal with Harry,” the old man instructed in a too calm voice.

Severus spun around and dropped down to lift Draco up in his arms. Without a moment’s hesitation, he spun and Apparated them both straight into St. Mungo’s emergency room. “I need a Healer!” Severus shouted to no one in particular.

Harry was shaking uncontrollably against Remus’ chest, his eyes stinging smartly. It took him awhile to realize he was actually crying. “I didn’t...Draco shouldn’t have – I’m sorry!” Harry babbled his eyes wide as Dumbledore approached, his expression grave.

“That was a very foolish thing to do, Harry. Your life is much more valuable than your friends’. You should have trusted the Aurors and Order members to protect Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger. Your dire mistake could have killed you and left us all in mortal danger. Instead, it could result in Mr. Malfoy’s death. You’re lucky, very lucky, that Draco had a fit of Gryffindor bravery just now. Come, we must check on how Mr. Malfoy is doing.” Dumbledore turned in a sweep of his cloak as the Aurors and Order members were cleaning up the mess and Disapparating away.

Ron and Hermione ran over to where Harry stood, still leaning heavily against Remus, tears still streaming down his cheeks.

“Harry, you’re such an idiot!” Hermione cried as she flung herself at him and hugged him tightly.

 Ron was pale and seemed to be a bit shaken as he pat Harry nervously on the arm. “That was pretty stupid, mate. I can’t believe Malfoy took all those spells for you...”

Remus could feel Harry trembling even more against him. He peeled Hermione away from Harry as he put his arm around the boy’s shoulder to help keep him steady. “We need to get going, before a repeat occurrence takes place. You both should go straight home as well; order your school supplies by owl order instead if you don’t have them all already.”

Ron and Hermione nodded reluctantly and hurried back towards the entrance way to the Alley, leading back to the Leaky Cauldron where they could both floo back to the Burrow. Remus gripped Harry’s shoulder tightly. “Hang on, Harry.”

With that familiar, horrible sensation of being squeezed through a very tight tube, Remus and Harry were standing in the main atrium of St. Mungo’s, which bustled noisily. Remus directed Harry over to the Welcome Witch’s desk.

“Hello, we’re here to check on Draco Malfoy. He came in just mere minutes ago,” Remus told the witch, who popped her gum annoyingly before glancing down at a long parchment and searching out Draco’s name.

“Fourth floor, Spell Damage. Next!”

Remus tugged Harry towards the lift, which clattered and banged as it stopped and opened its wiry gate for them. They both stepped in and Remus closed the gate before pushing the round ‘four’ button to the right of the lift. They made their way steadily up until the lift jangled to a stop and the gate slid open noisily.

“Fourth floor, Spell Damage,” an eerie voice informed them as they stepped out of a lift and into a busy corridor. Remus was about to ask one of the Healers which ward Draco was in when he spotted Snape pacing back and forth in front of a door with the sign MAGICAL EMERGENCIES: SPELL DAMAGE SECTOR.

“Severus, how is he, do you know?” Remus asked as he hurried forwards towards the Potions Master.

Harry hung back intentionally, expecting to be cursed eight ways from Sunday if he got within twenty feet of Snape. He leaned heavily against the wall behind him and slid all the way down until he was crouched on the floor, his forehead resting on his knees.

Severus looked up at Remus and purposefully pretended like he couldn’t see Potter hanging around in the background out of the corner of his eye. “I don’t know anything yet. They took him back and told me to stay here. Said they’d send someone out with any new developments,” Severus explained in a strained voice as he ran a hand through his hair for the hundredth time since letting Draco out of his sight.

“Why don’t you sit down, Severus. I’ll go find you some tea and then I’ll wait with you, ok? Has Dumbledore stopped by yet? He said he was going to,” Remus said as he placed a comforting hand on Snape’s shoulder.

Severus sneered as he pulled away from Remus and continued to pace. “Of course not. Dumbledore doesn’t give a damn if Draco lives or dies, as long as precious Potter is unharmed,” he snapped, sending a glare in Harry’s direction, though the boy still had his face buried in his knees.

Remus frowned as he grabbed hold of Severus’ shoulders to keep him from pacing. “Please, Severus, just go sit down and calm down a bit, alright? Worrying yourself into a fit isn’t going to help anyone, least of all Draco. I’ll be right back with some tea.”

Severus grudgingly took one of the many mismatched chairs around the waiting room, feeling fidgety and useless. He didn’t even know if Draco was dead or alive at this point and the waiting was driving him crazy.

Remus stopped and crouched in front of Harry, placing a hand gently on the back of his head. “Harry, why don’t you go sit over there in a chair, not on the ground? I’ll bring you some tea back as well, alright? Severus isn’t going to do anything to you; he’s not stupid enough to try it.” Remus assured the distraught teen, who still seemed to be crying.

Harry huffed in disbelief, but sat up and wiped his eyes on his sleeve before allowing Remus to help him to his feet. With a helpful shove in the right direction, Harry walked over to the mismatched chairs arranged in an odd circle around the makeshift waiting room. He chose a seat diagonal from Snape and folded himself up in it quite well, still leaning his chin on his knee. He avoided the Potions Master’s gaze as best he could.

Even with all the noisy bustling of Healer’s and patients, the air around the copse of chairs Severus and Harry sat in seemed deathly silent, unnervingly so. There was a clock on the wall that ticked ominously, slowly. The door to the emergency room opened just as Remus walked up juggling three cups of tea, which he set aside immediately as he saw a Healer head towards Snape.

“Mr. Snape?” the Healer asked tentatively. She looked pretty young, maybe she was remembering the Potions Professor from her Hogwarts days.

Severus stood up quickly, which made him tower over the fairly short Healer. “Yes, how is he?”

The Healer shuffled some papers on a clipboard before looking up at Snape, her expression blank but her eyes giving away her emotion of grave disappointment. “We weren’t able to detect every spell he was hit with, even with you describing the different spell lights. With so many different spells acting upon each other, a counter curse treatment might very well kill him instead of save his life, as we don’t know the full effects of all the spells combined. From our diagnostic spells, we’ve found nerve damage, and a possible brain injury. However, Mr. Malfoy has gone into shock and his body has essentially shut down. He’s in a coma, sir.”

Severus gulped at the lump in his throat and nodded stiffly, glad Remus was behind him and willing to hold him up as he leaned his weight back against the man. “Can nothing else be done?” he asked quietly, sickened to hear that hopeful tone in his voice.

“For now, he needs to be monitored closely to see if any new symptoms come up or if there are any changes in his brain activity, which is really low right now. The research department are looking up possible solutions for spell damage of this nature, but I can make you no promises. I’m sorry, Professor.”

Severus felt his heart sink even lower. What if Draco never woke up? What if Draco did wake up, but he was a complete invalid? He was Severus’ responsibility now, could he handle taking care of a handicapped child? Could he handle watching Draco waste away in a coma? “Can I see him?”

The Healer nodded and moved aside so that Snape could walk beside her. “Of course, but only one visitor at a time,” she said, looking back towards Remus and Harry, who had been listening in the whole time.

Severus looked back at Remus’ worried and sympathetic face and Harry’s pale and sickly one. “They won’t be seeing him,” he said firmly, his tone icy cold and his eyes dark.

When they entered the ward where Draco was staying, Severus began to feel a little prick of panic rise in his chest. He didn’t know if he could stand seeing his godson like this, but he needed to check on him. A curtain was drawn back and the Healer nodded her head towards the bed, where Draco was laying on his back, the blankets pulled up to his chest. His ice blonde hair wafted across the pillow, falling into his closed eyes. His pale skin seemed even whiter than the sheets around him and he looked like he could have been dead if not for the very subtle rise and fall of his chest.

Severus moved forward and the Healer walked away to give him some privacy, presumably. He reached out a hand to brush away a few strands of silky hair and was glad to feel the warmness of Draco’s skin, despite it looking like he had been frozen in time. Severus pulled the chair sitting off to the side closer to the bed and sat down, his elbows propped on the edge of the hospital bed. Severus cradled his head in his hands and just sat there in silence for what could very well have been hours, thinking about how drastically he had failed the closest thing he had to a child.