Getting to his feet after carefully detaching Harry from his robes and leg, Snape entered the kitchen to make a cup of strong coffee.

Harry frowned and rolled over only to feel space and cold, he shifted uncomfortably but still didn't wake although his rest was less soothing now for some reason unknown to him.

Minutes passed until Harry finally sat upright sleepily while rubbing his eyes and fumbling for his glasses but touched something warm. He accepted his glasses from Snape's offering hand and put them on, looking up at the man in confusion but it was delayed by a large yawn.

Neither said a word as breakfast was prepared and eaten. Snape wasn't sure if he should be relieved or not when he noticed that Harry wasn't as broken about his missing “brother” as he had been previously since the blonde boy had disappeared.

Harry mumbled a “thanks” and then made his way upstairs to shower and change, only to end up staring at himself in the mirror for a while without really seeing his reflection. Instead he saw Draco's face as he styled his hair and laughed about feeling like a girl. The flashback had Harry so absorbed that he hadn't noticed Snape pausing in the doorway and staring at him.

Snape watched as Harry stared at the mirror as though he was seeing something horrible inside it. The boy bit his lip and his eyes welled with those dreadful tears again; Snape wondered how much longer he could simple ignore it.

A sound was heard downstairs, startling Harry from his stare and he side-stepped the mirror with a sigh. He turned towards the door and made his way into his shared room. Snape was already at the front door by the time Harry had shut his bedroom door.

It was Dumbledore, announcing that they're expanding the search for Draco but so far they have very little leads. Following the update, Snape was starting to feel a bit sick will worry. Surely someone would have seen him by now? Or perhaps they couldn't find him because someone had seen him? Suppressing a shiver, he turned around and saw Harry slowly descending the stairs, his face looking pale and depressed.

Although he vowed to never give up hope on Draco, a part of him was preparing for the worst...it was only habit. He never got back those that he lost, had left him or else just...disappeared. It suddenly occurred to Snape that he still had Harry. Of course the boy had never gone anywhere although he'd only been inside the house a few days, but all the same it never truly hit home for Snape that Lily's son was still with him even though she is not.

"Harry" Snape said in a quieter tone, causing the boy to look up and his pain was even harder to ignore with such piercing emerald eyes filled with threatening tears.

"Did they find him?" The boy asked just as softly.

"No" Snape said but quickly rephrased. "Not yet."

"Oh" Was all Harry said before moving towards the couch and curled up on it once again, preparing for yet another day of emptiness, worry and anxious waiting.

"You will not sit here and wallow like a widow" Snape snarled. "Come" He gestured and Harry slowly but somewhat reluctantly followed him downstairs where the private potions lab was.

Since he was best with potions, Snape decided that it was something he could use. If only the boy knew the level of trust he was being bestowed right now!

"I-I can't" Harry backed away once he figured out what was going on. "My head is foggy...I'll ruin it."

"I am not deluded enough to allow you to assist with even the simplest of potions while you're in such a state, Potter" Snape sighed. "I merely request that you keep your mind alert. I will ask you a question and you will answer, understood?"

Harry looked unsure since he knew potions wasn't his best subject but sighed and nodded anyway. He didn't want Snape to get mad at him.

"Well?" Snape pressed while frowning deeply.

"Yes sir" Harry mumbled and ducked his head slightly.

Snape began preparing a potion while Harry watched anxiously, making mental note of everything he was doing as he braced himself for the quiz. He should have known better...since when was Snape so predictable?

"I noticed a firm bond between Draco and yourself" Snape said without looking at Harry who stood a few feet away. "Has this always existed?"

"Oh um...I..." Harry fumbled for an answered to the unexpected question.

"A coherent answer, please" Snape said.

"Yes" Harry nodded. "Since we were babies" He added but then did a startling re-think. "Hey, you said please."

Snape did glance up this time. "I am capable of such politeness, Potter" He growled but lowered his head again, hiding his own embarrassment to the bewildered look on the boy's face as though he's just told him he adored kittens...which he did not. Apart from the little black one Lily had saved when they had been younger. Snape cursed his memories and pondered on another question to distract Harry from the most worrisome situation.

"Between yourselves, is there any particular class in which you favor?" Snape asked next, not really caring for most of the answers but if it kept them both busy...so be it.

"I think Draco really likes Transfiguration" Harry shrugged and then thought for a moment, lowering his gaze to his entwining hands in mild embarrassment.

"I...I had been really looking forward to potions" He admitted with a sigh and didn't notice when Snape glanced at him.

"But um, otherwise I'd say Defense Against the Dark Arts...or maybe even Charms. I don't really know."

"Hm" Snape went back to slicing liver and thought for a moment, refusing to feel anything apart from curious. Too bad he couldn't resist. "Is there a specific reason for your anticipation towards my class?"

Harry mumbled something but exhaled and tried to think of an alternative answer to “you interested me”. "I...I don't think so, I mean...it sounded cool and I was good at cooking so..." Harry shrugged his shoulders lightly again while still looking away and Snape knew he was either lying or hiding somewhat of the truth.

"And Draco?" Snape prodded.

"Nah, he just laughed at me" Harry smiled in memory but swallowed the lump of pain and shook his head.

"And, might I ask, what your least favored subject would be?"

"History of Magic" Harry replied without much thought. "It's so boring."

Snape said nothing but felt a mild smugness that despite everything, he hadn't caused to boy to hate potions the most. But instead of smiling, he lectured. Of course, he was Severus Snape so what other response could he give? Although he felt annoyed to remember how easily he repelled anything good...well, apparently except for Harry.

"It is prudent to learn one's history, regardless of your interest towards such knowledge" Snape said although he recalled partially dozing off in the History of Magic classes that he wasn't spending staring at Lily or evading the Marauders that were still awake.

"Yes sir" Was all Harry said. "Sir? Might I ask you something?"

Snape glanced at him while dropping some herbs into the cauldron and stirring it. "Go on" He encouraged in a deep voice.

"Well I was just..." Harry sighed and forced himself to look at the man. "I was just wondering how you knew to come save us, you know? The night my uncle..." Harry said nothing else as he visibly flinched at the memory of that sour muggle.

"Your owl" Snape answered, mostly relieved as he had feared a question such as why he hadn't sent them away or why he had been so sour to them in class. "Hedwig, I presume?" He asked and when seeing Harry's light nod, continued. "Yes, she caused quite a racket outside and I merely went to investigate. I recognized her and noticed the blood" He finished.

"Thank you" Harry whispered and his gratitude was seeped into every vow, tone and even his expression.

"However" Snape frowned. "I am curious as to why neither yourself nor Draco thought to report what that bile muggle was doing. Do not attempt to cover your foolishness by lying to me" He added. "I am certain it was not the first time he...injured either of you'. Snape had to swallow the hatred for the muggle as he focused more intently on Harry's reaction.

"There were times..." Harry admitted, his voice darkening as he remembered. "We wanted it to stop so badly, we wished he'd just leave us alone...but really sir, we didn't know who to tell!" He insisted, staring up at Snape as though he was in deep trouble.

"When Dudley hit us at school, no one believed us...and when we went to Hogwarts..." Harry glanced away, frowning. "We assumed no one would there either, or that no one would care" He sighed. "No one ever did. It was always just us...there was no one else we could trust."

Snape said nothing although he wanted to mention their efforts to further hide what was going on but for some reason he couldn't. Perhaps it was his own guilt from his inaction that caused him to fall silent and focus on the last stages of the potion.

Morning dissolved into afternoon in which then melted away to night. Still there was no news and still they continued to worry. Once again Snape found himself sitting beside Harry as he slept on the couch and against his thigh. A nightmare shook the boy while Snape had been lightly brushing his hair (he was barely aware of the action now) and was tired himself so he didn't want to boy to wake.

Making a quick decision, he carefully pulled Harry upright so that his head was leaning against his chest and he could wrap an arm around around the boy, securing him to himself and his warmth. This seemed to help greatly and the boy slept on in peace, clutching a fistful of his black robes once again.

Snape knew he would fall asleep soon but fought it for several more minutes and glanced down at the dark hair below him and wondered when he had gone from “Potter boy” to “Harry” in his mind and...that organ in his chest, the heart? He wasn't sure if he had one though. With his past and the way he kept people at a distance, surely Snape had lost all capability to love another? And yet, Harry was not held at arms length...he was in fact, curled into his embrace. Snape yawned and blamed his behavior on concern for the boy's wellbeing and the stress of Draco's disappearance. Of course, then he had to admit he actually cared.

Why couldn't things just be simple? It would be easier to shove both boys away, not care and just make it through the summer without chaos. Strangely though, that no longer seemed as easy as it had been several weeks ago.

With those agitating thoughts on his mind, Snape scowled himself to sleep.

Harry stared at the plate in front of him, thinking lightly to himself while Snape made another cup of coffee in the kitchen. It had been exactly two nights and nearly three days since he had last seen Draco. And yet the concern only continued to build but now anger was reaching him as he seethed about why his brother even broke their code of loyalty and left him to begin with.

A knock jerked him from his thoughts and he glanced at Snape but felt the bathroom urges calling and reluctantly made his way up the stairs, not caring about leaving his plate on the table as Snape was now discouraging against.

"Yes?" Snape raised an eyebrow when he answered the door and saw Dumbledore alongside an unknown woman, staring at him with a strange gaze.

"Severus" Dumbledore breathed, his eyes not twinkling and his voice sounding stressed or tired; Snape couldn't tell which but neither did he care.

"The search is over."

Draco wasn't sure when things stopped making sense to him, perhaps it was because he had maybe an hour or two of sleep in the past...how many days? Either way the small shed around him filled with odd gardening tools and pots became shadows of things he couldn't figure out and the walls stretched taller, crooked and furthermore confusing than they had been.

Every few moments he would wonder how he'd even come to be in a unfamiliar shed but his mind was clouded and his head hurt terribly. His throat was burning and his body felt weak as he lay curled on the filthy, cold ground of the shed. His trunk rested nearby and his hand reached for it but his body had been sapped of strength.

He yelped hoarsely in shock when the wooden door abruptly burst open, streaming in light that hurt his eyes and he had to cover his face with his arm to shield himself.

"No..." He groaned when someone grabbed his arm and pulled him closer, all he could make out was that the person was cloaked and had dark hair. Despite his state, Draco was somehow able to make out voices although even if he had recognized them, he wouldn't have noticed. He couldn't even tell if they were male or female.

"How long has he been in here?" A deep voice asked, coming from the person who was still clutching him.

"I...I don't know" A second voice asked in a higher tone. "I just got home and...I never knew'.

"You do know who he is, right?" Deep voice asked, sounding accusing and disgusted, now releasing the hold on Draco's arm.

"Of course!" Second voice scowled. "I do not live under a rock! And besides, how could I not know know who he is? How dare you!"

"I had to ask" Deep voice sighed heavily. "You've been away, you say?"

"Yes, I just got back now to have you no doubt planning to ransack my place" Second voice didn't seem like a very happy person.

Draco could barely understand that they were talking about him. Who was he, anyway? Oh yes...he had a name. Draco Malfoy. And with that memory, he had flashes of climbing a tree, packing his things in guilt while Harry slept...hoping, no praying, that his brother would be happy. And then he'd summoned that magical bus, giving the address to...where? Here? Surely he was here on his own will? But why would he lie helpless in a tool shed? It smelt of dirt and dead rats, he now noticed.

"Well I'm taking him" Deep voice stated and Draco groaned in attempts to fight again but his head spun and throbbed some more.

"Do you think he's ill or hurt?" Second voice asked in concern.

"That's not my problem" Deep voice scowled. "I'm taking him and they can deal with him. I was trained better for this, oh well...I'm sure there is some sort of reward or something'.

"As if that's important!" Second voice snapped and Draco flinched at the sound. "Oh, sorry dear" The voice said as though the person was actually worried about him, unlike the other one. But then a new, lighter voice broke into the mix.

"Hey! Is that him?" Draco was surprised to know that this belonged to someone younger and surely a girl.

"Is he okay?" The girl asked quickly and Draco felt himself being clutched by the person with the deep voice again.

"He'll be fine" Second voice assured the girl but they were fading.

Draco felt enormously dizzy as their surroundings shifted and reformed, causing him to feel further disorientated and sore.

He blinked when he realized he was somehow standing upright on his own feet and staring at a door. Deep voice knocked and Draco squinted to see what was happening but gasped when the door flung open and dark robes came into view. He felt as though he was falling but never moved. Draco swallowed and shivered, trying to figure out if he was about to die or not.

A snarl was heard along with a soft yelp. Draco's eyes widened and some blur cleared. He eyed the black shoes, black robes and...black hair. Wow, a lot of black just like...

Draco gulped when he saw the rough figure of Snape but a faint wash of relief filled inside him as it meant he was safe enough to sleep.

"Sorry" He mumbled and with that Draco fell face-forward at Snape's feet, not even aware of the hands that caught him.

"Will he be okay?" Harry asked from the doorway where he stood and watched Snape checking on Draco who was now sleeping in his rightful bed. "What happened?"

Snape scowled again and Harry went quiet, although it never seemed to last and he felt the need to ask several questions in which he could not answer.

"He appears to be unharmed" Snape finally exhaled and straightened. "Dehydrated, hungry and otherwise idiotic...two in which can be cured" He muttered, hearing the exhaling breath of relief from Harry.

Snape remembered Dumbledore saying how Andromeda Tonks had been away for the duration of Draco's absence but returned just when auror Jacob Lytner showed up to ask if she had heard from him. Hearing the sounds of cluttering pots from her shed, they went to investigate and found Draco lying there as he presumably had been for days.

Snape pinched the bridge of his nose and flashed back to twenty minutes ago...

---

"Where is he?" Harry growled but then as if they had been linked, there was a knock at the door and Snape was on his feet instantly. He had expected to tell Harry to stay or even restrain him but the dark-haired boy froze and fell silent, sinking further against the couch.

Snape opened the door and saw the auror there, holding Draco's arm rather roughly while this trunk sat at their feet.

Snape snarled at the incompetent wizard while acknowledging his relief that he could stop wondering where Draco was and start being productive. Harry yelped at the sight of Draco but otherwise silently stayed where he was.

Either the snarl or the yelp, Draco's eyes widened in some form of recognition and his eyes focused somewhat more. He trailed his gaze up at Snape while the auror released his hold on him, seemingly thinking the boy was fine on his own and disparated to talk to Dumbledore.

Draco swallowed and his features relaxed slightly while he swayed on his feet.

"Sorry" The boy choked out and fell forward. Snape acted out of instinct and caught him before he could hit the floor . He rolled him over, quickly checking to see if the boy was alright but he merely appeared to be knocked out from exhaustion.

Harry sniffled from the couch but stayed still while Snape brushed a hand through Draco's blonde hair and felt his forehead in the process.

-- 

"Why did you leave me?" Harry's choked voice broke Snape from the past events and he turned to see the boy standing closer to Draco but appeared to be keeping his distance. He was surprised that Harry was more angry than upset and hardly relieved to the other boy's return.

"He needs rest" Snape said but Harry didn't seem to hear him. "Potter" He added again, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder and began to steer him out of the room and downstairs.

"But is he going to be okay?" Harry looked up at him when they reached the bottom step.

"I have provided him with several potions in which should speed his recovery" Snape answered. "He does not appear to be injured, I assume Draco is merely exhausted. Yes Harry, he will recover."

"Good" Harry frowned. "Because I'm gonna punch him" He scowled and clenched his fists, startling Snape again although he hid it well.

"That would be unwise."

Harry sighed and slumped his shoulders at those words but said nothing else although his form shook slightly and Snape suspected he was upset again.

Harry closed his eyes while facing the floor, keeping his head bent even though he knew he couldn't hide his tears from Snape. He didn't even wince when a warm hand rested on his head in a comforting motion, instead he felt the tears subside and the pain lessen.

"Our only option now is to wait" Snape's voice was closer than he had expected, softer too as well as lined with something alike concern. "Let Draco rest...then we shall deal with the consequences."

Harry jerked up at that word, his eyes wide and fearful.

"Don't fret, child" Snape sighed, lowering his hand. "Did I not inform you that I would not inflict harm?" He eyed Harry and he relaxed again.

"Yes sir" Harry breathed and turned to face the stairs that led to the bedroom where Draco was sleeping. "At least he's back."

Snape said nothing while resting a hand on the boy's shoulder, also staring in the direction of the room. Yes, let the boy rest and recover for now...afterward he had better be prepared to answer questions.