Harry opened his eyes a few hours later feeling nauseous. He was afraid to move because if he did, he'd vomit. A slight pulsing pain had started at his scar as well. Snapping his eyes shut, Harry willed himself to fall back asleep, but the faint rhythmic beeping echoing throughout the room interrupted the soothing rumbling of waves. To make things worse, the pulsing in his head seemed to be in sync with the beeping. Harry slowly moved his hand to cover the ear that wasn't pressed into his pillow, anything to stop listening to that annoying beeping.

"How are you feeling?" Severus' smooth voice asked in a whisper.

He groaned, not trusting his voice. Harry felt Snape take his free hand that had been extended out in front of him.

"Squeeze my hand for yes," his professor instructed. "Are you feeling nauseous?"

Harry squeezed Snape's hand glad his professor wasn't forcing him to talk.

"Do you have a headache?" Another light squeeze. "Is it your scar?" Harry squeezed Severus' hand again. "If you sit up, I have some Tylenol that may help with your headache. Miss Adamson should be returning to check on you any minute, and she can try to address your nausea."

Snape's words were too much to process as he tried to fight off his nausea. Harry bolted upright as Severus thrust the basin into his hands. He threw up into the basin, his entire meager breakfast coming up as waves of nausea coursed through him, giving him a moment in between each wave to breathe before another caused him to heave until all that was left to throw up was stomach acid.

The entire time Severus rubbed his back and steadied the basin for him. Harry stayed hunched over the basin until he was sure he wasn't going to throw up anymore. The episode exhausted him, and Harry felt like he was going to collapse if he sat up any longer.

"Better?" Snape handed him a cup filled with mouthwash.

"A little," Harry said before swishing the mouthwash around and spitting it out into the basin. He thanked Merlin for whoever thought of charming basins to vanish the contents as soon as they hit the bottom because Harry didn't think he could handle seeing his vomit without gagging.

"Good," the Potions Master took the basin from him before placing two white pills into his palm. "Take that Tylenol, and if it doesn't help your headache I have stronger pain medications I can give you."

Harry reached for the glass of water Severus poured and used the water to chase down the Tylenol. "Thank you," Harry croaked, his throat feeling icky even after the mouthwash and drink of water.

"You don't need to thank me. Would you like to lie back down?" his professor asked.

Nodding, Harry felt the cleansing breeze of a gentle scourgify on his skin while he scooted back down into bed, lying on his side so he could face Snape. He was exhausted, but his brain was too active for sleep. Harry smiled as Severus pulled his sheets and duvet up around his shoulder.

A moment later his professor placed a cold flannel on his forehead. The cool cloth felt wonderful against his pulsating scar. The beeping was still there, but it didn't grate against his ears any longer. Flexing his left hand revealed the source of the beeping. The plastic stat reader thing had been attached to his index finger. Harry looked in front of him to see three lines running from the infusion pump to him. One hanging bag had bright yellow stickers on it. The writing was too blurry for Harry to read, and he didn't feel like reaching for his glasses.

"Is that the chemo?" Harry asked.

"What is?" Severus asked looking to see what Harry was referring to.

"The bag with the yellow stickers," he pointed to the almost empty bag.

"Yes, Miss Adamson will be bringing the next bag soon."

"What are the other two?" Harry didn't know why he wanted to know, but supposed it was only natural to want to know what was being pumped into his body.

"One is saline to keep you hydrated, and the other is anti-emetics that are apparently not working as they should," Severus explained. "Do you still feel nauseous?"

"Yeah," Harry admitted, "but it's not as bad as before." It was true. He still felt queasy, but not like he was going to throw up if he moved too fast.

"Do you feel like you could drink something?"

Harry nodded. "Not a smoothie though." The thought of something as thick as a smoothie sliding down his throat was enough to make his shudder. He was sure anything other than simple liquid would wind up coming right back up.

"Grape or cherry?" Severus asked with his hand held out, waiting on Harry's answer.

"Grape," Harry answered wondering what kind of drink Snape was referring to.

A large purple bottle came flying into Harry's room. He watched the Potions Master through his blurry vision pour the purple liquid into a cup before closing up the bottle and sending it back to the kitchen.

"It's called Pedialyte," Snape said. "It'll help keep your electrolytes up. Miss Adamson brought it by this morning in case you started vomiting."

Harry sat up and took the glass. He took a small sip and nearly spit it back out into the glass, but he forced himself to swallow the sip down. "That's horrible," Harry handed the glass back to Snape. "Can I just have water?"

"Yes," Severus banished the glass with Pedialyte and handed him his glass filled with water back.

"Thank you." Harry took a few long drinks to get the horrible taste of Pedialyte out of his mouth before setting it onto the nightstand.

"How are we doing this afternoon?" Miss Adamson greeted as she strolled into his room donning a mask, gown, and gloves with a bag decorated with yellow stickers in her hands.

"Not too good," Harry answered as he watched her hang the new chemo bag and connect him to it.

"Are the anti-emetics not working?" Miss Adamson threw the gloves, gown, and mask into the red trashcan.

"No," Harry shook his head.

"I'll up the dosage a bit, and if that doesn't work we'll try a different kind after this dosage, okay?" the Specialist said, noting a few things on his chart. "Besides the nausea and vomiting, how is everything else?"

"A headache, but it's my scar, so I don't think it's related."

"We'll keep an eye on your headache. I trust you've taken some Tylenol?" Miss Adamson waved her wand over him to cast a few scans.

"Yeah, it's helped some," Harry stated.

"Good. Everything looks normal so far, and I'll be back with the next chemo bag, but in the meantime try to eat something," Miss Adamson moved to the infusion pump and pressed a few buttons. "If anything worsens, don't hesitate to floo call me."

Harry nodded and as quick as she came, Miss Adamson was gone.

"That was strange," Harry commented over her quick departure.

"She has many patients to tend to," Severus answered. "Would you like something to eat?"

"No," Harry answered starting to suddenly feel suffocated by people fussing over him. He wasn't used to it, and as much as he appreciated it, he needed a break from people asking him questions. "Can I be alone for a bit?"

"Of course," Snape halfway snapped, standing up from the straight-backed chair. "I'll be in the sitting room if you need me."

Harry felt horrible. He didn't mean to offend the Potions Master. The man had done so much for him in the past week, and he'd hate to have Snape think he didn't appreciate it.

"Wait!" Harry called Snape back.

"Yes?" the Potions Master turned back around.

"I'm not good at this," Harry admitted. "No one has ever sat by me while I was sick and I'm not used to people asking me questions about how I am all the time." Well besides Hermione's constant questioning and nagging when Harry refused to go the Hospital Wing or Dumbledore's office after a vision. That was different. It was related to the war, not just Harry himself.

Severus sighed as he sat down on the edge of his bed. "Harry, I'm not good at this either. We need to figure how this will work for us together, so if I'm asking too many questions let me know," Snape ran his hand through Harry's hair. He leaned into Severus' hand.

"Okay," Harry agreed. "You're asking too many questions. I can ask for things myself if I need them."

Severus nodded. "One last question. Would you like me to stay, or do you need a few minutes alone?"

Harry flip-flopped over wanting a few moments to himself and the fear of being alone while the chemo dripped into him. He shuddered. No, he really didn't want to be alone.

"Stay, please," Harry whispered.

"All right. I'll just busy myself with a book then," Severus returned to the straight-backed chair and picked up a book from the floor beside it.

Carefully rolling over so he didn't tangle up the tubes, Harry curled up into a ball facing the wall. That was close enough to being alone as he let his tired eyes drop close, trying to feel the chemo enter his body. He willed the chemo to kill off his leukemia, finding it hard to believe the poisonous substance was being pumped into his body. It felt surreal, yet the nausea and vomiting proved it was real. Harry, instead of learning how to fight Voldemort, was undergoing treatment for cancer.

A tear escaped his closed eyelids, trickling down his cheek and onto the luxurious bedding. Harry wondered if he'd ever be normal or have normal things happen to him instead of the near impossible.

The chemo had to work, or he'd never have a chance at normalcy. He couldn't let his leukemia win, but Harry felt like there was nothing he could do to help fight the battle. The chemo dripped into him by a machine. There was no magic he could use to blast the cancer cells into oblivion. For the first time in his life Harry felt utterly helpless. Even during his younger years at the Dursleys he always had himself. He could do his chores faster or learn to avoid his relatives better, but there wasn't anything he could do now besides let the chemo work its own type of torturous magic and hope it worked.

-----

Meanwhile, a disheveled Molly Weasley stormed out of the floo into Albus Dumbledore's office. "Where is he?" she looked around the room, searching for the boy in question.

"Where is who?" Albus asked as he stood up from behind his desk.

"Harry, of course!" Molly started marching towards the door. "Is he with Professor Snape as Ron has implied?"

"Molly, sit down," Albus gestured to a chair in front of his desk.

"No, you cannot expect me to sit here after what my son finally told me after hiding in his room since he came home!" Molly continued to the door and wrapped her hand around the door handle, but found it locked.

"What did young Mr. Weasley tell you?" Albus leaned against his desk, crossing his hands in front of him. His face held no emotion as he again motioned for Molly to take a seat. "I assure you Harry is safe with Severus."

"Safe?" Molly exclaimed throwing her hands up in the air. "The child has that horrible Muggle disease! He could die Albus, and you claim he's safe with Severus? He isn't safe with anyone!"

"Molly, please, take a seat," Albus said, twirling his wand in his hand. Huffing, Molly sat down like a wrongly accused schoolgirl. "Lemon drop?"

"No thank you," she glared, shooting daggers at the Headmaster with her eyes.

"There seems to have been a miscommunication. Harry is indeed with Severus, but he's receiving lessons from Severus in order to help with defeating Voldemort," Albus smiled at Molly and let out a small chuckle. "I don't know where the rumor started, but Harry doesn't have cancer."

"But Ron said Madame Pomfrey told him, and she doesn't lie, Albus," Molly accused.

"Ah, that's where the rumor must've started," Albus said as he popped a lemon drop into his mouth. "There was a little scare, but it turns out Harry's blood tests got mixed up with another's at St. Mungo's. He's recovering from magical depletion, but otherwise he's completely healthy."

"Then you'll have no objection if I go down to see Harry myself," Molly smiled slyly as she got up from the chair.

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow that. Severus and Harry are deep into an intensive Occlumency lesson and Severus asked that I make sure no one disturbed them," Albus shrugged. "I'll have Severus bring Harry to the Order meeting tomorrow."

"You're hiding something," Molly stated with a frown.

Albus narrowed his eyes, displeased with Molly's reluctance to believe him. The Headmaster had to stop the knowledge of Harry's cancer from spreading. It needed to be kept under wraps so the news didn't travel to Voldemort and his entire plan fell apart.

With speed that belied his years, Albus pointed his wand at Molly. "Obliviate," he murmured before she had a chance to block his spell. Dumbledore worked with the spell to erase her suspicions, and implant the idea that she had seen a healthy Harry during a lesson with Severus.

The witch blinked before standing up from the chair. "Tell Severus thank you for allowing me to interrupt their lesson. I'll be sure to tell Ron and Hermione about the blood test mishap at St. Mungo's," Molly walked over to the floo with a smile. "They'll be so relieved."

"Have a wonderful day," Albus smiled as he nodded to the departing Order member. Once the floo swept the reassured witch away, the Headmaster relaxed, sinking into one of his cushy armchairs.

Fawkes trilled disapprovingly at him, but Albus ignored the phoenix. His plan was safe for now and that was all that mattered.

-----

Peering over his book, Severus saw Harry's breathing finally deepen. He quietly set his book down before standing up to stretch his legs. Severus tiptoed around the bed so he could do a quick check of Harry's temperature by laying the back of his hand against the child's forehead. It felt cooler and a swish of his wand confirmed that the child's temperature was finally back to normal. The chemo had started working. Severus pulled the duvet up around Harry's shoulders before walking back around the bed to get to Harry's chart where he scribbled down the change in temperature.

After setting a charm to alert Severus when Harry woke, the Potions Master exited the room. He was starving, but he hadn't wanted to eat in front of Harry when the boy was vomiting and feeling nauseous. In the kitchen, he made himself a sandwich and leaned against the island while he ate it and looked over the post.

The Daily Prophet was wrapped around a stack of envelopes and Severus opened it up on the island to skim the nonsense the wizarding newspaper tried to pass off as news. He wasn't really reading it, not anymore than he had been reading his book, which he had stayed on the same page for twenty minutes, reading the same paragraph ten times before giving up trying to comprehend the words printed on the page.

Harry was continually on his mind. The child was suffering, and even he, the cold-hearted dungeon bat, couldn't stay unaffected. The chemo treatments were already taking their toll on Harry's system. He knew there was only three approved anti-emetic drugs for use on wizarding children. If the current one continued to fail in stopping Harry's nausea, there were only two left to try, and both of those had far less success rates in dealing with chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting.

Not only was it important to try to manage the side effects for Harry's comfort, but more importantly the boy couldn't afford to lose any more weight. Miss Adamson was keeping a close eye on Harry's weight in case it dropped further because if it dipped too low, she'd have to intervene, and both of them didn't want that to happen. Severus had hoped that since Harry started his prednisone course along with his chemo that morning that the steroids would've triggered the child's appetite, but any appetite he might have was lost due to his nausea.

Severus took a deep, cleansing breath as he closed his eyes. His occlumency shields that he held up continuously were weakened from his lack of sleep and the child wedging his way past Severus' outer shields. He took a few moments to center himself in his mind and strengthen his shields so he didn't feel so exposed. After so many years of having to maintain the layered set of shields with all his emotions tucked away safely behind them, he felt naked and vulnerable when his shields were weakened.

Moments later, Severus opened his eyes feeling calmer and more relaxed despite the chemotherapy dripping into the child down the hallway. Everything was back in its place in his mind, and that alone helped Severus cope more than anything else. He had to stay strong for the child because he was all the child had. The Weasleys may count Harry as one of their own, but Severus was in charge of Harry's medical decisions now, and it was up to him to make the best choices for Harry, not the supposed savior of the wizarding world.

There were also Occlumency lessons to consider. The boy was vulnerable against a mental attack from the Dark Lord without being able to shield his mind. The Dark Lord's possession over Harry at the Ministry proved just how much Occlumency lessons needed to continue, but Severus was weary over bringing up the subject with the child. Their previous lessons had been a disaster of epic proportions on both their parts. Severus needed to take a gentle approach with Harry and the boy had to be willing to learn. It was only a matter of time before the Dark Lord attacked Harry through their strange connection again, and Severus knew time was running out. The Dark Lord never stayed quiet for long.

Sighing, Severus flipped through the remaining post. There were two letters for Harry that he recognized were from Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley from their handwriting. He set them aside to screen for upsetting content later. The last thing Harry needed was distressing news or research from his friends, and he had a feeling he'd be writing to Miss Granger personally instead of delivering her letter to Harry. The know-it-all most likely had loads of research by now detailing how rare cancer was in wizarding children and that Harry's case was the only documented case in a child older than four, information that Harry didn't need to hear.

One more letter sat atop the island. It was addressed to him as Severus Prince, which wasn't all that strange considering Snape was somewhat of an alias. He had taken the name when he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle. His father had insisted Severus was better off with an unknown surname than being known as the Prince heir as whispers of the first war started spreading. His parents had created quite the scandal in the aristocratic pureblood society by gallivanting off to the States and not behaving like proper purebloods. It hurt the Princes standing in society and his parents didn't want him to suffer for their choices.

Severus turned the envelope over and recognized the seal of Wizarding Child Services. He'd been expecting a copy of the medical proxy forms, but they wouldn't be addressed to him as Severus Prince. What else could WCS be sending him? Draco had dropped a few hints that he didn't wish to follow in his father's footsteps, but anything involving his godchild would come to him as Severus Snape, and he hadn't heard from Draco since term ended.

But before the Potions Master could break the seal, a soft buzzing alerted him that Harry was awake. Severus dropped the letter back onto the island and strode down the hallway to Harry's room. The boy was bent over the basin when Severus entered vomiting once again, and Severus seated himself next to the boy. He helped Harry hold the basin steady with one hand while rubbing his back with the other in what was becoming routine.

"Make it stop, please," Harry begged, his voice no louder than a whisper as he collapsed into Severus' lap.

"I'm sorry," Severus cradled the child against his chest. "I can floo Miss Adamson and have her bring a different anti-emetic now, and we can try that."

"Please," Harry nodded.

"Very well, will you be okay for a few minutes?" Severus asked as he helped Harry lie back down.

"Yeah, can you dim the lights a bit more?" Harry asked.

Severus waved his hand to lower the lights. "Is your headache worse?"

"The pulsing is more intense. It's like Voldemort is reminding me he's there, but he's not in my mind," Harry reached up to rub his scar.

"Try not to do that, Harry," he took the boy's wrist and pulled his hand away from his inflamed scar. Severus dipped a clean flannel into a cold bowl of water and rung it out before placing it on Harry's forehead. "Does that help?"

"Yeah," the boy closed his eyes. "Can you go floo Miss Adamson now?"

"Of course," the Potions Master stood giving Harry a gentle squeeze on his shoulder. "Call if you need anything."

"I will."

Severus hurried through his chambers to the floo. He threw down the sparkly floo powder before calling out his destination and sticking his head into the green flames.

"Severus, is something wrong?" Miss Adamson looked up from her desk in her office.

"The increased dosage hasn't worked. Harry asked me to have you bring the other anti-emetic you mentioned earlier," Severus stated, wishing to rush the floo call. The increased pain in Harry's scar worried him, and he didn't want to leave the child alone longer than necessary in case the pain grew or turned into a mental attack or vision.

"I'll be right there," the Specialist stood from her chair behind her large wooden desk. "Let me grab what I need and tell Harry to hold on for me."

The Potions Master didn't so much as nod before withdrawing from the floo. He stood and brushed his clothes off, feeling a sharp burning erupt from his left forearm.

Not now. Severus cursed as he clutched his left forearm. The burning felt like it was searing his skin off as the snake of his Dark Mark slithered in anger. He needed to retrieve the special cream he developed from his bathroom that would help dull the pain, but the screaming coming from Harry's room meant his needs were secondary to the child's.

"Professor!" Harry yelled. "Voldemort...he's... my scar!"