Harry stood up holding Severus with protectiveness in his arms. The professor’s body tensed in Harry’s arms and he started growling until they saw a woman in a green dress.

“Professor McGonagall? What are you doing here?” Harry asked in shock. He supposed that saying ‘what the hell are you doing blowing my bedroom’s door’ it was a little bit rude considering he was talking to the Head of his House.

“I was looking for someone Mr. Potter, but I have already found him.” Answered the witch pointing the black cat in Harry’s arms. She was sure his lion didn’t know who was in his arms or he wouldn’t be holding him like that. “We are going to Hogwarts, and you’ll come too.” She couldn’t leave the boy there after seeing the six locks in his bedroom. She wanted to know what was going on there.

“Oh, that’s perfect. I was thinking how to escape but I suppose it is not necessary now.” Said Harry bending to pick the t-shirt that his uncle ordered him to take off.

After opening and closing her mouth two or three times, Minerva said in a whisper: “Harry, what happened to your back?”

“Oh, that. It is a long story. Let’s say that my uncle was a little mad with me. I’ll tell you everything when we arrive at Hogwarts.” Harry said picking a blanket and wrapping it carefully around the cat. He had felt the feverish cat trembling in his arms, and since they were going out and the weather was rather cold, he supposed that his potions professor would need a blanket. He put the cat in his bed to put on his t-shirt and he picked him up again. Then he took the Weasley’s jumper that was still wet and Hedwig’s cage. The owl wasn’t there since the end of July, when he had send her to Hogwarts to stay there. He wasn’t going to need her if he couldn’t send or receive letters, and she would be better far away from his uncle. “My trunk is downstairs Professor; we can go now.”

‘No, definitely he doesn’t know the cat is his potions teacher. Or he wouldn’t have wrapped a blanket around him. I have to pick Severus before Harry realizes who he is.’ Thought McGonagall, not knowing if she was more surprised about the fact that Harry had Severus wrapped in a blanket in his arms or about the back covered on wounds and blood.

“Fine Harry, give me the cat first, I can take him.” Said Minerva and moved towards Harry to pick Severus. And then the witch saw the most absurd scene that she could have ever imagined. Severus growled and all his body trembled, and Harry hugged him tight and said smiling “Wow, Sev, don’t do that to Professor McGonagall, she can take points from Slytherin, you know.” The cat leaned on Harry’s chest and he looked at him with pride.

Minerva pointed Harry with her wand and asked “Mr. Potter or whoever you are, why did Ms. Granger come to my office before the feast at the beginning of your third year?”

“Look what you’ve done Sev, you have freaked her out.” Harry said still smiling. “You gave her the time turner so she could attend all her classes. Only the Headmaster and Hermione know about this. So yes, professor, I’m Harry Potter and I know he is Severus Snape, I have known since the first night we spend together. I will tell you and Poppy everything later. Can we go now?”

If the witch thought that she was shocked before, there weren’t words to describe how she was feeling now. If someone had told her in the morning that Harry would be hugging Snape, she would have laughed in their faces.

Harry called her from the stairs when he saw that she wasn’t following them. He took his trunk and broom and McGonagall shrunk them, together with the cage, and put them in her pocket. They apparated outside the castle’s wards. Then Harry changed Severus’ position so he was lying like a baby, with his head leaning in Harry’s chest. Minerva smiled looking at them, and saw that Severus was falling asleep in Harry’s arms while she and her little lion were walking to the path that headed to the castle’s door.

‘Severus Snape and Harry Potter! Even Dumbledore will be surprised.’ She thought while they continued walking.

Severus felt how Harry was pulling him away from his chest and putting him in the cold rough sheets of the infirmary bed. He opened his eyes and whimpered. He was looking at Harry and he didn’t see the strange look in Poppy’s eyes when she saw the scene.

“Everything is fine Sev, Madam Pomfrey will change you and you’ll be Professor Snape again. So stay still, I’ll be waiting outside.” Harry whispered.

The black cat started whimpering again, this time louder. Everything wasn’t fine. He didn’t want to be Professor Snape, he wanted to be Sev, the cat that Harry held in his arms. After becoming the potions professor, Harry would hate him again and that would break his heart. He didn’t know how the things could have happened so fast. Some days ago he hated that child and now he needed Harry. That boy was like him; he was the only person who could understand the thing that Severus had gone through. The potions professor had been all his life alone, except when Lily was his friend, his best friend. And she didn’t forgive him. If his only friend hadn’t been able to forgive him, the child that he had been abusing verbally during four years wasn’t going to forgive him. And those days, even with the injuries and the pain, had been great for him. There was someone that loved him and that look after him.

“Wait Harry, maybe it’s better if you stay with him.” Poppy said looking the whimpering cat, and Severus looked at him hopefully. Harry sat in the chair beside the bed and the medi-witch continued. “The change be very painful Severus, I’ll change you back and you’ll drink some potions to help you with your fever and concussion. I will give you a potion for your concussion, another for your fever and some dreamless sleep, so you can rest a bit. I’ll clean your wound while you sleep. Then, we will heal your bones, which of course, will be painful. Well, are you ready?”

Harry petted his head one last time, thinking that Sev wouldn’t want him there once he was Professor Snape again. He didn’t know why, but that thought hurt him. He nodded at the cat, who look at the medi-witch and nodded too. After a long spell that Harry didn’t understand in another language, the cat disappeared and Severus was lying in the bed.

The man’s eyes were in Harry’s, and the young wizard could see that he was in pain. He looked scared too, and Harry didn’t know why. A little whisper came out from Severus’ mouth “Harry.”

“Here, Severus take the potions.” Said Poppy while he was handing him the first vial. But the professor wasn’t looking at her.

“I’m sorry.” The teacher whispered again.

“Severus, the potions.” Repeated Poppy, but Severus was looking at Harry like if he was the only one with him in the infirmary.

“I’m so sorry Harry, don’t leave me.” Severus said pleading. “Don’t leave me, please.” His voice was hoarser every time he talked, and his breathing was becoming faster. ‘He’s going to have a panic attack.’ thought Poppy, and she accio-ed a calming draught, thinking she will have to force him to take it, before giving him the other potions.

But then, Harry took the fever reducing potion that the medi-witch was still holding in her hand, he sat in the bed and put his free hand on his professor’s hand. “I won’t leave you Sev, now take the potions.” He said, handing him the three potions. He watched him shallowing the fever reducing potion, the one for the concussion and the sleeping draught. “You’ll be fine, now sleep. And don’t worry.”

“Or you will take points from Slytherin.” Severus finished Harry’s sentence with a smile. “You won’t leave me, will you?”

“I’ll be right here the next time you wake up, I won’t move. Sleep well Sev.” Harry reassured him. And with that, Severus slipped into the unconsciousness with a smile in his face, holding tightly Harry’s hand on his own.

The medi-witch was looking at them shocked. “Are you sure the boy is Harry?” Asked Poppy in a low voice so only Minerva could hear her.

“I’m sure Poppy, I verified it in Harry’s house.” Answered Minerva smiling. “Harry was holding Severus so I thought he didn’t know who was the cat. After that he wrapped a blanket around him, and I decided it was time to pick Severus before Harry knew who was in his arms. But when I was going to pick him, Severus growled and Harry called him Sev. I asked him a question to verify he was Harry Potter. And yes, I supposed that my face was like yours.” Said the Head of Gryffindor laughing while she was watching Poppy’s face.

“Mr. Potter, now that Severus is asleep, please take off your t-shirt so Madam Pomfrey can heal your back. Then you can sleep in the bed next to Severus but we want to know the story first.” Minerva told Harry louder while she was taking Harry’s trunk and broom, and Hedwig’s cage, and she changed them to their original size. “By the way, where is your owl?”

“I sent her to Hagrid. My uncle doesn’t like her and nobody was sending me letters this summer, so I thought she would be better here. I sent a note to Hagrid asking him if he could take care of her.” Answered Harry with a grimace when he talked about his friends.

“Yes, your friends couldn’t write you this summer, Albus told me, he put some wards in…… well, I can’t tell you this right now, but remember not to be very angry with them, it was not their fault.” Harry took off his shirt while Minerva was talking and a little shout came out from Poppy’s mouth.

“Harry, what happened with your back?” Asked the medi-witch horrified.

“Well, I think both of you want to know what happened with everything, so if you prefer, I will tell you what happened since I found Severus, the story of my back is inside this one.” Answered Harry lying in his stomach, and Poppy started cleaning his back. He waited until the two witches nodded and he started the story.

“Well, the Dursleys left two days ago to visit my uncle’s sister, Marge. I stayed in the house doing my chores…”

“Wait, you stayed alone? Didn’t you want to go?” Asked Minerva. The more time she spent with his lion, the more shocked she became.

“Ugh no! She’s even more horrible than my uncle, and her dogs bite me! But even if I wanted to go, I don’t deserve it. No, professor, don’t put that face, the Dursleys think freaks don’t deserve anything. And that includes food for example. So well, like I was saying, I stayed in the house. When I went to water the plants in the garden I discovered blood outside the fence. I followed it and I discovered a black cat with a broken and an injured leg and a concussion in his head. I couldn’t let him die so I took it home. He was hot so I supposed that he had been there a lot of time and he would have an infection in the leg. When I arrived home I put him in my bed and I gave him pain reliever and fever reducing potions. I cleaned the wounds in his leg and I bandaged it. Then I put a cold flannel in his head and I gave him some water before I putting him in a box inside my wardrobe. He spent that day slipping in and out consciousness, I gave him potions every 4 hours. When I was going to bed I tried to put him in the box again but I supposed he was in pain because he started moaning. I put him in the bed with me, and it was that moment when I discovered he was having a strange behaviour for a cat. I asked him if he was an animagus and he nodded. And a black cat with those black eyes… well, it was clear that he was Severus. The next day my uncle came, I spent my day doing chores and I didn’t see Severus a lot. When I went to bed I put him with me again. Then I had a nightmare that woke my uncle. He was furious and he beat me. Then you came this morning, professor, so you know the rest.” Harry finished the story looking at his Head of the House. He ignored some details that he didn’t want them to know. By that time, Poppy had finished Harry’s back.

“That’s horrible, Harry. I suppose you are aware that the treatment of that people towards you is not correct.” Minerva said.

“Yes ma’am, I suppose.” Harry answered without looking to her.

“So why didn’t you tell somebody?” Poppy asked.

“What?” Asked Harry frowning. “I’ve been 4 years asking the Headmaster before every summer if I could stay in Hogwarts. I even told him that I would stay with Filch cleaning the castle. It was obvious that if I preferred to stay with Filch…”

“I’M GOING TO KILL ALBUS DUMBLEDORE!” Minerva shouted. Harry jumped and the empty vials that were in Poppy’s hand fell. “Sorry.” She said in a lower voice when she saw she had startled them.

“He is not in the castle Minerva, but he comes back tomorrow, I’ll go with you to welcome him back.” Said Poppy with a smirk. “By the way Harry, why was Severus apologizing?”

“I don’t know. I suppose he has been doing these things because of the high fever he hd. The way he has been acting is like the opposite to professor Snape. He is usually alone and he doesn’t like being with people, I had no idea he liked to be comforted when he is sick.”

“That’s because he doesn’t, I’ve been in this room with Severus more times than I would like to say. He has never let me touch him more than what was necessary. If I had hold his hand like you’ve been doing today I would be dead right now” The medi-witch said laughing a bit.

“And when have you heard Severus Snape apologizing? Mr. Potter, I’ve known Severus since he came in his first year. A few years later he started working as the potions professor, so I know him quite well. You must know that this is the second time I’ve seen him apologizing with someone. So don’t trick yourself, Severus is not doing that because of his situation. Now I’ll go with Poppy to solve some things. Meanwhile you must rest. If you need something call for us.” Said Minerva with a smile.

Poppy transfigured the chair beside Severus’ bed into a cosy sofa, and added with a soft voice “Harry, I know you won’t stay in bed while we are gone, but try to sleep a bit in the couch. Severus will sleep about 4 or 5 more hours, and you will be close enough to hear him when he wakes.”

“Thank you ma’am.” Said Harry. Poppy and Minerva went to Poppy’s office and Harry lay down like Poppy had said, taking Severus’ hand in his own.