Harry decided that he liked Madame Pomfrey very much. She was awfully nice to him. He especially liked it when she tucked him into bed at night. He liked it when she praised him for eating as much as he could, though he doubted that he’d ever finish anything that she offered him. There was always too much! He always liked to try and finish what she gave him because it seemed to make her very happy. Four days after he had come to the infirmary Madame Pomfrey decided that his hands were healed enough to take off the bandages. Harry was more than happy to see them go away; it was very difficult to function without his fingers properly working. He was glad that she never asked how they’d gotten so raw though, that he would have rather kept to himself for a while.

Snape, Harry found, was a lot less likeable. Nothing about that man, save for the fact that he had given Harry a gift, was pleasant or inviting. In fact Harry would have rather avoided seeing the man altogether if it were possible, but he insisted upon stopping by every so often to speak to Madame Pomfrey. They’d stand in the corner and talk about him like he wasn’t even sitting in the room with them. Harry just sat quietly cuddling his bunny, threading the whiskers gently through his fingers. He would shudder and look at his bunny whenever Snape would glance his way. He didn’t want Snape to think that he had been trying to listen after all.

A week had passed with Pomfrey looking after him, and Harry felt better than he had in a long while. He followed Pomfrey around, when she would let him out of bed, and asked her questions. Where were they? Was he going home soon? Would his Uncle know where to come and get him? Some questions she would answer for him and others she would sigh and change the subject by asking Harry if he would like to have something sweet to eat.

One morning after Madame Pomfrey had given Harry waffles, with whipped cream and strawberries on top, she sat down on the bed next to his and watched him eat. He smiled as he tried to fit too big of a piece of waffle into his mouth, and licked at whipped cream smeared on his face at the corners of his mouth once he’d managed to get his piece of waffle down without choking. Madame Pomfrey warned him gently that he didn’t have to cram his food in his mouth like that. She told him that he was going to choke on it. Harry took smaller bites after that, and when he felt like he was starting to get full he ate all the strawberries from the top of the waffle and made sure to get all the cream. That was his favorite part of the whole meal.

Madame Pomfrey took his plate away and then came back to sit on the bed next to him. She had a grim look on her face, and Harry could sense that something was wrong. He hugged the rabbit tighter to him and waited for her to speak.

“You’re doing much better now, Harry,” she said gently. Harry smiled back when she smiled at him. “Now that I know you’re going to be all right, I can take my leave as I was supposed to before you arrived.”

Harry felt his mouth go slack as he processed what she was telling him.

“Professor Snape will be looking after you, and I expect you to behave for him, like you have for me.”

Harry nodded in blank acceptance, he wasn’t sure if he could obey, but he would give it a go at least. “Madame Pomfrey, please don’t go,” Harry whispered as he looked up at her with wide eyes. He got up from his bed and threw his arms around her neck in a hug. He never wanted to let her go, but cooperated when she gently pried his hands loose. She bent and picked up his bunny, which he had dropped on the floor and patted Harry on the shoulder as she handed it back to him. She walked away from him, to the door that led to the way out. Harry wanted to chase after her, but he didn’t. He looked down at the floor, while he held his rabbit aloft by one long ear.

*****

“Here is your room, Potter,” Snape said gruffly.

He had taken Harry from the infirmary down to a dark part of the school that almost smelled wet, like the way the laundry smelled when it was left in the washing machine too long. They had traveled down a long staircase and walked through several corridors before Snape finally decided to stop. He pointed to a door a ways away from Harry’s room. “That is my lab, you are not permitted to go in there unless I say so,” Snape said. Harry only nodded miserably. He pointed to the door that was across from Harry’s room. “That is my room. You may disturb me in the event of an emergency.” He showed Harry were the toilet was and then led him back to his room. “I will be in my room for the next several hours, Potter.”

Harry stepped into his room when Snape gave him a gentle push forward, and Harry jumped when the door suddenly slammed shut behind him. He glanced about in the gloomy room. It was chilly in here, as there were no torches lit, and Harry certainly had no idea how to light them. There was a bed in the center of the room, with the head of the bed almost touching the wall. Harry stared at the dark green drapes that were all around the bedposts, shielding the surface of the bed from his view. He’d never seen a bed quite like the one he was looking at now.

At the opposite wall was a large fireplace, which wasn’t lit. Harry wasn’t going to try and light it himself. He was afraid that he would catch the room on fire by accident. Perhaps he could just use a blanket from his bed to keep warm in the cold stone room. Harry went to the bed and peeked into the curtains. He jerked back at once. Something was in there! A man that he could see through appeared to be resting comfortably on Harry’s new bed! Stunned, Harry stumbled backward.

His feet seemed to be stuck to the stone floor, and his legs didn’t seem to want to move. All Harry had to do was make it to the door and open it, and then he could get Snape to help him. Harry stumbled to the thick wooden door and reached up for the ring to pull it open. He grabbed the heavy iron ring and pulled back with all his weight. His feet slid towards the door as he lost traction on the stone floor. He panicked as he heard a loud yawn come from behind him. The man was waking up!

Harry grunted with effort and tried once more. Nothing! He glanced backward to see the ghost slip through the drapes around the bed and float towards him. Harry frantically began to pound on the door to his room. Snape had locked him in with a ghost!

“Help!” Harry cried loudly as he jerked on the door handle in a panicky movement. Harry cried out again as the ghost started to talk to him. Harry didn’t hear a word that was said to him, and he didn’t care. He just wanted the ghost to go away! As the ghost came closer Harry glanced backward and could see a strange mark on the thing’s neck. His head had been almost completely severed from his body! Harry cringed as the ghost came to the door and slipped through it, finally leaving.

Harry trembled with fright after he released his tight grip on the door handle. He staggered away from the door and went to the bed. He had no desire to touch the bed sheets that the ghost had used as a resting place, instead he crawled beneath the bed, dragging his rabbit underneath with him.

****

Snape glanced up from his desk as he heard Nearly Headless Nick come through his wall with a tiny whoosh that most would not have heard.

“Sorry for disturbing you, Professor Snape, but the little lad in the next room,” Nick fumbled for the right words. “I’m afraid I gave him quite a scare. Perhaps you should check on him?”

Snape ground his teeth together roughly. He did not have time for this nonsense! Nick looked as though he intended to stare at Snape until he at least looked in on Potter. An annoyed Snape rose from his seat and stormed towards the door to go to Potter’s room.

****

Harry flinched when he heard his door groan loudly as it was pulled open. Perhaps the ghost had come back again? Harry curled into an even tighter ball and clutched his rabbit protectively to his chest. He clenched his eyes closed as he heard hard soles clicking on the floor, but hadn’t the ghost floated around earlier? Walking ghost or floaty one, Harry was not moving from his place beneath the bed.

****

Snape looked about for the boy, but didn’t see him. He stalked over to the bed and threw open the drapes, but no Potter. He knelt and lifted the bed skirt; Potter’s black hair glinted slightly as a bit of light shone on him.

“Potter, come out from under the bed,” Snape commanded in a gruff tone.

The boy did not move, and Snape could see as he looked closer that Potter was shaking. Snape rolled his eyes; stupid child. He crawled beneath the bed on his stomach and reached for the boy to pull him out from under the bed. As he gripped the child beneath the arms to drag him out his ears were met with a sharp cry of fear. Snape winced, but pulled the struggling boy out of his hiding place anyway. The stuffed rabbit tumbled from the boy’s hands as he tried to claw the stone to climb away from Snape. Potter cried out again for help, and he would have kept crying at the top of his lungs had Snape not clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Potter,” Snape growled. “Shut. Up.” He waited for a few seconds for the boy to realize that he was not the ghost from a few minutes ago, but there seemed to be no recognition in the boy’s eyes. Snape pulled his hand away from Harry’s lips as Harry tried to bite his fingers. “Stop that!”

Harry struggled and screamed as soon as his mouth was free. Snape was tempted to cast a binding charm on the boy, but he didn’t want to lose control of him while reaching for his wand. Snape shifted his weight on the floor and stood in spite of the boy’s efforts to escape him. Snape held Potter firmly and carried him out of the room. It had been a mistake to leave the boy alone like that.

Snape went to his own room, carrying Potter with him. The boy was kicking and twisting to be let loose, but where he would go if Snape set him free was a mystery. Snape shut his door and then took Harry over to a soft chair near the warm fireplace. He deposited the boy on the cushy chair, and Harry curled into a little ball on the surface of the soft leather. Snape watched him for a moment as Harry took in huge gulps of air from his place on the chair; the boy wasn’t going to settle down like that anytime soon.

Snape went to his desk to retrieve a calming potion for the boy. Half a dose would probably do, and if not a bit more than half probably wouldn’t hurt the boy. Snape, with potion in hand, approached the ball of little boy on his good chair. Potter flinched when Snape touched him. Snape lifted the boy up and then sat on the chair, setting the boy in his lap. He held Harry with one arm round his middle to secure his arms in case the boy decided to fight again.

Harry had his head bent low, as if he meant to touch his chin to his chest, and Snape had to force the boy to look up. He wrapped his legs around Potter’s to keep the boy in check, pulled the cork to the potion with his crooked teeth and tilted Harry’s chin up to pour the stuff into his mouth. Harry tossed his head to the side in an attempt to shrug off Snape’s firm grip, and Snape squeezed his jaws as he tried to get Harry to open his mouth. Harry resisted for a moment until the pressure started to hurt. He opened his mouth to make a cry of protest and Snape poured the potion into his mouth and then clapped his hand over the boy’s mouth.

Snape listened to the gurgling sounds that Potter made for a moment. The boy had inhaled a little of the liquid and was trying to cough it up. Snape forced the boy to swallow the rest of the potion in his mouth before he let Potter loose. Harry rasped in a fit of coughs for several seconds as his throat seized with a strange pressure. Finally, he managed a good enough cough to free up what had been troubling him and the coughs stopped. Snape felt the boy squirm in his grip for a few more moments before he felt the boy shiver and then relax. The potion was beginning to work.

Snape eased his grip on Harry, and unwrapped his legs from Harry’s since the boy had lost the will to fight. He put a hand on the boy’s damp forehead and turned Harry’s face up towards him. Harry’s green eyes were glazed over now with drugged calm instead of blind fear. Snape watched as Potter’s eyelids drooped, and felt it as the boy’s breathing steadied in his arms. Snape bent down and picked up Harry’s legs to lift him up. He cradled the small form to him for a moment and then decided to put him to bed.

Taking Harry back to his own room didn’t seem to be the wisest course of action considering what the boy had just been through. So Snape tucked Harry beneath his own thick comforter and then once he was sure that the boy would stay quiet for a few moments he left the room, leaving the door open behind him, because he didn’t intend to be gone but for a few seconds.

Snape went into Harry’s room and glanced around. He didn’t see what he was searching for on the floor. He went to the bed and flipped up the bed skirt. Hah! There it was. He reached in and gripped the rabbit by one soft ear, dragging it out and tucking it under his arm as he headed back to his quarters.

He slipped the rabbit beneath the covers, and under the boy’s right arm as the boy slept. Harry never stirred. Snape watched him for a few seconds and then went to his chair to sit near the glowing fire. This was going to be a lot more difficult than he had first expected.