Harry stepped out of the floo with Snape to see Madame Pomfrey and a middle-aged woman Harry didn't know bustling about the Hospital Wing preparing for his arrival. He froze. "Remember, it won't be like the bone marrow biopsy," Severus whispered, nudging him to keep walking.

"Hello Harry, Severus," Pomfrey greeted them with a wave of her hand to direct Harry to a bed, her eyes filled with guilt.

"Hi," he mumbled, unconsciously stepping closer to his professor.

"Sit down, dear. Miss Adamson is almost ready, and then she'll begin with an examination," Pomfrey gestured to his usual bed.

Looking up to see Snape nod, Harry climbed onto the bed, noticing for the first time the blanket folded at the bottom on the bed wasn't white but purple with white diagonal stripes. "I never knew you had purple blankets," Harry stated.

"It's for use when patients can't have potions," Pomfrey explained. "The stripe ensures that even if a person were colorblind they'd know without reading your chart that you can't have potions."

"Oh," Harry shivered, reality starting to sink in. It was looking more and more like his cancer wasn't a horrible nightmare. Pulling the blanket up and over him, he noticed the special blanket was thicker and softer than the normal Hospital Wing linens.

"It's standard procedure," Snape reassured him with a squeeze on his arm. Harry grabbed his calloused hand as Snape went to snatch it away, pulling it to his chest as he curled onto his side facing the Potions Master and away from Pomfrey.

He really didn't want to be there and each new little thing was scaring him more and more. Every other time he had been sick, Pomfrey didn't need to take any special precautions besides fending off reporters and Ministry officials, but that was because he was Harry Potter, not because he was sick.

"Mr. Potter?" a friendly voice asked from behind him.

"Harry," he insisted, not turning around or looking up to the woman addressing him. He just wanted to be Harry, not The-Boy-Who-Lived. Harry could be scared, Harry Potter couldn't.

"All right, Harry, I'm Miss Adamson or Miss Lucy if you prefer. Can you sit up for me?"

Harry reluctantly sat up, getting his first good look at Miss Adamson. She had a warm, welcoming presence that fit with her brightly colored scrubs with flying fire-breathing dragons. A smile sat on her face where the smallest of lines had started to appear. She was short like him and held a neon green wand. He instantly liked her.

"Hi Miss Lucy," Harry said staring at her wand. He never knew that wands came in non-natural colors.

"It's a glamour for the little children," the Specialist flicked the wand, erasing the green to be replaced with a lighter colored wood. "I forgot to change it back after rounds this morning. I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean to treat you like my little ones."

"It's okay," Harry said, missing the green wand. It was neat looking and he wondered if Snape...Severus could teach him how to do it. Well, once his magic started working right again, if it ever did. He squeezed Snape's hand harder. Harry had to regain control over his magic. He was a wizard, and the wizarding world was where he belonged.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Miss Adamson asked while starting to run a series of scans with her wand.

"Fine," Harry shrugged, not willing to admit how scared he was.

"Don't worry. This will just take a second. I'm checking and recording your baseline levels in different areas in your body for comparison later. Then, we'll get you set up so you won't remember a thing," she smiled.

Harry gulped knowing that meant the IV. Couldn't the wizarding world have figured out a superior way for inserting IVs by now? Some way without a needle?

"Good," Miss Adamson said as the final scan was completed. "Besides the leukemia, your organs and body are in good health. That's a good sign before starting chemo. Did Poppy or Severus inform you of the chemo regimen for the induction phase?"

Induction? Regimen? It sounded like he was being inducted into war, war with his own internal Voldemort.

"We didn't discuss it," Snape informed the Specialist.

"All right," the witch said, perching on the side of his bed, "Harry the induction phase of chemotherapy has one goal with ALL. We're trying to induce remission, which is where there are less than five percent of blast cells present in your bone marrow and all symptoms disappear. To do this we're going to use a month long induction treatment schedule. The first and fourth weeks you'll be on chemo twenty-three hours a day, then weeks two and three you'll be off while your blood and platelet counts recover. During that time you'll have four intrathecal chemo treatments, one a week. If we're able to follow and complete this schedule, there's a good chance you'll be in remission by the end of the month."

His eyes widened. Twenty-three hours a day for a week? No one mentioned that before, and they were sure this would help, not poison him? Unconsciously, he began to tremble.

"Harry, this treatment regimen has been used with other wizarding children successfully before," Severus squeezed the hand that Harry held captive. "It's okay to be nervous."

"I know it's a lot to take in," Miss Lucy said, "but I've found that wizards your age tend to do best when they know what'll happen going into it."

"Okay," Harry said for lack of anything else to say. "Can we get to the point where I don't remember anything?" He couldn't take much more, and wasn't it ironic that when finally someone offered Harry all the information he wanted, Harry didn't want a word of it?

"Of course, but first there's one more thing." Miss Lucy pulled out a stainless steel bracelet. The thin chain was charmed purple attached to a flat disk of glowing steel. "This is a bracelet similar to a Muggle medical alert bracelet, only better. The disk is charmed to hold your chart magically in case of an emergency when someone can't access your physical chart. It also works as an emergency portkey that'll transport you either here or St. Mungo's depending on which is safest when you touch the disk and say Mickey Mouse."

"Mickey Mouse?" Harry questioned knowing he heard the name somewhere once.

"It's the name of a popular Muggle cartoon, something no Death Eater will ever guess, not to mention that most of my kids seem to get a kick out of it," Miss Adamson shrugged.

Was this bracelet an admission of how sick he'd get, that he might need to be transported to St. Mungo's by an emergency portkey?

"Now once I place this on your wrist, you won't be able to take it off, nor will anyone else. It'll become invisible and stay that way unless you enter St. Mungo's. Okay?"

Harry nodded. A special bracelet he could handle, especially when he could so easily think of it as a way to escape Voldemort.

"Are you right or left handed?"

"Right."

"Hold out your left wrist then," the Specialist ordered.

Harry forced himself to let go of Snape's hand to hold out his left wrist to Miss Adamson. She wrapped the cold metal bracelet around his wrist, adjusting it with her wand to the right size before clasping it, and it immediately became invisible. Harry could still feel the bracelet, but it made no sound nor was it visible from any angle.

"There, now we can move into the procedure room and before you know it, it'll be all over," Miss Lucy motioned for him to get up before turning to Snape. "Do you have the consent forms?"

Harry saw the Potions Master hand over the signed forms, and then the man directed Harry into the procedure room while Miss Adamson made sure all the forms were in order. A shiver ran up his spine seeing the rolling trays covered with sheets.

"Take off your robe and hop up on the table," Severus said, "I'll return in a minute."

Watching Snape leave the room, Harry tugged his robe around him tighter. He didn't want to take it off. He was too thin and bony, a sight he didn't want his professor seeing. Scared, Harry didn't move until Snape returned to the room, pushing the door open with his hip, his gloved hands held up in front of him.

"Harry," the Potions Master sighed. "Take off your robe."

"But sir...Severus, I..." Harry trailed off looking down at his robe-clad chest.

"It's okay. No one is here to judge you," Snape reassured him as much as he could without touching anything.

Gulping, Harry pulled off his robe and folded it before setting it onto a chair. Goosebumps prickled his skin from the cool air causing Harry's trembling to become more pronounced. He hopped up onto the procedure table and laid back as his professor levitated a purple blanket over him, floating it down to cover him.

"Better?"

Harry nodded, watching Severus move to his right side, waving his hand to uncover a tray.

"Look the other way." Harry needed no more verbal cues to turn his head away from Snape, even closing his eyes to ensure he couldn't see what the Potions Master was doing. He felt a tourniquet being tied around his arm as he squeezed his eyes shut tighter waiting for the needle prick. A cold moist pad was rubbed over his right hand and Harry jumped. He forgot about that part.

"Relax," Snape's smooth soothing voice reminded him as he rubbed the pad clockwise around a spot on Harry's hand.

"I can't," he admitted feeling more and more anxious as each second went by.

"Take a few deep breaths, concentrate on that. Breathe in," Snape instructed. Harry listened, desperate for the day to be done and over with. "Good, breathe out...Again."

Concentrating on the Potion Master's instructions, Harry found himself less alert to everything else, so much so that when the needle finally pricked his skin as he breathed in, it felt nothing more than a sharp pinch, the pain disappearing before a minute ticked by. Afraid to look, Harry kept his eyes closed as he felt the Potions Master mess with his hand a little longer.

"All done. It's safe to look," Snape informed him as he pressed down a transparent dressing. Harry cracked open one eye before opening the other after seeing it was indeed safe to look. "The drugs will take a few minutes to take effect, so until then relax. I'm going to slide outside for a moment to tell Miss Adamson that I'm finished, and Harry if the drugs make you sleepy don't fight them. You did a fine job with the IV."

"Okay," Harry yawned, tired from the morning already. He doubted the drugs worked that fast, but he worried he was too nervous and scared to fall asleep.

"I'm going to slip this on your finger," the Potions Master held up a small plastic object before sliding it onto Harry's left index fingertip. "This will help us monitor your stats."

He nodded, not at all interested in what Snape did with that plastic thing, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier as each second passed. Giving up the fight and his worries, Harry slipped into sleep to the rhythmic beeping that filled the procedure room.

-----

Taking a step outside the procedure room, but angling so he never lost sight of Harry, Severus nodded to Miss Adamson. She was holding a quiet conversation with Madame Pomfrey. "Severus, a word before we proceed," the Specialist tilted her head, motioning for him to join her halfway across the open room.

Severus remained composed as he strode over to Miss Adamson once Poppy crossed into the procedure room to monitor Harry, but inside he felt his stomach drop. Was there some bad news that she hadn't wished to tell Harry going into the procedure?

"Yes?" he asked, his voice laced with a hint of worry.

"It's not like that," Miss Adamson smiled, dismissing his concern. "Poppy informed me of Harry's aversion to needles and since he's under conscious sedation already, I wish to administer Harry's first round of intrathecal chemo before inserting the Hickman. It would be less traumatizing for Harry and after he realizes there's no lingering pain except for maybe a headache, then the other rounds won't prove to be such an event for Harry to grow anxious about. That is of course if you approve."

"That is wise. My only concern is that Harry would view it as betrayal. I gave my word he'd be allowed his opinions and that I'd take them into account when making my decisions," Severus reasoned, wondering if Harry would forgive him if he said yes, while knowing it was the right decision to help Harry move past the bone marrow biopsy because there were more bone marrow biopsies and intrathecal chemo rounds in Harry's future.

"A valid concern, but most patients are just glad the procedure is over. He's a child, and as adults we must do what's best to make the experience as comfortable and as painless as possible," Miss Adamson reminded him of the professional stance concerning children.

"Of course, I'm concerned over the mental ramifications as well," Severus sighed wondering just how much Harry could handle. "He lost his godfather a few weeks ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that and I hate to press you, but I need your decision now," she said looking at the clock on the wall.

"Go ahead," Severus decided firmly, running his hand through his hair. He'd deal with the consequences that came with it later, but for now at least he could ensure that Harry felt less pain.

"A wise decision," Miss Adamson stated with a sad smile. "Will you send Poppy out here?"

Nodding curtly to Miss Adamson, Severus returned to the procedure room feeling the sterilization charm Poppy placed on the room tingling against his skin as he passed over the threshold. Poppy got up and left the room avoiding eye contact with him. While the Potions Master harbored anger against her, he refused to vent it in Harry's presence. The child didn't need anything else to worry about, but he'd address her later, when Harry didn't need him.

Severus pulled a chair up to Harry's left side, settling in for the duration of Harry's procedures. He took Harry's left hand and watched the boy's chest rise and fall with each breath. Had he made the right decision? Severus hadn't expected to be so conflicted in making decisions for the boy. As a man trained in the healing arts, he knew the professional recommendations, but now he had to counter those with Harry's specific needs and what the boy could handle. It was similar to balancing a delicate scale, and Severus hoped he hadn't just tipped it.

"Sir?" Harry mumbled.

"Yes, it is I. Miss Adamson is about to start. Are you comfortable?" Severus asked, squeezing Harry's hand.

"Yeah, but tired."

"Go to sleep," the Potions Master suggested knowing everything would go smoother if Harry slept through the procedures.

"Okay," the teen smiled as if he was just given a present before his eyelids shut once again.

A few minutes later, Miss Adamson entered the room gown, mask, and gloves in place. Severus rolled Harry onto his left side and pushed his knees up to his chest in preparation for the intrathecal chemo injection and spinal tap, glad when Harry didn't wake up. Waiting for the last moment possible, Severus finally pulled the blanket down to Harry's legs, exposing the boy's scrawny frame before sitting back down to concentrate on Harry while Miss Adamson and Poppy started prepping the child for the spinal tap and chemo injection. Harry didn't need him memorizing every clinical detail, but needed him to be right there in case he woke up in the middle of either procedure.

Severus tuned out the witches, concentrating on his grasp around Harry's hand and watching for the slightest hitch in Harry's body to indicate he was in pain, but the spinal tap and Harry's first taste of chemo went better than he'd hoped for, with Miss Adamson having no troubles as Harry slept on, oblivious to the chemotherapy traveling up his spinal column and to his brain.

When Poppy's hands rolled Harry onto his back, Severus finally looked up to Miss Adamson. "The sample looks good, but we'll know for sure after the test results come in," she informed him, referring to the spinal fluid sample she held up. It would be a bad sign if the leukemia had spread to Harry's spinal column and brain. Either way, Harry needed multiple intrathecal injections. It was just a question of how many cycles the boy needed.

Severus remained on high alert once Miss Adamson had rescrubbed and began the Hickman procedure. He tried to concentrate on Harry, but seeing Miss Adamson take a scalpel to make a small nick into his skin for the Hickman was hard to ignore.

"Hurts," Harry protested with his eyes closed, and Severus looked to Harry's IV, watching Poppy monitor Harry's drug intake level.

"Is it more pressure and tugging and pulling or pain?" Miss Adamson asked as she continued the procedure.

"Pressure," he answered.

"Okay," Miss Adamson signaled to Poppy to up the drug dosage. "It should be gone in a minute or two. Concentrate on squeezing Professor Snape's hand."

Severus felt Harry's grip tighten around his hand, and he returned his attention to Harry. "Hold on, Harry," he encouraged. "You're doing great." He watched Harry struggle through the uncomfortable sensations helpless to do anything until the drugs kicked in and Harry's face visibly relaxed.

"Better?" he asked.

"Yeah," Harry answered, his grip on Severus' hand loosening.

"Relax sweetie," Miss Adamson threaded the guide wire into Harry while watching a magically produced image that directed her into the right spot.

"Is she almost done?" Harry opened his eyes to look at him.

"Not quite," Severus responded watching Harry's eyes wander over to Miss Adamson. "Look at me. Don't watch her."

"Sleepy," Harry stated as the higher dose of drugs started working fully.

"It's okay, you can go back to sleep." Severus reached up and tentatively ran his hand through Harry's hair as Harry turned his head into the touch. Harry closed his eyes again, and Severus hoped this time Harry would stay asleep until Miss Adamson was finished.

Severus continued to stroke Harry's hair as the Specialist inserted the Hickman catheter and placed a dissolving stitch to keep it in place until Harry's skin grew around the little cuff that would keep it in place after that. Then she waved her wand to produce an image similar to a Muggle x-ray to ensure the Hickman was correctly placed before cleaning and bandaging the sites, and flushing each of the three lumens, or leads into the catheter, with a heparin solution before looping the exposed part of the Hickman and securing it against Harry's skin with a transparent dressing. Finally, she removed the IV from the teen's hand. 

"All done," Miss Adamson confirmed with a smile. "Once he wakes and the drugs wear off, you'll be able to take him back to your quarters."

"Thank you," Severus said, not taking his eyes off Harry.

"It's my job," she shrugged. "Let me know when he wakes."

Nodding, the Potions Master tucked the purple blanket back around Harry and prepared himself to wait by pulling out a Potions journal from his robes.

Harry surprised him when not even ten minutes later, the child cracked open his eyes with a whimper. Immediately, Severus pocketed the journal and looked down at his charge. "How are you feeling?"

"Is it done?" Harry asked, sounding like he was floating between sleep and being awake.

"Yes, are you in any pain?" Severus pulled out his wand, sending green sparks out the door to get Miss Adamson's attention.

"A little," Harry answered as Miss Adamson came back in the room with a glass of water and a painkiller.

"Take this sweetie," Miss Adamson handed over the pill to Harry after Severus helped him sit up. Severus continued to support the boy as he swallowed the pill and took a few sips of water, tugging on Severus' arm to be helped to lie down again. The Potions Master slid Harry back down to bed, noting the child fell back asleep before his head ever hit the pillow.

"His stats are back to normal," Miss Adamson remarked as she took the plastic monitoring device off Harry's finger, the rhythmic beeping silencing, a reminder of how quickly the conscious sedation drugs wore off. "I assume you can tell Harry the precautions he'll have to take with his Hickman and you know the procedures to clean and flush it?"

Severus nodded.

"Good, then I see no reason why he isn't ready to be moved to your quarters where he'll be more comfortable. I'll stop by sometime tomorrow afternoon to check in and discuss what time you wish to start his chemo on Sunday," the Specialist suggested.

Severus acknowledged Miss Adamson with a dip of his head as she left the procedure room. The Potions Master stood up to bundle Harry in the purple blanket before lifting him into his arms, holding the teen close to his chest.

Leaving the procedure room, Severus strode straight to the floo, whisking Harry back to his quarters where he settled the child into bed and resumed reading his Potions journal. He turned back to the page of an article written by one of his Slytherins that graduated three years prior, content to wait until the boy woke up for more than five minutes.

A few hours ticked by before Harry started moving around. Severus set down the Potions journal and watched, looking to see if Harry was waking or simply moving around in his sleep. The teen rolled over onto his stomach and a second later jumped up, all signs of sleep gone from Harry's face.

The emerald eyes were wide with fear and panic as his right hand traveled down his chest blindly, searching for the object that shouldn't be there. "My glasses," Harry demanded his breathing speeding up and sweat beading his skin as panic set in.