Hero Title: Hero Authors: sevs_lil_secret and unbroken_halo Warnings: reference to past violence Summary: This is within the first few weeks after Severus has found Harry and they are back at Hogwarts. Dumbledore has decreed Harry will be brought to the Great Hall for the evening meal and Severus decided otherwise.
Hero
Severus stormed back to his chambers after answering Albus’ summons. After a little over a week the barmy bastard wanted to see… no demanded to have Harry attend tonight’s evening meal.
He had tried to explain to the Headmaster that regardless of how few people were left over the Christmas hols, it was not a good idea to bring Harry into that kind of environment. He didn’t know what he was doing with the boy but he had a really bad feeling that this was so not a good thing.
Severus sighed as he tried to calm himself before he actually made it into his chambers and encountered Harry. The young man was still cowering and cringing at every loud and sometimes quiet noise. He had just barely gotten him to keep his damned short robe on and now this.
He rubbed his face and took a deep breath before entering his rooms. “Harry?” he called out quietly. He stepped forward and looked around for the younger man, peering under the tables to see if he had crawled back into the small spaces hidden about the room.
Not finding him in the sitting room, Severus made his way into the kitchen and still no Harry. No Harry on the rug the boy had taken to sleeping on. Severus shook his head. Maybe the younger man had snapped out of it and decided to crawl into his bed or maybe, just maybe the boy had decided to use the loo properly.
He knew Harry wouldn’t leave his chambers without permission so he slowly opened the door to his bedroom and called for the boy once more. “Harry, where are you?”
Green eyes opened in the darkness and Harry looked around himself slowly. Master was looking for it. Whimpering softly, he began to pull his way out from under the bed where he’d fallen asleep after a house elf had popped in earlier and frightened him into making another mess on Master’s floor. Stricken with shame and fear, the young man had wedged himself under the bed, wet robe and all, falling asleep while he waited for his punishment to be meted out.
Harry knelt beside the bed and bowed his head; his body trembling as he waited whatever blows were coming. “Thing is sorry,” he whispered as one hand stole up to twist in his hair and yank it cruelly. When Master didn’t speak, he dropped to his hands and knees, crawling to the black boots, lowering his face and kissing them before he pulled his robe up for the other man.
Severus groaned softly and looked down at the little wizard. Hard to believe that this was The Harry Potter. He knelt and shook Harry’s hands from his robes and the smell of urine hit him in the face. He wrinkled his nose and shook his head.
“Harry… let’s get you cleaned up. Are you alright, did you hurt yourself?” He helped the smaller man to his feet and guided him to the loo. He would call Albus once he had the boy settled in the tub and try to explain once again how this was not a good idea to bring Harry out into the public.
“No Master, it’s sorry, it will do it now,” the little wizard whimpered and began to pinch and dig at his skin, horrified that he’d not punished himself immediately for soiling the Man’s rugs again. “It was bad and made a mess,” Harry sobbed quietly as he felt the strong hands on his shoulders.
Severus shook his head and pulled Harry’s hands away and held them in his own. He went around in front of Harry and bent to look the younger man in the eye. “No, Harry. I didn’t mean for you to punish yourself,” he sighed and then looked at Harry again. “If you think you have to be punished then that is what we shall do.”
He tilted the little face up and looked met the green eyes. “Harry, from now on if you have an accident then I will punish you. Me, Harry not you. I will give you the punishment. Now, I want you to use the toilet whenever you need to relieve yourself. Do I make myself clear?” he told the young man firmly but not unkindly.
The green eyes got larger and a look of fear crossed the young features as a new puddle formed at his feet. He looked down and then dropped to his knees, cowering. Harry had not meant to disobey, but he’d been frightened, now he’d be punished. His eyes rolled wildly, the whites flashing as he began to hyperventilate and shudder.
Severus wrinkled his nose in disgust and shook his head. He grabbed Harry’s shoulders and shook him gently. “Harry. Focus on me,” he said firmly once more. He waited until he had the younger man’s attention and nodded at him. “Now I want you to go get a towel and clean your mess up. This is your punishment.”
Harry crawled to the bathroom and fetched the towel he used to dry himself with after he was bathed, bringing it back and mopping up the floor as fast as he could. He couldn’t understand why blows weren’t falling around his head, but he wasn’t going to question his tiny bit of good luck. Maybe Master was to busy to bother with him. He finished and sat back on his heels, waiting for his next instructions, the towel held on his lap and his eyes lowered.
“What is it to do now, Master?”
Severus reached down and stroked Harry’s hair. “Very good, Harry. I am proud of you. You did a good job.” He stood again and thought about what to do next. “Now I want you to get up from the floor and walk to the loo. Take the towel with you and wait for me by the tub. I want to you remain standing once you get there.”
It was almost like having a very small toddler or a mentally challenged person and Severus knew he wasn’t equipped to handle Harry the correct way but he also knew he couldn’t let anyone else take Harry away. Grant and Damon both had told him he needed to be firm with the boy and show him some consistency to get him back on the right road to recovery.
He was almost certain that Grant was working on him as well as he worked with Harry. He knew his temper was getting better if only with Harry. Everyone else still deserved the rough side of his tongue and that was how he released his pent up energy after dealing with Harry.
“Go on now, Harry. I’ll be right behind you.”
Harry nodded slowly and got to his feet, going into the bathroom and waiting as he was told to do. He could behave well if he knew exactly what was expected of him, it was when things were vague that he had problems. He needed clear and concise instructions to follow for his own safety.
Severus nodded as he watched Harry do as he was told. He followed the younger man into the loo and stood next to him. Positive reinforcement Grant had said and Severus was about to put it into play. He had already decided to defy Albus’ order to bring the young man to supper tonight. He was not about to let all this work be destroyed by one demented old wizard with a penchant for bad fashion.
“Very good, Harry. I am proud of you,” Severus once again told the younger man and stroked his hair through his long fingers. “Would you like to take a bath? You can have bubbles if you like.”
Harry smiled shyly and then quickly raised his hand to cover his mouth. He liked the bubbles, they would sing to him, but he was afraid if Master knew, he would take them away. Master Morgan never let him have anything that made him happy. “If Master wishes for it to have bubbles and a bath, it would appreciate them,” he said softly and lowered his hand. Harry kept his eyes on the tub and almost giggled when the taps were opened with a flick of Master’s wand and the bubbly water began to fill the porcelain tub. “This thing thanks you.”
Severus grinned and bent to check the temperature of the bath water then nodded. He turned back to Harry. “Now, I want you to take off that robe and place it and the towel in the hamper then come right back to this spot.” This seemed to work better than anything else he had tried in the past week when all he had wanted to do was shout at the smaller man.
He knew Potter had been intelligent if belligerent young man. Somewhere in this broken shell was the spark of life that had been Harry Potter. Severus hoped he’d be able to bring it back to the surface and one day let the young man go.
He smiled at Harry and then turned the taps off at a safe water level. “Go ahead, now, Harry. Your tub is ready.” Severus turned to get a clean flannel and towel for after.
Harry stripped his robe off and did as Master had instructed, putting the items in the hamper and coming right back to stand in the same spot. He knew it was the same spot because he could feel the same crack in the tile under the ball of his left foot. He watched Master through his new glasses and bit his lower lip, trying not to smile as the bubbles began to sing wizarding nursery rhymes.
Severus took Harry’s hand and helped him into the tub then spread out a bath mat where Harry had once stood. He sat the wash cloth on Harry’s head and then took a seat on the toilet to watch the younger man, play in the water. “Have fun in your bath, Harry. I want you to wash yourself and then I will shampoo your hair.” He smirked at the smaller man. “Don’t forget to wash behind your ears.” He reached forward and plucked the glasses from the small face. “Let’s not get these wet now. You may have them back once you get out of the tub.”
Hearing Master’s words, Harry plucked the flannel from the top of his head, wetting it before he scrubbed behind his ears carefully before smiling shyly once more. Master had said to have fun and Harry began to sing along under his breath to the words he knew of the nursery rhymes while he scrubbed his body carefully. After he’d twisted around and washed his backside, he looked up at Master. “It is clean Sir.”
“Very good, Harry.” Severus reached into the water and pulled the drain plug. “Now I am going to turn on the shower and rinse you off then shampoo your hair.” He held out a hand to the younger man and helped his stand as he adjusted the water with his other hand. “Be careful now, it might be slick.”
Severus guided Harry into the spray and watched as the bubbles ran down the still gaunt frame and he decided they would work on Harry’s eating habit’s next once he mastered the facilities again.
He took up the herbal shampoo and poured a goodly amount into his hand and worked it into a lather before pulling Harry from the flow of water and massaged the soap into his dark wild locks.
“Keep your eyes closed, while I do this Harry,” Severus instructed as he worked his fingers down and into Harry’s scalp, massaging and scrubbing the man’s head.
Harry stood and sighed quietly as Master washed his head and let the water beat down onto his body. He liked to be taken care of and had yet to figure out why Master was being so kind to him, he knew it would have to end soon. That Master had to have a reason for keeping him. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of the shampoo and of Master and felt himself grow sleepy.
Severus maneuvered Harry back under the spray, rinsing the fragrant bubbles from the boy. He then smoothed crème conditioner onto the next of hair then let it set for a moment while he gathered Harry’s towels. He rinsed Harry once more and then shut off the water.
He helped the boy out of the tub once more and then wrapped the towel around the slender frame, rubbing him dry. Severus moved the towel to Harry’s head and briskly dried his hair and then hung the towel on the bar to dry.
Taking Harry’s hand, Severus led him back into the bedroom and pulled a clean pair of boxers and a new short robe out of the armoire. He laid out the robe and shook his head. One of these days the boy was going to freeze to death down here in the dungeons but allowing the smaller man to have his legs bare kept the clothes on him.
Harry had nearly had a heart attack the first time Severus had dressed him in full length robes. It hadn’t taken the younger man long to remove his clothes and he’s been back at Severus’ knee, naked. He himself had nearly pissed himself the first time Harry had continued to do this.
They had finally agreed on the short robes and Severus got no more nude surprises.
Severus shook his head once more then smiled at Harry. “Get dressed little one. Make certain you put on all of the clothes.” He turned and got out a pair of socks for the smaller man and waited while the boy got dressed.
Harry pulled the robe over his head and then looked down at the pair of boxers and shrugged. He had no idea why Master wanted to cover up what he could be playing with, but who was he to ask such things. He stepped into the cotton shorts, pulling them up over his narrow hips before he looked at Master. “This thing is dressed Sir, what shall it do for you now?” He took the socks, quickly slipping them onto his feet and then standing still once more.
“Would Master like it to prepare his table?” Harry asked as he tugged at the hem of his clean robe and waited fro his next instructions to be given. He knew by the way his belly was gnawing at itself that it was past time his Master normally ate his evening meal.
Severus smiled at Harry and nodded. “What would you like to eat this evening Harry? Anything you want to try?” He turned. “Follow me, Harry.”
The Potions Master led Harry through the bedroom and out into the sitting room. He stopped abruptly causing the younger man to run into his back side. He put out a hand and rubbed Harry’s still slightly damp hair. “It’s all right.” He murmured and then frowned at the guest sitting in his chair.
“Headmaster.” Severus barely kept the sneer off his face and the snarl out of his voice. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company.”
Albus Dumbledore peered over the frames of his spectacles at the two men, his blue eyes twinkling as he regarded them. “Severus, dear boy, when you did not arrive with Harry in the Great Hall, I took it upon myself to be certain you were both well.”
Harry peered out from behind Master’s back and whimpered low in his throat. Now he knew why he’d been cleaned up. Quietly, he reached under his robe and began to work his boxers down his hips. He would be good for Master and his guest.
Albus motioned to both men to come and join him. “Severus, bring young Harry out. I’d like a chance to visit with him and see what he’s been doing in the years he’s been away from us.”
Severus rolled his eyes and looked down at Harry. He groaned and turned around. “Harry, keep your clothes on. Remember what I told you. You do not have to show yourself to everyone.” He waited on the younger man to fix his clothing and then guided the boy around the sofa. He sank down next to the arm of the couch and then grabbed Harry and pulled him on to his lap.
Severus stroked the boy’s hair trying to soothe him after the unexpected guest and then turned to look at Dumbledore. “Headmaster, I told you Harry is not ready to be in the public eye. He does not need Minerva’s screeching and fawning over him. He scared to death right now as it is.”
Dumbledore looked curiously at the young man perched on his Potions Master’s knee. That feat in itself was unbelievable, Severus had loathed Harry as a student. “He seems well enough Severus, but I’m not certain why you have him perched on your lap. Is there something about your relationship that you’ve not told me?” he asked as he noted the way the dour man was playing his hand over Harry’s hair and back. One did not do that with an enemy.
Severus sighed, “As I have tried to tell you before, Albus, Harry is neither my lover nor anything thing else of that sort. He is a young man in need of guidance and I have consulted a psychiatrist on how to treat the young man. However if it makes you uncomfortable to see him like this then I’ll sit him beside me.” He knew exactly what was going to happen once Harry was off his lap and he only hoped the Headmaster learned his lesson. Tonight was going to be a long night if Albus didn’t get it through his addled brain that Harry may appear well physically but that mentally at this particular moment in time the boy was just like a small child.
A sexually aware, precocious and unable to control himself, adult child, Severus said a prayer to the gods hoping one might smile on him and moved Harry off his lap and onto the cushion next to him. “It’s alright Harry. You are doing just fine.”
Harry’s bottomed barely touched the cushion before he was sliding to the floor and onto his knees. “This thing is not allowed on furniture, it might make a mess,” he said quietly and began to pick at the hem of his robe, trying to work out in his mind why the other man was there. He glanced up at Master and cringed at the look of frustration on the older man’s face.
Albus leaned forward, frowning as Harry took to the stone floor, looking to Severus for an explanation. Perhaps he needed to question the boy alone to get anywhere with him.
Severus sighed and pulled the man up from the floor once more. “Harry I have explained this to you. It is alright for you to sit on the couch and you may do so anytime you want to.” He sat the man back on the cushion and watched as he returned to his former position. He sighed and looked at Albus.
“Are you seeing what I have been trying to tell you, Albus. The boy doesn’t even know his own name let alone know how to be treated like a human being.” He looked down at Harry. “I don’t like talking over him like this. It’s not fair to him or me.” Severus petted Harry’s hair once more and tried to soothe the young man once again before crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Albus.
Albus stroked his beard thoughtfully for a moment and regarded the trembling man on the floor. “Perhaps it would be better for him to be in Poppy’s care. You are a very busy man and you surely don’t need the added burden if he is this badly off, do you?”
Harry heard the words and began to whimper. He was going to be thrown away once more. He’d tried to be good, he never meant to make messes on the floor. He curled up in a fetal position on the rug and the whimpering continued as he waited to be kicked away.
Severus shook his head. “Look what you have done.” He reached down and picked up the smaller man. He cradled Harry in his lap and rocked him, making nonsense words and shushing the boy. “No one is going to make you leave. You are safe here.”
Severus looked up at Albus. “The doctor I spoke with assures me that he needs consistency and guidance, not to be bounced all over creation.” He glanced down at Harry and then looked back up at Albus, “A week ago you wanted nothing to do with him. Told me to handle it, why now have you changed your mind?”
He stared at the older man. “This is all Minerva and Hooch’s idea, isn’t it? Meddling women,” Severus muttered softly and rubbed his temples.
The Potions Master looked back at the Headmaster and shook his head. “Albus we haven’t eaten and you’ve upset the boy. It is going to take me most likely the rest of the night to get him settled again. As you can see I am not abusing him nor am I treating him like a personal slave. Just let the boy heal and he will be on his own soon enough, if you would quit setting him back.”
Albus looked at Harry as he was held on his Potions Master's lap; the young man he'd known was now trembling and looked to be biting his fingers. "Severus, really, I must insist he be placed where he can be cared for appropriately," he said as he reached out to touch the frightened man's arm.
Severus wanted to jerk Harry away from Albus' long gnarled fingers but he was more concerned with Harry biting the skin from his own. "Harry please," he said softly. "It's alright." Severus carefully took Harry's fingers from his mouth before he could bloody them again.
The old man's words sunk through and the fingers brushed his arm. Harry gasped, pulled his hands away from Severus and curled them into the dark robes. He would most likely be punished for his outburst but he didn't want to be taken away from this good Master. "Master! This boy doesn't want to go! My Master! Please!" he shrieked hysterically and began sobbing.
Albus shrunk back at Harry's outburst and frowned, "I'll owl St. Mungo's immediately and make arrangements for him to be taken there."
Harry moaned through his sobs, he would do anything to not be taken away. Frantic, he pushed himself from Master's lap and cowered on the floor. "Use it, please... don't take me away," he begged, tears streaming down his face as he rucked up his robe and tore at his undershorts.
Albus looked on in horror and fascination as Harry became unhinged, "He needs help Severus, he can't be around the children." Dumbledore stood and loomed over a hysterical Harry.
Severus stood and scooped up Harry, straightening his clothing. "That's what I have been trying to tell you," he growled at Albus. "I have managed to keep him in my rooms and calm. If you would just leave him be like you first suggested. He was fine until you came in here." He held the struggling man against him and pressed Harry's head to his heart. "Shush, Harry no one is going to take you away." He rocked the smaller man like one would a child and glared at Albus again.
Tossing a chip to the one man that could possibly take Harry away from him, Severus swallowed his pride for the smaller man and softened his face towards Albus.
"Dr. Wolffe says to keep him in a stable environment. I trust the man Albus. He's helped me and I think he can help Harry as well. I met him because you sent me to America."
Albus looking at the still whimpering Harry and then at Severus. "He is under a physician's care as we speak, then? That is what you are saying, Severus?" he asked. Really, he wanted to walk out of the dungeon dweller's chambers and forget the whimpering creature was there.
Severus nodded. "Dr. Wolffe is an acclaimed psychiatrist and has worked with War veterans and clients with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He is a medical doctor as well." He petted Harry's head as Harry began to cry himself out, the whimpering and sniffling sounding only occasionally now.
Albus raised one gnarled hand in a dismissive gesture and sighed, "Very well Severus. Keep him away from the children, I won't have them disturbed or worse frightened by... your project. I bid you good evening." He simply walked away without a backwards glance at the trembling man in Severus' arms, the same man he'd heaped so much responsibilities upon as a child.
Severus signed and sank to the settee with Harry in his arms. "You are safe, Harry I promise. No one's going to take you away from me again," he murmured to the younger man. "I am so sorry that he upset you." He rocked Harry slowly trying to calm him down his appetite gone for the evening.
"Master please... let it entertain your guests here... please don't let them take it away," Harry whimpered as his nervous fingers pinched and twisted the skin of his thighs brutally. "It promises to clean its mess when they leave." He was petrified that if he were led away, no one would remember to return him.
Severus grabbed Harry's hands in one of his own and shook his head, "Harry, no one is going to take you away. You are going to stay right here in my chambers with me. No one is ever going to force themselves on you again." He shushed Harry and held him close to himself.
Wide green eyes stared blankly from the elven face as Harry's breathing began to relax and slow. After some time, Harry wriggled on the man's lap and whimpered softly to be let down.
Severus reluctantly let go of the warm little man and hoped everything was going to be alright. He wasn't certain how much more he and Harry could take tonight. "Are you alright, Harry? Do you need something?"
Harry nodded solemnly and shifted from one foot to another, a pinched expression on his face, one hand bunched in the hem of his robe. "May it be excused?" he whispered softly.
Severus nodded, hoping that Harry wasn't going to do something to himself. "You may, Harry." He would follow after the younger man in a moment.
"Thank you, Master," Harry said and quickly scuttled from the room, seconds later a door could be heard closing and then silence.
Severus stood and quietly followed the small man. He smiled softly as he realized the bathroom door was closed and he went to stand by it listening for the tell tale signs. He hated to invade the younger man's privacy but he wanted to make certain Harry was alright.
Water was heard running and then the sound of flushing came from behind the heavy door. The water shut off and Harry opened the door cautiously, he saw his Master standing there and he dropped to his knees. "It did what it was told Master," he said and leaned down to press his forehead to the stone floor.
Severus grinned down at the young man. "Very good, Harry. I am proud of you." He bent and tangled his fingers in Harry’s hair, massaging the younger man's scalp. The boiling in his stomach settled some and he sighed softly. "You are doing so well, Harry. We'll make it one day." He said softly and pulled the smaller man up to his feet then embraced him gently.
Harry positively beamed as he was given affection and never wanted it to end. He would do anything for the dark haired Master to tell him he was a good boy. As he was released, he remembered something the other scary man had said.
"Master... is this thing dangerous to children?" he asked as Severus led them back into the sitting room.
Severus shook his head. "I don't think you are dangerous, Harry. I am more afraid of one of them harming you," he said gently and settled himself on the settee once more.