While waiting for Harry to finish showering, Severus sat on the sofa drawing up a schedule of things to do before Harry started treatment on Sunday. There were some things set at mandatory times like Harry's appointment with the specialist Friday morning following the students' departure and other things that just needed to be completed by then like restocking his kitchen and getting his quarters ready. It was already Tuesday and with time winding down he needed to optimize the time that was left.

"Severus?" a melodic voice called out from his floo in a way only a mother could.

"I'm here, Aurora," Severus addressed his mother, surprised. Last he knew his parents were happily living in the States.

"I'm coming through, young man, and if you try to block your floo, I'll send you a nasty howler that I'm sure your students will be entertained by," Aurora warned.

Severus rolled his eyes. Why was his mother visiting him? Had she finally worked on her tan long enough?

Aurora Prince was a beautiful lady, a different breed of beautiful than Narcissa Malfoy. While both aristocratic women were of the purest bloodlines, Aurora exuded a natural beauty. She kept her dishwater blonde wavy hair hanging loose to her waist, and today she was attired in Muggle bell-bottom jeans and a white gauze embroidered tank top. She was the picture of a modern-day Hippie, which in reality she was except that she was a Hippie back in the 60s, too, though most questioned that since she appeared not a day over thirty even at fifty-three.

"I saw that," Aurora chided as she walked over to him. "I thought I taught you better than to roll your eyes at your elders."

"You actually taught me to roll my eyes at my elders," Severus countered.

"You're not supposed to do everything your parents do," his mother rolled her eyes while she sat next to him on the sofa. She picked up the schedule Severus was working on.

"Put that down," Severus demanded trying to snatch the parchment from her hand. Aurora held on tight, reading it as her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion and fear.

"What is this?"

"Nothing," Severus lied, sending the parchment flying into the floo with a wave of his hand.

"Severus Hadrian Caius Prince! I demand you tell me right now because what I read demands an explanation. Your father and I have lived long enough in the Muggle world for me not to know what that parchment said," Aurora admonished her son in a barking tone that put his own to shame.

"Mother," Severus said causing her to scowl as he intended, "What are you doing back in Britain?"

"Don't call me Mother. You know it makes me feel old and matronly," Aurora shuddered. "Your father and I happened to return because we wished to see you this summer since you should have no obligations for once. You never once returned our recent letters so I told your father that if we returned to Prince Manor then you couldn't hide from us all summer. Your sister is too busy with finishing school and well I missed you. But Severus, if that schedule says what I thought I read..."

For the love of Merlin! Now his mother decided to be maternal? Was this the same woman who sent him to live with his Aunt Eileen and Uncle Tobias at age nine, so she and his father could experience Woodstock and San Francisco without having a young child cramping their style?

"It's nothing. It's for a student of mine who will be staying with me this summer. I am perfectly healthy," Severus reassured her.

"Oh, Severus," Aurora flung her arms around him. Severus, his back straight froze. "For a moment I thought... It would just be unfair after all the risks you've taken to help with the war."

Severus extricated himself from his mother and stood up. "As you can see I'm fine, but I really must be getting back to my work." He had to get his mother out of his quarters before Harry came out. Having her there alone with him was awkward enough.

"Nonsense. You're just trying to get me to leave. While I appreciate your efforts, we haven't discussed if you'll be residing at Prince Manor this summer, and I wish to know this student that'll be staying with you," Aurora said, not budging from the sofa.

To make things worse Harry walked out in the sitting room dressed in clothes that hung off his too thin frame. "Professor?" the teen asked in confusion.

Severus threw his arms up wishing he could pull his hair out. Why did his mother always show up at the most inconvenient times? Sure, they got along better now since his parents for the most part acted like adults instead of the free-spirit reckless parents they were when he was a child, but it was like his mother wished to fix her mistakes now when he was thirty-six and no longer needed her.

"Aurora," Severus reluctantly went through the motions of introducing them to each other, "Meet-"

"Lily's child," Aurora gasped moving over to the teen. "I'd recognize those green eyes anywhere." She wrapped her arms around Harry in an awkward hug.

For a person who never panicked, Severus felt his adrenaline rise at Aurora's realization. He was prepared for her to recognize the child as The-Boy-Who-Lived, but not for his relation to his Lily. Severus needed to get one of them out of the room now before Aurora spilled his past to Harry.

"You knew my mother?" Harry asked, awed, pulling away from Aurora slightly.

"Mother," Severus warned through gritted teeth, alarm bells screaming in his head.

"I met her a few times. She was a wonderful girl, so lively, happy, and brilliant," Aurora reminisced with a smile while patting the boy on his head. "I'm sorry you don't remember her, but I'm sure she'd adore you."

"Really? Everyone always mentions my dad. I don't know much about my mother," Potter confessed with a light in his eyes like the one found in a young child on Christmas morning.

"Yes. You should ask Severus about Lily. He knows more than I do. They were in the same year," Aurora told him as Severus forced his hand away from his wand, itching to cast an obliviate at Harry.

"Harry, go make your bed," Severus demanded of his student.

"But Professor, I already have," Harry protested.

"Harry, please," Severus ordered refusing to admit his voice sounded pleading. Harry's shoulders sagged and the light in his eyes left, but the teen broke from Aurora and returned to his room, shutting his door with a click. Severus sent a silencing charm down the hallway.

He felt a second's worth of remorse. He hadn't meant to hurt the boy's feelings, but the situation spiraled out of control the second his mother recognized Harry as Lily's child.

"Was that necessary?" Aurora asked, her voice cross.

"Yes, since you won't leave," the Potions Master said, not caring it was his mother he was all but forcing to leave.

"The boy wishes to know about his mother. There's no harm in that."

"He didn't know I knew his mother well," Severus told her deflating. He retook his seat on the sofa, his head in his hands.

"Someone needs to tell him about her." Aurora put a hand on his shoulder. "Is he the student that's staying with you?"

"Yes," Severus sighed. "I've agreed to become his medical proxy since his Muggle relatives won't be able to get him the care he needs."

He couldn't believe he was confessing this to his mother of all people. Severus never told her anything about the details of his life. Oddly enough, he felt a smidgen of the weight he carried on his shoulders from stress and responsibility lift.

"Medical proxy?" Aurora questioned as she put two and two together. "He has cancer?"

"Once again Harry Potter proves the impossible to be possible," Severus whispered. His thoughts were all over with his mother bringing up Lily.

"Oh dear, Lily would be devastated," Aurora said tearing up, "but Severus, you'll do what's right for the child. He's in good hands."

"I know," Severus said more for something to say.

"What was that nonsense about a trip to Gringotts and special permission?" Aurora asked tugging on a lock of his hair.

"The treatments aren't covered by the system, and since he's not of age he needs special permission to draw from the main Potter vaults," Severus sighed.

"What of his Muggle relatives? I assume they have custody of him. Shouldn't they be paying for his care?"

Severus shrugged. "From what I've gathered through Occlumency lessons this year, his relatives would rather see him dead than pay for anything he needs."

The Potions Master hadn't ignored what he learned from those disastrous lessons, no matter how much he hated the child at the time. He took his revelations to the Headmaster, and it was part of the reason Albus initially arranged for him to stay at Hogwarts.

"That poor child. He must be so scared," Aurora pulled Severus close to her. He allowed it, knowing no matter how unprepared for parenthood she was in his early years she loved him and needed that physical contact to know he was all right. "Is that why his clothes hung from him?"

"Perhaps, but he's lost quite a bit of weight the last month. His godfather also died involving an incident at the Department of Mysteries a few weeks ago."

"Severus, take the funds for his treatment from our vaults. We have more than enough, and he shouldn't have to pay for his own medical expenses," Aurora demanded, her voice full of sorrow.

"Harry has sufficient funds to cover the treatments. He's the sole Potter heir, and he's likely to inherit some more from his godfather," Severus stated as a fact. Aurora's suggestion hadn't even crossed his mind.

"I don't care if he's Draco Malfoy or a homeless boy off the streets. A child shouldn't have to pay for his own medical expenses," Aurora said, set in her decision. "And get that child some decent clothes while you're at it. He needs to be comfortable."

Severus nodded knowing it was best not to argue when Aurora Prince came to such a decision. She was more stubborn than he was, and he could see her point, his brain just refused to cooperate in admitting that his family's money was best spent going to Potter's scion.

"Good. Keep me updated on his progress," Aurora said moving to the floo after one last tousle to his hair. "And remember, my child, he's Lily's son."

Severus took a deep breath as his mother departed. Of course he would remember. It was the reason he agreed to be Harry's medical proxy, and why he saved the teen's life so many times. He couldn't let Lily's last gift to the world die.

------

Harry fidgeted while sitting in his window seat. The window displayed the Quidditch Pitch at the moment, and he could see a group of Gryffindors including Ron and Ginny playing a pick up game of quidditch. Hermione sat in the stands with a book in her hands. It all looked so normal, yet Harry was here in Snape's quarters about to be told about his treatments for cancer to somehow get rid of all the Death Eater cells floating around inside his blood.

"Harry?" Snape asked knocking on his door.

This was it. No more use of treatments as an ambiguous concept. Snape was finally going to tell him how many pills he had to swallow down a day and for how long. It couldn't be that bad, could it? At least you couldn't taste pills like you could potions.

"Come in," Harry said turning to face the door.

Snape pushed the door open looking not at all Snapelike. The man's shoulders slumped ever so slightly and his onyx eyes displayed worry. Harry gulped hoping Snape's appearance was due to the man's mother not him.

The woman was not at all whom Harry expected. She was warm and friendly, not at all like Snape, but Harry was learning most everything he thought he knew about Snape wasn't right. He wondered how she knew his mother, but doubted Snape would tell him. The man seemed as angry as if she'd brought up his father at the mention of his mother. Did she treat him as bad as his father had?

"May I?" Snape asked motioning to the other side of the window seat. Harry nodded crossing his legs so the professor would have more room to sit. "I'm sorry about sending you to your room. I didn't expect my mother to drop by," Snape apologized.

Snape was apologizing to him? The Potions Master never apologized, least of all to the golden Gryffindor. It made his professor seem human. "It's okay. I understand. I almost blew up Aunt Marge summer before third year," Harry shrugged, his fingers drawing random shapes on the light blue silk seat.

"Miss Weasley caught the snitch," Snape said a few moments later.

"She's a decent seeker. Do you think with Umbridge gone my quidditch ban will be lifted?" Harry asked turning his attention back to the window where Ginny's side celebrated their small victory.

"I don't think Headmaster Dumbledore will let that ruling stand, but you won't be in shape to play next year," Snape said with a hint of sadness. "Maybe your seventh year."

"Yeah. It would be nice to know I had the option though," Harry trailed off. He missed quidditch. Flying was liberating with the wind blowing through his hair. Nothing but him, the air, and the golden snitch. "How many pills do I have to take?"

"A few, but there's more," Snape confessed.

"What? I thought Muggle medicine used pills. They don't have potions." Harry was confused. All the medication he'd seen the Dursleys take were either in pill or liquid forms.

"They do, but there's also a better way to get the drugs into your system. Most of your treatment plan involves chemotherapy. Have you ever heard of it?" Severus placed his hand over Harry's, stilling his random motions.

"No. How does it work? Is it like a shot?"

Harry averted his gaze back to the enchanted window, not wishing to think about more needles. His friends were lying around the quidditch pitch, relaxing as they talked to one another.

"In a way. You'll have two different kinds of chemotherapy, intravenous and intrathecal. Intravenous chemo will enter through a line in your chest in liquid form from a pump that regulates how fast it flows into your body," Severus struggled to explain.

"Line?" Harry continued to be confused. How was anything going to enter through a line?

"Not like a geometric line. In medical terminology, a line refers to a small tube that's inserted into your body in order to give you fluids, medications, or blood."

"Inserted?" Harry whipped his head back to face Snape growing scared. They were going to insert something in him and then pump whatever chemotherapy was into his body? Were they sure this was going to help him rather than harm him?

"You'll have either a Hickman line or a port placed before your treatments start. It's so you don't need an IV. Those can't stay in and you'd be poked with needles often."

"Stay in?" Harry didn't like the sound of anything involving chemotherapy. He felt his hands begin to tremble and goosebumps rise up on his arms.

"Yes. Once placed a Hickman line or port can stay in for the duration of chemotherapy. They're very convenient," Snape said squeezing his hand. "A Hickman is a catheter or tube that will be placed here," the Potions Master used his free hand to point to a spot on Harry's chest near his right collarbone. "The catheter will hang outside your body and when it's time for chemo, the tubing that's there will be hooked up to the pump. It can also be used to draw blood, so there's no need for needle sticks."

"And the other option?" Harry asked terrified, his face paling more with every word Snape said.

"A port is a small device placed under the skin near your collarbone. It's accessed by a special needle where it'll be connected to your chemo or whatever else you may need."

"But there's still needles?" Harry confirmed not liking that idea one bit.

"Yes. I'd suggest the Hickman line with your aversion to needles and the other options it offers that the port cannot."

"You're letting me pick?" Harry asked, surprised. How was he supposed to pick one when he didn't know much about either option? What if he chose the wrong one?

"Yes, it's your body and you're the one having to deal with needles or tubing attached to your body. Both choices work well," Snape explained his reasoning, his hand never leaving Harry's.

"Then the first one, but what is chemotherapy?" Harry still didn't understand what exactly it was.

"It's the medicine that helps to kill cancer cells. It's a highly toxic concoction that works like a poison to cancer cells," Snape said, choosing his words carefully.

"But it won't harm me?" Harry didn't like the sound of something similar to a poison. They were horrible and used to kill, not cure.

Snape paused, and Harry knew that was a bad sign. He was barely holding it together. This chemotherapy thing sounded horrible. Was his leukemia all that bad? He thought it was something similar to long-term chicken pox, not that it had the same presentation, but that it was a common thing Muggles got that with medication and time went away.

"Harry, medications aren't smart like humans. They can't distinguish between good and bad cells. In the process of killing off the cancer cells, some good ones will be killed off, too."

"What happens then? It doesn't poison me right because poisons kill and what's the point of killing off the cancer if the poison will kill you in the end," Harry said without stopping to take a breath. He really, really didn't want to die, and it kept sounding more likely that he was going to.

Something unexpected happened then. Snape wrapped one arm around him, encouraging Harry to lean on him. Harry folded into Snape's side, but refused to cry. He wouldn't breakdown. He wasn't weak, but he had to admit it felt nice to have someone hold him close.

"You're not going to die," Snape commanded. "Do you hear me, Potter?"

"Yes, but the poison-"

"Will not kill you," the Potions Master continued to explain. "There are some rather nasty side effects that goes along with chemo, but you'll endure."

"Like what?" Snape's use of the word endure worried him.

"You'll lose your hair, but it'll grow back once you're down with chemo. It may make you throw up, and you'll continue to be fatigued," Severus listed off the most common side effects.

"My hair?" Harry knew it made him sound like Malfoy, but he rather liked his hair even if it never obeyed him. He couldn't picture himself bald.

"Yes, but as I said, it'll grow back. It'll be important that you tell me anything unusual that you feel or think you feel."

He nodded, biting down on his lower lip, sinking more into Snape's side.

"The other type of chemotherapy you'll have is called intrathecal chemotherapy. That's when the chemo is injected directly into your spinal canal by a needle."

Harry shuddered. He never wanted to see another needle again especially near his back.

"It won't be nearly as uncomfortable as the bone marrow biopsy," Snape assured him.

He didn't care if it was more comfortable or not. The whole thing sounded horrendous. Harry felt fine for the most part. He didn't really feel sick, just tired, but this chemotherapy would make him feel worse. It didn't make sense. There had to be another way.

"It's the only way to kill the cancer cells?" Harry asked desperate for another solution.

"I wish there were another way, but yes, it's the only known way," Snape confirmed.

"Okay," Harry said resigned, but if that were the only way he'd live. "I'll do it."

Snape tightened his grip around him in a way that could almost qualify as a hug. "Do you wish to know the tentative chemo schedule the specialist sent down?"

"No," Harry decided. He had enough for today. "Can I be alone? I think I want to lie down for a while."

"In a moment. There's one other thing you must be informed about," Snape replied sounding sad. "Chemotherapy can cause a certain unwanted permanent side effect. Do you wish to have children one day?"

"Huh?" Harry asked wondering where that question had come from. He hadn't ever given much thought to it. That phase of his life seemed so far away.

"Chemotherapy can cause males to become sterile. If you wish to ensure you can father children one day, you can store," Snape stopped, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Do I need to explain further? It can be done in the Hospital Wing very discreetly with you and a cup. I suggest you seek out the option before Friday."

Harry's eyes bulged out not believing what his professor just told him. He squirmed feeling his cheeks redden. "Yes, sir," he forced out.

Snape nodded. "Any other questions? You may come to me at any time with any question whether you may think it dumb or not."

"No," Harry said. He just wanted to forget about his treatments until he had to face them, and he certainly didn't want to think about what Snape just told him.

Snape gave him one last odd squeeze before getting up to depart from his room. He clapped a total of five times before crossing the threshold leaving the door open a crack.

Harry dragged himself to his bed. He curled up in the middle in a fetal position under a pile of blankets staring at his mural as he tried to forget about everything Snape had told him. After all, he couldn't be scared if he didn't let himself feel anything.