Sunday, February 8
Severus slipped in to Harry's bedroom, carefully and quietly kicking the door shut behind him so as to not upset the tray he carried.
"'E eez sleeping," Delacour whispered. She was seated on the side of Harry's bed and had a book closed in her lap. Severus squinted at the book and felt his stomach clench at the title, The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Delacour followed Severus' gaze and picked the book up as she got to her feet. "'E seems to enjoy Meester Malfoy's singing, I zought 'e may enjoy zis too, non?"
"A thoughtful gesture," Severus whispered. He sat the tray down on the table beside the sofa that had found a permanent home beside Harry's bed. "How did he sleep?"
"Not well," Delacour said, frowning down at Harry. She reached out and brushed his hair off his forehead. "'E cried."
"He does that," Severus said, attempting to sound unaffected by the news that his stoic and strong sixteen year old child was still crying in his sleep. "I will take over for today, thank you Miss Delacour."
"Of course," Delacour said. She grabbed Severus' arm gently as she moved to leave the room. "'E will get better, eet eez simply too much right now."
Severus inclined his head and Delacour left the room on quiet and graceful feet.
His heart believed that Harry would improve, that this madness was healable, but the back of his mind worried that it was all for naught, that Harry was too broken this time, too far gone.
Severus removed the lid from the tray and moved the two plates of breakfast to the table. He poured two glasses of coffee and added extra sugar and milk to Harry's, as he used to prefer it. He also poured Harry a glass of water, hoping he could at least force some healthy fluids in the child.
"Harry, wake up," Severus called. He inched the table backwards, preferring it to not get toppled when Harry woke up, and then rubbed Harry's thin arm gently. "Wake up."
Harry sat up with a jerk and a gasp, as was now his custom, and his eyes flicked erratically around the room.
"You are at home, you are not in Azkaban. Lucius is asleep in Narcissa's room. Fleur went home to William. Frederick is at his shop and will return later. Draco, Luna, Theodore, Susan, and all the other misfits are at Hogwarts and will be here for lunch. Black is asleep in the sitting room. Am I forgetting anyone?"
"Tonks," Harry whispered, his eyes still looking around frantically. "Where's Tonks?"
"Nymphadora is asleep in my room," Severus told him. He readjusted the furniture then moved to the sofa. "Eat, now."
Severus took a small bite of eggs, modeling calm and normal behavior for Harry to mimic. Harry watched him warily and then slowly moved to a sitting position on the edge of the bed. It was devastating, seeing Harry appear so fragile, so cautious.
Severus much preferred the rambunctious and chaotic young man he'd once been.
Harry reached for his fork then hesitated. "It's p-poison," he said. He looked up at Severus with wide eyes, "Real or dream?"
"Dream," Severus assured him. He took another bite and swallowed it quickly. "This is just breakfast, there is no poison in it."
Harry nodded and took a small bite of eggs, his trembling hand knocking half of it off his fork before it even made it to his mouth.
"What would you like to do today?" Severus asked him. "We could go flying, or go out back and duel, or anything you would like."
As long as it involved leaving his bedroom and was followed by a shower, two things none have successfully been able to get the child to do so far.
"I..." Harry trailed off as he grabbed the blanket behind him and wrapped it firmly around his shoulders. He then stared at the wall over Severus' shoulder, chewing his lower lip, until Severus decided that he was not thinking of an activity to do and had instead lost track of the conversation altogether.
"Harry," he said, drawing those hollow eyes towards him, "what would you like to do today?"
"Nothing," Harry said dully. "D'you have t-to teach?"
"I do not," said Severus. "Today is Sunday, I am free to do whatever you please all day."
"Right."
Severus refrained from sighing and instead nodded toward the copious amount of food on Harry's plate. "Eat."
Harry picked his fork back up and took another small bite of eggs. Severus ate with him in silence for a while, subtly watching as Harry continuously looked around the room.
For ghosts, probably.
He also continued to look for dementors.
Because Harry was utterly mad and Severus had no true idea how to fix it. Admittedly, he had hoped Lupin would be of some assistance, but Harry had been alone with Lupin for less than five minutes one afternoon and delved in to a full blown panic attack, so he was as useless as he had always been. Lucius had been mildly useful, thus far, and at least enabled them to find the trick to getting Harry to eat- barking it as an order, apparently.
"I don't know what to tell you, Severus," Lucius said. He stretched his legs and conjured a mirror before grimacing at his reflection. He undid the band of leather holding back his hair and then conjured a soft-bristled brush to sweep it back in a more elegant look. Even with his hair more orderly, Lucius looked ragged, nearly as bad as Harry did when he had returned. Though, since Lucius went from Azkaban to Macnair Manor to being 'relieved of his position' by Nymphadora, Susan, Frederick, and Charlie, it was unsurprising that he was less disheveled than Harry who had not moved from his bed since his own retrieval.
"I do not understand how you got him to eat when the rest of us failed," Severus said with a hint of bitterness in his tone.
"I merely employed the same tactic I did in Azkaban," Lucius said. "He would not listen to reason or logic and I could hardly allow him to starve himself, could I? I simply ordered him to do it, and he complied."
"Harry never listens!" Severus yelled, exasperated and exhausted. "In fact, he thrives on disobedience!"
Lucius grimaced and poured them both a drink. "You weren't there," he said solemnly. "It was... disturbing, to put it mildly."
Severus threw the drink back, grateful for the burn in his throat. "I do not understand the Dark Lord's plan with him either," he admitted. "He wanted Harry in Azkaban only so he could free him?"
Lucius' grimace twisted to a look of disgust. "He tortured Thicknesse for allowing Potter to be released. His 'consort', he called him. I believe his intention was to make Harry feel indebted to him, and become a legal fugitive, in one fell swoop to convince him to join him."
"Thicknesse did not 'allow' anything," Severus said with a tiny and proud smirk. "Nymphadora took Harry's exoneration paperwork and released him herself."
"My God," Lucius laughed lightly. "No wonder you've become besotted with the witch, you've always preferred them with some fire, haven't you?"
Severus refilled his drink and refused to respond to such an asinine statement. Though, yes, it was particularly endearing the way Nymphadora returned from Germany and immediately stole Harry from Azkaban without fear of the repercussions. She had been fired, Abbott as well for accompanying her, but she believed it had only been a matter of time before she would have to resign anyway, as tenuous as her ability to remain free of the imperious curse or murder had become.
And, as the Italian Contessa ensured that Harry's innocence was proclaimed in every magical media outlet across the globe, there carried little to no risk of Nymphadora or Abbott being arrested themselves. As Nymphadora told Scrimgeour when he fired the two of them, they had merely been releasing an innocent prisoner.
Losing Nymphadora and Abbott from the auror department, and Lucius from his position as a spy, were blows to their ultimate cause, but Harry came first.
Always.
"'His consort'?" Severus said suddenly, repeating Lucius' queer phrasing. "The Dark Lord called Harry that?"
"He did, it was... perhaps more disturbing than Potter's endless nightmares," Lucius said slowly. "I don't understand what caused his shift from wanting the boy dead to wanting him to become his partner, but... but something has changed, Severus."
Severus hummed in acknowledgment and quickly drank down his second and final drink of the night.
He only knew of one thing that could shift the Dark Lord's priorities to capture rather than death.
Some way, somehow, he discovered what Harry was.
And Severus heavily doubted that it was a change for the better for Harry.
"Eat, now," Severus snapped at Harry, refocusing on something he could work on, as opposed to the ever mounting pile of things he could not. "Drink your water as well."
Harry complied meekly, an uncomfortable state to see the child in.
Harry Potter was not meant to be meek.
"Flying," Severus decided abruptly after Harry ate a small amount more of his breakfast and drank half of his glass of water. "We will go flying today before your friends arrive for lunch."
"I'll f-fall," Harry said softly. "Can you fall from a broom if you're a ghost? Do I need a broom if I'm a ghost? Dementors can fly."
"You are not a ghost," Severus said patiently. "And I will not allow you to fall."
Harry looked surprised at Severus' response, which likely indicated that at least part of his statement had been internal thoughts as opposed to a purposeful reply. Harry pinched his arm and shook his head. "Do I- I have to?"
"No," Severus sighed. "You do not have to. We can do something else. Perhaps play cards? Or chess?"
Harry shrugged and pushed his plate away. "I'm tired."
"You slept fourteen hours," Severus said gently. "Go shower and we can play chess."
"You don't have to. He can't make you. Yes he can. They can do whatever they want. You know that."
Severus had actually been planning on forcing the child in the shower, as he once had with relative success, though he would not now as Harry watched his hands warily and muttered to himself.
"Sleep then," Severus said, his heart heavy and his mind sluggish with exhaustion. "Eventually, you will need to leave this room."
Harry ignored the second part of Severus' statement and immediately moved back to lay on his pillow and wrapped himself more firmly in his cocoon of a blanket. He blinked at Severus, his eyes wide and hazy. "If I close my eyes you'll kill me, real or dream?"
"Dream," Severus said quietly. "You are as safe with me as you have always been."
Harry laughed, a disturbingly mad sound, and closed his eyes.
And Severus was left watching the child pretend to sleep rather than rejoin the world he now feared.
"Hey." Frederick poked his head in the room a few hours later. "Is he asleep?"
Severus saw Harry's tiny flinch beneath the multiple blankets he buried himself in. "No," he told Frederick. "He is simply refusing to participate in life."
Harry mumbled something indecipherable and Frederick came in the room with a soft look on his young face.
"Hey, darlin." Frederick perched on the side of Harry's bed and immediately began stroking his tangled hair. "Rise and shine, love. Let's get dressed and go for a walk, hmm?"
"You're dead," Harry whispered. "The snake bit you. They b-buried you on Christmas Eve."
Severus winced as Harry confused Arthur Weasley's death with Frederick, but to Frederick's endless credit, he maintained a soft smile and gentle touch.
"Dream," Frederick told him calmly. "I'm alive and so are you. I'm going to pick you up so you can get dressed, then I'm going to help you move downstairs and you can have mini treacle tarts with hot chocolate for lunch while our friends come over and hang out. Okay?"
"See if you can convince him to shower," Severus murmured when it appeared as if Harry would comply with Frederick's carefully worded demands.
"Harry, darlin, do you want to get a shower?"
Harry's hand snuck out of his blankets to grip Frederick's wrist. "I'll d-drown, they're going to d-drown me again. Abracadabra, I'm dead."
"Nobody is going to drown you," Frederick said. "That was a dream, love. You can swim."
Harry's eyes flicked towards Severus uneasily. "If I can swim, then I'm not a ghost?"
"Correct," Severus said. "Go shower, Harry. You will not drown and nobody will kill you."
"Up you go now, love," Frederick said cheerily. He grabbed Harry and moved him to an upright sitting position. "Can you walk to the loo?"
"You're not allowed to leave your cell. Only for smoke breaks if you're a dog," Harry muttered. He looked up at Frederick and chewed his lower lip for a long moment, struggling to word something. "Can I have a smoke b-break?" he eventually asked.
"We aren't allowed to smoke inside," Frederick said in a conspiratorial tone. "Let's get you a shower, then we'll go out back and take a smoke break, alright?"
"Alright," Harry agreed quietly.
Severus would gladly purchase Harry all the tobacco he now so peculiarly desired if it meant he would voluntarily leave his room.
Harry moved to stand, still wrapped in his blankets, and swayed quickly towards the floor. Severus caught him and stood him up as Frederick quickly unraveled the sheets and blankets that were tangling his legs.
"Careful," Severus said, holding his arm steadily. "Let me assist you."
"I'll do it," Frederick said. "Harry, I'm going to pick you up and then I'm going to carry you to the loo. You're going to shower, then we're going to go track down Sirius and get a fag before we go outside."
Harry did not respond, but he also did not struggle when Frederick scooped him up in his arms and headed towards his attached restroom.
"I'll just be downstairs," Severus called uncertainly towards the restroom. Frederick nodded before he kicked the door shut behind him. As soon as Severus heard the water begin to run, and Harry bagan to babble incoherently, he sighed and slipped away.
"Fred with Harry?" Black mumbled, sitting up on the sofa and scrubbing the sleep from his face with his hands as Severus took a chair beside the staircase.
"He is," Severus told him. "He is assisting Harry in showering, then I believe they are coming to find you for a 'smoke break'."
"What?" Black looked up and curled his nose at Severus. "Harry wants to smoke?"
"Apparently."
"Do I... do I tell him no?"
Severus scoffed. "If it gets Harry to shower and go outside willingly, I will personally attach a veranda to the house for him to do so."
Black shook his head again, more in confusion than refusal, and got to his feet. "I guess I'll just floo home real quick. And... and go get a pack of fags."
Severus waited until Black had entered the floo before he buried his face in his hands and allowed his expression to crumble.
He had no idea how to fix this, and the longer it lasted, the less hope he had that it was fixable. A petty bitterness welled up inside him as he was forced to acknowledge that Frederick, Lucius, and Black had done more for Harry's recovery than he had so far.
Some 'dad' he was proving to be.
An absurd title that the mad child gave him in the midst of a terrific guilt trip as he sobbed that Severus had not believed him when he protested his innocence in Albus' office. Severus was unsure what his opinion had mattered, considering that Harry would have been arrested either way, but it had clearly mattered quite a bit to Harry.
'YOU'RE MY DAD! YOU WERE MEANT TO BELIEVE ME!'
Clearly Harry's madness was mildly contagious, as Severus felt the side of his mouth curl up and a blossom of warmth to develop in his chest as he replayed Harry's shout of distress.
"Sev? What are you doing?"
Severus lifted his head and schooled his expression into a more genial one as he took note of Nymphadora coming out of the library dressed in one of Severus' shirts and a pair of sweatpants. "Nymphadora," he greeted her calmly. "I am waiting for Harry to get done showering."
"Did you convince him to shower?" Nymphadora asked as she abruptly draped herself across Severus' lap.
"No." Severus refrained from scowling, a task he accomplished with little struggle, likely due to Nymphadora's easy and never-ending affection. "Frederick did."
"Well, he's not screaming, so I suppose that's an improvement," she said softly. "He's getting there, Sev. Don't give up hope. We've done impossible things before, haven't we?"
Severus tilted his head to hers, attempting to draw in her optimism.
They had accomplished the impossible. Severus discovered Death's Cloak, Nymphadora found that Grindewald had the Elder Wand, and, in a stroke of pure luck, they realized that they had the Resurrection Stone.
Severus had merely been in his office, throwing things in frustration the day before Nymphadora returned from Germany, and a poorly aimed jar knocked Barty's hollow book from his shelf. Severus had only opened it to give himself more of a reason to be distressed; he had not expected to find the symbol of the Hallows on the obsidian ring that still held a horcrux.
It had heightened Severus' belief that the items carried immense magic. Barty had found the ring on accident in the first place. It was as if the Hallows wanted to be found. As if they wanted to be reunited by a single Master.
It had given him a surge of hope to see the carving on the stone of the ring. Hope that swelled when Nymphadora returned the next morning and immediately went to Azkaban to retrieve Harry.
Hope that evaporated as it became clear the extensive damage the dementors did on Harry's psyche.
"We have," he agreed. "Yet, we still have an impossible task before us."
"The wand or your son?" Nymphadora murmured as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
She was quite clingy. It was a trait that Severus begrudgingly appreciated.
"Both," he said baldly. "We have no leverage to convince Grindewald to give us the wand, no proof that he still has it, and... and I worry that Harry is irreparable," he added in a guilty rush of breath. "He has always struggled with mental health, what if this was one break too many? What if—"
"Shut up." Nymphadora silenced him with a hand over his mouth. "You're so stressed. When's the last time you slept? For more than two hours?"
Severus raised a brow.
"Oh." She grinned and removed her hand from his mouth. "Go on then, lie to me. Tell me how you slept last night, when I know you didn't. Or the night before, when I know you didn't."
"Unemployment does not suit you," Severus drawled. "Perhaps you should seek out a new job. Rosmerta has always complained about needing an assistant."
"Is that your way of saying I'm driving you crazy as I mooch off you and Harry?" she said with a challenging smile. "I like to think—"
What she liked to think, Severus did not discover because he saw the floo flare green and he abruptly shoved Nymphadora off his lap and on to the floor.
Black stepped out of the floo and shot a curious look at Nymphadora before looking up to Severus, who raised a brow and dared him to comment, before he snorted and shook his head.
"Play with fire and you'll get burnt, Tonks," he laughed at Nymphadora. "Harry still in the shower then?"
Severus listened for the sound of water running upstairs as he shamefully assisted Nymphadora to her feet. She rolled her eyes at him before primly taking the chair beside his.
"It sounds as if he is finished," Severus said. He turned to ascend the stairs, to check on him, but Black bounded ahead of him.
"I am useless," Severus scowled as he sank back in to his chair.
"And an arse," Nymphadora helpfully added.
And an arse.
When Harry eventually descended the stairs, pale faced, wide-eyed, and faintly trembling, he looked leagues more like the boy he used to be.
Until he opened his mouth and began mumbling.
"They can't transfigure your cell to look like your house. They don't know where you live. It's a secret."
Thankfully so. Otherwise the Dark Lord would undoubtedly be well aware of Harry's location as Severus was entirely confident that the hissed conversations Harry held at night were not with himself.
"This is not a cell, and we're going outside," Frederick said lightly.
Severus narrowed his eyes at Frederick's wet hair and held him back a moment as Harry made to follow Black to the back door.
"Did you believe that it was a proper decision to climb in the shower with him?" Severus hissed.
Frederick rolled his eyes and pulled his arm from Severus' grip. "Don't be bloody disgusting," he hissed right back. "I only got in because he was crying that he was drowning. Trust me when I say that there's never been a less sexual situation of my entire life."
Severus stepped back, once more ashamed of himself, and allowed Frederick to catch up to Harry and Black.
"You're doing great," Nymphadora said lightly as she stepped up to his side. "Really, I think all you missed was pushing Fred on the floor to really get your point across."
Severus lips twitched as he looked down at her playful smile. "Shut up."
Harry and the others came back inside, smelling strongly like tobacco smoke, only a moment before their sitting room was overran by teenagers. Nymphadora winked at Severus then immediately made herself scarce, as did Black, leaving Severus to oversee the chaos.
Mostly to ensure that the teenagers all followed his stern orders to not discuss anything related to the war efforts, as Harry's mind was glaringly open at the present time.
"Harry!" Susan cried happily once she spotted Harry frozen in the doorway. "You're awake!"
"Am I?"
"You are," Luna told him. She dropped Draco's hand and stepped directly up to Harry and hugged him tightly. Harry, who Severus had always known to despise physical touch to an extent, seemed to relax in Luna's arms. "How are you?" Luna asked him softly.
"Confused," Harry said. His eyes kept flickering to Draco. "Draco was never in Azkaban. Lucius was. People don't hate Draco. Draco would never be arrested."
"People don't hate you either," Theodore told him as he carefully drug Draco out of Harry's direct line of sight.
Harry looked startled and looked from Theodore to Frederick now. "Did I say that or is he in m-my head?"
"You said it," Frederick told him.
It was admirable, the way that Frederick remained patient even when Harry sounded entirely mad.
"Come sit," Frederick said. He pulled Harry gently by the arm and led him to the center of the sitting room and waited for Harry to pick a place to sit. Harry hesitated, looking at the furniture distrustfully before eventually sitting exactly where he had stood- the middle of the floor.
Harry's friends did not acknowledge that this was a bizarre place to sit as they arranged themselves around him on the furniture and other spots on the floor. Frederick sank down behind Harry and wrapped him in a loose embrace.
"We miss you terribly," Granger said quietly with a small smile. "How are you, truthfully?"
"Cold," Harry said. "'M always cold."
Once again, before Severus could raise his wand, Frederick did. He silently twitched his wand at his side and brought a thick yellow jumper flying down to stairs towards him.
"Better?" he murmured after casually assisting Harry in putting the jumper on, acting as if it were the most normal task in the world to do so.
Harry pinched the wool between his fingers and nodded absently.
Trent Bailey cleared his throat and gave Harry a bright smile. "You missed it, Harry, we went to Hogsmeade yesterday, for Susan's birthday, and guess what?"
Harry didn't appear to hear him for a long moment as he continued playing with the wool between his fingers, but Frederick nudged him and Harry looked up to Trent. "What?"
"Charlie came," Trent said eagerly, "and he gave Susan roses and she blushed."
Harry looked between Trent and Susan for a moment. "Charlie's going to kill you," he told Susan quietly. "He's going to kick you until you die again."
Granger and Longbottom, who had not been exposed to Harry before now, looked startled, though the others hardly reacted.
"Charlie isn't going to kick me and I've never died before," Susan said. "That was a dream."
"N-no." Harry pulled harder on the threads of his jumper and shook his head. "That m-man is dead, I saw it. I'm not lying. I'm not."
"He is dead, but Charlie didn't kill him," Fred said. He grabbed Harry's hands and held them still. "Nobody thinks you're lying."
The silence that followed was nearly tense and uncomfortable enough to drive Severus from the room.
It was Zabini who broke it eventually as be slowly got to his feet with an easy smile. "Well, I was promised lunch. I'll go see if Mavis needs assistance. Ron, Draco, come help?"
"Yes," Draco sighed, jumping to his feet quickly with a grateful smile. "I'd love to."
Harry watched the three boys leave with a frown before turning to his other friends and ducking his head. "You guys don't have to b-be here, I know I'm dust," he mumbled.
"You aren't dust," Susan said, immediately sliding to the floor and scooting beside Harry. "You're confused, which is understandable. The boys are just ridiculous."
Harry nodded, but he kept his comments to a bare minimum as the others spoke tentatively about their day-to-day activities. He became slightly more animated when Ronald and Draco returned with trays covered in sandwiches and Zabini floated a tray of mugs filled with steaming cocoa to the sitting room table.
"Drink," Frederick said, snagging a cup and handing it to Harry. "It's hot chocolate, which you love, and it is not poisoned."
Harry watched Frederick take a long sip of his own drink before relaxing slightly and drinking his.
"Did you guys win the m-match?" Harry abruptly asked Ronald after he put the mug down and absently accepted the sandwich that Longbottom handed him.
"Er... no matches until next month, mate," Ronald said with a shrug. "We've been training though, don't want to be out of shape when we face Hufflepuff, do we?"
Harry seemed to freeze with the crust he picked off his sandwich halfway to his mouth. He spun his head around and fixed his eyes on Severus. "What d-day is it?" he asked.
"Sunday, the eighth of February," Severus told him promptly.
Harry closed his eyes for a moment. "I can't have m-my potion on the tenth because I killed a student?"
"Incorrect, you will be taking your potion on the tenth as always," Severus said, once more thanking any deity in the sky for not allowing Harry to suffer withdrawals on top of the unique torture of dementors. "You also did not kill a student."
"And you didn't believe me?"
"And I did not believe you," Severus agreed, nodding his head slightly. "Eat, now."
Harry's eyes slipped over to Draco. "Your dad isn't d-dead. He's not in p-prison."
"No." Draco cleared his throat. "He is either upstairs with my mother or hiding from us somewhere else. He doesn't much like children."
Severus snorted, as did a few other children, as Draco's factually spoken statement eased the remaining tension from the room.
Severus and Harry both did a lot of listening as the students chattered on about their inconsequential lives. Granger talked about their transfiguration course. Trent and Ronald discussed their girlfriends, though apparently Trent had two witches vying for his affection and it had caused a rift within his circle of third year friends. Theodore and Zabini discussed the overall mood of Slytherin House as the other students proclaimed Harry's innocence and wishes for him to return.
Nobody mentioned the Dark Lord, Albus, or the war in general and Harry did not ask.
A small mercy.
When the students finally left for Hogwarts, Harry sighed heavily and sank back against Frederick's continued embrace.
"I want to go," he said quietly. "Am I exp-expelled?"
"Nope. Just healing," Frederick said gently. "Once you're done healing, less confused at least, then you can go back to Hogwarts if you want."
Harry nodded, seemingly accepting Frederick at his word. He then turned around so he was facing Frederick and squinted at him for a long moment. "You can-can't come back though, can you?"
"No." Frederick ran his fingers through Harry's hair gently and gave him a smile. "But it's nearly summer break. So soon you'll be stuck with me again."
For some reason, this made Harry glance down toward his hands, which made him frown. "Are we..." Harry shook his head in either irritation or confusion, Severus was unsure which. "We- you... did you take my ring back?" he asked with a bite of accusation to his tone.
Which lifted Severus' heavy heart quite high.
"It's with your stuff in your room," Frederick told him with a wide smile that told Severus he was not the only one relieved to hear Harry sound a little more like himself. "Summon it, darlin."
Severus watched carefully, holding his breath to see if Harry would.
"I can't," Harry whispered shakily. He snaked one hand beneath his other arms jumper sleeve and Severus would be willing to bet he had pinched himself. He looked over towards Severus, "The d-dementors took my magic. Real or dream?"
"Dream," said Severus. "Your magic cannot be taken."
"Will you summon it?" Harry asked him.
"No, you do it, Harry," Frederick cut in. He moved his hands from Harry's arms to his face. "Please?"
Harry continued looking up in Frederick's face as he stuck one trembling hand out to the side. "I want my ring," he whispered.
Severus could have danced a jig when a small piece of metal came whirling down the stairs, flying past Severus, and smacking itself in Harry's palm.
"Let me," Frederick told him with a look so joyous it could have powered fifty patronus memories. He grabbed the ring from Harry's palm and carefully slid it back on his left hand. "Good job, darlin."
Harry gave him a small smile in return and Severus felt himself fill with good will towards Frederick.
Even if the dratted boy did take Harry back upstairs when Harry said he was tired and once more left Severus useless.
***
"How is Harry?" Minerva asked when she stopped by Severus' classroom on Wednesday morning.
"How would you be if you had been wrongfully imprisoned and tortured by your worst memories for weeks?" Severus sneered, frantically searching his desk for his second years' essays. He knew he left them right in the center of his desk when he left. He'd intended to grade them last night, and wound up having a spat with Harry and falling asleep on his bedside sofa.
Where the hell were those dratted essays?
"Argh!" Severus threw an ink pot in frustration and then felt that frustration increase as he now had no essays and ink was all over the cauldron for the front row of students.
"Looking for something?" Minerva asked.
Severus looked up at her, truly for the first time since she entered his classroom, and saw her waving a stack of parchment. "Are those my essays?" he asked.
"They are," she said. "I found them on your desk and took it upon myself to grade them for you." She put the stack back on his desk and gave him a wry smile. "I even attempted to add your pithy comments in the margins."
Severus scoffed as he flicked through them quickly. "Thank you," he said genuinely. "I apologize, I am—"
"Stressed, over worked, under appreciated?" Minerva suggested.
"All the above," Severus sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and fruitlessly attempted to stave off the migraine he felt growing.
Minerva pulled a potion vial from her pocket, a pain reliever from the Hospital Wing, and slid it across the desk before taking the seat in front of it. "I take it that Harry is not doing well?" she asked gently after Severus hastily downed the potion.
"We had a disagreement before he went to sleep last night," Severus said. "He wants to come back to Hogwarts, I do not believe he should return just yet."
"Why ever not?" Minerva asked, scandalized. "If Harry wants to come back, shouldn't he do so?"
Severus rolled his eyes up to the ceiling as he considered a tactful way to describe the current situation. "Harry is not quite himself," he said carefully. "He would undoubtedly be setback quite a ways by a hasty return."
"Severus, we could make accommodations for him," Minerva said. "What could we do to assist him in making a return to his rightful education with his friends?"
"He..." Severus sighed and gave Minerva a defeated look. "He frequently asks if things are real or a dream, you would all undoubtedly hear it multiple times."
"Understandable," Minerva said with a small nod. "What else, Severus?"
"He stammers, quite a bit now," Severus said. "He flinches when doors open. He shakes. He wears layers and layers of clothing. He frequently thinks out loud and is then surprised to have done so." Severus sighed and cradled his head in his hands. "He shouldn't come back," he groaned, "it would be a mistake."
"Severus." Minerva moved to stand beside him. She placed her hand on Severus' back, between his shoulders. "If he wants to return, then perhaps this is for the best. It would be an adjustment, but not an undue one. Hogwarts was his home, once, perhaps it can be that again."
Severus laughed, sounding nearly as hysterical as he felt. "His home?" he sneered, lifting his head to give Minerva an incredulous look. "He's been expelled. Attacked. Belittled. Hated. He's nearly died here. He was arrested here. You believe that Harry will ever see Hogwarts as a safe haven again?"
"There must be a reason he wants to come back," Minerva said calmly, unfazed by Severus' histrionics. "We will work with him. I'll speak with Horace and Filius. This can be a safe place, Severus, we will ensure it is."
"I will consider it," Severus said as the bell rang, signaling the impending arrival of a dozen dunderhead students. "Thank you, Minerva."
Minerva gave Severus a rare and warm smile. "You frequently go above and beyond for Harry and for our other students, isn't it time we did it for you both as well?"
Severus returned her smile slightly as he cocked a brow at her. "Harry has also picked up smoking."
"Well..." Minerva cleared her throat and gave Severus a stern look over the top of her spectacles. "I will certainly not be enabling that."