2,705My Dark Protector
Chapter 38
Poppy realized quite quickly things would escalate between Harry and Black…for different reasons. Cursing silently, she used her Patronus message to spend a voicemail to Severus, informing him to get to the pool post-haste. She knew the second he got the message he would be here, to reassure Harry. Hopefully, Black wouldn't do something stupid that might put Harry back…make him regress into himself after all the progress he'd made. Her own reassurances would fall on deaf ears, Harry wanted Severus…wanted the reassurances only he could bring.
"Daddy?!" Sirius shouted loud enough his voice echoed throughout the cavernous room. Remus yanked him harshly back, smartly casting a silencing spell around them. "Is he out of his goddamned mind?" not that Sirius seemed to notice much, too furious over what he'd just heard.
"Enough," Remus hissed out through gritted teeth, furious over Sirius' overreaction. The urge to shake sense into Sirius overwhelmed him, or just bloody wrap his hands around his neck and just choke him.
"James is his father!" Sirius was practically frothing at the mouth in rage.
"For Merlin's sake Sirius, don't you get it? Severus saved him! Severus has healed him! Severus has been there for him since day one! He's mentally a child! Of course he's going to see Severus as a father figure!" Remus told him, somehow keeping his voice low despite trembling in anger. Why did he just have to screw everything up? He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take, letting go off him, a wary look now in his gaze, "I can't keep doing this Sirius," he was not just physically tired but mentally so too.
"But it's Snape! We hate him!" Sirius argued, pausing at the look on Remus' face but trudging on regardless of the warning bells sounding at the back of his mind. "He doesn't deserve Harry! This is all his fault!"
"No, Sirius, it's Peter and Voldemort's fault," Remus stated, had it up to the back teeth with his delusions and deciding who was to blame one day to the next. Honestly he was tired, one day they look like they were making progress…then bam, he began to act like a kid again. Even Harry was showing more maturity than Sirius every single day…it made him realize how truly badly off Sirius actually was.
"But Snape…" Sirius snapped, unable to believe his godson wanted Snape more than him, how he hated the bastard. Harry should be with him, living with him and Remus. Snape had just gotten lucky and found him first. "Harry should be ours!"
"He's not a toy, Sirius!" Remus snapped, "He's a real life breathing boy who's been through hell and back! He doesn't deserve your jealousy, spite and insecurity!"
Severus entered the pool room, observing the scene in front of him with a critical eye. Seeing Sirius and Remus arguing behind a privacy bubble, and Harry standing before Poppy looking desperate. He closed his eyes for a second, pinching the bridge of his nose, before he forced calmness into him, quickly meditating. He only allowed himself twenty seconds, before he made his presence known to Harry and Poppy at least.
"Severus!" Poppy said in relief, and Harry all but ran at Severus, burrowing his head in Severus' chest, talking too fast for Severus to understand even a word of it. He was blabbing, too upset to even make a coherent word.
"Easy, breathe for me, Harry, easy," Severus murmured soothingly into Harry's ear, rubbing his back, giving Poppy a look that suggested she best explain. He had a funny feeling that Sirius Black had managed to screw up as per usual. Honestly, he wasn't sure why he was even letting the stupid fool within sighting distance of Harry.
"I'm not exactly sure what happened, Severus, but I do know that Harry's afraid you don't want him here anymore." Poppy explained quietly, so much more subdued than she had been when she arrived, just seeing Harry's progress was a blessing, that made her so very happy…but now it was greatly diminished.
Severus inhaled sharply, fury thrumming through him, Merlin he could kill Sirius where he stood. Enough was enough, he wasn't going to endure this nonsense anymore, he had enough on his plate without dealing with Sirius Black. "Accio Calming Draught!" Harry's breathing was erratic he sounded as though he was about to have a panic attack, something that he hadn't been close to since the beginning.
Harry's garbled words continued, despite his inability to breathe, clutching Severus tightly.
Severus made no attempt to try and get Harry to drink it in his state, instead he tapped his wand against the vial the second it flew into his left hand. The Calming Draught disappeared, Severus slid the now empty vial into his pocket, before continuing his administrations of rubbing Harry's back as the calming draught got to work.
Slowly but surely, Harry's breathing did begin to calm, and with it, his words began to make sense. "Don't want to go, don't make me go," and it broke Severus' heart, almost as much as seeing Harry on that disgusting bed all those months ago.
"You're not going anywhere," Severus stated firmly, "You're staying with me, regardless of what anyone else says, is that understood?" being a tad bit too curt with Harry in Poppy's opinion, but she knew it would work, she knew that this would get through to Harry rather than gentle placating. There was a time and place for everything, and Severus was an expert in dealing with any of Harry's bouts of insecurity or fears.
"Promise?" he murmured, shaken to the core, but considerably much calmer, both because of the Potion and his dark protectors words.
"Can you do something for me, Harry?" Severus asked, with calmness he didn't feel.
"Yes?" Harry asked, peering up at the looming figure, that normally scared everyone else…but not Harry, Harry was never scared of him.
"Go with Poppy, get dried, get a pair of pyjamas on and get some sleep, I'll be by to read you a story soon." Severus said softly, still rubbing his back, grounding him, giving him the physical reassurance he desperately needed.
"Come on, Harry, let's go get your favourite pyjamas looked out hmm?" Poppy said, pressing her own hand against Harry's back, silently urging him on, she knew that look on Severus' face, he wasn't going to last much longer before he lost it.
It was a show of just how much Harry trusted Severus, that he'd keep his word, that he automatically began to walk out of the pool room with Poppy. Quite frankly, Poppy was just amazed at how trusting he was at all. Especially after all he'd been through, but Severus had worked hard to gain Harry's trust she supposed, they all had.
The very second the door closed, Severus flicked his wand, a vicious look adorned his face, slashing through the silencing charm that had been put up.
The raised voices of Remus and Sirius became quite clear and loud the second it did so.
"I mean it, Sirius I'm done!" Remus was saying.
It looks as though this 'spat' had turned domestic so to speak.
Sirius didn't get a chance to reply, he had a wand jabbing under his jaw, "What did you say to him?" Severus asked, eyes glittering darkly, promising Black retribution. He hadn't even been this pissed when Black had sent him after Lupin in wolf form.
Sirius winced at the burn of the wand pressing painfully against his jaw.
"Let's not do anything hasty," Remus cautioned Severus, warning him against being impulsive.
"Shut up," Severus spat at Remus, "What did you say?" he demanded of Sirius again, twisting his wand in deeper as his fury mounted.
"I only asked if he'd like to live with me," Sirius ground out through gritted teeth, unable to move his jaw overly much due to Snape's persistence in pressing his wand against him.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just kill you and bury the body?" Severus snarled furiously, backing Black against the cave wall. "Nobody would miss you, nobody would care," not even his own godson, he silently goaded the wizard, his left hand curling into a fist, the desire to lash out physically damn near getting the better of him, and he wasn't one for physical confrontations…not with strong magic at the helm, and he was an extremely powerful wizard, he just happened to prefer potions brewing.
The same could be said for Lupin, he could kill them both before they could draw their wands to defend themselves. He had honed his skills, while Lupin was always weak due to the full moon…and Black? Still hadn't recovered from Azkaban, his reflexes were pathetic to say the least. He thought about it, really thought about doing it, making things easier, for all of them. Keeping Harry safe which was his number one priority, Harry wouldn't miss him, hadn't even asked for him once. Not once in the time since he was brought from Hogwarts to Prince Manor.
It would be so easy.
Yet Minerva, Poppy and Albus' disappointment would be too much to bear, it might be a step too far for them to tolerate.
Eyes narrowing in displeasure, he couldn't let Black go though, for fear of him going too far and actually informing the Ministry about Harry and where to find him. They were keeping it a secret for a reason, and if Black was determined enough, he wont care about the consequences. Just the thought of Harry being drugged up, trapped in a room because they thought he was mentally unfit for society horrified him.
Grey eyes met Black, and Severus ripped through Black's mind, taking over his body, grasping the wand.
"Sirius don't!" Remus cautioned, unaware of what was going on, due to the fact he had his back to them both.
That was until an orange glow began to pulse between both wizards.
One orange blaze that looked like barbed wire wrapped itself around Severus' and Sirius' hands.
"What the hell is going on!?" Remus stepped forward, to stop whatever the hell was going on. "Stop it now!" fear and worry creeping into his tone.
Another orange flame blazed around their hands, visible to even Remus who realized what was going on. He just didn't understand how it was possible…neither wizard was saying anything…how could they be making an unbreakable Vow?
Before Remus could reach Sirius and Severus, the third flame sealed the unbreakable vow into place.
"What have you two done?" he managed to get out, eyes wide in shock. "Sirius!" he called out, lurching forward when he saw Sirius' collapse as if he just couldn't keep his body up any longer.
"What needed to be done, you're no longer welcome at Prince manor," Severus retorted, his voice like a jagged edge. He'd just possessed Black in order to get that Vow, doing so silently, he was magically very weakened and drained, not that he was about to reveal that titbit of information. It seemed to have taken as much if not more so from Black to fight him on it. He'd never stood a chance, it had been pathetically easy.
"What did you do?" Remus asked again, holding Sirius in his hands, "What was in that Vow?" dread squirming in his gut.
"Insurance, so that he cannot go to the Ministry or inform anyone about Harry, I will not have my chi…my ward endangered because of his stupidity." Severus told him, sneering at Black's unconscious body, feeling vindicated. "Leave now, before I have the wards evict you." Which would be significantly more painful, and render them unconscious for hours if not days.
"You can't do this to him…he's impulsive he doesn't really mean it…it will kill him to lose his last link to James and Lily…" Remus told him, swallowing the lump in his throat, never mind what it would do to him.
"He as warned often enough , he should have heeded it, have I ever given the impression that I do not mean what I say?" Severus asked bluntly, staring scornfully at Remus, "You know me, you should have listened." Was all he had to say.
Turning he swiftly left the pool, "Make sure they leave!" he called out to the House-elf as he passed, making his way directly to Harry's bedroom. Harry needed his attention more than his anger at those idiots right now.
He made quick work of getting to Harry's bedroom, only for Poppy to come out before he could enter. She closed the door behind her, preventing his entrance, he arched a brow at her in silent question.
"Did they mention what set Sirius off again?" Poppy asked calm as you please.
"Again?" Severus echoed, "What exactly set him off 'again' as it were?"
"Harry asked for you, more specifically his exact words were 'Where is he, where's my daddy'," Poppy informed Severus.
Severus stiffened, eyes flashing with surprise, "He…said that?" he rasped out, reeling over the new knowledge. Warmth surging in his breastbone, Merlin, Harry actually called him daddy? He saw him as his father? He wasn't even sure why he was surprised…he shouldn't be.
"Yes, he did," Poppy replied, "Now he's waiting on you, he's dried and in his pyjamas with a book he's decided upon." It was nowhere near sleep time, but unfortunately, with the calming draught he would be asleep within half an hour most likely.
"I see," Severus murmured, astonished, "Thank you, Poppy, I'll get the potions done when he's asleep…you can head home if you wish…" there was no point to her being around when there was nobody there.
"I'll be in touch sometime tonight," Poppy promised, "See how he is then,"
"I appreciate it," Severus agreed, before giving her a small strained smile, then passing by her to get into Harry's room.
He found Harry cuddled into bed, his favourite teddies surrounding him, and as Poppy said, a book for him to read. "You decided on a book?" Severus asked him calmly, as though he hadn't just had his entire world turned upside down and righted all at once. It normally took a while, especially after finishing one.
Harry nodded, but it quickly tapered into a yawn, his eyes fluttering tiredly.
"Poppy told me what you called me," Severus said quietly as he joined the boy on the bed, remaining on top of the covers.
"I live with you, you take care of me, not just when I'm sick, that's what a daddy does," Harry declared, chin jutting out in stubbornness. "You're my daddy,"
"That is very true," Severus mused, very simple terms for a child. "I don't mind at all,"
"You're still my dark protector," Harry admitted, his voice slurring as sleep got the better of him.
Severus' lips twitched, he'd been called a lot worse than 'My Dark Protector' he could live with that. "I'll always take care of you, I promise," Severus vowed, brushing Harry's growing hair out of the way of his face. Thinking back on what he'd just done...Dark protector indeed.
Want an epilogue or will I leave it here? if so how long in the future will it be? R&R please!
