Severus walked out of the fireplace and saw that the bed was empty. Draco wasn’t there. The Potions Master rushed out of the Infirmary in search of his godson. With Harry taken back to his blasted relatives, Severus was feeling overprotective. Standing in the corridor, Severus pulled out his wand and cast a point-me spell. Following the direction, led Severus out the front doors.

When he saw that Draco left the school, Severus’ heart dropped into his stomach. Being able to fly was a plus when he had to get somewhere close by and he could do it on Hogwarts’ grounds. Severus twisted his arm and took off flying. He searched the front of the school, the quidditch pitch, even the edge of the forest; no Draco. Severus got to the gateway at the edge of the land and saw a platinum blond-headed boy walking towards Hogsmeade. Severus landed in front of the child.

“Where do you think your going?” Severus said, sternly.

Severus grabbed Draco’s arm, turning him around so that can go back to the castle.  

“I’m going to find my brother,” Draco yelled, trying to pull his arm free. “No one is telling me anything. I will not lose him too.”

“Stop this this instant,” Severus fumed. “I will not have you go missing going on a fool’s errand.”

“You can’t make me,” Draco said. He successfully pulled his arm from Severus’ grasp.

Before Draco could take a step from Severus, the Potion master grabbed Draco again, turning him to the side and smacking Draco’s bum three times. The smacks didn’t hurt per se, but it did get the right results. Severus turned Draco back to face him and the child rushed forwards and wrapped his arms around Severus’ waist.  

Severus knelt in front of Draco. Pulling the child out to arm’s length.

“I know you are worried about Harry,” Severus said. Tears pooled in the grey orbs. “I am too. But Granny Minnie and Grandpa Albus are going to get Harry. They know where he is, and they’re bringing him home.”

Draco fell against his godfather and wrapped his arms around his neck, crying on his shoulder. Severus whispered a feather-weight spell and picked Draco up, taking him back to the castle. Once in the castle, Severus walked to his chambers. He figured he would wait there for word on his son.

___000___000___000

Albus and Minerva apparated directly into the Infirmary. Minerva noticed that Draco and Severus weren’t there, and she was glad that they weren’t. She wanted Poppy to get an assessment on Harry before they saw the child. Albus laid Harry on one of the cots.

“Poppy,” Minerva called out.

Poppy walked out of her office.

“Did you find him?” Poppy asked when she saw Minerva.

“Here,” Albus said, standing straight by the cot.

Poppy was at Harry’s side instantly. She had her wand out preforming a diagnostic of the child. Once the results came on the parchment. Poppy gasped.

“What is it?” Minerva said, walking over to Poppy.

“Albus, help me,” Poppy said, urgently. “We need to lay Harry on his stomach.”

“Why?” Minerva and Albus said at the same time.

“He was beat repeatedly from his back to his thighs.”

The three adults were able to move Harry carefully. Once they were finished, Poppy moved the screens to give Harry some privacy and waved her wand vanishing Harry’s clothes except for his underwear.

“Sweet Merlin,” Minerva gasped.

Albus tried to contain his anger. He needed to make sure that the ministry nor Harry relatives ever do this again.

“Poppy,” Albus said, his voice was soft. “Make sure you get plenty of pictures and a list of all Harry’s ailments. I want this documented.”

Albus didn’t wait for a response. He turned and left the Infirmary.

“I’m going to find Severus,” Minerva said.

“Lock the doors when you leave, Minerva,” Poppy said. “I want to get Harry comfortable before Severus and Draco sees him.”

Minerva nodded and walked out of the Infirmary.

Poppy started the process of healing Harry as best as she could. Most of the marks on Harry’s back would have to heal on its own. But the open wounds could be fixed. Poppy started with the child’s head. She was happy to see that it was just a gash wound and there was no damage to his skull. She cleaned the wound and wrapped it. She then did a skeletal diagnostic to make sure there were no broken bones. Again, Harry was fine from that which meant that it was just healing what she saw. There were no underling problems. The matron set off to work.

___000___000___000

Minerva walked down to the dungeons. She wasn’t sure where Severus would be, but she would start at the obvious place: his chambers or his private lab. Knocking on the door, she sighed when it opened. Minerva walked in and waved her hand on the door, locking it.

“Severus,” Minerva said.

“Is he home?” Severus asked.

Severus was sitting on the sofa. Draco was still wrapped in his godfather’s arms.

“He’s in the Infirmary,” Minerva said.

Severus turned and looked at his mother. He could see a distraught look in her face.

“What did they do to him?” Severus said, carefully laying Draco on the sofa. Draco fell asleep more from emotional exhaustion than being tired. Severus stood and walked towards Minerva.

“They beat him,” Minerva said.

Severus paled, looking at his mother. He stepped around her and rushed to the door, noticing that he again couldn’t open the door.

“Let me out,” Severus said. “I need to be with my son.”

“And you will,” Minerva said, facing her son. “But Poppy has to fix him up. And she can’t do that if you are hovering over her. She will call as soon as she’s done. Plus, she has to document everything that she does.”

Severus turned and walked back to the sofa. He was filled with nervous energy, so he started pacing.

“I promised him that he would never have to see those people again,” Severus said.

“I know,” Minerva said. “It was the Ministry that did this. They were the ones that took Harry off the pathway where we found Dragon. Amelia saw someone pulling Harry out of one of the offices that’s why she came here. We got to the Dursley’s as fast as we could.”

“And in that short time of having him they were able to beat him so badly that I have to wait to see him?” Severus fumed.

Minerva said nothing.

Draco woke up after hearing his godfather’s voice.

“Uncle Sev,” Draco said, sitting up on the sofa. “What’s wrong?”

Severus knelt in front of Draco. “Dragon, they brought Harry home.”

“He’s home,” Draco said, excitedly. “Where is he?”

“He’s in the Infirmary,” Severus said. “Poppy has to work on him first before we can see him.”

“They hurt Harry?” Draco asked.

Severus nodded. Draco looked back and saw his Granny Minnie.

“As soon as Poppy calls for us,” Minerva said. “We will go see Harry, alright.”

Draco nodded.

___000___000___000

Albus was sitting at his desk. He knew there was many things that he should be doing, but he couldn’t start on them. How Harry looked was still in his mind. So much of him wanted to go back to those people and give them a taste of what they afflicted on Harry.

It had been a long time since he felt like this. It was his sister, Ariana.

Ariana was a beautiful girl. She loved life. She was a pleasure to be around. She wanted to make friends with whomever she met. But that light in her spirit was dimmed when she was attacked by three boys.

After the attack, she stayed to herself. That pleasant sweet child was killed the day those boys forced their way on her. She stopped doing magic. She wouldn’t even leave her room.

Albus remembered how angry he was after what he learned happened. No one could tell him anything. Not even Aberforth. Albus’ mission was to make those boys hurt. And that’s what he did. They didn’t last long.

It was a dark time for Albus.

A side of him that he tries to keep buried. He was doing fine keeping that side of him at bay, but after seeing the small child crumpled in that small space woke something up in him. It is taking all his willpower to stay within the school.

“Winky,” Albus called out.

A small house-elf popped in front of Albus’ desk.

“Yes, Headmaster,” Winky said.

“Please bring me some of my special tea,” Albus said. “I need to calm my nerves.”

“Right away, Headmaster,” Winky said. She disappeared instantly.

Seconds later, a small tea service appeared on Albus’ desk. It was a brew of lemon drop tea. Severus complained the entire time he mixed the tea leaves to Albus’ specifications. Minerva laughed at him but left him alone about it.

Albus poured him the tea and sipped it. The tea did its job. It calmed his nerves. He knew after drinking his tea, he would be able to properly deal with the Ministry and the Dursleys without being sent to Azkaban.

___000___000___000

Amelia walked in her office. She had to regroup before she got the paperwork together. After a few moments, she went to her desk and pulled out an empty phial. She brought up the memory of seeing Harry Potter in that cupboard and pulled a silvery strand from her temple, carefully placing it within the phial.

Amelia wrote out a detailed report of everything she saw and did. From the time she saw Josiah pulling Harry out of one of the offices to meeting the Dursleys. Nothing was left out. She knew she needed to go back to Hogwarts.

Once the paperwork was done, she went to her mantle and pulled out some powder. Dropping a small bit in the fire, she called out.

“Albus.”

“Come through, my dear.”

She grabbed a little more floo powder and stepped through.

Albus was sitting at his desk when Amelia walked in.

“Do you have everything?” Albus asked.

“Yes,” Amelia said, walking over to his desk. “I’m just waiting for the medical reports.

Albus stood up and walked over to the fireplace. Waving his hand, the fire turned green (one of the benefits of being Headmaster). “Poppy.”

Poppy’s voice came through the flames. “Yes, Albus.”

“How are you doing? Are you finished?” Albus asked.

“Yes,” Poppy said. “I was just about to send a Patronus to Severus so that he could come.”

“We’ll meet you there,” Albus said, waving his hand again, cutting off the connection.

___000___000___000

Poppy had Harry propped up on two pillows. His arms were over pillows so was his legs. She had a cushioning charm under Harry so that he would be in pain laying on his back. Once Harry was set, she unlocked the doors and sent a Patronus out. She knew that within a few moments several people would be descending in the ward.

“Harry,” Poppy said, combing his fringe out of his face. “Just take it easy.  Your dad is coming.”

Harry didn’t wake up fully, but he was moaning while she was working on the child. So, she constantly talked to him so he would know he was safe.

Poppy heard a lot of footsteps, so she put a silencing charm over Harry. He was calm now she didn’t want to overwhelm him. Seconds later, the doors swung open with Severus and Draco coming in, followed by Minerva, then Albus and Amelia.

Draco ran to Harry side. Poppy was able to remove the silencing charm when Draco got close.

“Harry,” Draco called. “Harry, wake up.”

“He’s still healing,” Poppy said.

“When will he wake up?” Draco asked.

“I’m not sure. A few hours. A few days. His body has to heal.”

Severus walked over to Poppy and pulled her to the side.

“What are his injuries?”

Amelia, Albus and Minerva walked over to Poppy.

“He was beaten,” Poppy said. “Some of them are just welts. It is the open cuts on his back, bum and thighs that needs to heal. I must keep a watch on them. I don’t want them to get infected.”

“Has he woken up?” Severus asked.

“No,” Poppy said. “Not really. He moaned a little, and I would talk to him, but he hasn’t fully woken up.”

Severus stepped away from them and walked to the other side of the bed. He pulled up a chair and sat down next to his child. Draco walked over to him. Severus pulled him up on his lap, holding his godson, looking at his son.

All the adults watched Severus as he sat down. Wanting to give them a little privacy, they walked into Poppy’s office so they could talk.

Albus was the last one in the office and closed the door.

“Were you able to document Harry’s injuries?” Amelia asked.

“Yes,” Poppy said, handing over a small stack of parchments. “This is everything. I did a deeper diagnostic on him. He doesn’t have broken bones now, but he did have some before. There were a lot of injuries that Harry’s endured over the years. Some his magic healed. Some probably he had to suffer through.”

“I’ll add this to what we saw at the Dursleys,” Amelia said. “Is there anything else I need before I get this filed?”

Poppy pulled a phial out of her apron pocket.

“This is my memories of Harry’s injuries now,” Poppy said. “This needs to be addressed. No one should have to live like this.”

Amelia took the phial and the paperwork.

“I’ll get this started,” Amelia said, walking out of the office. She stopped and looked at Severus. He was still in the same spot he was when they went into the office.

“Severus,” Amelia said in a low voice.

Severus looked up at Amelia.

“Know that I will do everything in my power to make sure this will never happen again. And to punish those who were directly and indirectly responsible.”

“I know you will,” Severus said. “Just promise me. When you find the person, who took Harry to those people, let me know.”

“Will do,” Amelia said.

Amelia walked to the fireplace and floo away. Severus sat in the chair slightly rocking back and forth, watching over his son.

___000___000___000

Amelia walked towards her office. She had an associate that would do some of her leg work for her. Stephanie was a sweet girl but could track down anyone. If there was someone that was hiding, she would be the one to find them. Amelia joked with her that she was a bloodhound.

Well, right now, she needed Stephanie’s expertise.

“Steph,” Amelia called, walking past her desk. “Can I see you for a moment?”

“Sure,” Stephanie said. “I’ll be there in a sec.”

Amelia went into her office. By the time she was walking around her desk, Stephanie walked in.

“Close the door,” Amelia said.

“What do you need?” Stephanie said, sitting down after the door was closed.

“A couple of hours ago, a child was taken back to his abusive relatives. I, along with two others, were able to rescue the child, but he was beaten pretty bad.”

“What do I need to do?” Stephanie said. “Find the relatives.”

“No, I know who and where they are,” Amelia said. “What I need is who from here ordered it and who implemented it.”

“It was someone from here?” Stephanie asked.

“Yes,” Amelia said. “I know you will be discreet and thorough.”

“I love stuff like this,” Stephanie said, smiling. “Give me an hour.”

Stephanie walked out of the office. Amelia didn’t have to worry. Stephanie would find out everything within that hour. Maybe less since the replacement happened a few hours ago.

___000___000___000

Severus refused to move until his son opened his eyes. Draco got up and started walking around. Severus knew that it was pent up energy. For the past couple of days, Harry and Draco became as thick as thieves. They were rarely apart.

“Uncle Sev,” Draco said.

“Yes, Dragon,” Severus said.

“Can I bring Hedwig down?” Draco asked. “She helped me. Maybe she can help Harry.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” Severus said. “Go ahead.”

Draco ran out of the Infirmary.

Severus leaned over and looked at his son. He combed his fingers through Harry’s hair.

“My sweet boy,” Severus whispered in Harry’s ear. “You are home. Home where you belong. You are safe. Draco is here. He misses his little brother. I’m here. I need my boy back.”

Severus tried to swallow down the lump in his throat. It broke his heart that his son went through this.

Surprisingly, it didn’t take Draco long to come back with Hedwig flying behind him. Hedwig landed on the side table next to Harry.

There was a popping noise. Severus and Draco looked up and saw Fawkes flying around the Infirmary. Fawkes started singing softly.

“Daddy.”

TBC