If you should not be here, leave now.
7. Hindsight is a wonderful thing
If Severus thought about it, it was rather stupid to be sat in a public place with the enemy of his supposed Master. Weasley wasn’t a problem, and Fletcher was unconscious, but the other two, a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff from a few years ago if he remembered rightly, were a different kettle of fish. They stared at him as Poppy steered them over to a bed in the corner and relieved them of their burden. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Weasley give Harry a searching look, and was about to come over and speak to him when Albus arrived, his trouble sensor in overdrive.
"Ah, William. I see things didn’t go as planned?"
"No, sir." Weasley looked around uneasily, his eyes resting on Harry for several moments before turning to Albus again, for some reason it unnerved Severus. Albus waited until Poppy had ushered the others into her office before asking Weasley to explain.
"We found the house you asked us to find, but the Death Eaters had already left. We followed their trail and it lead us to Manchester." Weasley said, he seemed uncomfortable.
"Please ignore Severus and Harry, I trust them and know they will not tell anyone about this. What happened after you got to Manchester?"
"Well at first we thought the tracking spell had gone wrong because it told us they were in a Muggle shopping centre, but when we realised they were up to something we tried to stop them. We didn’t get there in time, they blew the place up. It was packed with Muggles, we tried to get people out, but one of the Death Eaters saw us and started flinging curses at us, they didn’t use any of the Unforgivables so we think they were juniors or recent initiates. Mundungus was hit with an Asphyxiation Hex and when we tried to cast the counter curse some of the rubble fell and knocked him out." Weasley looked exhausted, there were cuts and abrasions all across his face and arms, probably from flying masonry.
"Do you know how many were killed?" Albus asked seriously.
"The place was packed, being summer and everything. It could be fifty maybe even a hundred." There was a gasp from beside Severus and the three of them turned to Harry who was deathly pale, his hands clutched the cup of broth so tightly that his knuckles were white.
"How is Fudge going to explain that?" He asked in a small voice.
"I don’t know, Harry, I don’t know. Maybe now he will finally see the truth." Albus shook his head in away that said he doubted it. "Did the Ministry arrive before you left?" He asked, turning to Weasley again.
"Just as we activated the emergency Portkey. I didn’t catch what they said, but Shawn was closer, he might be able to tell you." Weasley walked over to the door to Poppy’s office and stuck his head around, there was the murmur of low conversation and then the taller of the two boys came back in.
"Professor Dumbledore, sir, I heard a bit of what the Obliviators said." The boy was obviously shell-shocked, and a few of his larger cuts were still in the process of being healed. "Just before the Portkey activated, I heard them say something about Muggle terrorists, that they were always useful for blaming things on, or something."
"Thank you, Shawn." Albus frowned to himself and the boy went back to Poppy’s office, after a few minutes the door opened again and Poppy appeared.
"If you don’t mind, Headmaster, I need to check over Mr. Weasley now."
"Yes, yes of course. Thank you William, I’ll need all of you to come to my office when Poppy is done with you if you don’t mind." Weasley nodded and followed the Medi-witch in to her office and closed the door. Once he’d gone Albus’ expression cleared and he moved towards Severus and Harry. "Now, Harry, how are you feeling?"
"Better, sir. What are you going to do about the attack?" Severus briefly admired Harry’s persistence. When it wasn’t directed at him, it was a useful trait.
"As it stands, Harry, the Order cannot do much. But try not to worry about it now, concentrate on getting better and enjoying the rest of the summer. Has Severus told you about the arrangements for your stay?"
"No, sir. I only woke up a few minutes ago."
"Ah, well then I’ll let him tell you all about it whilst I sort out a few other things." Albus gave Harry one of his twinkling smiles and headed back to his office. Severus wanted to hex him for leaving him alone with the boy as his earlier embarrassment threatened to overtake him again. He watched as Harry took another tentative sip of the broth. The speech he’d carefully prepared suddenly vanished from his mind, and as he groped to find it again Harry turned towards him with an expectant look.
Severus sighed and slumped back in the chair rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Don’t look at me like that."
"Like what?" Severus frowned; this was so not going to work. He silently damned the Fates that had put him in this position.
"Like you expect me to have all the answers."
"Sorry Professor." Severus sighed again; his reputation was never going to recover from this.
"Harry, it is the summer and given the…unusual…circumstances, I think it would be best of you used my given name." Harry blinked a few times and then nodded.
"So, Pro – S-Severus, what are the arrangements Professor Dumbledore mentioned?" Severus tried not to wince when Harry stuttered his name.
"Well, as the only member of staff who is here on a mostly permanent basis, the Headmaster has seen fit to ask me to look after you for the rest of the summer. So once Madame Pomfrey sees fit to release you, you will be staying with me in the dungeons. I know this is probably not an appealing situation, but I will try to be as tolerable as possible." Harry looked at him for a minute or so, and Severus felt like fidgeting under his gaze, he was suddenly struck by how like Lily Harry was. He vividly remembered her looking at him in a very similar way.
"Don’t worry, if I can live with the Dursleys for fifteen years I’m sure three weeks with you won’t be that difficult to handle, no offence." No one his age should be able to have that kind of look in their eyes, Severus had to almost tear his eyes way from them.
"None taken." Harry blinked again, and Severus repressed a smirk. If he was going to have to drop his masks he might as well do it properly.
"Speaking of the Dursleys, what did you do to them? I remember you casting some kind of spell and them screaming."
"Ah, yes. That spell was one the banes of your father’s life." Severus allowed himself a nostalgic smirk. "It causes any pain inflicted by the subject to rebound on them. The particular derivative I used on your relatives took into account any pain they have ever inflicted upon you. Technically it isn’t illegal but its use is heavily frowned upon by the Ministry as the Cruciatus curse is derived from it."
"Ah, I doubt Hermione would teach it to me then." Severus snorted.
"I should hope not! And anyway she’d need a pass for the Restricted section to even read about it." This time Harry snorted, but winced immediately afterwards and clutched his side. It took him a few moments of heavy breathing to recover himself. Severus’ own appendix scar twinged in sympathy.
"She got one of them last year, Professor Figg gave it to her. ‘S why she needed to teach me Latin. She needed help translating a book she found, it was really interesting if a bit gruesome." Harry pulled a rather cute face as he said that.
Severus took a mental double take, had that thought just happened? He shook himself, and was about to reply when the door to the ward opened again. Weasley was back. Severus was glad to see that he looked uncomfortable again, obviously he thought Severus would have left by now.
"Yes Mr. Weasley?" He questioned, pulling his mask back on.
"Err, I was wondering if I could talk to Harry." Weasley said, his eye’s darting back and forth between Severus and Harry again. Severus looked at Harry, who looked at Weasley and then at him and gave him a look that plainly said ‘Help me’.
"I’m sure that there could be nothing to you have to say to Mr. Potter that cannot be said in front of me." Severus sneered. Weasley looked annoyed for a moment before approaching the bed cautiously.
"Harry, err, how are you? Dumbledore wouldn’t tell me why you were here." Instead of answering immediately Harry made a show of drinking from the cup in his hands.
"I’m…better." He said after awhile, Weasley obviously wasn’t satisfied with his answer but a warning glare from Severus prevented him asking any further questions. "How’s Ron and everyone?" Harry asked, obviously trying to change the subject.
"He’s fine. Hermione’s staying with us again, so he’s distracted most of the time. But he’s worried about you. He, err, showed me the letter you sent him, he said there was something wrong with it." Weasley darted another annoyed look at Severus who returned it with a neutral scowl. Harry stared into the cup and fidgeted slightly, it made him wince again. "Harry what’s wrong?" Concern laced Weasley’s voice.
"Nothing," he said quickly, drawing raised eyebrows from Weasley. "I needed to have my appendix out that’s all, and the scar hasn’t healed yet. Err…tell Ron, I’ll explain about the letter when I see him." Weasley gave him a pensive look that took in the pale trace work of scars on Harry’s face and arms.
"Is there anything else Mr. Weasley?" Severus snapped when the silence dragged on.
"Err, no Professor. I expect I’ll see you around, Harry." And he turned to go.
"Yeah, see you." Harry said as Weasley left the ward. Once he’d gone, Harry relaxed back into the pillows with a grimace.