“Why the bloody hell does the weather have to suck every time we go to play?” Ron questioned as he, Harry and Ginny walked down toward the Quidditch pitch.

The wind had picked up considerably and the snow began to fall faster.

“I don’t know, but you should stop complaining.” Ginny answered. “It could be worse”

“Worse!” Ron exclaimed. “How can it be worse? I can barely see my hand in front of my face.”

“At least it’s not as bad as the storm that destroyed Harry’s nimbus.” Ginny commented.

“She’s right, Ron.” Harry agreed.

“And if you can’t see your hand, Ron, then you need to catch the quaffle with your face.” Ginny joked with her older brother.

The three of them walked into the locker room laughing. Most of the team was already there. With five minutes before game time, Harry stood up to give a pre-game speech.

“Good morning, Gryffindors. I know the weather is rough outside, but we all know it could be worse. We are playing Ravenclaw today. We haven’t lost to them in years and we aren’t going to start now. The weather is bad now and it could get worse. Everyone needs to keep their eyes open and their heads us. Those bludgers will come out of nowhere and crush you if you are not paying attention. Chasers, if there is a patch of air that you can’t see through, be cautious if you decide to fly through it. Let’s be safe and have fun. Good luck out there.”

The team gathered their equipment and headed out to the field. The icy cold wind hit them first as the team took off. With a single whistle, the game began. Surprisingly, no one had been injured within the first hour of the game. It was a miracle. The score was 210 to 230 with Gryffindor leading. Within that hour, there were multiple sightings of the snitch. This would include Harry or Cho diving after the snitch, with the other following behind them, only for the snitch to disappear. Harry decided, after some time, that if the weather got any worse he would have to ask Madame Hooch to stop the game.

Harry was looking over the pitch when he saw the snitch hovering over the Ravenclaw hoops. He shot off toward the goals and knew that Cho was following him. The snitch plummeted suddenly as the seekers took a sharp right turn. They began to nose dive as the screaming started. At first, Harry thought that it was the fans screaming. He pulled away when he heard that the screams were ones of desperation and fear.

Harry had been spinning in the air, looking for the source of the screams, as Cho pulled up besides him. Dark smoke rose from the teacher’s tower.

“What’s wrong?” Cho questioned.

There was an orange glow from that tower that gave Harry an answer.

“There’s a fire!” He shouted as he rocketed away from Cho. “Gryffindor, we need to help the teachers!” Harry shouted again as his teammates followed him to the tower.

Harry scooped up a teacher and saw that the staff was panicking. He placed the teacher down on the ground as screams of terror erupted throughout the pitch. Looking up at the tower, Harry’s eye was stopped about midway down as a large black mass plummeted to the ground.

Harry raced into the air, willing his broom to go faster. The black mass could only be Snape and, even though he did not like the man, he could not let him die. Harry raced even quicker as Snape got closer to the ground. He reached down as he approached Snape quickly, grabbing the professor’s forearm. Harry did not expect Snape to be falling so fast. When he caught the professor, Harry had become unseated from his broom.

He could hear the crowd shriek in fear. Now Harry and Snape were both falling through the air, with the ground approaching fast. Harry never let go of Snape as they were falling. When Snape was very close to the ground, Harry let go. Snape landed on the hard snowy ground at a much slower pace than when he started falling. Harry continued to fall.

He tried to change his body position as he approached the ground, in hopes that he would not be so severely injured. It did not work. He was unable to move. Harry impacted the ground, head first. He was lucky, if you wanted to call it that. Had he not fallen unconscious, he would have heard that bones breaking as he continued to bound off the ground.

Harry came to rest, twenty feet away from Snape, face down in the snow.

     It didn't make sense to Snape how he got into the hospital wing. He knew two things for sure: he had been at the Quidditch match earlier that day and he was in a lot of pain. His right shoulder was extremely sore as well as his back. His right arm was sitting in a sling.

   "Good, you're awake." A voice called out.

Snape turned to the source of the sound. Albus Dumbledore was standing a few beds away from Snape, making his way toward the injured man.
    "What happened, Albus?"
    "You had quite a fall, Severus."
    "Off the Quidditch Grandstand?!" Snape exclaimed, knowing that was the last place he remembered being.
     He sat up quickly as he asked the question, much to the dismay of his head. It began to pound painfully. Snape closed his eyes as the pounding in his head began to make him dizzy.
     "Yes, off the Grandstand." Albus replied.
Snape opened his eyes when the pounding in his head receded.
      "Albus, how am I not dead?"
     "Someone attempted to catch you and managed to, somewhat softly, lower you to the ground."
     "Who was it?" Snape questioned, fearing that he already knew the answer.
     "You have Harry to thank for saving your life."
     "Potter! Why he's an arrogant little bully, much like his father, who..."
     "Who has gone missing?" Dumbledore interrupted Snape's tirade.
     "He's what?!" Snape shouted as he jumped to his feet.
     "Harry Potter is missing."
     "How has this happened?"
     "Harry came to save you and he became unseated from his broom. He managed to get you to safety without much injury to you. Harry, I believe, if much more severely injured. Minevra, Hagrid, Poppy, and myself went to help. We only found you. Harry had gone missing. Minevra, Hagrid, and I have been searching the forbidden forest for the past three hours. There is no sign of him. If Voldemort finds out then Harry could be in grave danger."
     Snape gasped in pain as his arm began to burn. He removed his arm from the sling and pulled up the sleeve of his left arm.
     "Speak of the devil, he has summoned me. This can't be a good thing."
     "I agree with you. Please proceed with caution."
Snape pulled down his sleeve and left the hospital wing.

     Snape held the curse till the yells subsided. Snape tortured Potter till he passed out. The Potions Master did not enjoy doing that.

     As soon as Potter fell unconscious, Snape relinquished the curse. Death Eaters poured out of the room. Voldemort spoke only when he and Snape were alone.
      "Did you enjoy that, Severus?" He questioned.
      "I did." Snape answered, still looking at the broken child on the floor.
      "I require something of you."
      "What is it my lord requires?"
      "Heal Harry Potter."
      "May I ask why my lord asks me to heal his most hated enemy?"
      "I want Harry Potter to be a full health, so that when it comes time to kill him, he will be at full strength."
     Snape knelt down as Voldemort spoke, hoping to check the boy's pulse.
       "Will that not make him a tougher fight?"
       "It will, but it will let the world know that I am stronger and more powerful than the fabled Harry Potter. You must heal him."

     Snape waved his wand over the boy, casting a diagnostic scan. The scan showed Snape a lot and none of it was good. Potter's pulse was there, but slow. He had a broken shoulder, arm and wrist, which was most likely caused in the attempt to catch Snape. The rest of the injuries had to have been caused from his fall off the broom. A broken ankle and hip were the only injuries below the waist.

     The boy's back was badly injured, so bad that Snape thought it might be broken. Snape could hear the boy's breathing come in short, shallow gasps. A lung was punctured by some broken ribs. What scared Snape the most were the large amounts of internal bleeding that was seen in the boy's stomach and head. It now made sense why the boy had been slurring his words.

    Potter was seriously hurt and Snape had to talk Voldemort out of healing him here.

     "My lord, I do not believe that Harry Potter can be healed. He has been injured far too severely."

     "What are you trying to tell me?"

     "I will be surprised if Harry Potter lives longer than an hour. He has large amounts of bleeding inside of him. Allow me to take him to St. Mungos."

    "That will not be allowed. He may try to escape."

    "He can not walk, my lord! This boy is injured beyond my capabilities of healing. It I were to heal him, it would be a wast of time, effort, and of any resources that we use in the attempt to heal him. No matter how we try, I believe that he will die."

    "Are you defying my orders?" Voldemort questioned dangerously.

    "No, I am doing no such thing. I am merely giving you my opinion."

    "Your opinion is not needed in this matter." Voldemort cut off. "Heal the boy."

    "If my lord commands it, then it shall be done."

    Snape carefully lifted the broken boy into his arms, taking meticulous care to keep the boy's head, neck, and back well supported.

    "You know where our prisoners are kept." Voldemort stated.

The message was very clear. Harry Potter does not leave the dungeon.

     "Yes, My Lord."

Snape left the room and carried Potter to the cellar.

    "I've got you, Harry." Snape whispered to the unconscious boy as he walked down the stairs.

When Snape arrived to the cellar, he carefully lowered Potter to the ground. He quickly pulled off his traveling cloak and his regular cloak, which was something he rarely took off. Moving with lightning fast speed, he moved a crate by Potter and carefully lifted his legs onto it. This would hopefully slow or stop the onset of shock. He wrapped the boy in his traveling cloak, then placed his regular cloak under the unconscious child's head.

      As Snape pulled out his wand, he cursed Voldemort and the Death Eaters to hell. To torture an adult, although not morally or legally right, could be understandable in some situations, but to torture a boy of 16....It was disgusting. If Voldemort would not allow Harry to be taken to get help, then Snape was going to have to do the best he could. What he told Voldemort was not a lie, he did expect the boy to die.

Snape casted a spell over Harry, which would allow Snape to know if Harry's vitals began to fall.

     "You are not going to let go, Potter. Not while I am away." Snape spoke as he stood.

He had to go to Hogwarts. Dumbledore needed to know and Snape needed his healing supplies. Snape paused before climbing the stairs to look at Potter. The boy looked peaceful, but Snape knew differently. Harry was in a lot of pain. The scene made Snape want to cry and kill Voldemort all at once. That would have to wait because, as of right now, the impossible task of keeping Harry Potter alive was Severus Snape's number one priority.

     Snape apparated into Dumbledore's office, nearly giving the old man a heart attack. There have been only two wizards who could apparate in and out of Hogwarts and Snape was one of them.

     "I have some news for you, Albus."

     "As do I." Dumbledore answered, breathing quickly from the fright that Snape caused him. "Harry has still not been found."

     "I have a solution to that." Snape said, but Dumbledore kept talking.

     "We have centaurs scouring the forbidden forest, but there was no sign..."

     "Potter has been captured by the death eaters!" Snape shouted over the headmaster.

This caused Dumbledore to stop speaking and look at the spy wearily.

     "What did you say?"

     "The boy is being held prisoner by the death eaters."

     "How sure are you?"

     "How sure am I?" Snape repeated. "I held the unconscious child's body. I was forced to torture him. I am very sure that the bloody death eaters have Harry Potter."

    "How long has he been there?"

    "My guess, since he crashed. The death eaters all got a chance to torture him."

    "How badly is he hurt?" Dumbledore asked, coming around to the front of his desk.

     "I do not believe that he will survive the night. You Know Who has made it my mission to heal him, but he will not allow me to take the boy to St. Mungos."

     "You must keep Harry alive."

     "The only way I can keep him alive is to take him to St. Mungos. He is hurt beyond my abilities to heal. He needs an actual healer."

     "You are a very smart man, Severus. You must keep Harry alive at all costs and you will find a way to do it."

    "The only idea I have is to take him to St. Mungos." Snape said exasperated. "You wish me to give up my position as a spy within the ranks of the death eaters?"

    "No. You must stay a spy, for your role is vastly important. My final words are..."Dumbledore whispered as he walked over to the office fireplace. "You will find a way that will both help Harry and keep your position as insider into the ranks of the death eaters. Please proceed with caution."

    Then Dumbledore disappeared in the fireplace, the only traces left of him was the black ask on the carpet. Snape thought that Albus was acting odd, but he could not dwell upon it as he apparated to his private quarters. Snape grabbed a bag, which held all of his healing supplies, and multiple blankets. He was only there for ten seconds before apparating out of Hogwarts and back into the midst of Malfoy Manor.

    The alarm that Snape placed on Harry had not gone off, so that meant that he was still alive. The other death eaters did not attempt to bother Snape as he stalked to the cellar and slammed the iron gate closed. Harry had been just as Snape had left him, unconscious, injured and barely alive.

    Once Snape knelt down beside the boy, he got to work. Snape did as much as he thought was safe for the boy. The Potions Master mended the child's wrist, arm, shoulder, hip and ankle. Snape would have mended the boy's ribs, but he feared that the punctured lung would collapse. The large amounts of internal bleeding caused Snape the most worry, but he was not a skilled enough healer to treat those injuries. Snape then spelled a nerve agent and a pain reliever into Potter. That was the best that he was able to do, besides placing blankets over the boy and under his head.

Doing anything more could possibly kill Potter. Snape sat back on his haunches and looked up.

    "This is the best that I can do, Lily. Hopefully, it's enough to keep him alive till I can get help." Snape whispered as he reached for Harry's wrist.

    Now that Snape could do no more, he was left to keep vigil over the broken boy that lay before him.

   Snape was awaken by the sound of a door slamming. He had never meant to fall asleep, even if it was only for half an hour. Looking at the boy, Snape felt for a pulse. Surprisingly, he still had one. He had survived the night, which disproved Snape's original prediction. He stood up to stretch his muscles, gave the boy another dose of pain reliever and nerve agent before leaving to give an update to Dumbledore.
   This time, Snape apparated outside of Dumbledore's office.

   "Tentacle Tarts." Snape muttered.
The eagle in front of the headmasters office moved aside, allowing Snape to pass through.

   "Enter." Dumbledore called as Snape reached for the door.
Snape opened the door and proceeded into the headmasters office.

   "Good Morning Severus. You are here in front of me, so that means that Harry is still alive."

   "Yes, he has survived the night."

   "And how did you manage that?"

   "With minimal amounts of healing. The boy still has large amounts of bleeding in his torso and head. I have seen men die from lesser injuries. He should not have survived the night."

   "Harry is not like the common man."

   "He's in a lot of pain. I have done all I can for him right now. Any more and he might die. That is the best I can do and even then, he needs a real healer." Snape spoke while looking at the fireplace.
He tried to hide his expression but his voice betrayed him.

   "Have you come to care for the boy, Severus?" Albus questioned.

   "That boy is spawn of James Potter." Snape replied contemptuously, letting Dumbledore know that the answer was no.

   That answer was true, but it was also untrue at the same time. He did not come to care for the boy, but there was something new. There was an instinct to protect Harry. Not the instinct that a teacher has to protect his students, but it was almost a fatherly instinct. That was impossible; however, because only fathers could have that instinct and Snape was NOT Harry's father.

   "I can do nothing more for him." Snape reiterated, turning his gaze back to Dumbledore.

   "Listen to me closely, Severus. Harry Potter must live, for he is vital to the war. If you allow him to die, there will be a very long line of people who wish to kill you. I am normally a docile person, but I will be at the head of that line."

   "Is that a threat against my life, Albus?!" Snape shouted, grabbing hold of Albus' collar and shaking him.

   "No, it is merely a friendly reminder of what's at stake." Dumbledore answered when he had stopped being shaken. "I believe that would should go back to Harry." Dumbledore spoke calmly as he pushed Severus away from him and walked toward the window.

    "Is there something I should know, Headmaster?" Snape questioned, remember that Albus had also been acting strangely the night before.

   "There is nothing of importance at the moment. Just know that even though it is sunny and warm outside, those who know Harry well are cold on the inside, in hopes that he may feel their warmth and continue to fight." Dumbledore did not look at Snape when he spoke or after he was done speaking.

   Snape took this as his cue for dismissal.

   Snape also cursed Dumbledore  for getting under his skin. Snape should not have allowed Albus to get under his skin, so it was both their faults. He could feel himself getting worked up and that could be a dangerous, volatile mistake. Snape forced himself to diverge from the main road and into a small side alley. He had to control his anger, but he had a right to be angry about a lot of things. The two masters that he "served" were at the top of that list.

   The spy's surroundings seem to disappear as red clouded his vision. There was the sound of wood breaking. Snape's surroundings cleared as he slid to the ground. The wooden crate, next to Snape, was broken in pieces and pain radiated throughout his left shin. The anger had not left Snape entirely, but sadness took its place. Sitting there, Severus pulled shards of wood out of his shin as his eyes became wet with tears.

   He was not going to allow himself to cry. He had only cried twice in his life and he would not allow it today. But he was so scared. He was only this scared when he learned that Voldemort was going after Lily. This time he was scared for Harry.  The boy should be dead, but he is fighting it. Why does he want to come back to a world of misery? Why does he want to come back to carry the fate of the wizarding world? Harry has an immense pressure that was forced upon him and, now that he is dying, Snape does as well. Snape is expected to heal the boy and, if not, then he would be dead as well.

   Snape looked left and right, allowing the cold brick to cool his face. It would be so easy to just give up. Snape could give up and disappear. No one would be able to find him. He could be done with everything. But that would be unfair to Harry. Harry was trying to fight his way back and Snape had to be there to help him. Snape knew what he was going to do and, even though he tried to talk himself out of it, he stood once again and apparated to Malfoy Manor.

His reason for returning was simple: Harry was alone and needed Snape.

Snape had been sitting down there for fifteen minutes before Voldemort entered.

   "He survived the night." Snape replied as he stood. "He is hanging on by a thread. If anything elsewere to happen, he will need an actual healer."

   "As I have told you before, Severus, Harry Potter is not allowed to be taken to St. Mungos.
 

    "My Lord, if you want him to live then he needs to be there."
   

   "The boy will escape from my clutches if he goes there. You are the best chance for my plan to work."
 

    "I am a novice healer with little abilities in a place like this."
   

   "Maybe you do not understand what is at stake here. If Harry Potter dies, I will have no choice to make you pay for your failure."

   "Then, my lord, you will have to take a number. There is a long list of people who will make me pay and one of those people is Albus Dumbledore. I would much rather died by your hand instead of that old, weak, man's hand. As I said before, I am a novice healer and this is the best that I can do." Snape argued.

   "Then you will have to do better than your best, Severus. I would also suggest that you watch your tongue in front of me. This is the second time in as many days that you have argued an order with me. I would watch your step because you are starting to tread on thin ice."

   Voldemort turned and stalked out of the cellar, slamming the iron gate behind him.

    Snape had not left the cellar in two days because Harry had started to inch closer to death. Snape would not leave Harry's side, not even to update Albus on Harry's condition. Harry had not woken up in those two days and his own body soon became his enemy. Later in the first day, Harry's face began to turn as red as his Quidditch robes.
      

Snape performed a diagnostic scan and was shocked at how bad it had become. Harry had a 101 degree fever, which could only mean that his body was fighting an infection. Ice packs, placed on Harry's head and the back of his neck, brought the fever down within the hour. When the boy's temperature had come down to a safe level, Snape removed the ice packs and that was the first time in days that Harry woke up.

   "Professor." He whispered.

Harry's words had been slurred even worse than when he first spoke to Snape. Harry tried to sit up, but he cried out in pain.

   "Don't sit up, Potter. Everything is okay." Snape said, carefully helping the child lay back down.

   "Everything hurts." Harry mumbled.

   "I know child, I know." Snape whispered.

   "Professor...am I going to die?"

All Snape could make out was "I" and "die".

   "You listen to me, Harry Potter. You are not going to die. Not if I have anything to say about it."

Snape did not realize that he had taken the boy's hand until he felt his own hand get squeezed weakily

   "You are not going to die." He repeated.

That was the extent of their conversation because seconds later, Harry fell back into an unconscious abyss. Snape gave the boy more potions before he would even allow himself to think about their conversation. Before, Harry begged Snape for death and now he asked if he was going to die. That was, in some people's opinion, a step in the right direction. At least, Harry was fighting to stay alive.

   It hurt Snape to hear that question come out of Harry's mouth. A child should never have to think about that. They should be worried about Quidditch scores or school, but not death. That was especially true when Harry was the child that asked. He life has been filled with death, so the boy should never have to worry about it until he is a ripe old age. If Harry decides to give up, then Snape is the only hope that the boy has.

   Dumbledore assured Snape that Harry would not give up, and neither should the potions master.

   Once an hour, on the hour, Snape would perform a diagnostic scan and record Harry's vitals. Throughout the second night, Harry's vitals began to slip. By four in the morning, they were in free fall. Snape could not stand this anymore. He quickly gathered his supplies and Harry's belongings. He placed them in a bag then shrunk the bag to fit in his pocket.

   "Please, let this be the right thing, Lily." Snape whispered before lifting the boy off the ground.

He took off and out of the cellar, making sure that he was cradling Harry's head neck and back well. Thankfully, no one was awake to hear Snape leave the house with Harry in his arms. Snape would have only one chance to get Harry to help. Hopefully, the boy could handle side along apparation to St. Mungos.

Snape flew through the doors of St. Mungos knowing that Harry was almost dead. The spell that he put on Harry had set off. It meant that Harry's heart beat was almost gone.

   "I need help now!" Snape shouted in the waiting room.

A nurse waved Snape over and they ran into an empty patient room. Doctors and nurses began to swarm the moment he set foot in the hospital. Snape laid Harry down on the bed then backed away.

   "What happened?" A nurse, whom Snape knew, questioned.

    "I don't know. I found him like this. He can't be older than a sixth year.

The master healer looked up at Snape in question. Of course, Snape knew this healer. Healer Anderson knew that Snape's story of how he had come by the boy was coswall. He would not be able to say that this was Harry Potter because Snape had taken the boy's glasses and covered the tell tale scar.

Anderson was a highly regarded healer, but that could all be taken away from him if people knew his secret. Anderson was a death eater. He wasn't high in the ranks, but that didn't matter to him. Anderson's story was a sad one, and, unfortunately, Snape knew all about it.

   "Do you know how badly he is hurt?" A nurse asked.

   "I do not know. He barely had a pulse so I am surprised that he is alive." Then Snape removed himself from the room, allowing the healers to do their jobs.

Snape stood on the other side of the window and looked in. Healer Anderson worked very fast. Anderson was always forced to work fast and thrived when someone was on the fine line between life and death. It seemed so long ago, but it was only eleven years ago when Anderson was sorted into Slytherin. Snape remembered watching Anderson when he gave the first years the regular "This is your family" speech. Anderson showed no fear at all throughout this speech.

That was the first sign that he was bound for glory. Snape had watched Anderson turn into a star potions student, while other teachers spoke of his good work in their class. He was the Tri-Wizard Champion of Hogwarts in his third year and he had won the cup. There were no O.W.L.S that he did not get above an excellent on. Snape knew that the boy aspired to be a healer. He could do more healing his fifth year level than a healer who had been studying for two years.

Anderson would become head boy and prefect for the rest of his Hogwarts years, but it would be hard for him. When Voldemort came into power the first time, he would kill Anderson's mother and kidnap his father. Anderson managed to track Snape down and Snape planned to help him. Snape went to Voldemort and found out that the senior Anderson had a quarrel with Yaxley. He was suppose to be killed, but Voldemort would allow his son to become a death eater in return for his father's life.

Anderson agreed, even though Snape tried to talk him out of it. Nothing could deter the boy from saving his father. Snape went to Voldemort and told him that Anderson would join, only if he was able to work with Snape. That last part was not true, but it was a story that Snape told in an attempt to save the boy. Snape fed Voldemort lies about Anderson being worse than Yaxley, Malfoy, Lestrange, and himself combined. Voldemort took the lie and told Snape to keep a close eye on the boy. Voldemort allowed the boy to be a healer because of the lies that Snape had told him.

Snape didn't care if Voldemort found out that he was helping the boy. Anderson was a kind and caring human who never deserved this fate. It was a sad story, but the world is filled with sad stories.

   "Is it possible that I can talk with you in my office, Professor?" Anderson asked as he walked out of Harry's room.

There was another set of doctors in there who were looking over Harry. Snape followed Anderson into his office, which was sound proof. Snape knew that because it would be bad if people overheard confidential conversations.

   "May I ask who that is lying on one of my hospital beds?" He asked as soon as they entered the office.

   "What I tell you is confidential" Snape stated.

   "Of course." Anderson said, matter of factly.

   "That boy is Harry Potter but he is to remain a John Doe to the rest of the staff."

   "What is that boy doing here? I thought you know who wanted the boy to stay there. I was not there, but I was told that he was there. I was told by someone, with the same rank as you, that I was to turn the boy back over to him if he were to be brought here."

   "What are you going to do?" Snape questioned with a hint of anger in his voice.

   "I am a healer first. That is my main job. No matter what, he will find out eventually."

   "I understand that, but our Lord wanted two things that disabled each other. You and Nurse Beth are the only two I would like to be in that room unless I say so. So, I must ask, who is in there right now?"

   "That is our head neurologist. I will go and check on them."

Anderson walked out of the office for a few minutes, but he returned rather quickly.

   "What is the neurologist finding?" Snape asked the moment that Anderson stepped foot in the office. 

   "He has concurred my earlier findings."

   "Which were?"

   "I saw large amounts of cranial bleeding and I wanted someone else to look at it."

   "And he said?"

   "He agreed with me that the boy had been seriously hurt. He agreed with me that we need to relieve the pressure in his brain as soon as possible. One of the boy's lungs collapsed, so his breathing is being controlled by magic. I would like to make sure that he has a chance to survive what may come next."

   "What are you talking about?" Snape questioned,.

   "The neurologist and I both agreed that the boy is in a coma. We are going to see if this self- induced coma will bring the swelling down in his brain. We'll wait about an hour, and, if we don't see any improvement, we will be forced to remove a part of his skull."
 

   "What condition would you categorize him as?" Snape questioned again.

Anderson thought about it for a minute or two, but Snape knew the answer right away.

   "Critical."

Snape stood in silence for a moment. He knew that the boy was in critical condition, but it was still a shock to know that someone agreed with Snape.

   "I want some security posted at his door. You are to tell them that whoever attacked the boy will come back. You will only need it for awhile."

   "Of course, I'm going to do my best to help you get this boy better and I will makes sure that nothing happens to him."

Both men left the office and walked toward Harry's room. When they reached the room, they both stopped.

   "You can go in. I shall be back later to check on him." Anderson said, before walking away and leaving Snape to his thoughts.

Snape stood outside the room, arms crossed across his chest. He watched as a nurse walked about the room, checking off different things on Harry's charts.

   "May I help you?" The nurse questioned as she came out of the room.

   "No, I'm fine. I'm his..." What was Snape? Harry's protector? His savior? "Guardian. I'm his guardian." Snape finished.

   "You may go in." She informed him.

   "Thank you." Snape whispered as he walked into the room.

He took a seat in the only chair that occupied the room. There was something sad about the person laying before Snape, and it was not the obvious. True, it was sad that this boy was hurt. What was really sad was that Snape knew that Harry had been hurt worse. He lived with Petunia Evans and that oaf of a husband she has, so of course he had been hurt like Lily had been. It was sad to see the boy laying in a coma, knowing that he had been hurt worse in his life.

   "You care for him, don't you?" A voice questioned, breaking the silence.

This voice caused Snape to jump.

   "I'm sorry, Sir." He apologized after seeing the professor jump.

   "It's alright, Anderson. How long has it been?" Snape questioned, having no sense of the lapse of time.

   "It's been an hour since we left my office."

   "How long have you been standing there, watching me?"

Even though Snape couldn't see Anderson's face, he knew it was filled with surprise.

   "I may not have been looking." Snape informed, turning his head to Anderson. "but I know that you were there."

   "I was observing for a few minutes. No more. You are dodging my question, professor. You care for this boy, correct?"

Snape turned back to Harry in thought.

   "I care for him like a professor cares for his student." Snape spoke after a few seconds of silence. "That is all."

As he knew, this was not entirely true. He knew that he was starting to care for Harry like a son. He wanted to protect Harry the way a father wants to protect his child. Snape was not going to admit that to anyone though.

   "You said that it has passed an hour. What are you planning on doing?" Snape asked, standing up.

   "We have seen no change in the boy, so we are going to have to remove a portion of his skull."

   "How soon?"

   "As soon as our neurologist gets here."

    "Anderson, you need to keep this boy alive."

    "I will."

   "I don't think you understand what could happen." Snape lowered his voice before continuing. "Our lord will kill me and there will be no one to stop him from ruling the wizarding world. The fate of the wizarding world as we once knew it is at stake."

   "I clearly understand what is at stake and I can guarantee you that I will do everything in my power to make sure that this boy makes it through this operation."

Pain ravaged through Snape's body as Anderson made him this guarantee. He grit his teeth and forced himself not to show signs of pain.

   "Are you okay?" Anderson asked because of Snape's change in demeanor.

   "It seems that he has found out." Snape informed through gritted teeth. "I wish you luck, Anderson."

   "You will need it more than I. Be careful."

Snape stalked out of the room and disapparated when he was out of the hospital.

"Please, Lily, make sure that your son stays alive. Everyone's lives depend on it." Snape thought, knowing that Lily would hear it.

As he walked up to the house, Snape's mind drifted to Harry. He was forced to push the thought from his mind. He desperately wanted to think about Harry and his mother's green eyes, because he was sure that it may be the last time that he would see Harry. Going against better judgement, he cleared his mind, and marched into the office of Malfoy Manor.

Snape couldn't comprehend what had happened. He had walked away in a shell-shocked state, but he was still alive. The scene seemed to be on a continuous loop in his mind.

"You wanted him to survive and he was going to die if I didn't take him." Snape explained breathlessly when Voldemort released the cruciatus curse. "You were not going to be able to destroy him yourself, and I would never deny you of that right."
 

Snape was sure that Voldemort was going to torture him again, so he prepared himself for that pain. It never came.
   

"Stand, Severus." Voldemort commanded.

Snape stood up, slowly. His knees were shaking from the torture, causing him to use a chair for balance.

"You are correct, Severus. I wanted too many things for this situation and you kept my main goals in mind. How do you know that the boy will not attempt escape?"

"I have taken his wand from him. He is being treated by Anderson and there are guards posted at his door. There is no way that he can escape."

"I will allow this to play out, but remember that you are still on thin ice. Leave."

"My Lord?" Snape questioned, still confused by what had just transpired.

"Leave now, Severus, before I change my mind about killing you."

With that, Snape took his leave from Malfoy Manor.

It still didn't make sense, but Snape knew that he would have to tread carefully until this was over. That meant that the plan he was about to convey to Albus would have to be flawless. Snape pushed his way through the door.

"Severus, I am glad to see that you are alive. I have been scouring the papers for any kind of hint of your death." Dumbledore spoke as he shut the door.

"You have no faith in me, old man." Snape sneered.

"I would trust no one else with the task that you currently have."

"And speaking of this task I have most unwillingly and forcefully had to take." Snape said, switching subjects. "The boy is alive. I took him to St,. Mungos this morning. He has been put into a coma and is, as we are speaking, having a piece of his skull removed in order to relieve the pressure that is building up in his skull."

"Who is taking care of him?"

"A former student of mine. Anderson came into my house about eleven years ago."

"This is the student who became a death eater?"

"Unwillingly? Yes." Snape argued.

"He is still a death eater." Dumbledore pointed out.

"He only did it to protect his family. Where his loyalties lie is no what we need to be worried about."

"How much do you trust this healer?"

"Obviously enough to leave the boy with him. I would trust him with my life."

"What do you believe that we should be worried about?"

"How to get the boy out of Voldemort's clutches when he is healed. We both know that he will want the boy back when he is healed."

"What do you propose, Severus? I assume that you have some sort of a plan or else you would not have brought it up."

"I do have a plan, but it is mad."

"Let's hear it." Albus said as he sat behind the desk.

"When the boy awakes from his coma, we will make sure that he is healed. We are going to keep him there for a few days. When it comes time to move him, you will hex me then hex Anderson. You will remove the memory about this meeting from my mind. You will then take Harry to Grimmauld place. When Anderson and I become conscious again, we will go to Voldemort and tell him that you attacked us. If he tries to look into our minds, he would knew that it was true. When he asks where you've taken the boy, we would tell him that we have no idea where you are. The boy would be safe." Snape explained.

"That is a viable plan, but..."

"But what? There is no way that this plan can go wrong."

"I am just making sure that you have thought through everything. What about the connection between the two of them?"

"What about it?"

"How do you know that he will no attempt to find Harry with it?"

"You told me yourself that Voldemort fears this connection. If he did want to find Potter using that connection, he would have done it when the boy was not with wizards over the summer. If he did not do it then, he will not do it now."

Albus sat in a contemplative state of a while.

"Very well. Let me know when the boy has woken up."

What? There was no argument from Albus.

"Is there something that I need to know about?" Snape asked.

"Severus, I would have told you if there was something that you needed to know."

Snape left the office, his blood boiling from anger. He knew that the old man was hiding something and it was most likely beneficial to the situation.

 Walking down the hallway towards Harry's room, Snape saw Anderson approach.

"Professor, let's go talk in my office." Anderson attempted to usher Snape down an adjacent hallway.

"Why not the boy's room? That is find for whatever you wish to discuss." Snape argued, making a move toward Harry's room.

"No!" Anderson shouted, placing his hands on Snape.

"What's wrong, Anderson?"

"I just feel that our conversation is much more suited for my office."

"And why is that?"

"Well, I...it's..."

"Why won't you let me see the boy?"

"I will let you see the boy, but we need to talk first."

"Then let's talk in the boy's room." Snape reiterated.

"No!" Anderson insisted.

"You listen here." Snape growled as he grabbed Anderson by the collar and held him against the wall. "I am going to see that boy right now. Before I do, I will let you go. You have a choice to make. You will let me walk into the room. If you don't, so help me god, I will do something regrettable. So what is it going to be?" Snape growled as he let Anderson go.

The healer stayed with his back plastered to the wall and he gulped nervously before giving a nod.

"I knew you were smart." Snape thanked, slapping Anderson on the cheek lightly. Snape turned away and stormed down the hallway. He nearly tore the door off its hinges as he raced through the entrance. A curtain separated sight of the boy from the outside. Snape took three long strides and almost collapsed.

He stared at Harry, steadying himself against the edge of the bed because his knees were shaking so bad. Harry's head had been wrapped in a bandage covering everything from his eyebrows up. that was to be expected after an operation like the one the boy just had. What caused Snape's knees to shake was the fact that Harry looked like he was almost dead. Harry was so pale.

Snape took a seat next to Harry, knowing that his legs couldn't bear his own weight. He was shocked. What had happened while he was gone? Look at the vitals monitor, Snape got a little insight. The boy's heart beat had gone up a little, only three beats higher, but his blood pressure was dangerously low. In his shock, Snape had reached forward and grabbed Harry's hand. He was cold to the touch. Footsteps entered the room, causing Snape to withdraw his hand quickly.

"What happened?" Snape questioned Anderson, who had walked into the room.

"There were some...complications."

"The boy is cold to the touch and deathly pale. How bad of a complication was it?"

"There was more bleeding than expected. He made it, but lost a lot of blood in the process. We've given him blood replenishing potions and his blood pressure is slowly rising."

"How likely are the chances that he survives?" Snape's voice sounded hollow, even to himself.

"If he makes it through the next forty-eight hours, I have high hopes."

"What about impairments? Will he be one hundred percent when he wakes?"

"The fact that his brain was involved is not a good sign. We can not see anything at the moment, so we will have to wait for him to wake."

Snape felt like he was going to be sick. This would have broken a normal man who had feelings. Snape was not normal and he did not have feelings. They were buried deep inside of him after Lily died.

"Leave." Snape ordered Anderson, who obediently left the room.

The first forty-eight hours were nerve racking. Not once did Snape take his eyes off Harry, for fear that the boy would die. Miraculously, the boy did survive those long forty-eight hours.  Three days later, doctors removed the breathing tube from Harry's throat. Now all they could do was wait for Harry, seeing as this was a self induced coma. It was a relief seeing Harry breathing on his own. Snape knew that Harry was on the mend. The only question left to be answered was when, and if, Harry would wake up.
    Doctors replaced the portion of Harry's skull they had removed the next day. Five more days would pass with no change, which severely began to worry Snape. He would stalk about the room for hours at a time, asking himself if the boy was ever going to wake up. Snape had walked over to the window after a particularly discouraging conversation with Anderson. There was mumbled speaking in the room.
    "What do you want?!" Snape shouted as he whirled around in anger.
No one was standing in the doorway, which caused Snape to walk to that point and look into the hallway.
    "Professor." the voice mumbled again.
Snape turned around so quickly that any other man would have fallen. His eyes fell to Harry, who was awake and moving.

    He rushed over to Harry.
    "Thank Merlin, Harry. How are you feeling?"
    "Professor, what...?" Harry began to ask but stopped suddenly.
Flashes of scenes came to him. There weren't many in number, but they were horrifying enough to scare him. He was falling off his broom, then he remembered being tortured. The torture had stopped and people were speaking, but Harry heard none of it. He was horrified when he looked up and saw Severus Snape standing before him.
    "Harry, are you okay?" Snape questioned, touching Harry's shoulder.
The boy lurched away from Snape, looking side to side quickly.
    "Get away from me. Get away!" Harry shouted, pulling his knees up to his chest. "Get away, get away, get away!" Harry continued shouting till Snape had backed away to the other side of the room. "Where's my wand? Where's my wand, Snape?"
    "I have it, Harry." Snape dug into his pocket and produced the wand. "See, it's right here." He held it out of Harry to see.
    "Give it here." Harry ordered.
    "Harry, you've been seriously hurt."
    "I DON'T CARE! Give me my wand. And I want to talk to Headmaster Dumbledore."
    "I can go get the Headmaster, but I can't give you back your wand."
    "You'll give me my wand, Snape!" Harry demanded.
    "You will address me with respect, Potter. You are very unstable right now and your wand will stay mine until I return. Is that understood?" Snape argued in a stern voice.
    Harry looked like he wanted to attack Snape, but a look of defeat slowly seeped into his eyes. He nodded in agreement.
    "Good. You are going to stay in that bed while I get your doctor in here, then I will get the headmaster. Do not move." Snape walked out of the room and dragged Anderson in, ordering him to stay with Harry until he had returned.
    With that order, Snape disapparated.

He appeared in Dumbledore's office, causing the old man to jump out of his seat.
    "Merlin, Severus. You really need to stop doing that. You will give this old man a heart attack."
    "It's Potter." Snape blurted out in the middle of Dumbledore's rant.
    "What's happened?" Albus asked, coming to stand next to Snape.
    "He is awake. He went mad. He was yelling at me to back away. He was absolutely terrified." Snape spoke quickly.

"Severus, slow down and start again. Tell me the whole story."

"He was terrified." Snape finished.

"Well, Severus. I can't blame him. He woke up in a hospital and remembered a few things of what happened. It seems, to me, that he remembers you torturing him."

"Anderson." Snape growled in the hallway.
Anderson and Ravensdale were in a whispered argument in the hallway. Anderson heard Snape and, when he saw Snape approach, he walked the other way.

"You're not getting away from me, Anderson." Snape muttered as he gave chase.

They both turned into the hallway that held Anderson's office. Snape grabbed Anderson by the scruff of the neck and dragged him into the office. With a quick flick of a wand, the door was locked, the blinds were shut, and Anderson had no way out.

"What would you not tell us?"

"We told you all that we know. We're getting..."

"That's cadswell and you know it. You would have never came if that was all that you needed. Someone got cold feet in there."

"We just..."

"No excuses, Anderson. Tell me."

"There's nothing to tell."

Snape knew that Anderson was hiding something. He also knew Anderson's weakness and he was about to pull that card. Snape stepped close to his former student.

"Anderson, if you don't tell me then I will be forced to do something that I will regret."

"And what would that be!?" Anderson shoved Snape away from him.

Snape took Anderson by the neck of the coat and pinned him on the desk.

"You have three seconds to tell me what I need to know. If not, I will. kill you. I will tell our master what you have been doing and I am wholeheartedly sure that he will kill your father."

"You wouldn't do that." Anderson squeaked out, having slight difficulty breathing because of Snape's arm resting on his throat.

"I don't make empty threats, do I?" Snape asked. "You have three seconds. One...Two..."

"Alright, Stop!" Anderson squeaked out. "We found significant damage to a specific lobe of Harry's brain. This lobe controls fine motor skills. That's why he can't pick anything up. It doesn't help that he significant nerve damage either." Anderson spoke quickly.

"What are you on about?" Snape asked, removing his arm from the other man's throat but keeping him pinned on the desk.

"Every time the boy tries to pick something up, his brain won't send the signal because it has been damaged. Even if it did, it wouldn't get there because of the nerve damage caused by the Cruciatus curse. I swear that is what we wanted to tell you. Please don't hurt my dad." Anderson finished weakly.

Snape kept him pinned to the desk for a few more moments before releasing him. Snape stalked away from anderson and began pacing in the office, trying to wrap his mind around this new information.

The boy who lived, the only one who could destroy the darkest wizard of all time, couldn't even pick up his wand.

"What do you suggest we do then?" The pacing man asked.

"We are currently finding a healer who can work with him to get back those fine motor skills. They'll do something that muggles call occupational therapy. We are also giving him potions for the nerve damage. That's all we can do right now."

"When do you plan on releasing him?"

"We want to heal the nerve damage, then keep him here for a few more days."

The two men stared at each other for a long time, in silence.

"If you don't believe how badly he is still injured, you need to go see for yourself." Anderson spoke as he reached for his wand.

Snape stormed out of the room before Anderson had a chance to get a comfortable hold on his wand. He did believe the healer, but he still needed to see it for himself.

"Potter, sit still." He ordered when he entered the boy's room.

Snape wave a hand over Harry's arms, muttering a spell.

"What are you doing?" Harry questioned, moving his arms.

"Potter, you need to sit still. I'm casting a diagnostic scan and if you don't sit still, I will be forced to immobilize you. Since you have been in a coma for more than a week, I'm sure you don't want to be imprisoned like that again."

Harry stopped moving, allowing Snape to scan both his arms and head. When Snape finished, he violently swore under his breath.

"What is it sure?" Harry questioned, fearfully. He didn't want to know what caused the man to swearlike that, but he needed to know.

Snape turned to Dumbledore.

"I should have seen this before. I don't know how I missed it. I could have done more had I seen it."

"I don't know what you are talking about, Severus. Please, start from the beginning."

"How high did Harry fall from his broom?"

"No more than twenty meters from the student grandstands."

"How did I not see this earlier?!" Snape shouted, knocking over a tray of silver medical equipment.

"What did you not see?" Dumbledore questioned.

"The cause...The reason, whatever you want to call it. We should have known a long time ago how badly he was hurt."

"You're not making any sense Severus."

"The brain damage...The nerve damage...It's why he can't pick anything up. The nerve damage can be easily repaired but the brain damage...the boy should be dead or severely crippled. He's not though and this damage may never go away."

"What are you talking about, sir?" Harry asked.

"The reason..." Snape began, turning to Harry. "You can't pick anything up is because of some brain damage that you acquired when in your attempt to save my life."

"What are the healers doing about it?" Dumbledore questioned.

"There are looking for a healer who can work with Harry to get back some of his fine motor skills. I believe I have a contraption that may be of some use, if you grant me leave to my private quarters."

"Yes, go. Take as long as you need. I will stay with Harry in the meantime."

"I will be back within half an hour."

Snape concluded the conversation by walking out of the room.

"Everything will be taken care of Harry." Dumbledore assured, breaking the silence.

Harry stared back at Dumbledore, wondering how the man knew that Harry was worried.

"Do my friends know what happened? Do they know that I am okay?"

"They do not know, but I will inform them when I return to the school."

"Snape seemed apologetic." Harry pointed out.

"Professor Snape did indeed seem apologetic. Why do you think that was?"

"He was apologizing to you, Professor, not me. He was apologizing to you because your mad at him for hurting me."

"I am not mad at him, Harry. I asked him to do the life threatening job that he is currently doing. You should know that, had Professor Snape not intervened, you would have been hurt worse or dead. He has apologized not to me, but to you. He regrets not spotting the damage sooner because he feels, had he seen it earlier, he could have done more to help you."

"Why are you so insistent that he feels sorry towards me? He has hated me since the first day that I walked into Hogwarts. He hates me because he hates my father."

"Professor Snape is a good, trustworthy..."

"He's a Slytherin!" Harry exclaimed.

"He may be a Slytherin; however, the world is not just good and bad. If I recall, Sirius told you that once. It's best that you remember that. Professor Snape is a good and trustworthy man who will always do what is necessary. I have seen no evidence to refute that claim, and more to support it. I know that Professor Snape has saved your life more time than you know." Dumbledore replied before leaving the room.

Harry stared after him in shock. What has gotten into Dumbledore? He's never spoken to Harry like that. Something can't be right with Dumbledore. He returned some time later with Snape by his side.

"Harry, this is where I must leave you. Professor Snape shall be staying with you and I shall be placing him in charge of you."

"NO!" Both men shouted simultaneously.

"Headmaster, I hate this man." Harry spoke as Snape argued.

"Albus, this is a very very bad idea."

"Enough, both of you!" Dumbledore rose his voice. "Harry, you need to learn to trust Professor Snape again."

"I never trusted him in the first place!" Harry shouted over Dumbledore , who gave no hint that he heard the boy.

"And Severus, you know what Harry has been through and you know what kind of care he needs."

"There are much more advanced healers here who know what Potter needs." Snape rebuked.

"There shall be no argument to my choice. My word in this matter is final. I will be by tomorrow to check on the two of you." Dumbledore left the room without another word, his traveling cloak whipping at his ankles.

Snape spoke once he knew that Dumbledore was out of earshot.

"What the bloody hell, Albus?!"

"I don't like this anymore than you do." Harry muttered. Snape sat down without saying anything.

"Has Headmaster Dumbledore been acting strange lately?" Harry questioned.

"Why do you ask?" Snape questioned curiously.

"I'm just wondering."

"Potter, you don't have to tell me. I can just as easily look into your mind if you don't" Snape threatened.

"Dumbledore was acting strange after you left. He shouted and lectured at me."

"Oh, Dumbledore has never lectured his precious little Potter. How sad." Snape mocked.

"No, he's lectured me plenty of times before. Just not like this."

"He has, in my opinion, been acting out of character lately. We can't do anything about it at this time. Before you sleep, Healer Anderson wanted you to take these potions." Snape informed harry as he produced two vials of clear liquid. "One will help the nerve damage and the other is a muscle relaxant." Snape continued as he saw the look on Harry's face.

Snape handed the nerve agent to Harry, who drank it down in one gulp, before handing the muscle relaxant to the injured child. Both potions tasted repugnant, but Harry showed no signs that it bothered him. If he had, Snape would make some snide comment. Harry began to get exceedingly drowsy.

"Good night, Harry." Snape whispered to him as the boy's eyes began to close.

The muscle relaxant was not a muscle relaxant at all. It was a dreamless sleep potion. Snape had to lie for Harry's own good because he knew that the boy would not take it under his own will.
At the moment that Harry was fast asleep, Snape let out a sigh of relief. Harry was alive and awake. It was the best outcome that they could hope for, given the circumstance which the boy had been brought to the hospital. Snape saw Harry's hand twitch and he watched it for a long time. It twitched uncontrollably, a sign of extreme nerve damage. Had Snape's curse been the one to cause this damage? Was it the one that finally pushed his body over the edge?

Snape sat back in his chair and watched as he had done so for the past fifteen days. 

Harry slowly opened his eyes as sunlight beamed into his room. He looked to his right and saw Snape asleep in a chair. It was strangely comforting to see the potions master to be asleep at his bedside. Snape had stayed by Harry's side the entire night. It was also good to see the man asleep. He seemed like he hadn't slept in nights. Was that how worried Snape had been about Harry? Maybe, Harry had been a little unfair to snape, but Snape had tortured Harry. It would take time to figure out what was going on.

Harry saw his wand sitting on the table and thought about trying to pick it up. He reached out and was able to curl the tips of his fingers around the wand, but no matter how he tried, he could not pick it up. Harry tried once more and the wand was sent crashing to the ground.

"God dammit!" Harry shouted louder than he wanted to.

Snape stirred himself awake at the sound of Harry's yell.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Snape asked groggily.

"Sorry, sir. I didn't mean to wake you. I tried to pick my wand up again. It didn't work well." Harry apologized.

"That's okay." Snape whispered, leaning over and picking up Harry's wand. "Are you in any pain?"

"No." Harry answered.

"Potter, you need to tell me if you are in any pain."

"I'm not. My head is just a little sore."

"I'd be surprised if it didn't." Snape mumbled.

"No one really explained to me why there is this bandage on my head."

"The healer were forced to remove a part of your skull so your brain would stop swelling."

"Oh." Harry whispered in response.

"Why don't you show me what you were trying to do?" Snape suggested, placing the wand on the table.

"Alright." Harry responded and tried to pick his wand up again.

"That's an improvement. You couldn't do that yesterday, could you?"

"No."

"That means you are beginning to heal. Would you like to see what I went and got last night?"

"Sure."

Snape dug into his pocket and pulled out a small metal skeleton of an upper body. He enlarged it and it looked almost like a shirt.

"What is that, sir?"

"Would you like to see what it does?"

Harry shook his head, curious to see how it worked.

This contraption was interesting in design. The arms were long and spindly, with fingers in a similar condition. The collar went up high, almost to someone's lower jaw. The entire contraption wrapped around the chest. It seemed to secure itself at the chest, the neck, the upper and lower arms as well as at the wrist and hands. Snape immobilized his arm and attempted to move his fingers.

"You can see that I can't move my fingers, much like you." Snape said as he began to put the contraption on.

 He first put it on like a jacket. He then strapped it around his immobilized arm, his chest and loosely around his neck.

"Did you invent this?" Harry inquired.

"I did, with one of my school friends. It has been very useful over the years."

"How does it work?"

"From a very early age, I was interested in medicine and how our body works. Your brain has two sides to it and they work together. In your case, one side of your brain is sending a message to your arm. This message is very weak because it's half as strong. Even if it were strong, it wouldn't pass through because of the nerve damage in your arm. This device will amplify the message and reroute it until the nerve damage is healed. See." Snape moved his immobilized arm to show that the device did actually work.

"Whoa." Harry breathed.

"Would you like to use it?" Snape asked.

"Yes, please."

Snape removed himself from the contraption when a glint of gold caught Harry's eye.

"Sir, I was wondering why that ring is on your finger? I saw it last night and meant to ask about it before I fell asleep."

"It's a ring that my mother gave to be."

"Why is it on your left finger?"

"I really don't know, but it won't come off. I'm going to have to help you into this the first few times. Go ahead and sit up."

Harry sat up as Snape approached the side of the bed. It was there that a gasp escaped Snape's lips.

"Harry, what happened to your back?"

Those scars had not been there when Snape began healing the child. Harry quickly sat back against the bed.

"It's nothing. Just some old scars."

"Scars that run up and down the length of your back. What happened?" Snape finished with a growl.

Harry didn't want to tell Snape, but he knew that he couldn't lie his way out of this one.

"Before my third year, My uncle's sister came to stay with us. She also brought that stupid pitbulll of her's along. At dinner, she said some things about my parents."

"Like what?"

"She said my dad was a drunk then called my mum a bitch. I got angry and tried to attack her. That stupid dog attacked me instead. Tore up my back really bad and no one did anything to stop it."

"Your back looks like a cheese grater. What else happened to it?"

"After she left, my uncle was furious with me. I...he beat me with a belt. Also punched and kicked me. He would have killed me but I managed to heal most of the wounds before they became deadly. I placed a glamour on my back before school started that year, but it must have worn off or something." Harry finished and looked at Snape for a reaction.

His face was eerily calm.

"Does it hurt when you move?"

"It used to, but not so much anymore."

Snape nodded his head and did his best to control his breathing and temper. He was almost blind with anger. Had Dumbledore known about this? Harry could see the anger rise in Snape.

"Sir, you can't tell anyone about this. Please, don't tell anyone." Harry pleaded.

Snape looked down at the boy and saw fear in his eyes. Snape wanted to tell someone, he needed to tell someone. It was his duty as a professor to care for his students. Dumbledore told him that he had to gain Harry's trust, but how was he suppose to do that now?

"I will keep your secret, if you keep mine." Snape whispered, leaning forward.

Harry nodded his head, wondering what secret could possibly be so important. Snape started undoing the buttons on his shirt, wondering what the hell he was doing. This had to be done though, if the boy was going to start to trust him. Snape turned around and showed Harry his back. It was just like Harry's only covered in more welts. Snape turned back to see a look of surprise on Harry's face.

"My dad was a muggle, who drank away my mother's and his livings. He would beat me and my mother when he was in a drunken rage. When I was younger, it was mostly my mother he beat until she died of cancer. Then he turned to me when my accidental magic began to show. My father also smoke heavily." Snape held out an arm and rolled up a sleeve, to show Harry the burn marks made by the cigars that the muggle smoked. "I moved out the moment that I could. Now you know my secret and yours will stay between us if mine isn't shared."

"Yes, sir." Harry replied.

"Why don't we get this contraption on you." Snape said, changing the topic.

"Okay." Harry leaned forward and Snape helped him into the device.

Within minutes, Harry was securely strapped into the device. Snape took a step back when he was sure that the device fit correctly on the boy.

"Go ahead and pick up your wand."

Harry reached forward and, with little effort, picked up his wand. A smile crept across his face at the result of his actions.

"Try and pick this up." Snape said, producing a coin from him pocket.

Harry picked it up effortlessly and examined it. It wasn't any sort of muggle or wizard currency that he knew of.

"What is this, Professor?" Harry questioned.

"It's my lucky coin." Snape said and he watched Harry continue to curiously examine it. After he examined it for a few more minutes, he went to hand it back to Snape. "No, hold on to it for now. You seem very interested in it."

"What type of coin is this?"

"It's an American silver dollar. My friend gave this to me after she came back from the summer she spent in America. The man on this coin is John F Kennedy. He was the thirty-fifth Leader of the United States. He was assassinated by a man named Lee Harvey Oswald, who was a wizard."

"The friend who gave you this, is this the same person who helped you make this?" Harry said, motioning to the device he was strapped into.

"It is indeed the same friend. After our studies at Hogwarts, we were going to go to America. She told me that it was filled with history and culture. She told me that JFK, as this leader was called, was a man who brought about the Camelot era. This president, which is what the Americans call their leader, brought about a time of hope and optimism.""

Harry held the coin in his hand, gently squeezing his fist over it.

"Thank you, sir." Harry whispered.

"You're welcome, Harry."

It was good to see Harry smile.

"Do you think I can get up and walk around today?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. I can ask Healer Anderson if you would like me to."

"Can you please do that? I'm going to go crazy if I can't get up and move."

"Alright." Snape said, holding a chuckle back. "Don't move, I'll go ask him."

Snape stood up and was walking out of the room.

"Professor." Harry called, stopping Snape from walking out the door.

"Yes, Potter?" Snape spoke as he turned back toward the boy.

"Thank you for this." Harry said, moving his arms.

"You're welcome.

 Dumbledore was in his office. The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teams stood in front of his desk as well as Hermione, Neville, and Luna.

"Headmaster, is Harry alright?" Hermione asked.

"Why do you believe that this has to do with Mr. Potter?"

"The last time we were all together, Professor McGonagall questioned us about Harry's whereabouts."

"You are correct, Ms. Granger. Mr. Potter has been found and he is alive. We found him fifteen days ago and since then, he has been sitting in a St. Mungos hospital room."

"Do you know where he has been?" Ginny asked.

"I do not know, and Mr. Potter has given us no information on his whereabouts."

"How did he get to St. Mungos?" Ron asked.

"I do not know. I got an owl from the hospital the other day saying that they had a person, of student age, that had been brought in with no identification. When I questioned the healer, they said that the person who brought Mr. Potter in gave no name. Now, you all understand that what I have told you is not to be shared with anyone else. If you have any questions or worries about this matter, your heads of house have been informed on the situation. They will be the ones that you go to. Mr. Weasley, Ms. Weasley, and Ms. Granger, I would like you to stay behind. Everyone else is dismissed."

Dumbledore waited until the other students left his office before continuing.

"Professor McGonagall has informed me of an interesting theory as to why Professor Snape fell. May I ask who came up with this theory?"

"It was me, Headmaster." Hermione stepped forward.

"May I ask how you came to this conclusion?"

"When Professor McGonagall brought us together, I remembered reading a book about the design of the Quidditch Grandstands at Hogwarts. I also remembered that Professor Snape had been sitting two or three rows from the front. The specific height of the side barrier where he was sitting is about two meters tall. I double checked those numbers before going to tell Professor McGonagall. I used some arithmancy to figure out how much force it would take for a man of Professor Snape's size to fall over. The force is too large for the Professor to have been accidentally pushed over in a panic. That can only mean that Professor Snape was pushed over on purpose."

"That is an interesting theory, Ms. Granger."

"Headmaster, you need to warn Professor Snape because, if I am right, he could still be in danger."

"There will be no need for that."

"What do you mean?" All three students asked at once.

"Professor Snape has not fully recovered from the injuries he has suffered, so he is also currently being treated at St. Mungos. You are now free to go."

Harry spent five more days at St. Mungos. The nerve damage was mostly healed and Harry was in the process of coping with the brain damage. Snape had been watching Harry's fine motor skill rehabilitation. He would need to continue to work with Harry when they rescued him from having to return to Voldemort. Twenty days after he had come to St. Mungos, Snape and Dumbledore would put the plan into action.

 "What?" Anderson questioned as he was roused awake.

"Dumbledore took Harry."

"What!?" Anderson stood up fast and looked at the empty bed. "Son of a bitch!" Anderson shouted as he turned to leave the room.

"And where do you think you're going?" Snape snarled, causing Anderson to turn back around.

"I'm taking my father and running."

"No, you're not. We need to go tell him."

"Are you bloody mental? We may as well as just sign our own death warrants."

"No, running away would be signing our death warrants. When he learns that you have deserted him, no matter where you are, he will find you." Snape argued

"We are dead men anyways."

"No, you will still be alive. It was my responsibility to watch the boy. You're coming with me." Snape grabbed Anderson by the collar and disapparated with him.

Furious was not even close to describing how angry Voldemort was. The office that the meeting had been held in was destroyed. The desk had been thrown across the room. Anderson and Snape stood as still as trees while Voldemort went on his rampage.

"You can double check our story, my lord. Albus Dumbledore caught us off guard." Snape informed.

Voldemort turned to look at both men. It was the intense stare that let Snape know that Voldemort was performing legemency. The memory of Dumbledore hexing Snape came up into the forefront of Snape's mind. Voldemort howled in rage and then turned his wand on Snape.

It seemed like Snape was being tortured for hours, but it could have only been minutes. The Cruciatus curse was relinquished and Snape rolled about on the floor, panting for breath.

"This is your only warning, Anderson. This is what happens when you disregard my orders. Leave now before I decide that you are to be punished as well." Voldemort snarled in warning.

"Yes, my lord." Anderson responded.

Then he calmly walked out of the room, but Snape knew that if Anderson could, he would have run out of the office. Snape managed to push himself up onto one knee when the door to the office closed. He reflected on what had just happened. Voldemort had just fed into Snape's plan. The boy would be save.

"My Lord, I apologize for my mistake. I should have seen it coming. I let Potter slip through your grasp." Snape mumbled.

"Rise, Severus." Voldemort ordered.

Snape stood slowly, still disoriented from the cruciatus curse.

"Do you have any idea where Dumbledore would have taken the boy?" Voldemort questioned.

"Hogwarts would be the only answer that I have for you. If he is there, then you have little chance of success of getting him back."

"Silence." Voldemort hissed.

"My apologies, my lord. I would go and get the boy myself, but I do not think that I will be able to get back into Hogwarts. Dumbledore must have found out."

"I said silence." Voldemort hissed again. With a flick of his wand, he brought Snape back to his knees. "I will have to find the boy, myself. Seeing as you are too incompetent."

"You are going to Hogwarts?"

"You really are too incompetent, you fool. I would do no such thing till my other plan has worked itself out."

"Then how are you going to find the boy?"

"That is none of your concern at the moment."

Voldemort closed his eyes for a long time. Fear slowly began to claw at Snape's chest.

"What did you see, my lord?" Snape asked when Voldemort opened his eyes.

"Severus, why is Harry Potter currently resting in your private quarters in Hogwarts."

"What?" was the last question Snape asked himself before darkness enveloped him.

It was dark and there were trees everywhere. He was walking through the forest toward a large fire.

"My followers, who are on the path to rid the world of ungrateful filth, we have an exciting event tonight. Your role is simply. You are jury and executioner of whatever punishment you find acceptable in this trial. Bring forward the accused, Severus Snape." Harry turned away toward the darkness, which spat Severus Snape out of.

The fire illuminated Snape's black figure as he landed on his knees.  His face was covered in blood. His nose seemed to be broken. His eyes were bloodshot. Blood came pouring from his ears and mouth.

"Severus Snape, you are being accused of treason and espionage. How do you plead?" Harry questioned in a snake like voice.

"Not guilty." Snape slurred

"Give your evidence before I give mine."

"I have done everything for my lord. I've stayed faithful to my lord, even when he disappeared. I held my position as spy while you were gone and I have been a flow of valuable information. I have always done what my lord wanted and, until my dying breath, I will continue to be faithful to my lord."

It was amazing that Snape could say that much. His words were so slurred that they were almost incomprehensible. He also winced more as he continued speaking, which meant that his jaw could have been broken.

"In your service as my right hand man, have you ever lied to me?" Harry inquired.

"My lord, I would not know if I lied to you because all the information which was given to me was thought to be true. In other words, no I have not lied to my lord."

"If you have not lied to me, then why have you allowed Harry Potter to escape my clutches? Why is he currently resting in your private quarters at Hogwarts?"

"I do not know. Albus Dumbledore may have found out that I was a spy."

"We've known for a long time that, Severus. Why do you think you went falling off that Quidditch stand?" Snape's face changed in recognition of what Harry was talking about. "Yes, we've known for a long time where your loyalties have been." Then Harry turned away from Snape. "Jury, now that you have heard all the evidence, what is your verdict for Severus Snape?"

"Guilty!" The surrounding death eaters shouted.

"Severus Snape." Harry's voice boomed as he turned around. "You have been found guilty of treason and espionage. I shall remind our executioners that his death shall be mine. You may proceed."

Harry stepped back as a man ran at Snape. With one swift kick to the midsection, Snape was forced to the ground, howling in pain and coughing up blood.

 "NO!" Harry shouted.

His face was slick with sweat and he was tangled up in the blankets.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Dumbledore asked as he rushed into the room.

"You've got to save him. They have him. He's already injured, tortured, I'm not sure. You've got to help him Professor."

"Who?"

"Professor Snape. Voldemort....has him. They're going to kill him."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I'm sure. I saw him, I was Voldemort. He's angry and he's going to kill Snape. They're somewhere in the Forbidden Forest, probably near the middle. I could see the castle in the background."

"Stay here." Dumbledore ordered as he disapparated with a "pop"

Harry stood up as soon as Dumbledore left. For a while, he just paced back and forth like a caged animal.

"If there is a merciful God, please let them get to Professor Snape in time. Please, let him be alive. Just let him be alive." Harry kept thinking to himself over and over as he paced.

Harry hated being confined to the bedroom, so we went out into the living room. Harry put socks on when he got out there because the floors of the dungeons were freezing cold. Harry didn't really understand why he had been brought down to Snape's private quarters. He was suppose to be at Grimmauld place, but Dumbledore didn't give an explanation as to the change in location.

Harry was slightly antsy. The private quarters were rather large, but it had few things in it. There was a couch and a table, but that was about it. The only other item was a bookshelf, filled with books,  that spanned the length of the longest wall. Harry walked over to the table and picked up its only object. This book was a potions book, which meant that Snape must have been reading this at some point.

Harry was studying the outside of the book when a glint of light come from the table. Harry put the book down and picked up the shining object.

"Oh no." Harry gasped softly.

The object that Harry was holding was Snape's lucky coin.

"No wonder he was captured, he didn't have his coin." Harry thought to himself

Harry continued to switch between pacing the drawing room and sitting on the couch. How long had it been? Minutes? Hours? Harry had no idea, but it was taking way too long. There was a loud pop in the drawing room, causing Harry to whirl around with his wand that the ready.

"Harry, we need to go now." Dumbledore stated.

Dumbledore was disheveled, that much was evident to Harry. The man's robes were torn at the bottom. He was caked in dirt, and... was that blood on Dumbledore's robes? The older of the two didn't show any signs of being injured, so whose blood was that?

"Harry, we need to go." Dumbledore repeated again.

There was an edge to his voice. Was Dumbledore scared? No, Harry had never seen him scared, but there was no mistaking it. What was Dumbledore scared of? Did it have something to do with Snape?

"What happened, Professor?" Harry asked as he stowed his wand away.

"Don't put your wand away, Harry. There is no time to explain, we need to go." Dumbledore answered quickly.

Harry pulled his wand out of his pocked at placed a hand on Dumbledore's arm. With a pop, Snape's private quarters became silent.

 "Is Professor Snape okay?" Harry asked breathlessly as they ran through the hall.

"I do not know. I left him here then returned to the fight." Dumbledore responded in a whisper.

They continued running through the halls looking for, what Harry assumed, was Snape's room. In their search, they saw Healer Anderson.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, what are you doing here?" Anderson asked, bringing Dumbledore to a halt.

"Professor Snape has been severely injured." Dumbledore whispered once again.

Healer Anderson took off running and the other two followed, hoping that the healer knew where Snape was. Anderson and Dumbledore stopped abruptly, causing Harry to almost crash into them. Anderson walked into the room and Harry went to follow when he was held back.

"We are going to stay out here until Healer Anderson comes back, Harry." Dumbledore informed, but it seemed more like an order.

Harry had yet to look into the room and when he did, he was shocked. There wasn't enough time to describe the scene inside the room because Healer Anderson walked into the hallway.

"Let's go talk in my office." Anderson ushered Harry and Dumbledore towards his office. He seemed to change his demeanor, which could not be a good thing. The walk was short, which meant that Harry didn't have to wait long to know how Snape was doing.

"Take a seat." Anderson offered after he conjured two extra chairs.

Dumbledore took a seat, but Harry refused to sit down. He wanted to be in control of the situation even though part of him knew that he wasn't.

"Why don't you sit down, Harry?" Anderson questioned.

"I don't want to. How is Professor Snape?" Harry asked back.

"Let's take a look." Anderson put on a pair of glasses and began flipping through the notes.

"We know that you read the notes. Just tell us." Harry commented angrily.

"Very well." Anderson said to himself, nodding his head. "I'm going to be straight with you. Professor Snape is in a very critical situation. He has large amounts of internal bleeding, multiple broken ribs. Three shattered ribs caused both lungs to collapse and fill with blood. He lost a lot of blood from wounds on his back. Broken nose, signs of brain damage. Dehydration caused by extensive burns over forty-five percent of his body. Nerve damage caused by extensive torture. Visible spinal cord injuries. Since he has been here, we've seen little changers in his vitals and brain activity."

"His pulse is very low, same with his blood pressure. His organs are shutting down because of shock. We've placed him in a coma in hopes that it will slow the onset of shock, but his organs are still shutting down. So far his kidneys and liver have shut down. His lungs are in the process of shutting down, so we have magically controlled his breathing. The doctor who did the original healing seems to think that the mortality rate is high and I tend to agree with that theory."

"What does that mean?" Harry asked.

"It means that Professor Snape is most likely not going to survive." Dumbledore responded before turning to Anderson. "How long?"

"At the current rate that his organs are failing, I give him a day if he's extremely lucky. realistically, with the state that he's in, a few hours at most." Anderson replied.

Harry didn't understand what they were talking about. Snape was going to die in a few hours? That couldn't be possible. Snape had lived through so much. He had been a spy for years and he had survived physical abuse from his father. No, Snape could not die. Now now. Harry silently stormed out of the room, an exit that would have put Professor Snape to shame.

He strode toward Snape's room. He needed to see for himself how Snape was doing. They had been lying to him, Snape could not be dying. He had to see for himself. If Harry was there with Snape, maybe the Professor would be okay. Harry hoped that was the case even though he knew, deep down, that what Healer Anderson said was true. Harry did not slow until he was at Snape's bedside.

Harry's knees shook as he stood there in shock. He sat down hard in the nearest chair, trying to calm himself. Snape looked horrible. His arms, chest, and legs were wrapped up, protecting the burns. His skin looked yellow, which mean that his liver had failed. It was obvious that the Professor's breathing was controlled by magic because it was too slow and controlled to be natural. The vitals screen showed that Snape's heartbeat was slowing down. There was another screen below that, which must have read higher brain function/activity. That screen had one flat line. Snape was indeed dying.
Harry was close to tears when he came to that realization.

"Professor, you need to keep fighting. I know that you may not be able to fight anymore, but you need to. You can't die. You're the only who who I think can help me when I finally go and fight him. I need you, Professor." Harry pleaded as he dug into his pocket. "They say that you need to be lucky to make it through a day. I know you're lucky because you've been a spy for years without getting caught." Harry pulled out Snape's lucky coin from his pocket. "You need more luck than I do, Professor." Harry pushed the coin into Snape's hand. "I need you, Professor. If you stop fighting, then you let them win." Harry whispered before sitting down.

He sat there for a while before Dumbledore walked into the room.

"Are you okay, Harry?" He questioned.

"I'm fine." Harry growled in response. "Was anyone else hurt in the fight?"

"Professor Lupin and Molly Weasley, but they will live. The Weasley family and Ms. Granger are here."

"How many did we capture?" Harry asked, not even paying attention to the fact that two of his best friends were here right now.

"We made a significant dent in the death eater army. We managed to recapture both Lestranges and Lucius Malfoy. I don't think it will any difference with the ministry under Voldemort's control. This hold will be filled quickly because of that fact alone."

"It doesn't matter." Harry had yet to take his eyes off of Snape's inert body. "It will just be me and him in the end."

There was a beep in the room causing Anderson and another healer to sprint into the room.

"What was that?" Harry questioned when they ran into the room.

None of them answered Harry, but they conversed with each other.

"Higher brain activity." Anderson stated.'

"Blood pressure is rising." Another commented.

"Heart rate slowly rising." Someone pointed out.

"What's happening?!" Harry shouted.

Another beep echoed in the room.

"He's getting...." Anderson said before turning to the other doctors. The others nodded their head in agreement. "I almost want to say better, but I don't know. This is...a good thing. It's the first sign of higher brain activity we've seen from him since he got here. What happened before that first beep?"

"Nothing happened. I was only speaking to the headmaster." Harry replied.

Another beep sounded in the room.

"Is he recognizing Harry's voice?" Dumbledore asked.

"It would seem so. He's still in a very critical situation, but this could be a step in the right direction. I will be overseeing his care now. It's a good thing that he is recognizing your voice, Harry. It means he's still in there and fighting." Anderson offered before leaving the room with the other healer.

"Yes, it's starting to work." Harry thought to himself.

"Harry, I will be right back. I'm going to check on Molly and Professor Lupin." Dumbledore informed before also leaving the room.

"The one time you get caught, Professor, you didn't have your coin. Did you know that you didn't have it? Did you know what was going to happen? I'm sorry that I held onto it." Harry apologized. "How did he know that you were a spy?" Harry let that question hang in the air.

It was a little while later that Harry heard a knock on the window. He jumped in his chair and turned toward the knock. Dumbledore was standing outside the room and was beckoning Harry to come out. Harry slowly stood up and took one last look at Snape before leaving the room.

"What is it, Headmaster?" Harry questioned.

"Harry!" People suddenly shouted, swarming Harry. There was a flash of bushy hair and two sets of ginger hair. The people who had swarmed were Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. They were over enthusiastic to see him.

"Oh my god, Harry." Hermione shouted. "We've been worried about you."

"Yeah mate. You crashed hard."

"They said that you had hit your head." Ginny added after Ron.

"No one could find you. The entire order was out looking for you." Hermione continued.

"Yeah, mum asked how you were doing when she got here." Ginny informed.

"Is your mother okay? How about Lupin?" Harry asked.

"Both are fine. Mom got hit by a nasty spell and Lupin got some cuts from Greyback. They will both be fine. " Ginny answered.

"Where was the Order?" Harry questioned.

"They were at Grimmauld place. There was suppose to be a meeting tonight, so it was a good thing that they were all there. I wonder what they were doing in the forest, the death eaters I mean." Ron said.

"What is that?" Hermione asked, pointing to Snape's invention.

Harry had forgot that he was wearing it.

"Professor Snape made this. I suffered some nerve damage from the fall. It helps me move my arms." Harry answered her. "And I know what they were doing in the forest. They were going to kill Snape."

"What? Why?" Ginny and Ron both questioned.

"How do you know, Harry?" Hermione asked, concerned.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure why. I saw them torturing Snape."

"Harry, those visions were suppose to stop." Hermione argued. "You...learning occulmency was suppose to get you to close your mind. Harry, this has to stop."

"Hermione, I can't always control it." Harry rebuked. "Plus, I don't want to close my mind. This connection between us has been helpful to me. It I had closed my mind, Snape would be dead."

"Snape owes you this life twice over. He can't be happy about that." Ron commented.

"I wouldn't know if he is or not." Harry whispered.

It stayed silent between the four of them for a few seconds.

"I believe that Professor McGonagall is going to take the three of you back to the school soon." Professor Dumbledore walked up to the group as he spoke. "You should say goodbye to Mr. Potter before you say goodbye to the others."

Hermione was the last one to hug Harry goodbye.

"Please be careful, Harry. Everything that has happened has happened for a reason." Hermione whispered quickly into his ear.

When she stopped hugging Harry, he gave a nod in confusion but didn't ask any questions.

"Do you know when you are coming back to school?" Ginny asked.

"I don't. I need to get better physically before I can come back. I will let you know before I come back, but it could be awhile."

"It's fine, Harry. Don't rush back into school. I have copies of notes for you when you do come back. We'll see you when you get back." Hermione said before Dumbledore ushered them away.

Harry walked back into Snape's room and sat down.

"What did she mean, Professor?" Harry wondered softly.

Why had Hermione not said it out loud? Was it because Dumbledore was there? What did it mean?

"Harry." A voice broke the silence, causing Harry to jump and remove his wand from his pocket. His wand was pointed directly at Dumbledore. "I did not mean to startle you, Harry. You've been fairly jumpy as of late. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, sir." Harry asked quickly, laying his wand across his lap.

Dumbledore stood there for a moment. His gaze was something that Harry had seen before. It was like Dumbledore was looking into Harry and knew that something was not right.

"We should probably get back to Professor Snape's private quarters. You are still hurt and need to rest."

"No." Harry outright denied Dumbledore.

"Please, Harry. There is nothing you can do by sitting here."

"I'm not leaving." Harry denied again.

"Harry, have you come to care for Professor Snape?"

"No. I am returning a favor. He did this for me, so I'm doing the same for him."

There was no way that Dumbledore was going to win that argument with Harry. Harry never left Snape's side, and he was more jumpy than usual (Just like Dumbledore had observed) What Hermione said had put him on the edge, but Harry also knew that Voldemort might send death eaters, to finish Snape off, if they learned that he was alive. Harry was snape's only line of defense. He sat with his back to a wall, being able to see Snape and watch the door. His wand was either in his hand or his lap at all times. He was ready if they came.

Harry had stayed by Snape's side for days, with little progress in Snape's health. Harry had no idea how long he had been sitting in that hospital room, for he had lost track of the days. What he did know was that Snape was slowly getting better. His vitals had raised a few points, but they were still fairly low. His organs were still shutting down. His lungs were the latest organ to fail and now, it was just a matter of time till his heart failed as well. He also had contracted an infection from his burns causing his temperature to skyrocket.

There was good news in everything. Somehow, Snape's kidneys and liver had come out of their failure and began to work properly again. Healers had no idea how this was happening. They were sure that if Snape got over the shock before his heart failed, then he would be more likely to survive. That was the silver lining in the entire situation.

Harry prayed that  Snape would pull out of his shock before his heart failed. It had to happen, he needed Snape. He needed the potion master's help. That was the main thing that went through Harry's mind as the days passed. Snape had to get better because Harry needed him.

Harry talked to Snape daily, sometimes even reading the prophet to him. Harry felt strange doing it but he knew that it was helping Snape. Before Harry stopped talking he would add, "Keep fighting Professor because I need you." Harry had to hope that Snape was understanding what Harry was saying, and that he would continue to fight.

He only had higher brain activity when Harry, and Harry alone, spoke. Snape responded to no one else. That fact alone worried doctors because if he only responded to Harry, doctors were unsure if Snape was going to wake up. But Harry knew better. Snape was still in there, fighting, and he would wake up. The healers hoped that by allowing Snape to control his own breathing, there would some improvement in his brain function. They removed the magic that had been controlling the Professor's breathing. It had been two hours since Professor Snape could breathe on his own, but there was no improvement in brain activity. Harry was in the room, reading the evening edition of the paper to Snape.

"Oh god, Professor, listen to this. ‘Mass Breakout At Azkaban, Second In Six Months.' That's what the headline says. ‘Thirty inmates break out of Azkaban, half as many from the last breakout six months ago. Reports say that the thirty inmates, which include former ministry official Lucius Malfoy and notorious death eaters Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange, broke out earlier this afternoon. Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimagour, refused to comment on the specifics, only saying "A full investigation will happen and those responsible will be held accountable." For more on the mass breakout turn to page four' Well that's great Professor. Looks like Dumbledore was right"

There was a loud bang as the lights went off and the emergency lights came on.

"Lumos." Harry whispered, picking his wand off his lap and standing up.

There weren't many people at the hospital because it was the middle of the night. Many of the healers had gone home for the day.

"Are you alright, Mr. Potter?" Nurse Beth had asked at the opened door.

"What was that?"

"Power outage. Do not worry, someone is fixing it now." She answered before walking away to check on other patients.

"Great. Everything's good Professor." Harry whispered as he sat down.

There was another bang that caused Harry to jump out of his seat and stand. When his feet planted firmly on the ground, he felt someone punch him. He was surprised, but didn't fall down. There was a whirl of blonde hair and a wand pointed at Harry's chest.

"Malfoy." Harry growled, his voice full of malice.

"Potter, we meet again." Lucius Malfoy spoke as he inched closer to Snape.

"How'd you escape?"

"It doesn't matter how I escaped. What matters is whether you are going to live or die, so be a good boy and just stand right there."

 "I don't think so." Harry thought. "Expellarimus."

"Protego." Malfoy countered, and the fight ensued.

"Crucio!" Malfoy spat and Harry fell to the ground, like the had been hit by lightning.

Harry laid on the floor, catching his breath, as he heard footsteps approach the other side of Snape's hospital bed. Harry jumped up, realizing that Malfoy was going to try to kill Snape.

"Stup-" Harry shouted, but Malfoy blocked it with a lazy flick of his wand.

"Sectum-."

What happened next could only be deemed miraculous. Someone flew at Lucius Malfoy, knocking him to the ground. For a few seconds, they fought for control of Malfoy's wand. Then they stopped.

"When did you know?"

"It doesn't matter." Malfoy spat

"Stupefy."

The room flashed red. Malfoy's body gave a shudder then ceased to move. The mystery person stood up. It was strange because this person's back was covered with a large bandage which engulfed the entire thing. The person turned around. It was Snape. No, it couldn't be.

Harry didn't even have time to rationalize what happened because he was falling. It seemed to take a long time for Harry to hit the ground. As he fell, Harry felt strong arms encase him and lower him to the ground. He looked up and saw Snape's face. He had to be hallucinating. He had lost so much blood that this had to be a hallucination of Snape being awake.

"Harry, please stay awake." Snape shouted, looking down at the boy before looking to the door. "I need a healer in here now!"

Snape took Harry's wand from his hand and started tracing the wound with it. Harry grabbed Snape's hand.

"What is it, Harry?" Snape questioned, running a bloody hand through the boy's hair.

"You're alive." Harry whispered with a smile creeping across his face.

Then darkness enveloped Harry.

The boy was bleeding. Harry fell fast and Snape barely had enough time to catch Harry, in order to lower him to the ground. He wrapped his arms tight around Harry, propping the boy up on his knee.

"Harry, please stay awake." Then he looked up. "I need a doctor in here, now!" and then he went to work

He did not have his own wand, so he grabbed the boy's wand from his hand and began to trace the wound. He was attempting to heal it. Then Harry's hand grabbed his own.

"What is it, Harry?" He questioned.

Something wasn't right. The glow from Harry's green eyes was beginning to dissipate. He ran a bloody hand through the boy's hair.

"You're alive." Harry whispered with a smile.

Then his eyes closed.

"Harry, please wake up!" Snape shouted, shaking the unconscious child.

Snape continued the task of healing the unconscious child, despite his own depleted magical core. Snape had almost healed the wound completely when nurse Beth appeared in the doorway. She had a look of surprise on her face.

"Mr.Snape!" She exclaimed.

"There is no time for this. You need to grab some blood replenishing potion and help me with this boy." Snape ordered as he repositioned the boy in his arms, looking down at him.

"Wait, this isn't right. Something's not right." Snape thought.

Harry's chest wasn't moving. He wasn't breathing. The boy had stopped breathing.

"Right now, Nurse Beth. Don't touch him." He ordered as Nurse Beth motioned towards the unconscious form of Lucius Malfoy.

Snape had a sudden urge of energy, lifting Harry in his arms and carrying him to the bed.

"He's stopped breathing." Snape informed as Nurse Beth approached with a vial of blood replenishing potion.

She spelled its contents into Harry. How much blood had Harry lost? Snape looked over to where he and Harry had just been. There was a large, unhealthy amount of blood lying on the floor. Why had this made him stop breathing?

"Why is he still not breathing?" Snape questioned the nurse as he took Harry's hand in his own.

"I've cleared the airway." She mumbled more to herself as she flicked her wand.

There was tense silence for a few precious seconds.

"Come on, Harry, breathe. Come on, breathe god dammit." Snape said.

Those precious seconds continued to tick by. If Harry did not breathe soon, he would not make it out unscathed.

"Come on, Harry." Snape said forcefully. "Please, God. Spare this child." Snape thought. "Come on,Harry. Don't you dare leave me."

It stayed silent for a few more seconds. Harry had only a few seconds left before serious and irreparable damage happened.

Then, Harry's chest gave a great big heave and he gasped for air.

"Oh, thank god." Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Beth, I need you to contact the ministry. They have an escaped convict I think they want back. Afterwards, you need to talk to Armando Dippit's portrait. Have him tell Dumbledore that there is an emergency and he needed to be at St. Mungos five minutes ago. Go now." Snape ordered.
Nurse Beth ran out of the room to fulfill the orders that Snape had given her. When she left the room, Snape turned to Harry, whose breathing had evened out.

"I swear to god, Harry, if you ever scare me like that again, I will ring your neck myself." Snape growled at the unconscious boy.

Snape sat back in his chair, letting go of Harry's hand and taking three deep breaths. His heart was pounding out of his chest, he had been so scared. His own breathing had evened out by the time a glint of silver had caught his eye. It had been sitting next to Harry's right hand. It was Snape's lucky coin.

He reached forward, noticing that he was having difficulty extending his arm. That was not a good thing. When he went to pick up the colin, Snape also noticed difficulty bending his fingers. He had nerve damage in his arms. Snape looked around, knowing that Harry had been wearing his invention when he was first released from St. Mungos. He had not seen it on Harry when he was injured, so where could it be?

Looking toward the only other chair in the room, Snape saw it sitting on the ground. Snape stood up as best as he could. He was tired and his knees were knocking together. He took a step and his knee buckled, causing him to fall to the ground. What the bloody hell was wrong with him? Why had he fallen? Why was he so tired? Snape tried to move his legs, but they wouldn't respond. Why couldn't he move his legs?

He was forced to sit on the ground and wait for someone to walk by. He hated feeling like an invalid. He understood why he was so tired. His magical core was depleted and he had just come off a rush of adrenalin. The rush of adrenaline could also explain why Snape had been able to move while he was helping Harry, but what caused him to not be able to move now?

"Mr. Snape, the... Are you okay?" Nurse Beth asked, quickly changed subjects when she saw Snape on the floor.

"I seem to not be able to move my legs."

"I will be back." Nurse Beth ran across the hallway and produced a wheelchair for Snape.

"I most certainly do not..." Snape stared to protest, but he was cut off.

"You most certainly do, Mr. Snape."

"And why is that?"

"You've suffered an injury to your spine." She answered, helping him into the wheelchair.

"And what other injuries have I suffered?" Snape asked with a snarky, snapeish attitude.

"You will have to wait for Healer Anderson. He is currently on his way as well as the Aurors and Headmaster Dumbledore. Why were you trying to walk?"

"I wanted to get that contraption." Snape answered, pointing to his invention. " I know that I have suffered nerve damage and it helps my body...cope with the damage." Snape chose his words carefully, for he did not want everyone to know about the contraption.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Snape. You can't where it till your burns have healed properly. I need to change your bandages before Healer Anderson comes to see you." She summoned three large rolls of bandages."Healer Anderson thinks that I will not have to re-wrap your arms or legs." She explained as he unwrapped the bandages around his arms.

Snape watched as she freed an arm from the bandages.

"It's healed very nicely."

His left arm was red. Not dark red, but bright red. The skin was pulled tightly over his arm and most of it was scar tissue. Nurse Beth began to unwrap the other arm, which gave Snape enough time to look at his forearm. The greyish dark mark could still be seen, but one would have to strain to see it. It was also deformed. It no longer looked like a dark mark and only someone close to Snape would know what it was.

It was almost as if the others were trying to burn the mark off of him. He was no longer a death eater. He no longer had to put his life on the line. What was he going to do now? His life, up to this point, was about playing double agent. Now what was he suppose to do?

His other extremities were the same as his left arm. It could have been worse than it really was. His chest was still bad. The burns were scaring over, which mean that he had scabs all over his chest. Nurse Beth put some burn salve on the scabs and covered them with a fresh bandage. She was almost done when there was a sound of multiple people running down the hall.

Four people came running into the room, two stopped at the unconscious Lucius and the other two running at Snape.

"What happened?" They all asked at once.

"Are you okay?" Anderson asked.

"What happened?" An auror questioned.

"What's the emergency?" Dumbledore inquired.

Snape held a hand up for silence.

"That man." He said, pointed to Malfoy. "tried, with malicious intent, to kill me and that child lying on the bed. You will notice that he is Lucius Malfoy and he escaped Azkaban earlier today."

The aurors had no more questions. They proceeded to drag Malfoy from the room. Snape turned to Dumbledore.

"I'll deal with you later." He snapped before turning to speak to Anderson. "To answer your question Anderson, you tell me if I am okay because I have no idea what injuries I have suffered."

"I understand that you are displeased..." Anderson commented with an intent to continue, but Snape cut him off.

"I am a little more than merely displeased. I wake up to find someone torturing Harry and that man almost kills me.Then I find out that I have nerve damage in my arms, burns over forty-five percent of my body, and I have a spinal injury which makes my legs bloody useless! I am more than a little displeased." Snape warned.

"Very well and I would expect nothing less from you." Anderson commented as he grabbed Snape's chart.

He looked through the notes quickly before handing them to Snape.

"I can't hold on to it, you stupid imbecile." Snape growled.

Anderson nodded his head, took a deep breath and began to read the notes.

"Brain damage evident which later repaired itself. Burns to forty-five percent of the body. Shock. Dehydration. Three shattered ribs. Two collapsed lungs. Spinal injury caused by compressed vertebrae. Internal bleeding. Multiple organ failure which righted itself. Multiple broken bones. Lacerations to back. Status: Critical. Likelihood to survive: unlikely." Anderson looked up. "That was when you first got here. You also had no higher brain activity and low vital numbers. We only saw higher brain activity when Harry spoke to you."

Snape sat there, nodding his head at what he heard.

"Healer Anderson, can you please vacate the room for a while?" Snape asked coolly.

Anderson walked out of the room, knowing that this request was for his own safety.

"Albus, may I ask you something?"

"You may." Dumbledore answered calmly.

"What, in the name of Merlin's beard, were you thinking leaving Harry alone tonight?"

"Severus, had I known that he was in danger, he would have never been left alone."

"Did you think that they might try to finish me off here?"

"I did think that they would attempt to kill you, but I did not think it would be here. We had Death Eaters rounded up after we rescued you."

"Did it cross your mind that Harry was in danger when you learned that Death Eaters had escaped?"

"I did not learn of it till I got back to Hogwarts, and even then, I thought they would take time to collect themselves. I made a mistake and , it seems, luck was on our side."

Snape sat there, searching for words. Albus seemed truly sorry, but something wasn't right. His words were measured, calculated, even though he answered fluidly. Maybe Snape was overthinking it, but he had this gut feeling. Dumbledore was hiding something, just as he had been ever since this all started. He would have to wait a little longer to question Albus on what he was hiding.

"Is there somewhere you need to be?" Snape questioned, seeing how eager Albus was to leave.

"As a matter of fact, before I got your message, I was about to handle a very urgent matter with the minister."

Dumbledore stood and bid Snape good night.

Snape sat in his chair, waiting to see if Anderson would come back. Snape was so tired that, during his wait, he fell asleep.

   Early morning sunshine woke Snape up. He felt much stronger at that point than he had the night before. He was also fairly confused when he woke up. How had he gotten into this wheelchair? Scenes from the night before flashed through his mind, causing his heart to race. The sight of Harry makes his heart slow to normal. Harry had lived through that, thank god.
 

 Snape could see his invention on the floor. He remembered being angry when he learned he had nerve damage, but he was not able to wear the thing. It didn't have to be strapped tight around the chest to work, so he could still wear it. The moment Snape remembered that fact, he slowly began to wheel himself over to the invention. It took him awhile because of the nerve damage not allowing his fingers to curl over the rim of the wheel or allow his arms to extend all the way.

When Snape got there, he was sweating buckets. He clamped the invention between the heel of his hands and placed it on his lap. Now that he had it, how was he going to get it on? He was in a wheelchair and he could barely use his arms.

"dammit." He hissed softly.

"Is everything alright, professor?" He heard Harry's voice ask softly.

Snape turned his head before he turned the chair around.

"Yes, everything is fine, Harry. How are you feeling?" Snape questioned as he slowly wheeled backto the boy's bedside.

"I feel fine, sir. Just a little light-headed."

"Of course you are, seeing as you lost a lot of blood last night. You will also have a nice scar across your body. You can thank Lucius for that."

"Why are you in a wheelchair, sir?"
   

"A spinal injury may keep me here for a while, Potter. I have yet to flesh out the details with Healer Anderson."
   

"I'm glad that you're awake, Professor."
   

"I would say the same about you, Potter, but I knew that you would be fine."

This was a complete lie, but Snape wouldn't let Harry know that.
   

"May I ask you something, Potter?" Harry nodded in reply. "What...?"

But Snape was interrupted by Anderson.
   

"Professor, How are you feeling? And you, Harry?"
   

"Fine." Both men answered in unison.

Anderson approached Harry and did a diagnostic scan. Then he did one on Snape.
   

"This is good. Harry, you're blood levels are back to normal. You can be discharged. Professor, I want to keep you here for a couple days. I need to make sure that the burns on your chest heal properly and you need to start physical therapy."
   

"What is wrong with my spine?"
   

"You have multiple compressed vertebrae, which have been additionally damaged. It is fractured down your spine. The first is the one that we were most concerned with. It stretches from C-2 down to T-7. The second is much smaller. L-1 to L-3."
   

"How long will I be in this chair?"
   

"To be honest, there is a small chance that you will  walk again and an even smaller chance that if you do walk again, you will walk again as you once did. Physical therapy may increase that chance, but not by much."
   

"There is a chance though, correct?"
   

"there is. Harry, I am going to file your discharge papers. When I get back, you can get out of that bed. Professor, I want you in there after Harry had vacated it."
   

"Really, Anderson?"
   

"Yes. It's doctor's orders."
   

"Of course." Snape whispered under his breath. "Your enjoying this, aren't you Anderson?"
   

"Very much so, sir." Anderson laughed as he walked out of the room.

Snape didn't speak to Harry for the next few minutes. His concentration was focused on putting his contraption on.

He managed to get it on his back but had a problem tightening the straps. The nerve damage in his arms had been very serious, apparently.
   

"Damn." Snape swore under his breath.
   

"Do you need help, Professor?" Harry asked as he started forward.

"No, don't. I will get it myself."

He continued to fight with the chest straps for several minutes, but he made no progress. He let out a sigh of resignation and anger. Suddenly, someone was standing in front of him

"I don't need help, Potter." Snape growled as Harry fumbled with the chest straps.

"Just let me help you, sir." Harry whispered back to him.

Snape just gave up. He admitted defeat because he knew that the boy wasn't going to change his mind. Harry stepped away after finishing with the straps.

"Thank you." Snape mumbled as he reached forward and picked up his silver coin.

"You're welcome, Professor. You know that coin actually works."
   

"What do you mean?" Snape asked as he rubbed the coin between his thumb and first finger.
   

"You didn't have that coin when you were captured. When the headmaster brought me here, I put the coin i your hand and that was when he saw first signs of brain activity. It does actually work."

Snape was about to answer when Anderson walked back into the room.
   

"Harry, please help me get the Professor into the bed." Anderson said after he waved a wand over the bed, changing the sheets. With the two of them working together, if took little time to get Snape into the bed. "I just received a message from Headmaster Dumbledore. He said that he was going to be here shortly. He has something that he wishes to discuss."
   

"With whom?" Snape questioned.

Anderson raised his hands, palms facing the sky.
   

"No idea." He commented before leaving the room.
   

"Wonder what he wants to talk about." Harry said.
   

"We'll just have to wait and see." Snape responded.

Just as he spoke, Dumbledore walked into the hospital room.
   

"Good morning, you two. How are you feeling, Harry?"
   

"Fine, sir."

Snape didn't speak at all. He was watching Dumbledore intently, looking for any hint of what could be coming up in the conversation. A silence fell in the room. Both Harry and Snape were waiting for Dumbledore to get to the main, important, conversation.
   

"I've been thinking since this all started forty-three days ago. I've come to realize that life is a very special thing and that it can be taken away quickly. When a man of my age had lived for so long, he come to realize that he's taken much for granted and how much he regrets. I am no different. I've made many choices in my life and I've come to regret many of them. I've made one choice, in particular, that I have come to regret the most. At the time, I thought it would be better for all parties involved." Dumbledore pulled out a large book and two letter from his robes. "I want you to read these letters, and, before you get angry at me, please allow me to explain."
   

He handed their letters to their intended recipient. Harry and Snape took their letters and studied the envelope. Together, they tore the envelope open.

"I know it's confusing, but here is more proof." Dumbledore says as he places a large book on the bed between Harry and Snape.

"Let me see your wand, Albus." Snape whispered.

"Severus, you are not completely healed. Your magical core..."

"Your wand, Albus." Snape said in a voice that made the hairs on the back of Harry's neck raise in fear.

Dumbledore reluctantly handed the wand to Snape. He waved the wand over his hand, looking for any signs of magic. He had tried many times before to take the ring off of his finger, but to no avail. Now it made sense because there was a spell keeping the ring on his finger and that spell had come from this wand. He flicked the wand at the ring, put the wand on his lap, and pulled the ring off. He turned it this was and that, trying to see if there was anything inscribed on the inside. There is was written in tiny cursive, ‘The last enemy to be conquered shall be death. Remember, I love you, Lily.' Snape put the ring back on his finger.

"What is the meaning of this, Dumbledore?" Snape questioned calmly.

He was so calm that it made Harry a little scared.

"As I said before, there is a lot to be explained, so please allow me to do just that before you say anything." He said as he reached for his wand again. Snape seemed to not notice the man take his wand back.

"Then you had better explain quickly."

"Very well, where to start?" Dumbledore questioned, more to himself than anyone else, steepling his fingers in front of his mouth.

"How about you start by explaining how Harry Potter is my son!" Snape roared.

"Yes, that seems like a fine place to start. Six months after you graduated from Hogwarts, you proposed to Lily Evans. She accepted and within the year, you both were wed. By the next July, ten months after you had married, Lily gave birth to Harry. By the time Harry was eighteen months old, you had been in Voldemort's ranks for three years and you were his most trusted servant. It was also during this time, closer to the beginning of your fourth year of service, that you heard the prophecy." Dumbledore turned to Harry. "You know what prophecy I am talking about, correct Harry?"

Harry recited the prophecy after having committed it to memory a year ago.

"Do you remember how I told you that Neville Longbottom was not the boy of the prophecy? There is a reason for that. That prophecy, the one that you just recited, is not the actual prophecy. That was the prophecy that Voldemort thought was real. Professor Snape, your father, came to me after hearing the real prophecy, asking for help. He was afraid for his family because the real prophecy targeted those he cared for most, his wife and child."

Dumbledore paused before continuing.

"The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches. Born as the seventh month ends, born to parents who serve opposing masters....And so on and so forth. It was always you because your mother served me and your father, at first glance, served Voldemort." Then Dumbledore turned to Snape. "When you came to me, I gave you everything you wanted. I changed the prophecy because you asked me to. You talked it over with Lily, you wanted to run away with her and Harry. Neither of us allowed it, Lily knew how valuable the information you were giving us was. She talked you out of running away. You asked me to hide them because Lily convinced you that it was the best choice. She knew that you were willing to die protecting your family.

This was the only compromise that we could come up with. You wanted to run and she wanted to stay with you. You and I agreed that someone needed to protect Lily and Harry, so why not choose an Auror?  Lily chose James because he was the best, but she also remembered that she use to love him. If he loved her then he would protect her like she was his wife. That was her logic in choosing him. I don't understand how you and James patched things up, but did. You know the rest of the story. James and Lily end up dead and Harry becomes the boy who lives.

I gave you the devastating news in my office and you left. I followed you down to the dungeons and watched you. You tried to end your life down there, but I stopped you. When you had fallen asleep, I removed all the memories that you had of your life with Lily and Harry."

"You son of a-" Snape growled.

"I'm not done yet. I hid it from you for many years. Actually, I had it very well hidden from you up until Harry was taken by the death eaters. From then on, it has been very hard to keep it from you."

"That's why you have been acting so strange. You knew that I was starting to catch on and you got spooked!" Snape shouted angrily.

"That is correct."

"Is that why you took Harry to my private quarters?" Snape asked.

"There were Death Eaters outside Grimmauld Place. I couldn't think of where else to take the boy." Dumbledore responded.

"The Order was having a meeting that night. Why would they have a meeting in there while there were Death Eaters outside?" Harry asked.

"There were no Death Eaters out there, Harry. I know for a fact that every Death Eater was with Voldemort at the time that you were suppose to take him to Grimmauld Place. You tried to get me killed because I was catching onto what you were hiding."

"I did no such thing, I swear to you Severus." Dumbledore was almost at the point of pleading.

"What have you done with my memories?" Snape asked, looking at Harry.

The boy looked so much like James. How was that possible? Snape had been thinking about this when Dumbledore spoke, so he heard none of the older man's answers.

"Give me your wand again, Dumbledore." Snape ordered, holding his hand out.

"Severus, I think...."

"I don't care what you think right now, old man. Give me your wand." Snape growled.

Dumbledore reluctantly handed his wand over to the potions master, who in turn, pointed it at Harry. He waved the wand in front of the boy's face. Harry's face changed, just as Snape thought. Harry's hair became longer and straighter. His cheekbones became sharper and more pronounced. His face becoming less round. Harry looked at him reflection in the window.

"Whoa!" He shouted, almost jumping out of the chair in shock.

Snape turned to stare at Dumbledore. Images.....no Memories came screaming into Snape's mind. Dumbledore fought to get Snape out of his mind, but Snape was a more accomplished legimens than Dumbledore was an occulmens. They sat there for a few minutes. Snape had seen enough.

"Are you done?" He asked.

"I've said my piece." Dumbledore said breathlessly.

"Even when you are telling us the ‘truth', you're still lying to us."

"What do you mean, Professor?" Harry asked.

"He says that Lily came up with the ideas. To hide, to be protected by James Potter, he says it was all her idea. It wasn't Lily, it was this fraud whispering the ideas in her ear. He's also the one who left you at the Dursley's. Do you know what they have done to this child? They have done unspeakable things to him."

"Like what?" Dumbledore inquired.

"You will have to ask Harry because I promised him that I wouldn't tell anyone."

"That's against your teaching code." Dumbledore blurted out.

" ‘That's against my teaching code'" Snape mocked. "Of course it's against my teaching code, but you're the one who told me that I had to gain his trust. I have done so and I'm not going to lose it now. And you're the one talking about going against codes. What about what you've done? What you did was immoral, it was unethical. I'm digressing though. Ask Harry what his relatives have done to him."

"Harry, can you please explain what Professor Snape is talking about?"

Harry looked tentatively at Snape.

"He's not going to hurt you. Not while I'm here." Snape comforted Harry.

Harry was afraid of speaking, fearing that his voice would betray him. So instead of talking, he stood up. He turned his back to Dumbledore and lifted the back of his shirt just a bit. Even though he had barely lifted his shirt five inches, he knew that Dumbledore had seen the scars. Harry sat down as Snape continued.

"That may have been going on since he's been there. I don't know, but if I ever see that Family, I will kill them for touching my son. Did you even know about this?" He questioned Dumbledore.

Dumbledore shook his head no in response.

"How did you not know, was there anyone watching him?"

"I did have someone watching the boy." Dumbledore whispered.

"Who?" Snape growled.

"Mrs. Figg was watching me. She told me last year that she was watching me under your orders." Harry elaborated.

"You had Arabella Figg watching the savior of the Wizarding World? No offense to her, but she's as clueless as a mountain troll. Lily warned me that this would happen and you should have known!" Snape shouted. "Had you known how Petunia Dursley treated Lily, then you would have known that leaving Harry with her was a terrible mistake."

"I never knew." Dumbledore repeated again.

"Where are the memories you have taken from me?" Snape asked again.

"I have them at Hogwarts when you are ready to come back and teach."

"I can't believe how shallow you are. You betray me like that, keep things from me, take a large part of my life from me, and you expect me to come back and teach for you." Then the realization hits Snape like a train. "Oh merlin." He groaned.

"What?" Dumbledore asks.

"Harry's my son." Snape responds, running a hand through his hair. "Harry's my son and I've been treating him like James Potter did me. I've....I've." Then Snape stops speaking all together.

He hates himself now. He's called his own son names, told him that he's worthless, that he's not smart. How could he ever do that to someone? Especially his own son? The self hatred he feels right now is enough to make him explode. He's angry at himself.

"Are you okay, Professor?" Harry questions.

Snape does not answer Harry, but he looks up at Dumbledore. His voice is calm.

"I'm not going to work for you again. You've lost it. Everyone thinks that you're the great leader in this war, but they don't see that you've lost it. You preach about families staying together, but you've broken mine up. You tell everyone that you know about love, but you're a hypocrite. If you knew anything about love, you never would have taken Lily and my son from me and you never would have taken my memories."

Snape jumped in the bed, knocking Dumbledore's wand to the floor. He jumped in the bed because his left hand had taken Harry's wand off of the table. The wand was now pointing at Dumbledore. Harry could see the spell begin to form on Snape's lips.

"Dad, think about what you are doing. You need to calm down." Harry said, then turned to Dumbledore. "Leave now." He ordered.

Dumbledore bent down to pick up his wand, then walked out of the room. Snape dropped the wand down on the bed and tears stung his eyes. they were tears of self hate.

"Dad?" Harry questioned, taking his father's hand in his own.

"Harry, you need to write to your friends. Tell them to watch their backs. I will write to their parents and Lupin. My personal space will be cleared out. You have a choice. You can return to the school or...."

"Or what?"

"If you would like, you can come live with me. I understand if you don't want to though."

"Why would I not want to?"

"I've been a terrible person to you, said things I never should have said. I understand if you still hate me."

"How could I hate my own father?"

"I did when I was your age."

"You're not beating me though."

"I've done just about the same thing, the scars just aren't visible."

"That was the past. Who cares? I don't want to be anywhere near that man."

"You want to come live with me?"

The idea of a family was an exciting concept. It was something that he had dreamed about since he was a small child at the Dursley's.

"Yes." Harry whispered, knowing that he now had a family.

They went home by the end of that week. Snape lived in a town named Godric's Hallow, which had been where Harry's parents lived before they were killed. When they arrived at Snape's house, everything had been brought from Hogwarts. Also by the time they had arrived, Harry had heard from Ron and Hermione.

"Prongs, we are so glad that you have given us this great news. We've been worried for a long time about you and your father. We are glad that everyone is alive and healthy. Your letter came to us just in time. We had just finished reading it when we were called to the headmaster's office. He attempted to use veritaserum on us. Luckily, The Slug doesn't keep his stores secured well. I managed to grab some veritaserum antidote in case we needed it. When the truth serum didn't work, he attempted to erase our memories. What he didn't know was that we had taken a potion that stops your memory from being erased. We are getting ready to go. We will let you know where we are when we get there. Please stay safe.
Otter."

When Harry read that letter, he was furious. His professor...no, his father was even more furious, if that was possible. Both Snape and Harry decided that it was a good idea to have a few days of rest before starting any lessons. Snape set a few ground rules about being under the Snape roof. Harry had a few chores to do, he would be given time to fly after a few weeks. He would not attempt to fly in those weeks because his father wanted to make sure that he was properly healed to fly. He would also need to have any lesson work cleared by his father. If Harry disobeyed or was disrespectful to Snape, he would have privileges taken away from him. Snape promised that he would never raise a hand to Harry.

The days before lessons started, Snape and Harry spent most of the day together. They were trying to get to know the person they should have spent their entire lives with. Harry learned that his father once loved flying, much like Harry loves it now. He also loved to read and played music. He still loves to read, but it has been a while since he has played music. Snape plays an instrument called the guitar, which is a muggle stringed instrument. It was how Snape won over Lily's heart actually, by playing the guitar. Snape had taught Lily and he was more than happy to teach Harry.

Those few days passed quickly and soon Harry had to start taking lessons. That also meant that his day became more structured. He would wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, do his chores (clean some dishes and maintain the neatness of his room). After his chores, Harry and Snape both had physical therapy. The mediwitch who was in charge of their therapy came to them, which they were grateful for. Harry and Snape worked together, helping each other and encouraging each other to do better than they had the day before. They devoted the entire morning to physical therapy before having lunch.

The afternoon was devoted to lessons. Snape was able to remove the trace from Harry, which allowed Snape to teach Harry charms and defense against the dark arts, as well as his own speciality Potions. Twice a week, Professor McGonagall came and taught Transfiguration to Harry. That was the only time that they heard news from Hogwarts. It was after a few weeks that her visits became a once a week occurrence. When she returned the next week, she only brought grievous news.

"Even though the students are striking against him, Albus still has a strong hold over the public. The Order hasn't met in a long time. Anyone who knows what happened won't join the fight alongside Dumbledore. You-Know-Who is still increasing his forces."

"We heard." Snape began. "He broke everyone out from Azkaban."

"That is indeed true. We don't know how many he has added to his forces because of that. I have something you asked for." McGonagall said, reaching into her green robes.

She pulled out a phial and handed it to Snape.

"Is this?" Snape questioned in a whisper.

"It is. Your memories were right where you said they would be."

"How did you get it? I thought, after what happened at the hospital, he would keep it under lock and key."

"You may think that your little snakes are the only sly kids in the school. I have some cubs who know how to weasel their way into situations. I had one of my students take it while he was teaching a defense class. He has yet to find someone to replace you."

It was news like this that both worried, but gave hope to father and son.

"It seems that more people are behind you now, more than ever." McGonagall added to Harry before beginning that lesson.

After lessons, Harry and Snape would eat dinner. The rest of the night was Harry's after he showed a list of the most important things he learned that day. If he missed anything, Snape would remind him about it, have Harry repeat it back to him before his son would have to write it down on the list.
Lessons went smoothly. Harry was good at most of them, the only exception was potions. He was just as bad learning at home as he was at school. He just couldn't get the hang of it. Snape was very patient with him, but he would get angry when Harry repeatedly made the same mistake each time.

"Come on Harry. Three quills." Snape admonished one day, clearing a botched potion for Harry's cauldron.

"I did put in three quills. I've been putting in three quills every time. I don't know why it's not working."

"You're doing something wrong."

"I'm trying!" Harry shouted.

"Watch your voice levels, young man." Snape warned

Harry laid his head on the table.

"Sorry, dad." He mumbled.

"I think it's time for a break anyways. Potions is a very difficult subject to master. It took me almost twenty years to master it, even though I had a very good starting basis."

"Dad, can I ask you a question?"

"Yes, you may."

"What is a horocrux?"

The look on Snape's face was one of shock. It made Harry think that he had said something wrong.

"Where did you hear that term?"

"Dumbledore had been giving me special lessons."Harry began.

"Yes, I know. It got you out of a few of my detentions."

"During these lessons, he showed me memories that pertain to You-Know-Who. At our last lesson, I heard him bring up that term to Professor Slughorn. The memory seemed to be modified and Dumbledore wanted me to get the actual memory. That never happened though."

"And You-Know-Who specifically asked what a horocrux was?" Harry shook his head yes. "Well, a horocrux is an object that someone places a part of their soul into it."

"How does someone do that?"

"Well, they have to split it."

"Split it!?" Harry exclaimed. "How does that work?"

"They must do the most inhumane thing that exists in our world."

"Which is?"

"To kill for one's own personal gain. Once you split your soul you become, essentially, invincible."

The room stayed silent for a few minutes.

"So these objects would be of significance to that person?" Harry asked.

"In theory, it would be."

 "Is it possible for someone to split their soul more than once?"

"It is possible, but your soul would become very unstable. Why are you interested in these?"

"What if You-Know-Who made them? These memories that Dumbledore showed me all revolved around a specific object that was tied to Hogwarts. That was something of significance to You-Know-Who. He killed the former owners of those objects in order to obtain them."

"I've never heard him talk about these objects, but it is possible that he could have made them."

"I think that I've destroyed on."

"What?"

"Down in the chamber of secrets my second year. I stabbed his diary and the memory of Tom Riddle seemed to explode."
"That would seem to be the desired result when a horocrux is destroyed, but I would not know. Not even our oldest writings would tell us what would happen. I would not pass it by him to create them."

"I think Dumbledore may have destroyed one as well. He showed me a memory about a ring that Riddle's Grandfather owned. Dumbledore had it, then it was gone."

"I can tell you for sure that he did destroy a ring in order to stop a dark spell that it hid. Whether this is the ring you are talking about, I do not know. Even Dumbledore hid things from me."

"Is that how his hand turned like that?"

"Yes. He had me make a potion that would slow down the spell from spreading."

It stayed silent for a few more seconds.

"Dad, can I ask you something else?" Snape nodded his head in agreement. "How did Riddle find out about the prophecy?"Snape knew that this question would come up sooner or later, but he never could figure out how to put it gently to his son. He knew that this conversation was going to be a very uncomfortable one.

"How do you know, when I tell you the answer, that I am telling the truth?"

"I don't know." Harry responded. "I'm trusting you to tell me the truth."

"Very well." Snape thought. "As you know, I went to

Dumbledore after I heard it. I thought that he might be able to do something. I was the one who told him to change the prophecy. I was the one who came up with the line "born to parents who have thrice defied him." Had I known that James had also defied him three times, I would have never said that. Also, had I known that information, I know that Frank and Alice Longbottom would be fighting besides us now."

"We changed the prophecy, but I had no intention of him finding out. I was never planning on telling him. When I told that to Dumbledore, he reminded me that I was suppose to be the Dark Lord's double agent, so he needed to know.  I should have outright refused to tell Riddle, but I didn't. I am the reason that he found out about the prophecy. The Longbottom's, and more importantly, Lily's death was caused by me and it is my fault that they are dead."
The silence that fell between the two of them was tense and awkward. Then that silence ceased to exist.

"Please, tell me that you are lying to me. Please dad. You're lying to me, aren't you?" Harry asked in a calm whisper.

"I wish I were, Harry. I really wish I were." Snape replied.

"You are the reason that mom is gone. Did you even care about her?"

"Of course, I did. I still care about her."

"Apparently, you cared more about your role in the war than you did about your own family!" Harry shouted.

"I changed the prophecy to..." Snape began to argue, but Harry cut him off.

"That meant nothing because she still ended up dead. I was still placed with abusive muggles and we weren't the only family hurt!" Harry was now standing up. "You could have done more and you know it."

"Of course, I know." Snape spoke softly, almost ashamed of what he had done.

"I can't believe you. Everyone told me that there was more to you, but I did get one thing right. You're a Slytherin and you don't care who gets hurt because of you."

Snape was about to protest, but Harry stormed out of the room. Hoping his son would go to his room, Snape held his breath. When he heard the front door slam shut, Snape hid his face in his hands as tears flowed down his cheeks.

Harry had no idea how he had gotten to Diagon Alley. One moment, he was walking toward the center of Godric's Hallow and the next he was in Diagon Alley. He must have disapparated. Harry began to walk through Diagon Alley, allowing the sounds of the outside wizarding world to envelop him. It stopped him from thinking about what was actually bothering him. Just the idea of thinking about it caused his blood pressure to rise through the roof.

He walked past the Quidditch shop and stopped for a moment to look at the window. The new Nimbus 2000 Series 2 was displayed in the window. The original Nimbus was the fastest broom at the time. It is now the third fastest broom behind the Nimbus 2001 and the Firebolt. The thought of the Firebolt made Harry think about Snape, which caused him to turn away from the store window. He would have to think about what had happened sooner or later. Harry elected for later.
He continued walking through Diagon Alley, looking in the windows of shops and trying to figure out what to do next, when he ran into someone.

"Sorry." Harry apologized, keeping his head down.

"It's alright, son." A familiar voice said, causing Harry to look up.

"Professor." He gasped at the sight of Professor Lupin.

"Harry, wow. They told me that you had changed, but I didn't know you would look like this. What are you doing in Diagon Alley, by yourself nonetheless?"

"Apothecary, getting some porcupine quills." Harry responded fast. "You?"

"I also need to run to the Apothecary, for my wolf problem." He finished in a whisper. "Why don't we go there now?" He suggested.

"Sure." Harry said.

Great, now Harry had no way of escaping thought of the argument. Harry began to dwell on the argument as they entered the Apothecary. Harry head Lupin ask for a supply of Wolfsbane potion, bit it was the owner of the shop who brought Harry away from his thoughts.

"And for you kid?" He questioned.

"Oh, a pound of porcupine quills please?"

The owner disappeared behind the shelves.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Lupin inquired.

"Harry Potter?" The owner asked, poking his head out from behind the shelves.

"No" Harry responded.

The owner shrugged his shoulders and returned to collecting their order.

"I don't want to talk about it right now." Harry whispered as the owner came back to the front.

"That will be seven sickles for the Wolfsbane and three knuts for the porcupine quills."

Both men put their money on the counter.

"What's your name kid?" The apothecary inquired.

"Harrison Snape."

"Any relations to the potions master at Hogwarts, Severus Snape."

"Yes, he's my uncle."

"How is he doing? I heard what happened with the death eaters."

"He is doing much better, thank you for asking."

"I hope that he gets to play a part in the final battle when this all comes to an end."

"I will let him know that you are thinking of him. Thank you."

Harry collected the porcupine quills and left the Apothecary with Lupin.

"Why don't we get some food?" Lupin suggested.

"Sure." Harry replied, realizing how hungry he was.

They walked in silence for a few minutes as they traveled to the restaurant in Diagon Alley. When they both received their food, they sat down and began to eat.

"Harry, now is the time to talk about what is angering you." Lupin stated.

"How do you know that I am angry?"

"You still are angry about it as well. In the Apothecary, I wanted your hand keep twitching. True, I know that your hand twitches because of the nerve damage that you suffered. I also know that you've managed to keep that twitch in check when your emotions are in check. I could also feel your anger when you bumped into me."

"What do you mean you felt it?"

"Strong emotions such as anger and sadness, which are the most commonly seen, show themselves in our magic. They give off an energy which makes magic unstable when one is in that emotion. It is why young magical children who are scared or angry show displays of accidental magic. What is making you angry?"

"It's Professor Snape." Harry began.

"Your father." Lupin commented.

"Professor McGonagall informed me of what had happened."

"Well, I asked him how You-Know-Who from out about the prophecy. It was my father who told him about the prophecy. I got angry and left."

"And why did that make you angry?"

"My father tells me that he was ready to die protecting my mother and I. When he gets the chance to do that, he turns heel. He's the reason that my mother is dead."

"When you were at the house, did you feel anything else?"

"I was scared." Harry whispered.

"Why?"

"I was so angry with him that I wished him dead. I wished that the death eaters had killed him. I'm still angry with him, just not as much."

"Harry, this is a thing of the past. It does no one any good to be angry about it. How do you think your father feels?"

"He probably feels guilty." Harry responded.

"Of course, he feels guilty!" Lupin exclaimed, then lowered his voice. "His wife gets murdered and his son is forced to live with muggles. Not only that, but his memory is forcibly taken away from him, so he has no recollection of ever having a family. When he learns that he did, he's angry at himself for how he's treated his son and how his son was treated by people who were suppose to be his family. If I were him, I would have enough guilt for each wizard, in the entire wizarding world, to bear a normal load."

Harry didn't speak for a while.

"Harry, I'm not trying to make you feel guilty." Lupin said. "I just want you to have some sort of compassion for how your father must be feeling."

"I wanted him dead." Harry whispered.

"You got angry, Harry. It was a spur of the moment concept. I know that you feel guilty about that, but it's normal to think irrationally like that, especially for teens. You know what you have to do when you get back home?"

"Yes, I know." Harry responded before dropping his voice. "Has the order met since....you know?"

"Since we found out, no it has not. I hope that you will allow me to accompany you home. I feel that your father would not approve of you being out here alone in the current state of things."

Harry shook his head and, after they finished their meal, they headed back to Godric's Hallow.

"Dad!"

When he got no answer, he shouted again,

"Dad, where are you?!"

He poked his head into the living room and saw his father sitting in the wheelchair, staring out the window.

"Dad." Harry called again, kneeling in front of his father.

Snape still did not respond. Harry reached for his hand.

"Dad." The boy whispered to his father, touching the man's arm.

"Dad, I'm really sorry. I never should have said those things. I had no right to say them. I was out of line. I'm sorry."

Snape had not moved while Harry spoke, which is why it was such a surprise when Snape slid out of his chair, to his knees, and grabbed Harry tightly in a hug.

"Thank Merlin, Harry. I thought I lost you again." Snape whispered. "I thought you were gone and never coming back."

"How could I leave? This is my new home, Dad."

Harry was pushing Snape toward Lily's grave. Everything had been repaired from their argument two months ago. Harry had been punished for running out of the house like that, but he was willing to take whatever punishment his father decided to give him. When the pair had reached Lily's grave, they remained silent for a moment. It was Harry who was the first one to speak.

"Why does her grave say "the last enemy to be conquered shall be death"? Isn't that a death eater saying?"

"It is a death eater saying, but it meant something different to your mother and I. At our wedding, I told her that our love for each other was so strong that death couldn't and wouldn't keep us apart." Snape answered, before returning to silence.

Harry looked down at his dad and knew that he was talking to Lily. Harry looked back up, silently speaking to his mother.

"Mom, I love you so much. I thank you for what you did for us and I'm glad that I found dad."

After Harry spoke, he looked at this scene. Severus Snape and Harry Potter, no Harrison Snape, were standing in front of Lily Evans' grave. Before that Quidditch match, not even in Harry's wildest dreams did he think that he and Snape would be standing there.

"Are you ready to go, son?" Snape questioned, placing his hand on Harry's.

"Yes. Let's go home, Dad."