Alice Longbottom just smiled faintly at the two Professors and they couldn't tell whether she had recognized her former teacher and fellow student or not. Without uttering a word, she stood up, placed a brief kiss on top of Harry's head and petted his shoulder one last time before going back to her own bed, closing the curtain.

Harry stared after the woman. During the last few days he had started to see her as some kind of substitute-mum, as she was just like he had always imagined his real mother. Well, except that his imagined real-mum had spoken to him, but still, Neville's mum had been a much better mum than Aunt Petunia!

"Harry, we are here to take you back home - to Hogwarts." Severus added. When Harry tried and failed to speak, he hurriedly continued. "I know you can't speak, and you don't have to. Everything will be all right once you are at Hogwarts, we will sort something out. I'm sure Madame Pomfrey can do something about your voice, perhaps it's just a potion that has to wear off. It's all right with you to come back to Hogwarts, isn't it?" He asked sharply. While the Potion Master was quite certain that Harry would go anywhere if it meant he could leave this hospital, he certainly didn't want to force him into something he wasn't comfortable with.

As soon as the words had left his mouth, though, Harry nodded weakly - well, they had to do something about this as well. "All right, then I just need to-"

"Excuse me, but what exactly are you doing?" Severus was rudely interrupted by a healer, who was closely followed by the now-grinning nurse that had let them in.

"I will take Mr Potter out of this hospital. Now." He answered.

"Oh no, certainly not, Mr-?"

"Snape, Severus Snape, Potion Master at Hogwarts and the boy's guardian, I think the nurse has shown you the documents. Oh, and this is Professor McGonagall, Harry's head of house. So if you would please sign any papers that might be needed to get him discharged...?"

"Oh no, Mr Snape, you can't just withdraw Mr Potter from this hospital! He's quite ill, you see, and even dangerous if what I have heard is correct. No, I understand your concerns for the boy's health, but rest assured that we do anything we can to help him - and to make sure that he doesn't cause any further harm to others. So if you would please just come back during our visiting hours, the patients needs rest, after all."

"I think you have misunderstood me," Severus purred, "this wasn't a request. I will take Harry with me. He is under-age and as his guardian, I have every right to decide about his treatment and his whereabouts. Since I'm rather unsatisfied with his current condition, I have contacted the healer who has been in charge for him for several years and he agrees that Harry shouldn't stay in this hospital. The boy will get every treatment that is necessary, but not here."

"Which healer are you speaking about?" The healer-in-charge replied, obviously confused.

"It's actually a doctor, you know, a muggle-healer who is specialized on taking care of children like Harry-," Again, Severus was interrupted when the healer started to laugh.

"A muggle?" He asked, "do you really think a muggle would be capable of dealing with a clearly disturbed child like this?" Even the nurse had started to snicker by now.

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall had moved towards the head of the bed and was trying to reassure a distressed Harry.

When the Professor had said that he would take him away from this awful place, Harry had been so, so happy, but now the stupid healer surely would convince Professor Snape that Harry needed to stay, oh how he hated this healer! Harry didn't quite understand what Professor Snape meant about being his guardian and the other healer - except he had spoken to Dr Green? But it didn't matter, nothing mattered, nothing but the prospect of getting out of this horrible hospital!

But now Professor Snape looked at him, his eyes dark with anger, and Harry just knew that the healer had convinced the Professor to leave him here, and surely the Professor would never come back again, he was so angry, and this meant that Harry would need to stay here forever and ever...

Severus noticed that Harry was close to a panic-attack. This incompetent healer, couldn't he see what a torture this was for the child? Making a quick decision, Severus tuned out the healer (who was still making fun about muggle-healers and their incompetence) and turned to Harry and his colleague. "Harry, I promise you that I will take you out of here, today, this evening. I won't leave the ward without you, all right?" He didn't wait for a reply but just continued, "But it seems that in order to do so, I need to talk to the chief healer. Professor McGonagall will stay with you and I will sort this out. She won't leave either, so please try to calm down."

Turning back to the healer, he was satisfied to see that the man had stopped laughing and was now bristling with indignation. "Now listen to me, you can't just take the boy, I won't allow it-"

Grabbing the healer by his arm, Severus led him away from Harry back to the small room near the entrance door, leaving behind a frantic boy and an angry Transfiguration-Professor.

"I'm sorry for all of this, Harry, but I'm sure Se- eh, Professor Snape will have sorted this out in no time and than we can go back to Hogwarts. There is no need to worry, Professor Snape has every right to take you and as your head of house I wholly support him, as does Madame Pomfrey and your former healer that treated you when you stayed with your relatives. Everything will be fine, don't worry, the healers working at St Mungo's - that's the name of this hospital - don't like to be told that they are wrong about something but they will have to give in, even if it takes some... convincing."

Minerva continued to speak to her lion soothingly, hoping that it would calm him down while she waited for Severus to return. She was quite sure that St Mungo's could do nothing to keep Harry here, but still, she worried. Having seen the state the boy was in she really wanted to hex the staff - what had they done with Harry?! If their plan failed, if they had to leave without the boy - no, she didn't dare to think about it.

#

Meanwhile, the Potion Master had convinced the healer-in-charge that it would be better both for his health and his future career to call for the chief healer that was responsible for all wards on the fourth floor.

The man turned out to be completely oblivious to the fact that Harry Potter had been admitted to one of his wards 10 days ago and when he questioned the healer-in-charge why he hadn't been informed about such an important patient the former stammered something about Albus Dumbledore having asked them to keep quiet about the boy's condition.

"And since when exactly is Dumbledore your superior?" The chief-healer growled at the other man.

"Well, it's Albus Dumbledore, surely-"

"Exactly. Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, not head of St Mungo's! Now, Mr Snape, I'm sorry for your inconveniences, of course you can take Mr Potter with you if you aren't satisfied with his treatment. I just need to sign the papers and you can be off, I hope you and your ward won't hold this against the hospital, it's not something that normally happens. If-"

"But.. but - Albus Dumbledore! The boy, Potter, he's dangerous! He attacked another student and almost killed him! Dumbledore gave clear orders not to discharge the boy except he himself is the one who asks for it!" The healer-in-charge yelled stubbornly, and Severus could only wonder about the man's inability to recognize a situation where it would be much better to keep quiet, at least if he wanted to continue to work for St Mungo's.

"As long as it's not the Ministry that decides that a person has to stay on this ward they are entitled to leave whenever they wish, especially if the patient in question is just a child and his guardian demands his discharge! You have seen the documents, haven't you? Additionally, Mr Potter is obviously cared for by a colleague in Surrey and the medi-witch of Hogwarts so there is absolutely no reason for not to discharge him! I recommend you stay silent now and go back treating your patients, Beaver! We will speak later because this will have consequences!" The chief-healer turned back to Severus while the obnoxious healer-in-charge finally got it and made himself scarce.

"As I said, Mr Snape, I'm terribly sorry about my colleagues questionable behaviour. I will just sign the papers and have the quill write the report for Mr Potter's usual healers and you can leave, it won't take long. Perhaps you want to go back to your ward until everything is ready?"

"All right, thank you very much for your cooperation, healer-?"

"Smith, Healer Smith, and no need to thank me, if there is anything else I can do for you just let me know, I don't want some unprofessional healer causing you lose trust in St Mungo's, after all..."

Half an hour later (apparently, the quick-quote quill had found more information noteworthy than Healer Smith had expected), the two Professors and their student were finally allowed to leave the ward. When the charms on Harry's bed were lifted it became apparent that it wasn't only due to the 'safety'-spells that Harry couldn't move properly and so the Potion Master scooped the small boy up and carried him towards the exit.
When they had almost reached the door, Harry (whose head rested on the Professor's shoulder since his muscles felt too weak to hold it up on his own) saw Neville's mum smiling at him fondly. He briefly lifted his hand and waved at her, smiling back, never noticing the strange look Professor McGonagall was giving him.

The three of them used the public floo in order to return to Hogwarts. Unfortunately, the newly updated wards didn't allow them to floo directly to Severus' quarters so they settled for Minerva's office. As dinner was long since over, the deputy headmistress made sure that Albus was in his office before she allowed the two men exiting her office. The headmaster would learn soon enough about what they had done, but just now Harry needed rest as the last hour had already been rather nerve-wracking for the little boy (and his teachers too, admittedly).

Just minutes after Severus had arrived at his quarters, a soft knock on the door indicated the arrival of the medi-witch. After making sure that it was indeed Poppy, Severus let her in.

"Where is he?" The witch demanded as soon as she had entered the room.

"I have prepared the guest-room for him," Severus replied, "just come with me." And he led the medi-witch to a small room next to his own bedroom where he had put Harry down onto a bed.

"Hello Mr Potter, it's nice to see you again!" Poppy greeted the boy, who stared at her, clearly frightened. "Don't worry Mr Potter, I won't cast any charms on you that your guardian hasn't approved of - what?" The medi-witch hissed when Severus beckoned her to be silent.

"I have yet to speak with Harry about the change in his guardianship, so if you would please just check him over to make sure that there is nothing that need to be taken care of immediately?" He growled at the witch.

Poppy huffed but did as she was bid, after reassuring Harry that the spells would only scan his body, not his head, for any irregularities. However, the responding magic from Harry's body didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary except that the boy had ingested several different potions and that his muscles were rather weak due to one and a half week of constant bed-rest.
Of course, there was the damage he - well, the Horcrux - had done to his left eye, it would take a while to heal completely and even then it was unlikely that Harry would ever be able to see again with the eye in question, but both the medi-witch and the Potion Master already knew about this thanks to the file the latter had sneaked out of the hospital earlier.

When she told the Potion Professor that there was no additional damage, he nodded satisfied. "All right. I think it would be prudent to check his blood and urine for any remnants of the potions they dosed him with." He turned to Harry. "Harry, Madame Pomfrey will draw off blood from you, all right? And we need an urine sample, too, in order to find out more about how the potions they gave you have affected you."

The boy nodded, and after an affirmative glance at Severus, Poppy knelled down next to Harry's bed, took his arm and prodded it until she had found a vein. "All right, it's just as small prick!" And with that, she pricked Harry's arm, slightly surprised when the boy only gave a slight wince. Most eleven-years old protested much more fiercely.

When she had taken several test tubes full of blood, Severus pressed a small cloth on the puncture to prevent Harry from getting a bruise. All the while, Harry just looked at the proceedings with mild interest.

"All right, then, now Severus will accompany you to the bathroom and then you are finished." Madame Pomfrey announced.

"Ca-an't yo-ou jus-just do the-e spe-spell?" Harry whispered. While there were no longer any spells on his bed that prevented him from moving, the potions they healers at St Mungo's had given him were still active and therefore forming coherent words (let alone sentences) was still difficult.

"What spell, dear?" The medi-witched asked, completely at a loss.

Harry scrunched up his face. How he hated those potions! Trying very hard, he started to explain about the spells that had removed the waste both from his bladder and - well, he would leave that. However, just when he had managed the first few words, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Startled, he looked up and saw Professor Snape motioning him to stop.

"I believe," Severus said, "that St Mungo's - or at least the ward Harry had the misfortune of being placed at - still employs more... invasive means to take care of the needs of the patients that are unable to leave their beds."

"Wha-? You mean they still use these defaecati-spells on their patients?" Poppy demanded, clearly upset. "But it's unhealthy, there have been several studies showing that it can cause permanent damage on the bladder and the bowls-"

"I know!" The Potion Master snapped, "But still, it appears that these spells have been cast on Harry several times each day for the last ten days, there is nothing we can do about this now."

"Well, I certainly will inform the proper authorities about such a blatant case of disregard for a patient's - a child's! - welfare!" Poppy snorted with rage.

And while the medi-witch continued to ramble about the idiots working at St Mungo's, Severus turned to Harry. "The spells they used to prevent you from having to use the toilet can cause injuries on your internal organs. It would have shown in the spells Poppy cast on you earlier, though, so you don't have to worry, but you'll use the toilette from now on. For now, I'll carry you, you are too weak to walk on your own." And with that, he scooped Harry up once again and carried him to the bathroom that was located on the other side of his bedroom.

Severus put him down directly in front of the toilet and handed him a small plastic cup. "I'll wait outside, just call me when you have finished!" And with that, he left the room.

Harry was relieved when the Professor announced that he would wait outside. It had been bad enough having the nurses at the hospital in Surrey watching him going to the loo, but the Professor?! No, he'd rather not think about it. He could only hope that the demon would leave him alone while he stayed with Professor Snape, otherwise the man might change his mind.

When Harry had finished, he called for the Professor and the man immediately entered the room. His cheeks slightly reddening, Harry offered the plastic cup with his pee to the man.

"Just put it on this board, Madame Pomfrey will take it once she leaves for the hospital wing." Severus said casually, trying to ease the boy's embarrassment.

Soon after the two men had returned to the guest-room - or rather Harry's room, Severus thought silently - Poppy took her leave. There wasn't much the medi-witch could do except analysing Harry's blood and urine just now.

Originally, Severus had planned to talk to Harry about everything - the changed guardianship, the Horcrux, the fact that he would need to stay in his quarters for an indefinite amount of time in order to be safe - once Poppy had left. However, he had noticed how the boy had tried (and more often than not failed) to stifle a yawn. It wouldn't do to speak about such serious things with an overtired child.

"Harry, I want you to take a Dreamless Sleep Potion now. It will make you sleep through the night and prevent nightmares. We will talk tomorrow, all right? Oh, and you need to take these, too." The Potion Master added while handing the boy two pills. "I have spoken with Madame Pomfrey and Dr Green about these - I'll tell you more about it tomorrow, I promise - and we think for now, it's the safest choice we have."

Harry swallowed the pills without hesitation and just wanted to grab the glass that held the Dreamless Sleep Potion when the Potion Master spoke once more.

"You'll fall asleep directly after you've taken it. If there should be anything wrong during the night, wake me up, all right? I will sleep in the room next to yours and if anything happens or if you feel that something is wrong you are to call for me. Don't leave the bed on your own, though. I have added a door that connects your room with mine, and I will leave the door ajar. Additionally, I have placed wards on your room that will alert me if you are in distress or in danger of the Hor- the demon hurting you. All right?"

"Yee-es" Harry answered.

"All right, then now you may take the potion."

When Harry woke up the following morning, it took him several seconds to remember where he was, but even when he had recalled the events of the past evening, it was only five minutes later that he remembered that he could move again. He didn't have to lie still any more!

Carefully, Harry raised first his left arm and then the right one. It worked! There was no invisible force any more that restricted his movements! Sure, he felt rather weak, but it didn't matter, he could move again!

When the knowledge had sunken in, he did the next reasonable thing that came to his mind.

It was only when the Potion Master came running into his room that he remembered that he wasn't supposed to get up on his own.

"Harry!" The man asked frantically, "is everything all right? Why are you sitting in the corner? I have told you you need to stay in bed for now!"

"Bu-t.. but th-there weren't a-any res-straints-ss and I-"

"- and you decided to jump out of bed, yes?" Severus asked wrily. He absent-mindedly noticed that the boy's speech had improved significantly. Well, at least this was working out fine, as it seemed.

"Uhm, ye-ss." Harry nodded, "I'm s-sorry. I'v-ve forgot..."

"Well, since you're awake, we might as well have breakfast." The Potion Master decided to drop the matter. He knew how Harry felt about beds and he couldn't blame him for leaving it as quickly as possible once he had noticed that he could.

Yawning, Severus cast a tempus-charm and inwardly groaned when he realized that it was not even 7 o'clock in the morning. He had stayed up late last night, reading Harry's file and the new papers the healer had provided him with more thoroughly and developing a plan for the next few days. But it wasn't surprising that Harry had woken up this early, he supposed, as he had taken the Dreamless Sleep Potion rather early last evening.

"Ophi?" Severus called for his house-elf (well, technically it wasn't his but the elf would serve him as long as he was head of Slytherin).

The tiny creature popped up immediately "What can Ophi do for Master Snape?"

"I want you to make breakfast for two, Harry and I'll eat down here. Also, I want you to know that Harry Potter will stay with me for the foreseeable future but that you aren't to talk to anyone about anything you might witness in my quarters, not even to your fellow elves."

"Of course, Master Postion Master Sir! Ophi is not telling anybody about Master Harry Potter anything Sir!" And with that, the elf popped away again, presumably to the kitchen in order to make breakfast.

"All right, Harry, do you feel up to try to walk on your own?" Severus turned around only to be met with green eyes staring at him, obviously shocked.

"Harry?" he asked.

"What - what's this?" Harry exclaimed.

"What do you - oh. You have never seen a house elf before, haven't you?"

"A hou-house elf?" Harry asked blankly.

"Yes. They are... they are kind of servants. They serve wizards, do the cooking and cleaning and other stuff like this. You don't need to worry about them, though, they are very kind creatures and would never harm you."

"It was - this thing was real?" Harry couldn't believe it.

"Of course it is real," Severus frowned.

"Oh," Harry said, "I thought... I thought... well, doesn't matter..." he trailed off, but Severus could guess what the boy meant. Harry thought that Ophi had been a hallucination. It wasn't exactly an unreasonable assumption, considering Harry's childhood. But it definitively brought home to Severus that the issues in muggle-wizard-relationships had reached a whole new level. Wizards and witches might no longer be burned because of their magical abilities, but muggles seemed to be declared insane, people like Arthur Weasley were regarded as, well, perhaps not insane but certainly odd and crazy and who knew how many muggle-born witches and wizards received a similar treatment than Harry had because of seeing things and people that, at least for muggles, didn't exist...

Yes, he would definitively have to speak to someone working at the ministry, but there weren't many people who would listen to a former death-eater. Well, he'd think later about it, just now Harry (and he) needed breakfast.

"Right. Are you ready to join me into the kitchen? He asked the boy.

"Yes, Sir!" Harry eagerly nodded.

"Do I still need to carry you or do you think you can walk on your own?"

"' can wa-alk on my own!" Harry answered somewhat defiant. While it was nice having the Professor practically hugging him each time he carried him, it was a bit embarrassing, too. He was eleven after all!

"I'll stay next to you, if you feel dizzy you are to tell me at once!"

After a detour to the bathroom, the two men arrived in the small kitchen where breakfast was already waiting for them. Severus sensed Harry stiffen when the boy noticed the knife next to his plate. Without commenting on it, the Potion Master took Harry's knife away and he could clearly see the relief on his face.

"So, Harry, as I'm sure you have questions, you may ask me everything you want to. I don't know whether I'll be able to tell you everything, but I'll do my best." Severus addressed Harry after the two of them had finished eating.

Harry looked up sharply. He could ask everything? Normally, Harry just tried to gather as much as possible without resorting to direct questions, since people tend to ask even more difficult questions if they noticed that there were blank spots in your memory. But he supposed that since Professor Snape had actually seen the demon it was quite possible that he knew about Harry's rotten memory, too... Deciding that he didn't really have any other options, Harry hesitantly asked the question that had bothered him ever since he had woken up in hospital. "What happened? Why... why did I have to stay in hospital again?"

Severus let out a deep breath. The boy remembered nothing? "Do you have any memories about what happened in the Great Hall?"

Harry hesitantly shook his head. "Ron wanted to have lunch... I didn't feel so well... and then I was in hospital..."

"It seems that the Hor- the demon managed to take control over your body once more. It... well, surely you have noticed that they have put a plaster on your left eye?"

Harry moodily nodded. He had an idea what the Professor would tell him next.

"Well, when you and Mr Weasley had sat down, the demon got hold on your knife. It started to attack you and you sustained several stab wounds. I'm afraid your left eye was injured rather severely, too, and... well, it's unlikely that it will ever heal completely. It's quite possible that you'll never be able to see with this eye again."

"Never?" Harry asked, his throat dry.

"It's possible." Severus answered. He wasn't the type of person that sugar-coated things. Additionally, Harry might even see it as a form of betrayal once he found out that Severus had practically lied to him.

"This is... this why they to-ook me to hos-spital?" Harry quietly asked after a minute or so of silence.

"Well, not entirely. Ron Weasley... he tried to prevent you - the demon - from hurting you further. He didn't know about the demon, of course. It appears that the demon saw him as a threat as he was trying to thwart its efforts to harm you and... well, and it attacked Ronald, too."

"It - the demon - it attacked - it attacked Ron?"

"Yes. His injuries weren't serious, though, Madame Pomfrey had him healed within seconds. However, since your own injuries were rather severe, the headmaster decided to call for emergency-healers from St Mungo's, the wizarding hospital. They brought you to hospital to heal you and, well, since they believed that you yourself had hurt another student, they decided that it would be wise to keep you there."

Harry stared on the table in front of him for several minutes. Severus had just started to think about just continuing with his explanations when he noticed a drop of clear liquid falling from the boy's face down onto the table. When the first drop was followed by a second one only seconds later, the Potion Master stood up and knelt down next to Harry's chair, carefully raising the boy's chin with his thumb.

"Harry..." he whispered, not really knowing what to say. "Harry, everything will be fine, you'll see. Mr Weasley didn't sustain any lasting damage and thanks to your head of house and the medi-witch, the rest of the student's population believe it was just a prank that somehow went wrong. Nobody is mad at you!"

"R-Ron..." Harry stammered through the tears, "Ron - he was-ss my fi-first ever real friend!"

Severus sighed and summoned his chair, sitting down next to Harry. After a few seconds of hesitation, he put his arm around the boy's shoulders, offering comfort.

Immediately, Harry leant into the touch. It was so nice having somebody comforting him, even though he knew that he didn't deserve it. He had almost killed his friend! It didn't matter that it had been the demon because it had used his body, so he was responsible for it! Ron would hate him now. Everybody would hate him now! No matter what the Professor thought, Harry couldn't believe that anyone of the students would stay in the same room with Harry any longer.
"What will happ-pen know?" He asked after a few minutes of silence. He hoped he wouldn't have to go to jail, but he supposed it would be better than the hospital...

"Well, you'll stay with me until you're better," Severus answered. "I'll do whatever it takes to get the - the demon out of your head. And once you are better, you can join your classmates again."

"But... but I need to go to prison!" Harry said incredulously.

"Mr Potter, first of all you are a child and children are not sent to prison, ever! Secondly, it wasn't you who attacked Ronald Weasley but the demon, so even if children would be sent to prison, there was no way anyone could charge you for that creature's doings! And additionally you are ill and require treatment that St Mungo's is unable to provide. Therefore, you will stay with me. You may see your friends but they will have to come to mine - our quarters as the headmaster seems to think that you are... unfit as a student."

"I don't have friends." Harry whispered dejectedly.

"Of course you have! Mr Weasley explicitly told me to rescue you from that.. that institution because he wanted to have his friend back! He came to me willingly to provide me with further information that might be of importance for your treatment. Do you think he had done so if he didn't want to be your friend any longer?" Severus huffed.

"Ron - Ron did this?" Harry felt as if he had been plunged into some alternate reality. Ron had gone to Professor Snape? The Professor he feared more than... well, than anything? To help him, Harry? The boy who had tried to kill him?

"Yes. As I said, he might come to our quarters to visit you, but for now, you are not allowed to leave these rooms. Well, you are, but only if I accompany you. We might need to move to some of my other homes at some point, as I don't know whether Dumbledore will tolerate the current situation," he raised his hand when Harry seemed to want to interrupt him, "I don't care whether the headmaster approves of me taking care of you or not. You don't need to worry about how I will deal with my employer and I don't mind having you living with me. You wouldn't be here if I didn't want you to be here!"

"But I don't wa-ant to be a bur-rden..." Harry interjected.

"Then you will keep your room tidy and follow my instructions." Severus answered.

"I mean - I mean in stay-ying with yo-ou..."

"As I said, that has been my decision. I want you to stay with me. Do you have any objections?"

"No," Harry shook his head and tried his best to hide the small smile that was creeping on his face. The Professor wanted him!

The two of them talked for a bit longer, Severus telling Harry about the changed guardianship and his visits to Dr Green. To the Potion Master's great surprise, the boy seemed actually happy about the prospect of living with him!

The only time Harry was less than pleased was when Severus told him about the forged pills he and Poppy had given him until the day he had been brought to the hospital. He hadn't been sure whether to tell Harry about this, but in the end, he had decided that it would be better to admit having practically betrayed Harry (it didn't matter that they had only meant to help the boy, they had lied to him and it was quite likely that Harry not getting any medicine had played a role in the Horcrux being able to hurt Harry like this) than taking the risk that the boy would find out on his own. If he did, he would lose his trust in Severus, and rightly so.

Of course he explained to the boy why the medi-witch and he himself had done so, but when he saw that Harry tried his hardest to hide his anger, he sternly told him that he had every right to be angry at the Potion Professor and the medi-witch and that he should have asked Harry about the pills rather than just giving him forged ones.

"But... you saved me! And I don't want you to send me back to the hospital because of being ungrateful..." Harry objected.

"Mr Potter, I promise you I will never send you away, especially not to that hospital. You have every right to be angry at me and even if I hadn't made such a grievous mistake, I wouldn't be mad at you for being angry! You are a human being and everyone is sometimes angry, no matter whether the person in question has deserved it or not! You can't help your feelings and as long as you - you, not the demon! - don't resort to violence to express those feelings, I will never tell you off for what you are feeling, not to mention punish you!"

Harry looked into his lap, unsure what to say. "I still don't think it's your fault that the demon got stronger, Sir. Well, not completely, anyway. Professor Quirrell made the demon angry quite a lot, too..."

"Professor Quirrell? What did he do to you?"

"I don't know... nothing, really. Just, the demon seems to get more powerful each time I'm next to the Professor. I don't know why... the other day, it smashed my head against the wall after DADA. Ron saved me, though, and he didn't stop being my friend despite seeing what the demon is like!"

Severus rubbed his temple. This was getting more and more confusing.