Severus flipped on the electric light to better examine what the child had done to himself.

The boy hadn't complained of any pain before Severus had spelled that potion into him, but doubtless, that was because with the shock and near asphyxiation he wouldn't have felt it if yet. The croaky, weak voice and almost spastic movements of his neck spoke of real damage. The hastily cast assessment spell backed it up.

He had almost barked at the child, when he was trying to shake his head. That would have only caused further trauma (mental or physical, it didn't matter at this point).

Under the bright electric light, Severus could see darkening bruises all around Harry's neck. Why the child had decided to do himself injury tonight...

Well, they'd get to the bottom of the emotions tomorrow. Tonight Severus would work on the injuries he could see.

Just to be safe, Severus cast a full body bind on the sleeping boy, taking care that his neck was properly aligned. Next, a spell to monitor Harry's breathing, in case his airway started to swell or fluid got into it when he couldn't move. A few more spells gave the child extra oxygen, a blue magical glow appearing over his nose and mouth to signify the presence of pure oxygen. Severus summoned a recording parchment to keep track of what the monitoring spells were saying. For now, according to them, Harry was physically stable.

The diagnostic spells showed the kind of damage one would expect from a botched hanging. Harry had fractured his larynx and one of his cervical vertabrae. No nerve damage...the boy's astonishing luck still held; that could have been a very nasty repair. There didn't seem to be any brain damage, either. Magic protected the child, of course, but it could only go so far. The boy's magic, might have rallied to sever the scarf or levitate the boy or it might not have. Self inflicted injuries often had the effect of confusing a wizard's magic.

Severus looked at the sleeping child, thinking hard. Making his mind up, he summoned his Patronus. It was bright with the relief that the child lived.

Sev, admit it, you are ecstatic that Harry's alive, Lily's annoyingly accurate voice in his head, said

He gave it it's instructions before he summoned his dressing gown. It was chilly and it was going to be a long night.

The boy's injuries were not life threatening, but healing them would be a delicate job, beyond Severus' skill. If he did a poor repair, it would just have to be redone, and the child was traumatized enough, as it was.

He summoned a tea pot, and the makings of a nice cup from the kitchen. He didn't dare leave the child even for a second, not even with a sleeping potion and a full body bind on him. The truth was, Severus didn't like to give him that much sleeping potion, until his injuries were fully healed.

Severus sighed, "What am I going to do with you?" he asked rhetorically, in a soft voice.

He made his tea and pulled up a chair, next to the bed, so he could keep an eye on Harry's face.

In repose, the boy's face was again very like his grandfather Evans, Severus thought. It was the boy's defiant or petulant expressions that looked so like James Potter.

Severus drank his tea, considering the black haired child. He had known that it was possible that the boy was capable of something like this, but he had expected, perhaps, a little more warning.

Severus spared a moment to thank all the gods he'd ever heard of that Molly Weasley had the foresight to tell him about the alarm clock spell. He might never have found Harry until it was too late, otherwise.

The alarm had started whooping as the hand had ticked over to "Mortal Peril". Waking from a sound sleep, it had taken him precious seconds to work out what the alarm was, and then a few more precious seconds to ascertain the child's location. Thank Merlin that it hadn't been the cellar. His anti apparition wards would have had to have been rebuilt from the ground up after he broke them.

He wondered what had made Harry decide to do it tonight. The child had been quiet all day, but no more so than usual. They had not even had words. The phone call from Granger? Had she upset him?

There was no telling.

His mother had been the same. He would never know what caused her to kill herself that chill spring day. She had chosen a potion much more swift and sure than the Endless Peace Miss Weasley had brewed. There would have been no saving her, even if she had been discovered fifteen seconds after ingesting it.

Severus heart felt heavy in his chest. It seemed that Harry had inherited the Snape tendency toward depression,. Given the burdens the child struggled under, however, it was surprising that this hadn't happened sooner.

The child made a low noise in his chest, seeming to try to cast off the jinx holding him immobile.

"Shh." Severus put his tea on the bedside table and took one of the boy's hands between his own, not wanting Harry to wake up properly and panic. That wasn't at all what either of them needed, "Keep still, Harry. You've hurt yourself. Madam Pomfrey will be along soon."

Heavy eyes opened to slits. The boy was fighting the potion, as well as the spell.

"Go back to sleep." Severus said, not sure if Harry heard him or knew who was speaking.

The hand in Severus' twitched. Severus looked at the child'd face. His eyebrows were furrowed and the mouth was turned down in a frightened line.

Harry's groggy, barely audible voice came out with a frightened, "Lemmego. M'sorry. Pl'slemmego. Msorry.""

Ah.

Severus whispered an incantation to modify the spell, to allow the child to move his arms.

That seemed to help. Harry's hand tightened on Severus', drawing it to him so that he could press the back of it to his cheek.

Clearly, the child had no idea who was sitting with him, Severus thought wryly, but the eyes closed fully and his breathing evened out.

Severus found himself thinking of the times his mother had cared for him, in this very same room. The empty place in his soul seemed to ache less, at the moment, with the small hand curled in his own.

For no earthly reason, other than to keep himself awake, Severus started to speak to the child. His mother liked to tell him fairy stories when he was ill. His mother's favorite was The Fountain of Fair Fortune, so he started with that one.

Poppy was accustomed to middle of the night summons. It was an occupational hazard.

What she was not accustomed to was that summons taking the form of a Patronus; a bright silver yearling stag, who spoke with Severus Snape's voice, "Poppy," he said, speaking urgently, "It's Harry. I need you. Tell no one."

Poppy sighed, she was still so tired. But, Severus would know that, so it was only his extreme need that had him calling for her.

She got dressed as quickly as she could, gulping down a few Pepper-ups, then she called one of the Hogwarts house elves.

"Would you take me to Professor Snape's home?" she asked it, she had absolutely no idea where it was. She knew that Severus felt very uncomfortable with house elves, but it seemed the most expedient choice of transport at the moment. And the house elves always understood that Poppy's patients, their ailments and their treatments were absolute secrets.

The elf bobbed his head until his bat ears flapped.

"Bring my things, after you take me there. I don't know what I'll need yet. And its likely I'll be staying there, so I'll need one of you to assist me." Severus would have to make an exception to his no-house-elf-in-my-home policy.

The elf looked both frightened and doubtful, but took Madam Pomfrey's hand. She was the only one, other than the headmaster, the elves were authorized to apparate into and out of the castle, due to the possibilty that she might have just this kind of emergency.

They apparated to a badly lit hall way. Poppy heard Severus rich voice speaking. After a moment, she realized, thunderstruck that he was not having a conversation; he was telling a story. The Wizard and The Hopping Pot, unless she was much mistaken. Complete with voices.

"Severus?" she called, not willing to embarrass the stiff and private man.

"In here, Poppy." he called from the door hanging half open, at the end of the hall.

Harry was lying on the bed, looking sallow in the harsh light of an overhead electric bulb. Severus had his back to the door (a position Poppy had never seen him take before). He was holding Harry's hand, with the back of his hand against the boy's face.

The tableau would have been touching, if black bruises were not rapidly coloring around Harry's throat. Bruises so large and dark that Poppy could see them from the doorway, where she stood. Ligature lines as wide as her thumb was long. A school scarf lay cut in half on the floor.

"Severus..?" she said, questioningly, "What..?"

"I didn't do this, if you're wondering." He said, stiffly, without turning around, "Well, not directly."

In three steps, she crossed the room to stand beside his chair. She put her hand on his shoulder, "Severus, I know that. Now what did happen?"

"Apparently, it all became too much for Harry, all at once. I found him hanging, nearly unconcious, from the bar in his closet." The dispassionate voice was Severus at his most d distressed

"Oh, no." Poppy drew out her wand to begin her exam, "What have you done, so far? No, stay where you are." Severus had begun to move away from the boy, and the boy had whimpered in his sleep, clutching harder at Severus' hand, "Anything that keeps him calm."

"I gave him some sleeping potion. I didn't like giving him much until you arrived." He replied, settling back into his chair, "I put him into a body bind to prevent him from injuring himself further. I let him have his hands, as he seemed to feel the spell in his sleep and was fighting it and the potion."

Poppy moved to the other side of the bed, "I have to ask, do you know if he's claustrophobic? The body bind sometimes causes claustrophobia in people so inclined."

The potions master looked distant, "I believe he might be." he said.

She looked at the notes Severus' monitoring spell had begun taking, "Well, he's had worse injuries." she said, grimly.

Severus flinched, although her ire wasn't directed at him, "With nothing but his innate magic to help him." Severus said, as if to himself, "If Harry had been a Muggle child, they would have killed him."

"Hmm. I need to get some things. We'll use Skelegrow for the fractures, you kept everything well in line, so I needn't vanish anything. There's a lot of soft tissue damage, but I think most of that is mending itself, rather quickly. He can have some healing draught for it, in the morning, when it won't interfere with the Skelegrow." she heared the pop that indicated the house elf had heard what she needed and gone to get it.

"We'll leave the body bind on him, until the spine heals. We'll have to watch him tonight, regardless. Would you prefer me to stay with him?" The glare that earned her had made many a student burst into tears.

"Harry is my responsibility." Severus said, harshly.

Poppy stopped what she was doing, to look across the bed at Severus, "'Harry' now, is it?" she said, gently.

Severus nodded. To her shock, tears were leaking from the potions master's eyes. She decided not to remark on it.

Instead, she said, "Why didn't you want me to tell the headmaster?"

"Because if I saw him tonight, it would end with myself either dead or in Azkaban. I doubt I'd be very helpful to the child either way." He said bitterly.

Poppy blinked at that. She shrugged mentally, just as well, if Severus felt that angry at the headmaster, that he stay away. It would do Harry no good to hear the adults arguing.

She, herself, would have words for Dumbledore when she saw him again.

"You will need help, Severus." she said, changing tack, "Even after his body's repaired, he can't be left alone. And you still aren't well, if you feel anything like I do."

Severus closed his eyes and nodded, a testament to how weary he was, if he was willing to have another person in his home, "Whom do you suggest?" he asked, not opening his eyes.

"Well, given the circumstances, I have one suggestion, and you won't like it." she said, carefully.

Severus opened his eyes to look at her.

"Remus Lupin."

"No." said Severus flatly, "Absolutely not."

"I know you've had your differences..."

"Differences?" hissed Severus, keeping his voice very low. Poppy notice that even in his outrage, he never let go of the child's hand, "He and his friends got Lily killed. He was involved in that prank that nearly killed me! Or have you forgotten?"

Poppy sighed, "Severus, he was as much of a victim of that prank as you. And that is the long past. He knows about this whole situation and he will not break confidence. Your only other choice is Molly Weasley."

"Molly won't leave her daughter." Severus said, with assurance.

"True," Poppy was unable to suppress a smirk, "But, if I tell her about this, she will have no qualms about moving Harry and yourself into her front room where she can keep a proper eye on you both."

"You wouldn't." snarled, Severus.

"Care to test that theory?" Poppy said darkly, "Besides, Remus also has some education in mind healing. He can't pass any of the background checks to get licensed, of course, but I'd hesitate at this point to send Harry to even the most discreet of my friends. Their shock that the 'Boy-Who-Lived' was just another troubled adolescent might too much."

"I didn't know that." muttered Severus.

"You never asked." replied Poppy, a little archly, "So, which will it be? Remus or Molly's front room."

Severus sagged, capitulating, "Fine. Summon the Wolf."