-II-

Severus meanwhile became more scared because he was alone with the two Healers on his bed. He felt the traitorous tears well up in his eyes.

"Severus, it won't be so bad," Maria assured him and brushed a tear away with her thumb. "After we have finished the examination without magic, we will run some diagnostic spells and one of us will scan you. You know that this won't hurt, right?" Maria asked.

Severus nodded. He knew there was no way around it, and he wanted it to be over as soon as possible. Slowly, he pulled his pajama top over his head. Blushing, he looked at Maria in question if he has to pull his bottom off as well.

"You can keep the pajama bottom on for the first part," Maria allowed gently, knowing Severus would feel better this way.

Harry looked shocked at Severus. His back and even his front were covered with scars. The adult Severus had always tried to keep Harry from seeing him naked. The worst was that Severus looked like he was starved. Harry could see each rib, and Severus' backbone stood out as well.

"Old wounds form adulthood are still visible on the skin," Maria stated and a magical quill wrote it down. "Otherwise, the patient has overall statue and appearance of a thirteen year old." Then she looked Severus directly in his eyes. "I will examine you from head to toe now. Do you still remember the quill and the protocol?"

Severus nodded. He was examined often enough to know the protocol quill. It was easy to differ between the voice with which Maria addressed Severus during the examination and the voice with which she ordered the quill to write something down.

-II-

"Okay, I will start with your head." Maria felt every inch of Severus' head and Severus felt the warm tickle of magic flow through his scalp. So she had decided to combine the magical with the non-magical examination. "Skull fractures, same as the adult body." She went on like this with Severus' face, eyes, teeth, and mouth. Everything matched the damage his adult self already had. "We need to have a dental Healer have a look at him, Poppy. I'm not good enough in this area," Maria addressed Poppy.

"Of course, I will make an appointment for them both," Poppy stated and both boys crinkled their noses.

Maria chuckled and went on to Severus' hands. "Healed fractures and nerve damage. Shortened sinews and oversensitive tissue. Physical training and healing necessary."

"Do you remember the last condition of Severus' hands, Poppy?" James asked while Maria scanned Severus' hands with magic.

"They were still infected and were healing very slowly. We couldn't start with therapy," Poppy explained.

Severus hissed and tried to pull his hands back when he felt a sharp pain. "Shh, Severus, it'll be over soon," James promised and sat down behind Severus, pulling him against his chest.

Maria concentrated on the diagnosis and the healing because she knew James would take care of the rest. Severus whimpered when another wave of pain shot through his hand, but James' soothing words made him not fight it. "It's over, Severus," Maria said and stroked Severus' hands soothingly. "I'm very proud of you."

Severus' breathing calmed down, and he relaxed in James arms.

"I prodded the nerves and stretched the sinews, but we need to repeat this at least once a day. I can come over here and do it," Maria stated.

"I can do it as well, Maria. It won't be necessary for you to come so often. You are a busy-" Poppy tried to argue, but was stopped by Maria.

"No, Poppy. It won't be good if you are the one doing it. Severus should not associate pain with you. You will have enough to do taking care of them. Let us help you. I will come over once a day and heal his hands and do some exercises with him," Maria said in a no-nonsense voice.

Severus whimpered and looked shocked at his hands. I have to go through this once a day? That's horrible.

"It will become less painful in a few days, Sev," Maria assured him. She tried using a nickname for the first time and waited to see how Severus would react. Obviously he did not care because he just nodded hopefully.

"Okay, Severus, I am going to auscultate your heart and lungs," Maria explained while procuring a small, flat metallic object that looked like a coin.

"What's that?" Harry whispered. He had never seen anything like it.

"It's a membrane. It helps Healer Meyers to hear Severus' heartbeat and the air that goes in and out of his lungs," Poppy explained patiently.

"Lungs intact. Low volume for the age of thirteen caused by the damage during his adulthood. No therapy necessary. Heart fully intact and according to his current age," Maria stated for the quill.

"Please lay down, Sev," Maria instructed.

Severus' ribs stood out even more in that position, and he crossed his arms over his torso because he could feel the looks of the adults on him.

Gently, Maria pried his hands away without saying anything. Then she prodded each rib and finally pushed on several spots on Severus' abdomen.

Severus was very nervous. He knew that Maria and the others would not be happy about his results. He almost jumped up when he felt the tickling feeling of the scanning magic in his stomach.

Maria shook her head sadly. "I fear Severus wasn't completely honest with you over the last few months, Poppy."

Severus closed his eyes, ashamed. He jerked a bit when he felt magic flow in his stomach again. This time, the magic was different. More soothing, like a humming through his body. Severus opened his eyes and saw James scanning him.

"Sever malnutrition. Sensitive stomach. Nutrient Potion necessary twice a day. Constant monitoring necessary." This time, it was James who stated the results of the examination for the quill. "Severus, you cannot go on like this or you won't have enough energy to heal and learn all the new things you have to learn. If you refuse to work together with us and your guardians regarding your eating disorder, you will be put in a clinic sooner or later," James said seriously.

Severus looked shocked. "I don't want to go to a clinic!"

"I know, and if you work together with us, that won't be necessary. At the moment, you are in bad shape. Healer Meyers and I will write out a diet plan for you, and Poppy and Alastor will keep an eye on you so you follow it. In addition, you need to take a Nutrient Potion, okay?" James said, eying Severus closely.

Severus nodded frantically. "Please, just don't send me away."

"We won't, Severus, but your condition is already very dangerous, and we have to react if you don't do what we say in this matter. We just want you to understand how serious this is," Healer Meyers added.

Severus nodded fearfully.

"Okay," Maria said, smiling reassuringly at Severus. "Now we need to examine your private parts." Maria waved her wand and conjured a small privacy screen. "Would you prefer if Healer Smith went with you for this part of the examination?"

Again, Severus nodded. He was glad that he did not have to pull his pants down in front of them all and that he did not need to have Healer Meyers examine him down there.

James smiled at him. "Then come, it won't take long."

Five minutes later they were done. Severus' face was red, but he did not look as if he had cried.

"We killed two birds with one stone," James said and placed a small cup with Severus' urine on the night table.

Severus blushed even more. When James had prodded his bladder, Severus had realized that he really needed to go to the loo. James had quickly used this opportunity and had pulled a cup out of his pocket. Severus had problems holding on again when the cup was full, and James had quickly applied a Bladder-Relieving Charm.

"Private parts intact and fully functional according to his current age," James stated for the quill to write it down. "Urine sample taken at 9:20pm."

The rest of the examination went by quickly, and then Maria waved her wand over him for around five minutes. "Almost done," Maria stated while the quill automatically wrote down the results of the diagnostic spells. "I'll scan you nervous system now. Just relax."

Severus felt the tickling before he could totally relax, but it stopped again. "Everything okay, Severus?" Maria asked, worried.

Severus nodded. "´Just need more time," he said tiredly.

"Okay, just nod when you are ready," Maria replied patiently.

Severus breathed in a few times and then nodded. The tickling started from his chest and spread over his whole body. It was not painful but was not comfortable. Severus breathed, relieved, when it was over.

"Would you scan him body to body, James? He is too tense for my magic," Maria said and destroyed Severus' hope that the examination was over.

"Of course," James replied. Smiling friendly at Severus he added, "I will sit behind you as I did when Healer Meyers scanned your hands, okay?" After Severus had nodded, James sat down. He shifted to find a comfortable position for himself and laid his left hand over Severus' stomach. "Just try to relax and lean backwards. That's it," James said, reassuring, when Severus leaned his head backwards on James' shoulder. When the boy had settled himself, James placed his right hand on Severus' forehead.

Severus tensed when the hand was placed on his forehead. This made it almost impossible for him to move, and he could only see the ceiling. He felt very vulnerable, but James' calming words made him relax after a while. Suddenly, an amazing calming magic flew through his body. The last bit of tension left Severus' body, and he sagged against James' chest. For Severus, it felt as if honey was running through his veins. Warm and calm. So relaxing. Nothing mattered except the warm and safe feeling. He groaned in protest when the feeling slowly ebbed. The chuckle against his back made him open his eyes.

"Back with us?" James asked, amused.

Severus blushed. "That was...." He was speechless.

James chuckled again. "You are very tired, and your body absorbs all kinds of calming magic up like a sponge. Normally, you wouldn't zoom out like that when I'll heal or scan you. Do you feel better?"

Severus nodded. He really felt better. Much better.

"I thought so." James looked over to Maria and became serious again. "His nerves are damaged severely. Some of the damage is from exposure to the Cruciatus Curses in his adulthood, but the potion also seems to have had an effect. Another problem is that the potion is still active in his body." Severus tensed in his arms, and James let another dose of Calming Magic flow into the boy. "Shh, Severus, there is no damage we cannot heal in the next month. You will be a normal boy."

After Severus relaxed again, James went on, this time addressing the quill. "Unstable and damaged nerve connections caused by Dark spells during his adulthood and the de-aging. No dead nerves. De-aging potion is still active. Current age, twelve years and ten months."

"No," Severus said miserably.

Maria cupped his face with both hands. "Severus, a few months more or less doesn't matter."

Severus looked disbelievingly at the Healer. "It does!" A quick glance over to Harry let the adults see Severus' reason behind his protesting.

"You are still older than Harry, Severus. The activity of the potion in your system was very low already. I don't think you will de-age more than one or two months from now," James assured Severus. His attempt to calm the boy with this statement was unsuccessful.

"More? I don't want it to de-age me more!" Severus said, panicking. He started to claw at his chest as if he could pull the potion out of his body.

James grabbed Severus' arms and held them close to his body so the boy could not hurt himself. "Shh, Severus, stop. Maybe the potion won't de-age you anymore."

Maria's reproaching look made him feel even guiltier about his little lie than he had already felt. The potion would effect Severus' age as long as it was active in his body. He looked apologizing to Maria and was relieved when he saw her face become gentler again.

"How will this nerve damage affect him?" Alastor asked, worried and confused by all the Healer talk.

"I cannot say for sure. Some will not affect him at all, but some will. We can only see by keeping a close eye on him. Severus will be the first person to notice any problems, and he will need to come to one of us and tell us about it. You will do so, right, Severus?" James asked gently.

"But you won't send me to a clinic?" Severus asked uncertainly.

"No, we won't send you to a clinic, but we may need to heal or help you with those problems. Some nerve connections will heal themselves while you exercise. For example, your bladder problem a few minutes ago. That's a nerve connection problem, but it will soon be healed. You will learn to read your body signs again as you were able to as an adult and maybe even better than before. Of course, it may take some time. Even if you have a little accident the next time, it wouldn't be something bad," James explained.

Severus face was so hot from embarrassment that he thought it would explode. Accident? I haven't had an accident like this since I was four, and Father beat me like hell for it, Severus thought fearfully. He knew that Alastor would not beat him for something like this, but Severus did not want to have an accident. I will just go to the loo as often as possible. Yes, that will help. It had helped the first time, and it would help now as well.

James was relieved when Severus relaxed again. "It is useless to explain all the possible problems your damaged nerve connections could cause. I would advise that you just watch him closely and encourage him to speak about any problems," James said to Alastor and Poppy and then looked at Severus. "Severus, it is important that you speak with your guardians, Healer Meyers, or myself if you realize anything weird, especially while you are in classes. We can help you if you have problems, but we can only do so if you are honest with us."

"Okay. Are you finished with the examination?" Severus asked hopefully.

Maria sighed. "We still need your blood, Severus."

Immediately, Severus tensed in James' embrace again. "We already promised to numb the spot, Severus," James assured while Maria rummaged in her bag for the syringe and the numbing and disinfectant salve.

Poppy sat down beside James and slowly stroked Severus' sweaty hair.

When Harry saw the syringe and Severus' fearful look, he hid in Alastor's shoulder. "It's not as bad as it looks, Harry," Alastor assured the frightened boy.

Harry was not convinced and just shook his head against Alastor's chest. At least the calming circles Alastor drew on his back were soothing.

Severus whined in protest, big brother or not, when James bent his arm away from his body so that Healer Meyers could numb the spot where she wanted to put the syringe in with the salve.

"Come on, Severus. It will be over in a minute. Please try to relax," Maria said, but Severus was way too scared to relax. Maria shook her head, frustrated, and James sent more Calming Magic to Severus. The moment he stopped, Maria put the syringe in Severus' arm.

Severus flinched. It really was just a small sting and an uncomfortable pressure. "That's my boy," Poppy said calmingly, still stroking Severus' hair.

"All done, Severus. You were very brave," Healer Meyers said.

"Yes, I'm very impressed, Severus," James praised him as well.

Severus relaxed and smiled, relieved. He ignored the annoyed voice in his head that told him that they were making fun of him and that he should not behave like a small child. Severus did not care because it felt as if he had run a thousand miles. He was very exhausted and proud that he had made it. He took gladly the chocolate frog Healer Meyers gave him for his cooperation.