how did we get here?
What had he done? Broken the wards, but that was impossible he hadn’t used any magic, and he was sure something that extreme had to be at least a semi-conscious decision, and yes, he hated his family, but he didn’t want to break the magic that kept them safe! Did he? Maybe he could go back and fix it, he didn’t know if that was possible but he needed to at least try. Oh God, Snape was going to kill him.
“Potter, Potter, breathe child, what in Merlin’s name are you doing?”
Snapes desperate voice cut through Harry’s panic briefly, long enough for Harry to realise he couldn’t quite draw a breath. Why couldn’t he breathe, he thought that he had fixed his ribs but apparently not because why else would he not be able to breathe?
“Potter just try to breathe! Please.”
But he couldn’t, he couldn’t quite get enough oxygen and he was starting to feel funny, spots were clouding his vision, and he was just so, so tired. Maybe if he just closed his eyes.
Just for a second
He flinched as he felt something being pressed against his lips, he tried to fight the cold liquid that was being poured down his throat, because if it was coming from Snape there was no way of knowing what the hell it was. But he had to admit that whatever it was, it was starting to help, he could feel his breathing evening out, and, whilst he still felt panicked, his panic didn’t feel quite so desperate as before.
“What was that?” at Snapes glare he quickly added “Professor?”
“That Potter was a calming draught, and a strong one at that. What could possibly be worrying you so much that you need my strongest brew to calm you down? And you better be honest with me.”
Harry decided that honesty might be his best option in this situation.
“Professor, you have to believe me!” he begged desperately, “I didn’t break those wards, or if I did I didn’t on purpose, I don’t even know where to begin when it comes to breaking wards, all I remember is falling asleep in the hallway and then I woke up here! I promise you I don’t know what happened!”
Snape looked back at Harry with an expression that Harry had never seen before, was it confusion? Indecision? Either way it was a look that made Harry wary.
“Potter, whilst I don’t doubt for a second that you don’t have the intelligence to break the wards that the headmaster personally assembled, you also do not, and of this I am confident, have the pure magical power to break such wards by accident!” Snape paused, taking a breath “Alas, we are not to discuss this now, Madam Pomphrey has just arrived downstairs and whilst nothing would make me happier than sitting and arguing with a stubborn, arrogant brat, I must go and show her to this room.”
He left before Harry had a chance to reply, leaving him confused. Why was Pomphrey here? He felt fine, and he had healed his ribs so hopefully there was nothing obviously wrong with him? But then he remembered the pity his professor had shown him when he had first seen Harry was awake.
Holy Fucking Shit, it all came back with such startling clarity it shocked him, his glamours! He couldn’t have been unconsciously maintaining them, it was nearly impossible, Snape must have seen his injuries from Vernon.
Harry glanced up when he heard the door open, and saw Madam Pomphrey bustle in, and, despite his rapid anxious thoughts, there was still something reassuring about being with Pomphrey, her no nonsense attitude to healing made him feel safe. Much safer than with Snape anyway.
“So, Mister Potter, I know you are a frequent flyer in the hospital wing back at school, but I didn’t think that I would be seeing you in the holidays as well.” Harry opened his mouth to apologise, only to be cut of by a cheery “Oh don’t be silly Mister potter I’m just teasing you. Now, what seems to be the problem?”
Harry opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by Snape.
“Mr Potter here seems to have had an unfortunate run in with a dementor”.
Harry blinked. Then blinked again. Then stared incredulously at his professor, Dementor? The last time he had seen a dementor was his boggart in that Godforsaken maze. Why was Snape covering for him? Or did he just want to see Harry in pain? Harry risked a glance down at himself, expecting to see his stick thin, battered body, but instead, to his immense surprise, he seemed to appear healthy. Totally healthy. He must have been able to keep his glamours going after all! How he had managed such a feat was a thought for another day, but for now, this was amazing, Snape still didn’t know about his family and-
But wait, why had he come up with that bullshit about dementors then? Unless… the coldness he felt before he woke up here, could that have been a dementor? But he didn’t have his wand on him, so, how did he escape?
He was so caught up in his own thoughts, he barely heard snapes explanation to Madam Pomfrey about what had happened, apparently, Snape had gone to investigate the broken wards and been just in time to apparate away with the unconscious teen, who was seconds away from being subjected to a complete kiss.
Pomphrey’s jaw hit the floor. “Severus, you can’t be serious, in his house, where were the muggles?” Snape merely shrugged in response.
“Ok then Mister Potter,” Pomphrey said, slipping back into healer mode. “Eat this for me, then drink this, then drink this” giving harry a bar of chocolate, a calming draught and another vial. He obliged, slightly scared of the healer when she was like this. “And I’m going to run a full medical scan on you if that’s ok, just to make sure that there aren’t any issues that Severus here hasn’t noticed”.
Harry nodded, not really knowing what getting a full medical exam meant but assuming that his glamours would cover any of his injuries so allowing it. He was still too caught up in his own thoughts about the dementor to really register what was going on.
Agreeing so quickly might have been a mistake however, as after he had finished drinking all of his potions he looked up at his teachers and watched with confusion as both Severus and Pomphrey’s faces grew at first confused, then angry then… was Pomphrey crying?
“Harry,” Pomphrey whispered. “What is this?”