-II-

"Then I will tell you when you hurt me!" Harry said, determined.

"That's a very good idea, Harry," Maria stated from the opposite couch.

Harry beamed. He had a good idea that even the adults liked.

"Okay," Severus agreed and pulled a face at the smile on his brother's face. "You look like one of those awful smiley buttons Luna is wearing on her school bag."

Harry smiled even more after that comment.

"Will you go on with your report, Harry?" James prodded.

"Oh, yeah, ehm...when you left me in the hall, I hid behind an armor, and Hermione and Ron found me later. They tried to comfort me, but I was too sad. Then Alastor and Poppy came, and they brought me here. James warmed me up, and I slept and then we talked, and Maria joined us as well. Then you came in and ran directly into the bathroom." Bang! The depressing mood was back.

-II-

"Would you tell us about your day now, Severus?" James asked the relaxed boy in his arms.

"I woke up early like always, but Harry was still sleeping. So I just remained in bed until he woke up. Then Alastor and Poppy gave us all our school stuff and I started to get nervous. When I saw Harry in his Gryffindor uniform, I felt strange to just have my black one. I wondered if it was such a good idea to be re-Sorted." Severus sighed. He knew that he could not elide the little accident in the kitchen like Harry had. "When Harry and I were alone in the kitchen, I..." He looked for the right words and avoided looking at his guardians.

"What happened, Severus?" Maria asked gently when Severus remained silent for over a minute.

"I should have taken the potion, but I...I..." Again, he sighed. "I poured it in the sink." He stopped and tried to melt into the Healer's body behind him. Alastor would be very angry, and Severus knew how often Alastor had said he wished Albus would let the teachers use physical punishments on some students. Severus anticipated everything. He might be hauled out of the Healer's arms and thrown over Alastor's knees or pulled harshly by his ears into the next corner to stand there for the rest of the evening. He had not expected silence. No, that was a reaction he really had not thought about. After the moment of shock, he slowly opened his eyes a crack and glanced around. Poppy sat still close to his legs, her hand resting on his shin, and Alastor sat calmly with Maria on the other couch.

"Go on, Severus," Maria said gently.

"But that was it. I poured it in the sink and didn't drink it." Severus was puzzled. What else did they want to know? "Ehm...I'm sorry."

"No, you aren't. You are just sorry that we caught you," James said and chuckled. "We know now that we have to keep a closer eye on you. So go on. What happened after the kitchen?"

Now Severus was completely flabbergasted. That was it. No scolding or punishment. That was too good to be true, but he decided not to complain. "Okay, I...I went to the Great Hall with Harry and Alastor and Poppy. On my way there, I already knew that it would be terrible. All the students were staring at us and whispered about us. It was the same in the Great Hall. We even had to stand in front of them, and I was alone." Severus paused, again feeling the panic he had felt that moment. Harry's arms tightened their grip on him as if he knew what was going on in Severus' head.

"I thought the hat would never say which house it would put me in, and when he said Ravenclaw, I was surprised. And when they looked so...so...so kind, I was even more shocked."

"So it wasn't all bad?" James dug deeper.

"No...I think not. Alicia and Oliver were nice," Severus said shyly.

"They were all flanking you when you left the great Hall and Transfiguration," Harry stated.

"Hey, it's my story this time," Severus protested, but when Harry giggled into his chest, he could not suppress a grin. It felt so good to be home after a day like this. "The first class was Potions with Charlie. I really liked being in the classroom." He did not notice that he had not said 'my classroom,' but the adults did. "I had some trouble cutting the ingredients, and Charlie made me stop and drink a glass of apple juice," Severus said and pulled a face. "Is that the new wonder drug for all my problems? I get it quite often."

James chucked. "Not a wonder drug, but it helps. You need a lot of liquid, and the apple juice has some fructose, which helps you in many ways."

Severus groaned. He instantly remembered the incident in the bathroom. He was happy that he had been in the bathroom before Leroy and Greg caught him. Otherwise he would have wet his trousers himself. That would have amused the two even more. Severus did not realize that he had tensed and frowned until Harry tightened the hug and started to soothingly rub his side. Again, Severus' thoughts were with the bullies. They had teased him about being gay, even though he was looking in fear and disgust at what Leroy had done. Seeing Harry lying on him like that would give them ideas, but they were not here, and he enjoyed Harry's soothing gesture exactly for what it was: a friendly offer of comfort. He would never see Harry or any other guy as attractive.

"Just tell us what is going on in your head, Severus," James prodded gently.

That brought Severus back to the present, and he started to control himself again. "It's nothing. I...was in Potions, right?" It was a rhetorical question, so he went on, ignoring James' request completely. "I finished the potion with Oliver, and it was flawless. It seems I'm at least good in one subject."

"Severus, you were only at school for one day and had three subjects. You can hardly say how many you are good at yet," Poppy stated.

"I just know. I was bad in everything else the first time, and now I'm even more of a..." He stopped himself in time before he gave away what he really thought about himself. His slip in the bathroom was worse enough. Now they would keep an eye on him as if he was suicidal.

"A what, Severus?" James prodded, even though he knew that he would meet a wall again. Severus had himself under control too much. Nevertheless, he had to try to coax Severus into telling them who did this to him. It was a crime and not a stupid student prank they had expected. Something had to be done against the culprits. Who knew what they would do next?

"Nothing. So Potions was okay. Transfiguration was a disaster as I had guessed. I was frustrated that I could not transfigure the needle into..." Severus fought hard against the picture that was forming in his mind. Leroy breathing in his face and mocking him about his failure in Transfiguration. Eventually, he managed to push the image away. "I failed. So I let my anger out at Harry. I didn't mean what I said. I was just frustrated that he had managed it so easily and that nobody laughed about him, just me. I know that is childish, and-"

"You are a child, Severus," Maria reminded him. "It's okay to behave childish from time to time. It's just important to speak about it and learn from it. You already said that you are sorry, and Harry forgave you. Harry did not understand why you pushed him away when you did, and so he was very sad and felt alone. Think about what would have happened if you did not talk about it with him."

"I know," Severus said sadly. "I'm sorry."

"You did the right thing when you spoke openly with Harry. Just go on, Severus," James assured him.

"I...was sorry and worried when I saw Alastor and Poppy go out of the hall. I knew it was because of Harry," Severus said sorrowfully. "I finished eating and then I had Care of Magical Creatures, and then I came back here." Severus realized that he was breathing more quickly and gnawing nervously on his bottom lip, but he hoped the others would not see.

"The end of your report seems a bit rushed. Why don't you tell us more about the time from lunch to the moment you came back here?" James asked insistently.

Damn! What should he say now? "There isn't much to tell you. Hagrid wanted to show us some gnomes, but they ran away."

"So your day wasn't so bad, was it?" James asked, and Severus wondered why he was let off the hook so easily.

"It was okay," Severus said.

"There is only one problem with your report, Severus," James said, foreboding.

"Problem?" Severus asked nervously.

"There was no stairs in it," James stated.

Cold sweat broke out. Damn, why did he forget? "I...I forgot. It happened-" Close before I went to Hagrid's hut, Severus thought, but that would lead to more questions, like why didn't I tell Hagrid. "-on my way back here."

"Nobody saw you?" James dug deeper.

"No, why don't you leave me alone?" Severus tried to push out of James' grip, but Harry was heavy on his legs, and James was much stronger than he was.

"Severus, running away doesn't help. We told you that we'll keep an eye on you. We won't accept when someone bullies you. And what happened to you today was not only bullying, it was a crime. You are seriously hurt!" James said.

"Nothing happened. I fell down the stairs!" Severus said, frustrated. "Please stop."

"He will not go back," Alastor said strictly, losing his patience. "He should be home schooled."

"What? No! I will not run away from them!" Severus said angrily.

"From whom?" James prodded.

"No, stop. I'm okay. It was just the stairs. Please stop asking." The anger turned into despair, and he started to sob as he continually tried to wriggle out of James' grip.

"It's okay, Sev. I will stop. Calm down. We will let it rest for now," James said soothingly and hugged Severus tighter. Harry also tightened his hug, and Severus was almost crushed between the two. He still sobbed, but it lessened when James sent more calming magic to him.

"My decision stands!" Alastor said angrily as he stood and paced. "He will stay home until we find whoever had done this to him."

"No, please, Alastor!" Severus said between sobs. "I can manage it. I can stand it!"

Alastor stormed over to Severus, and the boy crouched back as much as he could against James. When he reached Severus, he grabbed his front, their faces only inches away. "I don't want you to manage it, and I definitely don't want you to stand criminal offsprings torturing you! You are my son, and I will not let them hurt you!" Alastor shouted, losing his composer completely. He had put it off as needless worries, and now his son was hurt like this and refused to tell him who it was.

"Alastor, please calm down. You are scaring them!" Poppy said worriedly and tried to pry Alastor away from Severus.

Severus was shocked. He had never thought Alastor would react like that. It was obvious that he was very angry. If he found Leroy and Greg, they would be very sorry. It would not be like it had been with Potter and Black. Alastor would not let Albus hold a hand over them. But that also meant Alastor and Albus would fight, and that would be very scary and then he, Severus, would be responsible for their friendship being broken. That must not happen.

Alastor did not let go of Severus even though Poppy now was pulling hard on his arm.

"Tell me their names!" Alastor shouted. Poppy could not make him move at all, and her shouting just went in one ear and out the other. James was occupied with Severus and could not use his magic on Alastor, and Maria did not seem to want to intervene. There was only one thing that made Alastor realize that he was going too far, and that was Harry shoving his head between Severus and Alastor and shouting at him to let go of Severus.

"Let him of go, Alastor! He is scared!" Harry shouted. When he saw the shocked face of his guardian, he added in a pleading voice, "Please!"

Alastor let go. Muttering that he was sorry and that it was his fault, he started to cry. Harry and Severus stared, shocked, at him. Harry had never seen him like this. Alastor never lost his composure like this. The only time he came close was when he had believed Harry was dead after the Horcrux extraction. Severus remembered that quite clearly. He is worried about me like he was for Harry, Severus realized, shocked. Severus wavered and shortly thought about telling them, but then again he felt that he had to do this alone, that he could survive this without them intervening. He was independent. He would do it alone.

"Harry, why don't you keep an eye on Severus for me?" James said and handed Severus over to the boy. Maria joined them on the couch.

When Alastor saw what James was doing, he freed himself out of Poppy's grip. "No. I should go." With that, he almost ran out of the quarters, but James followed him closely.

"It's my fault," Severus said miserably and threw himself at Maria. The friendly Healer just opened her arms wide and hugged Severus and Harry, who was hugging Severus from behind.

"It is not your fault, Severus. Alastor is worried because someone hurt you. If anyone is responsible for this, then it is the person that did this to you," Maria explained. "I think it is time for a Chocolate Frog for us all. What do you think, Poppy?" Maria asked the still-shocked Mediwitch, who slowly regained her composure. "You will find enough for all of us in my bag."

After they had eaten their frogs, Maria suggested that the boys go into Harry's room and redecorate. "You two indicated you would prefer to share a room, and I think it is a great idea. What do you say, Poppy?" Maria asked, glad that Poppy had calmed down.

"That's a wonderful idea. We can make a play and study room out of Severus' old room, and you can ask friends to stay overnight," Poppy suggested, smiling.

"Yeah!" Harry exclaimed, excited, and pulled Severus with him to his room-or rather, their room. "We should move your clothes and stuff in here, and we can put it in the cupboards later when they move the furniture in."

Severus liked to stay in Harry's room, but he was still very worried about Alastor and what would happen. It would be so embarrassing if he was forbidden to go back to school. Leroy and Greg would laugh about him. All the other students would think he was weak, and Harry would be alone and sad about it. He had made it very clear what he thought about his classmates.

"Are you not happy to share a room?" Harry asked, worried, when Severus did not share his excitement.

"Of course I am. I'm just worried about what will happen now. I'll hate it if I have to stay here and you have to go to school alone," Severus said sadly and sat down on his bed.

"Why don't you tell them who it was? It was Leroy and Greg, right? They said something about teaching you a lesson. I should have forgotten about my problems and warned you about it, but I thought you hated me, and-"

"Just don't ask, Harry. I'm the older one here. I can handle this alone."

"But I have older friends. Okay, older friends who are still students as you don't want to speak with the adults. I'm sure Ron will smash them. He is a very good Keeper, you know. He is strong and big and... that sounds weird."

"Absolutely," Severus said, but could not resist a grin.

"You grinned," Harry said happily.

"No, it was just a grimace of pain," Severus teased.

Harry laughed. "Let's plan where we want the bed and the other stuff. Then Alastor or Poppy will just have to move the furniture for us in the right places."

They spent the next fifteen minutes sitting on Harry's bed going through old photos, deciding which should be on their walls and cupboards, which books they wanted to place in the bookshelf...

Severus almost forgot about all the trouble, but it was back in full force when the door opened and his Head of House, Remus, and Albus came in. He groaned and crawled into the corner and drew his legs up. Harry sat close to him on the bed and pulled one of Severus' hands from his knees to hold it.

His head hidden behind his knees, Severus said, "I don't want to speak with you!"