As soon as the door was closed Snape turned back to face the boy in front of him. Taking a moment to study him he realized how young the boy appeared. He was always sending insulting comments towards him but in front of him now did not stand the spawn of his school enemy. In front of him now was just a scared teenager who wouldn’t meet his eyes.

Snape tapped Harry on the shoulder to get his attention off of the floor, noticing the flinch as he did so. “Come Potter.” He said before striding towards the door to his office.

Harry sullenly followed, raising his head only enough so that he could tell where he was going.

Once in the office Snape quickly transfigured a chair into a small table resembling that of an exam table. He then waved his wand to close the doors, sending a silent locking charm at them in case Harrt decided to run.

Again studying the boy he could tell he would need to be gentle, resembling a side of himself that Potter had not seen before. There was no room for error here if he wanted to learn why his friends were so concerned.

“Potter, I need to see you back.” He said calmly, hoping the the lack of an audience would garner a more willing response.

Harry didn’t raise his head. “No sir, it’s fine really. Can I just go to class now?”

Snape moved his other office chair to sit in front of the boy. “Mr. Potter, I think we both know that you are not leaving this room until I assess your injuries and hear an explanation. You can either let me look at them or I can call Madam Pomphrey down here, but you will explain. So, what will it be?”

Harry took several long breaths, knowing he was stuck but not knowing what the best option was. If Snape got Madam Pomphrey down here then there was another person to gawk at him and pity him but then again… this was Snape he was contemplating talking to. What could really be worse than his least favorite professor finding out? Would he tell everyone? He needed answers before deciding the best option.

Grabbing hold of all the Gryffindor courage he could he met the professor’s gaze. “If I show you and answer your questions will anyone else have to know?”

Snape looked at the boy with an assessing gaze. “I would only inform, at most, the Headmaster, your Head of House, and Madam Pomphrey. I am not one to spread rumors amongst teenagers.”

Not breaking away eye contact Harry thought for a moment before speaking.

“Would I have to do this with any of them? Show them and explain?” He didn’t want more people to have to see or hear an explanation from him. He had never told anyone and couldn’t believe he was even contemplating confiding in his potion’s professor but seeing as he didn’t really have a choice… one person was better than several.

“No. I would only share pertinent information. You won’t have to talk to or show anyone else.” Snape could see where Harry’s mind was at even without the use of Legillimency. It was quite clear that the boy wasn’t comfortable sharing this with more people than necessary and he wasn’t about to risk him shutting down by making him talk to more than just himself.

Harry took another few moments to assess the information given to him. Could he trust the professor? Did he really have a choice? Snape had always been able to tell when he was lying and he didn’t think any lie could explain away his current injuries. One thought kept going through his mind- Telling one person is better than having to tell several. So he had his decision.

“You.” He said, watching his professor. “You can look and I’ll answer your questions if no one else has to see.”

Snape was not surprised by this response but still didn’t quite know how to respond to the lack of argument. Potter had accepted the situation with much less fight than he would have expected. Although, he did give him little other choices. He nodded and motioned for Harry to remove his shirt. As Harry undid the buttons he turned to gather supplies he expected he would need. However, nothing could have prepared him for the sight that met him as he turned back around. Sitting there, no longer meeting his eyes, Potter was covered in bruises and scars. He could tell the scars were a collection of both old and new and bruises were similar in that they were at various shades of healing. He could clearly see handprints around the boy’s neck as well as at his hips. There was also deep purpling around his ribs. He stood there with wide eyes, not hiding his expression nearly as well as he usually did.

Harry looked up when he could tell his professor had been standing still for several seconds. Sheepishly he commented, “Ron only saw my back.” As if that would somehow help matters. His comment however, did kick the potion’s master into motion.

Snape stalked back over to the makeshift table Harry was sitting on with the supplies he had gathered, setting them down beside Harry. “Stand up for me and turn around so I can see.”

Harry did so, unsurprised when he heard Snape take a sharp inhale. He knew his back was worse than his torso. Open wounds from his Uncle’s belt scattered among bruises.

Snape was in a state of shock. He didn’t know what to think of the boy. He was usually good at spotting abuse cases among the students but this was unexpected. He composed himself quickly and tapped Harry’s arm, again noticing the small flinch at the contact. “Turn around and sit.” He instructed.

Harry sat back on the table and looked at his professor. Snape seemed more mellow than he had ever experienced. There was not even a hint of hatred in his tone. “I need you to drink a few potions.” He said as he started sorting through the supplies he had set down. He handed Harry several potions in succession. “This is for pain. This is skele-grow just to be safe. With your permission I would also like to run a diagnostic charm before I do much more to make sure there are no internal injuries. And this one is a stomach soother so the other potions stay down.”

Harry took all of the potions as Snape was talking. “What does a diagnostic charm show?” He asked, hoping it wouldn’t show his entire medical history.

“There are different forms of diagnostic charms. The one I want to run on you would just assess your current physical state. More in-depth versions would show a complete history of illnesses and injuries. That may be required in the future but I’d like to heal your current issues first.” Snape replied, hearing the worry in Harry’s voice.

Knowing he would like to not be in any pain Harry decided to agree to the simple diagnostic charm. Snape ran his want over Harry’s body in a complex pattern and a sheet of parchment appeared in the air. Once done, he took the sheet and read over it quickly.

“You don’t have any injuries I can’t fix. You do have two bruised ribs but the potions I just gave you as well as some bruise salve should mostly clear that up. It will take a day or two for them to heal completely. You’ll have to come get another potion from me tomorrow.” He said as he set the paper aside. Meeting Harry’s gaze he spoke seriously. “I’m going to have to use a few spells on the open wounds which will sting and I’m going to have to touch you to apply salve. As it appears that you only have bruising below the waste I can instruct you on the correct way to apply the salve on your chest and give you some salve to take with you to do your legs privately. Does that sound alright?”

Harry’s face was wary as he listened to his professor. He was grateful that Snape would let him see to some injuries himself but he still didn’t like the intimate nature of healing. “Can’t I do all of it myself with your instruction?” He asked, knowing the answer would likely be no but hoping anyway.

Snape held eye contact, seeing the slight fear in Harry’s face. “You can’t reach your back. I’ll have to do that.” He said, pausing to consider the boy’s question. “However, if you follow my instructions, you can do most of your chest yourself.” Harry nodded to this.

Noting the boy’s acceptance, Snape motioned for Harry to stand up and turn around. Pointing his wand at his back he warned Harry of the incoming spell before closing the open wounds. “Would you rather I heal your back first or do you want to do your chest?” He asked as Harry’s scarred and bruised back still faced himself.

“You can do my back.”

Snape gathered the salve in his hand and started gently applying the salve, not wanting to cause any more pain than necessary.

Harry didn’t like the contact. He stood there with his hands braced on the table in front of him, waiting for Snape to be done. If it wasn’t for the stomach soother he would’ve felt nauseous. Although he knew Snape wouldn’t hurt him the contact to his bare skin reminded him too much of memories he tried not to think about. Soon enough though Snape was tapping his shoulder to get him to turn around. He took a deep breath before complying.

Snape noted the pale look of the boy’s face and his worry grew. “Are you alright?” This was not a question he ever imagined asking the Potter spawn, but here he was, asking it anyway.

Harry looked up at the question, swallowing hard and nodding. “Can we just finish this?” He reached to take the jar of salve from Snape’s hand, wanting to do the rest himself.

Snape let him take the jar but not before he took an amount of salve that would allow him to instruct Harry on how to apply it before letting him do the rest. Harry watched as Snape instructed him the proper application and then Snape watched to make sure the boy did it correctly. He reluctantly let Snape help him with the hand marks on his neck since he couldn’t see those himself. Lastly, Harry set the jar down and shimmied his trousers slightly down his hips, revealing the full hand marks at his sides before setting the jar down again and reaching for his shirt.

Snape held out a hand to halt his movements. “Don’t put that on yet. The salve needs to soak in and will dye your shirt. I’ll get you a towel.” He said before waving his wand to summon a large towel from who knows where and laying it across the boy’s shoulders. He also transfigured the table back into a chair and motioned for Harry to sit. He himself sat in front of Harry.

“Who did this to you?”