All of a sudden, just like how he imagined, based on what his teacher back in Muggle school had said it would be when the world was made, Harry was assaulted by an almost blinding white light.
His ears started tingling like he had been listening to some kind of Celestina Warbeck song Hermione and Ginny had taken a liking to.
Then, Snape. Harry saw Snape hurrying towards his bedside over and over again. The man's hand had tightened its grip on his own, and like he was some lost little boy, Snape's other hand caressed his forehead. Harry found himself relaxing under the touch as he adjusted his eyesight towards the white walls of St. Mungo's.
Although his eyesight was as bad as ever, Harry can still make out the shapes of people bursting into the room. He found himself being surrounded by Healers and Snape, the Healers taking turns murmuring some spells and Snape murmuring nonsense that Harry found soothing.
"Welcome back, Mister Potter!" A short man, who must be Healer Rubbards, exclaimed happily at Snape, then at Harry. Snape only nodded.
The Healers were also beaming down at Harry. Later, he had learned he was five days straight under a Healing Sleep, as they call it. Harry went pale as they told him that he couldn't do Magic for now, although the Healers assured Harry that it was not permanent, just some sort of defensive mechanism his body did when it was assaulted by the suddenness of his ailment, and the exposure on Blood Quill.
Beside him, Harry felt Snape seeth as the Blood Quill under Umbridge's numerous detentions was mentioned.
It did not go unnoticed by Harry that his hand was still carefully held by the Professor throughout the time the Healers, especially when Healer Rubbards was explaining things.
----0-----0-----0------
Severus felt relief by the moment that Harry's eyes snapped open. The boy was currently looking at him and Snape took the time to ask Harry, "Are you really fine now, Mister Potter? Please be honest in answering."
Harry nodded mutely, although he knew Snape was waiting for a verbal one.
"Do you need anything then?"
The boy answered this time, his voice hoarse and small, "Water, sir. May I please have some?"
Snape quickly waved his wand, and since he knew Harry was watching, did so in a blink of an eye. "Here."
A glass of water was handed to Harry, although he did not hide the envy in his green eyes at the sight of someone using Magic. He felt bare without his wand, much more not having the familiar thrill and pulse of his Magic inside himself. He drank the water greedily and Snape admonished him as he choked at his third glass.
"That was refreshing!" Harry said, taking delight as his former voice returned after the few glasses of water. "Thank you so much, Professor Snape."
Snaoe nodded at him. Harry felt the man's stare, and quickly looked down.
"Look at me, Mister Potter." Severus was satisfied when the boy obeyed, although the hesitance was present in his body language, "Yes. That's good. Now, tell me, what made you think that hiding such a terrible thing as being under a blood quill is a good idea? Do you have little to no regard towards your well-being?"
Harry bit his lower lip, and Snape, in the back of his mind, mused at how much Lily's son was like her when both of them are pressured. After a few moments of thinking, Harry Potter found the courage to speak again.
"Can I have a trade?" Snape almost toppled over at the boy's bold inquiry.
"A trade? Of what, Mister Potter? Just a few minutes of being conscious and already being impudent, I see," Snape remarked. When the boy closed his eyes for a moment, Snape sighed mentally. Harry was easily affected by little remarks such as this, he observed. He wondered why, but the conversation for that was to be for another day. For now, he needed the boy's explaination for things-- important ones-- like the blood quill and concerning Umbridge.
"But never you mind, Mister Potter. Do continue."
The boy was obviously less confident when he said, "A trade of information, Professor, is what I desire."
An eyebrow of Snape quirked up. He was curious. It is quite unlike Potter to offer such. "Oh? And what do you propose, then?"
Harry Potter cleared his throat, then looked directly at Snape's black, burning gaze. "I want to ask you some things, and you need to answer back. I will do the same."
Severus gave off a laugh. Surely, Potter Senior must be rolling in his grave at the younger Potter's behaviour being like a Slytherin. "Is this your game now, Potter? What's in it for me?"
"Simple," the boy on the bed gave off a shrug, "My honesty. The whole tale, if you want to. Just promise to answer me in kind."
Severus took several moments to consider. The boy is driving a good bargain. Is he always like this, even in Gryffindor?
"Fine. I can do that, if you so wish," Severus agreed.
"Thanks, Sir. Can I go first?"
"It is may I, Mister Potter, and yes, you may."
The boy nodded, "So, I want to ask you this, even before I got to wake up; why are you suddenly being nice to me?"
Snape looked thoughtful for a few moments, then answered, "I don't know the answer to that myself, Mister Potter. And I am not being nice to you. I am most certainly not a nice person, Harry."
Harry felt at loss. If Snape himself can't pinpoint the reason, he thought, how in Hells can he even explain the sudden warmness in his heart when Snape treats him so gently?
"But," Snape interrupted Harry's train of thoughts, "I can assure you, at least, that what I am and what I do is with good intentions. So no need to fret over it, Mister Potter."
"Why do you call me Harry now, then?"
"Again," Snape said exasperatedly, "I do not know where this drive towards my empathy towards you come from, Harry. It just feels right to call you by your first name, don't you think?"
Harry can only nod. He cannot really explain himself right now, but he feels good talking to Snape like this, and for once, being truthful to someone, and to himself. "Will you help me still even if I am not sick or anything, then?" The boy, by that time, was clutching the white blanket draped over his torso down. He was clearly nervous about asking the question, but still pushed through with it just the same. Such admirable bravery from someone so young.
So, Snape mused, this is where he was actually leading to. Assurance.
But Snape found himself nodding again, "I can tell, Mister Potter, that you are assuring stability, not for anyone but yourself. That is a good trait to have. Self-preservation, that is how we term it in the Slytherin House. The Survivor Instinct. But to answer your query, yes. Yes, I shall be here every step of the way. May I have my turn now, Harry Potter? And please, loosen your grip on the sheets, child. It is unnerving me as well."
The boy only nodded and Snape can tell that the boy was readying himself.
So Severus asked, "I shall repeat my question, Mister Potter. Why haven't you told anyone? Your friends could have helped you, and make you feel that you are not alone."
Again, the boy bit his lower lip, and this time, did it with his eyes shut. Severus waited ever so patiently as the boy was composing his thoughts.
Then, Harry answered, "They wouldn't understand. They are just... Kids. Children. Compared to me, they seem too young. I envy them. They didn't get to rush their growth, while I... I had to face one of the darkest wizards of all time. I saw Cedric die, Sir. I can still hear my mother's screams as she put herself between me and Vol--" Harry stopped as he saw Snape clasped his left arm. Harry knew. He understood. It was the Morsmordre, the Dark Mark, "the Dark Lord. I am a haunted boy, Professor. I'm constantly in the Dark. I can't even begin to fathom how I should arise from this. I now have cancer, and my body that once housed Magic has gave up. Nobody in my circle of friends understood that. And do not even start with Nev. He lost his parents too, I respect that. But he isn't expected to face the Dark Lord, is he now? He can still be obssessed with his herbs and pots, and be a kid.
"Ron has lead a different life. He's got a Mum and a Dad, and a family he doesn't still appreciate as of now. He's a great friend, but can also be a pain in my arse," Potter laughed, and Snape wondered if the boy was aware that it doesn't sound humorous, instead it sounds choked, "Ron cannot relate himself with me. It's much too much for his still immature thinking, and Hermione? Hermione will only hover over me and tell me how to live my life through her books. Although some of her ideas work, sometimes, I don't get it at all. I get confused through her litany, and to be honest? It irritates me how she thinks she can tell me these things deadpanned. She's too rationale most of the time.
"There are many other friends, I know that. I love them all. But they never get me. Either they are too busy with their own lives, or they make me feel so much older than my fifteen year old self."
It was more than the honesty that Snape expected from the boy in front of him. It was all too sudden, too much. He understood why the boy did what he did. He refuse to burden his friends, for he knew that they'll never be alike, due to the Prophecy. The boy in front of him was carrying the wizarding world on his shoulder.
How he wished to give the boy a childhood. As he pondered upon that, the words of the Headmaster echoed in his mind. Do what you can, Severus, to keep the boy.
He knew it wouldn't be long before the pink toad takes over Hogwarts. When she does, it'll be a threat. To him, and especially to Harry.
He looked up and saw Harry looking at him intently. "Umbridge. How long has this been going on? I mean the duration of her using the blood quill on you, Harry," asked Snape before realizing. Harry took a deep breath and said, albeit with hesitance in his voice, "Since I had my first DADA class. She--she said Cedric dropped dead on his own accord and I argued with her. She accused me of being a liar.
"She would bring me to her office then ask me to sit near a small table. She'll asked me to write lines most specifically 'I must not tell lies'. She would look over my shoulder and watch me write. She'll have this sinister look. She'll always say 'I have a special quill for you to use.' She would laugh and smile as I write." Harry shivered through the memory.
Snape nodded and asked once more, "And why didn't you tell Professor McGonagall or Dumbledore?"
"I tried, but Dumbledore was ignoring me, pretending that I don't exist. Professor Mcgonagall? Well, She can't do much. Umbridge is under the Ministry. There's nothing that the professors can do."
"How did you treat the wound? Surely it was bleeding badly. How did it went unnoticed, Harry? Did neither of your friends realize? They're much of a dunderhead, are they?" Snape asked out of curiosity.
"I soaked it in Murtlap Essence. Hermione noticed first when I was reading. And then Ron did. Both of them insisted that I go to Professor Dumbledore but he was ignoring which I don't know why," answered Harry.
Snape nodded, trying to comprehend the information he gathered. He concluded that the longer Umbridge is around, more harm will be caused upon Harry. Someone has to take action against her. Someone who has the power and the resources, and who is in the Ministry. An idea popped in his head; Lucius Malfoy.
People believed that Lucius was a 'bad guy', but contrary to popular belief, Lucius was only protecting his heir. He would do anything to protect his son. When Lucius was young, he was like Severus, minus the fact that the Malfoys have money, as he was constantly subjected to Cruciatus Curse by none other than Draco's grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy. Severus healed Lucius Malfoy whenever he came back to Hogwarts.
Malfoy always talked about how much he wanted to protect Draco from the Dark Lord. The influence he held in the Ministry was strong. He knew it's time he asked Lucius Malfoy for help. He broke out of his Muse and looked up.
Potter was looking straight deep in his thoughts. "Potter?" He got a 'humph' back as a reply. "I need to go back to Hogwarts. I'll be back as soon as I can." Harry looked at him and smile. He said "Of course, Professor. You have obligations back at school. No rush. I'll be here. I'm not going anywhere. You can come anytime you want."
Snape nodded and walked out of the room. He informed the healer to call him if anything comes up. He went through the floo, and shouted, "Hogwarts!"
He felt something bad was happening.He certainly didn't expect to see what was happening before him.