I Don't Want to be a Hero - Ch. 5

Taking the Hero Home

The newspaper was local to the small town it originated from and soon he discovered he was south of Cokeworth, the industrial town he grew up in that became a virtual ghost town after the factories all closed. The paper related that ‘a child was found was in an industrial town’s park.’

The town was abandoned but every once in awhile someone walked through the park. Teenagers found the boy near death beneath a walking bridge. The teenagers called authorities, and the authorities sent the boy to hospital.

The small town, what was left including the park, was called Ibittswort. There was little traffic at night, no street lights to be seen, but the great, square, grey building that was the medical centre gleamed like a beacon to all the surrounding counties. The centre actually sat on a large piece of property just outside of Ibittswort, and likely served all the small towns and villages around it. This was St. Mary’s Mercy Medical where the lost little boy, the Boy-Who-Lived, now resided in a comatose state.

Snape had arrived at night with the assumption that the hospital was not terribly busy at such a late hour. As it was no one took notice of the tall, slim man in a dark wool coat, and trousers, and shoes that had equally dark hair tied back with a simple bit of string. Using this lackadaisical anonymity to his advantage, Snape tracked the lost hero through several nurses stations until he had a room: 394. An odd number since there were only 20 patient rooms to a floor of a hospital that had nine levels. But, who was he to question the odd things Muggles did?

At room 394 Snape heard a pleasant voice singing a lullaby his own mother had sung to him until he was ten. The voice was a soothing one, and no doubt Potter, in whatever condition he was in, found the voice to be calming. So he hoped. The after-effects of prolonged Cruciatus use would be devastating if not deadly to an eleven year old boy.

Before entering the room Snape charmed his voice to compel the nurse to leave. When he had entered he tried out the spell, and discovered that it failed miserably. The nurse had interposed her body between himself and the boy, and she radiated the 'mother protection' that most women of childbearing age developed. He could not use his magic but if he tried to force her aside he had no doubt that he'd take back to Hogwarts a number of scrapes, and bruises.

"Who are you?" she demanded a second time. Her brown eyes were anything but soft and gentle; they were the feral aggression of a mother bear protecting her young.

Snape gave her a nod, a symbol of deference, and submission. He then spoke calmly, "I am Severus Snape. I have been given temporary guardianship over Harry Potter until I bring him home."

The nurse held out her hand. "I'd like to see proof of what you claim," she demanded.

Snape opened his coat and pulled out some officious looking paperwork that Albus had created for Severus on the off-chance he might get caught liberating Harry from the Muggle hospital.

The nurse grabbed the paperwork, glanced at Harry, and then began to scan all the legal noise that Muggles seemed to enjoy in their ‘official’ paperwork. Finally she came to a place in the legalese that relaxed her. With a nod she handed the papers back to Snape.

She turned slightly so she could see both Snape and her patient. "So. Little Lamb is Harry Potter, an orphan."

"And, you are..." Snape asked.

"Jodi Winfield, Little... I mean... Harry's night nurse. You should have come here during the day so the doctor could talk to you, Mr. Snape."

"I came when I was able, Nurse Winfield. Can you tell me what happened to Mis... to Harry?" he inquired.

"Well, Harry was found three weeks ago under the walking bridge at Topher Park. He was in a bad way, sir. Left to die, I think..."

"What were his injuries, and is he still recovering from them?" Snape interrupted.

Jodi nodded, "Right. Well the fingers on both hands were broken -- each one in two pieces right at the second knuckle. Two ribs, here and here, were broken, and one with a hairline fracture, here." The nurse pointed to each rib. "He had literally hundreds of bruises and cuts..." she pulled down the sheet and then gingerly lifted Harry's hospital gown to reveal the worst bruise. "This is the worst bruise. I think he was kicked a number of times and the impact may have broken the ribs I showed you. Had it been lower his kidney would have been severely damaged if not outright exploded from the punishment." Jodi gently pulled down the hospital gown, tucked Harry back in, and then pushed aside the fringe of hair that hid his curse scar. "This is older than all of the injuries. It's as if someone carved that into him." Jodi looked at Snape over her shoulder. "Do you know who could have hurt Little Lamb so, sir?"

Snape was still staring at the boot-print bruise even though it was now covered. He thought he had an idea who had done this, but that boot print was small, and it had a point. He also knew of a Death Eater that enjoyed using the Cruciatus Curse to torture Muggles with. Bellatrix LeStrange. She was also still at large.

As if against his will Snape touched the boy's colourless cheek. "There are simply bad people in this world, Miss Winfield. I will make certain this does not ever happen again." Turning swiftly, Snape stunned the nurse, caught her in his arms, and gently lowered her to the floor. He then turned to Harry, proceeded to removed the IV and the Respirator. When Harry's breathing stopped Snape did not panic. Using a spell taught to him that morning by Madame Pomfrey he cast the spell, and Harry's lungs began to inflate, and deflate in rhythm.

Catching the boy into his arms Snape felt how light the child was, and wondered if there had been more damage than what Bellatrix had caused. Harry's head flopped to the side, and Snape shifted the child's weight so he could tuck Harry's head against his upper arm. Once he was sure he had him secure he Apparated directly to the Hogwarts Infirmary using the Apparition point that was located in a hidden room of the Infirmary. It was the only place one could Apparate into, and out of.

"Poppy!" he shouted for the Medi-Witch. Choosing a bed he laid Harry down upon it, then cast a Warming Spell over him.

Poppy Pomfrey the Healer at Hogwarts, began to work immediately upon the child. For a moment Snape watched. "Poppy, would you also scan him for a physical medical history?"

She glanced up from her work but her hands kept working without her looking. "Do you expect something else, Severus?" she turned away.

"He's thin, Poppy. Too thin. I want to know how those relatives treated him."

Poppy nodded as she dosed the boy with one of the potions she had set up on a bedside table. "I'll do it, Severus."

"I need to clean up at the hospital and bring any records they made here. Who knows, they might be helpful." Snape went back to the hidden room, and was gone in a breath.

"You poor dear," sighed Poppy as she had her first sight of the terrible bruise on the boy’s hip. She settled Harry into a more natural, Healing Coma, and then made sure after several ministrations that he could breathe on his own.

It took Professor Snape several hours to "clean" the memory of Harry Potter from the minds of everyone he met or who worked on him. His night nurse, Jodi Winfield was the toughest to work upon since she did not have the usual mind that most Muggles had. She had also grown affectionate for the boy. Even so, Snape wiped her memory, and he was done.

When he returned to Hogwarts Harry was on his way to healing although he would need to take a potion for Cruciatus tremors the Potions Master would brew for him; with Harry’s help. Albus Dumbledore knew of all of this but he was not aware of the report that Professor Snape held in his hand; it was the physical history of health he had asked Poppy to do.

Professor Snape sat in one of the visitor's chairs, imbibed the Headmaster's expensive brandy, and watched as the older man read the report.

"What am I to do with this, Severus?" Albus finally concluded as he put down the parchment filled with rather depressing detail of Harry's relatives "great" care of the child.

"Do not send him back there, Albus," Severus replied simply.

"It is not that simple, Severus, and you know it. Hogwarts does not have the necessary protection Harry would need over the Summer. The blood wards are tied to Harry and his Aunt Petunia." He shrugged, and clucked his tongue. "I have no choice, my boy. He is an orphan and therefore he has no relative in our world to keep him safe."

Professor Snape pinched the bridge of his nose, then blurted out before he could bite his tongue, "Then give me guardianship, Albus. I can keep him safe."

The Headmaster smiled, "I am heartened by your offer, Severus, and I am extremely confident that you could fight anyone who would hurt him."

"I would not hurt him, Albus."

Again Albus smiled at the younger man. "I know that you would not, my boy. Unfortunately, you are not his blood, and thus your protection simply would not be strong enough." He sighed knowing that what he would say next would incense the young wizard, "Harry will return to the Dursleys for the Summer." The Headmaster rose from his desk and pressed his hand to the wizard's shoulder. "Until then, Harry will help you to brew his potion, and you will resume your duty to him here."

Professor Snape left the Headmaster's office. It was no use arguing with the old man when his mind was made up. Snape believed that the one thing no one was addressing was the fact that Potter had run away.

Why had the boy run? Was it because of how his family treated him, or some other reason? Professor Snape intended to find out. After all he had promised the memory of Lily that he would watch over her son. That meant Harry was now his priority.