The first week of July was sweltering. Harry spent the day wallowing in the back garden, trying to soak in some kind of comfort from the shade under the big willow. But the little pond in Snape's backyard was mosquito-ridden, making the lounge much less enjoyable. One day Harry decided to try and climb the old willow. He was settled in fairly well, about halfway up, resting his back against one of the gnarled knots. The sway of the branches was so calming that he slowly drifted off to sleep.

"POTTER!" 

Harry yelped and rolled over. He had to make breakfast! Uncle Vernon must be furious. But the fall to the floor was much longer than he expected. And when he landed he let out a shriek.

"HARRY!" Emmeline cried in horror as she rushed over to the crying teen.

"Bloody hell." Severus cried in alarm. "Come! Bring him inside!"

"It's alright sweetheart." Emmeline soothed him even as Harry clutched his leg with a whimper.

"On the couch," Snape said as he held the door open. "Tear the pant leg."

"Right," Emmeline said as her hands shook slightly. She let out a horrified gasp as she saw the painful swelling of Harry's leg and around his knee. The teen let out an anguished wail as she moved to press on it. She immediately flinched back. Then Snape pushed her aside.

"Harry." He said sternly. The teen instantly looked at him in shock. "I won't lie to you. This is going to hurt. But if we don't do this, you'll have a limp for the rest of your life. So do not attempt to stop me. Do you understand?"

"Yessir." Harry choked out.

"As soon as it's straight I have potions to cut the pain," Snape assured him

"Can't I take them now?" Harry begged pitifully.

"The potion is what helps heal the break," Snape explained. "Receiving one now will just result in the leg having to be broken again." Harry let out a strangled sob which the older wizard couldn't help but snort at. "exactly. Now take a deep breath."

"I'm right here," Emmeline assured him, though her voice did waver.

"Hold his head in your lap," Severus told Emmeline. The woman nodded and got up, helping pull Harry into her lap with only a little whimpering. Snape reached out and grasped his leg. "Ready?" Harry took a deep shuddery breath and nodded. Then Severus twisted it. His leg made a sickening crunch as he let out a desperate scream. Strangely though, it didn't hurt quite as much as it had before. "Here," Severus said, holding out the potion and a glass of water. Harry just chugged the first down rather frantically and nearly sunk into the couch with relief. He didn't even care that his mouth tasted like pond scum! Okay, maybe he did care a little. As he grabbed the glass of water he blinked.

"You have a tattoo?!" Harry cried in shock. Immediately the man shot his hand back as if Harry had burned him and pulled down his left sleeve. "It looks pretty old… did you get it during Hogwarts?" The potions master was white as a sheet before he snarled. Before he could open his mouth to retort back, Emmeline cleared her throat.

"Harry dear…" Emmeline began. " I think you should thank Severus."

"Oh! Right! Thank you, sir!" Harry said before he frowned. "Sorry, my brain is kinda all jumbled up."

"A side effect of the potion," Snape muttered after a beat of silence. He would have to thank Emmeline later for that effortless save. "Are you in any other pain?"

"Er… my back kinda hurts," Harry admitted after a sluggish second. Snape went pale once again.

"Wiggle your toes." He insisted. Harry blinked before he did as instructed. Severus didn't let himself show any kind of relief just yet. "Can you sit up?"

"I think so," Harry said before he groggily set himself upright. As he did Emmeline lifted up his t-shirt. She let out a hiss of sympathy. The poor boy's back was horrible chaffed, probably from the tree bark as he rolled off.

"Dittany and murtlap?" Emmeline asked casually. Snape gave her an impressed look and disappeared into the pantry. He returned with the little bottle, a cotton swab in tweezers and a jar of something slimy. As he dropped the dittany on the swab Harry pulled a face

"This is gonna sting isn't it." He whined.

"Maybe you won't go climbing trees anymore." Snape drawled as he began the slow task of healing the scratches. Emmeline was petting his hair with each stroke.

"I was perfectly fine!" Harry cried before a particularly deep graze drew out a hiss. "Until you startled me!"

"You were high enough in a tree to break both your lower leg bones and twist your knee cap!" Snape shouted.

"Harry dear," Emmeline interrupted before they could both get into another shouting match, "please listen to Severus."

"Fine," Harry muttered. Snape scoffed.

"You're impossible." He complained as he unscrewed the jar and began dabbing the green viscous liquid inside over the recently healed scratches.

"You're both impossible!" Emmeline cried with a laugh. The two wizards turned to her with varying looks of affront. "Oh don't give me those looks! You know I'm right!" Then she rubbed Harry's shoulder. "Do you want some pumpkin juice to wash down the potion?"

"Yes please," Harry said quietly. As she walked away Harry turned to stand.

"Ah up up up!" Severus said quickly. "Get that leg back on the couch young man."

"What?" Harry cried with a whine.

"Keep it still and elevated for at least the next few hours."

"And do what?!" Harry cried in frustration. Severus huffed and tossed a book at him.

"Read that." He insisted. Harry scowled and grabbed the book with a huff. It was probably some extremely dry and boring potions text. But the title indicated otherwise.

"Sherlock Holmes?" He questioned in confusion.

"Yes. That's a very rare copy so please don't spill anything on it." Snape said blandly as Emmeline returned with his juice.

"Severus always loved mysteries," Emmeline explained with a grin. "Particularly the gentlemen detective."

"I enjoy fiction which requires a certain amount of deductive reasoning and thought." Severus drawled.

"You should try SciFi," Harry said with a grin. "I bet you'd love the classics! I used to read Jules Verne in primary."

"I prefer more believable stories," Severus said plainly.

"Sherlock Holmes is believable?" Harry demanded with a raised eyebrow.

"More believable than spaceships and laser guns." Snape insisted. Then he huffed. "Just be quiet and read, potter." The teen huffed but did as instructed.

Harry ended up falling asleep not long after the third story. The excitement of the morning caught up with him. Harry woke to the sensation of someone massaging his leg. He blinked and groggily raised his hand up to rub his eyes and made a noise as it became tangled up with the blanket that Emmeline usually slept with. Severus looked over with a raised eyebrow.

"Good evening," he said before rubbing Harry's knee with his palm. "Was it pain that woke you?"

"Doesn't hurt." Harry slurred.

"Good," Severus said softly. Harry yawned widely and stretched. "I'd say it's good to put some weight on it again." Harry hesitated, seeming to be debating whether he wanted to remain tucked up cozily on the couch or make his way up to the spare room. Eventually, he sighed and turned to stand. He tested his leg rather gingerly at first before settling into a natural stance. "Now, moving forward."

"I won't climb any more trees," Harry muttered tiredly.

"Thank you," Severus said. "But I was going to say no running, heavy lifting, or flying for at least a week. There is still the potential for a rebreak."

"Fine," Harry said pitifully.

"May I ask why my shouting startled you so much?"

"I… I thought you were my uncle." Harry admitted quietly. Snape blinked. "He always called me Potter too. Sometimes you say something… or you shout a certain way and…" Harry turned away, looking ashamed. "I know it's stupid. I know they're dead but I-'' he cut himself off as his professor's hand descended on his shoulder.

"You are not responsible for your family's deaths," Severus said firmly. Harry nodded. "I want you to say it."

"I am not responsible for my family's deaths." Harry parroted back with some roboticism. Snape narrowed his eyes.

"Consider this a new summer assignment Harry." He said firmly. The teen blinked at him. "I want you to repeat that phrase every day. With any luck, by the end of the summer, it might sink into that hard skull of yours." Harry shrugged and shuffled away to his bedroom. Snape watched him go for several seconds before he tsked. "You're terrible at spying, Emmeline."

"Well, then it's a good thing I don't do it very often," Emmeline argued. She was beaming at him.

"Or smirking." He quipped.

"I'm not smirking. I'm smiling. You should try it sometime. It might help with the crows' feet." Snape grunted. Her face softened. "Thank you."

"Hmm?"

"For being kind to him."

"The boy fractured his femur." Severus drawled. "I wasn't exactly going to beat him black and blue."

"You could have been much more cruel than you were," Emmeline argued. The man grunted again which made her roll her eyes. " You know, the two of you have quite a bit in common."

"I have never been so insulted in my life." Snape drawled bitterly. Emmeline huffed.

"Severus, sometimes I think you are purposely obtuse."

"Perhaps." The man countered with a raised eyebrow. Emmeline growled before she shook her head in irritation. This man! He drove her mad! "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For distracting Harry earlier," Severus muttered as he rubbed the sleeve over his left arm, once again hiding that vile symbol of oppression he'd foolishly thought meant freedom. He violently flinched away as Emmeline's hand tried to join his.

"Severus…" Emmeline began worriedly. The man turned his back to her with stiff posture. "You know I never blamed you for thinking…" she let out a sad sigh. "I'm sorry."

"As am I," Severus muttered. He turned back around with harrowed eyes. "But all the apologies in the world won't erase what I've done." Then the potions master turned away, escaping the woman, with her damned ever pitiful eyes that promised a comfort he didn't deserve.