Chapter 6: Meetings

Severus Snape considered himself to be a logical man. So while he had been prepared to loathe the Potter boy, he could not ignore the fact that Harry was much different than what he expected. Even if one ignored the fact that the boy was being followed around by his dead mother.

Standing in the middle of his sitting room with his back to the hearth, Severus felt unsure of himself and lost when it came to Harry. The figurative rug had just pulled out from under him and he found himself experiencing a forced paradigm shift.

Severus rubbed the palms of his hands over his eyes and murmured, "What to do, Lily, what to do."

In a voice that sounded as if it was being tuned in through the Wizarding Wireless, Lily answered his offhanded question, "Help him, Severus."

Severus’ head jerked up at the sound of the voice and watched as the image of Lily flickered in and out in the space in front of him, then settled to a slightly less than solid rendition. She was exactly how he remembered her; deep auburn red hair and green eyes that now took on an unearthly glow. He couldn't help but whisper, "Lily".

The ghostly image smiled and said in a now clear voice, "Yes Sev, it's me."

"Why did you stay behind like this, Lily? It was because of Harry, yes?"

Lily nodded. "At first, James and I were waiting for him, thinking that he would be joining us. When Voldemort died instead, I wanted to make sure that Harry would be alright. James moved on as soon as Dumbledore," she grimaced and practically spit as she said the name of the Headmaster, "said that he would take him to Petunia".

Severus shook his head. "I never understood why Albus left him with your sister. She was an unpleasant child. I can't imagine she was much nicer as an adult."

Lily scowled and clenched her fists as her image flickered rapidly. With a furious hiss she replied, "No, she wasn't much better. She hurt my baby Sev! She shoved him in a closet, only took him out when she wanted him to work like a blasted house elf, and fed him just enough to keep him alive. Did you see how small he was? James and I were nowhere near that small at his age.

Severus watched as Lily paced to and fro while she ranted, her chest heaving. He was very curious about the fact that she was breathing heavy; the mundane in and out of her ribs seemed quite odd since she obviously had no need for breath. Even though he had been hearing her voice for weeks now, seeing her pacing in front of him was utterly surreal.

He pondered what Lily had just revealed to him. She was right; Harry was only about the size of an eight or nine year old and did not have an ounce of baby fat on him. Severus wanted to ask her what she meant by 'shoving him in a closet', but he thought it best to allow her time to calm down. Lily always had a fiery temper, but now upon speaking of Petunia and Dumbledore, she seemed almost unhinged.

"First of all," Severus began, ”he needs to see Poppy, tomorrow. She and I will work on a potion series to help his nutritional deficiencies and hopefully help his body catch up in terms of height and muscular development. Then I will talk to Dumbledore and see where we can go from there. He obviously cannot be returned to Little Whinging."

Lily snorted. "You would think that, wouldn't you. I doubt the wise," here she raised her eyebrows in a mockery of sincerity, “and wonderful headmaster will be so accommodating. He has already left my son there for ten years, what's another seven. It is for the greater good after all".

The sarcasm in Lily's voice was hard for Severus not to miss and he couldn't help but wonder what Lily had overheard so far to make her react in this fashion. He decided to talk to the Headmaster, along with Minerva since she was Potter's Head of House, and then go from there. He thought it prudent to be armed with as much information as possible before further angering the already volatile specter of Lily Evans.

"Alright Lily, I am going to see what I can do for Harry. I don't know what I will be able to accomplish but I can promise that Harry will not be returning to Privet Drive."

Lily smiled darkly and replied "Good luck Severus. I will be watching." With those parting words, she flickered out of existence, leaving behind a wary and thoughtful potions' master.

~HPHPHP~

The next morning, Severus put his owl to work by arranging  for Harry Potter to meet him in the infirmary. He warned Poppy of their arrival, and arranged a meeting between himself, Minerva and Albus for afternoon tea. He wasn’t sure which meeting he was looking forward to the least.

At the appointed time of ten o’clock in the morning, Severus came upon Harry Potter standing in front of the infirmary, staring at the door, gnawing on his thumb in his obvious nervousness.  The small, messy-haired boy obviously had not slept much the night before judging by the dark circles under his eyes.  

“Mr. Potter, if you are quite finished in attempting to chew off your appendages, we can go in.”

“Sir, why am I here, I am not hurt. Did I do something wrong?” Harry asked.

“Of course not, Mr. Potter; I would just like to get an accurate view on the state of your health. To be honest, you are much too small for your age and I hope to remedy that.”

Severus knew that he was a trifle too honest when he saw the boy cringe, but there was nothing for it. He motioned for Harry to follow and led him into the infirmary where he greeted Poppy.

 As always, the infirmary was the picture of efficiency. The line of beds against each wall all looked exactly the same. Headboards pressed against the wall with crisp sheets tucked neatly under the mattress with perfect hospital corners that only a bed-making spell could produce.  Sunlight trickled in through the windows, giving the infirmary a peaceful appearance and softening the harsh, sterile atmosphere.

The medi-witch gave Severus an inquiring look and stated, “I was surprised to get your owl this morning Professor, particularly since it concerned Mr. Potter.

Poppy was treated to Severus’ best sneer which she obligingly ignored, and nodded when he replied, “Humor me, Poppy.”

“Well then,” she said to the nervous boy, “come this way Harry and hop up on the bed. That’s a good, lad.”

Severus noted the faint tremor that ran along the boys limbs as he clambered onto the bed. The side of the boy’s thumb immediately made its way back between his teeth and his feet dangled off the side of the bed. Severus made his way to the foot of the bed as Poppy took position on Harry’s left side.

“Alright now Harry,” started Poppy as Severus saw her take in the boy's nervous demeanor, “you don’t have to do anything for the examination. Don’t fret about pain, the most you will feel is a little tingle if the spell finds something out of the ordinary. Nothing to worry about.”

Poppy gave Harry a gentle smile as she murmured a spell and twisted her wand around Harry’s head. A faint, shimmering light emerged from Poppy’s wand quickly drifted from the top of Harry’s head to his toes.  Much to her shock, Harry’s body immediately stiffened and he let out an ear piercing shriek.

Severus was standing at the foot of Harry’s bed, speculating what the diagnostic scan would reveal, when he heard Harry scream. Severus stalked to the side of the bed as he hissed, “What the Hell is going on, woman?”

Poppy swept in front of Harry and pushed her open hand against Severus’ chest, stopping him in mid-stride. “Don’t touch him, Severus. His nerves are overloaded. It should be almost done now. There is obviously a lot you are not telling me!”

Just as she finished her accusatory comment, Harry stopped shrieking, his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell over backwards. Poppy expertly caught him before he could fall too far backwards towards the bed. She then gently swung his feet around onto the bed with her right arm and used her left to lift Harry’s head onto the pillow . As Severus stood with a hand scrubbing over his mouth watching her, he began to understand why Lily’s spirit had remained behind to watch over Harry.

Poppy stalked over to a supply cabinet, retrieved a blanket, and frowned to herself as she walked back to Harry’s bedside. She gently laid the blanket over Harry and tucked it in snugly around his shoulders before snagging the floating parchment that had materialized out of the air.

“Well, he won’t be leaving the infirmary this weekend. He will likely not wake up for the rest of the day. Care to tell me why you really brought him up here, Severus? Because that scene we just witnessed should never have occurred!”

“What just happened, though, Poppy? You told him he might feel a little tingle!” Severus was dismayed at this turn of events. Not only did they cause the boy a great deal of pain, but they may very well have broken the fragile trust Harry had in them.

Poppy inhaled sharply. Severus watched as an angry flush spread across her cheeks. “That, Severus Snape, is what happens when a general diagnostic spell is cast on someone who is weak and has been hurt extensively and repeatedly. So, I ask you, what are you hiding from me?”

Severus deflated and answered, “I have reason to believe that he was severely mistreated by his relatives since being handed over to their tender mercies. Said mistreatment includes the excessive deprivation of meals. I had no idea that that information would be pertinent in your initial diagnostics.” Severus was disgusted with himself for not thinking to warn Poppy of his suspicions. As a potion master capable of making individually formulated potions, he knew the importance of being fully informed of a person’s overall health.

“Of course it is important.” Poppy’s tone had lost a bit of its rancor. “If he had had simple injuries, he would have felt a slight tingle at the site of the old injuries.

“For the spell to cause that reaction, I would say that he has had more than one bone broken repeatedly.  Plus, he has to be malnourished.” At that, she looked down at the parchment and nodded.

“Yes, see here, he has broken his index finger four times and three other fingers twice. I would say that someone at some point actually crushed his hand, more than once. There has been a break in the tibia and his jaw has also been broken-- more than once. That does not include all of the times that it has been dislocated, not to mention the amount of times he has had his shoulder dislocated and the plethora of sprains and strains he has had. And yes, he is a good stone under his minimum weight. No wonder he reacted so violently to the spell.”

Severus winced inwardly as he thought about what the boy must have experienced in his short life. “How the hell did this go unnoticed, Poppy?”

“Magic, Severus.”

Severus graced her with a withering glare. He was in no mood for someone else’s witticisms.

"I'm completely serious. His magic was likely in a sort of long-term crisis mode and healed his injuries rapidly and even kept him going on little food. However, the drain on his magical core has likely stunted his growth even more than it already would have been and I have no doubt that his magic is going to take even longer to fully develop, if it even does."

Severus was astounded. No wonder Lily is half out of her mind in fury. If she had to witness all of those injuries as they occurred, it is no wonder she is a bit touchy about her son.

"So, what do we do now?"

Poppy sighed. "We start immediately with an aggressive potion regimen. He needs nutrient potions tailored specifically for him to gain weight. He is a full stone under what is recommended for a child of his age. Then, in theory, his magic should be able to reach the appropriate level of development once it is not working constantly to keep him healthy and able to function. Early deprivation has a profoundly negative impact on a wizards' magic. Hopefully, beginning treatment now will curtail most of the negative, long-term side effects on Harry’s magic. Treatment now should also allow him to grow a bit, but I doubt that he will ever reach his full height potential."

Severus nodded as he looked on at Harry's unconscious form. There was a lot to be done to repair the damage done to the boy and there would be more to his rehabilitation than just potions. Of that there was no doubt. Severus never thought he would find himself contemplating the care and future of James Potter’s spawn. He realized, however, that this was also Lily Evans child. Long before she was the wife of James Potter, she was a dear friend to him and Severus realized that he could not walk away from her, or her son, now.  

He then raised his eyes and looked at Poppy, "I have an afternoon meeting with Minerva and the Headmaster to discuss issues relating to Mr. Potter. Care to join me for afternoon tea?"

~HPHPHP~

A few hours after his arrival in the infirmary, Poppy assured herself that Harry was still sleeping soundly. Nevertheless, she cast a monitoring charm just to be safe. She then made her way across the castle to join Severus and Minerva in the meeting with Albus.

 She did not know what to think at the moment. She wanted to be angry with someone, but she did not know who the best target would be. The Dursleys were the obvious choice, but there were others who should be held accountable as well. Surely, someone from the wizarding world had been keeping an eye on the boy?

She pulled herself from her dark thoughts when Minerva greeted her at the base of the Headmaster's tower. Severus joined them with a silent nod. She could not shake her somber demeanor as they entered Albus' office.  As usual, Albus was behind his desk with shelves behind him filled with innumerable whirling gadgets. Three plush chairs sat facing him and a tea service was perched on the front portion of his desk.  

"Take a seat, please.  Might I offer you tea?" The headmaster, as always, was very inviting with his congenial manner and twinkling eyes. "Severus, I was surprised to receive your missive.  I usually have to resort to extortion to be able to enjoy your presence in my office for tea."

During Albus’ greeting, Poppy followed Severus as he stalked across the room and sat in the chair to the right of the rest that had a perfect line of sight to the door.  Minerva chose the chair to the left and Poppy sat stiffly in the chair between them.  As Poppy waited for the silence to be broken, she wondered first and foremost how Harry ended up in his current state. His relatives must be at fault, nothing else could explain the sheer number of injuries. The question remains, though, how exactly did Severus get involved?

As usual, Poppy noted with some amusement, Severus decided to get right to the point, "I wanted to discuss Potter with you Headmaster."

"Really, Severus," interjected Minerva, "you have only had one class with him. what could he have possibly done already. In particular, I would like to know the reason for the detention you gave him."

Severus waved her off. "That is inconsequential now." At Minerva's irritated eye roll, Poppy waited in anticipation as he pressed on, "I became concerned that Mr. Potter's home life may be less than ideal and had my suspicions confirmed this morning when Poppy conducted a diagnostic on him this morning."

Poppy watched as Minerva took a moment to process that statement, and then with a knitted brow replied, "That is a serious claim Severus, are you sure?"

Poppy wordlessly handed the parchment from that morning's diagnostic charm to the Gryffindor Head. She knew that Minerva would be upset by what she read and hoped that Minerva would be willing to give Harry the support that he would need.  Minerva's eyes grew round as she read it, and she audibly gasped at one point. Poppy assumed she reached the part about the crushed fingers. Poppy herself cringed inwardly at the thought of the damage done to Harry’s hand. A child’s hand being was reprehensible and Harry had experienced the brutal act more than once before the age of eleven.

The Headmaster, seemingly oblivious to Minerva's reactions, smiled benignly and said, "Surely the situation is not dire enough to warrant such fuss." Poppy found herself reviewing the Headmaster’s words, not quite believing what she just heard. She was appalled to think that the Headmaster would be willing to trivialize concerns regarding the welfare of a child.

Poppy listened intently as Minerva spluttered, "Dire? Fuss? Albus, these people have practically been torturing the boy. I told you they were the worst sort. Why-".

"Please, Minerva, whatever has happened, it cannot outweigh the fact that the blood wards erected at Harry’s home-"

At that moment, Poppy froze and watched in shock as many things happened at the same time. Albus' voice was cut off when he was suddenly unable to breathe past the apparent vice-like pressure on his throat. No less than ten tinkling gadgets shattered into pieces no Reparo could ever hope to fix, and a near deafening 'pop' was heard. Poppy watched the headmaster intently as he struggled for breath. When he appeared to finally take a breath, the first word he gasped out was, "Lily".

At this, Poppy whipped around, following the Headmaster's line of sight, to look behind her. Poppy gasped in shock and from the sound coming from Minerva on her right, she could tell that she was not alone. What surprised her, though, was that when she turned to look at Severus, he merely smirked. Standing in front of them with an almost unearthly glow about her, was a very corporeal and angry, Lily Potter.

Poppy could not have spoken if she wanted to. Poppy had not seen Lily since she graduated from Hogwarts, but both the deep red hair and startling green eyes were unmistakably Lily. The most remarkable thing to Poppy was how corporeal Lily seemed. She appeared much more solid than any other ghost Poppy had seen and she was not floating but standing with her feet planted on the ground.

Lily quietly hissed, "How dare you? How dare you dismiss concern for my son? You left my baby with a self-obsessed bitch, ignored his plight for ten years, and then when someone else points out your error, you brush their concerns aside. There is no reason good enough for what you have done!"  As Lily spoke, the room grew colder and the air around her crackled with static sparks.

With the last three words, Lily's angry voice had risen to a shriek. Poppy winced and felt a chill pass over her that seemed to sink into her bones. The air around her felt heavy and prickly on her skin prompting her to rub her hands up and down her arms.

It was quite evident to Poppy, and no doubt to the others, that for the first time in decades Albus Dumbledore found himself speechless.

In a calmer tone of voice, Lily said, “I will leave you to your discussion then. If I stay, I fear Hogwarts would find itself short a headmaster.”

The sound of static increased as Lily then flickered out of sight. The room immediately began to warm and the pressure receded.

Poppy’s eyes darted between her colleagues, gauging their reactions. Minerva and Albus appeared to be shocked into silence. Poppy noticed that Severus seemed unfazed. He merely stared at the others in the room with dark amusement. Poppy narrowed her eyes in contemplation when she saw that Severus did not seem to be surprised, but amused. He knows something and I am going to find out what it is.

Finally, the Headmaster broke the silence and stated, “I do believe we have a problem.”

Severus, ever perceptive, replied as innocently as Severus Snape ever could, “Yes Headmaster, we do. But I wonder if we all agree on the source of the problem.” Poppy was confused until the full meaning of Severus’ words sunk in. She was dismayed to realize that the Headmaster was likely more worried about the appearance of Lilly Potter than Harry’s injuries. Severus and I are going to be having a long discussion after this.