Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

Chapter 8
They had hoped that the nightmares might be a one-time occurrence caused by spending the night in the Shrieking Shack and may go on their own. However the following week, Severus's nightmares did not get any better, in fact, if anything they seemed to become worse in both strength and frequency to the point where they were clearly distressing the young child who was beginning to dread bedtime. It was not easy to get him to talk about the nightmares and they didn't push him too hard but the mumbled descriptions that he did provide sounded disturbingly like events from Professor Snape's life, something which deeply troubling as a young child certainly should not be seeing such things.

It took its toll on Harry, who was suffering from sleep deprivation as he rarely got more than a few hours of sleep before he was woken by Severus screaming and thrashing and inevitably the only thing that settled him even slightly was letting him sleep next to him. Of course, if Harry was suffering the effects of a lack of sleep that was nothing compared with how Severus must be faring since he was the one having the nightmares they naturally took much more of a toll on him, he always appeared tired and withdrawn in the mornings and it was hard to know if this was a true reflection on his personality or just an effect of the nightmares draining him. Either way, it was clear that they couldn't go on like this much longer.

On Severus's part, he didn't understand the nightmares at all. They were far more vivid than his normal nightmares of things like bullies and his father, almost as though they had really happened to him. They started innocently enough with a girl with fiery red hair that shone in the sun and bright green eyes like emeralds. Things went downhill from there as he got brief flashes of being at Hogwarts, he got the vague impression of being unhappy and words resonated in his mind 'Snivellus' 'Slimy snake' 'Greasy git' 'Filthy Mudblood'. Things got steadily darker, there was a man with creepy red eyes, pale skin and skeletal fingers, he was kneeling before him surrounded by creepy hooded figures faces hidden by identical metal masks and suddenly he grabbed his left arm and it was searing with pain as though he was burning right through the skin, he wanted to scream but he knew he dared not. There were curses and jets of horrid green light and finally he was back in the shack and staring at the man from earlier, he looked worse with inhuman red eyes and deathly white skin, his hands were truly skeletal and his nose was nothing more than slits. He spoke in a hiss like a snake which sent shivers down his spine. Suddenly he said something the words of which he didn't understand but the meaning was clear as a gigantic snake leapt to attack him. it felt so real, he could feel it, the fangs sinking into his neck, the poison flowing through him, the blood pouring out uncontrollably and he was so scared that he really couldn't help screaming this time until his throat was so raw he couldn't scream any more.

That was normally the point where he normally came back to awareness with Harry trying to wake him. He'd come to soaked in his own sweat, sobbing into Harry, who was always so patient and kind rubbing his back and giving him warm milk and honey, and he'd sit and drink it dreading when he'd have to try to sleep again because he knew that nothing helped when he closed his eyes and it would just start again like a tape stuck on a constant loop. The only thing that seemed to remotely help was when he felt someone lift him up and pull him close, it didn't stop the nightmares but somehow the feeling of laying next to another person feeling their arm around him or their chest rise and fall and listening to the steady beat of their heart calmed him and made it that little bit more bearable knowing he wasn't going to wake up all alone again.

While he was trying to resolve this problem and look after Severus, Harry was also trying to make sure Professor Snape was remembered and honoured for the part he played in the war and not simply treated as some common Death Eater. Part of that involved campaigning to have a portrait of Professor Snape installed in the Headmaster's office, the trouble with this was that to the best of their knowledge he had never had a portrait commissioned before his death. This was hardly surprising, there had been little time for such trivialities and Severus was hardly a handsome or vain man, he'd had other more important things on his mind, like trying to carry out Dumbledore's last instructions to keep the students safe and assist Harry in secret.

Professor Flitwick was unbeknownst to many quite a talented artist and was certain he could capture Severus's likeness on canvas, however without any memories to go with it he would be little more than an unmoving muggle painting. There was of course the small vial that he'd gifted Harry as he lay dying but there were not many and Porfssor Flitwick was not sure that it would be enough to build up a full picture fo him given the state he'd been in when he had given the memories.

They had all gathered in the headmaster's office and were still pondering what to do when suddenly a solution presented itself to them.

"But what can we do for him, if these are memories of his past life then normal methods to block or prevent him from having nightmares simply won't work will they? We've already tried that and yet they only seem to be getting worse and more frequent as though his memories are returning to him gradually, it's too risky to give him Dreamless Sleep at his age and I'm not sure if Occlumency would even work. Is there any way that we can actually remove the memories?" Harry said, pacing the headmaster's office in exasperation.

Poppy Pomfrey pondered this: "Well, it might be worth taking him to St Mungo's. They have a specialist team of healers who are used to healing trauma as well as dealing with all sorts of problems involving the mind, if anyone would be able to remove those memories safely then it would be them although, of course, the situation would have to be handled delicately and they would have to be sworn to secrecy given his particular circumstances if word got out what had happened to Severus it would be a disaster"

Harry listened and nodded his agreement. It seemed like their best option at the moment, they certainly couldn't go on like this indefinitely and it pained him deeply to see the sweet innocent young boy who he was increasingly beginning to think of as his own child suffering so much. That being said, he wasn't about to risk word getting out about Severus's true identity, that would be a disaster, the last thing a traumatised child needed was all that attention and cameras and journalists in his face pressuring him to talk about a life he didn't remember.

Minerva broke the silence "do you know anyone who could be trusted with this task?"

She thought on this for a minute "yes I do believe I do, one of my fellow healers was at Hogwarts at the same time as me, we were good friends and became close when we were both studying. I happen to know that he went on to study to become a specialist mind healer, I have referred several more delicate cases to him and I trust him and his team to treat them with no questions asked. I am certain we can trust him with Severus's case"

"What do they do with the memories after they have removed them?" Harry asked as a thought occurred to him.

"Well honestly I don't really know, I can't say that it's an area I have a lot of knowledge about, I think it depends on the patient and the nature of the memories but I believe that they are normally obliged to store them in case they change their mind and wish to retrieve the memories. I believe that they use special phials much like you have seen Albus and Severus use when they have removed their memories before transferring them to a pensive. If the patient or their close family or friends don't want the memories then I believe that they are sent to the ministry and placed in storage in a secure location"

Harry nodded, remembering the sessions with Dumbledore all too well. He turned to Professor Flitwick, who had been sitting listening thoughtfully to the conversation "I see, Professor, would we be able to use the memories that we remove from Severus to animate a painting assuming we are allowed to take them?"

The Professor looks thoughtfully at him for a minute before looking quite excited "That is a splendid idea Mr Potter, a wonder I didn't come up with it myself. Yes, if these are indeed Professor Snape's memories that are surfacing then I believe that we could use them along with the memories that he bequeathed you in the Shrieking Shack would provide a good enough mix of memories to recreate his character that would certainly kill two birds with one stone is that not the phrase muggles use?"

They all agreed that it was a good idea and Poppy said that she would get in touch with her colleague immediately to see if he could see them as soon as he had a free slot.

Hermione took him to one side as they were leaving "Harry have you contacted Ron to explain things?"

Harry ran his hand through his hair uneasily, he knew Ron and Snape's history was almost as volatile as his own and Rom had quite the temper, he wasn't looking forward to trying to explain things to him "not yet, I'm not sure how he'll react when he learns about Severus and what with trying to get him settled in and figure out his nightmares I haven't had the time to contact him."

"You're worried he's going to explode or say something stupid or insensitive in front of Severus aren't you?"

He nodded "he's my best friend and I want to be able to spend time with him but not if it's at the cost of upsetting Severus, I don't want to choose between them but I won't tolerate that"

She nodded understandingly "you're right but I think you need to have a talk to him and explain that, make him clear that you're not going to tolerate that anymore and then give him time for everything to sink in. I know Ron can be a bit rash but I think once he's seen him with his own eyes and had time to think things over he'll be ok with it. Anyway, I don't think you should leave it too long, perhaps we should go visit?"

He smiled she was right as always and besides he'd been feeling a bit guilty about not getting in touch and neglecting his friends and their family "yeah that would be good. I tell you what, just try and sort these nightmares out with Severus and then I'll get in touch, I don't think it would be fair to introduce him to more new people right now until he's more settled"

She smiled her understanding "that's true but I'd still write them a quick letter, perhaps you could write to Mr and Mrs Weasley and explain things with Severus then they can talk to Ron and the others and prepare them."

"That's a good idea Hermione, thanks I might just do that" he smiled feeling much better about it than he had before now they had a plan in place.

A few days later after Harry, Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall had met with the healer and explained the situation, he agreed to help they brought Severus to his office for treatment.

Harry and Severus were sat in the waiting room using the aliases of James and Henry Evans and the glamours that they'd decided to use when they went out into the wizarding world and would be exposed to the wizarding world. The glamours made their eyes and hair appear dark brown and shorter and in Harry's case somewhat smoother although it was long enough to still cover his infamous scar.

"Mr Evans, the doctor will see you now" the secretary a pleasant slim dark-haired woman announced. He got up placing a hand on Severus's shoulder for reassurance before following her through as she ushered them into his office a relatively plain room furnished with a couch and a few other comfy chairs.

The doctor got up to greet them "a pleasure to meet you Mr Evans, and this must be your son Henry, how can I be of assistance?" he asked pleasantly.

"He is suffering from nightmares, I believe Madam Pomfrey explained the situation to you?" Harry explained keeping his hand on Severus's shoulder.

"Ah yes, of course, I remember now quite a nasty business, well please take a seat and we'll discuss it further" he said shaking his head sadly.

"Before we continue I must have your word that you will keep what I am about to tell you confidential and not discuss our conversation with anyone"

"Of course Mr Evans, as a mind healer I am sworn to never reveal details about my patients without their express permission or the permission of their guardian if they are unable to give consent themselves"

"Your oath Dr Smith" Harry said seriously not willing to take any chance. After the Dr had gotten out his wand and sworn his oath of confidentiality, Harry removed the glamours from himself and Severus.

He looked up at the Dr who appeared quite shocked by their transformation "I am Harry Potter as I'm sure you've gathered and this is my ward and soon-to-be adopted son Severus Snape. I apologise for the deception sir however it was necessary I'm sure you can imagine the commotion it would cause if word got out about Severus and his current condition, I do not want him to be exposed to that or put on show like some freak of nature"

"Of course, please take a seat" he said gesturing them to the sofa "How may I be of service?"

"Well, as I'm sure Madam Pomfrey has told you, he has been suffering from some quite persistent and troubling nightmares. We have tried various methods to alleviate this problem and have found nothing that works. We believe that these may actually be memories of a past life resurfacing. We are at our wit's end these memories or nightmares are very traumatic for him and causing him a great deal of distress. We are hoping that you may be able to help him"

"Of course, now then Severus, is that correct?" he nodded miserably "they are causing you a great deal of distress?" another nod

"He has been having a lot of trouble sleeping" Harry explained.

"I see, I take it you would like me to remove them for you?"

"You can do that?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes I believe so, I just need to take a quick look inside your mind to see what I'm dealing with first, if you just want to take a sip of this then it'll make it much more pleasant for you" he said handing him a bottle of calming draught.

"That's it" he said after he'd taken a sip, "now hold still, I'll try to make this as quick as possible" he said before casting a spell similar to "legilmency" and carefully looking through his subconscious memories. After a few minutes, he'd seen enough and withdrew.

He sat back thinking for a minute before turning to Harry and Severus "yes, I see what you mean, a most unique case. Those are not memories any child should have and certainly don't belong there and could in fact cause him a lot of problems if they're not removed"

"So you think you can help him?" Harry asked, hopefully drawing the boy closer.

"Yes certainly, but it will be a long and stressful operation due to the delicate nature of the work and the sheer amount of memories to be removed, it is risky but the alternative is worse"

"When can you do it?" Harry asked, leaning forward eagerly.

"I would like to start immediately if that is alright, the longer we leave this untreated the more chance there is of him suffering unnecessary mental trauma as he has been doing or worse. Is that agreeable to you?"

"Of course, I only want what's best for him to make sure he's happy and not suffering" he said drawing Severus closer and squeezing his shoulder tighter.

"Very good. I would recommend giving him this, it contains a calming draught and a mild sedative, not enough to put him to sleep as it is necessary for him to remain partially conscious but it will make him drowsy enough that he will not be truly aware of what is happening in a semi dream-like state" he said passing over a bottle "give him a few sips for now, it should be effective for at least an hour"

Harry did so as Severus looked up at him, clearly scared by what he had understood of the conversation "Harry?" ""Hush, it's going to be alright" he said his voice breaking slightly with emotion, he held him close as he began to go limp under the effects of the potion.

"You may want to hold his hand, he will likely be aware of your presence and will find it soothing if he's aware that you're there with him" Harry nodded and sighed, here we go he thought hoping this would work.
Chapter End Notes:
So another one down and we're drawing close to the dramatic climax where the truth of Severus's nightmares are revealed. I assure you all that I am not trying to be cruel by having them wait to treat them but as mentioned above I thought it would be realistic for them to wait a few days while they wait to see if they disappear on their own and try to treat the nightmares themselves before seeking professional help.

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