Biting his bottom lip to prevent himself from yelling at the raging witch, Severus forced himself to take a deep breath while Molly Weasley screamed at him, her hands flying every which way.

"What do you mean Harry has cancer?" she screeched, her eyes searching for the door. "Where is he?"

"Molly," Severus said calmly as he flicked his wand towards the door. "Calm down-"

"Calm down? I cannot calm down!" Molly darted over to the door. She turned the knob only to find it locked. "Unward this door now, Severus Snape!"

"Not until you calm down," he reasoned. Severus didn't want Molly storming in to see Harry. It was hard enough to get the boy to agree to see someone who he considered part of his pseudo-family, and he didn't want the experience to scare or worry Harry away from seeing his friends further.

"Severus! Let me see the poor child. He must be so scared especially kept away from his family like this," Molly turned to glare at him, an accusatory finger pointed at him.

"He's not your son," Severus growled, his patience fading with every word Molly screeched.

"He's as good as," Molly claimed as she placed her hand on her hip. 

"No, he's not," he repeated wishing to scream out that Harry was his son. "Do not make me repeat myself again. If you wish to see Harry, you will calm down, wash your hands, and listen to what I have to say before you rush off to coddle him."

Severus watched Molly huff, but she went over to the sink and washed her hands. He made sure she had followed the posted instructions before leading her into his sitting room and motioning for her to take a seat in the chair opposite his.

"I am not your student, Severus," she accused, refusing to take a seat, "and I will not be treated as such. Now tell me about Harry. I've followed your silly rules."

"Molly, please sit," he tried to placate her, wondering what he had been thinking by deciding to ask her to stay with Harry. If he could just rein in his temper, perhaps she'd rein in hers as well. He watched her eye the hallway and slid his wand into his hand, just in case.

"Where's Harry?"

"In his room," Severus said, leaving out the fact that the boy was most likely listening at the doorway, enjoying listening to him take the brunt of Molly's wrath.

"Oh dear," Molly's anger turned into worry as she edged towards the hallway.

"Sit," the Potions Master raised his wand to her. "I assure you he is fine." Fine for now at least.

"Fine? You call having cancer fine?" Molly yelled, not caring he had his wand pointed at her. With a flick, he sent her flying into the chair followed by a quick sticking charm before she could reach for her wand. Another flick set up a silencing charm around them. Harry had heard enough and Severus really didn't want his child to get upset over anything Molly might say when she heard the facts.

"Severus Snape! Unstick me this instant!" she screeched loud enough to make the Slytherin wince.

"Not until you listen to what I have to say! Must I cast a Silencio as well?" Severus threatened sick of listening to the matriarch's tirade. If he were treating her like he treated a student, well she'd have to stop acting like an insolent teenager if she wished to be treated like the adult she was.

"I don't understand," Molly sighed. "I just saw Harry during a lesson with you the other day."

"What?" the Potions Master hadn't expected that. Just what had Albus done. "You never saw him, nor were you here."

"Yes, I was. I had flooed to Albus' office to ask him about Harry's cancer, when he assured me that there had been a mix-up with his blood tests, and Harry was perfectly fine. Then he..." she trailed off. "That fool! Did he not think?" Molly struggled against the sticking charm. "Let me up, Severus! That meddling old man obliviated me!"

Dropping his head into in his hands, he rubbed at his temples. Severus thought he had gotten through to the Headmaster over the severity of Harry's illness, but obviously not if Albus thought he could hide it.

The Order meeting was looking worse and worse in terms of what he'd be dealing with. Surely, Minerva would back him up if Albus still planned to send the child to fight the Dark Lord by summer's end. No, the Potions Master wouldn't allow it. He wouldn't send his child to certain death, even if it meant he had to take Harry into hiding. The war was for adults to fight, not children, especially sick ones who didn't have total control over their magic.

"Molly, please. I need you to stay here with Harry." There was no way Severus was going to miss the Order meeting now. He was the only one who could put an end to Albus' scheming. The Headmaster had to listen to him. He had full parental rights concerning Harry, and even Albus couldn't overstep those.

"Is Harry okay?" Molly calmed, worry creeping into her voice once again.

"He's undergoing Muggle treatments for his leukemia. Harry's okay, but he shouldn't be left alone," Severus started to explain, hating how many times he had to have this conversation.

"Muggle treatments? Why?"

"There's no magical cure. The Muggle treatments are analogous to a poison really. They work to kill the cancer cells but also kill the good cells, which leaves him with a compromised immune system, highly susceptible to infection or illnesses, hence why I asked you to wash your hands. You may have felt the sterilization charms when you flooed in and walked into the sitting room from the entrance chamber," he sighed.

Repeating the details of Harry's treatment made it all the more real now that Harry was suffering from its side effects. His child could really die by having someone with a simple cold visit him. While Harry's absolute neutrophil count, the white blood cell count that was used to determine a person's risk of infection hadn't reached dangerous levels yet, his counts had started their decline and soon enough Harry's ANC would dip below five hundred, the threshold that indicated a high risk of infection. It had been so easy to get lost in caring for Harry that his brain hadn't fully wrapped around the full reality of the situation. How could it when he and Harry had been essentially closed off from the outside world the last few days? Even when he had gone out he had encountered nameless people there to perform necessary tasks, nothing more.

"Many people take well to chemotherapy and the drugs used to counteract the side effects, but so far Harry is having a rough go at it. He's vomiting on a consistent basis, and on pain medication to help with his headaches and overall pain. He's lost quite a bit of weight since you've last seen him. I warn you his condition may shock you, but I must caution you against showing your shock to Harry," Severus tried to prepare Molly for the few hours ahead of her. She hadn't seen the child since right after the Ministry incident, and Harry wasn't the same child he was a month ago.

Harry's condition wasn't a shock to him since he had seen Harry transform into his current state, bit by bit. But for someone to see him for the first time in a month would be quite a shock. A month ago the child was lively even through the sleep deprivation resulting from the visions and at a healthy weight. Now the boy was skeletal with dark circles under his eyes despite napping throughout the day. Harry's actions were lethargic and the proud Gryffindor had turned into a scared, self-conscious teenager.

"I'll try," Molly said, her voice quiet and solemn.

"Harry's hooked up to his medications through a Hickman catheter implanted into his chest, which he isn't comfortable with other people seeing yet. Be careful when you hug him, as I know you will, not to tug at the tubing and when he sleeps make sure the tubes don't get tangled. The chemotherapy drugs are hazardous to the touch, so don't touch the bag and if somehow the bag breaks, spills, or leaks, floo me immediately-"

"Severus," she interrupted, "Are you sure Harry will be okay with me? I'm a mother of seven children, but I've never taken care of a child that requires all this."

"You'll be fine," he reassured her, waving his hand to release the sticking charm. "I'll be leaving Harry's nightly pills for him to take at nine. One's a sleeping pill that should knock him out for a few hours, so most of your time should be spent with him asleep. You'll need to watch out for visions or any mental attacks while he sleeps, but I expect he'll be too tired to dream since he's been rather active this evening. Miss Adamson, the specialist brought in to take Harry's case will drop by sometime to check on him and change his chemo bag. If either your or Harry need me, don't hesitate to contact me. Any questions?"

She shook her head. Her eyes were wide, and she hadn't moved since Severus released the sticking charm. He wondered if she had even noticed she was free to move around.

The Potions Master stood from his chair and motioned for Molly to do the same. "Harry's room is this way." He led her down the hall and paused at the cracked open door of Harry's bedroom to knock.

"Come in," Harry called. Severus heard the nervousness in his child's voice and gave Harry a few seconds to collect himself before pushing the door open and admitting Molly into the room.

-----

Sitting in the window seat, Harry swallowed hard as his bedroom door was pushed open. He was nervous to see Mrs. Weasley, scared that she wouldn't see him, but all the tubes and medications that were currently working to kill his cancer cells.

"Harry," Mrs. Weasley whispered as he saw her eyes land on him before rushing across the room to wrap her arms around him, but not as tight as she normally did. Harry leaned against her, soaking up her comfort though it wasn't the same as when Severus comforted him. Her arms didn't promise safety like his professor's did, but it still felt nice to know Mrs. Weasley wasn't afraid to touch him now. "How are you holding up, Harry dear?"

"Alright, I guess," he shrugged, forcing a smile.

"Is Severus treating you well? I can talk to Dumbledore about having you come stay with us," she pulled away from him to look him over.

"No, I'm fine here," Harry rushed out, not wishing to leave Severus and the safety of his quarters. If anyone could keep him safe during his treatments, he knew it was Snape. Not to mention the quiet and peacefulness of the dungeons was calming and a nice respite from the outside world where he had to be Harry Potter, supposed savior of the wizarding world.

"Are you sure? Severus is feeding you and not locking you in your room?" Mrs. Weasley placed her hand under his chin and forced him to look up into her eyes.

"No," Harry couldn't help but shudder. Severus could be a right bastard when he wanted to be, Harry knew that all too well, but he'd never starve and lock him up like the Dursleys did and to have his professor compared to them struck a chord in Harry. "I mean Professor Snape is taking good care of me, really Mrs. Weasley."

"If this is what you want-"

"Molly, stop interrogating the boy," Snape snapped and Harry was all too grateful for his professor stepping in. "I am responsible for hundreds of children nine months out of the year. Surely I can take care of one, even if he is an imprudent brat."

"Hey," Harry protested as his head whipped to glare at Severus, but stopped short after spotting the corner of the man's lips upturned just the tiniest bit, so tiny that Harry wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been spending nearly every waking hour with the man for the past week.

"Severus, really," Mrs. Weasley pointed a stern finger at him. "Leave the poor boy alone."

The Potions Master rolled his eyes and Harry couldn't help but laugh at seeing the man who could make students cry with a mere glare reprimanded like a small child by Mrs. Weasley. It was definitely a sight to see and made Harry wish he owned a wizarding camera to capture the moment for when he needed a good laugh though he suspected Severus would burn the picture if he saw it.

"Come here, brat," Snape rolled his eyes again.

Harry hopped down from his window seat and rolled his infusion pump with him to where Severus was standing by his bed while forcing himself to stop laughing. A wave of nausea settled over him, convincing him that laughing hadn't been a good idea.

"Sir," he warned as bile rose up in his throat.

A strong arm wrapped around him to help hold him upright while the other held the summoned basin in front of him just in time to catch his meager dinner from hitting the floor. His legs buckled and Harry felt his body being lowered to his knees. He stuck his arms out as he leaned on all fours over the basin that Severus set onto the floor.

Merlin's balls! He was getting sick of throwing up and to have an audience was embarrassing. It was one of the reasons why he refused to see his friends.

"It's okay," Severus still had one arm wrapped around his waist, supporting part of his weight. With his free hand Harry felt him rub soothing circles into his back and neck. "Take a deep breath and try to relax. Fighting it will only make it worse."

Harry followed his professor's instructions and groaned as he felt more bile rise up in his throat. Apparently his body wanted to get rid of all his dinner, not that that was surprising to him. He threw up a few more times, each time growing weaker as exhaustion started to kick in until his nausea had subsided to the point that he was done vomiting for now. As usual Severus held out a swallow of mouthwash and Harry took it, more than ready to get the horrible taste out of his mouth.

"To bed, I think," Severus said, scooping him up off the floor without warning. Harry didn't even protest being carried, as he felt too weak to lug himself the few feet to his bed anyway. He hated feeling horrible and weak, and it seemed that as he got further into his chemo treatment, the bad parts of his day grew worse.

Flinching as his back came into contact with the mattress, Harry rolled over onto his side trying to find a comfortable position, one that didn't feel like the bones in his body were lying on the stone floor instead of his mattress.

"What's wrong?" Severus brought his hand up to Harry's forehead.

"Hurts," Harry admitted as he leaned into Snape's hand.

"Lying down?"

"Yeah. It's like the mattress got harder," Harry grabbed a pillow, intending to use his extra pillows to create a bed of sorts on top of his bed.

"That's not necessary," the Potions Master took the pillow from him and returned it to the top of the bed before taking out his wand. Pointing the wand at the mattress, Harry heard Severus whisper a few words while the mattress grew softer under him. "Better?"

Harry snuggled back down into bed sighing with relief as the mattress cradled him again instead of seeming to push up against him. "Thank you," Harry smiled.

"There's no need to thank me," Severus said before Harry felt the slight breeze of a freshening charm sweep over him. The Potions Master brought up the covers from the end of the bed and tucked him in, handing Harry the end of the duvet so he could wrap his hand up in it like he always did with his top hand when he lay on his side.

Only then did Severus magic his hoodie off, which Harry was thankful for since he really didn't want Mrs. Weasley to see him with it off. His tank top left little to the imagination since it clung to his chest and it was cut low enough that most of his Hickman insertion site was on display.

A feeling of warmth spread through Harry. It felt so good to finally have someone take care of him. Severus was surprising him more and more by picking up his little eccentricities that no one had bothered to notice before.

"Is there anything you need before I go?" the Potions Master whispered, perching on Harry's bed so that his back blocked Mrs. Weasley's view of them.

"Do you know why my scar bled?" He had been meaning to ask Severus about it, but kept forgetting. "Was it because of the mental attack?"

"I can't be positive, but since your blood counts, including your platelets which help to clog your blood are starting to drop, the bleeding was most likely due to that," Severus explained as Harry felt him trace his scar. "The Dark Lord's mental attack might've caused your scar to become irritated and inflamed like it does during your visions, but the lowered platelets counts likely brought on the bleeding."

"So it might happen again?" Harry shivered. He hated his scar and all that it represented.

"Yes, but we'll continue to work on your Occlumency skills until we won't have to worry about him accessing your mind."

"What if I can't master Occlumency?" he whispered. Harry had major doubts over ever getting Occlumency. The whole concept didn't make sense to him, and he wasn't sure it ever would.

"You will," Snape squeezed his shoulder. "Anything else?"

"When will you be back?" Harry shifted to look up at his professor.

"I expect I'll be gone a few hours. I don't intend to dawdle after the meeting concludes, but it'll be a longer meeting than normal," Severus retrieved the push button for Harry's PCA pump and placed it by Harry's pillow. "You might need that."

"Thanks," he yawned. It was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open.

"Remember you may floo if you need me. I'm going to retrieve your medications for Mrs. Weasley to give you at nine, but then I must be off."

"Okay," Harry let his eyes close, his body giving in to exhaustion as he felt Severus slip his glasses of his face and push a stray lock of hair from his forehead.

-----

After retrieving Harry's medications, Severus returned to the child's bedroom to hand them off to Molly for safekeeping. However, the Weasley matriarch didn't look like she could handle keeping anything safe. Worry was written across her face and she stood in front of the chair besides Harry's bed, her knees bending before straightening back up in a dance of deciding whether or not to sit down.

"I don't know if I can do this," Molly whispered as her eyes remained fixed on his son who lay curled up asleep, oblivious to Molly's turmoil.

"You've seen seven children through numerous illnesses. This isn't that much different," Severus set down the small container holding Harry's medications on the nightstand.

"How can you be so calm? He looks horrible and I bet he feels even worse," she plopped down in the chair. "I just want to scoop him up and make his cancer go away, but I can't."

Severus knew that feeling all too well. So many times he wished he could retrieve a potion from his lab to ease Harry's side effects or experiment until he found a cure. Worse, just one little dose of a stomach calming draught that he had a whole shelf full of would erase the child's nausea, yet he couldn't even offer that to Harry. He had to watch Harry suffer instead, helpless to do anything but help his child through the treatments.

"You need to trust that this is what's best for him," Severus sighed. He didn't have time for this nor should he have to reassure someone else about his child. If anything, people should be reassuring him that he was doing the right thing for Harry.

"He'll really be okay while you're gone?" Molly took her eyes off the child to look up at him.

"Yes, and he won't break if you touch him," Severus reassured her.

"Alright," Molly sat up straight, a determined look forming on her face. "I'll be fine here. Go floo to the meeting before you're late," she shooed him though her voice was filled with anxiety laced fear.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he promised and with one last look at his sleeping son, Severus turned away to leave for the Order meeting, prepared to fight for his child's future, a future that didn't involve sending his son to fight against the darkest wizard of their time.