Comforts from the Unexpected by Firestar
Summary: The story begins with a fire at the Dursleys & Harry is locked in his cupboard. Rescued by a spiritual presence, he is sent to stay with a certain Potions Master, bringing in a new range of adventures. Suicide attempts, abuse
Categories: Parental Snape > Guardian Snape Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required)
Snape Flavour: None
Genres: General
Media Type: None
Tags: None
Takes Place: None
Warnings: Abusive Dursleys, Alcohol Use, Suicide Themes
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 43 Completed: No Word count: 83206 Read: 173087 Published: 31 Jan 2005 Updated: 31 Jan 2006
Chapter 40 by Firestar

Remus stood in his office, pacing back and force across the room. He needed to think.

It had been an hour since his little "chat" with Severus, and he had yet to figure out what he needed to do. All he DID know was that he had to talk to Harry - and soon - but he didn't know when, or how he should go about doing it.

He sighed, his footsteps echoing loudly on the stone floor. He couldn't exactly walk up to the young man and ask him to speak the truth. Harry would deny it for sure.

Back and force, back and force... He stared at a random spot on the wall, his eyes slightly glazed as his mind re-thought about his options.

Knock Knock.

A light tapping on his door broke him out of his reverie. "Who is it" He called out.

"Remus"

Harry's voice came through the door.

"Harry" Remus went over and pulled open the door to see the boy standing outside. "What are you doing out of bed" He scolded gently. "You should be resting."

Harry blushed lightly. "I woke up and you were gone... so I looked around and found you here." He peered up curiously at Remus. "I heard you pacing. Is something wrong"

"Uh..." Remus didn't know what to say. Here was the perfect chance to confront Harry... but was it still too early? He had, after all, just spoken to Severus several hours ago, and his thoughts were still in a jumbled heap. But... this was just too good an opportunity to give up. He finally decided to take the risk. He'd have to ask the boy sooner or later - why not now?

"Um... Harry... I wanted to talk to you about something involving what you told me earlier..."

"Yeah" Harry sad down in one of the chairs before looking expectantly up at Remus.

"I believe you told me that you were brought to Snape Manor by Lady Lyra to be 'kept safe'"

Harry looked suspiciously at him, but nodded slowly. "Yes..."

"Well - one of my biggest question is, why did you need to be kept safe if you were at the Dursleys? Were you in some way, not safe in Privet Drive"

The boy visibly stiffened at the questions. "Er- Actually, I meant that the fire was what made the Dursleys not safe. Yeah..." He trailed off, trying to sound sure, but failing miserably.

Remus sighed. Harry could be a terrible lier at times - he couldn't imagine how the child had managed to keep such a large secret from Severus all this time. Well, looked like he wasn't going to get the truth anytime soon.

He decided to get straight to the point. "I had a talk with Severus earlier, Harry, and he happened to tell me that you were ... injured when you arrived at Snape Manor. I need you to answer me truthfully, Harry - why were you hurt? Did the Dursleys hurt you"

"NO" Harry blurted out. "No, no, no... They didn't hurt me... they actually took care of me." He smiled nervously, his hands twitching slightly. "I... I bumped into the door! And I got hurt in the fire..."

"Harry." Remus' voice was firm and patient. "You couldn't have possibly gotten a broken leg from bumping into the door. And the fire would have given you burns, not broken bones." He couldn't hide the hint of hurt in his voice. "Can't you just tell me what happened, Harry? I just want to be here for you, to help you." He kept his voice as soothing and gentle as possible.

It obviously wasn't working, as Harry seemed to be in panic. "NO, NO! THEY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! They didn't, they didn't..." Tears made their ways down his cheeks as the boy bolted from the room, slamming the door behind him.

Remus sighed, then followed.

-

HARRY'S POV

I raced from the office, my head a jumble of thoughts.

No! Remus knew! He knew my secret, he had somehow figured it out. Oh, how he would hate me now that he knew. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived - couldn't even defend himself from his Muggle uncle. Oh, the irony of it.

I wasn't aware of where I was going. My feet carried me blindly through the hallways, one after another until suddenly -

Wham.

I found myself on the floor, the person I had crashed into going down next to me. I barely felt the pain of the impact, my hands shaking slightly as I tried to pull myself up.

"Harry! Harry, what's wrong"

It was Severus. Without a second thought, I grabbed onto the man like a lifeline. I couldn't let go. I couldn't.

It was then I realized that tears were streaming down my face.

And for the life of me, I couldn't stop them.

-

SEVERUS' POV

I was returning to the dungeons after giving Poppy my latest batch of Pepper Up Potions. As I turned around the corner, I suddenly found myself being pushed to the floor by a sudden weight. Without thinking, I snatched out my wand and looked up to my opponent... only to see the face of one Harry Potter.

“Harry?” I asked, concern coloring my voice as the boy buried his face into my robes. Silent sobs wracked his thin frame. “What’s wrong?”

“I-It’s n-n-nothing…” the boy stuttered, but I would have none of it. Something was obviously wrong.

“Child? What is it?” My arms encircled the boy’s shoulder pulling him protectively towards me. Harry didn’t usually break down Something had to be drastic. “It’s alright, you can tell me.”

“I-I – I was talking to R-Remus…” Harry mumbled quietly, and I felt my fist clench. What had the damn werewolf done to make Harry loose control like this. I was just about to ask when I heard the sounds of approaching footsteps.

A second later, one Remus Lupin appeared around the corner. “Harry!” The man cried. “Please, I-“ he stopped when he caught sight of me. “Severus.”

“What the hell have you done now?” I snarled at him. If he had hurt Harry in any way…

“I was just talking to him regarding our discussion earlier on. I’m afraid Harry panicked.”

I felt the body in my arms stiffen at the word ‘discussion’. “It’s not what you think, Harry,” I whispered quietly to the boy. I know Harry valued his privacy greatly and would be horrified at the idea of himself being “discussed” behind his back. A part of me is glad that Lupin didn’t tell me of his suspicious before he had left earlier. If he had, I knew that I would have been feeling rather ashamed at breaking his trust by now.

“Please, Harry,” Lupin continued, a pleading tone in his voice. He looked at the boy. “Please tell me the truth. I just want to help you.”

We were both startled at the following outburst.

“You ALL say you want to help me!” Harry yelled, tears streaming down his face. “Can’t you see that it’s in the past now? I just want to let it be, but the rest of you keep bringing it up. Talking about me behind my back, were you? Did I make an interesting ‘discussion’ topic?” His words were sarcastic and bitter as he attempted to pull out of my grasp. “Let me go! Just leave me alone!”

I refused to loosen my grip. “HARRY!” I raised my voice, the boy child immediately stilled.

“I need you to calm down, Harry,” I told him quietly. “And believe me, Lupin and I weren’t talking about you like that. Lupin was worried about something and he came to ask me a few questions. However, he didn’t tell me of his own suspicions at all. He didn’t betray your privacy.”

“On the other hand, this is a discussion we can talk about some other time.” I shot Lupin a glare. “Right now, you need some food and rest.”

Harry nodded, taking in deep breaths. A few minutes later, he looked up at me expectantly.

“Here, come to my quarters and I’ll order some food for you from the House Elves.”

With a small smile on his face, Harry gave a slight not before walking down the corridors in the direction of my office.

I have a swift glare to Lupin before following.

To be continued...


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