Harry woke that night around 2 a.m., screaming out into the darkness of the hospital wing. In Pomfrey's  personal quarters, a small bubble started pulsing silver and emitting a loud beeping noise, alerting her to Harry's distress. In the matter of only a few minutes, she had gotten herself to his bedside, turned up the lights, and calmed his frantic tears. When he was finally calm enough to be left alone for a few minutes, she left the room and prepared a bottle of warm milk mixed with a small dose of sleeping potion. When she got back to the room, she fed the mixture to Harry and stayed by his side until he was sound asleep.

Harry slept late the next morning, not waking until 10:00 a.m. Ron and Hermione had gotten the morning off from their classes and had been informed of the circumstances surrounding Harry's medical treatment. As they waited to see him, they sat on one of the empty beds in the main room of the infirmary, nervously avoiding talking about any subject that might be Harry-related. They had been called into Dumbledore's office the previous evening and informed of what was going on, but they had not, as of yet, been able to let it sink in...they just could not wrap their minds around the idea that they would never have their friend back, at least not the way they both remembered him to be.

They were both startled from their thoughts when Madam Pomfrey swept over to where they sat and ushered them into the small room in the back. As they stepped in, they walked cautiously up to the right side of the bed and watched as Mrs. Weasley spooned food into Harry's mouth. Ron was the first to break the silence.

"Mom, I didn't know you were here! You knew where Harry was this whole time and didn't tell me? You knew how worried me and Hermione were." Ron just stared at his mother in disbelief as she put the spoon down into the small plastic bowl she was holding and turned in her seat to give Ron a disapproving look.

"You'll just have to trust me, Ron, that everything that was done concerning Harry was done that way for a reason. Besides, you didn't need to see him in the condition he was in before." She left her answer at that, with a finality in her tone of voice that banked no arguments. Ron knew better than to push his mother on the issue any further and turned his attention to his raven-haired friend.

"Hey there, Harry. It's me...Ron." He began, casting his eyes to Hermione in a silent plea for help. He simply did not know what to say or how to act towards Harry now that things had changed between them.

"We've really missed you, Harry." Hermione started, "we're so glad you made it back to us. Don't worry, Ron and I will be there for you every step of the way during your recovery."

"That's right, mate." Ron added himself into the conversation, his nervousness melting away as he looked at his friend laying there safe and whole. "We can teach you loads of stuff! And just wait until you're finally able to start walking around again, we'll show you around Hogwarts and help you find all of the cool shortcuts and secret passages. You might even get to fly on your broom again. You always did like to fly."

Ron and Hermione smiled at Harry who returned their looks with a small smile of his own. He liked these people: they were funny and they smiled at him a lot. They made him feel good inside.

Molly left after a few minutes to give the friends some privacy, and Ron and Hermione continued to gab away at Harry until lunchtime, when they had to leave. As they said goodbye and headed to the door, Harry looked around at the room and realized that once these people left, he would be all alone. He hated being alone; it scared him so badly to even think about it. He tried to think of some way to make them stay and before he knew what he was doing, he had called out to them.

"Guh!"

The two friends jumped in surprise at the small sudden shout they had heard and they quickly hurried back to the side of the bed.

"Harry," Hermione exclaimed, "Did you just talk to us?"

She paused as if expecting an answer, and after several minutes of silence, they had both about given up the hope of getting a responce, when Harry opened his mouth some and made a small noise that sounded a lot like a grunt.

"Did you hear that ‘Mione? He's trying to talk to us!"

The broad smiles on their faces made Harry work even harder to please them and he made the same grunting sound again, only louder this time. The looks he was receiving made Harry so happy that he smiled from ear to ear and even giggled a bit.

"We just have to show this to your mother, Ron. She would absolutely flip to see him trying to talk already!"

Ron ran out the door and returned moments later, dragging his mother behind him by her arm.

"Ronald Weasley," She fussed at him, "Let me go this instant! What was so important that it couldn't wait until I had finished my lunch?"

He was about to answer her, but was interrupted by another giggle of quiet laughter, followed by a rather loud grunt sound and even more laughing. Mrs. Weasley turned to look at the cause of the noise and then rushed to Harry's bedside.

At first, she could only stare down on him in mild surprise, before smiling broadly. "You have no idea how happy it makes me to see you smiling so much," she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him in a motherly hug.

A few minutes later, they finally left; Molly going back to her lunch, the teens heading to the Great Hall for a quick bite before their next class. Pomfrey made her way into the room shortly afterwards, carrying a tray with several different potions on it. She set the tray on the nightstand and proceeded to measure out his required doses. She put them through the feeding tube followed by another nutrient mix. She had just began cleaning up when Snape came sweeping into the room, cloak billowing behind him as usual.

"How is Mr. Potter faring today? Have your scans shown any improvement to the nerve damage now that I've altered the potion?"

"He's doing better today; and the latest scan has shown a definite improvement in the nerve damage. I expect him to heal quickly enough that he might be able to start physical therapy soon, might even be able to try walking within the next month or two."

Snape said nothing in reply; he merely nodded his head once in consent. As he stepped up to the bed, he noticed Harry smiling up at him and he quickly turned his gaze back to Madam Pomfrey. He watched her run a few more scans and he was going to inquire on what the latest finding were, but Dumbledore rushed into the room at that very moment with a very grave look upon his face.

"Poppy, I need to speak with you in your office, please." He held the door open for her as she left and Snape realized he was alone in the room with the one child in the whole school who he could tolerate the least...well, besides Mr. Longbottom that is. He sneered down at the boy, but Harry continued to look around the room smiling softly, his gaze locking with Snape's every few seconds. Moments later, Poppy hurried into the room, handed Snape several parchments and told him the Headmaster would explain everything, and then she left just as quickly as she had come.

Snape stared down at the parchments in his hands and, as he flipped through them, he noticed that one sheet was a schedule of sorts, while the others were a set of instructions. He allowed a momentary look of confusion to cross his face before it changed to a look of anger.

"Albus!" He called out, knowing the headmaster would most likely be sitting just outside the door waiting for this exact reaction. Sure enough, the man entered and made his way to one of the chairs. He sat and gestured for the Potions Master to join him. Snape reluctantly sat, the anger he was feeling preventing him from relaxing, and he thrust his hand forward, waving the parchments once in front of Dumbledore's face. And in a restrained voice he said "Explain this."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled madly and Snape knew then that he would not like what he was about to hear.

"I'm sorry Severus, but Poppy was called away, and we need you to look after Harry until she is able to return."

"What do you mean ‘called away'? What is going on and how long am I going to be saddled with Potter's care?!"

"Calm down, Severus. We just received word that there was a Death Eater attack in the village where her sister lives. There was a lot of damage done and a lot of residents injured before members of the Order were able to drive them out. Her sister requested Poppy's presence to assist with the care of the wounded since they live too far away to make travel to St. Mungos a realistic endeavor. I'm not sure how long it will take, but I'm sure she will hurry back as soon as she can."

"What about my classes?" Snape asked, desperate for an excuse to get him out of this newly appointed task.

"I will make arrangements for a temporary replacement to take over the classes until Poppy returns." Dumbledore rose from his seat and walked to the door. "I'll just be seeing to the addition of Harry's new room in your quarters, Severus. I'll be back shortly to help transport him when I'm done." Dumbledore flashed a smile at Snape and walked briskly out the door.

Seconds later, Snape's mouth finally caught up with his brain and he shouted out, loud enough for Dumbledore to hear through the corridors, "What do you mean ‘in my quarters'?!" Dumbledore chuckled to himself in amusement as he walked down the steps leading into the dungeon.