Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Come in," Severus growled from behind his desk. He was in no mood to deal with the petty problems of his students or complaints about his Slytherins from any fellow professors.
Or God forbid a social call from Minerva or Lupin.
His head ached fiercely despite the two pain relieving potions he consumed since his fight with Potter. He suspected it was likely emotionally driven, not physical, and thus potion resistant.
He looked up from the paperwork he was fruitlessly attempting to distract himself with to see Harry Potter slide in silently.
"Potter," he said tartly. "What can I do for you?"
Potter stepped up to his desk and Severus saw as he pulled his shoulders back, a determined pose belied by his pale face and trembling arms. Potter looked at the wall behind Severus' head and clenched his jaw, apparently unwilling to speak.
"What do you want Potter? Now!" Severus demanded.
If Potter had came back to demand he sign over the legal forms to the mutt, or tell him some more about how Severus was no longer needed in his life, then he could just leave. Severus would never purposefully berate a sick teenager, but he certainly wouldn't allow one to take a couple more jabs at him freely either.
Potter mumbled something so softly that Severus couldn't hope to decipher it.
"Speak up! I have no time to play twenty questions with you right now."
Potter flinched backwards from Severus' sharp tone.
"I s-said... I s-said I n-need your help," Potter stammered.
"I am uninterested in helping you," Severus said coolly, imagining any one of many possible schemes Potter would be requesting his assistance with. "Whatever difficulties you have found yourself dealing with- you can have Black assist you with resolving."
Potter ducked his head for a moment before giving Severus a pleading look.
"I apologize," the child said softly.
"For what precisely?" Severus asked at Potter's entirely unprecedented apology.
"For... for all that stuff I said... and for b-burning you..." Severus curled his lip up at the reminder of his own foolish mistake he had made that morning at grabbing Potter. "And you c-can do whatever y-you need to... so we're even, yeah?"
Severus looked curiously at Potter's trembling tone and his 'I am terrified and trying to hide it' posture.
"What do you believe I need to do to make us 'even' for your behavior this morning?" he asked him.
Potter curled his shaking hands in to fists at his sides and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Whatever you think you should," he said through a tightly clenched jaw. "Just... just I need your help. So do it."
Merlin.
Potter was expecting physical violence to somehow even an imagined score so that Severus would help him with whatever problem he was having. The child was pitiful.
"I will not strike you Potter," Severus said, biting down on his previously scathing tone to a more neutral tone of indifference. "Inform me of the problem you need my assistance with."
Potter opened his eyes slowly and Severus could practically see his heart racing through the pulse point in his neck.
"You were right."
Severus raised his brows at Potters softly spoken admission. Though, he had no idea what he was referring to.
"What was I right about?" Severus asked him.
Potter's eyes were rather wet as he made eye contact with Severus.
"Black is mad," he said. "And... and I am too, aren't I? And I dunno how to fix it. But... but you do, sir. So I need you to just hurt me so we can be even and help me. Please Snape. Please. I don't wanna be like him."
Potter sounded young and desperate. Severus saw one small tear trail out behind his silver glasses, which squeezed his heart painfully to see. But more importantly- Severus heard him.
Quit punishing the child with a cold shoulder, he scolded himself. A sick child is a sick child. Regardless of who he chose to be his guardian.
"Sit," Severus said. "I am incredibly pleased to hear that you would like assistance with your illness, and would like to hear how you came to accept it."
Potter took a step towards the chair before he hesitated.
"C-can you please j-just get even first? I don't wanna s-stand back up."
Jesus Christ.
Severus adopted Potter's own move and closed his eyes tightly for a moment while he tried to think. Potter lived off a bartering system. He traded secrets for secrets. He shared information in exchange for information. Potter (rightfully) believed he dealt Severus pain this morning and would anxiously await a reckoning until he believes that Severus has sufficiently hurt him back.
Which Severus would not willingly do. Potter had suffered enough pain to last three lifetimes in Severus' opinion.
"Tell me how you gained the scar that decorates your collarbone." Severus pointed on his own collarbone to indicate the scar he referred to.
Potter stopped fidgeting and looked incredulously at Severus.
"Why?"
"Because I believe it will hurt you to tell me," Severus said evenly. "I will not lay a finger on you, you may recall I even vowed to never do such a thing, and thus we will be even."
And it will be another part of Potter's past that Severus will be informed of.
Potter's eyes widened and he raised his brows above the curtain of hair his fringe makes on his forehead.
"I got beat up by these street kids," Potter said quietly with his eyes averted to his feet and his face bright red. Severus felt a warmth spread in his chest as he was once again able to recognize Potter's stance. He believed this one would be called 'needlessly embarrassed'. "One of 'em had a knife and I ducked when he jabbed it at my throat and he caught my neck I guess." Potter pulled on the collar of his jumper and showed Severus the scar he'd only seen flashes of before. It was thick and white and looked as if it had hurt incredibly badly. "I'd only been on my own a few months, it was just starting to get cold out, but after they beat the hell out of me I saw a cop and asked him for help. He called me a street rat and then pretended he didn't even see me. So I went to a shelter and a lady stitched it up for me, even gave me a candy while she did it. But then she tried to put me in a foster home so I took off."
It was no wonder Potter was terrified and disgusted by law enforcement. Severus himself was disgusted by what passed as Muggle law enforcement as he imagined an adult, in any capacity, purposefully ignoring a small child bleeding from a neck wound.
"Why were you adverse to residing in a foster home?" Severus asked. He had never heard of a homeless child actively avoiding a residence that could offer a warm bed, food, and continuous shelter.
Though, Potter was the only homeless child he had a relationship with. But still. The thought made no logical sense.
Potter lifted his head to look up at him and sighed.
"My uncle used to threaten me with them, didn't he? Said they were way worse than his house so I should be grateful for what I had. Didn't wanna take any chances, did I?"
"I see."
And Severus did see.
He saw that Vernon Dursley had a reckoning coming.
"So... so are we even?" Potter took a shuffling step towards the chair in front of Severus' desk.
"We are," Severus said calmly. He hoped that the mental sting of sharing past traumas would be enough for Potter to feel as if Severus had 'evened the score'. Otherwise God knows Potter will never fully relax in his company again.
Not that it matters as much now, seeing as Potter requested to reside with Black from now on.
"Would you care to sit and inform me how you came to the understanding that you require treatment?" Severus asked.
Potter sat down in his seat and let out a strangled sort of sigh.
"Black... he's 'manic'," Potter used his fingers to emphasize quotations around manic which caused Severus' lips to nearly twitch in to a smile. He repressed the urge though, sure that Potter would take it as a mocking gesture and become embarrassed.
"How did you determine this?" Severus asked him curiously. Just this morning Potter was unwilling to recognize a manic episode in himself and yet now he believes he has diagnosed Black. Severus was certain Potter was correct in his diagnosis, Potter's manic behavior was startling similar to Black when they were classmates, yet he was curious how Potter reached the same conclusion.
"I... I went to see him," Potter said. "And he was talking like a crazy person and jumping around and didn't make no sense at all. And he said 'let's go to Russia' and I realized that people can't transfigure gills on to themselves, can they?"
"They cannot," Severus said slowly. He had not been aware that Potter had ever believed it to be possible.
That is a question for another day, he stopped himself from latching on to that odd remark.
"How were you able to go see Black this morning?" he asked instead.
If Minerva gave Potter permission to run off to Black then she would be dealing with Severus.
Potter twisted his fingers around in his lap and fidgeted as he looked around the room.
"Ran fast, under my cloak, didn't I?"
If Potter's cloak was not one of very few items that physically connects him to his deceased father then Severus would happily confiscate it until the child graduates.
"I see. And so you risked further punishment to go ask Black to take over your guardianship in an effort to avoid treating your illness. You rightfully recognized that his manic speech and disjointed thoughts were similar to your own. And you then came to me for assistance in treating your illness, have i summarized your day accurately?"
"Kinda. But... but I didn't ask him," Potter said softly. "I know you probably don't wanna have me stay with you anymore but... but I don't wanna stay with Black either."
Thank God, Severus thought with no small amount of relief. He had spent the day in a miserable state believing that the child he has grown ridiculously fond of had been lost to him forever.
"Pot- Harry, you are operating under a false belief," Severus said gently. "I enjoy being your guardian. Further, you own our home. It is your house Harry. You need never reside anyplace you do not want to because you always have a home to return to."
"Will you still be there?" Potter looked up at him and Severus found himself caught in his gaze. "Might be lonely if it's just me..."
Severus smirked at Potter's carefully worded plea.
"I will be there," he told the ridiculous child. "As I have told you before, I have no desire to rescind my guardianship of you. You and I will likely have many more arguments in the next four years, and they are to be expected. They will not cause me to change my mind. Understand?" Severus allowed Potter to study him for authenticity behind his words until the child nodded in satisfaction. Whether Potter truly understood that Severus could not be easily drove away or not was a matter of its own, but for now it was enough to move on from.
Severus opened his desk drawer and retrieved the bottle of medication he had stored there. He delicately placed it on the desk between himself and Potter.
Potter, the fearless child who completed the seven trials to reach Flamel's Stone at eleven years old and drove a sword through the mouth of a basilisk at twelve, paled and twitched at the sight of the harmless pill bottle.
"I would like for you to tell me your aversion to this medication."
Potter grimaced and hunched his shoulders up.
"I'll take it," he said. "I don't wanna be like Black again."
"That is not what I asked," Severus said gently. "I would like to understand your aversion so that I may alleviate any worries you are carrying." Potter chewed on his lower lip for a long minute while Severus patiently waited for him to organize his thoughts.
"Ya ever checked in to a shelter?"
"I have not," Severus said.
"So... so people always think you can just show up and get a bed, ya know? But it's not like that... you gotta wait in line to see if they even have a bed open for ya. And when you get in they ask all sorts of questions. And one of them is if you have any medicine ya need," Potter glanced down again at the bottle of medication on the desk and stared at it as he spoke. "And if ya say yes then they try and get it for ya. And I'd see 'em. The people who said yes. And they just laid on their cots and they were worse off than the people on drugs, ya know? Cause at least the drugs made the other people move and talk. The pills people just laid there sir. Just droolin' and stupid looking. Didn't even notice when they got ripped off. And I don't wanna be like the pill people."
Severus could scarcely imagine a more miserable type of environment for a child to be exposed to.
"You will have an incredibly useful resource to prevent side effects such as those," Severus said.
"What's that?" Potter's fearful gaze was still on the medication.
"Me. And I will never allow any ward of mine to be 'droolin'' nor 'stupid looking'."
Potter looked up and saw Severus' smirk and a hint of a smile reached the child's eyes before he tentatively reached for the medication.
"So do I just take one every day? And I'll be fixed?"
"You are not a thing that is broken," Severus stressed. "However, if you take the medication every day it will counteract the imbalanced chemicals in your system and we will hopefully see the end of the illness driven depressive and manic episodes."
Severus waited silently as Potter considered the medication.
"What d'ya mean by 'illness driven'?"
Severus chose his words very carefully.
"You are a teenager, which means that you will experience an increase in hormones and emotional fluctuation. You will undoubtedly still have have periods of strong feelings of joy and sadness. The medication will lessen the likelihood that you will have out of control thoughts, behaviors, and emotions."
Potter nodded and opened the bottle with the look of a much older man being led to the gallows.
"Wait-" Severus quickly grabbed the bottle from the ridiculous child. "When is the last time you ate today?"
"Er..." Potter trailed off and shrugged.
Severus sighed and checked the time.
"Do you mean to tell me that it is now six o'clock and you have not had a meal all day?"
Potter bit his lip and nodded.
"Foolish," Severus admonished him gently. "You need to eat Harry. You cannot take this medication on an empty stomach, it can cause you to become sick if you do. You will take one during breakfast, where you will eat. And one during dinner, which you will also eat. Every day Harry. You cannot miss a dose, which means you cannot miss a meal. Do you understand?"
"I have to take it two times?"
"Two times a day, yes. Though we may have to adjust it at some point. There is no prior research on Wixen consuming muggle medications of this type. Not because it has been unneeded," Severus hastily added lest Potter find another reason to not take the medicine. "But because Wixen are ignorant of this particular branch of Muggle advances. I have researched appropriate dosages for your age and size, but your metabolism is much higher than that of a Muggle."
"Metabolism is why I'm skinny, right?"
"Precisely," Severus smiled fondly as Potter apparently had been listening to Severus' many rants on the interactions of potions on Muggles and medication on Wixen over the summer. "And because you seem to have a larger magical core than most, and thus are able to control your magic much more easily than most, your metabolism burns faster. Which is why you require a higher dose of medication for it to be effective."
"So twice a day," Potter said.
"Twice a day."
"But... but I don't want everyone to know," Potter mumbled in a plaintive tone that squeezed Severus' heart.
Severus stepped his hands beneath his chin as he considered Potter's insecurity. It was not unfounded, Severus himself would feel the same way.
"Sir?" Potter called quietly.
"Just a moment please, I am attempting to think of a solution," Severus told him. Potter remained unnaturally still, though not tense, as Severus thought.
The medication could not be charmed, it would impact the properties of the chemicals and could potentially poison Potter. It would also be impractical for Potter to duck beneath his invisibility cloak every meal.
Severus picked up the bottle of medication and frowned thoughtfully as he studied it.
The medication could not be altered, but... but the bottle itself could.
"Ah, I believe I have a solution," Severus said, quite pleased with himself. "I will add a rune of subterfuge to the bottle itself."
"What's that mean then?"
Severus looked at Harry and frowned again as he had forgotten how poor the child's prior education had truly been.
"It operates closely to the 'Notice Me Not' Charm," Severus explained. "The rune will make it to where anyone aside from those keyed in to the rune, in this case only us, will be unable to notice the bottle. The rune will divert their attention off of it, you could shake the bottle in their face and they would only hear a rattling noise."
"Brill," Potter sighed. "Thank you."
Severus pulled his wand out and very carefully drew the rune to the bottom of the bottle and, after a split second of hesitation, Severus also added a ward to alert him every time a pill was removed from the bottle.
It would do Potter no good if the child forgot to take the medication. Or, more likely, intentionally stopped taking it.
"Place your thumb here please," Severus showed him how and once he was done Severus handed Potter the bottle.
He was hesitant to trust him with the medication, but Potter needed to be treated as an adult until he gave Severus a reason not to.
"If it is not a terrible imposition I would like for you to remain here tonight. Neither of us know of your allergies and it would be remiss of me to allow you to introduce a new substance to your body without supervision."
"Here?" Potter looked around the classroom with raised brows. "I dunno..."
"No, brat," Severus chuckled at the understandable confusion. "Apologies. I meant in my quarters. As you have recently became acquainted with my sofa, it would be safest for you to sleep there again tonight where I am close by in case you have an adverse reaction."
"So I wouldn't sleep in my dorm? Or eat in the Great Hall?" Potter asked slowly.
"Just for tonight," Severus assured him. "I truly am concerned with allowing you to stray too far from me when there is no prior research on this medication being taken by a Wizard."
"Susan's gonna kill me though," Potter frowned. "I told her I'd talk to her tonight, and... and she was good about it when she found me earlier."
Severus was undeniably curious in what sort of condition Miss Bones found Potter in after his confrontation with Black.
"And..." Potter flushed and looked upwards towards the ceiling for a moment. "And Luna might be upset..."
Severus snorted as he realized what Potter was alluding to.
"Miss Lovegood absolutely cannot sleep in my quarters," he said. "You, as my legal ward, are welcome to. However I would be fired if another child, especially a female child, slept in my private living space."
"Fine," Potter huffed and shrugged. "Worth a shot. Can I go see them before we eat and take the medicine then?"
Severus considered the reasonable request and decided to attempt a compromise.
"What if your friends joined you here, in the classroom, for dinner? I am sure Mavis would not be opposed to bringing you food and then you can eat with your friends while remaining close by. Is that acceptable?"
"Acceptable," Potter mimicked with the first smirk of amusement Severus had seen on his face in quite some time. "Can I go get them?"
"May I send a patronus instead?" Severus countered with.
"Don't trust me?" Potter didn't sound upset, only curious, so Severus decided to answer honestly.
"I would prefer you to remain here until you have taken the first dose lest we spend another eight months arguing over the medication," he said.
"'Kay," Potter shrugged and slumped down to a more relaxed pose in his chair. "But you didn't see Black today. If that's how I am then I'll do whatever I have to to fix it."
"And I am incredibly pleased and proud of you for that decision." Severus smiled at Potter in what he hoped was an affectionate manner. "You have shown an incredible amount of maturity this afternoon."
"Cause I said I'd take the pills?" Potter sounded curious but his cheeks turned a faint shade of pink that led Severus to believe he was pleased with his praise.
Which probably meant he should do it more often. Potter had probably never been praised for a thing in his life before he entered Hogwarts. And even now he is praised for the most for his magical strength and hardly for the things other children receive from their parents.
"You also apologized for this morning," Severus said. "You rarely apologize for your actions and decisions, we are quite similar in that way, so it was a much appreciated apology."
"You apologize to me all the time," Potter (correctly) pointed out.
"I wrong you more often than I do most others," Severus said bluntly. "And thus I apologize more often to you." Severus cleared his throat and slowly brandished his wand. "I am going to send a message to Miss Bones now."
Potter nodded and watched eagerly as Severus summoned his patronus.
"I would like to see you in my office," Severus said. "Bring your misfits if you would."
Potter scowled as the silver fox disappeared.
"My friends are not misfits."
Severus raised a teasing brow at the child, and the relief he felt that he was able to still have a teasing relationship with Potter was no small amount.
"I was under the impression that you made a habit of adopting friends with unique qualities."
"Unique means special, yeah? That's not odd," Potter said stoutly. "And you better not be calling Lue a misfit."
"I was referring to the odd combination of qualities you have accumulated in your friendships, not the individuals themselves," Severus said. Merlin forbid if the child believed Severus was insulting Miss Lovegood.
"What odd qualities?" Potter asked curiously.
"Where to begin?" Severus smirked. "Miss Bones, the Hufflepuff with a penchant for disturbingly vulgar language. Mister Longbottom who cannot complete a potion without adding his own fear induced sweat, yet who fist fought over your honor last year. Draco and Ronald, whose fathers have harbored a grudge their entire lives towards one another, and spend their afternoons playing chess and flying together. And of course Mister Nott and Miss Granger, the pureblooded son of a bigot who shares a relationship with the muggleborn walking encyclopedia, each of whom have memorized the Hogwarts Charter."
Potter laughed brightly at Severus' summary of his friends.
"What about me, Blaise, and Lue?" he asked eagerly.
"You mean the son of the most terrifying woman I have ever met, the child who gives me constant headaches, and my favorite student?"
"Thought I was your favorite?" Potter grinned.
"Your potions could never compare to Miss Lovegood," Severus said pompously. "I will make a Potions Master of that witch yet."
The grin on Potter's face slid right off and he frowned unhappily.
"Did you know Lue's mom was a potion master like you are?"
"I did not." Severus was also unaware that Lovegood's mother was deceased, as was indicated by Potter's use of the past tense. "Perhaps that is where Miss Lovegood developed her superior skill in the subject," he added kindly.
"Maybe." Potter turned in his seat slightly to watch the classroom door. "Lue told me to come here. Said you wouldn't hate me."
Severus owed Miss Lovegood quite a bit apparently.
"She was correct," he said. "It would take much more than one disagreement for me to hate you."
Potter glanced over his shoulder at Severus and scrunched his brows together.
"What would it take?"
"Are you looking for future tips?" Severus asked in a dry attempt at bringing back Potter's previously good humor.
"No," Potter did huff out a small laugh. "But... but I don't want you to hate me, do I? So I gotta know."
Severus was interrupted from attempting to find a response to such an absurd question, Potter truly had no understanding of what it meant to be cared for, by the sudden arrival of half a dozen children. He quickly slid the bottle of medication to Potter who pocketed it with a subtle nod.
"Harry!" Bones squealed happily. "I was hoping you'd be here!"
Draco, Granger, Theodore, Lovegood, and Blaise all trailed in behind Miss Bones with their own smiles aimed towards Potter. Severus could sense an overall feeling of relief and once again wondered what sort of condition Potter had been in when he had to be convinced to come find Severus.
"I told you he was here," Lovegood said airily as she sat down at the desk closest to Potter. "You weren't listening."
"Oh I heard you," Bones rolled her eyes as she threw herself in the chair beside Lovegood. "But I told you to stay with him, not drop him off like owl post."
"Professor," Granger nodded politely at Severus.
"Good evening," Severus said. "How are you?"
"Fine, thank you." Granger tugged Theodore towards the other table beside Bones and Draco and Blaise followed suit on the opposite side.
"Where's Ron and Nev?" Potter asked.
"They were already at dinner," Draco said with a roll of his eyes.
"If you all are amenable I can rearrange the furniture and you could make a terrible mess of my classroom for dinner tonight," Severus offered.
"Ooh, yes please!" Bones grinned over at him and Severus felt his usual fond exasperation at the wild girl. It was luck on Severus' part that Potter had driven Bones to become an ally of his. Severus would undoubtedly go through cases of pain relief if any one of Potter's friends had been against him, especially Bones who still commands the poltergeist to torment Lupin and Albus.
"Stand please," Severus said. He flicked his wand at the desk tables after the students all stood and rearranged them in to a square grouping more suitable for their current needs.
"I will return momentarily if you would like to order dinner," Severus said.
"'Kay," Potter murmured distractedly as he eyed the table seating carefully.
"Brat," Severus sighed with another flick of his wand.
Potter gave him a self-conscious grin as Severus moved a chair to the corner of the table that would give Potter a view of both the doorway and Severus' desk.
"That's mine," Draco joked as he moved as if to take Potters chair.
"Only if ya wanna fight over it," Potter drawled as Severus strode off towards his quarters.
Severus left to give the children a moment of privacy while also rereading his notes on the research for Lithium one last time before Potter took it.
He had done extensive research on the medication before requesting it from the Contessa. Currently, Lithium was the only tested and approved medication for the newly discovered Manic-Depressive Illness. The United Kingdom itself had yet to approve the medication. Severus would never have acquired it for Potter had France not had sufficient research in to its interactions with the illness. They had even completed trials with adolescents who had the same illness and symptoms as Potter, though the youngest in the trial was 15 as compared to Potter's mere 13 years of age.
Reassured that the research he compiled backed his recommended twice daily dosage of 500mg, Severus returned to his classroom and stopped and stared.
He had been gone for a mere five minutes.
"Perhaps I should not have given you permission to trash my classroom," Severus said curly as he moved back to his desk.
"It's not trashed," Draco grinned. "Just... a bit messy."
Severus eyed the overt amount of plates, glasses, and serving platters scattered across the tables he had joined together. Then sent a pointed glance at the discarded bags and cloaks strewn across the floor. And a final curious look at the coveted plate on his own desk.
"We'll clean it sir," Granger said.
"We'll see," Bones laughed. "Alright Harry spill, let's hear it."
Severus removed the covering on his plate and was touched to see that Potter had requested fish and chips for him. The child was an unpredictable menace, but his vigilant notice of the smallest details was not unappreciated.
Severus listened quietly as the students chatted amongst themselves.
"Tell me about yours first," Potter said. Severus was relieved to see that the end of the manic episode brought back Potter's lost appetite. Potter was scooping up bites of potatoes as Bones began describing what seemed to be an outing she took yesterday with Draco.
"Draco wanted to go to Madame Puddifoots," she laughed as Draco's pale skin blushed darkly. "It was horrible, wasn't it Draco?"
"It really was," Draco agreed with a dramatic shiver. Severus smirked as he recalled the one time he had entered the disgusting tea shop and had left covered in confetti.
"And then we just walked around Hogsmeade and hung out with Ron and Neville and everyone else. Then someone started a snowball fight that lasted foreverrrr-"
"And they hit Hermione with a snowball," Theodore interrupted Bones with a pointed look of irritation.
"Which was an accident," Bones smiled sweetly but Severus saw her wink at Potter.
A witch with the fierce loyalty of a Hufflepuff and the cunning of a Slytherin was a terrifying thing. Severus was grateful she was about as subtle as a raging hippogriff or he would likely have had to deal with her in the Slytherin house as well.
"Now tell us about your day," Blaise said. "I'm sure it was much more interesting."
"Dunno," Potter shrugged. "We... uh," Potter glanced at Severus who pretended to be incredibly interested in his own meal. "We just walked around a bit and then went to Zonkos and then got a drink and came back."
Aah, Potter's first date. Severus wouldn't have chosen Fred Weasley as a match for the child, but perhaps Potter's cynical and brooding nature was drawn in by Weasley's optimistic cheer.
Bones glanced towards Severus as well, who finally sighed in defeat.
"I have gone deaf," he said drily. "I am entirely deaf and unable to hear you all speak. Any admissions of wrongdoing will be ignored due to my current temporary deafness." Severus raised a brow slightly at Potter as the other children chuckled at his allowance of free conversation and he watched as Potter ducked his head, raised his hand to his mouth, then took a long drink.
Severus' wand heated up in a three beat pattern in his pocket, informing him that the ward worked and Potter took the medication.
Thank Merlin.
"Okay if Snape's deaf then tell me, did you guys kiss?" Bones grinned at Potter, who blushed and scowled.
Severus was incredibly uncomfortable with the new topic of conversation and yet unable to leave since he had just foolishly instructed the child to take the medication in the middle of the meal. Severus was torn between his options: actually muffle the students' conversation and leave himself unable to hear if Potter went in to anaphylactic shock, or suffer through what he was sure would be a discomforting conversation.
He knew he had to remain in the room, and remain alert, but swore that he needed to stop bending to Potter's will in the future. The brat had just looked so childlike when he discussed wanting to eat with his friends.
"Not at Hogsmeade," Potter mumbled. "But yeah."
"Oooh!" Granger and Bones both squealed, much to the irritation of Severus' ear drums.
"Was it magical?" Lovegood asked wistfully.
Severus subtly looked up and saw Potter was grinning in a way he has not seen in a while. It was neither a mania driven smile, nor a cold smile he gives right before injuring someone in some way. It was a carefree smile of a thirteen year old talking about a kiss.
It was normal.
Painfully, blessedly, normal.
"It was nice," Potter said.
"Harry was pissed," Blaise drawled quietly. "I'm surprised he even remembers it."
"Speaking of drunk... who was that bloke you were dancing on?"
Potter's friends laughed as Blaise seemed to be struck silent for a moment.
"I may not remember his name," Blaise finally said over the continued laughter of the students. "He was an excellent kisser though."
Draco laughed so hard he had clutched the table and Severus felt himself unwittingly smile as memories of himself as a teenager discussing dates, kissing, and other foolish things in the Slytherin common room was drawn up.
"I'm still mad you went to a party without me," Bones muttered.
"Me too," Draco added with a pout.
"I'm not mad," Lovegood hummed. "I bet it was rather loud."
"It was," Potter smiled at Lovegood. "Real loud."
"I can't believe you guys lost Slytherin 45 points in one go." Theodore gave Potter and Blaise both a disappointed look.
"Better than us," Bones said. "We lost 100 points even!"
Severus was pleased to hear that Lupin apparently was not biased with his punishments.
"Slytherin should have lost more," Potter said thoughtfully. "Kinda fucked that we were the only two Slytherins there."
Severus could not hold back his snort of derision at Potter's thoughtful, vulgar, and accurate statement.
"I thought you were deaf," Draco said.
"He was only pretending," Lovegood said matter of factly which caused Theodore and Granger to laugh briefly before Potter glared at them.
"Apologies. I am of course entirely deaf," Severus drawled. "As an unrelated side note I would simply like to interject that Slytherins are rarely invited to intermixed events hosted by other houses as we are seen poorly by the general students."
"Pft, that's stupid," Potter scowled. "Finnigan was the only one who said anything 'bout me bein' there and I hit him right in the face, didn't I?"
"Harry! Why?" Granger sounded like an exasperated parent and Severus felt a pang of shared empathy with the witch.
"Called me fuckin' evil, didn't he? Right in front of Fred's friends."
Severus went back to pretending to not listen to the students conversation as Potter and Blaise discussed their illicit evening last night. He kept a close eye on Potter and felt confident that it had been long enough that the child would not have an immediate adverse reaction to the medication. His breathes were still even, his skin was a normal shade, and his eyes were bright and clear.
"Are you gonna tell us about that thing you did today now or later?" Draco asked Potter, catching Severus' attention.
"He already knows," Potter murmured quietly. "Just went to talk to Black and came back."
"What'd he do?" Bones asked sharply.
"What d'ya mean?"
"She means, why did you look like Black ate Sevvie for lunch when you were sitting by the lake?" Blaise clarified with a quirk to his lips.
"I think that's Harry's business, isn't it?" Lovegood hummed, raising Severus' respect for the witch ever so slightly higher.
Potter leant towards Bones and whispered something that caused her to nod.
"You can't promise to tell Susan later right in front of us!" Draco cried.
"Who said that's what he said?" Bones challenged him.
"Because Harry never refuses to tell you anything," Granger said logically.
"Fine!" Potter scowled at his friends but Severus saw a pleased look playing around his eyes. "I went to see Black, but he was..." he trailed off and flicked his eyes towards Lovegood.
"Disappointing," she supplied.
"Black was disappointing," Potter nodded.
"I'm sorry Harry," Granger said softly. "I thought you two were getting along?"
"We were, or... are? I dunno. He was just having a... bad day today I guess and I didn't like it much, did I?" Potter crossed his arms and looked as if he were defiantly daring one of his friends to contradict him.
Theodore leaned across the table towards Potter and breathed something directly in his ear. Severus couldn't hear Theodore's question but he saw Potter shake his head in response.
Interesting. Severus hadn't thought Potter and Theodore were very close and yet Theodore knew Potter well enough to ask a private question that the other students had not considered.
Severus wouldn't bother lying to himself and denying that witnessing Potter's group dynamic was incredibly interesting. The children all seemed to revolve around Potter, and yet they each interacted with him in a different manner. It was unlike anything Severus had seen before.
The students began chatting about their classes, the Quidditch training for the final game in April, and their upcoming finals in May. Severus waited until their plates emptied before clearing his throat to draw their attention.
"I am afraid that I must keep Mister Potter for the evening," he said. "Though the rest of you-" he looked sharply at Lovegood and Bones, "should return to your own dormitories."
Draco chuckled and gave his own pointed look of amusement to Granger of all people, who turned a horrifying shade of red.
I hate teenagers.
"You're not staying in the dorm tonight?" Blaise asked Potter.
"Nope. Snape thinks I'm gonna sneak out to a party again," Potter lied easily. "Don't reckon he trusts me much, does he?"
"You were caught in a room full of drugs and alcohol just last night," Severus said curtly, playing along with Potter's well chosen cover story. "Forgive me for any lingering concerns over your adherence to the rules."
Granger looked skeptical at Potter's explanation but thankfully held her tongue.
"Alright well, we'll see you in the morning then?" Draco asked.
Potter glanced at Severus who nodded once.
"Course," Potter said. "I'll be at breakfast. Tell Ron he better not have bent a single twig on my broom."
Bones and Lovegood both gave Potter quick hugs, which he easily accepted, before the group departed.
"Clean up," Potter murmured as he lazily waved his hand and Severus' classroom was quickly put to rights.
"I have said it before and I will say it again, you would make an excellent House-Elf if your Ministry aspirations ever fail you," Severus smirked at his ward.
His ward.
Thank Merlin.
"Doubt that'll happen sir. D'ya know how the Minister is chosen?"
"The Minister is chosen through a general election of the Wixen population in the United Kingdom," Severus recited as he held the door to his quarters open for Potter.
"Exactly." Potter smirked up at him and batted his eyelashes a few times. "And who won't vote for the Boy-Who-Lived? Especially if I 'vanquish' Voldemort before I'm thirty?"
Severus blinked down at Potter, caught entirely off guard.
"That... that is terrifying," he said truthfully. "Merlin Harry."
Potter was not wrong. The prophesied vanquisher of the Darkest Wizard to rip apart the United Kingdom who had already once survived him would win any popular election in a landslide. And if Potter did somehow kill the Dark Lord between now and then? The most beloved child in their world would become the most powerfully revered figure. Eclipsing even Albus in his prime.
Minister of Magic Potter.
It would be chaos. Glorious chaos.
"Think it's what Ron calls a sure bet." Potter said confidently before he flopped down on Severus' sofa and pulled a pair of sleepwear out of the bag Draco brought him. "Can..." Potter shifted uneasily and gave Severus a close look. "Can I take a shower maybe?"
"Of course." Severus pointed him towards the shower and settled himself in to his recliner once he heard Potter turn the water on. He thought back to Potter's first day when he refused to change in the boys restroom with the other students present and felt a sense of pride in how much trust he has earned for Potter to willingly go utilize Severus' private accommodations.
It was trust hard earned, but Severus had done it. Succeeded where many others failed.
Particularly, succeeded where Black and Lupin both failed. Which he was certainly not internally gloating over.
And he was not still gloating when Potter returned from the shower.
"Do you require a potion to help you to sleep?" Severus asked.
"No," Potter yawned as if to prove his point. "Think that pill made me tired."
"It is one possible side-effect. Though it should only last a couple of weeks," Severus assured him. "We could couple it with a Pepper-Up Potion in the mornings if you find yourself too tired for your classes in the meantime."
"'Kay," Potter tossed his bag carelessly on the floor beside the sofa and stretched out with a small sigh. "Thanks for not tellin' my friends I lied about why I'm here."
"Of course." Severus summoned a book and a blanket and was pleased again to see that Potter did not so much as twitch at the abrupt motion. "I will be here if you need me," he said as he tossed the blanket to Potter.
"Kay." Potter shifted around on the sofa and buried himself beneath the blanket. "Night."
"Goodnight brat," Severus called back.
He waited nearly an hour before Potter's breaths had evened out and his face relaxed into something much more vulnerable and open in his sleep. Severus looked fondly at the child as he cast a ward to alert him if Potter woke during the night. So far he seemed to be dealing with the medication easily enough. A side effect of lethargy was commonly described in the research and could be lessened easily with the addition of a potion until it ceased once Potter's body was better acquainted with the medication.
Severus summoned his own quilt and relaxed back in his chair as he cleared his mind.
In, two, three, four.
Out, two, three, four, five.
In, two, three, four.
Out, two, three...
BEEP. BEEP. BEPP.
Severus jerked awake as the alarm he keyed to his wand alerted him that Potter was awake.
"Potter?" he called towards the opened restroom door. "Are you alright?"
"'M sick," Potter moaned.
Severus went to the doorway and saw that Potter was curled over the toilet, his hair stuck to his sweating forehead.
"Have you gotten sick or do you feel as if you will be?" Severus cast a diagnostic charm and was relieved to see there were no current ailments plaguing the child which meant this must be a side effect.
"Feel like 'm gonna be," Potter moaned again with his head on the porcelain toilet seat.
"It is nausea and it is a common side effect of first time users of Lithium," Severus said calmly. "Here-" he summoned an Anti-Nausea Potion and offered it to Potter. "This should ease the nausea."
"Ta," Potter said weakly before he threw back the potion. Severus counted as he waited for the potion to go in to effect.
As he reached twelve Potter took a deep breath.
"Better?"
"Loads." Potter got to his feet and held on to the sink for a moment. "Can I-"
Potter's eyes rolled in to the back of his head as he fell, too abruptly and rapidly for Severus to stop him, striking his head on the stone floor.
"Potter?!" Severus reached down for the child when every muscle in Potter's body began shaking.
"Son of a bitch," Severus swore as he quickly scooped the child up and held him tightly. "God damned son of a bitch."
Severus carefully maneuvered Potter and himself towards the floo as quickly and carefully as he could.
"St Mungos Emergency Care!" he cried with a tight grip on the seizing child in his arms.