Harry slept on the couch that night. He refused to go into his room; he wouldn’t even go in to grab his pajamas before bed. Severus, looking as if he might kick himself, had gone to get them himself. His father had tried to talk more about the subject of his ‘room’, but Harry didn’t want to even think about it. All throughout the rest of the evening, if for some reason Harry needed something out of his room, Severus would have to go and get it. At one point, he had tried to go inside to go to the bathroom, but couldn’t even step onto the threshold without a shiver of dread running down his spine and an intense feeling of nausea would hit him. He used the one in Severus’ rooms instead.

It was very late, probably close to three in the morning, but Harry couldn’t sleep a wink. The couch was comfortable, but it wasn’t his bed. Too bad he was too scared to even step foot in his room, or he’d go and lie down there. It also didn’t help that he kept hearing his father walking down the hallway, presumably to check on him. At least he wasn’t getting a good night’s sleep either. But, he hadn’t heard his father in a while and assumed he’d finally fallen asleep, something Harry couldn’t seem to do at the moment. Deliverance was dying, right upstairs, and he wasn’t allowed to go and visit her. It was eating away at him and causing another symptom for his insomnia.

For the past two hours Harry had been thinking about going up and seeing her. He didn’t understand why his father wouldn’t allow him this one simple thing. She might look bad, but it couldn’t be so bad that he wouldn’t want to see her. Harry knew he’d never be able to forgive himself if he didn’t go and see her one last time before she passed on. And what if she was in pain? She should at least have someone there to hold her hand, even if she wasn’t awake. She was in a coma-like state, Severus had told him, but she might still be able to realize that someone was there. And neither of the people who cared about her was sitting with her. He wouldn’t let her die thinking no one was with her, that no one cared. That would be a horrible thing, to die alone. Something Harry feared himself.

Now that he no longer heard his father creeping around he deemed it safe to try to sneak out of their chambers. He felt mixed emotions about doing this, especially after the way Severus had treated him earlier. He was directly disobeying one of Severus’ rules, but honestly, if the man didn’t think he’d do this, he was deluding himself. And Harry didn’t really consider this breaking a rule. He considered this a matter of the heart. All other things didn’t apply.

With his mind firmly made up, Harry quickly got up from the couch and pulled a night robe over his pajamas. He wasn’t about to go into his room to get dressed, for fear of waking up his father, and for fear of the room itself. He couldn’t even get his invisibility cloak, but he’d just have to do without. He was going to do this, no matter what. He stood at the portrait, waiting silently and listening for any movement from the back of their home, where Severus’ rooms were located. As no such noises were forthcoming, Harry quickly opened the portrait and slipped outside.

He made it to the Infirmary with little to no interference. He’d spotted Filch’s cat, Mrs. Norris, but was able to get around her. After that it had been clear sailing, until he got to the Infirmary doors. Now he was just nervous and anxious about his ‘grandmother’s’ appearance. After a moment’s hesitation, Harry finally forced himself to just open the doors and walk inside. He didn’t see anyone at first. All of the other beds were empty and there was no sign of Madame Pomfrey. For one brief moment, he thought it was too late, that Deliverance had already passed away and he never got the chance to say goodbye. But then he noticed a bed at the far end that had the curtains pulled around it. He hurriedly, but quietly, made his way down the center of the large room, passing the other empty beds as he went.

The curtain was blowing gently towards the bottom at the floor. He stood and watched it as if in a trance before slowly placing his hand on the curtain and drawing it back. It was worse than he’d imagined. He never even realized a person could look this horrible. It made him sick to his stomach and he nearly gave up the light snack he’d had before Severus had barged into the room. He had to step out from her cubicle of space and take a deep breath.

How could they leave her looking like this? Wasn’t Madame Pomfrey doing anything for her? There was blood on her face that had dried, why hadn’t anyone washed her face?

His thoughts drifted as he somehow felt as if he could smell what was attacking her system. And there was so much blood seeping out of her it was unimaginable. It was coming out of her eyes, her nose, her mouth, and even her ears. And as he walked back into the room, he was certain of it, there was a scent coming from her…but he couldn’t determine what it was, only that it was what made him feel ill. It took him longer than he would like to admit to actually walk up to her bedside. He wanted to touch her, but was afraid to. He felt an insane fear that she might fall apart if he did.

He reached out his hand and gently placed it over one of her own, both of which were crossed over her chest. He was decidedly annoyed at the way she had been positioned, as if she was already dead and in the coffin. More for something to do with his hands, he shifted her arms so they were lying parallel to her body at her sides. Grabbing a towel off of the bedside table and quickly wetting it, he gingerly dabbed at her face, trying to wash all of the blood away. However, as soon as he wiped it away, more blood came seeping out to replace it. It was a futile act and his anger at her unkempt appearance when he’d first entered diminished as he realized there really was nothing they could do for her. From the wastebasket in the corner he realized that Madame Pomfrey had come in, probably on a schedule, to clean her up if the wastebasket full of bloodied towels was any indication. His towel soon joined the others.

Taking the seat beside the bed, he retook Deliverance’s hand.

“I’m sorry, Del,” he whispered. Here was one person he couldn’t save. He hadn’t been there, just like he’d feared would happen. He had told Fred he wouldn’t always be there to save everyone; he just hadn’t realized the effect of that would happen so soon. If only she’s stayed here, with Severus and him, maybe he could have somehow prevented this from ever happening.

“I wish this never would have happened to you. You didn’t deserve this,” he said. “I’ve missed you ever since you left. So has Severus. I think he misses bickering with you the most. He can’t really do that with me, I don’t guess. At least, I miss hearing the two of you bickering, it was rather amusing at times,” he knew he was rambling, but hoped if she could only hear his voice, she’d realize he was there with her.

“Severus didn’t want me to talk to you. He didn’t want me to even see you. It was a shock, I’ve got to admit, seeing you for the first time. I never realized a curse could do to someone what this curse is doing to you,” he clung tighter to her hand, twisting his other hand into the blanket covering her. “And this is probably the last time I’m ever going to talk to you,” his voice hitched, despite his efforts to stop it. “Why did they have to go after you?”

He wasn’t so deluded to believe they wouldn’t have gone after her had she never met him. She was related to Severus and just so happened to live on the island that hid the Orb Voldemort had been so set on finding. The Orb they had destroyed. The odds were that Voldemort would have gone after the people living on the island just for spite.

As he sat and held Deliverance’s cooling hand he noticed the blood wasn’t flowing as freely as before, in fact, it was slowing. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. There was a moment when he very morbidly thought she might have run out of blood. After a few minutes where it felt as if his heart was pumping abnormally fast, he remembered that she was on blood replenishing potions, and therefore he was panicking for no reason whatsoever.

His heart rate was slow to stop its speedy pace, but it soon returned to normal and he reclaimed Deliverance’s hand. Leaning forward in his seat, he unthinkingly laid his head down on her stomach, careful not to jostle her in any way. “You can’t die,” he whispered. “It’s not your time. You’ve lived for so long, how can you be taken from us now? I didn’t even get to spend hardly any time with you, to get to know you better. I thought we’d all have more time,” he said slowly.

He grabbed another towel off the bedside table to wash her face with. This time, her face stayed clean. She looked like the woman he had gotten to know over the summer. As he looked into her peaceful face, he realized how fond of her he was. It was a startling revelation, somehow.

“I think I love you,” he told her, grasping her hand so hard it almost hurt. “You’re the grandmother I never had. And I always wanted one, along with a family. You and Severus are all I have, family-wise, I mean. I can’t lose you.”

Harry felt something forming in his chest, something powerful. It felt like it sometimes did when he was focusing on his wandless magic to perform the more difficult magic while he had been training with Dumbledore. Only this felt ten times stronger than his most powerful wandless spell. Ideas began to blossom in his mind, but could he do it? Was he powerful enough to do what even Madame Pomfrey and Severus Snape couldn’t do with their medical experience and position expertise? Could he undo a deadly curse placed by one of Voldemort’s top followers? There was only one way to find out.

“Please let this work,” he mumbled, standing and taking hold of both of her hands. He briefly worried that he might make things worse rather than better, but really, how could she get any worse? She was dying. He had to at least try. “Here goes nothing.”

Concentrating on all the training Dumbledore had ever given him, he focused on the foundation of his power. His heart, his ability to love unconditionally seemed to be the root to his power and he honed in on that ability. The feeling in his chest simultaneously amplified as he focused on this and with sheer determination alone, he willed Deliverance, his grandmother, to be well again. The pulsing power coming from within him suddenly exploded and enveloped the two of them in a deep white light. The light momentarily blinded Harry, it was so bright.

Harry watched entranced as the woman’s skin turned from a sickly white to rosy in a matter of seconds. Harry’s heart skipped a beat. It had worked! He took a step forward to get a better look and was startled as his legs buckled and he collapsed onto the floor in a boneless heap. His mind was suddenly foggy and any attempts to get back up proved futile. Suddenly scared, Harry hoped he hadn’t done something wrong. He’d been tired after training with the Headmaster, but this was worse by spades. Any thoughts to his predicament flew out the window as the world around him quickly faded to black.

…………………………..

“What the hell is this thing?” asked a voice that Harry knew was familiar, but he couldn’t process who it belonged to. His head felt about ready to explode causing a horrible case of nausea. If he moved, he wouldn’t be able to contain whatever rose from his stomach and projected out of his mouth.

“I can’t get it down!” yelled a distinctly female voice.

“It won’t come down, you imbecile!” Now, why did that sound so familiar? “We must get to him.”

He heard three different voices continue to argue as he attempted to force himself back into the reality of what was happening around him. Slowly moving his head, in an effort not to upset him stomach any further, Harry glanced around the room carefully. He was still in the Infirmary, still in Deliverance’s curtained-off room, and still lying prone on the floor. Looking up he saw an arm dangling off the side of the bed above him. His breath momentarily caught in his throat. The arm looked much too pale.

It didn’t work, he thought. I failed. He could feel tears forming in his eyes and tried desperately to blink them away. As his body became more and more under his control, Harry tried futilely to get up. He had to check for himself. How could he have thought his love for her could heal her? What if his actions had caused her to pass on too soon? What if Madame Pomfrey could have done more for her than he ever could have?

A single tear flowed freely down his cheek before he weakly reached up and wiped it away.

“Oh my god.” Harry’s forced his neck to move in the direction the voice was coming from. He could see Madame Pomfrey, Albus Dumbledore, and Severus Snape all standing with the curtained shoved aside, but unable to enter any further.

They all had a gobsmacked expression on their faces and Harry was beginning to wonder what exactly it was they were so enthralled by.

“What did you do, Harry?” asked Severus, causing Harry to cringe.

“I didn’t mean to,” Harry said instantly, his voice cracking as he imagined how horrible Deliverance must look now. Looking up he was caught completely off guard. The hand that had been lying prone against the bedside was now extended right in front of him, as if asking if he needed help.

“Need a hand, Harry?” asked Deliverance, leaning over the bed and offering him her hand.

Harry’s mouth opened and shut a few times before he was able to process what he was seeing right in front of his very eyes. “Del!” he exclaimed, allowing her to drag him up from the floor. She was surprisingly strong for being in the condition she had been in earlier.

“It…it worked!” he thought aloud, finally on his feet and able to give her a hug. “I thought for sure that it hadn’t.” He carefully looked her up and down, surprised to see how well she looked. It was as if she hadn’t ever been cursed and near death.

“I don’t know what it was that ‘worked’, but I’m glad it did. I feel absolutely wonderful,” she told Harry. “What did you do?”

“It’s kind of difficult to explain,” he said distractedly, his eyes now on all the people standing on the other side of the curtain. He looked around and realized that the room was still pulsating with whatever had leapt from his body as he was healing Deliverance. It wasn’t allowing the others to enter, something Harry couldn’t understand. He could only assume they might have interfered with the magic he was expelling and the magic itself kept them from entering.

“Are you alright, Harry?” asked Severus, stepping closer to the boundary between them.

“Yes, I’m fine,” he said, taking a precautionary step towards the still flowing magic engulfing the makeshift room. It almost reminded Harry of electricity, white electricity, flowing around them. Expecting to be shocked or otherwise hurt, Harry lightly ran his hand along the light. It instantly dissipated. Severus was the first to enter the room, practically shoving past the other two in his haste.

He put an arm around Harry, nearly staggering the weakened boy, as he moved towards the bed containing his cousin. “You’re well,” he stated, clearly astounded by the sight before him. Harry gently pushed the arm off his shoulder and moved into the seat beside the bed. He was utterly exhausted still, but didn’t feel as if he’d pass out right on the floor as before.

Madame Pomfrey came bustling into the room, all business, and began doing all sorts of elaborate wand movements as she assessed her patient. She was clearly shocked to discover the woman was healed without any traces of what ailed her previously. “What happened?” she asked, looking directly at Harry.

“I believe our young Mr. Potter was able to access another part of his powers today,” said Dumbledore with an air of mystery. Harry rolled his eyes.

“I just wanted her to be okay again,” he told them, eyes lowered. “I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I thought really hard on it, and it just happened, I think.”

Severus nodded his head. It was quite likely that Harry had done exactly that. It was amazing what the boy could do with his enhanced magic. Something none of the others in the room could even fathom doing themselves.

“Well done, Harry,” Dumbledore was watching him with something akin to pride in his eyes. “I’m almost sure we’ll no longer have to have those training sessions any longer. If you can accomplish this, you can accomplish anything. I’m not sure I could teach you anything further. You’re beyond even me at this point.”

Harry gaped, as did his father. Madame Pomfrey seemed to have toned the three of them out completely, focused solely on her patient as she was.

“I think I’ll just go back to our chambers if that’s alright?” asked Harry, standing from the hospital chair.

“That sounds like a fine idea to me, Potter. But, perhaps you should rest here for the time being? You were unconscious when we came upon you,” insisted Madame Pomfrey, but thankfully, Severus stepped in.

“That won’t be necessary, Poppy. I’m sure Harry would be more comfortable in his own room and away from your infernal fussing,” he said, but his light tone helped soothe Pomfrey’s nerves at his last remark. “And, I’m quite capable of taking care of my own son.”

“I’m sure you are, Severus,” she said hotly, walking out the room.

Harry, after hugging Deliverance, walked back down to their chambers with his father’s assistance. Despite what his father had told Madame Pomfrey, he almost would have preferred to stay there. He had no intention of stepping foot into his own bedroom. And no one would make him do otherwise, either. He tensed as they closed in on the Portrait that would allow them entrance into Severus’ and his quarters.

As if feeling his son’s tension, Severus began rubbing Harry’s back as the two walked inside and the portrait slammed closed behind them. “On the couch, I presume?” he asked, a tinge of regret entering his voice.

“Yes, please,” answered Harry softly. He felt awful after seeing the look on his father’s face. He knew the man felt terrible about what he’d done to him, but he couldn’t go in that room yet. He’d panic for sure.

“Do you need anything?” he asked, indicating the kitchen.

“Maybe some iced pumpkin juice,” His stomach still felt queasy and he didn’t think it would be safe to risk any other kind of beverage. Pumpkin juice had always had a soothing effect on him.

Severus reappeared a few minutes later with a glass of juice and in the other he held a goblet filled with something smelling extremely foul.

“Drink this first,” he instructed. Harry quickly gulped down the bright green liquid and immediately felt his stomach settle down.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Here’s your juice,”

Harry took a sip from the glass before setting it on the table set before him. Severus had wandered off into his office a short time after they’d been back. Harry kind of thought the man was avoiding him a bit after the incident in his bedroom. Although, it probably didn’t help that every time the man was in the room, Harry would go out of his way to get on the opposite side that Severus was on. It was a natural response to what had happened just last night, he still hadn’t regained his trust in his father, and thereby refused to let the man hurt him in that way again. Yes, he knew he was being irrational. Severus wouldn’t do that again. Harry could tell strictly from the look on his face every time he shied away from him.

Soon, Harry’s eyes began to drift close. He was so tired after not sleeping hardly at all the previous night and combined with healing Deliverance, he was completely worn out.

What seemed like only minutes later, a hand was lightly shaking his shoulder, urging him to wake. “No, go away,” he mumbled, pushing half-heartedly at the annoying hand.

A soft sigh accompanied another gentle shake and Harry groaned loudly. “Go away,” he pleaded and rolled over, facing the back of the couch.

“Get up, HARRY!” yelled a voice Harry hadn’t heard in a while.

Immediately springing up from the couch, Harry looked up into the smiling face of his godfather. Harry’s face split into a brilliant smile.

“Sirius!” he flung his arms around the older man. “I’ve missed you!”

“We missed you too,”

Harry glanced up. “We?”

“I’m here too, you know,” came a voice from behind him. “Hey kid.”

“Remus!” Harry turned awkwardly from his seated position to half hug his old Professor from behind. “What are you two doing here?”

“We heard what happened to Severus’ cousin. We knew you cared a lot about her and wanted to make sure you were alright,” he told the boy. Sirius glanced at the dark man standing across the room with a bit of concern. “You too, Snape.”

Harry hardly believed that. The two men still weren’t on the best of terms and Harry wondered if his father would break out with a nasty retort. But, surprisingly, the man seemed more subdued than he normally was with these two around. By the look on Sirius’ face, he was confused by the man’s lack of response as well.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, sitting down beside Harry on the couch.

Harry briefly caught eyes with his father. “Everything’s fine,” he tried to convince them.

Sirius snorted. “Why don’t I believe that. The two of you are sitting here acting like someone died…” he paused, looking frantically at the two of them. Remus slapped him upside the head.

“Deliverance?” asked Remus, taking a step towards Severus, who still remained standing in the shadows at the edge of the room.

“She absolutely fine. In fact, she’s recovered,” he told them stoically.

Now Harry was worried about his father’s behavior. “Are you okay?” he asked, suddenly reminded of the previous night.

Severus, as if sensing his son’s thoughts, locked eyes with the boy and smiled gently. “I’m fine. I’m just preoccupied. Why don’t the three of you get reacquainted while I fix up another batch of potions Madame Pomfrey has been nagging at me to do for her?”

Harry nodded slowly. “You don’t want to stay?”

“No, I’d rather not,” he said, shooting Sirius and Remus a strange look.

The door to Severus’ laboratory closed with an almost silent ‘clink.’

“Harry?”

Remus and Sirius both looked concerned. “Did something else happen?”

Grimacing, Harry unconsciously looked at his bedroom and shivered with dread.

“Harry?” asked Sirius, looking alarmed now. He was looking at the bedroom and back at his godson with a look of extreme concern etched onto his face.

“Did the two of you fight?” asked Remus, having not seen the exchange between godfather and godson.

Harry shook his head. “It wasn’t really like that,” he hedged, not knowing if Severus would want him to reveal their private lives to Remus and Sirius, even though he felt as if he should. It would be nice to have someone to talk to. The entire incident was still gnawing at him.

“Then what was it like?” asked Sirius.

Looking as anxious as either had ever seen him, Harry pulled his legs up to his chest and dragged in a ragged breath. He really wasn’t too certain how they would react to what he was about to tell them, but he had to talk to someone. It was eating him up inside. “I…this is going to sound incredibly stupid,” he told them, wondering if the two even knew of his fears and issues with claustrophobia. He was almost positive they didn’t know about the cupboard under the stairs, the root to his problems.

“You let us be the judge of that. Now, what happened?” asked Remus, reasonably. “If it’s upset you this much, I highly doubt we’ll consider it stupid, no matter what it was.”

Harry nodded, relaxing slightly. They would understand if he just explained it right. “Well, he locked me in my room,” he said bluntly.

“What?” asked Sirius. Harry failed to notice the look of rage slowly capturing his godfather’s face.

“I can’t stand enclosed spaces,” he told them quickly, thinking they wouldn’t understand. “It’s because of my cupboard, really, and ever since then I can’t stand to be closed in like that. And when he just locked the door, knowing it would terrify me, I completely lost it,” he said quickly, his words all almost mumbled together in his haste to make them comprehend.

Sirius was beyond words, as Harry could ascertain from the opening and closing of his mouth, but no words were coming from him. Remus looked genuinely upset on Harry’s behalf.

“Alright, first of all, what’s this about a cupboard?” asked Sirius, finally finding his voice. He kept looking at the laboratory door, where Severus was brewing his potions, looking for all the world as if he would break the door down and murder the person within.

Harry sighed shakily. He could do this, he could tell them about his childhood. It was just a small portion of his childhood. “My cupboard…it’s where I lived for the first ten years I stayed with them.”

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t such a small portion.

“What?” asked Sirius and Remus simultaneously.

Harry clenched and unclenched his fists sporadically, his unease making him a bundle of nerves. “It’s where I used to sleep,” he further informed them.

The two men looked stricken. “How could they…how dare they.”

Seeing the identical looks directed at him, Harry felt his face burn in embarrassment and shame. “It wasn’t all that bad,” he whispered.

“I’m assuming you had some kind of anxiety attack when you were locked in your room, am I right?” asked Remus, trying to remain calm and collected.

“I guess so.”

“And yet you say it wasn’t all that bad? How could it not be bad when your automatic reaction to being locked inside your own bedroom is to panic?” asked Sirius, beginning to pace the room. Harry noticed that he kept getting progressively closer to Severus’ laboratory door.

“That’s not really what I meant,” said Harry, angrily. I’m just trying to downplay it.

“Harry, no one has the right to treat you like that, especially Snape. He’s your guardian, for crying out loud! He adopted you, and this is the type of person I’ve let take care of you?” asked Sirius, his voice rising.

“It’s not like that!” bellowed Harry. “It was an accident!”

Harry realized he should have told them that from the start, but had been too overwhelmed with the entire bizarre situation to even think on it.

“An accident?” Both men looked disbelieving and were giving Harry bewildered looks. “You don’t really think he could ‘accidentally’ lock you in your room, do you Harry? Honestly, someone would have to knowingly lock your door, whether magically or manually. That’s not an accident,” said Remus.

Harry groaned. What had he gotten himself into? “Look, he’d just found out about his cousin, Del, okay? He wasn’t thinking clearly. You should have just seen his face. I could tell he didn’t mean anything by it,” he grumbled. This wasn’t what he’d wanted to talk about. He’d wanted to discuss his fear of confinement, not argue with Sirius and Remus about Severus. If only he’d explained in the beginning that it had been an accident. He truly believed that’s all it was, an accident. But, it had really shaken him up. All he wanted was someone to talk to. And he couldn’t talk to his father, not right now, when the both of them were going out of their way to avoid the other for fear of…something…rejection? Was that what he was afraid of?

What if his father sent him away for fear of doing something, inadvertently mind you, to his son? He recalled the look on Severus’ face just before he’d retired into his lab. The man had looked resigned, as if he knew he couldn’t give to Harry what his godfather could. But, that was ridiculous! Everything was so confusing right now and on top of it all, his godfather and Professor Lupin were beginning to think Severus had done it all on purpose. Bullocks!

“Severus Snape has been known for easily losing his temper. You know it, you’ve been on the receiving end of that temper many times in classes. I can’t imagine he would be any nicer behind closed doors. If anything, I’d believe he’d be worse!” exclaimed Sirius, now looking at Harry determinedly.

Harry noticed with a twinge of apprehension the look shared between Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. He didn’t like what he saw pass between them. Remus nodded, giving his consent to whatever notion Sirius had in his mind, and then Sirius turned and looked at Harry gravely.

“I don’t think it is safe for you to stay here any longer. As your godfather, if I fear for your safety, I can pull you from Snape’s care,” he said.

Harry couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Shaking his head, he stepped back, away from them. “No, you can’t. I told you, it was an accident. He didn’t mean it.”

Sirius sighed. “Harry, you have a tendency to completely brush aside a persons abuse of you. You claim it never happened or you believe them when they say it will never happen again. I’m sorry, but I can’t just leave you with him, especially with the mindset that you are in.”

Harry growled. “What mindset?”

“When Professor Dillard was still a teacher here, you never even told us he had hurt you. We had to find out from Snape jumping the teacher’s table that you were being abused. I don’t know what goes through your head when this sort of thing is happening to you, but whatever it is, you never speak up. I’m honestly surprised you said something tonight, but the fact that you’re proclaiming it to be an accident tells me you’re in some kind of denial. Please, just go pack your things. I’ll have a word with Severus.” Remus spoke softly and comfortingly, but all Harry felt inside was absolute panic.

He quickly brushed past Sirius, who was standing in between him and the door to Severus, and burst through it before either could stop him.

“Dad!” he yelled, rushing into his arms. “They’re trying to take me from you!”

Harry was clinging so hard to his father that he didn’t see the look that was on his face. If he had, he would have broke down for sure. “Harry,” he said gently, prying the boy off. “I think it might be in your best interest to go with them,” he said haltingly. He had heard the entire conversation beyond his door. Although he was angry, he couldn’t deny they were telling the truth. He had hurt his son.

“You’re lying. I can tell you don’t think that. They can’t make me leave, none of you can. I’m your son now. Just tell them! Tell them it was an accident!” he begged, grasping his father’s hands in his own and squeezing tight.

Severus shook his head. “No, I hurt you last night. I knew what was going on, but I blocked you out. I made you re-live one of your worst nightmares. It can’t happen again, Harry,” he said, determination entering his voice as he gently pulled his hands out of Harry’s. “You’ll be better off without me. You’ll be better off with your godfather than with me”

At this point, Harry was angry! They couldn’t just decide his fate without consulting him! Didn’t he have a say in all this? And why was his father just backing down like this? Did he honestly believe he’d hurt him again? In his anger, Harry pushed Severus, hard. “I can’t believe you!” he yelled, shoving him again. Severus, surprisingly, did nothing to stop him. “What do you know? I won’t be better off without you! I need you, you great prat!” he emphasized his words with another shove to his father’s chest.

Gently, Snape grasped Harry’s wrists and held them still. “You may not believe me now, but I’m doing this for you,” he said quietly. Turning to Sirius and Remus, he instructed them. “Take him.”

As his wrists were set free, Harry felt an arm wrap around his shoulders and steer him towards the door. He was too shocked to even protest. He doesn’t want me. He had wondered before if Severus truly wanted him in his life, and obviously, he didn’t. Was this just a convenient way to get rid of him? The three of them were out in the corridor heading out of the dungeons before he finally came back to himself. He wouldn’t fight this, not if Severus truly didn’t want him. He could handle this, he could.

“Where am I going to go now?” he asked. From Snape’s words, he assumed Sirius or Remus would take him. Sirius was still in hiding, and he couldn’t imagine Dumbledore allowing that.

“I’m not sure yet, Harry, but we’ll figure out something safe,” Remus tried to reassure. His words had the opposite effect, however.

“You’re not sure? Can’t I stay with one of you?” he asked, desperate. Where would they put him?

“Harry, you know you can’t. I’m still a fugitive. And, you won’t be able to stay with Remus either, he’s a werewolf, the Ministry wouldn’t allow it. But, don’t worry, we’ll come up with something suitable for you,” said Sirius, his arm still wrapped around his godson’s shoulders.

Harry’s small frame was tensed with worry and fear for his future. Suddenly, he was completely and utterly without a family and without a home. He had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. He wished now that he had never opened his mouth to Sirius and Remus, then none of this would have happened! What had he done? He had ruined the one good thing he’d had. And he was still angry. Mostly at Remus and Sirius, they had been the ones who felt it necessary to remove him from his home. He loved them, but he felt as if they’d betrayed him somehow.

Never had he felt so alone. Before, he’d at least had a place to stay, even with the Dursley’s. Granted, it hadn’t been much of a place to stay, considering who he lived with, but it was something. Now, he had nothing.

“What about the Weasley’s?” he asked, dreading the answer.

“I’m sorry, Harry. I know how much you would love to stay with them, but for the time being, they don’t even have a home. It’s still being reconstructed. I’m sure it would be finished by the time school is let out, but there would still be the matter of safety. I just don’t think it’s a very good idea.” Remus let him down as gently as he could, but it still felt like a punch in the gut to Harry. It was his fault they no longer had a home to stay in. Everyone would always be in danger because of him.

“Go on up to your dormitory, Harry. It won’t be a real problem until summer holiday, so don’t worry over it. We’ll find someplace for you, even if you have to stay at the school all year long,” said Sirius. Harry thought he was trying to be humorous with his last statement, but it really wasn’t. Harry no longer had a home. It had been ripped away from him all in one night, along with any chance he’d ever had at happiness. He didn’t think he’d ever be happy again.

……………………………………..

Harry didn’t go to his dormitory. Instead, he walked aimlessly through the seemingly endless corridors of the castle. His mind was buried so deep in dark thoughts; he didn’t even know which part of the castle he was in. And he didn’t care, either. How could they do this to him? All he ever wanted was a family, someone to love him and who he loved in return. Severus Snape had been that someone. He’d had a father, if only for a short time. Why didn’t anyone want him? Was he really that bad that no one could stand to have him in their presence for more than a few months before they grew disgusted with him? What’s wrong with me?

Of their own accord, his feet led him towards two large doors that seemed to beckon him from further down the hallway. As the door swung open, Harry’s deadened tread walked across the room and stopped dead at the bed halfway down.

“Harry?” asked a voice from somewhere in front of him. He felt as if he couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe.

“Deliverance?” he whispered, his voice full of longing. Please don’t hate me, too!

Two hands were suddenly wrapped tightly around his arms and he was dragged forward and pulled into an equally tight embrace. “Harry, what is it, child?” she asked, running her hand down his head in a soothing manner.

“He doesn’t want me!” he choked out, gasping in deep breaths, nearly breathless with the agony that was trying to eat him from the inside.

“What?” Deliverance pushed Harry back in order to look in his eyes. “What’s happened?” she asked as she saw the despair shining in the boy’s overly bright eyes.

“Sev--Severus, he doesn’t want me anymore. They’re going to put me with someone else! I don’t know what to do,” he tried to explain. “God, it’s all my fault!”

Deliverance shook the boy. “Harry, please, you’re making no sense. Tell me, child, what the hell is going on? Severus loves you! He’d never let anyone take you away from him.”

Harry shook his head, almost violently. “No! You don’t understand. He, he thinks he’ll hurt me again…but he’s giving me away! Why would he do that unless he doesn’t want me anymore? I know he’d never do it again, but he doesn’t even want to try! He just let my godfather and Professor Lupin take me. He told them to take me!” he yelled, nearly hysterical by this point.

“What do you mean? He hurt you? When?” she asked, trying to process all that was flying out of the boy’s mouth. If her cousin had hurt this child, so help her, Severus would regret it.

“It was an accident!” he said, putting emphasis on the word ‘accident.’ He refused to let Deliverance, Snape’s own cousin, believe he had hurt him. She’d never forgive him. He quickly explained what had happened the night Deliverance had been attacked on the Island, and the subsequent arrival of Severus at his home.

Deliverance gasped loudly when Harry told of his own reaction to being locked in his room and what triggered Severus opening the door. “I can’t believe I called him ‘daddy,’” he said sheepishly. “I felt like I was five years old again, and Uncle Vernon was locking me away in the cupboard for some imagined offense. I know now I never really did anything that would result in that kind of punishment. My Uncle was just a sadist who enjoyed causing me pain and fear, but at the time, I thought I had done something horribly wrong. I felt the same way last night when he locked me away.”

“It sounds to me as if you regressed at that point, and you called out the first thing that came to your mind. The one person who made you feel safe was your father. It’s really no surprise you referred to him as ‘daddy’, you were frightened and confused,” she said wisely. In a way, it did make sense.

“But, I’m still very upset with this whole situation. Please excuse me, Harry, but your Sirius Black and Remus Lupin had no right taking you away from him. And Severus Snape is an utter idiot for letting them. I do believe they were trying to do what was in the best interest for you, but they’ve gone completely off the deep end in their reasoning,” she paused, taking Harry’s hand and looking deep into his troubled eyes. “I believe they’ve made it almost impossible for you, haven’t they?”

Harry sighed and let himself be pulled into another tender embrace. He wasn’t entirely sure what she meant, but it seemed true nonetheless. “I felt so alone,” he said sadly and immediately the arms around him tightened.

“You’re not alone, Harry. Never alone,” she whispered in his ear. “I’m here now, and we’ll sort this mess out, mark my words.”