Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

Chapter 38

When Harry woke up, he found himself staring at a dark blue ceiling. For a second, he couldn't recall where he was, but then, he remembered the incident from day before. Remus must have moved him upstairs. Remus...

He leaped up from bed, finding a fresh set of Gryffindor robes by his bed. He pulled it on quickly, and feeling much better, left the room.

His thought returned to the day before. He couldn't believe that he had fallen asleep during his so-called "talk" with Remus. And now, the man knew that he had left the Hospital Wing before he was ready. This was bound to bring trouble.

He found himself in Remus' living room, with the man sitting at the table, the Daily Prophet and a cup of coffee in hand.

"Good morning, Harry!" Remus smiled at the sight of the younger man. "Are you feeling better?"

The boy nodded slightly. "Much better. Thanks for letting me stay, Remus."

Remus waved away the thanks. "Anytime, Harry. If you need me, you can come see me anytime." He paused for a second before asking cheerfully, "Would you like some breakfast, Harry?" Seeing the boy nod, he ordered some toast, instructing the house-elf to also bring along drinks. The little elf nodded obediently before disappearing with a loud crack. A second later, a table-full of breakfast appeared in front of them.

Harry stared at the plates of food. Remus didn't actually expect him to eat all that, did he? He looked up.

Obviously, Remus had seen his expression, for the man laughed. "For some reason, the elves always provide us with more food than we can eat," he said, chuckling. "Just eat as much as you can, and leave the rest." He turned back to his newspaper.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Harry asked.

The man smiled. “I’ve already eaten beforehand,” he replied. “Come on, eat up, Harry. You need the energy.”

Between small bites of toast and gulps of milk, he came up with another thought. “Is it eight thirty yet, Remus? Don’t you have to teach soon?” He looked around, then gasped when he saw the clock. “Dear Merlin! It’s eleven thirty already!” Harry jumped up, panic on his face. “Professor McGonagall’s going to murder me! Not to mention I’ve missed Charms and Potions already… I--- I have to----“

“Harry!” Remus’ voice cut through his nearly hysterical thoughts. “Harry! It’s okay! Calm down. I’ve already talked to the professors and have let them know that you’re not feeling well and will not be attending class.”

At these words, Harry calmed down slightly, inwardly scolding himself for losing it so easily. Sighing, he went back to munching on his toast.

After breakfast, Remus pushed a protesting Harry back into bed. “You’re still weak,” he insisted sternly. “Just because you escaped from Madam Pomfrey doesn’t mean you don’t need to rest.”

Harry sighed before settling into the bed obediently. As Remus was about to sit down next to him, Harry asked quietly, “Don’t you have class today?”

Remus shook his head. “Dumbledore had someone take over for me for the day,” he answered, smiling. “I thought I would stay behind today and take care of you.” He looked fondly at the child.

Harry blushed in embarrassment at the thought of Remus abandoning his students just to worry about him. “Really, Remus, I’m fine! You don’t have to stay behind! I---“

He was cut off as Remus raised a hand, silencing him. “I know you hate being fussed over, Harry,” The man told him softly, “but I want to be able to take care of you. I want for you to be able to come see me when you need something. I don’t want you do feel pressured in anyways. Do you understand?” Remus paused, and seeing Harry nod, he continued. “I know you have Severus to look after you now, and I’m glad that you have someone to rely on… But I want you to know, if you ever need me for something, that I’ll always be here for you.”

Harry nodded, suddenly feeling very emotional. "Thanks, Remus," he said quietly. "I know I can come see you anytime, but it's been hard for me.... Especially after Sirius..." His voice trailed of, and his eyes suddenly found his shoes very interesting.

"I know, Harry, I know," the man replied, tears in his eyes. "I know it's been hard for you and that we will never be able to truly stop missing him. But as time goes on, we have to learn to move on with our lives. He'll always be with us in our hearts, but he would have wanted us to move on."

Harry nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I'm sorry for not telling you who I was earlier. I know I made you worry."

"Hush, Harry," Remus said, quietly. "Didn't I tell you that you had already been forgiven?" He smiled at the boy. "But just out of curiosity... How did you end up as Sebastien Frostpine?" He gestured at Harry's appearance. "And how did you manage to disguise yourself so well?"

So Harry ended up telling Remus what had happened in the past few months: the Fire, Lady Lyra, Severus, and the Founders... He carefully let out the Dursleys' treatment towards him, not wanting to anger the man. That part of his life was best left untold.

Remus listened, amazed by the things that Harry was telling him. However, he had a strange feeling that Harry was hiding something from him. He didn’t know what, but there was something about the way the boy talked, the way his eyes seemed to never meet his own. When Harry finally stopped speaking, Remus inwardly thought through what the boy had said. Was it just him, or was there something.... missing from the whole story? Harry had said that Lady Lyra had moved him to Snape manor to keep him "safe". But what he didn't understand was...

"Harry," he asked, "Why did she bring you to Snape Manor to keep you safe? Weren't you safe in the first place? At the Dursleys?”

Harry bit down on his lips, not sure how to answer the question. While he didn’t want to lie to the man, he surely couldn't just tell the truth. "I--- The Dursleys didn’t like me that much. And there was that fire." He looked away.

Merlin, Harry was a terrible lire! Remus could clearly tell the boy was hiding something, but he decided to let it go for now.

Harry yawned widely, suddenly feeling very tired.

Seeing the child's exhaustion, Remus stood up. "I'll leave you to your rest now, Harry. We'll talk again later."

Harry nodded wearily before drifting off to sleep. "'Night, Remus."

"Good night, Harry." He placed a soft kiss on the child's forehead. "Sweet dreams."

There was no reply. Harry was already fast asleep.

Remus sat down in front of the fireplace, a cup of coffee in his hands. In his mind, he was going over the conversation he had just had with Harry.

He as convinced that the boy was hiding something. The child had said that the Durlseys had not been fond of him. But what would the Dursleys disliking him have to do with his safety? Although there could be a chance that Harry had meant the fire that had occurred, somehow, Remus was skeptical.

He stood up resolutely. There was only one way to find out what had really been going on.

He pulled open the door of his quarters and headed in the direction of Severus Snape's office.

Chapter End Notes:
I know this chapter was kind of confusing, and I believe and explanation is in order. The reason Remus is suspicious of Harry's story is because Harry mentioned that Lady Lyra brought him to Snape Manor so he would be "safe". Remus is curious as to why Harry isn't safe in the first place at the Dursleys. What the man doesn't realize is that Harry was abused, and had been locked in a cupboard while the fire was taking place.

I hope that clears it up a bit. Looking forward to your reviews!


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