Going Home by Swamygliders

The rest of Severus's and Harry's Sunday was spent with one another. After lunch, the two had made their way down to their little home safely. Harry with his hoard of friends surrounding him, they were all determined to protect Harry and Severus with Albus by his side, he had wanted to make sure Severus truly was ok after this morning's events.

After the two's friends left them alone, they spent a couple of hours where Severus helped Harry catch up with his schoolwork. None of his summer work had been done due to his relatives locking it up so he could not. Severus had already spoken with most of the teachers and they had given the boy an extension, but they both wanted the work done sooner rather than later. While they had been working though Harry had become so tired his eyes had started to droop and before he knew it he was curled up on Severus's lap sound asleep. The Professor was too amused to move the boy, and they spent the rest of their time before dinner like that.

While Harry was asleep Severus had started stroking his long, calloused fingers through the boy's hair. It was a soothing action for not only Harry it seemed. In an hour or, so Severus heard the floo go off behind him. Turning slightly the man on the couch saw that it was Don. Unconcerned Severus just gave the healer a motion with his hand that meant to signal that the Healer could come and have a seat.

Taking the hint with a smile on his face Don sat down in the chair across from the Severus and the small boy sleeping in his lap. It seemed that his prediction had been correct and Harry was going to get sleepy in the afternoon easily. Maybe a regular hour nap after lunch would do the boy some good.

Looking up from the sleeping boy to Severus's face the Healer donned a smile again and voiced his thoughts. "I wonder Severus, do you think Harry would do well with an afternoon nap every day?"

The man looked down at the child while still running his fingers through his hair. "That might not be a bad idea. Ever since lunch was over he was fighting hard to keep his eyes open. I believe he has a free hour after lunch that he could spend resting."

Don nodded, and a mischievous smile graced his face. "Maybe it will also keep him out of trouble."

Severus smiled at that comment as he looked down at his child. "Anything to keep him out of trouble, it seems to follow him."

Again the Healer nodded. "Is there anything you need Severus?"

Slowly he shook his head and then he remembered that muggle woman Harry had mentioned helping him when he visited his Aunt's bridge club and he gave Don a thoughtful look. Harry had said that he would like to see her again. "Actually now that I'm thinking of there is something you can do. Is there anyway you can arrange a meeting with a muggle for Harry, and I?"

"Just tell me who and when and I'll see what I can do."

Severus then launched into his explanation of what Harry told him in the cafeteria and garden. As Don listened to Severus speak he nodded his head thoughtfully. He would very much like to meet this woman as well. It seemed that she had done whatever she could to keep Harry safe when others had not bothered. When the man was done explaining the Healer got up from his chair and started to the floo.

"I will see what I can arrange. Next weekend sound like a good time for a visit? I hesitate to schedule during the week when I suspect Harry will be tired from his classes."

"Thank you Don."

Smiling the Healer left through the floo in search of one Mrs. Landow.

Not too long after Don left Severus and Harry on the couch for his search did Harry wake up from his nap. Sleepily he looked up at the man who was gently smiling at him and blinked a couple of time. Then realizing who's lap his head was resting in he made a move to get up. Gently Severus placed a soft, but firm hand on the boy's chest stopping him from getting up.

"It's ok Harry; you can stay there."

Harry relaxed under the man's touch and leaned back comfortably, no longer fighting. Why fight when the man said it was ok?

"You were tired weren't you? Are you feeling better now?"

Harry gave a small nod while Severus continued to relax the boy further by gently tucking his hair away from his face.

"I was just talking to Don a little while ago. He thought that it might be a good idea if you took a nap like this every day after lunch. What do you think?"

"But...but naps are for babies!"

Severus's smile deepened and he ruffled the boy's hair fondly. "Ok then, how about if you took a rest after lunch every day?"

Slowly Harry nodded against Severus. He didn't mind resting, just as long as it wasn't a nap. As Harry nodded his head Severus gave the boy a gentle pat on the shoulder, more amused than anything. A little of Lily's personality was shinning through.

"Do you want to get up now? We have some time before Dinner; we can play a game of chess if you want."

Harry nodded ecclesiastically. "Can you teach me some tricks? It would be nice to beat Ron sometime. He always wins."

Smiling Severus nodded as he helped Harry sit up on the couch. "Do you want to go clean up before we play?"

Slightly blushing Harry nodded and got off the couch to head to the bathroom. As Harry went to go wash up Severus summoned the chess board from the table in front of him. When the chess board was all set up Severus then called a house elf and asked for a glass of milk for Harry and a cup of tea for him along with a tray full of cookies. It wouldn't hurt the boy to have a few cookies before dinner. In fact, it would probably help him put some more weight on.

As Harry came back through from the bathroom, he saw the chess board and smiled. He then came and sat across from Severus and jumped as the house elf popped back in with their refreshments and snacks. He had not been expecting the small creature, and sudden movements still scared the living stuffing out of him.

With the refreshments on the table and, the small elf gone Harry started to calm down from his scare by taking deep breaths. A few minutes later, after calming down, Harry picked up the glass of milk and sipped on it greedily. He hadn't had anything to drink since lunch, and he was quite thirsty.

When Harry put down his glass of milk Severus gave him a small smile.

"I'll have to remember to keep more liquid around for you. You know if you get hungry or thirsty you are more than welcome to ask for something from the kitchens?"

"I know sir, but I don't want to be a bother."

Severus sighed. "Child you could never be a bother to anyone. I want you to tell me if you ever need anything, understand?"

Slowly Harry nodded his head and played with the ends of his shirt. Sensing the boy's nerviness Severus sighed again and made to move on.

"So Harry you've played chess before?"

"Ron taught me last year, but I'm not very good."

Severus nodded. "Then let's help you get better so that one of these days you can beat Ron."

The two then began to play their game with Severus showing Harry some moves that he was sure the other boy did not know. They played until dinner time. When that time came Severus looked over at the smirking boy across from him and shook his head fondly admitting his defeat. Harry despite all his learning disabilities with a little extra help caught on quickly.

"That was very good Harry. Are you ready for a little something to eat? We can go up to the hall, or we could stay here?"

Shyly Harry looked down at the chess board. "Could we stay here? Seeing my friends was great and all, but I think I would like to stay here before tomorrow."

Severus nodded and absent minded levitated the chess board back to it's place on the shelf He then summoned a house elf to both take away the dishes from earlier and order dinner for them. He knew the elf understood the silent order to let Albus know they were not coming up to dine with the rest of the school tonight.

The man then got up from his chair, and Harry imitated his actions almost immediately following him to the table. A few seconds later the elf popped back in with the tray that was asked for and after setting the dinner on the table he presented a vial to Severus and another one to Harry. As Severus scowled the elf just stood there and watched as the potion was poured down the man's throat. As soon as it was the elf looked to Harry clearly expecting him to do the same. Harry just rose an eyebrow though, and looked up at Severus waiting for an explanation.

The man heaved a sigh and scowled at the elf again. "He won't leave until you drink that potion. This is the Headmaster's way of making sure we drink our potions without bothering us 'too much', but it's still annoying."

Harry was still looking between the smiling elf and the scowling potion master with interest when Severus cleared his throat distracting him.

"Well then, drink it up so this annoying little creature can report back and we can move on with our meal."

The boy looked up once more and then did as his guardian told him to and drank the whole potion down in one gulp. When he was finished, the elf popped away and Severus gave Harry a small smile.

"Thank you Harry for getting rid of that little creature. I suspect we will be seeing more of Tibby. She is Professor Dumbledore's favorite elf, and he likes to check up on me frequently."

Harry gave a small nod, but looked down at the plate of food that was placed in front of him suddenly not feeling very hungry. He didn't really know how he felt about an elf watching him. Would he watch him when he was in the bathroom? That thought kind of freaked him out.

Sighing when he saw the signs of the boy deflating before his eyes Severus got up from his chair and sat down in a free one next to Harry. Gently Severus picked Harry up under his arms and placed the boy on his lap so that his back was pressed into his chest. Somehow he sensed that the boy was in need of a little more than verbal comfort and there was something more bothering him then just the elf.

With Harry on his lap, he adjusted and readjusted the boy until they were both in comfortable positions. He then looked down at the messy black mop in front of him and gently leaned over to whisper in the child's ear.

"Talk to me Harry. I can see something is troubling you."

Moving slightly Harry turned to look up at Severus. "Will Tibby follow me everywhere I go?"

"No child he will just pop in to check on us from time to time. He will not invade our privacy. Is there something else that is troubling you? Maybe something about tomorrow?"

Harry thought for a moment at the thought that was nagging in the back of his mind. He had not wanted to say anything for fear that the man would either make fun of him or laugh, but he so far he had not done so... He knew he could trust this man, but this was just so embarrassing. He hated himself for being so weak.

Severus gave Harry those few minutes to think and then some. He had an idea what this was about if this morning had anything to do with it. When the two had sat there like that for a good while, Severus gently readjusted Harry on his lap so that the boy could soak in all the comfort he was offering him and look him in the eye at the same time. All situated Severus gently placed a hand on the boy's cheek and summered a hanky from his room as he saw the beginnings of tears form in the boy's eye's. Tenderly the man dabbed away the tears and hugged the child just a bit closer.

"Come on Harry. You can tell me anything."

Shyly the child looked down into his lap and let a few more tears escape his eyes. He hated being this weak. He couldn't control his bladder, even a baby could do that!

"What if tomorrow...I can't...help it..."

Knowing what this was about immediately Severus turned the child so that he could look right in his eyes. "You want to know what would happen if you had an accident while you are in school. Am I right?"

Blushing Harry looked down at his lap again and leaned against the strong chest that was holding him up right.

"Well Harry, let me tell you a story about my Grandmother. You see when she was young she went to Hogwarts as well, and she had a similar problem to yours. Her bladder was weak, and sometimes things just happened. It was something she could not help."

Severus smiled a bit and leaned back into his chair a bit remembering when his mother told him this story. His Grandmother sure was a strong, unique woman. He really did wish that he had gotten to know her more before she passed.

"When she was a student here, a sixth year, she was walking down the hall with a friend to run something to another teacher. Some of the teachers liked to send students as messengers instead of owls between classrooms. She had gotten used to loosing control and as they were walking down the hall there was a small trail following her. My Grandmother knew of course, and her friend did as well, but she just didn't care just kept on walking. Later on, she did get in trouble for not calling someone to clean it up or using magic to clean it, but that is not the moral of this story. The moral is that she was not embarrassed, because there was nothing to be embarrassed about. It happens to everyone one time or another she knew that, and I want you to know that as well."

Severus looked down at the boy in his lap and noticed that Harry had somewhat relaxed during his little story. He assumed hearing about someone who had a similar problem had made him feel a little less alone.

"So Harry you know what we are going to do so that you don't have to worry about anything like that tomorrow?"

Harry looked up and shyly shook his head and Severus smiled down at the boy as he gently ruffled his hair.

"I'll tell you what we'll do then. We will do the same thing she did, and I did when I was younger. Tonight, we will place an extra set of underclothes and trousers in your school bag so that if anything does happen you will have something to change into. I will even teach you a simple replacement charm that you can do sitting at your desk if you don't want to get up and change in the restroom. I of course will have a bag that you can place your old clothes in so nothing else gets dirty. How does that sound? Do you think that will make you feel better about going back to school?"

Harry looked up at the man with a small sparkle in his eye while he was nodding his head. "That would be brilliant sir! Will anyone notice the charm though? I...I...kinda don't want anyone to know..."

Severus smiled again while he drew the boy so that he was hugging him close to his chest again. "The other Professors were already told about your problems so you don't have to worry about them. They will know, but will say nothing if they see you performing the charm. The other students will likely not notice as it is a small and quick spell. If they do we will come up with something to tell them, ok?"

Harry nodded against Severus's chest as the man held on a little tighter. When Severus heard the small mumble come from his chest area he sighed a bit and smiled down into the small black head of hair.

"Thank you Daddy."

After Harry had calmed down completely, Severus placed him back in his chair and he mored back to his seat at the other end of the table. The two then ate their dinner in an amicable silence with the occasional chatting of this and that. When they were finished, Severus banished the dishes back to the kitchens and led Harry to his room.

For the next hour or so Severus got Harry ready for his first day back at school. Packing his bag with the promised plastic bag and extra change of clothing the man also made sure that Harry had the extra work books that Pam had sent over for Harry. They were really there just to help keep the boy more organized.

As Severus was finishing getting Harry ready for the next day he sent the boy to the bathroom to take his shower and get ready for bed. He wanted Harry well rested for the next day, and he could tell by the bags under his eyes that the boy was exhausted despite his nap earlier. When the boy came back pajama clad and wet haired, the man gently pulled back the covers and patted the bed inviting the child to climb in. As soon as he did Severus pulled up the covers and sat on the edge of the bed.

Gently Severus brushed the still damp hair away from the boy's face and smiled down at him.

"We just cut off all this hair and look it's all grown back!"

Harry looked down at his blanket trying to hold back tears. This man had been so nice to him and had taken him in, but again he was messing everything up. Why did his hair have to grow like that?

"I'm really sorry sir..."

Severus's smile faded as he saw the become distressed. Sighing the man gently raised Harry's chin so he could look into those gorgeous green orbs. What did he say now that upset the child? He knew he had to be careful and not bring up things that might remind him of the past, but it seemed that these invisible triggers were hard not to trip over.

"There is nothing to be sorry for Harry. I was just joking around with you. Do you want to tell me what made you so upset now?"

Harry lent into the soft touch and looked at his Professor with just a bit of fear in his eyes.

"Aunt...Aunt Petunia...she used to cut my hair when I was little. The next day though it always grew back. She...she would get so mad that she would get Uncle...Uncle Vernon..."

As Harry trailed off caught up in his memory Severus pulled back the covers and gently moved the boy so that he was now sitting on his lap again. Hugging the child Severus let Harry start to weep into his robes. As he did Severus rested his chin on top of the boy's head and stared off into space knowing that no words would calm the child right now. All he needed was the close contact of someone who cares.

While Severus was sitting there with Harry in his lap he could not help thinking of all that had happened to this poor boy. It was going to take a long time for him to recover. Harry had made a lot of progress already, but how many years was this really going to take?

When the crying softly faded away Severus shook those thoughts from his mind and pulled Harry back from his chest so he could give him a comforting smile.

"I want you to know this Harry. I will never get mad at you for your hair growing or for any accidental magic you do. You are just a child and you cannot help those things. I already told you my rules, and I promise you I will never add anymore without you knowing first. Now, you must be sleepy, let's get you back into bed for a nice rest."

Harry nodded and as he did so yawned confirming what Severus already knew. With another smile on his face Severus placed Harry back onto the bed and pulled the covers back up to underneath the boy's chin.

"Close your eyes now Harry. I'll stay here until you fall asleep."

Harry gave another small nod and slowly closed his eyes. "Good night daddy."

"Good night son."

In just a few seconds, Harry was breathing deeply indicating that he was sleeping peacefully. Severus sighed before he got off the bed, but then smiled as he looked down at the sleeping child. He knew that helping this child was not going to be easy, but when he saw the child like this, sleeping peacefully, he knew it was worth it. With that last thought, the man bent down and gently left a kiss on the boy's forehead.

"I will protect you, child, as long as you need me to."

That night was the first night that Harry had been free of nightmares in a long time. It helped that Severus had put a charm on the boy so that any slight disturbance would summon him immediately so that he could calm the child before he woke. Only once did Severus have to get out of his own bed though, and was able to go back to bed soon after soothing the bad dreams from the child.

So when Harry woke that morning to a gently shaken shoulder he smiled as he opened his eyes. It was the first time in his short life that he had actually slept through an entire night, and he felt great.

"Are you ready for some breakfast Harry?"

Slowly Harry nodded and swung his feet off the edge of the bed. As he sat on the edge of the bed Severus looked down at the small boy and was happy to see a small smile looking up at him. The man much preferred to see the small smile than tears running down his face.

"I thought since you're going to be with your friends all day you might want to have your breakfast here. Is that alright?"

Harry nodded and launched himself into Severus arms. "I'm going to miss you sir."

"I'm not going to go anywhere Harry. If you need me, you know where I'll be and if it's an emergency you have your pendent. You're going to be fine."

Harry nodded into Severus's chest and then pulled back from the embrace with a smile on his face. "I know, but I'm still going to miss you daddy."

Severus ruffled the boy's hair and then gently pushed him towards the bathroom where he had already laid out his school robes for him. He had woken Harry a little later than he really should have, but the child deserved a little more rest. Or at least that is how he justified sitting there and watching his child sleep for more than ten minutes. He didn't think he would ever really get over how peaceful the boy looked when he was sleeping and just seeing that warmed his heart. "Me too scamp, now go get dressed. You don't want to be late on your first day back!"

As Harry left Severus followed as far as the bathroom and then left to go to the kitchen table where their food had already been laid out for them by the house elf. The elf that Albus had sent with their potions had been waiting there as well so that he could watch the two take their potions. When the man saw the elf still standing there, he just rolled his eyes as the elf handed him his potion. Quickly he downed it and promised the elf he would make sure Harry took his, but the elf had his orders and would not budge until Harry had taken his potions as well. Stubborn little thing.

In just a few minutes, Harry came out of the bathroom all dressed in his robes. He came over and sat down in the chair next to Severus and dutifully took the potions from the elf. After he drank them both of them, the elf popped away much to Harry and Severus's delight. While they appreciated the elf's help, they didn't particularly like being watched by one every second. The two then quickly finished their meal and Harry went to grab his things. Before Harry could leave the room though, Severus stopped him in his tracks.

"Remember Harry, I don't want you travailing the hallways on your own. Have a friend with you at all times, ok? Also, don't forget you are to come down here to have a rest during your hour break after lunch."

Harry gave a nod, but then looked questionably up at the man. "If you're not here how do I get in?"

Severus smirked and rested a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. "Thank you for reminding me Harry. The password is 'Mr. Potter'. I thought no one would think of tying that, and I thought you might enjoy it."

Harry smiled wide. "I like it." He then came forward and embraced his new guardian. While he was pressed tightly to the other man, he managed to mumble out a few more things that if Severus did not have sensitive hearing he would have missed.

"I'll see you later on in potions, and I understand that you have to be mean. I'll still love you daddy."

Looking down at the messy mop of hair Severus smiled. "I love you too son. Now, you better be off before Professor Mcgonagall marks you late! I'm writing no excuses!"

Harry pulled away and gave the man one more smile before he left through the door. After he left Severus carefully sat down and shook his head.

"That boy. One day he was scared about going to school, and the next he couldn't wait to get out the door. He really is going to be the death of me. His moods change so often, I wonder if I should talk to Don."

With that Severus stood back up and started to get ready for his classes; he would ponder that later. Lucky for him, his classes had just been canceled while he had been at the clinic and Albus had not tried to take over for him. If the old man had he knew the first thing he would have to do was to clean out the sticky candy messes from his cauldrons. Sighing in relief he shrugged that awful memory from his mind. Since he didn't have that chore he just had to make sure his lessons were in order and double check his classroom to see that everything was in place.

While Severus was getting himself ready for the day, Harry was running up the stairs and almost ran right into Ron who was coming down to see whether Harry wanted someone to walk with. After they realized just whom they had almost run into, both boy's donned smiles and a few laughs. As soon as they recovered from almost colliding Ron turned serious.

"Come on Harry, or we'll be late!"

Harry nodded and accepted the arm that was slipped through his. Arms linked the two started to run up the stairs to where their first class of the day was, Transfiguration.

As fast as they could, the two boy's ran up the stairs and it appeared they made it just in time for Mcgonagall had just walked into the room. Quickly the two boys took their seats next to Hermione while the bushy brown haired girl raised an eyebrow at the panting boys.

Quietly she whispered. "Why do you two look as though you just ran a marathon?"

Ron almost hissed back to her. "It's a long way from the dungeons, and we were almost late!"

"Mr. Weasley! Is there something you would like to share with the class?"

Everyones head turned to look at Ron and the red head blushed. "No Professor, I'm sorry."

Minerva nodded, and everyone's attention returned to her as she started to lecture again. The rest of the class passed without any further incidents and all three of the trio were happy when the class came to an end. For different reasons mind you. Harry was having trouble keeping up in class and remembering what he had read in the text, but the other two wanted to ask Harry how his weekend had been with Snape.

As soon as the class was let out Hermione grabbed the two boy's arms and rushed them to the door of the classroom, before they could leave though Minerva stopped them by the door with a call.

"Mr. Potter I need a word."

On one hand, Harry was glad that Professor Mcgonagall had called him that meant that he could put off telling his friend's everything just now, but then on the other hand, he was nervous and didn't know what the witch wanted.

All three of them stopped in their tracks and turned to look at their Professor. With a smile, the woman gave a small nod.

"You two should get going to your next class. Tell Professor Flitwick Harry will be along in a moment."

The two nodded and with one last look at Harry they left the classroom. Slowly and stiffly Harry came closer to where his Professor was behind her desk.

Minerva sighed a little as she saw Harry come closer. The poor boy probably thought he was in some kind of trouble, but then again when wasn't he?

"Sit down Harry and relax. You are not in trouble. I just wanted to see how you were doing in class since this is your first day back."

Harry sat down in the closest desk to his Professor's, but her words did not seem to soothe him the way she had intended them to. He had had a lot of trouble in class today, and quite frankly; he was embarrassed. He just didn't understand why he was having so much trouble keeping up. He did everything else the other kids were doing, maybe he really should have done what Pam had taught him.

When she saw that the boy was still on edge Minerva came out from behind her desk and sat next to the child in another desk. Merlin, she really needed to start bugging Albus for new desks again, these things were awful!

"It's ok Harry. I saw that you were having a little trouble. Do you want to tell me what exactly was giving you problems so I can make sure to give you extra help when I come around?"

Harry gave a small nod. "I..I was having trouble remembering what I read in the text so the worksheet was hard...and everything seemed to be just going so...fast."

Minerva nodded. She couldn't slow down the entire class for just Harry, but she could help him with his worksheet when she walked around. She had to remember to walk around some more, maybe that would help more than just Harry understand things a little better. She had walked around a bit today and had actually helped quite a few mistakes that would have been missed ,otherwise.

She then had a brain storm and got up from where she was next to Harry. Quickly she walked behind her desk and ruffled some papers as if she was looking for something. When she found what she was looking for, she walked back and handed the parchment to the child.

"I want you to go over this worksheet with Pam when you see her tonight, ok? I can see some of the answers are not filled in, maybe she can help you with those."

Harry smiled and nodded. He had only been able to answer half the questions on that sheet properly so he was happy that he would be able to finish it. He knew it wasn't a large part of his grade, but every little bit helped, right?

Taking the paper he put it in his bag next to his transfiguration text and stood up from his desk.

"Thank you ma'am."

You're welcome Mr. Potter. Now run along to your next class."

Harry nodded and almost ran out of the classroom. He knew he was already late and that he had been excused already, but he still wanted to get there before he missed anything too important. It was hard enough for him to catch up, he didn't want to make it any harder by missing more than he had too.

As he was walking/running through the halls though his scar started to hurt; badly. More than just hurt though, it felt like his whole forehead was going to explode. The pain made him stop in the hall almost immediately and that's when he heard it. Someone was talking. He looked around and saw no one in the halls, and then he heard it again making his head hurt even worse. Was he hearing things? No, this was something more, this was like someone was yelling at him and it just kept getting louder and louder.

"Kill, kill, kill, kill..."

As the voice grew louder in Harry's head and without really even knowing it his knees sank to the floor. With the intense pain rushing through his head Harry finally took one hand that was clutching his head and slowly moved it down to the pendent around his neck. He needed help, now! His head was going to burst open and that voice scared him.

After calling for Severus, Harry's hand flew back to clutch his throbbing head and he leaned over his knees trying to create as small a ball as he could. His head hadn't hurt this much since last year when he had met Voldemort.

About ten minutes later Severus had come running towards the small creature hugging his knees on the floor. Unbeknownst to the man the poor boy was still hearing voices, and Harry was not very frightened. This time the voice was going on about eating something juicy and sweet and how fun it was to break the bones. He was not beginning to think the voice was talking about him; he didn't want to be eaten!

At that though Harry felt sick to his stomach and as soon as Severus came close enough so that he could pick Harry up the poor child threw up all his breakfast on Severus's shoes. Severus just ignored the stench and mess though cleaning it up with a quick Scourgify. With newly practiced ease he picked the child up into his arms and held him while he examined the now open scar. What he saw on the child alarmed him greatly. There was blood everywhere.

"Harry! Harry, child can you hear me?"

No response came from the child so Severus did the only thing he could think to do he called Don and started to walk quickly towards their rooms. He had to get Harry somewhere where he could lie down so they could examine him more closely. What if the child had fallen and had hit his head that he had caused a concussion?

All the while Severus carried the child down to his rooms Harry was crying out not only in pain, but in confusion, and fear. He didn't know what was happening and where that voice was coming from and that scared him a great deal. When he didn't know what was going on that usually meant that something bad was going to happen. One thing he was thankful for though was that the voice was slowly moving away. It was slowly getting quieter and when they reached their destination the voice was only a memory; albeit a very scary one.

As soon as they reached their rooms Don met them at the door and quickly took Harry into his arms. Gently he placed the child on the couch and pried the child's hands away from his head so he could see what was wrong. When the Healer saw the bloody mess he summoned up a warm wet washcloth, some healing creams and bandages so he could take care of it. He saw it for what it was, no bumps or scrapes the boy's scar had just split open. While this was not the worst thing that could have happened, it was still a serious injury and had to be treated as such.

While he was gently wiping away all the blood Don tried to reach the scared child.

"Harry, if you can hear me please squeeze my hand."

When Harry didn't respond Don turned to Severus and asked for him to bring a pain potion immediately. Harry was in too much pain from his scar to hear anyone properly.

With the potion now in his hand Don gently pried open Harry's mouth and poured the thick liquid down the boy's throat. Gently he helped the boy swallow and was relieved when he saw Harry start to calm down bit.

"Harry, I need to know if you can hear me. If you can please squeeze my hand."

This time the Healer's hand was weakly squeezed and Severus almost collapsed back into a chair in sheer relief. It had scared him greatly when Harry was not responding to anyone. He had been more than worried when the pendent around his neck had begun to heat up and had rushed out of his classroom full of students to reach him. Alarm had hit him though as soon as he saw the boy on the floor clutching his head as if his life had depended on it.

As gentle as ever Don continued to wipe away the blood from the boy's scar and then began to apply the healing cream and bandages to it. He worked slowly and diligently on purpose, he did not want to give the child another fright.

"Harry, can you tell me what happened? Why your scar split open?"

Slowly the tears died away and Harry gave a small nod. "I...I...was going to class...and...and I...I heard a voice...it...it...hurt my head..."

Don looked over to Severus and closed his eyes for a moment. Then, the Healer gently picked up the boy and sat down with his in his lap. Leaning the boy down so that he was resting on his shoulder Don started to gently rub the boy's back and send a touch of calming magic into him.

"Can you tell me what the voice was telling you Harry? Was it telling you to hurt yourself?"

Harry turned his head into Don's chest, shook his head, and started to shiver a little. The Healer looked over at Severus concerned before he reached down and started to try to soothe the boy some more. When the Healer realized that this was going to take some time he looked up again to Severus and mouthed a silent 'go to your class' and before the man could protest Don sent him a look that left no arguments.

Sighing the man got up from where he had collapsed and went over to the two on the couch. Very carefully he bent down over the child and placed a gentle kiss on the back of the boy's head.

"I'm going to go now Harry, but if you need or want me just tell Don and I will come."

With his face, still in Don's chest Harry's head moved up and down a little to acknowledge that he had heard. With that nod Severus shared another significant look with the Healer and then took his leave. He had after all left his class under the supervision of a prefect while he was gone.

As soon as Severus left, Don pulled the child away from his chest a bit so that he could brush away the new tears that had formed in his eyes.

"Hush now Harry, everything is alright. I need you to tell me what that voice told you though, this is very important."

Harry made a move to bury his head again into the man's chest, but Don kept a steady hand on the boy and would not let him move. When Harry realized that there was no other option, but to tell this man what he had heard he started to cry a little harder. He was scared that Don would think he was crazy and would lock him up. After all, that is what you did to a crazy person, you locked them away so you would not have to see them again.

Don heaved a small sigh when he saw more tears continue to flow and started to reconsider pushing the boy so that he would tell. He needed to know, but was the child up for this right now? Sighing he realized he could not back down now though, he had pushed this far and it looked as if the child might be ready to tell.

"Come on child, I know you can do this for me. Tell me what it told you."

That did Harry in. The Healer let the child fall back into him when he saw that Harry was indeed going to tell him and let a bit of soothing magic flow through his hands into the boy.

"It...kept chanting...kill...kill...kill...and...and...then it was talking about how fun it was to break bones...and how...how juicy and sweet...blood was..."

Harry was almost beyond consolable now. He just buried his head into Don's chest, and the Healer let him. As he did so Don held onto the child a little tighter and started to rock the boy and whisper soothing words into his ear trying to calm him the best he could.

On the outside Don was the perfect picture of calm and collected, but inside his mind was going nearly ninety miles a minute. Was this child schizophrenic or was this something else? If he was then why had he not caught this earlier? Had there been any other signs? What should he do now? Should he be taken back to the clinic? Should he stay here and continue to go to classes? Maybe classes were out of the picture for now. Maybe he just needed some more rest. The big question though was, why had his scar spilt open like that? The only other time it had done that was at the end of last year when well...you know.

The words that the voice had said the Harry troubled the Healer greatly though. It was telling him to kill or at least that is what it seemed like to him. Why was it talking about how sweet blood was though? Had Harry even tasted blood before?

Don did decide on one thing though. He needed to put Harry to sleep so he could figure something out and so that the child would not over work himself. It was almost a relief to see Harry so upset by those words though; otherwise, they could have a real problem on their hands.

Summoning a dreamless sleep potion gently brought the vial to the boy's lips. Carefully he poured it down the boy's throat while rubbing his back silently willing for the whole thing to go down. Within minutes, the boy was fast asleep.

Getting up Don walked to where he knew the boy's bed was and gently deposited him on top of the sheets. He took of the child's shoes, and magically he switched the boy's clothing for more comfortable pajamas. When he was done he picked the boy up again, pulled back the covers and placed the boy into the bed.

After one last check to see that Harry was comfortable and had his small kneezle and lion were near, he went to the fireplace to floo Albus. He needed to talk to someone, and he knew Albus would be able to look at all angles of this.
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By the way the story about Snape's Grandmother is true, except it was my Great Grandmother and I added the part about magic and being at Hogwarts.